country – Slow Shutter Speed

What is a quiet hour? Is it when you are meditating? Reading a book? Taking a walk? For me it’s all these things and also when I have my camera in my hand. I can be in a noisy touristy area or out in the country; with my Fuji, I don’t hear any noise. Guest host SH wants to know how we enjoy our quiet hours. I might be twisting this challenge, but for me a quiet place is one that brings me relaxation and peace. So here we go.

I especially like visiting our Northern California beaches, especially when they are too cold to attract swimmers or have black sand. I can sit and enjoy the solitude, watching the gentle wave come ashore.

I do find trees so relaxing. With or without leaves, their branches are so expressive and inviting. They can form a canopy welcoming you down a path, or in Autumn, treat you to a colorful display of oranges, reds and browns. Your eyes act as a portal. bringing in all the beauty and silence that feeds your body with calmness and joy.

I do enjoy walking down country paths that take me from my suburban life. Fortunately I don’t have to go far to experience the quiet of country life. It’s about 45 minutes from my home. I’m even getting used to getting lost when looking for County Road 18, 16 or 19! I get so relaxed getting lost on these roads, passing farms, wineries, and orchards. I never know what photo delights I’ll find.

Ponds and creeks are in abundance here. If I need a water fix, I don’t have to drive to the ocean. Their calm movement, seasonal changes and water fowl delights my camera.

These are just some of the places I consider quiet places. Thank you SH for having me revisit places that give me relaxation. When you respond, please link to his original post and use the Lens Artists tag. Before our holiday break we enjoyed Ann-Christine having us look back. What fun! Egidio is our host next week. Until then stay safe and live in gratitude.

Will we have a music festival? That’s the question we hear asked each year. This year the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society put on its 42nd festival and made money by working with an all volunteer staff and cutting down on venues outside of Old Sacramento.

We are not involved in the yearly pre-planning, but only work the festival during the weekend. It’s fun and I love listening to the youth bands, called the Next Generation bands. And you never know who will drop in and jam with them. This year our usual 3 1/2 shifts were lengthened to 4 – 4 1/2 hours. But, that still left us enough time to see acts and listen to wonderful music.

And, we have one of the half days off. Ours was Monday. Because we had the closing shift Sunday night and are not used to staying up after midnight, we didn’t go in Monday morning. We did help break down the venue. Why does it always take less time to break down than put up? It’s the same when you travel. It takes longer to get there than it does coming home!

Home was sweet on Monday morning. I had time to prepare for our out of town dinner guest.

Will there be a 43rd festival? I’m sure they will have it. This format worked, and the newspaper reported that a small profit was made. Till next year!