Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Santa Barbara Annual

Correction:  The below description of lilac bushes should instead read wisteria vine. Thanks to Patrica for noticing my error!

It has been one year since I got my job out of town, making me a bus commuter to Santa Barbara.


This is my view as I wait for the bus ride home in the afternoon: the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.  It is a beautiful building and the grounds are lovely too.  Let me take you around the back...


I wanted to get some photos of the big and beautiful lilac bushes in bloom on the back ell of the courthouse, which frame this entrance.

The translation is "Having been warned, learn justice".  Apropos to the old jail side of the courthouse.  The arch is about 25-30 feet high.  Quite elegant, don't you think?

This lilac bush was even more spectacular.  I wish there were smell-o-vision so you could catch the heavenly scent.
Each of these clusters was about 12 inches long. 
Look how beautiful up close. 

 On another part of the grounds is this lovely flowering tree.  No idea what it is, sorry! I disturbed a mom with her baby who were relaxing in the shade on a quilt. 

The blooms are as large as my palm.  Next to it is another Trumpet Tree like I showed last year.

 It is nearly done blooming, but the remaining daffodil-like yellow flowers are still pretty. 

There are these very long and fuzzy seed pods all over the tree--each about 8-9 inches long.  I wonder what the seeds inside look like.

One final closer photo of the rather impressive-sized bougainvillea at the base of the clocktower.  It isn't blooming as prettily as some around the city, but is nice to look at anyway.  And now, more baby spam.

Grandson Cove is one month old today!  I held him for an hour this evening after work while my daughter caught a much-needed nap.  Love that Mimi time!




12 comments:

Janet O. said...

That looks like a lovely place to wait for a bus! I am jealous of all the beautiful flowers you have blooming. My first daffodils just opened today.
Cove looks SO sweet!!

Nana B said...

No blooms here yet but it is a balmy 16 degrees F.

Kate said...

I'm happy to see it's really spring someplace. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever see it.

Cole is definitely a little cutie. Glad you got some time in with him.

Abby and Stephanie said...

Sunny, warm, gorgeous. One of my favorite scents of California is when the the orange groves are in bloom and the air is filled with sweetness. I do wish someone would come up with scratch and sniff technology for the computer. However, Cove is baby sweetness all over the place!

Dogwood Lane Rambles said...

Those beautiful blooms are wisteria not lilac(a rose by any other name smells just as sweet). Santa Barbara is one of my all time favorite places one of the few in California that feels old don't you think? My husband was a seminarian at the mission there in the 1960's so he knows it very well. We met 2 years after he left the seminary but his mother never forgave me, she was convinced that he would have gone back if not for me!!

Pokey said...

What a beautiful place to go to every day, makes getting off the bus a little brighter. It's nice to see a community take pride in its heritage.
Your lil' guy is so cute! I would be wantin' to snatch him up on every possible opportunity ~
:-}pokey

carol fun said...

Thanks for the beautiful pictures - I agree Santa Barbara is such a lovely place and I have a special affinity for old courthouses. They have such personality. Oh all those lovely flowers - wouldn't smell o vision be great? Daffodils here are just poking up, but they are saying we'll have upper 60s by next week. Can't wait.

PS -- Love the baby spam -- he is so cute!

Shay said...

That is the nicest looking courthouse I've ever seen. Not at all clinical and scary looking like most courthouses. The gardens are just a delight to look at.And I like that they obviously encourage people to actually use the garden instead of having signs up saying "Stay off the grass"

This Nanna jig is a hoot isnt it?



Mary said...

Cove is such a cute baby!

Tanya said...

So much more greenery and color than I have around my house yet... Cove is getting to look like a little boy rather than a newborn!

Lorraine said...

Lovely pics of the building and gardens! Gosh that little Cove is cute!!

Sarah said...

Funny how the same flowers and trees grow in your gardens as in South Australia! Wisteria is one of my favourite plants, pity about the hay revert causes. Cove is looking so grown up. I think it is all the hair!

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