hillside – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Ivy and Woodpile

With the esposo off to Disneyland with a few old co-workers of yore, I am home alone, unsupervised, and bored. With that said, what else is there to do except get out with the camera, no dogs, and go for a brisk walk in fine, cool, clear winter weather?

I stayed fairly close to home and thought it would be fun to look for things that are part of my daily life and try to see them a bit differently than I might if I was just out for a casual stroll. Looking and seeing, taking time on the small bits of my environment, always give me a lot of pleasure. And this is one of the things I “found” – a bit of our neighbor’s yard. The light was gorgeous – later afternoon, but not quite evening – and by cropping to a square and enhancing the image a bit, I really liked what happened.

Taking time to look and not having a leash or two pulling me along, much less pulling me off my feet, was fun. Suburbia is quite boring at times, but other times it produces a lot of great visual gifts. I got a few today, and that makes me rather happy.

Up the Hill

Behind the botanical gardens are hills covered with grasses and scattered oak trees. And filled with birds, lizards, a few trails, and possibly a few rattlesnakes on a warm, sunny day. On such days, I stick to the trails and walk slowly and look carefully before I move. Thus, a view up a hill to a lovely copse of oak and scrub.

Bronica SQ-AI, 80mm f2.8 Zenzanon PS, Ilford XP2 Super 400. And no snakes.

California Hillside

Though today is Thanksgiving, it’s a pretty low key day. We are going over to the in-laws, and all we are bringing is apple crisp and home made pepper powder. So, time to paint! This is from a photo I took at the local botanical garden of a sloping hillside. I am sooooo rusty!

Up the Hill

A climb to the top of the local botanical garden, under the trees, through the orchard, and to the cactus garden. The tall white blob – not too sharp in this image – is a yucca in full bloom.

Spring Hillside

It’s hard to stay home when the world outside is still blooming away after the winter rains!