socal days
@jsanthony.bsky.social
novel writer, bird person, beach person, socal resident by default, living the dream...what was that dream again?
Saw this today. OMG, my heart! Yes! SoCal traffic! You have to pretend you're in a video game where death isn't a reality--no turn signals, no brakes, speed limits are for losers, never give ground, EVER. The jerk merge was invented here. Learn it or you're forever going in the wrong direction.
December 25, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Saw this today. OMG, my heart! Yes! SoCal traffic! You have to pretend you're in a video game where death isn't a reality--no turn signals, no brakes, speed limits are for losers, never give ground, EVER. The jerk merge was invented here. Learn it or you're forever going in the wrong direction.
the winter solstice. it may get colder, but it won't get any darker.
December 21, 2025 at 10:31 PM
the winter solstice. it may get colder, but it won't get any darker.
Not many waves recently, and there are hardly ever girl surfers out there, but it was fun to watch this lady working it all afternoon.
December 11, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Not many waves recently, and there are hardly ever girl surfers out there, but it was fun to watch this lady working it all afternoon.
A surprise at the beach today: Sunset, windy, the flowers were beautiful. She must have said "yes" because even though she was surely cold in that dress and her hair was blowing all over the place, they stayed for 5000 pictures. Wishing you all the best, and somewhere fancy and warmer for dinner.
November 7, 2025 at 9:36 PM
A surprise at the beach today: Sunset, windy, the flowers were beautiful. She must have said "yes" because even though she was surely cold in that dress and her hair was blowing all over the place, they stayed for 5000 pictures. Wishing you all the best, and somewhere fancy and warmer for dinner.
Sheesh. Someone (surely not a tenant) found it necessary to come to the (small, entirely unexceptional) fitness center this morning in a $400K Rolls Royce Ghost. Socal.
October 21, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Sheesh. Someone (surely not a tenant) found it necessary to come to the (small, entirely unexceptional) fitness center this morning in a $400K Rolls Royce Ghost. Socal.
Miller: 43 years old, 3 semi-adult children, just found out her college-sweetheart husband is sleeping with the mayor, needs to spend time in her grandparents' 100 yr old summer house 1000 beach miles to the north. Does not need a 29 yr old NYC bartender in her life. Welcome, he says, and smiles.
October 21, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Miller: 43 years old, 3 semi-adult children, just found out her college-sweetheart husband is sleeping with the mayor, needs to spend time in her grandparents' 100 yr old summer house 1000 beach miles to the north. Does not need a 29 yr old NYC bartender in her life. Welcome, he says, and smiles.
At the beach today: A bottle. Washed up on shore. Okay, a VODKA bottle. With a (slightly damp) message inside! How exciting! Four words. One name. A smiley face? How strange. Whatever's going on here, the bottle's journey is not yet over. Back in the ocean. Be well.
October 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
At the beach today: A bottle. Washed up on shore. Okay, a VODKA bottle. With a (slightly damp) message inside! How exciting! Four words. One name. A smiley face? How strange. Whatever's going on here, the bottle's journey is not yet over. Back in the ocean. Be well.
At the beach, only birds: Two Ring-billed Gulls. Two (quiet for a change) Least Terns. Three Marbled Godwits (long black-tipped bill) and five Willets (shorter bill, white underparts)--these guys always hang around together, they like each other a lot. And one Dog. Also, peace.
October 1, 2025 at 2:12 AM
At the beach, only birds: Two Ring-billed Gulls. Two (quiet for a change) Least Terns. Three Marbled Godwits (long black-tipped bill) and five Willets (shorter bill, white underparts)--these guys always hang around together, they like each other a lot. And one Dog. Also, peace.
What I saw on my "nature" walk. The local Red-Shouldered Hawk perched in a new location on a light pole above Hot Yoga. Beautiful but deadly for gophers, mice, chipmunks, rabbits, snakes, insects and even other birds. Lovely thing, are you the reason for all the dead squirrels I've been seeing?
September 4, 2025 at 6:44 PM
What I saw on my "nature" walk. The local Red-Shouldered Hawk perched in a new location on a light pole above Hot Yoga. Beautiful but deadly for gophers, mice, chipmunks, rabbits, snakes, insects and even other birds. Lovely thing, are you the reason for all the dead squirrels I've been seeing?
A "nature" walk on the pier. The snowy egret won. The two sargo perch, caught by snagging, did not win.
August 19, 2025 at 9:12 PM
A "nature" walk on the pier. The snowy egret won. The two sargo perch, caught by snagging, did not win.
It's important to keep up with custom car color trends. Last year the look was neon green and yellow, with hot pink thrown in here and there, all of it possibly an expensive mistake. This year, things have calmed down considerably and matte army-adjacent green may stay a while.
August 13, 2025 at 10:01 PM
It's important to keep up with custom car color trends. Last year the look was neon green and yellow, with hot pink thrown in here and there, all of it possibly an expensive mistake. This year, things have calmed down considerably and matte army-adjacent green may stay a while.
Backyard "nature" update (and it's not even my backyard!) Weird cat gone, mourning dove babies are here. Cute, but they need to clean the place up a little.
August 13, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Backyard "nature" update (and it's not even my backyard!) Weird cat gone, mourning dove babies are here. Cute, but they need to clean the place up a little.
Backyard "nature." The 3rd generation mourning dove in her favorite nesting spot, still as a sculpture, waiting quietly for whatever it feels like to lay an egg. The neighborhood "death cat", odd in appearance, likes to run in front of cars. May one of these two never find the other one.
