It's Fall Migration!! Time for Birdwatching Adventures! - September 11, 2022 @ Yolo Bypass/Vic Fazio Wildlife Area

Normally, I spend 9/11 every year with some form of memorial or remembrance of the tragic events in 2001.  However, this year since I have been struggling mentally, I really couldn't bring myself to do any of the things I would normally do other than send a prayer for the families and survivors of the tragedy.  

Personally for me, it is still something that I will always mourn and always remember.  But I will absolutely not let it change the love I have for my brothers and sisters of all nations.  But the religious fanaticism (from all forms of religion) that inspire so much hatred is a big no for me and the largest lesson of 9/11 for me as well.  

But on this September 11 in 2022, I felt I needed some time to focus on nature and healing.  Although nature often brings some dark moments, it's still much preferred to the hatred that mankind brings into the world. 

So off I went through Sacramento and into the "wilds" of the Yolo bypass to Vic Fazio Wildlife Area for some early migration birdwatching!

Flying over the causeway (I-80 freeway) high above the bypass, I almost felt like a bird myself!  And I was happy to see what looked like a ton of birds out in the rice paddies.  

But first, just coming around the first curve in the auto tour, I saw a unkindness!  Actually I think it was very kind because it was a gorgeous Raven couple chilling together at the top of a pole.  A group of Ravens is called and unkindness - probably due to some superstitious nonsense from medieval times. Nevermore!  Not to me anyway. 

The rice paddies that make up most of the wildlife area were so very lush with many shades of green amongst the different foliage.  It was absolutely gorgeous on this early morning. 

One area in particular seemed to be attracting all the birds! Maybe not all, but many of the Egrets and White-faced Ibis were hanging out together in a very plush paddy that still had water in it. 

The Ibis with there brilliant plumage and bright red eyes are always one of my favorites to find.  I wish I could reach out and touch those gorgeous feathers!

The rich, green and bronze feathers of the Ibis contrast so beautifully with the snow white Egrets.  Such an amazing sight to see probably 25+ Egrets and 40+ Ibis in this one rice paddy. 

Ibis in flight preparing to land in the rice paddy near some of the egrets. 

Dinosaurs were also prevalent in Yolo on this beautiful fall day.  I saw probably 10 Great Blue Herons in the various fields.  The next pictures are from 3 of them.  Sorry if some appear redundant, but these lovely, prehistoric-looking birds seemed like they were posing for me!

The thistles and flowers were putting on a show as well.  I just love the different thistles we have in California and how photogenic they are!

This Egret was feeling fluffy against the brisk air.  So cute!

There were of course raptors all around the area as well.  By this time, it was just before sunset.  Believe it or not, these pictures that follow were all on the auto setting of my little bridge camera and it does pretty well (except for extreme noise!).  

So these look like they were taken in daylight but it was in reality closer to sunset; the picture below was taken at 6:28 facing West.  The picture of the sunset about three pics down was taken with manual settings (to make both the sunset and the thistles visible) at 6:40 pm.  Amazing different!  This camera has a great focus capability!  I wish I could get my Nikons to focus this well and any light.  lol

It also has a pretty good capability of focusing behind things such as the Great-Horned Owl behind all these tree branches.  It's not perfect and the leaves are clearly the primary focus but it's pretty good for such a difficult photo. 

This is the Thistle Sunset I was talking about.  Now granted, I am shooting extreme West - obviously right at the sun in this pic and the very last one in the post.  The egret photos below are South West. 

And now off into the sunset I go.  Until next time.  :)

xoxo

Panasonic Lumix Fz80

It's Autumn! Finding Reasons to Live at Apple Hill.

Hello loves.  

I came here to try to get back on track.  And as I stated in my previous post (which I just came on here and found, so I finished it and published it), I have been struggling with my mental health very badly lately.   

Following advice from both my therapist and psychiatrist, I am trying to restore my faith in this ugly world and one of the ways that I do this and heal myself is by road trips into this beautiful gift from God called Earth.  

So last weekend I got up early and headed up highway 50 to Placerville and Apple Hill.  It was a gorgeous morning and I wanted to beat the crowds so I could have some peace and take some photos before doing a small bit of shopping.  :-)

Most of the farms weren't even open when I got up there just before 8:00 a.m. so I decided to drive around and look for Autumn colors to photograph. I drove up past Abel's Acres and went down the road to El Dorado Orchards (I think) since they have a big gloriously colored tree in their parking lot.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this information because...well...it's just a lone tree in a parking lot!  Not very photogenic.  haha  

But today, the morning light in the distant orchard highlighted another beautiful green tree and I thought it might look cool framed by the red, yellow, and gold leaves of the parking lot tree.  

From there, I just drove a big circle by heading down to Hassler Road and following it back around to Abel's Acres.  

Oh, such MAGIC I saw along the way!!

