sunflowers

September 30, 2005
morning
field of sunflowers
summer like heat



We're right by the freeway, so there's lots of traffic noises - semi's roaring by, then relative quiet - a jet takes off overhead to remind us we're right by the airport, too.



An ant bites down hard on my wrist to then remind me that I am indeed sitting on the edge of a farmer's field.



I'm here with my plein air friends - bound and determined to capture these flowers in images, we helped each other get ourselves and equipment over berms and through a muddy irrigation ditch to get ring-side seats - laughing and joking the whole way.



These flowers are so stunning in the flesh - and capturing their essence on black & white film eludes me.



I spend much time wandering the edges of the field, trying to capture the right light, the right angle, or perspective - something to make it feel right.



I envy the color my painter friends are using on their canvases today - usually I am content to wait for that part of my own process - I do finally find some satisfaction in a composition, standing carefully amongst the flowers themselves.



I finally pull out my SX70 with the color film - the manipulations feel more like the paintings of my compatriots.

family gathering

Sept 25, 2005
At mom & dad's - family gathering - manipulating Polaroids is for me like knitting or needlework for others -


the forest out back - I remember when these trees were first planted - not much more than sticks in the ground - hot sun baking where now it's fully shaded.


Rabbit's foot ferns among the rocks.

morning

9.23.05
morning
Gibson Ranch
cooler, breezy, clear & quiet

crickets sing a continuous chorus
wind rustles through the leaves in waves



Here with my plein air friends - first we wander around looking for a place for the painters to plant themselves. We find a great spot at the edge of a pasture.



I wander off down the path along the west side of the pasture, my eyes drawn to the trees along the way.



A row of scrub oaks sprouts up so perfectly between the path & the parallel canal, I wonder if they were planted by people or if this was just the best spot these seedlings had - are these the only ones to survive?


Spotted a pheasant

Approaching the corner of the pasture I see a lage bird land, then hide in the tall grass of the next pasture. I carefully creep up and the pheasant flies off from his hiding spot again.


made a couple friends

Along the southern edge of the pasture, I attract the attention of a couple horses. I stop and they come towards me a bit. I slowly come forward to the fence, then so do they. I end up giving them each hand-fulls of grass from my side of the fence - obviously we are not the only ones who find the grass greener elsewhere.



Finally I move on around the edge of the pasture to the bridle path on the east side, to find the tree again that I had actually seen earlier. It has no doubt been here much longer than the bridle path below its arching branches.

I love it here, I can get lost in the beauty, listening to the background buzz of crickets and the chorus of birdsong, especially along the creek. Somehow creeks bring out the child inside me -


Black phoebe catching insects on water's surface
Hawk? cries out overhead?

Along the trail I catch the briefest glimpse of a red squirrel in the underbrush - I think a pyracantha - then I come to the huge fig tree Kira had wondered over earlier.

Tiny little dark birds, no bigger than a humming bird, flit among the branches of one of the great oaks along the creek - barely bigger than dragonflies, they seem more like little woodland fairies than birds.

en plein air

9.13.05
morning
American River Parkway
met my new plein air friends, then wandered off



Where I've come from -
Been wandering along little pathways off the main bike trail, poking around where lizards scamper away and unknown others make rustling noises in the bushes as I pass. I'm sitting at a crossroads - three main pathways branch out before me - but first I look back at where I've come from - the metaphor strikes me, this is my life - only one path where I've been, several opportunities, choices to be made lie ahead. So I stop and make a picture, then move on -



The path I choose takes me back toward the river's edge - I come into a clearing along the water, trying not to frighten the quail I see, but the whole covey flies off to hide in the brush. A pair of geese fly over head, honking as they go. All kinds of birds flit overhead - a dove here, then something smaller over there.



Poplar trees across the river.



Sitting at the river's edge, tiny fish huddle in the clear shallows by my feet. Freshwater clam shells speak of someone else's meal, thin grassy reeds grow down to the water's edge.



Starting to warm up a bit - had to take my sweater off - sitting on the path , I seem to unnerve a black lab out with her family, then I startle her family: mother, daughter, granddaughter. Not many expect to see someone camped on the trail coating Polaroid prints, old camera sitting beside her. As long as the lab keep her wetness to herself, I'll be fine.



poplars & star thistle

clear blue skies

9.6.05
American River near Watt Ave
morning, clear blue skies, cool in the shade, can tell it will be much warmer later.

Geese & Ducks come up and beg freely -



Came with several plein air painters today - the mood is relaxed and congenial. Others nearby are picnicking and feeding some ducks. Coming to the river's edge is a little bit of an instant vacation feel.



Several ducks around - lots of little mallards foraging in the grassiness at the wagers edge - then several Canadian geese swim a circuit in the little inlet here -



A couple little bird calls from somewhere in the trees - a breeze rustles the leaves and helps keep things cool.

Sitting on a fallen but still growing tree - grasses growing at the water's edge - some bare dirt and dead leaves in this spot where tree trunks make good seats.



Horsetail grows among some of the grass - a young duck comes up on shore briefly to snack on something - maybe a bug? - and waddles back through the grass and reeds, back into the safety of the water.





Sitting on a boat ramp warm sun on my back, light breeze keeping things cool, making little ripples on the water. Mallards make soft little noises - something chirps back in the trees - another something buzzes a bit and stops. A big bumblebee comes by - hovers next to my ear buzzing loudly, only goes away when I shake my head -