Mountains – A Wild Weekly Photo Challenge!

I love it when I find myself in the mountains and usually have more photos of where I am in the mountains than of the mountains themselves. This week’s photo challenge at LetsBeWild.com has “Mountains” as the subject! Wandering through the archives I wanted to share these lovely mountain photos with you! Are you ready to explore some amazing views?

Our first stop is Yosemite National Park. I loved the grandeur of the mountains rising up above Yosemite Valley. Here is El Capitan with Half Dome in the background.

Yosemite

In contrast to the green beauty of Yosemite, outside of the painted desert, we came upon these mountains with some amazing ribbons of color.

Mountains rising up as we head into the Painted Desert

In my own backyard is the Sierra Nevada range. On a road trip in winter, my friend and I stopped along the side of the road admiring the vast expanse of the mountain range.

A view of the Sierra Nevada Range

Heading way far north in the little town of Leavenworth in Washington State, I could not help but admire the lovely peaks surrounding us. Here is one view that I really loved!

A mountain view from Leavenworth, WA

A post on mountains definitely needs to include the Grand Tetons! And grand they are! Here is a shot looking across Jackson Lake at these beauties!

The Grand Tetons from across Jackson Lake

Yellowstone was mostly flat, but there are mountains rising above the Grand Prismatic Pool that still held the remains of winter.

The mountain behind the Grand Prismatic Pool in Yellowstone

Please take some time to check out some of the other entries at the Let’s Be Wild site and please do leave me a comment on their site! You can get there by clicking here!

I hope that you have a wonderful Thursday! The weekend is almost here! Enjoy and thank you for visiting!

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From Grapes to Wine – A WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge

This week’s subject for the WordPress Photo Challenge is “Change.” This got me to thinking of the changes that I see every year in the process of making wine, so I thought that I would share with you the process of making wine…

In the winter the vineyard sleeps. While we get snow here is does not negatively effect the vines. There is a quiet beauty found in the sleeping vineyard.

The vineyard sleeps

When spring arrives the vines awaken. The first green makes its appearance on the vines, and this is known as “bud break.” Shortly thereafter the grape clusters appear.

After bud break the Cabernet grapes appear

Towards the end of the growing season the clusters ripen and change color.

Cabernet on the vine

Once harvested, the grapes are brought in. Here is a bin loaded with Cabernet waiting to start the crush process.

Cabernet waiting to be crushed

The grapes are dropped into an auger that will regulate the flow of grapes to the sorting table.

The process of crush begins

After being hand sorted, where bad clusters, leaves and other debris is removed, the grapes head up a conveyor to the machine that will remove the grapes from the stems.

Heading towards the destemmer

From the destemmer, the grape matter, including the seeds, go straight to a tank to begin fermentation.

Ready to start fermentation

Once in the tank fermentation begins, and while the skins of the grapes carry a yeast, it is not enough to really get fermentation going. So good quality yeast is added. The skins and seeds, along with the juice, will sit in the tanks for a week to 10 days. When fermentation hits 50% the tanks are drained and all is processed through a crush machine. 30% of the juice that will become wine comes from the skins and seeds. Here is a shot of the juice coming out of the press.

After fermenting in tanks the skins get crushed

From the crush machine, the juice is then transferred to barrels where it will sit for the next year and half to two years.

Barrels of wine

Work is done on the barrels throughout this time frame until the wine is ready for bottling. From there is goes out for sale. Who does not enjoy a glass of wine?

The finished product

I hope that you enjoyed this post of change! Please take some time to check out what others have posted in this challenge by clicking here!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope that you have a great weekend!

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A Walk in the Clouds – A Wild Weekly Photo Challenge!

Those amazing folks over at Let’s Be Wild are doing a photo challenge on clouds this week. Now I ask you, if you take photos, how many cloud photos do you have? I have many! Some would say too many!

So how about a walk in the clouds? Are you ready for a trip through some truly amazing sights? Well then, if you are game, let’s head out!

Flying at 38,000 feet can make you feel like you are in space, especially when the view from the airplane’s window looks like this!

Am I in space?

Lowering down on that same trip afforded this amazing view of a storm over the ocean!

A storm cloud over the pacific

Rising up high in the air, thunderheads can be majestic.

A massive thunderhead

Or they can be fanciful. Do you see the happy dog in this photo?

Happy Dog!

Here is the foothills, as the sky darkens and a storm moves in, the world changes.

Storm clouds over the vineyard

And there is nothing like the clouds parting, the sun peeking through, the rain coming down, and a rainbow forming!

A break in the storm and a rainbow pops!

