I Know Where You Are!

Fair Oaks is a little town amid the suburbs of Sacramento.  It has incredible history and still has a “Main Street” with a lot of charm.

Will admit to being distracted by hunger today as I visited a popular vegetarian fast food (kinda slow–but well worth it!) eating place.  The normal 5 minute drive took quite a bit longer, as there was a rooster in the road and 3 cars had to wait for it to move.  (Yes, I am serious!)

There are quite a few varieties of chickens and roosters in this quant city/town.

After I enjoyed a wonderful Nutburger w/ avocado, then I set out to capture some of the noisier patrons.

Well, yes that is a fork. This is a fine eating establishment!

The food is wonderful and well worth the 20 minute wait!  Hikers, bikers, and strollers were parked everywhere waiting for the magic order-number to be called.  There are very few parking spots for cars!

Please note, this “curbside service” was outside the parking lot curb:)

Citified Rooster (Is that a word?)

Anyway, it is a pleasure to visit and I drove around to the town park and found a happy squirrel running among the numerous hens and roosters.  This one was clearly begging for a picture.  Well, maybe it was food–but I offered the picture!

Gott a Little Snack?

Highlight of my day, thought I’d share a bit with you!

Not my best ever moments today for photography.  50mm lens didn’t work and I lost a lens cap–still have the “leash” dangling from my lens.  Good news is that I won’t have to buy another leash:)  No complaints though, I’ll do it again in a heartbeat! 

For my next trek I am bringing my D40x.  I kept the D300s on my tripod, but missed a lot of great bird moments.  Saw 3 Snowy Egrets, 1 Blue Heron, and many Canadian Geese and ducks. With another camera I’ll be able to capture them while waiting for the sun to rise.  Gotta love the learning process! 

Reached the river just as the magic hour was closing. 

River View from Fair Oaks Bridge

There were no gorgeous colors in the sky today, just a peaceful rising of the sun behind clouds. 

Still humbling with the beauty and quiet arrival of morning.

Went on a portrait shoot and was distracted by the Cliff Swallows that were nested above where we were shooting some great models. 

So, changed lens and got a few pics off topic from my day–but the highlight none the less! 

Waiting for food!

Was not easy to get this shot, felt like I had vertigo–but worth it! 

Amazing Balancing Act

Being my first bike race ever and with a camera, I arrived in El Dorado Hills at 11:30 a.m. A little before the race began at 11:45…but some odd 70 plus miles away.  I didn’t want to miss out on a prime spot!  

The bike tent for a local bicycle shop was going up and one other car showed up in the “park and ride” expecting more crowds, as I was…important information was shared.  I drove to Target for the bathroom and to scout out a closer location to a “curve”…parked car, loaded up and headed off for the AmGen curve in El Dorado.  

The good news is that I learned to heck with parking far away.  I hiked up that swell road with more lenses than I ever could have used, but insisted they come along for the “carry”.  I was alone for almost 2 hours..  occasional bike riders/racer wannabees rode by, I took pics and waited.  

I brought my course work for my current photography unit, found strobes really couldn’t compare to the beauty along the side of the road…  

Decided I do like Foxtails...when attached to a plant and not my animals!

This is a pretty urban area, developed within the last 5 or so years…  

Not bad for a curbside!

There are hills along the winding road with old trees…  

Alone on a Hill

It really was entertaining for me.  Here I have my wonderful D300s camera “at the ready” on my tripod with a 17-50mm and I plunked my 70-300mm on my long-lost D40x and went to town with every nearby site!  

Leftover, but still pretty to me!

I was pretty entertained by the birds playing nearby!   

Come on already, ready for the race!

What kind of birds are these? Find myself looking at swooping local birds only to realize they are vultures…like to think these are Hawks 

Good to have playmates!

 with friends, you tell me!  Although I was excited to view the race first hand…was more excited to share these pics.  Nature is still my first choice:)

Motorcade Escort

Quite a bit of escort and fanfare before racers appeared.

On Their Way!

Not certain how many people are behind the scenes to pull off an event of this magnitude…just a glimpse!

In the Lead

Leaders were ahead of the pack!

On Camera!

There was very little time that passed between the leaders and the pack!

The Pack!

There actually were more support vehicles and escorts than team riders.

