Waking Up with the Trees at Goleta Beach

In 2008 I spent several months in Santa Barbara, California during which time I made new friends, discovered new flora, and learned what it’s like to live within walking distance of a warm, sandy beach.

I’m a forest-dweller at heart, so learning to live among the Santa Barbarians took a little getting used to. To find balance I sought out the Manzanita (Arctostaphylos), the Guava (Acca sellowiana), the Fig (Ficus macrophylla), the Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), and of course, the ever-present Palm (Arecales). Unfortunately I didn’t grab enough pictures of the Oak trees (Quercus), Pepper trees (Schinus molle) , Sweet gum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua), Citrus, and countless other species planted in the area, to say nothing of the ever-popular succulents and other flora which would never survive outdoors at my northern latitude in Kitsap County, Washington.




Most palms are not native to southern California (which is true of many plants now growing in SoCal), but I don’t discriminate. Every morning during my stay I trucked myself up to Goleta Beach Park to enjoy the friendly waves of palms, the familiar tinkle-knocking of the wind sculpture, and the warm-cold water and squishy sand on my bare feet (and usually well up my legs). Fortunately, clothes dry fast in a place like Santa Barbara. If you arrive early enough, the only people you’ll see are the usual van-campers (I’m sure the locals have a name for these guys), the ever-present surfers, and a handful of early morning beach-watchers and beach-walkers.



The trees of Goleta Beach Park include plenty of palms, eucalyptus, and a handful of evergreens which I never did identify. I believe the tall, skinny palms shown here, so familiar in Santa Barbara, are Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia robusta). If you spend any time in Santa Barbara, you’ll acquaint yourself with the Santa Anas – warm, dry winds which sweep across the region in the autumn and winter. They give voice to the eucalyptus and palms, and the interspersed deciduous trees which actually manage to remember to turn color and drop their leaves for the season.



In addition to the calm waters of Goleta Beach (Santa Barbara enjoys relatively calm beaches thanks to the Santa Barbara Chanel Islands, which alas I have yet to visit), there is also a small slough which is inhabited by numerous birds. Perhaps the strangest and most unexpected thing I learned about Goleta Beach during my stay was that it is a “managed” beach.

Apparently there is a seasonal cycle whereby sand is dragged out with the ocean, the beach shrinks, and then a bulldozer comes to redistribute sand and smooth out the beach for all the touristas. (Just to be clear -- I don’t pretend to fully understand the causes, impacts, and potential benefits or harms that surround these approaches to the erosion of Goleta Beach.)

I’ll say this on behalf of “managed” beaches – they’re fun to walk on, and perhaps that’s the point. I wouldn’t trade a hundred Goleta Beaches for the rocky, windy, salt-splashed beaches of Washington State, but I did enjoy every waking-up moment that I shared with those quiet Santa Barbara waters, and the dolphins that swim in them.

Paths Through the Eucalyptus Trees

These paths are dominated by eucalyptus trees, but as you can see they are also home to palms and oaks. Future posts will reveal other flora not visible here. Owls, hawks, and countless smaller birds live and rest along this thin strip of forest hugging homes, bikes paths, and roadways. If you get up early while the sky is still dark, you'll hear the owls calling.

Greeting the Guava Tree

The arrival of our subtle, southern California autumn was heralded these past few months by the soft percussion of hidden guava fruits raining on the path. This happy, fruitful little guava tree is the first to greet me each morning at the front gate.

The Santa Barbara Independent recently published an informative article about two species of this small, unimposing fruit tree: strawberry guava, and pineapple guava, which grow in gardens around the area. The tree you see here is the pineapple guava variety Acca sellowiana, formerly Feijoa sellowiana.

Love Affair with the Santa Barbara Moreton Bay Fig Tree

And then I saw you, silhouetted on the sidewalk.

Like a thousand eyes watching, no part of me left unseen.

Limb by limb, shoulder by shoulder, learning you petal by petal.

Snake-like and certain, our tongues smell earth, breeze, ocean mist.

A fence may stand between us, but I still feel your electricity;

gaze on your sweet under-places luminous with sunrise.

I reach up as you reach up, bend back and breathe in;

shimmy in the warmth of new day and clap, extend a fresh leaf on each bright finger.

I take pictures of your curves so I can stare at you alone, smooth my finger along forbidden branches; sigh.

Your infinite patience dwarfs me. I leave you smaller than I began.

Quietly I admire your persistent fruitfulness, your marriage of mathematics and magic.

We listen closely together to hear above the highway, small moments flicker as shadow follows shadow.

I want to sit back to trunk with you; exhale, close my eyes and wait for understanding.

* * *

© 2008 Jade Leone Blackwater

For The Festival of the Trees 28: Art and Arboreality

October 1, 2008.

The Festival of the Trees is a monthly blog carnival hosted at a different blog each month. The theme for the Festival of the Trees 28 is "Art and Arboreality", which will be published on Wednesday, October 1, 2008.

I'm still accepting a few late entries, so if you would like to participate just follow these three easy steps:

1. Let a tree inspire you today.



2. Share your creation at your blog.



3. Email me your submission: jadeblackwater [at] brainripples [dot] com.

PS - Special preference given to all you fortunate folks seeing those beautiful autumn colors!!! Won't some kind, northerly blogger send me a sumptuous sugar maple in autumn color?