the rain is gone

Here, when it rains, it pours.

The word "storm" is typically used by anyone I know when saying that there is a system bringing rain or snow. In 95%, there would be no thunder, no lightning…just rain. Heavy, never ending.

The thing about California is that after 5 days of raining, the sun is up, sidewalks are dry in a couple of minutes and the only sign of the pour would be my soaked, sploshing lawn. I have to be quick if I want to capture beautiful droplets on the leaves.

the maple trees outside my window, 

mercilessly whipped by cold strands of water

Island Lake

One of our recent trips was a visit to Black Buttes, Tahoe National Forest. Beautiful area in Sierras strewn with numerous lakes, embedded below granite ranges.
We knew the snowpack hasn't melted completely but we didn't expect the trail completely under the snow.

Walking in soft, mushy snow is no fun so we had to turn back pretty soon. Still, we were able to take plenty of gorgeous photos. The whole album is HERE.

For comparison, here are some pictures from a hike in the area last year.

 

University Falls

Yes, we finally made it! This was our third attempt to reach the falls.

The first one - miles and miles wondering in the woods and missing the right trail - which is not marked.

The second - two miles before the place we park our car, there was a fatal accident and road was closed for hours, we took an alternate road. 

And finally, we dragged some friends with us and this brought us luck :-)

Popular "swimming hole", a beautiful cascade, some parts not easily accessible, definitely worth it.

Nice 8 miles trip.

More Photos HERE.

More Droplets

And more rain. In June? 

Ironically, we were asked by the water company to reduce water consumption because some supply channel colapsed. Well, at least, I don't have to irrigate the garden.

 

Sea of Lavender

I am fortunate to have two kinds of lavender in my garden. One of them is in full bloom at the moment. I already spent considerable time just sitting next to it, on a concrete platform that serves as a carport and is surrounded by sakura trees, spiraea and lavender. Beautiful color combination - dark burgundy, orange and violet!

Did you know that lavender can sing?
Hum, actually. Fascinated, I watch crowds of bees incessantly visiting one blossom after another, their legs heavy with sticky mix of pollen and nectar...what an arduous job!!

I made several observations about bees:

•      - they tend not to stay in one focal plane from my camera, making the task of focusing my photos nigh impossible
•      - they are truly hardworking, and how on Earth do they clean their legs?
•      - they disperse when I approach any shrub they are currently "working on", I feel unwelcome
•      - I don't think they are aware of their ability to pollenate and to make various products someone else profits from. That's some serious copyright violation
•      - buzzing of bees makes me happy and hyper and want to do something

I played with various settings - a) manual focus to fixed distance, plus higher aperture value or greater depth of field, b) aperture priority was doing what it could and I was trying to focus. Silly bees wouldn't stay in one place!! Surprisingly, I managed to get better shots using the method b.

The scare is over

For the past month I really felt like there was something not so good with me - shortness of breath and I didn't like the moles I have all over my body. I just returned from a skin cancer screening and I'm so relieved everything is OK. Being a healthy lifestyle nut I am it gave me a real scare.
So it's time to address the shortness of breath and either accept I'm not so young anymore or get back in the shape.
Treadmill for dinner.  Ok, before dinner.  :-)

Beauty around Grass Valley and Yuba River:

Welcome Spring!

Can you smell it in the air? Hear the buzz of all the winged creatures which are as happy as I am that the most beautiful season is here!

This is what I wrote as I was getting this post ready - yesterday. I doesn't look like it right now, it's rainy, and the bleak weather makes me so sleepy! I am posting this photo of this beautiful japanese cherry blossom from my garden to cheer me up:

Morning walk

around my garden this morning:

 

and I thought the spring was here...

Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite in November

It was really hard to sort through and discard any of the pictures from the trip we took 4 weeks ago, that's why it took so long.
We were actually heading to a wedding in the SF Bay Area and this was just a small detour to the other side of Sierra Mountain. What a blast we had!! A photographer's heaven!

Mammoth Lakes photos: here.
Yosemite photos: here.

Twin Lakes

Another hike  - Twin Lakes in Western Sierras, southwest from the Lake Tahoe ( they are also Twin Lakes on the Eastern side on the mountains). We wanted to take photos before the snow covers everything. Snowshoes  conveniently forgotten at home; luckily, there was no need for them. Still, I tested the rocky ground about three times when I slipped on some icy spots.

lots of gorgeous photos on my Picasa.

And I'm still working on photos from Mammoths Lakes and Yosemite. Coming soon.

Like the Hitchcock's birds

Yesterday, we drove to Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge, those birds were so funny, they got easily spooked and literary tens of thousands started lifting off, circling around and screaming their heads off!!!

more photos on my Picasa.

Yuba River

Today, we took a trip towards Grass Valley, hoping to shoot some fall pictures, but it's still too early for the real autumn colors in our area. Nevertheless, the boulders in Yuba River offer great substitution, especially when basking in the evening sun.

4WD trip to the Blue Lakes

Today, we took a trip to the Blue Lakes, south of well known Lake Tahoe in Sierra Mountains, el. 8136 ft. The first time I took my new Canon 7D for a real trip and MINE was the keen eye in the viewfinder!!

Well, except for one photo, gotta give my husband some credit   :-)

DH having lunch

lots of fishermen everywhere, I must erase the couple sitting on the rock

faithful Jeep, this time I didn't mind the bumpy ride (=surprise)

typical me: bickering and bickering and  ...  (for the camera only, of course!)

playing with shutter speed settings

a humorous way how to remind people to keep the area clean (the guy is not real, mind you!)