a puzzle

What is the contraption in this photo?

(Answer below)

On our recent visit to Santa Barbara, California, we climbed the steps to the roof of the courthouse clock tower to take in the view.  The above device was visible on the way up, through a large plexiglas window.  No sign or placard offered an explanation.  On the way back down, I saw it again and realized what it was.

Here are two of the views from the roof (the courthouse and grounds occupy an entire city block).

Answer:  It's the clock!  The tower has a clock face on each of its four sides.  You can see that the clock mechanism has an arm extending out to each wall to drive the clock hands.

studio 7

This interesting doorway opens onto a small courtyard in downtown Santa Barbara, California.

angles

I have posted some black and white images featuring the rocks near Paradise in Los Padres National Forest.  Now, here is one in color- it shows off the hues of the outcrops.

solitary

Here is another tree and rock image from Paradise, in Los Padres National Forest.

beach house, carpinteria

I did this plein air painting of a beach house on February 13 from the salt marsh in Carpinteria, CA.  There was actually a row of houses between the marsh and the beach dunes, but I left them all out of the painting except the most interestingly shaped one.

The salt marsh is frequented by egrets and other interesting birds.

Beach House

oil on canvas, 6"x8"

two of a kind

This is the same pair of trees shown in Wednesday's post, "Twisted," from a very different viewpoint and with the spectacular tilted rock strata of Paradise visible in the background.

uptown house

I did this painting in the studio, like the Boat and Van a couple days ago, from a photo I took last fall.  More of a sketch in oils than a painting, it's all about shapes and colors.

Uptown House

oil on canvas, 6"x6"

twisty

Here is another scene from Paradise, in Los Padres National Forest near Santa Barbara, CA.  Some of the trees were very twisty and curvy.

boat and van

I did this painting yesterday.  It is not a plein air painting- it was done in the studio from a photo I took last fall in an uptown Port Townsend neighborhood.  Sort of a macro still life.

Boat and Van

oil on canvas, 6"x6"

boulder at paradise

Here is a boulder with some of the iconic rock outcrops near the Paradise campground, Los Padres National Forest, California.

another paradise

Not the one on Mount Rainier, this Paradise is in Los Padres National Forest near Santa Barbara, California.  Angular rock outcrops and twisty trees flank the Santa Ynez River.  This grove was in a low spot near the river.

ocotillo sunset 2

This is my last post from the Anza-Borrego desert.  For now.

desert afternoon 3

An early sunset races across the desert floor, from the ridges to the west.  Plein air painters be warned:  the light changes very quickly.

desert afternoon 2

The peaks and ridges to the west have started to drop into shadow.

desert afternoon

In late afternoon in the Anza-Borrego desert floor, the shadows start to lengthen.  The ocotillos stand above the surrounding vegetation.

morning palm 2

Here is another view of the fan palm featured in my February 8 post, this time just at sunrise.  As an added bonus, the moon was just past full and close setting.

granite planter 2

More green among the granite rocks.

granite planter

Desert plants will take hold and grow in the tiniest bits of poor soil.

desert pass country

Up in the hills near Culp Valley, looking back toward Borrego Springs, California.  Even in winter, the midday lighting is harsh and contrasty.  Desert plants cling to life here and there amid the granite boulders.

desert sunrise, desert moonset

In the Anza-Borrego desert.  These images were taken early this morning within a few yards of the place where we are staying.

ocotillo sunset

In the Anza-Borrego desert, just before sunset.

morning palm

Here is a California fan palm in the morning light.  As the tree grows higher, the lower fronds droop and form a skirt around the trunk as they dry, helping to protect the plant from moisture loss and insect predators.

The desert air is crisp and clear.

chased by a theropod

There's nothing quite like being chased by a large hungry raptor across the Anza-Borrego desert!  Fortunately, the metal sculpture, one of many created by artist Ricardo Breceda, doesn't actually move.

approaching fog

In late afternoon, fog approaches in Stanislaus County, California.

dawn in the delta

On the Sacramento River, near Grand Island, CA.

zig zag 3

The battery structures at Fort Worden, with all their weathering and their decorations of painted-out graffiti, have so much character!

into the tomb

An image of the interior of Battery Kinzie, deliberately blurred by twisting the camera, looks like a completely different space when turned on its side.

Shot at Fort Worden State Park, Washington.

point wilson trees

These trees stand just inshore and up the hill a bit from Battery Kinzie at Fort Worden.

zig zag 2

Another architectural detail with shadows, from batteries Kinzie and Vicars at Fort Worden State Park.