Brian Smith's Photos

Santa Barbara, Monet and Santa Ynez Wine Country

Two days down south — a full day working between the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara, then a quieter morning on the trail before heading home.

Santa Ynez, First Thing

Started out in the valley with a Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, and the hills still holding a bit of haze.

A Northern Mockingbird perches on a branch heavy with orange berries, its long tail angled down against a pale lavender sky. — Santa Ynez views – Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos

Dense green shrubs and trees fill the foreground, with layered blue-purple mountain ridges receding into the distance beneath a pale, overcast sky. — Santa Ynez views

Rugged, dry hills of the Santa Ynez range rise beneath a heavy, overcast sky, with sparse trees dotting the slopes. — Santa Ynez views

From Monet to Matisse

Then into Santa Barbara for the museum — the Impressionist show was the reason for the detour, and worth it. Phone only in here.

A framed pointillist painting of a Gothic cathedral on a hill, rendered in tiny dots of blue, purple, and orange against a pale sky. — Santa Barbara, From Monet to Matisse

A hazy impressionist painting of a bridge over water with a tall church tower in the distance, framed in gold. — Santa Barbara, From Monet to Matisse

A gold-framed painting of a moonlit landscape with a stone tower and cottages on a hillside, signed Henri Rousseau 1889. — Santa Barbara, From Monet to Matisse

The Waterfront

Down to the harbour afterwards, which was busy with pelicans, terns and gulls. Brown Pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis, up close, then a squabble over fish scraps, and a Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis, further out.

Pelicans, gulls, and terns stand and fly on a wet sandy beach with shallow water and a grassy bank in the background. — Santa Barbara views – with Pelicans, Terns and Gulls

A brown pelican with a yellow head and long beak stands on a wooden surface, wearing a blue leg band. — Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis

A brown pelican with a bright yellow head and long beak stares forward against a plain lavender sky. — Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis

A flock of gulls and dark seabirds scramble and splash on the water's surface, wings spread, while one gull floats calmly to the left. — Gulls mob each other for the fisherman’s spoils

A cluster of dark, ribbon-like seaweed floats on the surface of calm, blue-green water, its fronds spreading out in a loose, tangled arrangement. — Seaweed

Two Western Grebes float on calm water, one dipping its head to drink while the other looks ahead. — Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis

Back to the Valley

Out to Santa Ynez again in the afternoon for the wider views, then on to Lincourt, and Los Olivos once it got dark.

Golden-brown hills and distant blue mountains rise above a valley of scattered trees, framed by dark shrubs in the foreground under a cloudy sky. — Santa Ynez views

Sunlit golden hills of the Santa Ynez range rise above a blurred green foreground, with layered clouds drifting across a blue sky. — Santa Ynez views

A glass of red wine sits on a table overlooking a vineyard at Lincourt Winery, with a white fence and distant hills under a cloudy sky. — Lincourt Winery

Rows of green grapevines on wooden posts stretch toward a tree line and distant hills beneath a blue sky filled with white clouds. — Lincourt Winery

A pale, cloudy sky framed by dark, heavily pixelated tree silhouettes with a thin wire and small post crossing the lower center. — Los Olivos

A weathered wooden utility pole with crossarms and wires rises from dark shrubbery against a pale, overcast sky. — Los Olivos

Lover’s Loop Trail

The next morning, a slower one on foot — the trail runs up into the Santa Ynez mountains, so it kept us in the same country as the day before. An Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus, and a pair of California Scrub-Jays, Aphelocoma californica, within the first few minutes.

A California Scrub-Jay perches on a lichen-covered branch, its blue and grey plumage contrasting with the pale sky and dry oak leaves. — California Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma californica

A male Acorn Woodpecker with a red crown and white face perches on a broken tree stump. — Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus

California Scrub-Jay perched on a lichen-covered branch, holding a small nut in its beak. — California Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma californica

Rugged, eroded hills with exposed pale rock and sparse vegetation rise under a heavy, overcast sky, framed by dark green shrubs in the foreground. — Lover’s Loop Trail views

Rugged, dry hills with sparse vegetation and scattered trees rise under a dramatic, overcast sky at Lover's Loop Trail in California. — Lover’s Loop Trail views

Then a California Aster, Symphyotrichum chilense, a pine cone worth stopping for, and a Southern Alligator Lizard, Elgaria multicarinata, out on the path.