Ananda Village – Page 2 – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 27 Comments

During rain storms: Crystal Hermitage Garden

We had our fingers crossed because this year, after a 2-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ananda Village, in Nevada City, opened their beautiful garden to us. Each year volunteers plant and care for beautiful tulips in the Crystal Hermitage Garden. This year we had to buy tickets online for a specific date and time. I think that was wise so they could handle all the visitors after a 2-year close.

Why did we have our fingers crossed? It rained for days before we were to go and was drizzling the morning we left. We didn’t get rained on, but it was cloudy and sometimes sunshine poked through. We were in luck and the tulips had lots of water drops on them.

This will be a 2-part post. Here are some of the tulips we saw.

Next week, I’ll show you the wonderfully landscaped grounds and more tulip beds. Oh, I’m not complaining about the rain. It was welcome since we are in a drought year. I think we will still be rationed this summer.

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 28 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #159: Postcards

Yikes! This week’s challenge from Ana is postcards. I never bought them when I traveled because I knew I would be home before the reader received them. Fortunately she suggested that we post images of our own that we thought would make good postcards. As I started looking through my archives, I remembered that each year I create a calendar to give friends and family. So here are some of my images on my 2019 calendar that I think would make a nice postcard.

Thanks Ana for taking me down memory lane.

In her post, Ana gave many good reasons for buying and collecting postcards and what they mean to her. I might start buying them now!

Posted on June 28, 2021June 28, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 28 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #154: One Photo, Two Ways

Years ago while taking pictures, with a small point and shoot, at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado, Richard asked me why I was squatting. I truly didn’t know photography then, but I knew that to get a better picture I needed to get down low. In her challenge this week, Tina is asking us to look at the same scene in different ways.

I’ve gone back into my archives to 2019, and found two instances where my changing distance, angle and perspective changed the image. First are the tulips at the Crystal Hermitage Gardens, Ananda Village. Just walking to face the flower while standing up changed the image. The picture on the left was lower to capture the sun and texture of the leaves.

Some more flowers. Sunflowers. Here we have a total landscape of the sunflowers. How beautiful and happy they look. Now coming in as close as we can without going into the field and changing orientation, a busy bee took the spotlight. The third image shows a little more of the bee’s habitat. And the last shows a side view of a sunflower opening.

For my last example, I chose a recent outing to the Salmon Falls Bridge, Pilot Hill, only seen during a drought and when the river bed is low. First, a full landscape view showing the river bed and bridge in the distance. Then close to the bridge. And finally a close up of the bridge itself. Each tells a story.

Thank you Tina for giving us this fun challenge!

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 33 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #143: Colorful April

This challenge is having me feel melancholy. It’s been two Aprils since we were able to visit Ananda Village and photograph their beautiful tulips planted on the terrace. But Amy’s challenge of Colorful April didn’t say which year so I’m going deep into my archives for this one.

The year 2019 was the last visit we made to Ananda Village’s Crystal Hermitage Garden and their April display of tulips. The garden is currently closed because of the pandemic. I miss seeing the beautiful flowers in a calming and spiritual setting. Here are images from my 2019 visit.

It’s nice to have these visual memories. Hopefully we will be back to Ananda Village in 2022.

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Anne Sandler · 19 Comments

Lens-Artist Challenge #105: Spring

Photos are our memories, and I’m glad to have images from Ananda Village‘s Crystal Hermitage Garden. Each year, volunteers plant tulips on the terraced hillside, creating such beauty worthy of a yearly visit. However, this year they didn’t open to the public because of the Pandemic.

Ananda Village is just north of Nevada City in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The village is run by a spiritual association that provides a range of tools to strengthen spiritual lives of individuals of all ages. It follows the teaching of Paramhansa Yogananda and his disciple, Swami Kriyananda, to meet the needs of spiritual seekers. They also have retreats and rent cabins to individuals who just want to get away and meditate.

A group of us go up each year to take pictures. These are from last year.

Thank you Tina Schell of Travels and Trifles for this Spring Lens-Artist Challenge!

