tree in the house

Sat Dec 13, 2003
late afternoon
sunny but cool outside

There's a tree in the house. We drove up into the hills today and cut it down. But it wasn't quite that simple.

We looked for the tree farm we got last year's tree from but to no avail. So we followed some signs - first to a place very much like a forest - but we couldn't see the trees for the forest and decided to follow more signs.

We found another tree farm which seemed more promising, "Squaw Creek Tree Farm," which happens to be for sale. We wandered around in the drizzle looking for the right tree. A couple seemed almost right; then it started raining harder. We went back to an almost right tree and cut it.

As Scott was cutting, I came closer to catch the tree and spotted a fuzzy caterpillar clinging to one branch, right as it fell into me. I never saw the caterpillar again. Now the tree stands in the living room, looking a bit forlorn. I'll cut back a couple of the longer branches and tomorrow we'll begin decorating. If we're lucky we'll finish, too. The smell of the douglas fir suddenly makes it feel like Christmas.


The ghost of Christmas future...

out with the kids

Nov 25, 2003
afternoon
Dry Creek east off Walerga Road
cool - maybe 60 - high thin clouds but sun is strong
hiking and exploring with the kids
constant sound of construction tractors
chirps and twirps from birds



The kids are antsy, not real happy to sit in one spot while I shoot and write. Little birds chasing each other catch our eyes and suddenly the tree seems to all be moving, little brown birds flitting around like little brown leaves. A sharp cry overhead gets our attention; a large bird of prey, white underneath with black tips on it's wings, grayish on it's back. Phil thinks maybe an osprey. Meanwhile, Dee has observed the little birds in the trees with her binoculars: goldfinches like some that visit our backyard.

The green grass is taller than the last time I came here. There hasn't been much more rain but it's been cool and moist.



We've headed back and we want to get closer to the creek again... The sun is so low that it puts the whole creek in shadow but the field to the south still has a nice glow.

late afternoon

Nov 21, 2003
park on Auburn Blvd near Watt Ave, next to Discovery Museum
late afternoon
cool & clear, not a cloud out but a light gusting breeze, almost too cold for my sweater

There's a bridle path near the creek here (maybe Arcade Creek?) but I don't have time to wander too far...



Big oak just off the bridle trail near a ballpark that's right here, too. Birds call out, one flies low and twees as I walk down the path, not a kildeer but I wonder if it's trying to get me away from a nest nearby.



Many many oak leaves litter the ground and crunch under my feet as I walk back to the car. It's a little sad that they just turn brown instead of some glorious red or yellow. I guess the Valley Oaks are glorious enough without flashy colors.

dry creek

Nov 13, 2003
Dry Creek at Walerga Road
2 p.m.
cool - mid 60's, a few clouds hide the sun, then it comes back out again

The weather has changed a lot these past two weeks - rains have come and gone and the creek is higher now. The plants and lower banks look as if they have been flooded lately, no doubt the waters rise during a storm.

A couple small brown sparrow types twit and hop among a pile of cut branches across the creek. Traffic passes by constantly - I'll see if I can follow the creek away from the road...

I've gone a little farther, now the sound of running water competes with the traffic. A crow passes overhead, calling out. A couple smaller birds chit chit chit in the branches of trees while the beep beep beep of heavy construction calls out.



Poking up from the dry horizontal straws are a carpet of fat new green short blades - rain here means green.



I stop to make a photograph and I hear rustling noises in the tall dead growth nest to the path I'm on. I'd love to look further but my time is up...

Oct 30, 2003

Oct 30, 2003
Dry Creek in Roseville
off biketrail off Walerga, north of PFE
1:30 p.m.
Much cooler than it's been - clear, sunny, but maybe mid 60's

Still trying out the Polaroid 450 - not sure about focusing -



Right next to the road here, steady stream of cars passing by, along with the semi's associated with building the big new development on the other side of the creek.

I fiddle with the 450 a bit & I think I might have found the problem - a sticky spring on the bottom support structure of the bellows that controls the focus -

I'll have to see if Scott can help with it, but for now I'll go get a trusty 250 from the car, already loaded with the 665 film, to explore the creek a bit more with - I'll probably try the same shots to compare the focusing of the two cameras.



