Views from Jackson, CA

We took a drive to historic Jackson here in the Sierra Foothills. The town has a lot of charm. I decided that for today I would share some photos of things that I captured that day. Ready to see bits of Jackson? Let’s go!

Let’s begin with an old photo. There is a union sign and an agency sign out front along with four dashing fellows of the day…

An old photo

Here is a view of one of the storefronts. The building needs a bit of work…

A storefront with rooms above

Walking along the sidewalks, I discover that the hardware store used to be in this location. It is another business now, but the pavement still shows what was once here.

Embedded in the sidewalk

Shortly after this we came upon a rather funny historical marker.

A historical marker

In the entryway to one building, I discover a really bad tile job!

A bad tile job

One final shot, this of the Jackson Hotel! Here you can not only rent a room for the night but enjoy a juicy steak at Stanley’s!

Historical National Hotel

Well, thanks for stopping by! Have a great Saturday! Be well… ^..^

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The Lovely Blog Hop

I’ve been challenged by my friend and author Anneli Purchase, to join the Lovely Blog Hop to share some of the things that have helped shape my writing and my life. Many thanks Anneli!

The blog rules include telling a bit about myself and my interests. So here I am, Barb Beacham, sharing bits and pieces of who my life with you!

Selfie

First Fond Memory

Putting on the thinking cap, I realized that I have many fond memories. One of the first was as a very young child, and it is of my Grandpa. I lived in New Jersey, and in the winter my Grandpa would break out the sled. We would sit on my Grandpa’s back as we went sailing down the street on that sled. What fun we had!

Books

I was in fourth grade when I joined The Scholastic Book Club. The first book I read was about the life of Babe Ruth. I enjoyed baseball, and wanted to impress the boys too, which is why I read this book. I have been an avid reader ever since. I read every night before going to bed. I enjoy murder mysteries, romance, science fiction fantasy, historical fiction…oh the list could go on and on…The last book I read is The Wind Weeps written by Anneli Purchase. I am currently reading “Embattled” by Darlene Jones.

Libraries

I spent a lot of time in libraries. Either I was researching something for a school project, or looking for something to read. One of the things I enjoy the most, next to the written word, is the smell of books. There is nothing in the world like it, and to me I find it comforting!

Passion

I have not one, but many passions. Photography, cooking, writing, blogging, working in the garden are just a few.

Learning

There is not a day that goes by that I do not learn something new. I love expanding my horizons!

Writing

Oh, how I love to write! I have two books in the works. And, I have notes all over the place all with ideas of stories! I have three blogs that I write. One of my blogs is a writing challenge and I have so much fun choosing a photo from the thousands that I have taken, and then creating an opening line that goes with the photo. If you like to write, come and join me and the many others who write for my blog! It is Mondays Finish the Story. I also write for two other challenges. They are Friday Fictioneers, and Sunday Photo Fiction.

And, this now brings me to the point where I am to nominate another for the “Blog Hop.” This is where it gets difficult! I follow so many wonderful blogs…all of which I enjoy immensely!

As I sat and thought about this, hard choice that it is, I nominate Michael over at Morpethroad.

Be well and thank you again Anneli for passing this on to me!

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The Rolling Hillsides of the Sierra Foothills

In spring, what is so lovely about living in the Sierra Foothills are they beautiful green rolling hillsides! In summer they turn to gold, which is one of the reasons why California is called the golden state. I thought that I would share with you today some photos of the verdant green beauty of the Foothills!

Rolling green hillsides

A hay barn

Oak trees showing off their new leaves!

A town nestled in the trees

Cows gobbling up the new greens

Fencing criss-crosses a meadow

Green as far as the eye can see

Isn’t it just beautiful?

Thanks for dropping on by today! Have a splendid day and be well! ^..^

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All Wet!

We had a day of rain on Monday and when it stopped I headed outdoors only to discover the turkeys were back! Taking a glance before running in the house to grab the camera, I thought these were all males. I was wrong! The turkeys were drying themselves off after the rain! So, for today, I will be featuring photos of all the lovelies drying off!

