Sierra Snow

 “Snow falling soundlessly in the middle of the night

 will always fill my heart with sweet clarity” 

~Novala Takemoto,

  Missin' (Novel)

 

I never get tired of looking at the snow on the Sierras. I can stand in the valley, my favorite spots are Woodbridge road, in Lodi, and Desmond road, in Galt, and just marvel at the beauty of the hills covered in the color of snow. Like I said a while back, the San Joaquin Valley isn't home, and it will never be as beautiful or as exciting as San Francisco, but it has some unique beauty that I am really glad I got to see and appreciate in my lifetime.

 

 

The Predicament Of The Anti-Autumn

 

"To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy."

~Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

The Minds Eye:Writings on Photography And Photographers

 

Desmond Road

Galt, California

May 6th 2022

Minolta

 

 It's spring... the anti-autumn. So, when I find myself in the predicament of spring, I naturally focus my entire attention on all things associated with autumn. I read, and watch, a lot of Stephen King movies and books, and crave pumpkin pie. I think about what's in the shade of the trees on a hillside, and try to consider what is really behind all the tiny noises one hears go bump in the night. I don't like spring, but it can be as delightfully unpredictable as autumn, especially with the weather. The Bay Area is about to experience a storm that is promising rain in the 9 counties, snow in the foothills, and temperatures in the 30's here in the San Joaquin valley. All things fairly similar to autumn. The next few days presents a wonderful chance to do some birding, practice some black and white photography and get to know the new camera better. We were cheated out of autumn last year, so this year I want to be ready with the camera to find as much beauty as possible, even on dark spooky October days. I didn't even finish my leaf gallery last year, which hurt me a lot, that won't be happening this year!

:)

Eagle And Bear

"It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done."

~Vincent Van Gogh

I couldn't visit Lake Tahoe, without photographing at least one sculpture. The town is filled with beautiful art pieces, a lot of them are woodcarvings such as this one, which sits outside the Riva Grille. It's a powerful piece, and I've admired it for a long time! There was just something about viewing it for the first time, while it was covered in snow, that made it especially interesting to me. I should have photographed it long before now, but a part of me is glad I waited until the perfect time. I want to photograph it again, from different angles. I think this might become one of my favorite sculptures!

~Mood: Happy
~Me  :)

Ice Fringe

"Water in all it's forms is what carries

 knowledge of life throughout the universe."

~Anthony T. Hincks 

The first of the ice-sickles I saw on the way to Lake Tahoe last Saturday, were in a small runoff from the mountains into the American river, which runs along highway 50. This particular photo was taken on the south fork of the river, which runs through part of the El Dorado National Forest, just south of Kyburz, California. It's an amazingly beautiful drive, and I have done a lot of autumn photos along this same stretch of highway, it never disappoints, but this was my first winter drive through there, and I have to say, winter really rivaled autumn for most breathtaking season specific scenery I have seen in a while! Winter will never replace magical autumn in my heart, but it certainly inspired me. Especially the way the ice formed fringe on these rocks! I absolutely loved the challenge of photographing them, and I want to do more photography very soon!

South Lake Tahoe

 

I am planning another trip to north in a few weeks, so keep checking back for more winter photos! Tomorrow I will post the last of my photos from last Saturday. There are still plenty of snow scenes to share with you!

~Mood: Happy
~Me   :)

The Ghosts Od Fallen Leaves

"Are ye the ghosts of fallen leaves, O flakes of snow, for which, through naked trees, the winds A-mourning go?"

~John Banister Tabb 

Last Saturday was a good day to visit Lake Tahoe. There had been about four days since the last serious dusting of snow had come through the hills, and it was a balmy 25 degrees outside, so I made the most of the weather, and got my butt up to the Sierra! As you will see, these are not my best photographs, because I need a lot more practice with the color white. Shrug. Practice makes perfect, so I am hoping to get back up to the Sierra in the coming weeks. Perhaps I will visit a different part of Tahoe next time, or maybe even a different side of the foothills. I'd love to go to Yosemite or maybe Plumas county. I'm not sure right now what my destination will be, but no matter where I end up, it will be beautiful, because there will be snow, and perhaps even an autumn leaf or two. Well, I hope so anyway. 