I return to the creek with the 250 - I get the sharp image I've come to expect - now if I could get more reliable shutter speeds, too, I'd be set. Cameras have been on my mind too much lately - I'd like to set aside the technical glitches and focus on the work, the images and feelings. Even with the sounds of passing cars and heavy construction in the background, I hear the calls of birds: little swee's and tsi tsi tsi sounds, as well as the occasional squaw of someone larger...

The creek is hardly dry right now, though I know full well it could be this time of year. It's fully 20 feet across here, a foot or more deep, and running swiftly. Many times I've seen fishermen here, so I'm sure it supports some decent sized fish. All sorts of weedy looking plants grow here, green with a little brown about the edges - the birds take opportunity of a short lack of traffic to twitter a bit more to each other - the green that lines the creek is in strong contrast to the straw pale dryness of the surrounding fields.

I start away from the creekside and find a pair of white cabbage butterflies dancing around each other, but they're off before I can get a good look to sketch them.



I head out toward the open field, away from the creek, there I'm greeted by large flying grasshoppers - brip brip brip brip brip - again, too fast to sketch.



Time is running out - I have mom-duties to attend to - but I'm going to bring myself back here soon.

empire mine

Oct 14, 2003
Empire Mine State Park
Grass Valley
after noon
warm - 70's, clear and sunny

Hiking along "Hardrock Trail" with Lisa and her kids and my kids - everyone has at least one camera...


Orlean's Stamp Mill Foundation with golden tree

from self-guided tour map: " This foundation supported a stamp mill that was powered by a water-driven Pelton wheel. The mill crushed ore from the Orleans Mine until about the turn of the century when it became unprofitable." guess that says it all...


Crossing Little Wolf Creek Bridge

Stopping to check out the creek, lots of picture taking all around. Phil & Dee "point" out a hawk's call. Dee reads to me from her journaling:

"Gentle winds, trees, broken twigs, cries of a hawk, the gentle gurgling of the creek, a loud 'huk! huk! huk!' of a strange bird flying overhead. Wasps are drinking. Flies and gnats fly everywhere. Still, it's a very peaceful place, full of nature. Ferns cover the ground. The deepest part of the creek is about a foot deep."


Little Wolf Creek Bridge

Low light forces the camera into a long exposure, slow shutter speed, so motion soft image is my only choice. Too much going on - kids, etc. - makes it hard for me to concentrate.

Rock tossing has become the favored sport, the mom in me is trying hard not to worry about someone getting hit. They really are having a good time and discovering how icy the water is.

From the guide: "The streamside environment of this creek is being restored to a more natural condition. Non-native blackberries, Scotch broom and other shrubs are being replaced with plants that belong in a stream environment."


Little Wolf Creek Road
"This road was built for trucks that carried waste rock from the Empire Mine to road construction sites to the Southwest."

Lots of walking through warm dusty trails, through sand tailings and over waste piles - huge piles of gravel - then back along the road, which makes mothers very nervous, back along the outside stone wall and into gardens surrounding the cottage.



garden path

Inside the stone walls, plenty of lawns keep it feeling cooler. Children, tired but rowdy, are ready to call it a day.

capitol park

Oct 13, 2003
5 p.m.
Capitol Park
very comfortable - 70ish - clear blue sky
shooting with Hemispheres students

Not too much street noise, Columbus Day is a state holiday, all the state workers are home today.


East end of capital park, rose garden gate

Squirrels are ever-present here and in no short supply!

Trying to keep an eye out for all my students, watching out without being over-protective or squashing spirit.


Western Catalpa tree with rose garden gate and memorials

peaceful point

Oct 4, 2003
3:30ish?
Peaceful Point, Lake Almanor
warm - 70's
strong wind

The loudest thing I hear is the great whir of the wind through the pines - much different than how wind sound rustling through leaves in the valley - then the steady slapping water gently on the rocks of the point, a boat motor in the distance nears, then passes the point, keeping clear of the buoys warning of shallows.



