Oceanside's Back Country...Douglas Drive

Walking “Wild”

Walking, or sometimes referred to as "The Wild", is a lecture by Henry David Thoreau first delivered at the Concord Lyceum on April 23, 1851

April 28, 2020, 9:30 AM

Reading has become my other way of walking here in Rancho Hermosa. I'm rereading some of Thoreau's writings and lectures. He wrote an essay on Walking which I had not read before, in the same wondrous way as he wrote about Walden Pond, this lecture is about human nature as it interacts with Planet Earth's nature in a good way and in some ways not so good.

Walking

He describes how he seeks out the forests where no one has walked before, and the places where the soul of our environment seeps into our open minds with the walking becoming the vehicle of transferred transcendence.  He tells of the sometimes when the brain keeps turning over the problems of the day so that he is out of his “senses”. Our senses so necessary to be open to the songs of nature. We can look but do we see? We hear, but do we listen? We breathe, but do we inhale the essence of the wild?

I remember when we first came to Oceanside in the year of 1991. We lived near Reynolds school, and Douglas Drive was a road where in places the “wild” still existed. There was a bog, filled with the rushes and reeds of a smelly dark atmosphere where the croaking of the bull frogs gave you chills. They did sound like some prehistoric scary thing waiting to lurch out the bog and wangle their “wild” from anyone who dared to come their way. I did listen to these sounds of the bull frog, and it was a sound of majesty of his place. I did indeed inhale the essence of this place, it was a place of primeval. Is this place still there, I don't know, it is too far to walk from RH and so I will drive today and see if indeed, the wild is still here in Oceanside.

11:30 AM

The swampy bog is still there. There is a pond-like serenity about it that has been born from the this months rains. The White Egrets regal in their whiteness, wade the shallow waters. There is now a fence along Douglas Dr. which is foreboding in it's progression along the roadway. There is only one place where the fence has been cut apart wide enough for a body to pass through. I think about it, this wild place, where there are no paths or places where anyone has trod, but this time, I will pass. It seems like I could get stuck in the muck and then where would I be?. I don't know who owns this particular parcel of wildness. It is the same way on both sides of Douglas, it could be the City.

Douglas Drive Pond-Bog

The ecosystem of today's towns and cities are so much different that in the day of Thoreau. He would be amazed and probably devastated at the way humans are crowded together in the Cities like New York, Hong Kong, and Wuhan China. With the crowding comes the devastation of our environment. We have poisoned our Good Earth. What we walk in now is a planet in crisis. The new normal will bring so many more devastating events, and what we want and what we need will have to become pared down from the harmful habits of the the past, “the more, the bigger, the newer, the cruising, the flying, and the many things we have considered to be our rights to do, to essential changes of common sense to save our planet Earth's ecosystem which sustains our human lives.

There are Paths in Oceanside maintained by the City and Non profit organizations.

El Corazon: “This mile-long nature trail along Garrison Creek at El Corazon Park was opened May 2, 2016. To access the trail head, enter the park at 3210 Oceanside Blvd. at the Agriservice and Moody’s street entrance, just east of El Camino Real. The trail will be open to the public Monday – Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and closed on Sundays. This slice of rural life in the heart of Oceanside offers the chance to soak in peace and tranquility

El Corazon

You will have to scroll down to find this text”.

San Luis Rey River Trail

The City Bike Path “The San Luis Rey River Trail. This trail is a Class I bicycle trail which is open to pedestrians as well. The trail is 7.2 miles, one way, from the Neptune access (west end) to the eastern-most point on the College Bridge. The trail follows the path to the San Luis Rey River. This relatively flat trail is safe for all age groups, is completely separate from motorized traffic, and is free of stop signs and traffic lights”.( It is best to have a buddy with you as there are homeless camps prone to this area near the city.)

The Buena Vista Audubon “Buena Vista Audubon Society is canceling all its programs & closing the Nature Center through at least April 30 to prevent spread of the coronavirus. The health and safety of all of you takes precedence. We will evaluate the situation at the end of April and give updates. ALL BIRD WALKS ARE CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. While our nature trail remains open, we advise against using it as it is impossible to maintain social distancing and we want everyone to stay safe”.

