Posted on by Anne Sandler · 20 Comments

Playing Catch Up: Mather Lake

I’ve been busy? I’ve been preoccupied? Time got away from me? Whatever the reason, I’m looking at my unposted photos from May. One of those outings was to Mather Lake and I was still trying to get used to the new Tamron 18 -300mm lens. You’ll be happy to know that it and I have become good friends. It’s just so different from the Fuji lenses.

I like Mather Lake because it’s close and has swans. I love swans. They are so graceful. But very often they are on the other side of the lake. Too far for a 300mm lens. That day in May I got lucky.

Here are some photos.

There’s more to come!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 25 Comments

Triple digits heat wave: Lotus pond, Land Park

Let’s go back 21 years when we moved to Sacramento, there was maybe one week of triple digit temperatures during the entire summer. We’ve already had that many and it’s not even the end of June! The heat stiffles any desire to grab a camera and go out for the day. Enough griping!

Recently Marlene and I took advantage of a morning when the temperature was to max out in the 90s and went to William Land Park in Sacramento to photograph the lotus blossoms. I think they were just as affected by the heat as we were. Also the cluster of lotus were far away from the bank of the pond. Getting super close was not possible. Here are some of the blossoms. The close ups are well cropped.

What truly impressed me was the size of the leaves. They were impressive. The lotus aren’t the only attraction at the pond. There are others:

Also, in today’s world, I always get pleasure from the kindness and friendliness of others. We met three women who saw our cameras and asked us to take their picture with their cell phone. We talked with them. They offered advice on how I could reduce the pain in my hip. They also had us take a picture of each of us and them with our cameras. Here’s the one I took of them and Marlene.

This last picture was taken just before entering the pond area. It’s not a lotus but I liked the lighting.

It’s supposed to be cooler this week, so maybe I won’t be so grumpy! We’ll see what July brings. In the meantime, enjoy your summer and stay safe.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

2018? Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

A crashed computer is not the way to begin the new year. Neither is having to cancel two Toastmaster Club meetings because of illness! The computer crashed last week after a Microsoft Windows update, slowing down my ability to post this blog. Fortunately, a friend came over and fixed it.

The computer wasn’t the only thing sick. I belong to two Toastmaster Clubs and we had to cancel a meeting in each because of illness! So, I’m wondering just where 2018 is taking us. We’re also below normal rain fall. But, it’s supposed to rain this weekend and next.

We need the rain and more water brings more waterfowl to the wildlife areas. Laura and I went up to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (SWR) and Gray Lodge Wildlife Area recently and spotted three bald eagles, lots of hawks and other birds. We had a great day. In this post I’ll show you most of SWR and continue in my next post with the remainder and some of Gray Lodge.

It’s only midway through January, so thinks could get better. The computer could continue working and it may rain a lot through January and February.

Landscape shot from the car. I loved the soft colors.
From the car: The clouds were threatening.
From the car: Orchards still look beautiful without blossoms.
From the car: a view of the Sutter Buttes.
The last car capture!
Now at SWR, a turtle looking for sun to bathe in.
A snow gees fly away.
A snowy egret.
A hawk.
That same hawk taking flight.
A Great Blue Heron.
What do you think he’s saying?
A pheasant.