From Flowers to Castles - Amador County, California 2016

In my last post, we visited Amador Flower Farm in Plymouth, California on a beautiful Easter morning.  

But, although it was sooo gorgeous, it wasn't the only star of the show!  A drive through the California foothills in spring is bound to bring you many fun and fantastic sights.  And I'm here to capture them for you!

I headed back down Highway 16 towards Highway 49 to head to Ione, California.  But I had seen a couple things on my way up and new I had to stop.  The first one was a VERY creative use of an old vehicle to create an eye-catching planter!

 I need that on my ranch too.  Along with lots and lots of poppies!  Especially multi-colored ones!

A bit further down the road, I saw an abandoned house that was in a beautiful state of decay.  I find abandoned things oddly fascinating and always want to stop and explore.  I don't always because I'm usually alone and somewhat of a chicken.  But this time I couldn't resist. 

I drove down the long road/driveway and parked behind the house.  I want to make it clear that I meant absolutely no disrespect.  I know there must be some story full of sorrow when homes become abandoned.  I'm not making light of that.  I look for the beauty in the tragedy I try to do with everything. 

Next door to the house was a field with some sheep in it.  I had to take a photo when I saw the Calla Lilies next to them.  My own version of Easter lily and the sheep remind me of the Shephard. 

I headed back down the road and stopped when I came to the pioneer cemetery for Plymouth.  Cemeteries are another thing I get a lot of grief for (no pun intended!  haha!) but they combine several of my favorite things: Outdoors, history, flowers, art, reverence, and often animals/birds.

How fitting that one of the first things I noticed when I got out to walk around was this memorial with Jesus looking out at me through a stained-glass window!

This person died in 1882!

And this oak tree is way older than that!  

The Spring scenery was so green and peaceful.  

Next door to the cemetery was a beautiful field full of wildflowers.

I moved along until I reached Preston Castle in Ione.

Such an amazing building!  I am going to go back to one of the photographer events.  If you're ot on a tour, you can only shoot through the fence. 

On my way home, I found a gorgeous field full of wild flowers. I had to stop and take tons of shots!

Fiddlenecks!

Beautiful!  And my gorgeous drive came to an end.  

xoxo

Nikon D3000

Easter Drive to Amador County - 2016

Okay, I'm doing a "throwback" post even though it isn't Thursday.  ALL my posts tend to be throwbacks since I take so many shots and then have to weed through them and do the basic post-production!  

When I'm feeling at my most reflective, I take to the roads to view the beauty of this wonderful planet we call home.  Easter 2016 was no exception.  My daughter was still away at school and I didn't really have any plans.  I visited my mom for awhile and then decided to head up to the foothills to find a flower farm I had heard of, appropriately named the Amador Flower Farm.  

It was a gorgeous day for a drive and I was looking forward to communing with nature so I headed up Highway 16 to Plymouth.  

I saw a lot of beautiful and interesting sights on the way, but rain was a possibility so I tried not to stop until I reached the farm. But at one point I saw these lovely pink bushes in the rolling green hills and couldn't resist. I parked on the shoulder and got out to hike for a better advantage.

  

There was a muddy little creek running through the property; my ideal spot for a horse ranch!!!  

If only.  :-)

When I headed back to my car, I saw this drainage ditch under the highway and thought it would make a cool photo.  Feel free to disagree.  lol

When I'm on one of my photo jaunts, I look for the beauty in everything!  When I got to the farm, I found beauty in spades!  I also found crowds and crowds of people!  I hadn't checked their website recently and didn't realize that they were having a massive Easter egg hunt.  But I was able to sneak in some good shots in spite of the crowds.  

The place is surrounded by vineyards and beautiful lilacs were in bloom.

There were also jonquils and daffodils aplenty!

But ya know purple is my favorite color so one more of the lovely lilacs. 

But the clouds were so gorgeous and the sky so blue that even the bare vines made for stunning shots!

Luckily when I got there, the egg hunts were well in progress so the crowds did start to thin out a bit as I walked around.  They have some delightful gardens and lawns for folks to wander through and even picnic which I saw many families doing.  I contented myself with getting some close up shots of the flowers.  

One of my mom's favorites:  Iris

I love this next flower and shot.  Bokeh!

I don't know what it is; it looks like a purple poppy which I didn't even know was a thing!

And there were some red ones too.  Well, red and pink

Now these are tulips (I think) lol.  

Once you get past the gardens and the middle where the little store is, the flower fields, more grapevines, and a beautiful little marshy creek invite you to keep walking. 

The creek bed was absolutely FILLED with Calla Lilies

 So beautiful!

Almost immediately upon arriving, I noticed another of my mom's favorite flowers, Wisteria.  And it was surrounding one of my favorite things, angel figures.  But all day there was literally always some one taking a photo of family or friends at this lovely setting.  

I was thrilled when, as I was wandering back through on my way to the car, I found it empty. 

I must have this once a get my dream ranch. I've always wanted to have a special prayer chapel setting. 

As I was just entering the parking area, I saw this family in one of the garden picnic areas.  I could not resist snapping this perfect family Easter outing.  

 And then a little Killdeer led me to my car.  I didn't know they had parking attendants!

As I got in my car, I saw that a cloud had formed a beautiful heart.  It seemed so apropos and I knew my Heavenly Father was smiling down on us on this perfect Easter morning!

And with that, I got in my car and headed on down the road.  I had seen several things that required being turned into photographs!

xoxo

Nikon D3000