The Buena Vista Audubon lagoon...

It is my intention to go back to the Douglas site, slip through the fence, when further into the summer and the waters have receded, to walk in this wild place. A place where the definition of walking is one of uncharted paths, and the feet will decide the pathway of the “Wild”.

A 2000 Year Old Hug

Today is Friday my Cinderella Day. If you are a woman who is the home caretaker you know what that means. So this morning sitting on the deck with coffee and paper, I looked at the treetops from my perch, and admired the huge very tall Norfolk Pines in our neighborhood. Procrastinating the Cinderella chore, I dreamed about the five years we spent living in Eureka CA. An Artists colony, it was a new experience in so many ways. The most splendid way was a miracle in the center of town.

Sequoia Park is a magical place located in the very center of Eureka. It is a place of the old, majesty, and spiritual calm. I can't really think of these giants as trees, for their very force of being is beyond what we think of as a tree. You can't climb them, you can't sit under them for a picnic, and walking around the bottom of the tree packs the earth so damaging their ability to absorb moisture. So, I walked on the paths, and sat beside the banks of fallen giants, and let the mystery of these beings seep into my soul.

One winter day there was a hundred year storm. It is said on some of the internet pages that sequoias can't be blown down. This is false. In this storm event, many of these giants toppled and crashed to the ground blocking the paths and the one maintenance road. It took two years to clear the paths and roads and in that time the park could only be accessed by foot. I would take my black German Shepherd and walk around the fallen ones, so large that I could not look over the trunk. The Shepherd was very wary of these walks, for there were wildlife in the park becoming more overt in their presence. We did tread very softly on these days and did not venture too far into the park. The silence was truly deafening.

I did hug one of these giant beings one day. It was a moment of true melding of thought and vibrations. Don't ever doubt that these wondrous living monuments of our planets gifts have no soul. They do. I have felt and absorbed the presence of these giants and it is a lasting part of me. Today I watched a video of the Park in the center of this faraway place called Eureka, and tears came. Wishing that once again I was drifting through the magic of a place called Sequoia Park.

The walking through memories today will be my post. Sometimes, a walk such as this brings into sharp focus, our lives of where we have been, and the now of who and what we are ...so back to Oceanside, on the deck, watching the little hummer nest, and knowing that somewhere up in Northern California, there is a place where time stands still and that the ages are encapsulated there, residing in a tree named Sequoia...    

Dawn in the San Luis Rey Valley

and Memories of the Getty

Ten years ago when we first moved back to Oceanside, the finding of Rancho Hermosa was like coming home again. They say you can't go home again, but I disagree. We first moved to Oceanside in 1991. I became very involved in the Arts Community and at last I found home.

Now, in the year 2020 I walked at Dawn. I used to run up and down the hills of Oceanside at dawn, but now, walking is just right for the calmness that comes with a slower pace. This morning the hills and faraway mountains were like a pastel painting. The shading of pale lavenders in the background, the hills in front of the mountain shading to purple and then to dark blue. It was like walking into an impressionist painting.

Last summer I was fortunate to visit the Getty Museum with my daughter Laura. The very best part was the room with the impressionist paintings by Van Gogh and Monet. The Haystack of Monet captured my heart. The blending of his color pallet is without peer. Lucky me, there was a bench which I could spend time to gaze upon this masterwork. Many folks were walking by the painting and just clicking their little phones not looking at the real painting.

At the Getty, Monet's Haystack

 I could see him in my minds eye, there, in his place of easy solitude doing his work. Timeless in his own world, we see him now in our world of the 21 century, of teeming human endeavors which leave little time for such contemplation. The colors imprinted in my minds eye, have given me joy and peace knowing that this beautiful piece of human art work is in a place where the great works of art are there for everyone to see. The Getty immortalizing this human being who created his work for the world to know and love.

Turning the corner from San Dimas onto San Miguel, the view of the valley, and the mountains beyond, made the sudden intake of breath like drinking fine wine. Magic It was, another mystical world apart from the madding course of covid-19, this world of silence with the changing colors rushing to the breaking Dawn. The Valley can't be put into a museum, but it is in the museum of our presence if we only look and pause to breathe...

