Greetings All! I've been asked to write a few words about Lompoc from the canine point of view. Since I enjoyed a nice walk today at La Purisima Mission, one of my favorite haunts, it seemed like a good subject for my first article.
While walking at the mission today I had the good fortune to run into David Wittrock, a guide from Monterey State Historic Park, who came to La Purisima to practice the art of blacksmithing. Apparently Dave appreciated my winning smile.
"That dog is grinning," he observed correctly.
Dave's hands were covered with soot, but when he kindly offered me a drink of water from a bucket in his smithy, I knew I'd made a friend. 
I stepped into his shop and saw the glowing embers of his trade. He was taking a water break himself (using his cup, not the bucket!)
Dave explained that in pre-industrial days the blacksmith was critical to a town's growth and survival. The blacksmith made everything from kettles to tools to the all-important horseshoe.
Regarding the soot that coated everything in sight, Dave joked, "You know you're a blacksmith when… the inside of your nose is black, and you can't tell what color your dog is anymore!"
If you run into Dave this Saturday (July 15th) during Mission Life Days, tell him that Griffin says, "hello." (I hope you can still recognize him; he'll be dressed in period costume!)
I left the blacksmith shop and trotted over to have a look at the farm animals. As you may already know, La Purisima keeps the same domesticated animals onsite that the mission residents actually kept years ago.
I've seen the sheep, the cows and the turkeys before, but I've never seen quite as many ground squirrels inside the fenced area as I did today! I thought I'd stumbled upon a ground squirrel farm -- and the two nice ladies behind me on the trail agreed!
I continued on my walk and headed toward the parking lot. As I neared the ranger station I looked for my friend, Paco. Paco is a Chihuahua who keeps his owner company at work in the ranger station on Fridays. It was Thursday, so Paco was nowhere in sight. (I hope to write more about Paco in an upcoming article.)
As usual, I enjoyed my visit to La Purisima Mission. I would recommend this Lompoc attraction highly to any dog and owner.
Until next time, Happy Barking!
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