Santa Ynez Stars - Part Three

Santa Ynez has several different kind of stars. The last two posts have discussed celestial stars and "star" flowers. It has at least one other sort of star: celebrities. Santa Ynez is only two hours north of Hollywood by car and also has a private airport that will accomodate large twin engine planes and some executive jets.

Maybe you recognize these two: John Corbett (Aidan from Sex and the City) and Bo Derek. Bo lived here in Woodstock Ranch until her husband John Derek died, then moved to another home in the Santa Ynez Valley. She and John are often seen in shops in one of the Valley's towns: Santa Ynez itself, Solvang or Los Olivos. I last ran into them at Home on the Range, a clothing/jewelry/home decor store at the corner of Edison and Sagunto in Santa Ynez.

Other resident actors include Noah Wylie, Cheryl Ladd, John Forsythe, Ed Ames and Fess Parker. "Resident" may be a misnomer as some have primary residences here and others have second homes. A few of these folks are mature enough that it's fair to describe their houses as "retirement homes."

Actress/model Kelly Lebrock and her husband Steven Segal had a home in the Valley. They split and Steven decamped. A remarkable horsewoman, Kelly has a local ranch with extensive equestrian facilities.

The music world has its representatives, too. David Crosby of Crosby, Still, Nash & Young lives in the Valley. A less recognizable name but a lyricist whose words are remembered around the world is Bernie Taupin, Elton John's composing partner.

During training season, Lance Armstrong can be spotted in the Valley. He and his team use the road over Figueroa Mountain as conditioning for the Tour de France or the Amgen Tour of California.

I'm sure other celebrities frequent the Valley but have managed to stay below the radar.

Santa Ynez Moonrise

hills
Originally uploaded by Neil and Sarah

Santa Ynez isn't known for its nightlife but it does offer some magnficent sights at night. The moon was full yesterday and gorgeous in a virtually cloudless sky.

Here in Woodstock Ranch we are removed from any light pollution, and the nightime sky is crowded with stars, more stars than I ever remember seeing whether I was in Greenland or the Galapagos. Surely, my memory must be wrong but the evening displays are indeed spectacular. The vastness of the starry canopy is sure to make your problems feel insignificant.

The Valley has an active Save our Stars campaign which is part of the Women's Environmental Watch. My friend Nancy Emerson of Solvang has done a terrific job of educating people about ways to avoid light pollution.

I should add that Santa Ynez does have a bit of nightlife. Several of the cafes have live performers on Friday or Saturday. Fess Parker (remember him as Davy Crockett?) plays the piano and sings some Thursday nights at his inn in Los Olivos. The Maverick Saloon has dancing Friday and Saturday night with a live band on Saturdays. Tales from the Tavern is a series of concerts by notable performers organized by Ron and Carol Cologne and Suzie Trubitz. The Chumash Casinio is open 24 - 7 and brings in live acts. Earlier this week I saw Alan Jackson's tour bus pulled up behind the Casino Hotel.

But I confess I prefer watching the stars up above.

SantaYnez Greens

Santa Ynez has so many different shades of green in the spring. I imagine a copywriter for a paint company coming up with catchy names to capture the essence of the colors: Sag Harbor Green, Arctic Green, Sprout Green, Slate Green, Marsh Green - well, maybe not Marsh Green. That could evoke an unpleasant image. I'm posting a photo of the panoramic view from Ridgeline Ranch. What monikers can you come up with?

I suppose some may have thought the title of this posting referred to golf greens. I'm not much of a golfer - I once won a prize once for high gross - but I do know there are several courses in the Valley. The River Course at Alisal Ranch is in Solvang. It's a gorgeous public course. The Alisal also has a private course. Continuing west toward the ocean, Buellton has the Zaca Creek Course and Lompoc has La Purisima. Traveling east, we're about fifteen minutes from Rancho San Marcos which is situated off Highway 154, the route over a mountain pass between Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara. And, of course, Santa Barbara has golf courses, too.

Part of what makes Ridgeline Ranch such a rare property is its proximity to both wilderness and civilization.

Santa Ynez Skies

Santa Ynez skies have cleared. One of the special things about Ridgeline Ranch is that I can see almost 360 degrees. We have panoramic views of the sun rise and the sunset. It truly is a rare property.