The lavender silence now was broken with the neighborhood mocking bird. His little self perched atop a fence singing forth with his hearts desire to welcome this ethereal day. Now, the colors were changing so quickly for with the coming of the morning sun, the precious moments of pastel colors were fading fast. The little bird's song quickened with his young energy and I knew that it was time to go home again.

Turning the corner from San Dimas onto San Pablo, my shadow was there before me...the colors somewhat the same, but the shadow's elongation of my human form was a foretelling that this day would not last that long, the shadow knows, as I remember...the Haystack of long ago...

Sculptures and Succulents

I see on my morning walks that many gardens have replaced the old floral plantings in a sustainable way for our climate of desert realities. For desert is where we dwell whether we wish it or not. Before our forefathers constructed dams to bring water to Southern California, the land was designated as: Desert. In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. Generally deserts are defined as areas that receive an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (10 inches).

The succulent gardens in Rancho Hermosa abound in these sculptural forms. My own front garden is not of this variety, and sorry I am for my beautiful rose trees are struggling to bud and thrive in the soil that is mostly sand. Planters are used in many of these gardens, and the watering is minimal.

The forms of these succulents are wondrous to behold. Amazing in their shapes,coloring, and size they are truly natures sculptures. Some, are medicinal. One day long ago working at the MC3 Foundry in LA, on a wax form for my first sculpture “Ocean One”, I spilled molten wax on my forearm.

Ocean One in Cardiff by the Sea 

Molten Wax is used in the hot casting of Bronze. As I was in instant pain and starting to pass out, the foundry wax expert working next to me ran over to the window where the small plants were growing on the windowsill. Running back to me as I was sinking to the floor, she broke open the plant leaf and squeezed the gel onto my arm. Instant relief. Wow, what a miracle was this small not too beautiful plant. I gazed in wonder at Marie and asked what kind of a plant this was. She explained that the foundry workers spilled molten wax on themselves from time to time and that is why they keep the little plants growing on the north windowsill.

Aloe Vera plant with red outline

There after, I too kept an Aloe Vera plant in my studio, for you never know when this miracle plant will be needed. For many years, I worked with Billy McClelland and his crew who helped me create my sculptures. Many sculptors of our area, The North County Sculptors Salon of which I'm a member, use this foundry today.

Getting back to the walk of today, I see these plants for possible medical use in the future. I hope that in the future, I too will translate my garden into a sustainable garden of delights and practical use. Meanwhile, I see the incredible shapes, colors, and forms as Natures Sculptures, beautiful beyond any of which a mere mortal could create.

Night Walking  on Terracina Street Oceanside

Tanya S.

Your elegant prose allows one to travel with you . Thanks for a virtual mind adventure.  My fingers are walking 
many  hours these days on the piano.
My legs only walk in our garden @ dusk or early nightfall. The critters, blossoms & I immerse ourselves in the sounds of another day’s end.  The early night sounds wrap around you like silk critters weaving. 
Enjoy, enjoy!
Tanya S

 San Jacinto range on left Palomar range on right

JOY

A brightness heralds the dawn, and the giant Birds of Paradise are moving in a Santa Ana dance...hummmm, the sky will be clear today and the Mountains are going to be spectacular.

Starting out down the San Dimas Hill, it is warm. It was 10:30 AM when I walked out the front door, the air pleasant and balmy. Setting a good pace, it was warming up and I wondered, will it be too hot coming back up the San Dimas Hill, should I cut the walk short? No, then the pictures of the Mountains would not be there for my new day, and I have waited so many weeks for the right light, clear air, and the crystal conditions of perfection for long distance picture taking. The San Jacinto Mountain range is 93.7 miles from where I stand at the end of San Miguel Court.

The air is very still and the sun hot on my back. Really, many misgivings about the return trip to home. In the summer, every day, there is an Ocean Breeze, we call it the Oceanside air conditioner, and it saves our selves from becoming limp and strung out from the heat. But, this is not summer, though it feels like it, and the O'side Breeze is not there now.