I will be posting more photos from my trip to Lake Tahoe later this week, so be sure to check back. Next up... Fun With Ice-sickles!

~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

Full Snow Moon (February 2019)

"Why does February feel like one big Tuesday?"

~Todd Stocker

I haven't posted much here lately, but I have been managing some photography to keep my creative juices flowing. I will be catching up my blog with plenty of posts this week. Words may be few however, because my carpal tunnel is still flaring pretty badly. But, in times like these, I am trying to I remember Steven encouraging me to do photography around the house, and maybe the yard, to get me through between photo jaunts. He gave me some good advice, photographing simple subjects really does help.

So, if you check my Twitter timeline, you will see lots of photos of my lunches and the cats, and I even did a few videos, which was fun too, but it's this kind of photography I enjoy the most. The kind where I check the weather, plan out the clothing I will need, and then go out and get the photo! Fortunately, all I had to do was step off the porch to accomplish it. I love photographing the full moon. I have been doing it since my early days on AOL, and Ive never gotten tired of it. The moon is an old friend, comforting and trustworthy, mysterious and beautiful. That is the best of everything, rolled up into one perfect subject!

From February 18th 2019

~Mood: Okay

~Me

Last Years Day Of Winter

I do an awful lot of thinking and dreaming about things in the past and the future... the timelessness of the rocks and the hills... all the people who have existed there. I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape... the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."

~Andrew Wyeth

I took this photo last February, on a trip to Camino to see the snow. Camino isn't that far away, maybe 90 minutes or so, but the drive is lovely through the back country of the Central Valley. It's a peaceful drive, although cow repetitive. That's okay, I enjoy cows. They are awkward and fun. A cow has to be a cow, right? Anyway, I could get used to living with some space, the trouble is, the further from the city you get, the bigger the spider. Spiders keep me from living in the country. Spiders and snow. Snow, pretty to look at, but I am not sure I would want to live there. Well, then again, I suppose I could try it. 

~Mood: Quiet
~Me :)

Late Autumn Daydreams Of Winter And Summer

Snow Mail

March 3rd, 2018

Placer County, California

Nikon

 

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."

 

~Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

&

Through The Looking Glass

 

We are getting late in the year, so this post consists of photos that I took this past year, and for whatever reason I chose to not post. Some of them probably didn't fit with the subject I was addressing, or maybe I just wasn't feeling particularly creative in the moment, who knows? But I learned a long time ago, from my friend Steven, that it's always a good idea to go through your photographs at the end of a year, and take a second look around. You might just find a gem, here and there, that will touch something inside you, long after the original moment of inspiration is over. I learned so much from him, sigh, I miss him very much! By the way, if you look very closely at the snow photo above, you will see a few little flakes of snow that were beginning to fall, just as I took the picture. It made me so happy inside, to have that moment really come together!

 

White Prickly Poppy

June 17th 2018

Cull Canyon

Nikon

 

#76 Leaf Of The Day

December 7th, 2018

Photographed  November 21st 2018

Sacramento, California

Samsung

 

 

~Mood: Quiet

~Me 

Snow In The Abstract

 June 2nd, 2015

"It was a curious day, slashed with fleeting,

 familiar impressions."

~F. Scott Fitzgerald 

One day, during the summer of 2015, I was getting my car washed and the soap was flowing down the window in such a way that it reminded me of an abstract scene of Aspen trees covered in ice and snow. I had seen some trees, covered in snow, years ago, in the Sierra, and one particularly cold January day in the Berkeley hills and again in 2014 on Mount Hamilton road. Aspen trees are so beautiful in autumn, their leaves look like tiny lemon drops, and even in winter, when they are completely bare, there is something beautiful about the way ice and snow hug the branches. 

