Walking out one midsummer morning
A few days ago I got up early accidentally, and decided to schlep up to the ridge for sunrise. I saw this sunrise through the brush on the way up and it was a shot of adrenaline. I took of off down the trail, determined to get up to the top of the hill to get a photo of it, and by the time I got there, it was gone. Well it was still there, gorgeous and all, but not the purple sky gradient that had gotten me all fired up.
Today I got up intentionally, surprising myself with the lack of difficulty. Also surprising myself with how exceedingly dopey I am in the morning when I’m woken up by an alarm and not simply from a lousy nights sleep. I managed to get all the way down the ridge for the sunrise. I do like this photo, but it doesn’t capture the scene, the fog is rolling in, slowly, like liquid over the hills, its like looking at the rapids in a river in slow motion, if they were made of cotton.
This little skittish thing was not interested in getting its photo taken. Took off down the path the second it saw I was there.
I heard something rustling in the grass by the trail. Convinced it was quail, and really wanting to get a picture of them with their silly little hats, and the likely flock of babies they’d have in tow, I pulled out my camera, made pepper lay down and stay, and got ready. Then this fella trotted out onto the path! Good thing I’ve got a well behaved dog I guess.
The sun up here in the morning turns the whole hillside gold, its stunning.
I genuinely thought there was something wrong with my lens.
The last time I was up here early, I got to have a really nice sit down with a resting dragonfly. I’ve noticed that if you find them patrolling an area for a while you can usually hang out and wait for them to take a break. These big dragonflies apparently like to land vertically, but I’ve never seen them all that comfortable with company before, usually they’re chasing each other away from “their space.”
Coming back from the sunrise on the ridge, I saw something moving in the grass
We hear these coyotes all night, they make a hilarious racket that sounds like a mix of kids playing and hyenas cackling. There were three coyotes in the grass here, all the other shots were a mess. There was a couple walking by the grass, with a hedge between them. The coyotes knew they were there, but even the couple’s dog seemed to have no idea the were being kept close track of by the nearby back
These colors are really satisfying. The dragonflies up here must have a pretty easy life, their wings are all in perfect condition.
The dried fennel stalks up here look like they should be carved in marble or a wooden headboard.
I heard more rustling, I’d heard it here before coupled to those ridiculous sounds these birds make. Then, out onto the path popped poppa quail! … Then both the dog and I were spotted and he vanished, the rustling stopped, the noises stopped. I was sure they’d just taken off in another direction, but figured that there wasn’t any harm in sitting on a trail in the woods for a few minutes to see if they’d come back. After maybe 10 minutes, which always feels like hours when you’re just sitting there (being antsy with your ADHD wanting to look at that bird, or whatever that noise was, or the dog, or wondering what you should eat for breakfast, or if Liz has gotten up yet or… I digress. ) waiting, they came back! A handsome pair, with little clumps of 2 or three kids maybe totalling three quarters of a dozen or so, nervously making their way across the trail bouncing between wandering and sprinting. This is what I came here for, and now I had it, I went home happy this morning.
Quail!
Mom saw me and stopped, but Dad doesn’t know why.
Quail Kids too!
Little guy didn’t notice everyone left him behind.