Here is a small group of females, feathers fanned to aid them in drying out!

All wet!

There were eleven turkeys in the yard!

The gaggle in the yard!

Here is the male bird. He has his eyes on the females!

The male

A female spreads out her tail feathers, shakes, then settles back down with her feathers still extended.

Drying off the rear end

A young male watches the females. You can see his wattle (red skin on the neck) is not as pronounced as it is on the mature male in the photo above!

A male checks out three females

They are truly beautiful. In this final shot, a young female is preening.

Preening

I hope that you enjoyed the photos! Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Be well… ^..^

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Critters in the Hood

For today, a lovely rainy day, I thought that I would share with you photos from the past of the amazing critters we see here in the Sierra Foothills. There are many that come to visit us. Are you ready to check them out? OK! Let’s go!

Here is a young fox. Since living here, I discovered that these little guys love strawberries. I had 300 berries ripening in the garden, and when I went to go and harvest them, they were all gone! Thinking my friend that comes to help me in the yard had eaten them, I found I was mistaken when one day I caught a fox at the berry patch!

To catch a thief

We have an abundance of deer here too. They come and go, and we consider ourselves lucky when we step outside and they look up at us with those big brown eyes!

Deer Face

There are many squirrels here too. We have the gray squirrel and the ground squirrel. The gray squirrels drop pine cones from the trees, and the ground squirrel steals veges from my garden!

A squirrel

One of the other critters here, that we hope we do not have a run in with, are the skunk! The dog and I got sprayed one night, and it took a week to rid myself of the smell!

Striped Skunk

Recently I featured photos of the wild turkey in our hood. We love seeing these birds. They actually end up picking at the ground clearing areas for us. We like that! No weed whacking where these critters have been!

A Tom turkey

Nature’s janitor here in the foothills are the turkey buzzards. They are huge birds that keep the area clean for us!

Gaining momentum

In August/September we are visited by a huge spider! It is the male tarantulas looking for a mate. They call it “The March of the Tarantula.” This one was on the frame of our front door!

Tarantula

Ah, but there are many more! I hope that you enjoyed the photos of some of the critters in my yard and neighborhood! Have a spectacular Saturday! Be well… ^..^

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Tom Turkey Wants to Mate!

Yesterday morning, stepping out the front door, I noticed a herd of turkey’s. The herd was mostly female and there was a Tom looking for a mate! He was all fluffed up, tail feathers spread, and he was gobbling at the females! It was quite a sight to see, so for today, I am sharing the photos I took of this buff male!

It was amazing to watch the male expand his plumage and chuff at the females. Here is the Tom in all his glory!

Tom showing off his plumage!

What was funny was that he kept circling the females but never got really close. Here is a side view of this handsome male.

Side view of a Tom Turkey

The females make a small peeping sound. It is the male that makes the gobble, gobble sound. Here is a shot of the male while he is calling to his potential mated!

Calling all females!

The females are listening! They choose which male they will mate with.

The hens listen to the song of the male

Check out his amazing backside!

Lovely backside!

Let’s take a closer look at the male’s face. The fleshy thing hanging above his beak is called a snood. The red fleshy part at its neck is called the wattle. The snood fills with blood and elongates when the male is trying to attract a female.  If you go back to the photo where the male is calling to the female, you will see how long the snood gets.   The larger to snood the more the females are attracted to the male…

A face that only a mother could love!

Part of the mating ceremony is the fluffing out of the feathers. They fluff out their wings dragging the tips along the ground.

All fluffed up

I spy another male in the group. This one is a younger male as the face does not show the fully developed snood. He hangs back and is watching the other male!

Another younger male

Turkey’s are really fun to watch! I hope that you enjoyed my photos today! Thank you for dropping in, and be well! ^..^

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Too Soon to be Blooming!