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Anne Sandler

A bright spot in April: Crystal Hermitage Garden, Ananda Villiage

The tulips bloom only in April at the Crystal Hermitage Garden in Ananda Village in Nevada County. So, we waited for sunshine and no rain. We finally decided to go when there would be a possibility of sunshine, meaning partly cloudy with some sun. This resulted with some tulips open, but most shut.

But it was worth the trip. Planted each year, the gardens are always beautiful and attract visitors from all over to see the more than 17,000 plants. This quote was taken from one of their sites.
“We planted over 111 varieties of mid and late season Dutch bulbs this year,” said lead Gardener, Nancy Mair. “We blend tulips with a rainbow of complementary pansies, wisteria, rhododendrons, azaleas, peonies, dogwood trees and the fabulous cherry tree, so that guests enjoy a different garden in each terrace.”

I’ll admit that I was upset that after waiting, we still were under dark skys for most of our time there. But, as usual, it was a great experience. Until next April here are some of the images I took.

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Not like last year: Crystal Hermitage Gardens, Ananda Village

Last year, the sun was shining, the tulips were open and we were in a drought. This year, it was drizzling, threatening to pour as we visited the Crystal Hermitage Gardens in Ananda Village, Nevada City. It was still beautiful, in fact the flowers were more vibrant.

This was a learning experience also–isn’t every outing. I had never shot in rain, and it was a challenge at first. I put my camera into a protective plastic sleeve, but had difficulty turning the lens barrel. So I shot with the cover on top of the camera. Very inconvenient! Between shots, I tucked my camera under my jacket. The drizzle kept up most of the time we were there. One time it came pouring down and we ducked for cover.

Ananda Village is a cooperative spiritual community dedicated to the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, founded by his direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda. It’s a peaceful place and the people are great. Yearly they plant tulips in a terraced garden and invite the public to visit. We weren’t the only people walking the garden that morning, and not the only ones with cameras. I wish it wasn’t so far away. I enjoy meditating and this place would be great.

We were there on a Tuesday, and the sun didn’t shine until Friday. I heard that we had more rain this year than Seattle, Washington. One ski resort is thinking of staying open all summer! Could you guess–the drought is officially over. As I write this blog, it’s overcast and threatening to rain.

Rain or sunshine, I’m not worried about the tulip garden. They will have visitors no matter what the weather.

This gazebo is a lovely image.

Beautiful landscaping

Tulips aren’t the only flowers.

Cherry blossoms.

A meditation pool.

Closed tulip with a green streak.

One of the tulip beds.

The benches are also beautiful.

Water drops.

Another flower bed.

I love the colors.

This isn’t one tulip. It’s two.

Beautiful color and water drops.

Pretty in purple and white.

The path to the chapel.

Flower bed.

Even a squirrel can get thirsty!

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Anne Sandler

Helping nature create beauty: Crystal Hermitage Gardens, part 2

So many times we see where humankind has destroyed nature, so it’s refreshing to see where we’ve given nature a little help. The residents and members of Ananda Village have done a tremendous job on this years tulip garden. Last post I showed you the flowers, in this post, I’ll show you more of the garden view.

But first, I’m giving you a brief introduction about this amazing place. Ananda Village is a cooperative spiritual community dedicated to the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, and they celebrated their 45th anniversary in 2014. People of all ages live there, enjoying the beauty in service and meditation. They share devotion to God through the path of Kriya Yoga.

The Crystal Hermitage Gardens is the spiritual heart of Ananda Village. Visitors enjoy the beautiful terraced gardens and vistas. There is also a small chapel where workshop attendees can meditate. The gardens are open for weddings, workshops and other events. You can also attend workshops through Ananda Village’s programming.

Whether you’re a photographer or just want to enjoy some time away from your hectic life, you’ll find what you’re looking for here where nature gets a helping hand. Now the for images!

is the spiritual heart of Ananda Village. Visitors enjoy the beautiful terraced gardens and vistas. There is also a small chapel where workshop attendees can meditate. The gardens are open for weddings, workshops and other events. You can also attend workshops through Ananda Village’s programming.

Whether you’re a photographer or just want to enjoy some time away from your hectic life, you’ll find what you’re looking for here where nature gets a helping hand. Now the for images!