Other Side of the Valley

Today and yesterday's photos are a set, taken at almost the same time and from almost the same location, but in opposite directions.  I like them together for a couple of reasons.  Combined, they show the width of Capay Valley, at least at this location which is just past the town of Capay.  I also like them for their very different lighting.  Yesterday's shot got the backlighting which gives it a lot of depth.  Today's is lit from the front with the sun behind me, and looks so flat I can't get over it!  It's got sort of a Grandma Moses feel.  Anyway, I think it's charming, and those pink trees really make me happy.  What kind of fruit tree are they, does anyone know?

Spring Fever

Spring has always been the underappreciated season for me, but living in California has changed that.  Here I think spring is the best season.  For one thing, it starts early, which I won't complain about!  And it lasts a lot longer than in the Midwest.  Also, the weather is perfect!  Today will be in the upper 60s and that's pretty typical for this time of year.  By June we'll be baking in the 90s and these hills will be back to brown...and stay that way until the next spring.  Now that I'm taking photos almost daily, I have my own definition of "Spring Fever."  It's hard to keep from heading outside with my camera!

Among the Almond Trees

I also tried photos that would look more like you were actually in the orchard.  I had a lot of trouble figuring out where to place the trees though.  Most people in my family liked the photos better when they contained a vanishing point, so I tried to work across rows but also give more of a "forest" feel.  This one is probably my favorite, although I'm not completely sure about that.  I've really lost the ability to see the forest from the trees, so to speak!  Anyway I'm done driving out here; this photo was made last weekend. 

I Need an Intervention

Subtitle:  Capay Valley #5

Pretty soon this obsession I have with the blossoming almond orchards will be OBE (My husband's Army acronym: Overcome By Events).  The blossoms will be gone, and whatever it is I'm chasing after out here will be gone too.  I saw this quote about inspiration being not about new work but about an obsession with an idea that has already been said, but not enough.  That's sort of how I feel about these orchard photos.  There's more to be said; the problem is that I keep searching for how to say it. Anyway, this one is a variation on the February 28th photo.  I just wondered how it would look with the ground covered too.  I have a few more orchard photos to post, but I'm going to alternate them with some other subject matter, for variety. 

Capay Valley 4

I have to admit, these photos are starting to cross my eyes; the possibilities seem endless to me right now, and I'm losing the ability to judge one from another.  I feel like a person with an addiction who needs help!  I want to head back to Capay one more time to get some photos when the blossoms start collecting on the ground.  Probably tomorrow, since our car is in the shop today.  I was doing a little research on California almond growing.  California produces over 80% of the world's almonds, and accounts for 100% of US production.  It turns out that the Capay Valley and Yolo County are not even close to the biggest producers of almonds; this really surprised me.  Capay Valley certainly embrace its role in almond production, with orchards extending for 30 miles up the valley.  This year's festival was the 98th annual! 

Capay Valley 3

The outer row of trees in the almond orchards all seem to have their trunks painted; either with a ring of paint as in this photo, or with the trunk completely painted.  I don't know the reason for this, but I'm guessing that the paint is enough to prevent some sort of pest from entering the orchard.  The orchards are in peek bloom this weekend.  It was somewhat overwhelming being out with my camera in all these blossoming orchards; the fragrance was so strong it made me lightheaded!

Capay Valley 2

This one is also from my drive through Capay yesterday; no new photos for today.  It already feels a little repetitive to keep posting the same topic.  Between Napa and Capay Valleys I'll try to vary things a little.  I'm just really wanting to explore these themes right now.  I don't like this one quite as much as yesterday's photo.  It does sort of remind me of prom dresses, but I've got to be looking at it upside down I think. 

Capay Valley

I've been avoiding heading back out to Capay this week because I was hoping for some different weather (less harsh sunlight).  But today I gave up waiting and went back to see how it's looking.  This orchard, and many others, are in full bloom, but there are still many orchards just beginning to bloom.  I'll try again over the weekend, and probably midway through next week too, just to see what else I can get.  I'm happy with this one though.  I like the softness of it combined with the curve of the tree trunk pattern.  It caught me by surprise.  I'm always happy when I find a photo I wasn't looking for!

Canon School

Driving around the Capay Valley for the almond festival last weekend, we stopped to check out this inviting little schoolhouse along Highway 16 between Brooks and Guinda.  The gate was open, and the schoolhouse door was open (in an "off the hinges" sort of way).  The schoolhouse seemed in fairly good shape, and maybe getting some renovation.  I hope so; schoolhouses like these offer wonderful local history!  Painted on the side of the building is "Canon School District 1868."  Also in this photo, a rare sighting of Bill who is checking out a tiny out-structure.  We thought it was an outhouse, but he told me the structure protects a small pump.

Almond Orchard

This is how most of the Capay Valley almond orchards were looking last weekend.  They were in various states of not quite ready to bloom.  I doubled back to photograph this barn because I liked the red, white, and blue effect with the sky.  Looking at it now, it seems a little washed out, but I think the colors are about right.  In previous photos I complained that the sky color was too deep.  Here the blue sky still has a winter look to it, although it's getting stronger; this photo best reflects the changing of season.  The bottom half looks like spring and the top half looks like late winter. 

And the Mustard...

It was extensive!  It's got to be one of the first things to bloom around here in the almost-spring, and it really will be everywhere soon.  Painting every roadside in a cheery spring green.  I can't account for the blue in the sky here. We are getting a stronger blue these days, but not this rich.  I wasn't using my polarizer, so I'm not sure why the sky is so deep, but I really do like it.  The sun was hot, even though it was only in the 60s, and I had to go back to the car and get a hat!  So maybe it just comes from the heat?  Beyond this extensive patch of wildflowers the pervasive brownness is still visible.  It makes this photo deceptive.  It's not really spring, but you can feel it coming.   

March 11

We drove out to the Capay Valley today for the Almond Blossom Festival.  It was one of those driving festivals where you get a map and drive from town to town.  Very beautiful out there, but it was overcast and hazy, so the photography wasn't easy today.  One thing I learned is that people in almond country don't pronounce almond like you and I do.  Out here, the word almond rhymes with salmon!  Say "salmon" and then say it again but without the "s".  That's how they pronounce it!

October 1

When I made this photo I wasn't imagining I would choose it for my photo of the day.  It was pretty much a throw away shot made during a cross country meet held at Muller Vineyard in Yolo.  I was waiting for the runners to come up a hill and noticed a break in the vine here and took the photo.  It wasn't until I saw it on the computer that I thought the vine looked like a dragon.  And such a lot of grapes he's about to eat!  I think it's hard to tell from the photo, but these grapes are turning to raisins.  Capay Valley is a new (and maybe up and coming) wine growing region east of Napa.  I'm not sure how much wine is produced from here or why this particular vineyard is going to raisin.  But the dragon is so cool!  f/3.2 at 1/500, ISO400, 80mm.