California – Circadianreflections Blog

Whatever Weds. Spring in Stanislaus Co.

April 10, 2019April 10, 2019Posted in California, Landscape Photography, Landscapes, Nikon, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged grass, Hills, Knight's Ferry, landscape, Lupine, Nikon, Photography, Rocks, Spring, Stanislaus County, Stanislaus River36 Comments

I’m waist deep into packing paper, boxes, and all my stuff.

I spent almost my entire adult life amassing stuff, and now I just want to get rid of most of it! I’m not really into the Komari (sp) thing, but I’m all for me having less stuff to worry about and pack! But, I have this nagging feeling I’m getting rid of things I’ll regret, and keeping things I should let go! It’s agony!

I spent the morning packing up most of the kitchen and getting our homeowners, and car insurance set up for NV. Next up will be getting our mail set up over there, and the list goes on and on, but we’re making progress. Fifteen days and the movers come to get all our stuff and really it’s mostly my stuff and take it to the new house! Well, they’ll be there the next day so, we will be sleeping on the air mattress, and have the stuff we’ve already taken over to get us through a few days should it snow or something and the truck can’t get over. Winter is hanging on. The major Interstate they’ll probably take over the mountains has closed a few times recently because there have been two. Two avalanches in the last two weeks on that Interstate.

This is how I remember winters being when I was a girl and a young adult. I’ve always felt the weather is cyclical and has a pattern here in CA. Really good skiing winters, followed by long dry, thirsty spells. We’re in the great skiing season now, but my head is saying, Drought is coming prepare! I’m saying that with the Game of Thrones tone of Winter is Coming. 😃 I’m staying in the west so drought is probably going to be in my planning for the rest of my life.

Ah, but I digress. Since I’ve been preoccupied with the packing and moving and feeling the need to share some images and stay connected to you cause I’ve missed you I dug into my earlier images from just about a month ago when Big Baby Boy and I took a ride out to Knight’s Ferry.

The hills are still this green.

Early Spring on the Stanislaus River

and the Lupine was just beginning to bloom. I had the wrong lens for this shot, but I like the way you can see the environment that these were blooming in. These Lupine were huge bushes. I bet they’re gorgeous now.

Spring Lupine Stanislaus County

We’re reflecting a lot about all the things we’ve experienced while living in this house 37 years. Big Baby Boy came home for 5 days to help us move some stuff over to the new house, and say Good-bye to the house he’s always called home. We treasure the memories here but we’re taking them with us. We are looking forward to new beginnings, new memories to be made, and to blooming in our new home.

Happy Wednesday!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G| Hoodman Digital Film| CS PP 2019

more to come…

Gray Whale Cove Sunset

May 6, 2018May 6, 2018Posted in California, California Beaches, California Coast, Nikon, Pacific Coast, Photography, SunsetsTagged Clouds, Does that look like gator coming for me?, From where I stand, Gray Whale Cove, Nikon, Pacific Ocean, Photography, Rocks, Sunset40 Comments

I had the pleasure of observing the last night’s sunset on the coast with friends.

It was a warm, peaceful, beautiful evening.

Gray Whale Cove Sunset

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8 @ f/11| SanDisk Digital Film| PS CC 2018

more to come…

Wild Weds. 2/52 Wild Ones at Home

January 10, 2018January 10, 2018Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Photography, Wild Wednesday, WildlifeTagged Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, California Towhee, Mourning Dove, Squirrel, Wild Wednesday46 Comments

It rained this week! I’m not complaining we need it, so when He-Man and I went for a hike on Saturday we went late morning to let it dry out a bit, and get warmer. We kept to the paved streets in the nearby hills b/c I did not want to trod uphill and down in the mud on the trails. We walked just over 2 miles and gained about 600ft in elevation. It felt like a workout.

FWIW: If I’m hiking or stretching my legs with a hike I’d rather go uphill for a bigger pay off verses a longer, flat walk. Since it was late morning there wasn’t any wildlife; the birds, deer, coyotes, and wild turkey were all napping I guess. Not a bad place to be on a late Saturday morning though. 🙂

Sunday it rained all day. Like me all the wildlife was hunkered down somewhere cozy, warm, and dry.

So, it’s to my archives we go.