When I see what you will see in this next photo, I always feel like God is shining down on the world.That is a “God” like view, isn’t it?

Well, thanks for coming along with me on this walk through the clouds! Please do take some time to check out some of the other challenge photos by clicking here!

Have a great Thursday!

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The Colors of the Rainbow – A WordPress Photo Challenge

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is color. Here are a series of photos that follow the colors of a rainbow!

Red

Red

Orange

Orange

Yellow

Yellow

Green

Green

Blue

Blue

Violet

Violet

Well, there you have it! The colors of the rainbow!

To see what others are doing for this challenge, click here!

Have a wonderful Sunday! And, thank you for stopping by!

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A Day in My Life…A WordPress Photo Challenge!

Yesterday, WordPress announced that the photo challenge for this week is “A Day in My Life.” So, what could possibly be interesting in my daily life that would interest my readers? Every post that I do is about a day in my life! Today, I am taking you through some of the stuff that I do on a Saturday.

I don’t know about you, but to get my day moving, it usually starts here! Does yours?

My day starts here!

It’s always good to start the day with laughter, don’t you think?

After a morning with coffee, reading emails, rubbing ears and scratching bellies, and responding to comments on my blog, I get dressed and ready to face the day. Today there is a pizza in the future, and some clean up of pots in my garden. I do have to stop to check out the newly bloomed flowers.

A lovely daffodil brightens the day!

Camillia

Today I will be working on some potted plants that need some spring cleaning! Feel free to follow along!

Hanging pot needs to be cleaned up

So does the lemon balm

So let’s start with the lemon balm…

Starting out with the lemon balm

Midway through

Now there is that lovely plant!

The smell of lemon balm fills the air!

On to the next!

Starting to clean the hanging pot

It’s looking better!

Check out the plants!

Notice how small the plants are? By mid-summer this pot will be flowing down the sides and loaded with blooms!

I am hungry…On to the pizza!

Pizza dough awaiting toppings

Toppings in order of them being added to this crust: a brushing of olive oil; chopped garlic, followed by basil and oregano; sliced tomatoes; mozzarella, and asiago, romano and peccorino cheeses; pepperoni, toscano salame, sausage and fresh sliced mushrooms; mozzarella and cheddar. And pizza is ready!

Pizza is ready!

Now I am off for a nap! Be sure to check out some of the other posts for this challenge by clicking here!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

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In the Distance…A Wild Weekly Photo Challenge!

This week the topic of the Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge is “Distant.” This topic brought to mind a number of places I have been and seen where I snapped off photos of something off in the distance! Let’s go check it out!

As the sun was setting in the west, as I stood on the deck of a cruise ship, the light perfectly highlighted the town of Mazatlan!

An ocean view of Mazatlan

From the same trip when we were in Cabo San Lucas I found myself caught up in watching this hang glider as he floated around in the sky!

Watching the hang glider

Hawai’i was a perfect place for distant shots. If you look closely, this next photo features a wall in one of King Kamehameha’s compounds. The palm trees draw your eye back to the wall!

Near and far

Sunsets in Hawai’i can be spectacular when there are a few clouds in the sky, and you catch the sun as it sinks in the west!

The sun sets in the west

I love the breathtaking view that we had when we visited the Grand Tetons! For as far away as we were, their majesty cannot be beat!

The Grand Tetons from afar

Closer to home, a friend and I took a drive into the mountains, and went off on this road to see what was there. It gave us a bird’s eye view of a great place for boating and camping: Union Valley Reservoir!

Looking down on Union Valley Reservoir

Walking the streets of a town is certainly different than seeing it from the air! Flying with a friend, we headed towards Georgetown. Here is a shot from the air of the town with the Main Street on the right!

Georgetown, CA from the air

In my backyard, I happened to be on our local airstrip and caught a black hawk helicopter taking off, throwing up dust as it went.

Take off!

One last shot…From across one of the lakes by my house, I spied a red bridge in the distance, and the colors in the reflection on the water were pretty amazing too!

Reflections of a distant bridge

Thanks for stopping by to see my submission to this photo challenge! Be sure to check out what others are posting by clicking here!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

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What’s in the Future? – A WordPress Photo Challenge!

This week’s photo challenge is “Future Tense.” They are asking that we think of the things to come. So this gets me to thinking about my vegetable garden. Right now the beds are barren with the exception of weeds that I need to pull, and the ever present raspberries and strawberries. I can see in my future the upcoming bounty that my garden will provide for us…So let’s take a trip to the future shall we?

I am picturing in my head some really lovely tomatoes: Juicy and full of sweet, intense tomato flavor.

