Happy New Year

Happy New Year.
 One of the things that has surprised us about Cambria is the amount of music and night life going on. We had at least 3good choices for New Years Eve and chose to hang out at Mozzies and dance to the good music of "Rough House". Then the next day we bypassed the Polar Bear Swim at Cayucos in favor of a hike at Montano De Oro, following the Steelhead trout up the creek from the ocean.
                                             Wishing you all a very happy and Healthy 2012.

 

Elephant seals and whales

In the last two weeks the elephant seals have begun to give birth. The week leading up to Christmas every time we would go out to run an errand we would end up going to check them out. We have yet to remember the camera or witness a birth but will keep trying for both !!
 Also during the last two weeks whale spouts can be spotted from the bluffs as the greys head south to Baja to give birth and mate. We have a special connection with these huge creatures because of the times we have gone down to Magdalena Bay where they give birth. Here we were lucky enough to observe them and even touch them several times. I will find our old photos and post some of these pictures later. It was one of our experiences of a life time. Meanwhile here are some recent pics of the ranch. We took our cheese and crackers to our favorite bench to watch the sunset and the whale spouts. It was great to see how many people enjoy this area, both visitors and local alike.

  

Christmas

Christmas at Kelly and Brian's was great.  My mom and dad came up to Atascadero from Sherman Oaks and so we celebrated four generations being together.

Some of the highlights of the day included going at "Bixby speed" which meant one gift at a time and allowing time to play, a jigsaw puzzle of one of moms paintings, light up drumsticks and playing music, Bixby helping grandad Mike carve the chicken, Grandad Oscar and Nana Gwen tickling Bixby, pulling English crackers and playing the games inside and wearing the silly hats, good food, a kitchen full of dishes, and  laughing and playing a charades game after Bix went to bed.

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Saturday mornings

On Saturday mornings we now have the luxury of choosing to listen to a radio program for a complete hour. Our favorite is "Beatles Brunch" by Joe Johnson. He includes many actual interviews from the Beatles. I always find at least one thought to ponder. Last Saturday it was a gem from Paul who explained the simple idea that when he writes songs he often believes that "the first thought is often the best thought". He referred to the line in "Hey Jude" : "The movement you need is on your shoulder" He didn't know what he meant by this line at the time but he left it in the song. he then keep thinking about it over time and came to the conclusion that he meant that "the answer was already with you" He wrote this song for Julian Lennon to console him through the difficult time when his dad left.
   Speaking of John Lennon, in one of his interviews he explained "Revolution" was his thought of "Don't do something that destroys, work for subtle changes instead"
    I realised that I don't always listen carefully to the words of songs and I love hearing what the writer meant in his own words. Below are photos of the view from our bedroom window. We often take our  coffee back to bed, listen to the radio and watch the birds. What a luxury !!!

 

Building a chicken coop

We have been helping Kelly build a new chicken coop. Kelly has degrees in Architecture and City Planning so of course this is no ordinary chicken coop.

 

                                  
                                    Bixby observes everything the adults do and has to help.

                                                      Until he goes off to explore the lumber.

                                               Then he just had to be at the top of the ladder

                                                                I know how to do it Granddad !!!!