"The last fling of winter is over... the earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it. It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell."
~Donald Culross Peattie
For the next five days or so, there will be some chilly weather systems moving through the Bay Area that will bring some fog, moderate rain and fairly cool temperatures, but it won't be harsh because basically, winter has already moved on. The snow last week on Mount Hamilton was short lived, but amazingly beautiful all the same, and it is more than likely the last time we will see it dusting the Diablo range this year. There will likely be a bit of a snow fall in the Sierra, but schedules being what they are, I am not sure I can make it up there to do any photography. That makes me a little sad, because our trip to Mt. Hamilton gave me a wonderful chance to experiment with lighting that I don't get to experiment with often. I loved how one moment the sun would create a halo affect around trees or branches and blossoms, but the wind around a corner and the whole scene would suddenly appear to have a blue cast on it. For an amateur such as myself, it was a lot of fun to work with!
Still, I have very few complaints about the situation with the weather. I plan to grab the cameras and head into Tilden Park for some late afternoon photography. Tilden never lets me down! There are plenty of opportunities to work with lighting and shadows. I am especially fond of the area around Little Farm and Lake Anza. Lots of birds and different kinds of trees, and if there is time, the Botanic Garden always provides some of the parks loveliest pathways and small trails. The best way to approach a day in Tilden is to plan not to plan! LOL. Just grab the cameras and let the scenes unfold without expectations. And when you finish in the park, there are usually some stunning sunsets to see! Grizzly Peak Boulevard is one of my favorite places to photograph the sun setting behind the Golden Gate. I never get tired of watching it!
Here are the remaining photos from the series I did last week in Walnut Creek and Cull Canyon Lake...
First Comes Autumn
And Now Spring
"Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be the only one of his instruments, not the composer."
~ Geoffrey Charlesworth
Proof Winter Was Here...
"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley
It will be time to feed and nurture the rose garden soon. The roses need some vitamins and a good solid dusting of cinnamon to begin the season. I am looking forward to seeing all those beautiful rose faces again! My cat Hendrix loves to eat rose petals like potato chips! LOL. He is a silly cat! He even cries for them when he sees me near them, so I always pick one or two for him. Fortunately they are one of the plants that is non-toxic to cats. No lilies for this girl! I only give him a couple petals at a time, and I only work with organic gardening products that I mostly make myself. I have to, my boy loves the roses almost as much as I do! :)
Winter was just cold enough this year to inflict a small amount of damage to the rose garden, but it's okay, thankfully, the roses are a lot smarter than I am, and they know what to do! Spring is an expert at renewing life... I will trust the season, and some TLC from me, to help the garden along. By the time summer arrives, the garden will be in all it's glory, and I can rest a bit. I chose roses that have a strong, spicy, clove scent, and some with a bit of a peach/citrus scent. It all blends together nicely, and on hot summer evenings, it makes me very happy to sit in the garden and watch the sun set!
Mood: Content
~Me :)
