Newcastle – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Speaking of time: Millertown Sheep Farm & Martha’s Gardens

It’s that time here in the US to change our clocks back to standard time from daylight savings time. That means we gain an hour tomorrow. Wow, that almost seems like a gift, but we did lose an hour to go on daylight savings time! Some people can adjust immediately, but it takes a few days for my body to deal with the time change. I’d rather stay on standard time all year round. California did vote to stay on daylight savings time all year, but we have to get Federal approval. But that doesn’t seem likely! I just adjusted all the clocks and will try to stay up an extra hour so I don’t wake up so early.

Speaking of time, learning Photoshop has become an almost necessity. The realtor I work with needed help with removing a sign from a photo she took and asked me for help. She assumed I could take it out of the photo. I had to tell her that I didn’t know how! I’m sure it’s easy, but I have to learn how to do it! Procrastination isn’t working any more! I will start my PS course tomorrow! I will start my PS course tomorrow! I will start my PS course tomorrow!

After all, I’ll be gaining an hour!

In this post you’ll visit two farms taking part in the Placer Grown Farm and Barn Tour. We chose to visit two farms. The first was Millertown Sheep Farm in Auburn. I was a little disappointed when upon arrival they had some goats in one pen and donkeys in another. I was expecting an actual tour of their facility. They also had a couple of food vendors. Oh, they had some sheep too.

The kids had some baby goats in a pen and were having fun!

The donkeys were popular, and the sheep just grazed!

If we were disappointed at Millertown, we were totally surprised by Martha’s Gardens in Newcastle.

After the entry which offered tea and coffee, and goodies to purchase, this venue was divided into different gardens. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything to write on, so all I can do is show you the pictures!

After touring the gardens, we were back to the entrance.

We could buy pumpkins and maybe take a hayride!

In the end, we had a great time!

Posted on October 13, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Blast from the past: Concours d’Elegance, part 2

I’ve been seeing them everywhere! Old cars and not just at the Concours d’Elegance at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys. The other day I went to Martha’s Gardens in Newcastle and a restored car was in the parking lot. Today I bought a used leather love seat and the owner had an old Edsel in his garage! Oh, if you missed part 1 of this post, you can see it here.

But let’s get back the the event at Ironstone. Here is part two, and I want to show you some vintage trailers that have been restored, car close ups and a few other things. So let’s look at some pictures!

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Here we go again: Maple Rock Gardens

Go there once, it’s amazing. Go there twice, it’s repetitive. I’m not complaining, because this private estate is still beautiful. Maple Rock Gardens is in Newcastle, and is affiliated with High Hand Nursery in Loomis California.

They are open for private events and to the public twice a year. Linda and I visited them last September and you can view that post here. She thought there would be more flower blooms in the spring, so expectations were high. It was definitely more crowded and the blooms were repetitive. Not much had changed. If you were there for the first time, it would not disappoint. It was still beautiful. Take a look.

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Anne Sandler

Finishing up: Maple Rock Gardens, part 2

Finishing up is not exactly correct since there is so much to see at Maple Rock Gardens in Newcastle. But, I’ll focus this post on the small touches and sculptures. If you missed the first post on this fantastic place, here’s a summary.

The garden is a private residence associated with High Hand Nursery in Loomis. When you visit, you’ll walk from one themed garden into another. It also has acreage that supplies flowers to the nursery. It’s only open to the public twice a year and is available as an event venue for special occasion parties, like weddings, the rest of the time.

Look back at my last post to view the grounds, and now for the rest!

There were quite a few of these metal sculptures.

Taking a siesta in the garden.

An artist at work.

Another metal sculpture looks like a dinosaur egg hatching!

Now for the bird houses.

House for rent!

Occupied!

Gribit!

Napping in the garden.

A small ceramic home.

Let’s talk. This was my favorite.

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 7 Comments

Only twice a year: Maple Rock Gardens, Newcastle

It’s some place you’d like to visit often, but this home and popular event venue is only open to the public twice a year. Other times, you need to be at a wedding or some other event to see the beautiful gardens. I’ll admit that at the end of summer, the flowers aren’t blooming and the lavender fields are hiding, but the property is beautiful just the same.

Maple Rock Gardens is a private estate, in Newcastle, and is affiliated with High Hand Nursery in Loomis. Its 30-acres is host to one of the largest garden railroads in Northern California. There are themed gardens, like a Japanese Tea Garden, and a 4-acre farm that supplies flowers to the High Hand Nursery. We spent almost 2 hours walking from one garden into another.

Each garden was decorated with sculptures, plants, small water falls and more. The easiest way to describe it is to show you. I did take a lot of pictures, so this will be a two-part post. Oh, you’ll also notice that I am now using a logo rather than a copyright symbol. Since I’ve made a little money with my photography, doing some real estate shoots, I decided to be more professional.

So, come along with me and visit Maple Rock Gardens.