Chasing The Light

This is one of the reasons I love living in California! This is taken from Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest.

 We have such beautiful mountains and forests here! This was at the end of the day and there was a thin hazy cloud cover that day so it gave a sort of upside down, surreal look to the sky with the blue on the horizon and the pink over it.

Nature's banquet for the squirrels is abundant. Also, a soft, crunchy carpet to nourish and insulate new life under the snow that will come soon.

 Even at the end of the season Nature's patterns and shapes are beautiful.

Lighting is key in capturing interesting photos. This is the same tree just before the sun set below the ridge and again about a half an hour later.

I am awed by the tenacity of nature. Even a tiny seed in an impossible location can aspire to become a great tree.

 I love interesting colors, shapes and patterns. This rock had all of that going for it with it's natural coloring and patterns enhanced by the bright green moss.

I arrived on the mountain pretty late in the afternoon so my time for shooting was limited. I was trying to shoot some small clusters of tiny red flowers that were particularly bright in the setting sun and I could see the light fading as I was trying to focus on them. I never did get the image I wanted of them.

But it was a beautiful day - a little cool, but I fortunately thought to bring a jacket with me and I had on sturdy shoes (lessons learned from previous unprepared trips).

Even if I hadn't gotten any photos it would have been a good day!

I love being in the mountains, probably as much as I like being at the beach, which is why I love Southern California so much.

Conversations With My Navigator

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It does not inspire any sort of confidence in me when I’m driving down the freeway and my GPS navigator says “now turn left”.

I also think I need to wait until I am actually ON the freeway to turn on the navigation because it does not seem to know the best and closest way to the freeway on-ramp based on where I am.

There is a freeway on-ramp about 2 miles from where I live that will connect to pretty much any freeway I actually need to take. My navigator insists on taking me 4 miles of surface streets across the Valley to get on the freeway.

Directions from my home:

GPS: In .2 miles turn right

Me: No. I’m going straight. The entrance is right up here. I’m not driving all the way across the Valley to get to the other freeway.

GPS: Now turn right.

I ignore the direction and keep driving straight.

GPS: In .4 miles turn right.

I ignore the direction. This prompting continues for the entire 2 miles until I actually get ON the freeway.

I’m pretty sure one the day conversation is going to go like this:

GPS: In .2 miles turn right.

Me: No. I’m not getting on that freeway over there when there's a closer entrance up here.

GPS: Now turn right.

I ignore the direction and keep driving straight.

GPS: In .4 miles turn right.

I ignore the direction.

GPS: IF YOU’RE JUST GOING TO IGNORE MY DIRECTIONS WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU TURN ME ON IN THE FIRST PLACE?????