Princess

I don't know, but this one just suits my mood today. 
Sometimes I have to remember to not take myself too seriously.

Foxtail Flat

The west shore of Lake Berryessa has so many inlets, and they all seem to have their own name.  I think Foxtail Flat must be the name of the promontory though.  I imagine it looks like a fox tail from above.  The tip of Berryessa is only about a half hour from my house, but getting to the west shore involves a roundabout path, so it actually takes an hour to get here, and I barely made it before the sun came up.  As I drove in, I was checking out the scene, and I thought I would photograph a little island with a tree on it.  But after I parked it was nowhere to be seen.  Turns out it was the next inlet over.  I'm glad I didn't find it though because it probably would have been very cliche, and I like the organic shape of the fox tail. 

Picnic at Eatwell

Today was our third annual Pumpkin Party out at Eatwell Farm.  We each got to head out into the field and pick our own pumpkin, then share a potluck with homemade butternut squash soup supplied by the owners.  After that a tour of the fields, and then a flour milling demonstration.  From our lunch table in the "greenhouse" we had a view through the mesh netting out to one of the large chicken coops.  I thought it might photograph nicely.  It has nothing to do with pumpkins, but it does have a nice farm feel. 

Bronco Invite

Would you believe me if I said I took this photo this morning at the Bella Vista Bronco Invite cross country meet?  There's a pond in the middle of the course, and at the edge is a little floating bridge that extends out onto the pond.  It's got a white picket fence perimeter.  Some of the Laguna Creek runners were hanging out on the bridge in their red and black uniforms. 

A Path Well-Traveled

I was hoping for a "leaves no step had trodden black" photo, but all the paths I found were pretty well-traveled.  Plus most leaves were still on the trees when I visited last weekend.  I think it rained up here yesterday, so that was probably a good day for a yellow path photo.  This one was taken much later in the morning, and the light had changed quite a bit.  The leaf color is much more golden and less yellow.  I think I prefer the yellow, but I do like how the light is hitting the bark here. 

Lovely Aspen

Day 27 in black and white.  I wasn't sure I was going to get any black and whites out of this trip.  Why drive two hours up to 7000 ft. to photograph Aspens turning yellow, and then convert them to black and white?  But this one does probably look better converted.  And for Anna...love is where you find it!  :)

Carson River

The Carson River, named after Kit Carson, winds its way through Hope Valley.  This is the same river as Monday's photo ( Aspen Reflection ), but a few miles downstream so it's a very different view.  There are more rocks here, and the water is moving quite a bit faster.  This little Aspen leaf somehow managed to lodge in a safe spot between two rocks, as water rushed around it. 

Hope Valley

I have a whole new appreciation for the phrase quaking aspens after this photo shoot.  It was early morning, and so calm, but every now and then the slightest breeze would come through and really get these Aspen leaves rustling.   It was low light here, so I was trying to use a long exposure, and I really didn't want the trees quaking at all!  I'm really happy with the color here.  This is just how it looked with a lemon-lime mix of changed leaves.  I was checking the Sacbee interactive website for fall color, and they showed Hope Valley at peak color change over the weekend.  I think this is slightly before peak, but I didn't mind at all.  I just wish I would have left out that section of dark evergreen on the right. 

Aspen Reflection

The Aspens in the Lake Tahoe area are at peak color right now, so I drove up there on Saturday to get some photos.  I have a handful of Aspen photos to post this week, but this one is definitely my favorite from the trip.  I tried this type of liquid gold reflection last year too, but I'm much happier with how this one came out!   This was taken in Hope Valley along the Carson River.  I'm already thinking this one will go in my 2014 calendar :) 

Pumpkin Regatta

There were eleven entries in this year's Pumpkin Regatta at the Elk Grove Pumpkin Festival.  It's tricky to stay afloat though, and at least two pumpkins capsized or sunk.  Pumpkin number 3 was skippered by "Fearless Dave".  He got out to an early lead, and seemed to have a pretty steady pumpkin shape, so he managed to keep his lead and go on to take the 2012 Pumpkin Regatta title.

Roller Coaster Dummies

This one is from a few weeks ago when my family went to Great America's Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.  We spotted this scene after riding the Medusa roller coaster.  I wonder how often these guys get to ride?  And what's up with the red splotch on that head?

Sundial

I guess it's just a matter of time of day and time of year, but the shadows lined up just right to make a little arrow pointing at 7 o'clock.  At least that's what it looks like to me.

Catch of the Day

These fishermen where heading in to the marina in Walnut Grove.  I can only assume they had a productive morning on the Sacramento River, given all the boats out and about.  We had a beautiful reflection off the water that morning.  Even though we have still been having record-breaking heat around here, our mornings are cool and crisp, and this is a crisp morning reflection for sure.  

Delta Bridge Underpass

Day 26 in black and white. The entire delta area is an intricate web of leveed rivers, marsh land, and estuaries.  (Thank you Corp of Engineers!)  Balancing human needs and natural habitat is delicate operation involving federal, state, and local agencies.  As you drive through the delta, these little bridges are everywhere.  I was interested in the diamond argyle pattern created by the sunlight reflection here.  Lucky for me, a little fishing boat went under the bridge while I was photographing, and it stirred up this interesting wake!

Pampas Grass

We saw this grass growing along the roadside all the way up Highway 1 from where we cut in at Bodega Bay to where we turned inland north of Fort Bragg.  I was thinking the whole way along that I should stop and photograph it, but we were trying to make good time too.  I finally stopped just before we headed inland, and photographed at this Pacific coastline overlook.  It was ridiculously windy, so I had to shoot at my fastest shutter speed 1/4000.  I should have stopped sooner when the wind wasn't so strong.  Also the grass had a reddish color further south, which I did want to get in the photo.  I think this will probably be my final photo in my travel series.  Too bad.  It was such a fun trip, and I've had fun reliving it on the blog this past week.  But I've had a good chance to get caught up on things at home, and to get caught up on rest, so tomorrow will be a good day to head back out with my camera!  :)