Yes, we have noticed some yearning, longing, homesick kinda feelings creeping into our psyches lately.  Like there’s some kind of homing device built into our operating systems, some kind of self-regulating timer: ET phone home?  Is it built into our molecules?  Like the way fish automatically navigate upstream?  Is there a home port encoded in some part of our brains, perhaps the primal, repitilian brain?  Well, whatever it is, we’ve been feelin’ it.  Some mornings I just want to pull on boots and jeans and saddle up for a ride.  And we sure miss our kids, grandkids, friends, and families!  Not that we’re going to go rush out and jump on a plane home…  no way!  We LOVE Buenos Aires!!  But in a few months, when our endless summer finally turns to fall, it’ll be time to head back to the states.

I really miss the Salinas River: out my back door, over the hill, down the trail thru the canyon.  A 20 minute hike and you’re in paradise!

Salinas River not far from its headwaters

Ben says he misses Yosemite in winter:

view from Glacier Point

Half Dome

 doesn’t get any prettier than this!

A couple of winters ago we stayed overnight at the Ahwahnee. Tromping around in the snow on that still cold morning was absolutely awesome.  Not to mention the delight of a cozy indoor lounge where one can kick back, read the paper and drink coffee in the midst of unforgettable scenery.  And be grateful that there’s no fast food joint in the valley… yet.  Or is there?

Yep, the guy misses Big Macs.  Not that there’s none to be had in Buenos Aires.  But I won’t go there unless I’m famished and even then only if there’s nothing else to eat for 20 miles in any direction.  So we actually haven’t tried the Big Macs here… not yet!

What else do I miss?  Well, buckle up, because my list is a lot longer than Ben’s.  Is that ’cause I’m a woman, or ’cause I’m spoiled (yes, please!) or what?  First of all I miss my two amazing kids and my family and Ben’s family and all my super wonderful friends back home.  I MISS YOU ALL!!!  Big hugs!!!

Here’s the rest of my list:

my apricot tree on the ranch

Last year’s apricots were a bumper crop!  Here’s the back of my old ranch house, facing the hills. The apricot tree is just to the right, near the barn, out of sight of the camera.

I love cactus and agaves

The organ pipe cactus flowers only once or twice a year, always in the hottest weather, and only at night.  They are amazingly beautiful:

la flor del nopal

A few summers ago we had a midsummer milonga at the ranch and the flowers bloomed that evening!  That was a magical full moon night!

Here’s the back yard in spring:

you'd be homesick too!

The firepit is on the left behind the plum tree, and the apricot tree to the right is just beginning to flower.  Those are oak trees on the hill.  In the front of the house, big shade trees surround the lawn. Look for their reflections in the windows:

We redid the front porch a few years back.  I used to take friends with kids to the river for play days.  Just the other side of the hill behind the ranch:

kids having fun at the swimming hole

pretty granite outcroppings along the Salinas river

And of course the ranch wouldn’t be a ranch if it weren’t for all the pretty horses:

Stormy kinda scruffy in her winter coat

Here she is with a friend, showing off her summer color, dulce de leche:

Stormy and Batman like visitors

We like visitors too…  when we’re not somewhere in a distant hemisphere!

Today we got up at noon, after a great evening spent dancing at La Nacional.  We went for a walk in the park.  We like the Andalusian patio near the Rosedal, a gift from the city of Sevilla to Buenos Aires:

it's summer here in the southern hemisphere!

Ben’s wondering why there’s no water in the fountain in the middle of summer.  Who’s robbin’ this train, anyhow?

He likes café dobles on ice

There’s a couple more things I miss.  Almost at the top of my list is Mission San Miguel.  Built in 1797, our local mission is an irreplaceable, beautiful and spiritual anchor for north county.  The mission is still in use as a parish church.  After being closed to the public for six years after the San Simeon quake of 2003, the church re-opened on September 29, 2009. The original murals inside the church, painted by Salinian Indians, are still intact, although extensive restoration had to be done after the quake. And the colorful history of San Miguel Mission is proof that truth is stranger than fiction! (Mark Twain)

Mission San Miguel

the courtyard

the fountain

Last but not least, check out my totally wabi-sabi pump house on the ranch:  is this a Western classic or what?  (Careful!  black widows inside)  I sure miss the sweet water it pumps up to the house.

is this not the humblest of structures?

I guess there’s just no place like home.

Next blog up:  some great live music and Tango hints and secrets.

hmmm.... where in the world are they?