The grass is wiry and mostly yellowed, with some blades still clinging to green, and even the pines have yellowed a bit after the long, dry summer. I have to secure all my papers and loose photos, to prevent the steadily growing wind from stealing them away.



The sun goes behind a cloud for a moment and the whole sky seems to darken. The rocks on the shore are hard edged, not rounded, and I can see where one has been broken from the cycles of freezing and thawing. How many seasons did that feat take to accomplish? A few weedy plants poke up between the rock. One pretty little one looks like an ornamental strawberry - sort of.

Another has tiny outstretched leaves, yet another is almost a pale aqua, fuzzy and narrow leaved.

The sun has come out again and the rocks seem less ominous once again. I wander around the narrow peninsula and find an old bleached log on the grass like the bone of a long-dead tree - and wait for the sun & cloud to adjust to my liking - the light is constantly changing.



The light changes again, I move and try another shot. I've also discovered that the coater stick for my new film pack has dried out - it's plastic container was cracked and broken - so I have to return tot he car for the old one, from which I can eke out just enough fixative to save the instant prints. At least I will have the negs regardless.

I wander out to the tip of the peninsula and think I see a photo. I force it out. It doesn't work. Photos, like all art, should never be forced - I wander some more and force out another - I should have just quit while I was ahead.





I haven't seen many birds: earlier some kind of large fishing bird and then a turkey vulture overhead. Then three smaller birds floating on the water and diving a bit. I hear a couple calls over the surface of the lake but nothing clear and nothing up close.

There are tiny tiny clam shells scattered here and there, not more than half and inch across. I find myself missing the ocean and mourning the passing of summer.

Sept 26, 2003

Sept 26, 2003
2 p.m.
backyard
70's comfortable, no wind

Sitting under the pepper tree listening to all the bird chitter chatter waiting for them to come back out again. (They all flew away into hiding when I came out.) I hear the faint flutter of wings, light bird feet land, shadows fling through the patch of sunlight on the page in my lap.

The spicy smelling pepper tree with ripening tiny berries attracts more birds now than during the summer. I've seen several starlings these past few days in addition to the growing flock of house sparrows & finches - gold finches, mocking birds (a bold jay screeches at me now) and a black phoebe have all graced the yard with their presence lately. I also spotted a bright yellow newcomer yesterday - maybe some kind of oriole, judging from my bird guide.

I sit and watch shadow and flashes of movement through the trees hoping that the longer I sit quietly, the bolder the birds will become. A small flock of starlings returns to the fruit tree in the other corner of the yard - flit about a bit and fly back off the way they came - I wait, hoping they'll some back again to the pepper tree. A moment, the flutter of wings, a pair does show up, hope about and seem to disappear in the branches.

Very quiet for a long while, all I hear is the heavy construction down the street (a neighbor getting a pool put in?) and the soft trickling of the fountain in the tub pond. Then quiet questioning chirps, soft wings and tiny feet again.


Two tiny sparrows hide in the pepper tree - obvious to my eye but nearly invisible through the camera lens.



The black phoebe likes to take a perch on top of the swing set, catch a pepper-berry on the fly and return to his swing set perch to consume it. His silhouette is unmistakable but I cannot render it from memory. He is easily startled away by other birds and doesn't stay in one place long enough for me to make a sketch.

Sparrows, chubby and small, are the most comfortable with my presence. Several fly about their business in the yard, resting on the fence to look at me, gather and splash in the sunlit bird bath, then all fly off at some silent signal.

vacant lot

Sept 25, 2003
4:45 p.m.
vacant lot next door to Capital Ballet Center
warm - 80's clear skies, still air

The trees at the back of this vacant lot nearly always catch my eye as I pass, preparing to turn right past them into the parking lot for Deidre's ballet class. Today the light hits just right and I can't help but stop to make an image. There's nowhere really to sit besides a large hill of dirt dumped by contruction or a patch of sticky weeds. I go back to sit in the car to write, but not before I drop the negative. It falls face down on dirt and rocks. I only hope the scratches give it character, or a sense of the scruffy spot it was made at. Cars are racing past in rush hour traffic and drown out what little birdsong can be heard between the rushes of traffic. Deidre should be done with class now so I better go get her or she'll spend the afternoon chatting in the dressing room.

blue sky

Sept 16, 2003
5:45 p.m.
Antelope Community Park
warm - 70's
blue sky with high thin clouds

It's been so long since I've been here. What happened to my resolve to come here often and chronicle the passing seasons? I've been busy I guess, but I have kept up with my journal nonetheless.



