Bread and Jam

I happened to stop along Dog Creek Trail on my way down from Mt. Hood a few weeks ago,

and found it a really lovely little trail!  It's just outside of Mt. Hood National Forest, and the trail is maintained by a mountain bike group.  Not too surprising once you start on the trail; I imagine it would be fun to ride on with lots of good hills and turns for mountain bikers. I of course did most of my photography at the creek. 

Subtle Sign

It's not the strongest rainbow ever, 

but all signs point to a pot of gold in that old barn.

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays to all my blog friends. 

Winter

 Blueberry field at noon.

Hood River Valley

Ah, spring!  Beautiful view of Mt. Hood

 from one of the orchards in the Hood River Valley.

Mt. Adams from Hood River

Working my way around a panoramic view from my afternoon in Hood River.  Pear tree facing south, rainbow facing west, and now Mt. Adams facing north.  This also came as a surprise to me.  The elevation changes so much that at any given time you could see no volcanoes, one, two, three, or on rare occasion four.  From this view in the hilly blueberry field, you can see Mt. Adams to the north and probably see Mt. Hood to the south, but the southern view was completely clouded over, so I'm not sure. Love all the snow on Mt. Adams!  I'm sure Hood and St. Helens will look the same once we get a clear day.  I missed seeing these snow peaks during out hot summer.

Hood River Valley

I took a little ribbing yesterday for not eating that pear, so I feel like I should put my location in context.  I was heading up the foothills along the edge of the Hood River Valley (aka the fruit loop), on a tiny named road that was really a driveway to what looked like a family compound at the top. Pear orchard to my right, and blueberry field to my left, slowly scanning the orchard for photos.  When I got to the top and turned around at the family compound, what a surprise to find a patch of bright rainbow in the valley!  One of the things that makes rainbows so wonderful is their unexpectedness, and especially at a time like this, when it wasn't even raining where I was.  I spend a good bit of time on this rainbow, and also another scene which I'll probably blog tomorrow.  So when I drove down the hill, I had forgotten all about the pears, and felt completely full from the great luck I'd just had finding a rainbow in a valley.  A rainbow photo has been on my bucket list since moving back to the Pacific Northwest, and even though rainbows are more plentiful here, I had never been in a photo worthy location when one popped up.  Hopefully someone will eat that pear though.  It did look pretty yummy! 

(One technical side note on this photo.  I used my polarizer, and it made a huge difference in how vivid the rainbow looked.  This is how it looked to me, but without the polarizer the camera captured it more washed out.  I was not imagining I'd get such good results, mainly because I don't like using it in water reflection shots, since it takes away the reflection.  So this was a learning photo for me.  Polarizer and rainbows: good)

Left Behind

One lonely pear, 

still on the tree.  

Looking really ripe, too! 

Orchard Row, Revisited

I worked on a series of photos last spring at a blossoming almond orchard in California, and when I saw this row of pear trees in Hood River last week, I was curious to see how these fall colors would compare in a similar composition.  One of the things that really fascinated me about the almond orchard in Capay, California was the slight variation in blossom color between the rows, with some rows blossoming white and others pink.  The same thing was going on in this orchard; some rows of pear trees were leafing yellow and some red.  I think the trees are spaced a little closer here, so the overall effect isn't as striking, but overall it's got a nice fall color.  If you're curious to see the blossom photos from springtime, the links are here and here.

Access Road, Pearl's Place

This orchard in the Hood River Valley is closed for the season, but the access road through the orchard still looks so inviting.  I'm not sure what variety of apple grows on these trees, but I was drawn to the pretty Granny Smith green leaf color. 

Just Out of Reach

Maybe it's just the time of year, but pears like this one always remind me of Christmas.  Just looking at this pear makes my mouth water.  It's so high in the tree that it was out of reach at picking time, so it just hung there...mocking me.

Plum Trees

Draper Girls Country Farm doesn't just sell apples and apple products.  Right now they are also selling pears and other seasonal crops.  I didn't see any plums for sale, but there must have been earlier in the season.  I found a plum under these trees, and did an internet search for plum trees in autumn; my detective work indicates that I was standing in a row of plum trees.  Who knew they turned so yellow in the fall?  I wish the light weren't so harsh on the lower right side.  I should have visited at a different time of day, I guess.

View From the Orchard

Spectacular view of Mt. Hood from the back of Draper Girls Country Farm on the Hood River Valley's "Fruit Loop."   It's a similar view from almost every orchard in the valley; such an idyllic setting to grow and sell fruit!