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

Autumn Outing - A Visit to Apple Hill and Pumpkin Nights in Auburn

I love it when the weather starts to get cooler, the leaves turn, and there are tasty treats on the horizon.  One of my friends hadn't been to Apple Hill for a minute (maybe ever??) so we decided to venture out on a gorgeous early November Saturday.  

First stop, as always for me, was Smokey Ridge Farmstand and Winery to visit the animals and buy some apples.  They also had a good winetasting going on, but there was a happy group already taking up the seats, so we passed.  

Next we went to Delfino Farms and couldn't resist having some of their famous Walkin' Pie from Joan's Apple Bakery.   An absolutely delicious treat on a deliciously gorgeous day!

We shared one of the carmel-apple goodies.  The crust was amazing!

Terrie couldn't resist some selfies and I had to document one of them too!

Then we headed North on Highway 49 to Auburn where we met Adrienne to check out Pumpkin Nights.  It was fun, although a little bit...less...than what I expected.  If you have kids, they would love it.  We had fun too and really enjoyed it and each other's company, but maybe not $20 per person worth.  Groupon would definitely be your friend.

I was expecting a lot of real, carved pumpkins, but most of them were plastic.  But still very cool looking!  There are several different "lands" and themes which was very interesting.  And then some cool "stand-alone" areas like the Pumpkin Hall. (Warning:  Somewhat blurry, handheld night shots ahead)

And at the end of the Pumpkin Hall, a wildlife rescue and educator had two hawks and two owls!  I feel bad that I can't remember the name.  I'll update once I do.  I actually have been to a lecture at the Davis library by the same group which focused on the two owls, an Eastern Screech owl and a Barn Owl.  Both gorgeous.  There were too many people around them this time, but I was able to get some excellent photos of the hawks!  So excited as I love birds of prey (well, all birds really!)

Next we went through the Undersea land.  I really loved this land.  

When you came back outside, the path led through the rest of the displays such as Dia de los Muertos.  

Then we had a blast playing tetherball (Of course I won!  lol) and then trying to hula hoop (we both failed).  Adrienne just looked on in embarrassment.  haha!  There is also a scavenger course (mostly for the kids I think) but we didn't hear anybody talking about it until we were more than halfway through. 

And then!  Finally!  Some real hand-carved pumpkins!  So cute!

And then we entered Adrienne's least favorite land.  Spider land!  

Next was a land of whimsical creatures such as this caterpillar.

And a spooky pirate ship with a skeleton crew.

And then you enter China/Japan land (not sure which one was intended). 

I love the abstract look of this next photo.  A lantern in front of a fence in front of a tree - all illuminated by red lights.  

Next there was a hay bale maze, which we were excited to be able to finish!  In about 15 seconds.  lol  But it was fun and Terrie's first maze.  So she gave the Great Pumpkin a kiss for good luck!

Then we saw the kids exchanging their scavenger hunt findings for...something...  But I was more interested in another carved pumpkin.  To my delight, when the guy in the booth saw my camera, he asked me if I wanted him to make the pumpkin smoke.  So of course I said hell yes!  And this is what I got.  

Then it was time to leave and I snapped one last photo of the waterwheel with it's festive lights and pumpkins.  

A few final words.  Parking was $10 per car and the lot was a mess.  It's at the fairgrounds in Auburn, so I didn't expect a lot that was only half paved with the exit on the far side which was NOT paved and had lots of ruts and rocks.  

Again, it was a really fun day and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  I read through the Yelp reviews and it seems that this year was quite disappointing for a lot of returnees.  I for one had thought there would be some fire dancers, but we didn't see any.  

If you like lights and/or have young children, this is a great time.  But get your Groupon on!  

xoxo

Nikon d3300