Turning the corner from San Dimas to San Miguel, and I see so clearly, there they are! The snow capped peaks of the San Jacinto and the Palomar mountain ranges. Crystal clear are they, and if I were a bird, the distance would not be too great to fly away and seek out the coolness of the snowy mountain sides...

Several folks are here, we, keeping our social distance, wave and smile. Sharing this wondrous day, the bird song lifting our spirits and letting we humans know that in the bird world all is well.

Going round the corner of San Miguel onto San Dimas, my world changes. The Oceanside Breeze has come early. It lifts my hat a little as if to say, Hola Ruth, the day is yours, and going up the hill will be “a breeze”. Rounding the corner to San Pablo, there is my little buddy Rocky, resting from his walk on the front porch smiling...

And so it is, the day is easy, the walk perfect, and Joy has come to Rancho Hermosa on April 15, 2020.

FOG and Overload

This morning I awoke to fog. The kind that is an atmospheric. It is a paradox of sort, fog, for it can be calming or just plain exhausting. As I walk in this quiet morning, the only sounds are the birds chirping their springtime melodies. The traffic noise is gone, just the quiet dripping of the morning dew drops plopping on the leaves below.

The Brain Fog on the other hand, is what has come upon me in this time of isolation due to the Corvid 19 crisis. The constant babble of the TV media, the newspaper's stories of our National State of affairs , and the Facebook adds for blatant infomercials for your vote on something political. This overload gives birth to Brain Fog. I'm making me a promise to turn them all off. This morning, NOW, and to not be mentally inundated by the incoming noise of technologies...that I can control.

The silence of my creative self I return to. As a painter/sculptor, the quiet and solitude is my arena for my work. The quiet that gives the rise to the impulse of the now. It is the time, for the muse lives again, and will not be denied. 

My walk energizes me today, and clears the fog of this National time of hysteria, as the morning sun clears the air in Rancho Hermosa, and gives rise to the new day of promise for finishing the painting that has been staring at me for the past two months.

Energies Unleashed

Today, the dawn was bright with light, no clouds, birds with song and purpose, it was infused with the energies brought with the rains of the past few days. My energies gathered from the Sea Storm from which I took my walk with eager anticipation of renewal, did indeed restore my spirits and with peaceful calm.

As I watch from my den, the little hummer gather cobwebs for her nest, I know that my mental and emotional cobwebs of sorrow for what our country is going through will be woven together with the joy that I feel on this new day. For how fortunate we are to live in Oceanside where the virus is not having the impact that New York is experiencing. Do I feel a little guilty, yes. So this paradoxical state of mind is where I am today setting forth on my walk down the San Dimas Hill.

I first come upon my little friend Rex. He loves to sit in his Dad's truck waiting for his ride and knowing without a doubt that it will come. He jumps down from the truck to greet me. Why is it that a little fur person gives such joy? His Dad tells me that he has never done that before. Going home later he is still in the truck waiting...

Standing at the end of the San Miguel Court, I see the valley. I feel the Valley. The energy cradled in the bottom of the valley, sunlight streaming up the greenness of the hills, the foothills, and upside to the top of my hill in Rancho Hermosa. The Up-welling of the Oceans is a well recognized form of energy, as the “displaced surface waters are replaced by cold, nutrient-rich water that “wells up” from below. Conditions are optimal for up welling along the coast when winds blow along the shore.”

Looking down into the Valley, the Sun on my back and the clean clear air on my face, has this effect of Up-welling on my phychi. I feel the sounds of the grasses growing , the leaves sprouting, and know the energy of this day will be one that will carry me, through the doubts and the communal pain of our National Crisis. The Mountains are still covered with banks of clouds, and they are a metaphor for our national will of maintaining the separation of our communities. I know without a doubt that others today who walk today and tomorrow in this small community will hear and feel these energies as I do, for Americans are strong, resilient, and above all brave...

“I Hear America Singing,

The varied carols I hear,”

Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass

Going back up San Dimas Hill, it is flatter today, the breathing is easier, and the pulses of my body are in rhythm with the Valley...

