“Court of Mysteries,” west side Santa Cruz
I took a sniff with my people along West Cliff Drive. The wind was whipping the scents up into the air, but a little rain was pushing them back down, good smells, dog postings.
This story, if you can call it that, will be mostly in pictures. Sometimes I get irritated about words. Words are overrated. Images are more direct. Smells are even more profound. I’ve marked this laptop a few times but the smells just don’t stay on the blog. I need some technical help with that. This isn’t a story but kind of a snap shot of that rainy morning, minus the urine.
We sniffed past this place called the “Court of Mysteries,” an eccentric brick castle with really tall grass. (Click on the photo to see it bigger. But you still won’t be able to smell it.)
A car I kind of like, a lowrider, like me!
Check out this low rider car. It had sort of a face, with a set of teeth at the front, a brow, a nose and was very low set to the ground. Ideal shape, a good car for a Corgi. Oh, crap, well I can’t drive. Keys allude me, among other things…(My human must have liked this car, I’m just playing along.)
There’s also, for some reason, a side view of “my” low rider car. And now a whole bunch of photos mostly of stuff we saw and me smelling stuff the humans didn’t want anything to do with.
Side view of that lowrider car.
Buddy digs a hole at the beach
Then I thought I saw my buddy Buddy. He was too intensely focused to look up. Here’s a close up. I wasn’t exactly spying on him…I’m not a creeper, but here’s a candid shot of him enjoying a good dig.
Then I realized that it wasn’t even him.
Buddy close up shot, ooops, not Buddy.
- Come on let’s get moving.
This pavement is so wonderful. Just try it. You never try it.
Then I sniffed. A lot. Did I say that already?
Okay, just a couple more photos and I’m off to micro manage that horse.
Let’s go….(loud sigh!) Wooooooof now!
Keep Moving Your Mind, Keep Moving. Move!
—Ranger the Corgi
Threatening rain brings out the best pavement smells
Analyze, scratch and sniff the spot. Remember to ignore the tugging on the leash.
And mark it!
Yellow ice plant (aka “Magic Fingers”) flower
Hey Uncle Snack Pocket, got that biscuit?
Keep moving your mind.
So, now what? Where should we go!?
The Lawn Ranger 
I didn’t even check “Like” but I don’t like this one all that much. Not my best effort but I couldn’t quite dig a hole and push it in. Best part: Low Rider Car. Next best: “Keep moving your mind,” bring you butt along as well.—Ranger
The Court of Mysteries always made me a little uneasy when I walked past it when I lived down there on Alma Street. I wonder what its story is?
It’s an odd place. Lot’s of abalone shells stuck in the walls, weird symbols, spires, boarded up windows, crows hanging around. Two brothers built this “Yoga Palace” with bricks. One of the brothers studied Eastern philosophy, the other had a goat herd in the front yard. (Goats, good idea!)
Well, now it’s for sale, only $2,750,000.
That’s a lot of dog biscuits.