Looking out to the west, like this shot, I often see fog rising up from the Santa Ynez River in the morning. Its course is 75 miles long, running from the Santa Ynez Mountains near Divide Peak through Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Solvang, Buellton and Lompoc, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Surf Beach.

Santa Ynez Birding

Lazuli Bunting
Originally uploaded by idahobirder

Santa Ynez skies are clearing. The birds are starting to sing, ready to emerge from their shelter under the foliage of the oaks and sage.

Yesterday I saw a lazuli bunting, a bird which migrates here from Mexico during the summer breeding season. Here's a picture of one of these beauties. I think I can hear one singing now, waiting for the rain to end. The song is a high strident series of warbled syllables.

Each male Lazuli Bunting sings just one song made up of a series of different syllables that is unique to him. Young males fly into on the breeding grounds without a song of their own. Shortly after arriving, a young male develops his own song. It might be a unique rearrangement of syllables, combinations of song fragments of several males, or a copy of the song of one particular older male.

Many, many people here in Santa Ynez Valley enjoy nature. There are always opportunities to learn more. I've mentioned the docent training classes at the Sedgwick Reserve. Lake Cachuma has docent training as well. Also, it features weekly birding cruises. Visitors are often treated to the sight of bald eagles who nest on the northern shore of the lake. It's thrilling to see these majestic birds in flight against the panoramic view of the mountains.

The eagles visit us in Woodstock Ranch occasionally. One afternoon as I was driving home I spotted a large bird on the ground. The bend in the road interruupted my view. When I turned the corner, there was a bald eagle feasting on a ground squirrel!

The Wildling Art Museum sponsors two multi-session of bird watching classes each year. They are taught by Fred Emerson, an MD who went back to school at Cornell to become an orinthologist. He's a marvelous teacher.

I have taken his classes at different times of the year to see different migratory species. The spots we visited included Zaca Lake north of Los Olivos to Lake Cachuma to Goleta to the Santa Ynez River as it runs through Solvang.

Santa Ynez has its own Natural History Society as does Santa Barbara. Both offer lectures periodically. Santa Barbara has a wonderful museum of natural history which is only thirty minutes away from Ridgeline Ranch.

All in all, I think this is a great place to live.

Santa Ynez in the Rain

Santa Ynez is enjoying April showers today. The entire state is low on rainfall for the year so it's good news. I'm especially happy because I enjoy wildflowers so much. More rain means a longer blooming season.

The only downside is that Fritz, Anke and I will miss our daily walk. Fortunately, Santa Ynez has a terrific YMCA that was built in the last few years. It's just about ten minutes away from Ridgeline Ranch. People from all over the Valley, including Solvang and Los Olivos, use the facility. Working out on weight machines, stationary bikes, treadmills or ellipticals is an option. Group exercise classes are scheduled throughout the day - my favorite is spinning - and there's always the pool.

Meanwhile the usual sunny panoramic vista from Ridgeline Ranch has changed. Today the sky is gray with clouds reminiscent of wave patterns on the beach. Here's a picture to show you what I mean.

Santa Ynez Conversations about Books

Monday Night Book Club
Originally uploaded by D.Z. Photography

Santa Ynez may be a rural community but it's clearly not unsophisticated. At one point last year I was in three book groups. Way too much. I'm down to two groups and one of them met today.

We're a diverse group who live and work in different parts of the Valley - mostly Solvang and Santa Ynez residents. Probably a third of us life in Woodstock Ranch. Today's hostess lives in Woodstock and has a marvelous hilltop ranch with a panoramic vista of fields and houses.

We discussed "This I Believe," a compilation of 500 word essays put together by NPR. Today's leader asked each of us to draft an essay about one of our core beliefs. Whew! It was harder than I expected.

I wrote about society's need for energy conservation to combat global warming. Living in a "green" house, that's something I feel strongly about.

Right now, though, I have strong feelings about the need for sleep!

BTW, that picture isn't me. But it seems appropriate for a posting about book groups.