I came around one corner and saw an amazing and colorful vista with different shades of green, red, and orange and had to pull over to snap some pics.  And the best thing for my Autumn photos??  There was a wild turkey right there walking amongst the trees!!  Awesome!

I took one photo and zoomed way in (which of course caused some deterioration since this is a small sensor bridge camera) for the turkey.  But fortunately I think it looks kind of cool processed with some AI filters along with a layer of "paint strokes".  

Cool!  So happy.  

One thing I love in rural areas is when people put old trucks to new use.  One of the main things I see done is to use a truck as a flower bed, which I love.  These folks on Hassler Rd multipurposed their truck as both a flower planter and a mailbox!  Cute!

Yes, I had to quickly stop and get a picture of the gorgeous tree line road leading me into the light!   

And then I saw Lava Cap Winery and stopped.  No, not to taste some wine (which I totally would do if it wasn't 8:00 in the morning with me driving alone, etc.) but because the groomed fields looked so beautiful!  

I couldn't park where the vineyards are so I had to walk around a bit (good for me!).  

In the process, I saw a small rubbish (But the rubbish was so beautiful though?) pile and HAD to stop and take some photos.  The purple colors (my favorite) were so lovely that I was very tempted to take some home with me.  Only the wrath of my daughter stopped me. haha

The vista that originally caught my eye from the road...

So while I was walking around Lava Cap, I saw (behind their locked gate) some pumpkins sitting amongst the gardens and I thought it looked pretty cute.  Then I remembered back in the day when I would take a little companion on my trips to be in some photographs.  And by companion I mean a stuffed animal or photo prop of my BTS friends. 

So I decided to go do my little bit of shopping and buy a pumpkin to take some pictures of.  Since it was Halloween and all.  I headed to Abel's Acres but got sidetracked by some horses and birds.  lol 

Yes, the next picture is of a dumpster.  But it's a dumpster with a Western Bluebird on it!!  lol  

And this is a female or juvenile Western Bluebird UNDER the dumpster.  Well, not quite under.  But there is a sparrow of some sort more under.  

Chipping Sparrow!!  So delightful!

Abel's didn't have the apples I wanted, so I headed over to Boa Vista and bought Arkansas Black apples for me and Terrie. They were a disappointment unfortunately.  Most apple orchards in Apple Hill were damaged this year and the apples didn't look right.  But I hoped they would still be delicious but they had a weird texture and didn't quite taste right.  The texture was chalky and was pretty off-putting.

But I had more success in my other purchases of delicious apple cider and two kinds of fudge (chocolate and apple pie).  And a green-striped pumpkin to star in some photos!  :)  I promptly took him over to a lovely red maple tree I had seen by a house down the street from Lava Cap.  

And by this pinecone and cool rock!

And in my beautiful rubbish pile!!

And, finally, amongst the gorgeous flowers in the bed by the Lava Cap Winery logo sign!

And then...my magical morning got even MORE magical!

When I'm going through this crisis of mental health and faith, I'm not afraid to ask for a sign from Father God that he is with me and still carrying me when I need it.  

I used to pray like 10 times a day.  But in the ugliness of this world and what passes in the news for so-called Christianity (from IMO the people who are the LEAST like Christ that I've ever seen), that number has fallen to usually once a day.  Sometimes nunce a day.  

I'm trying to change that.  Because my relationship with the Lord is just that.  MY relationship with the Lord.  And I can't worry about what other people are doing.  Or what they think of what I'm doing.  The hard lesson I learned when my brother died is that the people that I love do not always love me in return.  

I so miss my brother, but to be honest, I'm grateful that they did not live to be a part of this world.  Because I don't know how that would have went and I'm so sad just thinking about it. 

So I seek out God's beauty in God's creation.  I ask questions but also try to rely more on faith, because my over analytical mind just questions everything and runs a million miles an hour - especially lately. 

So on this incredibly beautiful morning full of God's light, love, sounds, and sights, I was feeling His spirit.  

And then came another sign carrying all of the above.  I heard a beating sound.  It was pretty loud and sounded like a Harley coming from down the road.  But nothing came. 

I kept taking photos.  And heard it again.  And again.  

Finally I realized that it was coming - not from the road - but from right beside me.  There were 3  delicate and yet grand hummingbirds admiring the very same small plot of flowers that I was.  

Just after I realized what was making the sounds, a truck came by and they all scattered.  I sat down on a rock.  And said a quick prayer that I may be blessed with the return of at least one so I could try to get a photo.  

And one came back.  Just one.  Just for me. You'll never convince me otherwise.  :-) 

It's drinking!  Look closely and you can see it's long beak going into the flower.  It's body looks a bit weird though.  

And last but not least, I even got a mostly CLEAR PHOTO!  

It was a very good morning that I will tuck away into my memories to pull out when I'm feeling sad or hopeless.  Thank you. 

xoxo

Panasonic Lumix FZ80 bridge camera with Topaz DeNoise & Sharpen AI editing software