On the Sea Wall at the Harbor Oceanside CA

“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.”

"Sea-Fever" first appeared inSalt-Water Ballads– Masefield'sfirst volume of poetry published in 1902

Replenishment

“ I must go down to the Sea Again” this is what I will do today. It has been since March 15^th that the old Toyota has been fired up, and I fear that she will not start again if not driven for so very long. The Oceanside Pier is off limits, but the Sea is still there, I will park by the seaside, and go for a walk if permitted.

click on picture for wide format viewing

What is essential in this day of covid-19? For me, emotional balance was becoming more important and I really did need to be my Ocean self once again. On my ship of imagination I will sail across the Sea with this rainy day... 

Parking by the 333 Restaurant, and across the street rise the two giant hotels which have changed the fabric of our Pacific Street forever. The workers are there in the rain, talking and sawing something. I think that it would be dangerous in this weather, but there they are with the wind carrying the smell of sawdust. This is not the ocean scent I was dreaming of when I set off on this journey of replenishment.

Getting back in the car, I drove to the Harbor. The parking lots were closed of course, but I was living dangerously, and parked in a boat permit slot.

Walking across the street, starting to cross the sand to sit on the embankment of sand, I was met by the beach patrol. Handsome lads they were, and they said that I had to take my pictures from the sidewalk. “Not even if I hover?” I said. They laughed at me, wearing my Aussie hat, and said “No” not even that. So turning I started back to the side walk, and they went on, but stopped with brakes still on watching me. Guess they had experience with old ladies standing the rain wanting to take that perfect picture...

Going back to the Pacific Street above the strand much further south, I found the perfect place to soak up the day. Literally. Sitting there on a wet bench with the raindrops plopping on my hat.  Oh how beautiful it was, the sound, the salty air, the spray in my face, and the crashing waves below. Alive, I am...this is my kind of heaven, even though it is not mine. For now though, it is.

When I was 3 years old, my mother took me down to the Sea, and in my little rocking chair I would gaze out to the Summer Ocean, my introduction to Oceanside.

Going back home, I passed by Artists Alley, imbued with saturated colors only a day like this can bring to the eye. The Fountains of Civic Center were going full blast, and I wondered about what this must cost the City when it seemed so redundant.

Driving home, the memory feelings of the sand beneath my feet seemed travel up my entire person, leaving me with the wondrous sound of the Sea, energy unleashed and I was replenished at last...  

April 11,2020

Laurel Street Walker

“Inspired by your wonderful blog "I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky..." I took my little camera with me on my morning walk. It was raining cats and dogs, the water was swirling down the road, and my pool is almost overflowing.... Here are some of the pics.”

                                                                    

An Afternoon with Sky Sculptures...

Bailey's Cloud...look sideways, you can see him in the Sky...

This afternoon after the rains, I decided to walk later in the day for the lighting is so very different than morning and midday. Brisk it is, and meeting my small friend down the street, Rocky, was strutting forward with his usual ambition of making hay when the sun shines...

His 3 o'clock walk...

Looking skyward, I could see mountainous cumulus clouds building in the east. Dark were the under bottoms of these energy laden forms. Thunder storms had been in the forecast, but they seemed to be far away, so eagerly down the hill I went. Having been cooped up for most of the day, like Rocky I was raring to go.

Back lighting is dramatic in photography and painting as well, and though I know next to zero about cameras, I do know how to point and shoot. Of course corrections can be made in Photoshop, and I use it to make my pictures encapsulate the stories I wish to tell.

Heading down the San Dimas Hill I see some of the gardens back lit. The light transforms the shapes and light shines through and around the subject giving a glowing effect. Direct light flattens the subject and makes the surfaces more even, where as the back-lit light makes a halo effect.

Sleeping Indian Hill in the distance

Making my way to the end of San Miguel Court, stopped at my favorite vantage point to see the Valley, the sun is lighting the clouds from the south. The clouds seem more three dimensional when lit this way, and that is why I call them Sky Sculptures. Many pictures taken, I make my way back up San Dimas Hill. Those of you who climb it sometimes think of it as a mountain and in the afternoon when energy is low, it seemed so today.