Santa Ynez Conversation

Santa Ynez and its natural beauty sparks many conversations. If I could put bubbles over these pictures, I imagine Anke saying, "Wow! Lupine smells good - just like sweet peas!" Fritz replies, "I don't care. I just want some water. When is she going to be done taking our pictures?"

Anke is right. Lupine does smell like sweet peas. Cinch's pasture is thick with lupine. When I walk past it the fragrance perfumes the air. It's wonderful to be so close to the shops in Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and Solvang and still live in the middle of fields of wildflowers. And we're only thirty minutes from Santa Barbara!

It feels like I live within reach of civilization's fingertips in a tranquil post at the edge of the wilderness. Ridgeline Ranch is a rare property indeed!

Santa Ynez Views

Santa Ynez views are generally pastoral - no nighttime vistas of sparkling city lights here! But even in the context of rural scenery there are variations.

I visited a gorgeous home in Ballard Canyon Friday. The area is a favorite of bicyclists because of the winding steep hills. In fact, this year the Amegen Tour of California time trial included this route as did the Solvang Century. From the top of Ballard Canyon the view includes Los Olivos and Solvang almost all the way to Buellton. The scenery is reminiscent of the Hudson Valley School of Art - pastoral with humans and nature coexisting peacefully. The rolling pastures were typically separated by white fences. The hilltops were crowned with homes and barns. I'd say at least 75% of the view was green, and it was all beautiful.

The panoramic vista from Ridgeline Ranch is virtually all wilderness. As I look north toward Grass Mountain and Figueroa Mountain, I see no buildings. I suspect this absence contributes to the sense of tranquility and seclusion that I feel here.

One is no better than the other. It's a matter of personal taste. But I like the idea that because my view is protected wilderness, it will remain that way. That's part of what makes this a rare property.

Santa Ynez Schools

Santa Ynez Valley has three high schools and several elementary schools. I'm on the Board of Trustees at Dunn School and visited there today. That inspired me to write about our valley schools.

Two of the secondary schools are independent boarding schools that also accept day students. The third is a public school that draws students from Santa Ynez, Solvang, Ballard and Buellton.

My son's experiences as a freshman at La Canada High School caused him to retreat from education. Big classes and a tenured teacher slacker waiting for retirement turned him into an angry, indifferent student. He enrolled at Dunn School in Los Olivos as a sophomore. We followed him to this beautiful valley.

Dunn's small classes and individualized attention turned him around. He enjoyed the challenge of its advanced placement courses and its sports program. Because Dunn has international students from all parts of the globe (and all economic circumstances), he became much more of a citizen of the world. Today he's at Grinnell College in Iowa, one of the country's leading liberal arts colleges.

Our valley has another independent high school - Midland. It is also located in Los Olivos but is situated far out Figueroa Mountain Road on a former ranch and encompasses several thousand acres. It has strong academics with an emphasis on environmental education, addressing all things "green." It has a farm program and an equestrian program. The students are required to play an active role in the school's upkeep - even gathering wood to heat water for their showers. When my city boy heard that, he quickly demurred.

A sidenote is that Midland sits across the road from Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson's second home or is it his third or fourth? When Jackson was in residence, the Midland students had a direct view of fans standing outside Neverland's gate. He still owns the property but it's included in local real estate listings.

The third high school is Santa Ynez Unified High School. It has had very strong programs but has been hit hard by the budget cuts all public schools are facing.

Santa Ynez Scenery

Santa Ynez has such gorgeous weather today (mid-70s), I decided to go for a ride while Fritz and Anke were at the groomers. I picked up a Cachuma Chicken sandwich at Los Olivos Grocery and headed up Figueroa Mountain. Wildflowers blanket the roadside, and the panoramic view from the top is spectacular. Although the area is now mostly protected wilderness, a few homes were built in the last century. Some are second homes, some are retirement homes. A few homes, like ours, were built to converse energy and qualify as "green construction." These are rare properties. 

Unfortunately, I'd depleted the battery in my camera by the time I got to the top so I'll share with you a shot of Grass Mountain, also in the same mountain range. You'll notice orange splotches on the mountainside which are masses of California poppies. Spectacular!