Pretty slices

I can just imagine walking over the the corn and grabbing an ear and peeling back the husks only to reveal the sweet kernels that lie within!

Sweet, sweet corn

I love acorn squash I can just see in my minds eye the deep, deep green, and the folds in this wonderful vegetable.

Acorn squash

I can see my hands digging down deep into the soil of my potato pots and bringing up potatoes that will make for some great home fries!

Yukon Gold potatoes!

And what could be better than going down to the garden in the early morning and picking a Tuscan melon for breakfast?

A future breakfast!

And do not forget the upcoming berries! My strawberries are in bloom now, and my mouth is watering in anticipation of these sweet gems.

Sweet, sweet strawberries!

String beans! I can just see them hanging on the vines, my hands reaching out and pulling them off. Then bringing them back to the house and pouring the load on the counter.

Green beans

So with future tense in mind, I am now going to head out to check out my store of seeds, clean up the green house and start planning for my future!

Be sure to check out what “Future Tense” means to others. Click here to access their works!

Now have a great Saturday! And, thank you for stopping by!

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Reflections…A Wild Weekly Photo Challenge!

This week the folks over at Let’s Be Wild have asked us to once again get outdoors and share photos of reflections. So this got me to reflecting on what reflections I could come up with! So here we go!

In the summertime here the frogs come out big time! We wandered out to our chairs one afternoon with our evening cocktail and found a prince sitting in my chair!

The Prince!

When we were in Yellowstone it was on the calmer pools of water that I discovered how magnificent the reflections were there. Here is a shot at the edge of the grand prismatic pool.

Colorful reflecting patterns

The colors in Yellowstone were amazing as can be seen in this photo! You can also see a bit of the depth in this pool of water.

Reflection in a pool in Yellowstone

In this shot I captured the clouds reflecting on still water where dramatic colors lie beneath.

Amazing colors!

Nothing could be as grand though as the Grand Tetons!

The Grand Tetons

Back at home, when we had a boat race in our area, I was lucky to get this shot of the boats zipping along in one our small lakes.

Reflecting boats

Please take some time this week to check out other submissions to this week’s challenge. You can get there by clicking here!

Have a great Thursday! And, thank you for stopping by to visit!

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Spring Has Sprung – A Wild Weekly Photo Challenge!

This week’s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge is to go outdoors capture the “beauty of spring in all its glory!” And here in the Sierra Foothills signs of spring are all around us! Let’s go and check it out, shall we?

Let’s head into the fruit orchard first. My nectarine tree is in full bloom, and the flowers are glorious! Not only do they bear the color of the fruit to come, but their gentle petals remind me of a lovely flouncy skirt.

Flouncy skirts

Nearby my Elberta peach is budding out with a few of their flowers just opening. The flowers are just asking for you to lean down and take in their lovely aroma!

The peach beckons

My almond tree is also in full bloom, and the lovely white with shades of pink draw you in.

The almond tree blooms

My apricot tree is already done with flowering and is now starting to set its fruit.

The apricot is setting fruit

Inside the orchard is my vineyard. We recently pruned back the canes to allow the plant to put its energy into producing fruit and I notice that one of the canes is weeping.

The recently pruned grapes weep

Nearby the orchard is an area of native plants, and it is the buck brush that is now in bloom, throwing its fragrance and loads of pollen into the air!

Buck brush up close

Heading back in towards the house I can see that my helleborus is still going crazy! Here is a shot with newly opened blooms and fading blooms. Both are amazingly gorgeous!

New and fading flowers

With hundreds of daffodils around my yard, here is a shot of one opening up.

Flowers open

And here is what this bud will look like once it opens.

Happy daffodils

How is spring showing its face in your yard? You too can share with others what is happening with spring where you live by entering this photo challenge. Just click here!

I hope that you enjoyed these spring photos and thank you for stopping by today! Have a great Thursday!

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My Neighborhood – A WordPress Phonography Challenge

This week’s WordPress Challenge is a challenge of taking photographs with a cell phone, ergo “Phonography.” Not possessing a cell phone that takes good photos, I am opting to use my regular camera, which has been OK’d in this challenge. The topic is my neighborhood. So let’s take a look at what is in and around my neighborhood!

Let’s start with some shots of my neighborhood from the air!

My neighborhood from the air

Here is another view.

Another shot of the neighborhood

As we come in for a landing we fly over my house. See if you can find it!

Can you find my house?

We are surrounded here by ponds and lakes, and here are a couple of the neighborhood lakes.

The lake behind my house

Another lake nearby

Here is a shot of one of my neighbors…

Deer Face

Check out other entries by clicking here!

Thanks for stopping by today! Now go out and enjoy the day!

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