Spring in the Merced River Canyon

A road trip. A quiet time. Four days by myself to get back to nature, to re-experience the rebirth of spring. I found myself in Mariposa, at the gateway to Yosemite. Exploring the Merced River Canyon on Highway 140 turned out to be....soul quenching, taking my breath away, living deeply in the moments...gratitude that I can have this experience here and now. The wildflower bloom is said to be the most abundant in more than 30 years. At the feet of burned out trees from last summer's fires, the poppies carpet the hillsides in a thick mantle of orange. Along the Hite Cove Trail, further up on Highway 140, poppies, lupines, bluedicks, and all manner of wildflowers white, yellow, purple, blue, and pink cascade down to the south fork of the Merced River. I have never seen such a profusion of spring color on such a massive scale.

I feel alive and renewed.

Violence and Peace in Our City

This has been a very disturbing week in Oakland, the city I have lived in for over 30 years and have come to love. Four police officers were gunned down and killed by a black man in East Oakland over what seemed like a routine traffic stop. This man himself was killed as well. The face of this man if familiar to me...he is the face of so many of the children who I taught and tried to steer to the right course during the whole of my career as a teacher and school principal. Some - many, actually, of these kids turned out great. Others have never found their way out of the abyss of poverty and hopelessness to which they were born. It makes me incredibly sad. Today, I felt compelled to drive to the crime scene and take photos. Afterwards, I joined some YMCA friends for a tour of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral by Lake Merritt. There was so much irony in this day. A black minister on the street praying for the murdered officers, and across town, a beacon of light - glass and steel - against the sky. Can we have peace in our time in this wonderful city by the bay?

Monet in the Mustards

Up at dawn this Friday morning, headed to Sonoma County for another try to capture the feeling of getting lost in the color and textures of the bloom that I get from the acres and acres of mustards which are in their full glory this year. I drove back to Highway 12 in the fog and waited for a bit of sun to break through. I squeezed off lots of shots, but still not satisfied, I decided to take Stoney Point Road heading back to the 101. Eureka! I found this bit of fence and old irrigation wheel and discovered that using the guassian blur filter in Photoshop gave me just the dreamy effect I wanted. This image captures my feelings perfectly. A moment with Monet on the eve of the first day of spring.



See it bigger and on black here http://barblee.zenfolio.com/p636431592/hebd2f96#hebd2f96

Northern California Almond Bloom

On March 8, I took a Sunday drive north on the 550 to Esparto on Highway 16. Intending to head into Guinda to see the blooming almond orchards, I got distracted by a wonderful old abandoned building at the intersection and took a wrong turn. I spent a lazy 3 hours alone driving these back roads, savoring the blossoms, the birds and the bees. Just me and the sun and all of these glorious harbingers of spring.

Spring Mustards Along the Russian River

The mustard is in full bloom again along the Russian River. On Sunday, March 15, we spent the day visiting several wineries as part of the annual Russian River Barrel Tasting event. Tracy and our friends gave me some space to stop and take photos...I will head back there later this week for much more. Our weeks of late winter rain have made this a particularly lush season for the mustards. It was a gray overcast day, which helped to get these lovely saturated colors.

This old barn is on Westside Road near the Hop Kiln Winery. I lightened the barn in Photoshop to give it better contrast with the gray skies.