For a number of years, Lance Armstrong and his team trained on Figueroa Mountain for the Tour de France. The Santa Ynez Valley is full of biking enthusiasts. The Amgen Tour of California has held its time trials in Solvang the last two years. There are also events for amateur riders - albeit serious amateurs. The Solvang Century (100 miles) was held last month.

While these events are interesting, I'm glad that none are scheduled - or will ever be scheduled - in Woodstock Ranch. My home is on a relatively short (1.5 mile) road that deadends so we have very, very little traffic and no noise. The tranquility and seclusion is marvelous.

Santa Ynez Morning Fog

Santa Ynez Valley was blanketed in fog this morning as happens from time to time in the spring. It adds an air of mystery to the landscape as it obscures valleys allowing only peaks to be seen. The fog hid the panoramic view I have in virtually all directions. It burned off a couple of hours ago but here's a picture of Fritz I took as the sun was rising. 

He and Anke are going for a trip to the groomer in Los Olivos this afternoon. They enjoy the TLC and I enjoy sipping a class of Brander Sauvignon Blanc in the Los Olivos Cafe while I wait. 

When I moved to the Santa Ynez Valley, I was worried I'd miss the sophistication of the city but that hasn't been the case at all. Together, Solvang, Los Olivos and Santa Ynez offer a wide variety of shops and restaurants - even live theater at Solvang's PCPA.  I'm amazed at what's available just minutes away from my ridgeline retreat. 

Santa Ynez Avian Fashionistas

Santa Ynez has an amazing variety of birds. I wanted to post a picture of a yellow-billed magpie in flight, but I'm unable to import one from the internet. I'm afraid I'm not speedy enough with my camera to capture one. These birds are incredibly dramatic and elegant when they spread their wings. Magpies have white, black, blue and irridescent hunter green feathers. The green appears at the edge of the tail and is almost like a pinstripe! The open wing has white in the center and black around the edges. The effect in the air is incredible. I think they resemble well-turned out divas at an awards show, so full of confidence they're almost brash. The pump and glide motion magpies use to fly is a model of energy conservation.

Lesser goldfinches are the opposite, darting about anxiously bringing brief grace notes to the symphony of serenity at Ridgeline Ranch. The range of lesser goldfinches is broad but their migratory pattern is still a bit unclear. I'm delighted to be on the pathway to their summer retreat. I think of Ridgeline Ranch as their second home, but perhaps that concerpt doesn't work for migratory birds. Yellow-billed magpies have a narrow range in central California oak woodlands. Because of their preference for woodlands, I rarely see them in Los Olivos and have never seen one in Solvang which is more developed.



Fortunately, the local band of magpies seems to like the Woodstock Ranch area of Santa Ynez. I enter the ranch at the intersection of Brinkerhoff and Long Valley Roads where my friends Sandy and Barry have a good-sized equestrian facility. Without fail, I see magpies perched on wires, fenceposts or even the ground at the intersection. Perhaps they're drawn by bits of hay or grain left by the horses. When they visit Ridgeline Ranch, they usually home in on the area where Cinch is fed.

Santa Ynez Tranquility

One of my favorite times of the day is morning when I sit on my patio with a mug of coffee. The panoramic view of the Sedgwick is so serene. I feel as if I'm on a retreat.

The deep silence is broken only by the call of birds. Until I left the buzz of the city and moved here, I could barely tell one bird from another. Now I know their names as well as their migratory patterns. The arrival of the red-breasted house sparrows and bright lesser goldfinch tell me Spring has arrived. The yellow-billed magpie stays with us all year because its habitat is quite limited. I must admit that with their raucous squawk and flashing black and white wings they are my favorite.

As I watch the house sparrows build their nests out of twigs and bits of lichen, I think how right it is that this house was built according to exacting green standards. It feels organic, like part of the surroundings on this rare parcel adjacent to the Sedgwick Reserve.

Although we had thought of taking advantage of the vineyard potential of the large flat area abutting the Sedgwick, I'm glad we didn't. I love walking down the old ranch road and picking wildflowers that blanket this parcel. There is a riot of yellow violets, lupine, poppies and more that I can't name.

It's hard to believe that this tranquil retreat is only ten minutes from Santa Ynez, 15 minutes from Solvang and 30 minutes from Santa Barbara.