Over the river and through the woods...to Folsom Prison?

Yes, but just to look, not to take up residence...I was a little nervous...what was the guard thinking in the guard tower of this lady in the parking lot snapping photos of The Wall???

 

It is an intimidating sight. big, and gray.

Why were we there???? Well, the kids couldn't know home for thanksgiving so Lycra man and I drove up to Sacramento to visit Brenda and Paul. We took a day trip from Sac to the city of Folsom and of course had to go see the prison.

Folsom is a cute old western town, we had gelato in one of the shops...if you are in the area, visit Folsom.

We also visited the Capital of California...Beautiful grounds, and interior.

Had some great dinners, this is a beat salad form Ten22 in old town Sac, another great place to visit...

dinner number two, Capitol Garage, in a garage in Sac

we had a great trip, had fun visiting the oldest daughter. 

P.S. Technology is wonderful ,sometimes, when it works, department. We were driving south on I-5 in California, youngest daughter is driving north on I-5 in Oregon..asking for directions to her uncles house....GPS wouldn't work in her car...so..call the parental units ! She made it safe and sound...

Belated Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

When a tree falls in the park, does it leave a hole in your heart?

December 2011

November 2012

yes

I just got back from a week long trip up to Oregon. Helped move Kathy into her new apartment.  Brings back  memories of my time at OSU. Kathy has some great roommates, I did too...I even got to get together with 2 of the 7 this trip.

That's right you all, there were 8 of us, in one house, all girls...and we are still friends to this day..well, maybe not after I post these pictures.

Had a great time with the roomies,  Lycra man and my brother at the Oregon Gardens Barn Dance.

 us, me in the middle with the g rated wardrobe malfunction...

Lycra man and my brother with their "barley pop", discussing engineering things. I am serious, they were taking bearings of hot air balloons with a compass app on their smart phones.

 Sharon and Mike

 getting ready to learn the bull shift dance.

   Us. Mike, Sharon. Lycra man, keeney, me, my brother Craig.

getting us to look at a camera, the same camera, at the same time....

kind of like herding cats.

Next morning, Keeney and I did a short photo safari in the Oregon gardens.

 Stalking a scare crow...

 this is Keeney of Nome Alaska...check out her blog on life in Nome. You'll find a link to the right.

 Getting close to cider time!

 Hops, need those for" barley pop"...

 

 Keeney and me, reflecting...

 Asters and black eyed Susan, makes me think of my granny, she grew these in her flower garden.

Maybe next time we can get all of us together...it is an annual affair at the gardens it seems. Fair warning Grace, Susie, Carol, Lyn, Jackie....and spouses!

Fall is creeping closer.

Fall doesn't fall here, you know arrive all at once, boom! It creeps in. Some of our hottest days of the years can be in the coming month of September. "Fall" color may arrive in December.

so how do i know it is on the way, well it is in the angle of the sun,

The sun light is golden at times, the grass is drying and a few leaves are down,

Flowers going to seed,

The leaves at the top of the cottonwood trees are a yellow green,

Acorns cover the oak trees and are starting to drop,

I hear the acorn woodpeckers in the trees, they used to store their acorns in the huge oak trees in the park, see the holes. then the moved to the wooden utility poles.

this spring the wooden poles were replaced with metal poles, I don't know where Woodie and his sore beaked clan are going to store their acorns this year.

Yep, fall is on the way.

Water.....

Something new at the park...no water in the creek. Even through our drought of the last 3 years we had water in this creek, runoff from lawns etc. 

Prior to the water drying up, I had noticed it smelled, there were no ducks swimming in it. That makes me wonder if something is blocking the water flow from up stream.

What ever the reason, it is D-R-Y 

here are some before and now pictures, taken at the same locations on the creek.

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Starting something new

Some of you may know, I have been trying to start my own, small, floral business, filed the papers, got the name, Expressions Floral and thanks to one of the coffee ladies, I had a customer, Jacqui. I must say she was the dream bride. She said, these are the colors I like, I need this many bouquets and boutonnieres, here is my budget , go.

She was just the kind of bride I am looking for. A girl on a budget, a girl who knows small can be just as beautiful as over the top, you know, a small expression can speak volumes...  Yesterday was her big day, and mine too...

Bouquet

Grooms Boutonniere

Corsage ( one of my famous vertigo shots)

Alter Pieces

 

I had a great time designing Jacqui's flowers, I think the best thing was how happy she was with the final product. 

Congratulations to the new couple, and thanks for giving me a shot!

More Fair... I love fair time!

Ventura County Fair runs for a week and a half. This week the 4-H , FFA and Grange kids have their market animals at the fair . Today was auction day. I wondered around and snapped some photos before going to the livestock area.

 

Dahlia's in the floral culture building

One lucky fellow!

SOLD!

A mini steer, a new division added to the fair this year 

4-Hr's waiting to get beef h'orderves to serve in the auction arena.

A 4-Hr, doing what I love most, talking to the public about their animal...these kids are wonderful!

heading to the auction ring.

I love to listen to this fellow!