Amazing what you can find when the water’s out
Spotted along a desolate stretch of beach off Highway One in central California.
Finally.
So I lived through Twiggy and The Shrimp. Survived acres of flatness comparable to Iowa’s fields of wheat. And I hated every minute of it.
Then along comes the current issue of Vanity Fair and, guess what?
Shape is back.
And Shape is rarely better personified than in the guise of Emily Blunt, photographed by Michael Roberts. Her direct gaze and strong features match the exotic dress perfectly.
Barry Lyndon, anyone?
The guard dog at work
No need to regale you with tales of the of the guard dog at the old estate. Even at breakfast, Bertie the Border Terrier is to be found doing his thing, in this case keeping a watchful eye on a passing lizard.
The ‘Guard Dog on Duty’ signs go up later today.
The state flower blooms
It’s wild poppy flowering time and none is finer than California’s sparkling yellow variant, the state flower no less.
My super secret source disclosed the location of a new outbreak down the road, so I shot off to snap these, which I hope you enjoy.
It’s just your money, that’s all
Bought for several million dollars by the State of California a couple of years ago, the Piedras Blancas motel has, needless to add, stood abandoned ever since, with a forlorn government sign warning the owners (you and me) not to trespass. Well, as I paid for a slice of this place (though no one asked me first), I can trespass all I want and proceeded to do so with impugnity yesterday during a drive up Pacific Coast Highway.
You can see a QTVR of the old motel I made 30 months ago here. It does not look any different today, though the crooks in Sacramento have added a sign telling everyone they bought the place with money stolen from taxpayers to ‘preserve the pristine views’ or some such rot. Strange how there’s another 75 miles of better views to be had free on the way to Carmel from Cambria as you leave the now blighted motel.
More sordid data on the extent of this theft of taxpayers’ money appear here.
Here’s another – and I’ll bet you in 10 years time it will look far worse:
A simple reminder of the nine most dangerous words in the English language: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”.