Later this day, I took some of the side lit hills of the valley. The glow of the last rays of sun made layers of pink and purple. The end of this storm, April storm showers, creates wonderful Sky Sculptures...

                                                     6:30...
10:10 The rains come again..replenishing our good earth, making the air taste sweet again, and the morning will bring once more a new day a gift to us and glowing with the sculpture clouds...

If you click on the pictures, you will see them enlarged...

San Luis Rey Mission Oceanside CA

Rain, Roses, and Horses

No, this is not about the Derby. The Rain is spotty now, the Roses in full bloom in Rancho Hermosa, and the Horse, well, I commune with his Ghost, Kublai Khan, the keeper of the Valley.

Today as I stand overlooking the San Luis Rey Valley I think about where we are in this time of isolation and National Crisis. The Valley looks peaceful on this Sunday morning, and the roads below are quiet now,  the San Luis Rey Mission Bells toll in the distance. I see the old barn where the White Horse of the Valley used to live. The Davy Jones Ranch was an important part of the Valley History, and I had many talks with Mr. Jones about the valley when there were crisis of both flood and flu.

The Old Barn on the Davy Jones Ranch and Farm house.

He told me many stories about the people who lived here, and about his ranch before the 76 HWY came roaring through the Valley. As I look down the hill towards the ranch, it is mostly gone as the construction of the 76 took his land, and the pathway that the great white horse climbed up the hill every day to graze underneath the century plant. There are remnants of the old buildings and homestead located between the 76 and Fratelli's restaurant. The folks of the valley could see him there, and he was our shining white horse of light and peace.

Kublai Khan Oceanside Museum of Art 2015

“He was never ridden, Davy said, He was my daughter's horse and her sweet pet. He was one of a herd of white Arabian Horses and they ran free. I knew this to be true for I would take my sketch pad and sit by him by the hour. Soaking up the peace from this magical place, and he, keeping his brown eye on me.

Stories of the Flood of 1916 and the Spanish flu were some of the events he told of. In the above link, you can read about these events which shaped the history of our Valley and how Dr. Robert S. Reid had good advice then, and now, we should have known this all along using our common sense for wearing face masks.

The Grayness of the light today is wondrous for picture taking. The colors are more saturated, and the light is uniform for the subject. Shadows disappear, leaving the color as the composition's sole element.

As always, Roses are the Queen of the flower world, they leave us with the happy fragrance of new birth in our world of today's uncertainty, and sadness. The are proof of renewal, and that tomorrow will be as Scarlet says, “tomorrow is another day”. It must, be Better, for we as Americans are resilient, and "our can do energy" is our common gift.

A Rose named "Peace"

Walking Laurel Street Oceanside

Summer 2019

As promised, I post today a story about other places in Oceanside. This post is about a woman who is

a scientist in Chemistry. She had her own business in San Francisco for many years. Moving to Oceanside, she has become one of the art patrons for our City and is a member of the Oceanside Museum of Art.

We met at the Museum one Sunday afternoon. Though strangers, after an hour of conversation we had become more than friends. Sisters are we in our love of the Ats, Science, our Country and the Planet we live on.

She lives on Laurel Street Oceanside. She and her husband walk the neighborhood most everyday.

“yes, morning walks are such a good way to forget, at least for a little bit, the nightmares one is dreaming about the previous nights and the nightmares developed here in this country. Spring is all around with Dutch tulips now growing in the garden. Abundant yellow, red, purple, and pink flowers were shining through the fog on one of my recent morning walk. Some wildlife, such as snails and lizards, are also detectable.”

Growing up in East Germany, she knows well the fears which were far greater than the one we face now. Her Grandchildren are very young, and she has to be brave to decorate her front yard for Easter knowing that they will not be coming this year for the traditional egg hunt...

Her gardening is a joy to observe and partake of with the skill of her culinary talents...

Thank You dear friend, for sharing your Easter Tree and the flowers of Laurel Street.

Summer 2019