July 22, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Backyard "nature." The 3rd generation mourning dove in her favorite nesting spot, still as a sculpture, waiting quietly for whatever it feels like to lay an egg. The neighborhood "death cat", odd in appearance, likes to run in front of cars. May one of these two never find the other one.
What I saw at the beach today: Cloudy skies. Crowds, hoo-boy, summer is here. A flock of funny-looking Whimbrels, voice: "a rapid series of high-pitched whistles." Also, one very much alone guy that I THINK is a juvenile Western Gull, though darker than most, and gorgeous, whoever he is.
July 13, 2025 at 3:43 AM
What I saw at the beach today: Cloudy skies. Crowds, hoo-boy, summer is here. A flock of funny-looking Whimbrels, voice: "a rapid series of high-pitched whistles." Also, one very much alone guy that I THINK is a juvenile Western Gull, though darker than most, and gorgeous, whoever he is.
What I saw on my walk: Someone with a very small plane, some flying skills and time on their hands. Twelve so far, not all perfect, seemed like the design hadn't quite been thought through. Impressive, a little strange. Oops, there he goes again. Skywriter.
July 9, 2025 at 3:29 AM
What I saw on my walk: Someone with a very small plane, some flying skills and time on their hands. Twelve so far, not all perfect, seemed like the design hadn't quite been thought through. Impressive, a little strange. Oops, there he goes again. Skywriter.
The rip tides at the beach have been off the charts. This is a screen shot from 4th of July drone footage posted on "thelifeguardproject" Instagram account. TWELVE people rescued. Magnify the photo and you can see some of them. Lifeguards? There are no words, no praise is high enough..
July 6, 2025 at 3:14 AM
The rip tides at the beach have been off the charts. This is a screen shot from 4th of July drone footage posted on "thelifeguardproject" Instagram account. TWELVE people rescued. Magnify the photo and you can see some of them. Lifeguards? There are no words, no praise is high enough..
At the beach: Sun. Blue sky. Blue water. So many people. A just caught croaker fish giving one great thrashing leap out of the bucket--I might have screamed. A black cat on a leash. The scary rescue of a swimmer caught in a rip tide. Guards, the kindest people you will ever know.
July 5, 2025 at 4:58 AM
At the beach: Sun. Blue sky. Blue water. So many people. A just caught croaker fish giving one great thrashing leap out of the bucket--I might have screamed. A black cat on a leash. The scary rescue of a swimmer caught in a rip tide. Guards, the kindest people you will ever know.
The spring explosion of lavender has begun to fade from the jacaranda trees. Not a native, I am constantly surprised that I now live where there are palm trees, let alone jacarandas. In the library parking lot today, license plates from Massachusetts, Colorado, Texas. Are they also surprised?
June 21, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The spring explosion of lavender has begun to fade from the jacaranda trees. Not a native, I am constantly surprised that I now live where there are palm trees, let alone jacarandas. In the library parking lot today, license plates from Massachusetts, Colorado, Texas. Are they also surprised?
What I saw today on my "nature" walk: the resident osprey, a turkey vulture, five small alligator lizards, a grasshopper, a very pale praying mantis, an untouched dead squirrel that looked as if it had just fallen from an overhead branch, and, please tell me why, an egg yolk yellow cybertruck.
June 11, 2025 at 3:38 AM
What I saw today on my "nature" walk: the resident osprey, a turkey vulture, five small alligator lizards, a grasshopper, a very pale praying mantis, an untouched dead squirrel that looked as if it had just fallen from an overhead branch, and, please tell me why, an egg yolk yellow cybertruck.
What I've apparently seen on my patio for the LAST TIME! I won! It's a miracle! My enemy is vanquished, or at least re-directed to someone else's patio, where he can kill THEIR plants. I'm perfectly capable of killing my own plants, thank you. The answer? Peppermint oil. Strange but true.
May 23, 2025 at 8:30 PM
What I've apparently seen on my patio for the LAST TIME! I won! It's a miracle! My enemy is vanquished, or at least re-directed to someone else's patio, where he can kill THEIR plants. I'm perfectly capable of killing my own plants, thank you. The answer? Peppermint oil. Strange but true.
What I saw on my "nature" walk: A woman in Spandex standing by her BMW, staring up at the light pole above the intersection. "Some kind of hawk," she says, pointing. "I worry that he's stuck." "It's just the crazy local osprey," I tell her, "eating his daily fish." Now two of us know he's there.
May 21, 2025 at 5:17 PM
What I saw on my "nature" walk: A woman in Spandex standing by her BMW, staring up at the light pole above the intersection. "Some kind of hawk," she says, pointing. "I worry that he's stuck." "It's just the crazy local osprey," I tell her, "eating his daily fish." Now two of us know he's there.
What I saw on my "nature" walk: A blunt tipped arrow lying in the grass by the sidewalk. Google tells me that "blunts can reduce arrow loss during stump shooting or field practice and hit hard when hunting small game like squirrels, rabbits and birds." I'm watching the cars going by. Was it you?
May 5, 2025 at 8:42 PM
What I saw on my "nature" walk: A blunt tipped arrow lying in the grass by the sidewalk. Google tells me that "blunts can reduce arrow loss during stump shooting or field practice and hit hard when hunting small game like squirrels, rabbits and birds." I'm watching the cars going by. Was it you?