Here are a few wild ones that visit my backyard bushes and feeders taken last year.

hum… something Squirrely (sp?) is going on here…

Bird Feeder Raider

Yep! This one found the one feeder he/she can get in to!

Squirrel at Bird Feeder

Then there’s the fence sitters.

Morning Dove

California Towhee

The top bird is a Mourning Dove…which I’m thinking was born in the hanging basket on my patio, or their Mother. The bottom bird is a California Towhee. I can’t tell if it’s the male of female.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful week and staying warm!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2018

more to come…

Wild Wednesday 1/52 Here Kitty, Kitty!

January 3, 2018January 3, 2018Posted in California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Wild Wednesday, WildlifeTagged Nature, Nikon, North American Bobcat, Photography, Rarely Seen Wildlife, Wild Wednesday58 Comments

Bobcat

A Bobcat image…Finally! I went birding with my friend Dali on the 30th of December which would be my last birding adventure for 2017. We went to an area not too far from home that we hadn’t been to in a year. While on the way out of the area and headed to lunch b/c the birds had gone quiet, and hunkered down well into the foliage out of sight Dali spotted this Bobcat.

I was so excited and had been looking for one or it when we went through this area coming in, because way back in the winter of 2011 Dali and I saw a Bobcat here, and it was right in my sights, but I missed the shot because my lens then was the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 which was slow and would hunt in poor light. My lens just would not find focus, and by the time I switched to manual focus all I managed to get were blurry butt shots of the retreating Bobcat. It was then I decided I had to move up to the 300mm f/4 prime lens. Missed shots like this due to a hunting lens was unacceptable! Needless to say, every time I’ve birded this area since I’ve looked for the, or a Bobcat sans success…that is, until the 30th of December 2017. 6 years of hoping to see a Bobcat again in this area!

This Bobcat just like that day in 2011 was under the canopy of Oak trees and well shaded but, unlike that day my kit today is the 200-500mm lens, and the formidable D810 camera which together were able to attain focus so, I was able to fire off 4 shots before the Bobcat got behind the foliage and out of sight. However all was not perfect…all four images were metered for a brighter environment so, they were all under exposed. I didn’t delete them. Actually, I never delete “in camera” for fear of corrupting my card. I hoped I would be able to bring up the exposure enough in Photoshop and save the images especially since the Bobcat did turn and look at me for two of those four shots!

If I haven’t told you before how much I like Photoshop let me tell you now. I LIKE PHOTOSHOP! I was able bring back nearly two stops of light, and with some noise reduction have a “keeper” instead of having to delete the images again.

Was this the very same Bobcat? Probably not, but maybe its offspring. 🙂 Either way I’m a very happy camper with this shot, and my last birding excursion of 2017. Oh yes, we did see birds. Lots of Hawks, Sparrows, and a Says Phoebe are the most notable birds, but the highlight for me was long awaited re sighting of the Bobcat. I sure hope that bodes well for a stellar 2018 wildlife/birding year.

Here’s a link about the North American Bobcat from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Oh, three more things; 1) you may have noticed I have changed my blog theme, and hope you’re all able to view and read my posts sans problemes. My old theme was no longer supported, and I was having some issues with it for sometime. Then I created a “sticky” post back in week 41 of 2017 and couldn’t figure out how I did it or undo that until week 51 or so when I had given up trying to fix that and tried new themes. For now this is the theme I’m rollin’ with. Let me know in the comments if it’s working for you please.

2) while driving home from Baby Girl’s this evening I decided on my Project 52 theme for this year. Yes, I’m going to do another one. It motivates me, and gets me out of the house with my favorite tool…my camera. This year’s theme I’m calling Wild Wednesday. I have plenty of wildlife images marinating in my archives in case I get stuck indoors, but I plan to get out to make many more new images, and not all things wild are animals. 🙂

3) My Header: It’s an image I made back on Jan. 1, 2011 of Stoneman Bridge in Yosemite National Park. That was a stellar Photography Trip with Dear Friends Dali, Alex, and Theresa. We’re way overdue for another Annual New Year’s Trip. Just sayin. 🙂

I raise my glass and toast; Here’s to a good photographic year! 🙂

Nikon D810| Nikkor 200-500mm @f/8|ISO 1000| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2018

more to come…