Support bringing up the rear

Having never observed or photographed a bike race before today…just can’t believe how quick they were gone!  Have photographed local CIF Marathon and thought the AmGen Race would be much longer.

Next year, longer lens and binoculars to isolate who I really want to capture.

Was an amazing moment to try to capture speeding athletes!

Please feel free to identify the fabulous folks I did capture.  No Lance or Levi as far as I could tell.  But–amazing just the same!  Do it again in a heart beat:)

What's behind the fence?

This was my first visit to the Auburn Fairgrounds.  It is a quaint and small fairgound housed in a town rich with Gold Rush history.  Which today will not only be housing the Home and Garden Show, but the AmGen Bike Race will speed through the streets as well! 

Nice bike for a realxing ride

There were “Country Cute” displays throughout the fairgrounds, so of course I captured them! 

A bit of country charm

It still works!

There were numerous vendors with every house and garden product or remodel project you could ever hope for.  Didn’t capture the various products, as I figured they wouldn’t appreciate me doing so.  Couldn’t resist this nice display.  The vendor was selling doors–vintage almost “barn like”.  Very rustic. 

A bit of color

And everyone just seemed so happy, even the Bartender with his mobile cart was happy to pose! 

Who came up with a bar on wheels?

All in all, a fun visit to a cute little fairground.  

I managed to acquire a new mop, Scum Off, and couldn’t resist the garlic fries.  Smelled better than they tasted, but I managed to eat them anyway!

Just "Me and my Shadow"

 For the past 5 weeks or so, I had constant entertainment and company when sitting at my desk.  

Black Phoebe’s chose to build a mud nest on my deck on top of the light, just outside my sliding glass door.  

Checking me out!

My biggest challenge was making sure the indoor/outdoor cat never knew there was an easy snack near by.  He normally hangs outside my sliding glass door to be let in–I have “let the cat in…let the cat out” continually downstairs.  Worth it.   

Soon could hear chirping and watch the parents swoop back and forth with insects.  Never saw a bird with a dragonfly before!  

So, last Sunday I decided it was “time” to get pics from outside.  What I didn’t realize was I still had on my “Shape Up” shoes from my earlier dog walk.  For those who don’t know, the new fad for ‘easy get in shape’ is to just wear these shoes and they cause you to work harder–because you have to “balance” while walking. Good to firm up the areas us aging gals are dealing with.  The first time I wore them, met a friend for lunch.  She looked at me and said, “Are you limping?” “No, just wearing new shoes and I haven’t learned to walk in them yet!”  Honestly, never had a pair of shoes that came with an instructional DVD before…why are we on shoes instead of Black Phoebe?  

I finally saw one with food to feed the babies…and couldn’t understand why I was having such a problem with “camera shake”…took many pictures and they were a mess.  This is the best of the mess.  

Are you ready for lunch?

 I figured out the “shoe problem” when I started vacuuming a bit later.  Thought, oh I’ll have to change shoes and go back again…should have done it right then.  

Was home sick on Tuesday, at my computer and realized, my Black Phoebes were gone.  No note, no goodbyes, just gone.  

Lesson learned…do not plan to take a picture later–the opportunity may be gone!  I will be ready for them next year! A special thanks to @Bosque_Bill (via twitter) who correctly identified my feathered friends…post previously incorrectly titled “Barn Swallows” now Black Phoebe!  So thankful for connections and learning from others:)

Some days just don’t turn out the way that you intended them to be…today MUCH better than imagined.  Any time I can enjoy my camera and beautiful surroundings–perfect!  Today was one of those moments in time!

Rich Colors along the RiverField of FlowersPoppies

It is amazing how much change came come into a single area within a few weeks. Five weeks ago…all that was here was river rock and a few Poppies.  Today, I was dodging people coming off of rafts and more Fox Tails than I ever knew could be in one place.  (Didn’t know you could get a “Fox Tail Splinter”!  Is possible, will have to soak my hand tonight!)

Fox Tail with Poppy Friends

I will enjoy pulling the Fox Tails out of my socks, shoes, pants, shirt, and pads–previously used for backpacking, now perfect for being on top of river rock!  Well worth the images!

Poppies in the sun

May all of your wishes come true, every day!