Show #228

Hello Friends of the Garden

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No little white donuts this time!

This weekend finds me at my tiny refuge in Cambria. It feels so good to be at the coast! It seems like forever since we left at the end of August. It's an absolutely beautiful morning and an extreme difference between waking up at my home in Fresno!

Cambria in the morning

Don't get me wrong! Fresno has it's own beauty, it does! In spite of what I hear from many that live in Fresno, I see a lot of beautiful things in Fresno. I am happy to be a transplant to Fresno and I believe that affords me a viewpoint not jaded by familiarity. The complaints that I hear about Fresno sound so similar to the complaints I've heard in others places I've lived in my life.

My backyard in Fresno

Cool potted plants on the patio

Growing up in Texas, I recall many car trips to South Texas, to my Grandmothers house in El Campo! It was always an agonizing six or seven hour ride. At that point I didn't have the awareness to notice the subtle nuances that distinguished the countryside. I had no appreciation for what I saw from the fingerprint smudged backseat car window. I just knew that it took forever to get there and it all looked pretty much the same for hour after hour.

When my wife first brought me to Fresno thirty-plus years ago we weren't married at the time. The very first thing I saw was mountains, wow! She took me to Yosemite, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and the Big Sur drive down Hwy 1! Every one of those places and many more were so close, by Texas standards, and so amazing to see. I discovered Shaver Lake, Huntington and Edison lakes, and Mono Hot Springs, all right in our backyards!

This summer in Yosemite

Alright, fine, if it's so good in Fresno then why have a place at the coast? Here's the best answer I can muster, it's different and it's separate from my "regular day to day life"! In the first place, I don't work here, at least in terms of making a living. My thoughts aren't dominated by the demands that being at home present. I'm away! Those things will just have to wait until I'm close enough to do anything about them.

Shear distance alone forces me to clear the buffer in my mind and reset to a simpler, less stressful mind set. The mountains would have been as good of an alternative. I guess the vastness of the ocean and growing up "landlocked" made the seaside a more interesting choice for me. 

With only a relatively few exceptions, isn't it odd that where we choose to "get away" to almost always is less convenient than where we "live" at? We prepare to make accommodations for anticipated inconveniences when we travel. We use the word essentials when we pare back the litany of things that make our lives simpler. It almost seems like an innate need to let go of those things that tax our minds. Deep inside, each of us know simpler is better and easier and a lot more relaxing!

Reflection of the sun behind the obelisk in front
the Louvre with the Arc de Triumph in the
lower left. Lucky shot huh?

The other day I was in a conversation with two close friends that are both into photography, one professionally the other academically. A rhetorical question was raised about what is required to take a good photo. Being the outsider in this discussion and being simple-minded, I offered that the difference between a good photo and a bad one depends greatly on where you stand (I think I heard something like that before). While being a foregone conclusion, it was undeniable. I was standing in the right place when I took this picture in Paris (France).

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Well, from where I stand here on my deck, things seem pretty simple and pretty relaxed! Time to wrap this up and hunt sea glass. I haven't done that in a month! You can call it whatever you like, for me it's therapy, simple and easy!

View from my roof that needs repair
in Cambria!

On to Show #228! This week I saw a band called The Haunted Windchimes (another weird named band huh?). I just had a notion of the bands that would fit their sound so I sandwiched them right between two obvious (to me) bands. Fun first set that sets the tone for the first hour, pretty easy and relaxed! There are lots of things here for everyone! The second hour starts with another crack at some Zeppelin because my buddy Rob missed last week. The second hour picks up a little compared to the first and ends in Garden Party style, introspective and upbeat! You'll breathe a deep breath of relaxation and have just enough energy to tap your toe!

Thanks as always Robin and Jerry! Keep on, keeping' on! Right?

Thanks to all of you listeners! Please feel free to get in touch with me any way you can! I love hearing from you!

Peace and love!

Mike