What is too soon to be blooming? Well, it is my almond tree, which is in full bloom already. This is way too early. This is because California is still experiencing the drought. 😦

We had a lovely wet December. January, which usually has a few days of rain, was awarded a new record: The Driest January on Record. Temperatures in January were in the 60’s, and we have not had the normal freezing temperatures. We have had four days of rain this month so far, giving us a bit over 5″ of rain. The next anticipated storm is slated for February 21st, and the chance of it raining is only 40%. Not good. Because of the dry January, and because of the lack of rain this month, plants are blooming now which should not be blooming another month or two.

Anyway, I grabbed the camera, threw on my extension tube, and got these photos of the almond blossoms that I want to share with you today!

The almond blossom

All wet!

Reaching out!

Lost in the details

Whispering softly

Spread out

Aren’t they just beautiful blossoms?

Thanks for dropping by today! Send the rain our way, or do the rain dance for us! Have a terrific Thursday and be well… ^..^

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Early Blooms

We had the driest January on record here in the Sierra Foothills. With the dry weather we had warmer than normal days. Temperatures ranged mostly in the 60’s with some days in the 70’s. Too warm for winter! Because of the warmer weather, plants in my yard and around the forest that surround us, are blooming way too early! I thought that for today I would share some of what is blooming in my yard!

Let’s start with my roses…Here is a blossom on my wedding rose.

An early rose

The helleborus do not usually open until March. Not this year!

Helleborus

I have a load of daffodils in the yard and of the 300 or so, many are in full bloom! Here is one getting ready to open and one that is open!

Daffodil opening up

An open daffodil

There is nothing that compares to the sweet fragrance of the Daphne. Can you smell it?

Daphne

The honeybees are happy because my rosemary is in bloom. In the morning hours, the bee activity in the rosemary sounds like I am standing in a hive! I tried capturing some bees, but was unable to. However, here is blooming rosemary!

Rosemary

Yesterday, today, and thru Monday we will be having some much needed rain. Yesterday’s rain total here was 2.86″ of rain. We have been without power too, and are currently running off our generator!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope that you have a splendid Saturday! Be well… ^..^

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Scale – A WordPress Photo Challenge!

Michelle W. over at WordPress has chosen the topic “Scale” for this week’s photo challenge! I think I can do this! Ready?

Sitting down at the end of the hike!

How is that for scale?

The next series of photos were taken in Big Trees State Park in the Sierra Foothills.

Another tree near The Discovery Stump – A bit of perspective

The root end of one tree

The Discovery Stump

One final shot of a ponderosa pine. Notice the horse at the bottom of this photo to get an idea of scale!

Perspective – Do you see the horse?

I hope that you have enjoyed my entry into this week’s photo challenge! Thanks for stopping by! Be well… ^..^

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A Covey of Quail

One of my favorite birds here in the Sierra Foothills is the California Quail! These little birds gather in groups called a covey. When startled, their tiny little legs, carry them off to the bushes to hide. I have tried so many times to capture these lovely plump birds in photos and was finally awarded with a few the other day. So, let’s go and check out the Quail, which is the State Bird of California! If you click on the photos you will notice more of the amazing details of this bird!

Quail in the yard

The males have a black accent on their faces, and their knot of feathers on the top of their heads is larger than that of the female. Their top knot is made up of six feathers.

One majestic male

Isn’t he handsome?

Here is a shot of two females looking at me. Notice that their coloring is less prominent than that of the male. Also, their top knots of feathers are much smaller.

Two females staring at me

The females can have up to 28 eggs in their nest. This is partly due to egg-dumping, which is when other females lay eggs in a nest other than their own.

The younger quail have not quite developed their top knots as this photo shows.

Younger birds with less developed head feathers

Notice the interesting pattern in their feathers.

Interesting feather patterns

Having had their fill of seed in our yard, the begin to move off…

Heading out

Isn’t that a cool bird? I hope that you enjoyed these photos of our State Bird! Thanks for dropping in today and have a wonderful Wednesday! Be well… ^..^

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