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Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting at my parents' house.
It's been a busy spring for me, beginning a house remodel project with a rushed timeline. I've taken many photos (of the remodel project, as well as other adventures) that I have not had time to sort, edit, and post, as nesting has been a priority.
bird (5), nest (2), nest-box (1), potter-valley (65), swallow (2)
birds (27), creatures (34), potter-valley (65), wood-peckers (1)
arianna (27), bella (5), boating (2), dad (7), drumming (3), harvest (5), jason (8), micah (13), pond (3), potter-valley (65), simon (4), ukiah (3)
On a scorching August day at my parent's house in Potter Valley, a calf got through the pasture fence and rested in the shade of a great oak by the irrigation ditch. Ray helped it get back to it's mother.
cow (2), potter-valley (65), raymond (6), summer (1)
I tried again with the full-moon night shots, same location, same flashlights, but using the newly discovered "bulb" setting on my camera. Exposure time: 637/10 sec
car (17), light-painting (9), night (33), potter-valley (65), truck (4)
I tried again with the full-moon night shots, same location, same flashlights, but using the newly discovered "bulb" setting on my camera. Exposure time: 176 sec
light-painting (9), night (33), potter-valley (65), trees (28)
bee (3), creatures (34), fence (2), flowers (37), insect (21), potter-valley (65)
Colored with flashlights. My sister Erica acted as lighting assistant for me late Tuesday night in the cold.
agave (2), light-painting (9), night (33), plants (17), potter-valley (65)
Colored with flashlights. My sister Erica acted as lighting assistant for me late Tuesday night in the cold.
car (17), light-painting (9), night (33), potter-valley (65), truck (4)
Colored with flashlights. My sister Erica acted as lighting assistant for me late Tuesday night in the cold.
light-painting (9), night (33), potter-valley (65), trees (28)
dead (29), potter-valley (65), reflection (2), shop-window (4)
Photo Friday challenge: rural
dead (29), photofriday (16), plants (17), potter-valley (65), spiral (7)
colors (8), greenhouse (5), hills (4), light (5), potter-valley (65), sunset (27)
Photofriday challenge: youth
clarista (7), family (35), greenhouse (5), micah (13), photofriday (16), potter-valley (65)
donovan (20), family (35), farm (12), hamilton (4), potter-valley (65)
Behind my parent's house, a big easel sits on the patio overlooking the fields. There is no canvas and no paint, just an open wooden structure that I look through to the landscape. It frames the ever-changing painting of the valley and misty blue hills. Move slightly and the painting will be of an old greenhouse, grazing cows and calves, or a neighbor's barn. Move again and it will paint you a beautifully twisted oak or rows of fall-orange grape vines. A white-tailed kite may hover over the field looking for prey and then be painted over with a blue heron flying slowly by. At night the valley fills up with fog, washing fuzzy grey hues over the greens and browns. At night, the sky is painted solid black but with billions of meticulously placed dots of silver, clusters of them so close they look like a milky blur.
art (21), farm (12), potter-valley (65)
Vineyards are known to use a lot of chemicals, so when my parents moved right next door to one, I was a little worried. Fortunately, they recently met their viticulture neighbors and learned it's organic.
potter-valley (65), vines (6), winery (2)
There's been a lot of debate over what this rope is doing hanging from the big old oak tree over the livestock corral. Some people say it's from a swing. I think it must have served some farming purpose, like for slaughtering animals.
Theme Thursday theme: container.
farm (12), potter-valley (65), theme-thursday (5)
PhotoFriday challenge: Abandoned
abstract (8), farm (12), greenhouse (5), photofriday (16), potter-valley (65)
Theme Thurdsay theme: light.
light (5), potter-valley (65), theme-thursday (5), web (1)
One of the things I like about California is all the lizards basking and scurrying around.
This one had the longest tail I've ever seen on a lizard of it's size. The length doesn't come across in the angle of the photo, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
creatures (34), lizards (4), potter-valley (65)
Gypsy enjoys a sunny day by rolling in the grass and leaves on the edge of the steep hill over my parent's greenhouse. I had to grab her to keep her from tumbling down the hill.
cat (6), greenhouse (5), gypsy (2), pet (2), potter-valley (65)
I walked down the long driveway at my parent's house to get their mail and caught this cat in the field watching me hoping I wouldn't notice it.
Ever since I first moved from out from my parents I see egrets each time I move. I saw so many along the freeway on that first move to San Francisco that they are ingrained in my mind as a symbol of transition. I saw this one along the road in Potter Valley as I moved my stuff to my parent's house for my temporary home.
The Great Egret, the white form of the Great Blue Heron, is the symbol of the National Audubon Society.
Theme Thursday theme: animal
birds (27), egret (1), potter-valley (65), theme-thursday (5)
I don't know if these are some type of chicken or peacock, but they can often be seen crossing the road here.
birds (27), potter-valley (65), road (5)
Every time I drive to or from my parents' house I see a different animal in the road.
pig (1), potter-valley (65), road (5)
eclipse (2), moon (6), night (33), potter-valley (65)
ditch (1), donovan (20), drain (1), erica (7), potter-valley (65), tunnels (2)
In Potter Valley a baby oak sprouts up in the middle of where this truck's engine used to be. The paint is covered in lichen and the body has become a habitat for who knows how many small animals, bugs, and worms.
As meticulous as I am about recycling and sustainability, the other half of my brain says not to worry too much because nature can take care of herself. It's egotistical of humankind to think we have so much power over nature that it needs to be saved by us. (But, of course that doesn't mean we should recklessly trash the place and needlessly kill off thousands of entire species. We still have to live and eat here.)
This truck may take forever in human years to turn back into earth, but in Earth's timeline, it's just a small moment.
car (17), dead (29), earth (1), potter-valley (65), sustainable (5), trash (8), trees (28), truck (4)
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Arianna Helen