Home Sweet Home

I was so excited to see this little chickadee checking out the wren house just feet from my kitchen window.  If he moves in it will be only the second time that I know of that birds will have nested in this house which I painted a very long time ago. (1993?)  I took a Bavarian painting class when we were first stationed in Germany, so this was one of my little projects.  I always wondered if something about the paint kept the birds away early on.  Just last week I tried turning it to more of a south-facing angle, and I'm thinking that has helped make it more appealing.  Keeping my fingers crossed for some new neighbors at the kitchen window this spring!

Blueberry Field

Green and red, but no blue in this photo; yet the red is the edge of a large blueberry field in McMinnville.  Blueberry fields are pretty common in Oregon and in Southern Washington, and I absolutely love the red color but I've been struggling with how to photograph it.  I'm on the lookout for a field in rolling hills because the red line pattern is so pretty, and it's just too hard to see photographed on a flat landscape. The rows aren't visible from this side angle, just a sea of red.  I liked the fence though, so for now I settled for this graphic composition with the fence line zipping the scene together.

Hazelnut Orchard

When I first started seeing the hazelnut orchards yesterday near McMinnville I thought the yellow color was coming from last year's leaves still hanging on the trees.  But after talking to some local farmers I learned that the hazelnut trees are actually in bloom right now.  The yellow are the tassel parts of the bloom.  The trees require cross-pollination to bloom, so I guess there are different varieties planted in the same field, and they rely on wind for the pollination.  Very windy yesterday, so maybe they'll get a bumper crop this year.  I ended up liking this orchard near the top of Dundee Hills, backlit in the early morning light.  Although I have to admit, I was a little disappointed to learn that this was what hazelnut blooming looks like.  Guess I'll have to drive back to the Hood River Valley apple and pear orchards this spring if I want some orchard blossom photos this spring.

McMinnville

Wow, are we getting the weather!  Sunny and warm until next week.  This morning I did a recon of the area around McMinnville, and as far as winter days go, I sure picked a pretty day to look around.  I saw a PBS special on the Pinot Nior region here and thought it looked like a fun place to go with my camera.  The vineyards were of course dormant, but in addition to vineyards I scouted out two other crop fields, blueberry and hazelnut.  Definitely looking forward to getting back down here in the springtime!

Northridge Loop

Well, fog seems to be the predominant weather system here this winter.  I'm not sure if this is always the case or not, but definitely the inversion pattern is the default pattern this year.  We had this in California too, especially in the valleys, so I'm used to it, but not this often.  Anyway, I took a break from some other projects I have going right now to take Clover out on this horse trails this morning.  I was thinking the green moss might be especially vibrant in this dense fog, and it didn't disappoint!  To help set the mood, it's important to know that it was 35 degrees and of course very damp.  Bone-chillingly cold actually.  It was almost completely silent, except for the constant drip of water hitting the leaves on the ground, and the echoing calls of some very large birds.  They sounded like cranes, but I couldn't tell for sure, and of course I couldn't see them.  I had another trail I wanted to try out as well but I was getting cold, and I'm confident in our weather pattern continuing so I've saved it for another day...

Sunrise Over Salmon Creek

We've been getting these beautiful pink sunrises lately on days that we don't have fog.  I've been noticing them from my bedroom window as I slept in over the winter holiday.  Today was the first day back to school, so everyone was out the door before sunrise.  No fog, so Clover and I headed over the Salmon Creek for an early morning walk.  I wasn't expecting the creek to be partially frozen like that because it warms up quite a bit during the day, but I think the icy pattern is awfully pretty.  Mt. Hood is barely visible in the background behind the trees.

Hitting the High Notes

A simple melody from a little flock of winter birds.  I wonder why they like to sit on that particular power line.  Do they like the thinner line?  The fact that it's higher up?  Is it warmer?  Cooler?  Whatever the reason, this was the staff line of choice for these musical little birds.

Rose Hips

We had a foggy weather pattern for the start of 2014 yesterday, a holdover from our late December weather of thick fog in the morning.  Today I was greeted with bright sunshine as I read the newspaper at the kitchen table.  One of the things I love about the Pacific Northwest is how quickly the weather changes (or how much weather we have!)  Looking forward to all the different weather conditions that will greet me as I photograph here in 2014.  I hope everyone had a Happy New Year, and that 2014 will bring much happiness and good health!

Inversion

It sounds like today should be the last foggy day in our most recent weather system.  We were supposed to have sunshine this week, and I hear that it is sunny near the coast, but inland we are socked in with a foggy weather system inversion.  I'm not minding too awfully much though, because I think it makes for interesting photography! 

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

Well, I finally got out to the nearby Ridgefield Wildlife refuge!  I did try visiting here a while ago, but it was during the government shutdown, so the gate was locked.  I'm glad I finally ventured back out here.  So many birds, although I guess I really didn't photograph them in this shot (there are a few ducks sleeping on a log if you can find them in the fog!)  I'll plan to head on in clearer weather.  I think we might have the fog for a little longer though. 

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my blog friends a very Merry Christmas from the foggy Pacific Northwest.  These red berries along the Methodist Church lot in Ridgefield really stood out today in the thick fog; I hadn't noticed them before.  Should be a good night for Rudolph!

Yolo Bypass

I was surprised by how much water there was in the Yolo Bypass area when I drove the auto tour there last weekend.  They must have gotten some rain when we got snow last week.   All the fields were flooded there, and so many of them were full of birds; it looked like snow geese but I couldn't be sure.  The birds are very good at staying in the fields not accessible through the auto tour!  Still there was plenty so see and photograph.  I liked this reflected plant life, especially the thicker plants, which reminded me of notes hanging on a musical score.

Under the Gingko Tree

I remember that the gingko trees didn't lose their leaves until December here in Sacramento, but this seems especially late!  Hardly any leaves have dropped off this tree, which is technically not on R St. but on the intersection with R (either 11th or 12th...Sacramento is not so creative in their street naming, but it does make it easy to get around!)  I guess it was the bright pink spray paint that made me take a look at these steps with their sparse collection of leaves.  A future renovation for sure; there was also a spray painted X, which I left out of the photo.  Guess I just liked that bright pink line.  It's not a color you see very often in construction!  I'll be curious to see how this area looks when I have a chance to visit again someday. 

The Gingko Tree

This photo was inspired by my nephew, Noah.  He's decorating his room with a collage of frames, six oriented for landscape and six for portrait, and he requested some photos for all these frames.  I had a lot of fun picking out different colors and patterns for this project, but I realized two things:  1. I rarely photograph in portrait orientation, and 2. I rarely photograph yellow and red.  It seems like I mainly photograph blue, orange, and green.  I even photograph purple more than I do red or yellow!  So when I saw this Gingko tree in Sacramento over the weekend, I decided to photograph it...in portrait orientation.

R Street

I really like these old industrial building lights along the R Street corridor in midtown Sacramento.  R Street is one of my favorite areas.  It's an old industrial area that is being redeveloped, and some of my favorite shops are here.  (In case you were wondering, Rumpelstiltskin, Tea Cozy, and Shoki Ramen...hitting all three of these is the perfect Sacramento hat trick for me!)   This particular light is at the old rail building between Shoki Ramen and The Artery, which houses the other two shops.  I've posted lots of photos from this street over the last few years, all sort of abstract and industrial.  If you're interested in seeing the whole set, just click on the R St. link in labels, and all the posts will show up together.