Surf Beach Part 2

According to my mother, I had way too many pictures of Surf Beach in the last post. So.... I am doing another post filled with MORE pictures of the beach. Because I take too many pictures. But I like them. 

Most of these pictures feel so calm and soothing. And calm and soothing is what the world needs more of these days. 

I will go easy on the captions. Just to make it that much more calm and soothing. Plus, you already had the low down about this beach. 

Lompoc, CA

June 29th, 2017

(There is a fierce undertow here. See how far up the beach the water goes, only to be pulled back into the ocean? It almost knocked me off my feet a time or two.)

When we were leaving, these two guys showed up, looking very military with binoculars. I think they were looking for spies. 

(Or at least, that is what my 12 year self who liked to read spy stories would like to think.)

A wee pony

The other night Owen called to tell us that we had to come over right that very minute. 

He had bought a shetland pony and needed to have an appreciative audience. 

(See how I just glossed over my long lack of posts and pretended I always write blog posts? I am slick.)

Little kids and little ponies are pretty fabulous together! 

For some inexplicable reason, the poor thing was a little overwhelmed.

Have you met Owen and Ashley's new dogger? This is Harold. He is a four month old puppy and quite excited about life and ponies. So he had to be tied up so as to give the pony a little piece of mind. 

I really appreciate this pony's adherence to the business in the front and party in the back headstyles of the '80s. 

Ashley arrived home with the kids and my kids were so excited about showing Hoyt and Abilene the pony, that there was a teensy-weensy bit of hollering and jumping. 

Since Hoyt's birthday is in two weeks, Owen told Hoyt it was a birthday present. Because what kid doesn't want a pony for his birthday?! 

There was also a potbellied pig and two calves in the horse trailer. Endless entertainment!

This pony is three years old, but somehow does not have a name. Justin suggested Walnut, so we could call him Nut if he turns out to be a little crazy, but Gilbert thought French Fry was better. 

In other words, the jury is still out. Probably Hoyt will come up with a marvelous name.  

The nameless pony was a little confused about the grass in this place. It isn't on the ground. And it wiggles and giggles when he takes a bite....

Once everyone had settled down, the kids were allowed to get on his back. 

Gilbert is almost too big.

I love their maple avenue!

Looking in on the piggie and calves

The other day, Owen and Dad were outside talking when a pig came barreling across the lawn. A long and involved chase ensued, but clearly, Owen came out the victor. None of the neighbors have claimed him. It is quite a mystery.

It has been an absurdly beautiful fall. It has hardly rained in over a month and the weather has been record breaking hot. After the third day of the 90s last week, I finally heard winter haters saying they wish it would cool off. That is saying something! 

All this warmness means fall is a little sluggish this year. Still so green! 

But I am hoping for some color soon. What is a fall without some color?

Finito (and apples)

Guess what? I am done college. Like doneso-done.

I was actually done college several weeks ago, but as the school year starts, I am finally realizing what it means to be DONE COLLEGE.

(A warning--I plan on interspersing pictures of our apple tree throughout this blog post in an attempt to be artsy and not post a pictureless post. The effect is a little jarring and perplexing, but... there it is. We will just operate on the assumption that apples are always an appropriate addition to any discussion.)

August is always a little busy with conventions, and college finished up right in amongst convention. Getting done felt a little like a marathon. Justin worked in Syracuse most of the summer as well, so that made it all feel rather busier than it probably was. I finished up (mostly) the Wednesday of Altamont and had just a little bit to finish up early Thursday morning, hunkered down in the Suburban while Justin watched the kids. With that off my mind, I was able to settle in and really appreciate convention. So incredibly, incredibly needed.

(Peaceful scene, laying under the apple tree about to be beaned by a falling apple)

After convention however, I fell into a bit of a blue funk. I don't know what it was, but... I just sort of fell apart. My house descended into a state never to be discussed and my to-do-before-school-starts list went completely untouched. I couldn't make myself DO anything. Somehow, the release of all the pressure of this past year seemed to deflate me. My sister likened it to something like postpartum depression--I just birthed a degree, so I had a bit of a postdegree depression. (that would sound so much better in latin... must google....Oooh! Postgradus depression we can call it.)  Being depressed took me totally by surprise. A very weird thing. I really thought I would feel a bit like I had just scaled Everest or at least Denali when I was finally done. All that accomplishment and excitement and WOOHOO-ness! But instead, I felt a little like I got to the summit and realized I was on the wrong mountain--how did I get here? And why on earth did I want to climb this mountain in the first place?!  

(Random flawed apple that has nothing to do with graduate degrees or mountains, but might pertain to flawed expectations?)

Thankfully with school starting again and getting back into a regular schedule, things are looking up. I am excited about being a school librarian--I have plans (sort of)! Things to do! Things to accomplish! Justin was home for the whole week last week and having him around rebalanced me. My house is clean. I have actually been cooking (pot roast and potatoes kind of cooking that is, rather than the "Make yourself a quesadilla for supper, honey" form of cooking of this past summer.) I take a nap if I feel like it. I read absorbing books again. I have begun to "snuggle and read a book" with Gilbert and Elsie again. (How on earth did that get relegated to the not strictly necessary pile of life? It sort of makes me weep when I think of all the snuggling and reading books we did NOT do this past year. Sigh.) I have begun to hound kids to do dishes, clean their room, and pick up after themselves, another thing I didn't have the energy for during college--it was easier to do it myself or ignore it than go through the arguments of children.

(I also didn't do anything with apples while I was in college, if you were wondering. No pies, no applesauce, no apple cakes.)

I can't even tell you how marvelous it was to come home from school on the first day and just listen to what the kids were telling me about their day and not get on the computer once. NOT ONCE. My laptop has been ousted from it's permanent place on our dining room table. It is no longer my constant companion. I am slowly, slowly coming back to normal. 

What a lovely place to be!

(A final shot of apples in sunshine. Because let's face it--apples and sunshine make any place a better place to be.)