The dry grass is mostly mown here now - the fire danger would be too great otherwise, I'm sure. At least it's easier to stomp through! Plenty of mourning doves around - fluttering back and forth on the gorund. A scrub jay squawks a few trees away. Little unseen birds twitter in the background.


This is the tree I first called woodpecker oak - today Deidre sees a woodpecker peeking in and out of a hole in another tree. I seem to have captured a disturbing sense of imbalance with my photo.


A flock of magpies were pecking about in this field in front of the two silhouetted trees. Of course they flew away as I settled in for the photo.

August 31, 2003

August 31, 2003
Late afternoon
very warm

Took a drive over to James' and Janet's proerty - some day a retirement home will be here... wandered around and talked of plans, admired views.



This cluster of trees marks the property line at one point...

Back at Butch & Linda's I set off to wander again. Little cousin Edie wants to come along, so I sit down by the naked ladies to wait for her to put her shoes on.

Edie takes me for a walk and shows me the creek through the gate and just off the property. This is her grandparents' house and she knows her way around pretty well - as well as any 7 year old would. But I think Edie took me through poison oak... I was watching her instead of watching out for that.

We wander back onto the property. Edie finds her little brother's long-lost hat and her own long-lost doll. We camp out on the same big rock outcropping I stopped at yesterday. I let her shoot a few frames on the Izone, I shoot a couple with the Land Camera.




"Grandma & Grandpa's Woods" hold high adventure: Edie climbs a tree to fetch an old light switch plate made of clear blue plastic and adorned with silver glitter. Old treasures abound here, even hung on a nail stuck in a valley oak.

The light is fading - I'm guessing it's time to head back, probably dinner time or something -

family reunion

August 30, 2003 - Family Reunion
Aunt Linda & Uncle Butch's
Shingle Springs
afternoon
clear blue skies, slight breeze
very warm, 90's

Sitting in the shade of a big bush while the kids build their "Animal Shack" 'research lab' for the wildlife they find and catch. So far they have a tiny tree frog carefully kept in a peanut butter jar, named Goldie for her color. So far they have a table and the outline of walls.

Their activity has sent any other obvious wildlife into hiding. Of course, the gunshots from the back porch target shooting have a way of leaving utter silence in their wake, as well.

As human activity quiets I can hear the faint peeps and chirps of birds some distance away, the occasional buzz of a passing insect and the far off call of what I presume is a donkey. Wandering away from the house, I happen upon three ro four birds - I think they're young wild turkeys - with perfect tawny camouflage in the dry brown grasses. They slowly wander away from me but don't seem bothered by the constant noise of the children at play that echoes out over the land. (The gunshots have ceased, as the men like mose to look at and hold the antique guns they've exercised.)

The sloped land is uneven with plenty of creature holes to step in. I'm not sure I want to know who lives where. A rodent here, a rodent there, and a reptile over there for sure. Where the grasses haven't been mown for fire safety they stand two feet high, alternating with patches and paths where weather or feet have pressed them down. I watch carefully where I put my feet for holes, poison oak and creatures. Stepping on a rattlesnake would make for a very bad day.

This part of the property where it hasn't been cleared of trees to build, is an open oak forest with an occasional struggling pine. Here the oaks rule.



Everything here is dry now except for the trees and the oak seedlings. Pine seedlings look like they may not survive, at least not well. I've made a perch of a large outcropping covered in dry crunchy moss. I guess it must hold the hidden potential to come alive once the rains start. Next to the outcropping is a small bushy plant that reminds me of the sage in my herb garden. Long dusty green leaves that seem impervious to drought.