The day I took that photo it was 103 outside. Dry as dust, and I was about as far from winter as I was going to get! I suppose I was feeling lonely for a truly cold day. It was June 2nd, 2015, which is granted, still spring, but summer heat sometimes imposes itself with no attention paid to whether I was ready for it or not. Seasons do that. How about you? Do you see abstracts in silly patterns like soap, or maybe clouds? Everyone sees shapes in clouds. My friend Steven once told me he saw bunnies in clouds no matter what kind of clouds would be floating above him. I guess on that day I saw trees, with a few leaves covered in snow.

 Sierra Nevada, November 2016

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Colors Of What Is To Come...

"Orange is one of God's favorite colors... he stuck it right there between red and yellow as the second color in the rainbow. He decorates entire forests with shades of orange every autumn. It shows up in sunrises at the start of the day, sunsets at the end of the day, and in the glow of the moon at the right time night."

~Reggie Joiner

The Think Orange: 

Imagine The Impact When Church And Family Collide

I have been sick since December 23rd. I am better... much better... but I haven't had a chance to do any real photography since the clock struck midnight on January 1st. With the weather as cold as it is, it's snowing in the foothills and you can feel it here in Stockton, and getting back on the mend, means that I will be doing my photography in the house or at least nearby. I did get to San Ramon yesterday, and managed to photograph the last of a really lovely Dogwood tree I came across, but I only got a few photos done before the rain started, and I didn't want to risk making my departing cold change it's mind. 

Still, it made me happy to get out, and to move with the camera a bit. Next weekend I plan to go and do some photography, no matter what the weather brings, even if it is just around Stockton! Hey, you never know what you will see even in your own neighborhood! And besides, it's good to clear the mind of all the mess and noise. 

You know what mess! And you know what noise! Do I say his name? Do I call him president? Right now I can't bring myself to give him that distinction. I know he is the worst thing that has happened to America in my lifetime. And I know that its going to be a rough road ahead. 

I have Alan. I have the fur babies. I have my friends. My democratic friends anyway, I may lose more than on republican friend before this nightmare is over. SO. BE. IT. I also have my creativity. My camera. My heart. So perhaps I can expand on my creativity a bit this year. Visit new places. And maybe go back to some type of therapy, not just to fight this damn depression but to save my own life, and take some pressure off Alan. He holds me together very well, but it's not his responsibility... is it? It's up to me to get myself together, and do what I have had to do in the past. Work through it, and get to a place of health and healing. I don't know what road I will go down. Avoidance? Maybe.

So... off I go. More to come. But for now...

Winter Leaf

January 2nd, 2017

Mood: Quiet

~Me

 

Autumnal Sunshine

"I cannot endure to waste anything so precious

 as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."

~Nathaniel Hawthorne

The American Notebooks

Notebook: October 10th, 1842

Alan and I went for a ride for the first day of November. This autumn is only at the half way point, so I am prepared to chase it for as long as I can, and my darling husband supports me in my creativity, so off we went for Cisco Grove park. The rain and snow from the day before had unfortunately did some early damage to the usually lovely Aspen trees.

There wasn't much to be photographed, although I did get a few shots there, but after we realized that there was little to do there, we decided to continue on to Donner Lake, and then into Reno! We had a blast, and I will share more about our adventure as the week progresses on! But for now, let me show you some of the most beautiful of the sights we were treated to along the way! Most of them along HWY 80 around Donner Summit, and just west of Reno, Nevada. My cameras got quite a workout!

Stay Tuned. There's More To Come!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Thankfulness

"Even in the midst of the storm, the sun is still shining."

~Dayna Lovely

California is finally getting rain! And snow! I love a cold, dark, rainy Thanksgiving, because it makes for a cuddly, lazy day with Alan and the boys. It's been forever since we all took a long nap together, while the cold rain outside sang us to sleep. I am hoping for rain on Thanksgiving, but alas, I think it will only be partly cloudy. Oh well, that's fine, bottom lining it we are together, and happy, and yes, THANKFUL. While 2015 has been nothing short of turbulent, it's also held some wonderful surprises! After all, we had NO idea we would be in our own home this year, and yet here we are, and despite all the uncertainty we are happy. That's because of the love we feel for each other, the fur babies included, we are just happy we are together, nothing else matters.

And for that I am truly thankful!

Leaf Of The Day

November 25th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)