The Home Page | Sunrises, Sunsets, and Spooky Surroundings

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on March 31, 2024. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletter

I sure hope you’ve all been able to get outside and experience the amazing sunsets we’ve been enjoying here lately. I call this “sunset season,” and it makes me able to (almost) cheerfully wave goodbye to summer. The shot above was taken this week at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, where the sheep and their adorable guard dogs are hard at work keeping invasive grasses at bay.

Also hard at work up at the preserve last week were mom-and-daughter real estate team Dianne and Brianna Johnson, who volunteered as docents with Channel Islands Restoration. Check out CIR’s site for information on how you can help, too.

The sunrises have also been brilliant, and this is the time of year for you not-so-early birds to get out and catch the first light of day. I took the photo above at East Beach on Friday morning at about 7 a.m. In addition to the brilliant sky, my workout pals and I were delighted by a large pod of dolphins swimming by. The warm ocean water is a draw as well. Do I have you setting your alarm yet?

While I have dubbed this sunset season, the candy in the grocery store aisles and the decor around town is an obvious sign that it’s getting closer and closer to Halloween as well. The house shown above is not from around here — in fact, it’s photoshopped by a pretty cool Instagram account that’s sure to put you in the spirit. I would love to share your neighborhood’s Halloween decor. Send me a photo and tell me where it was taken. Let’s enjoy the shorter days and spooky surroundings together!

I gotta get back to work: We’re prepping for our BIG Best of Santa Barbara® issue publishing next Thursday, October 19, and it’s an all-hands-on-deck project. But don’t miss this week’s issue. All sorts of news, events, foodie fun, and plenty of real estate info is waiting for you. Enjoy!