("I caught a grasshopper!" echoes down the hill amidst other excited cries...)

I better get back up to the house to clear my negs - I forgot to bring along baggies & I'd cry if they dried out and were a loss...

sunset state beach

July 27, 2003
Midday, Sunset State Beach
cool, breezy, gray skies with an occasional breakthrough by the sun - a nice change from the 100+ heat of the valley these past couple weeks



First thing we notice is strange blue creatures washed up on the beach - the kids notice the resemblance to man-o-wars so we dub them blue jellies and decide to avoid stepping on them - just in case.

In our excitement we head off on a walk down the beach right away. Blue jellies are there the whole way.

We come back to our spot with a bucket of lovely finds:

a big flat rock, grey with gold spotches; a closed up clam to be thrown back into the surf; two whole sand dollars, one still with the "fur" on it; a whole crab somehow overlooked by seagulls; and a variety of shell and peices of sells.

We also find a very large beetle washed up and much the worse for the wear near 'our spot' for the day, who knows what distand land he's from?

A good three inches in length, his wings and legs much damaged, he ends up on his back after only being able to propel himself in circles.

The gulls must be well-fed: first we find the big beetle, then three whole small crabs washed up on the beach - all would seem to be good eating.



Later: feels cooler, the tide is coming in. Many of the blue jellies have dried to only leave their clear sails. I take the Mamiya for a nice walk downt he beach and return to find the kids deep in a hole they've been digging all day.

(A later trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium teaches us that our "blue jellies" are really "by-the-wind sailors", a relative of the jellies.)

happy birthday bob

July 4, 2003
Mom & Dad's house, out back in common greenbelt
7 p.m. 80 degrees nice, clear, warm



Had a birthday party for Bob, barbaque and cake and ice cream. Scott had to leave for work and now we're waiting for dark and fireworks. Haven't decided if we'll do the little ones in the driveway or face the crowds to see big ones for free at the mall. The kids are running around yelling and chasing each other, full of anticipation.

July 2, 2003

July 2, 2003
7:30 p.m. cooling - 80 degrees
clear, light breeze out of the south - Delta breeze
Rio Linda Airport
sun low in the sky

Scott is taking the kids up for rides in the 150; I wait on the ground with whoever isn't up in the air. Several birds out, we see magpies, mocking birds and a flock of blackbirds off the end of the runway. We're sitting on some old steel chairs in the cut dead grass, in the shade of a couple trees off the runway. A scruffy female blackbird lands and "skirich's" near us - maybe 10 feet away - Dee follows her until she finally flies away.



Scott drops off Phil, takes Dee up - we hear rustling in the bushes along the fence and Phil spots a garter snake, who slithers away into a hole before I can catch a glimpse, too.

Sun much lower on the horizon now, it rests just above the clack row of oaks to the west of the runway.

We hear an odd sound, something between a duck quacking and a little dog barking, then we see a pair of herons slowly settle down to land on the ski-boat lake next door.

A pair of crows sit and occasionally caw out from the top dead branches of a nearby tree.



8:16 p.m. - the sun seems to suddenly dip behind the west row of oaks, putting us in a long shadow - the cessna comes in for a landing - time to go home.

summer solstice

June 21, 2003
6:45 p.m.
Summer Solstice
sunrise: 5:42 a.m.
sunset: 8:33 p.m.
nearly 15 hours of daylight, our longest day of the year -
Forecast high 87 degrees, rather mild for our normal

Our first official day of summer has been filled with kids & friends & swimming & gardening - a fitting day of pleasurable acivity. It feels very pleasant now - probably close to that perfect 72 degrees. I've been alternately working on garden projects out front and out back - in front I planted wooly thyme between some of the sones in my loose patio - 2 six-packs planted, maybe ten times that many to buy & plant before the project's done!



our modesto (arizona?) ash out front

monday morning

6.16.03 10:30 a.m. Monday morning
warm clear 75 degrees or more
Just back from walking the dog, checked the pond and there's no sign of the babies we brought home yesterday. Guess they were lunch...