Month: July 2020

Stop and Smell the Roses at McKinley Park in Sacramento

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  • I have a lot to learn from this kid who tells me all the time to stop and smell the flower Mama
  • He went through and figured out which flowers in the garden smelled the best
  • It was so early it was cool and no one was out

Its been hot in the Valley so a visit to the lovely rose garden at McKinley Park in Sacramento was in order early in the morning. It was also best considering social distancing guidelines and not particularly wanting to be close to people at this time. Well, the kiddo and I enjoyed our visit. He smelled every rose declaring which ones smelled good and which ones were inferior. He also spent the better part of two hours picking up wayward petals throwing them in the garbage can which is his favorite pastime. We have a budding Gardener on our hands friends. Stay cool and Stop and Smell those roses.

Amador Flower Farm

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My final post for the Amador County/Plymouth area visit takes us to the Amador Flower Farm!  We went for the vineyards and were positively giddy at running in to this flower farm.  It was the perfect spot for a social distancing photo expedition.

This lovely and large flower farm is nestled in the Plymouth Gold Country area and is the perfect place to either shop for plants or have a family friendly picnic surrounded by a botanical garden.  It is also a great break for those who grow weary of too much wine tasting in one day.

May my flower photos bring you a tiny respite from the strange world we are in these days.

Cheers.

Red Giraffes in Wine Country

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Karmere Vineyards and Winery is one of the premier visits in the Plymouth, California area.  Looking for places we could visit with minimal to no public contact we decided to give Plymouth a go.  We were met on the Karmere driveway with unusual red giraffes peaking through the vines.  (They weren’t wearing masks or social distancing but I suppose they get a pass.) It was a must to trek through the dirt in 100+ degree weather, because opportunities like this don’t come along every day.

The Plymouth area, in Amador County, is another Gold Country gem located in the Northern California Gold Country area.  Albeit this particular area has changed a lot over the years.  This once cattle and agriculture area is now primarily vineyards and businesses which support the those vineyards.  It is a much shorter drive from the Sacramento area than to our precious Napa and is less frequented which = less traffic!

Stay tuned for an accidental visit to the Amador Flower Farm which is like Christmas Day for these two day tripping photographers.

Cheers!

Social Distancing in Plymouth, California

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A while back I did a series of multiple posts I called Gold Country Drives which took us to various spots in Northern California’s beautiful Gold Country.  (Check it out again if you are so inclined.)  For our birthdays every year my photography friend Diana and I always get together and go somewhere to take photos (and usually eat some yummy food).  Typically we go to Napa or the Bay area or the Coast or somewhere with lots of flowers to enjoy a beautiful day together.  This year, with COVID, everything is frankly just weird.  So, we decided to do a social distancing photo shoot in the Plymouth/Amador County area.  Our first stop was downtown Plymouth where a few interesting doors presented themselves.  It was mandatory I post them for Norm 2.0’s weekly post since I haven’t been out much in months.  I went back and forth on if these photos should be black and white or not.  I landed on color because the red and the blue/green and yellow is just too interesting.

Enjoy friends.  More flowers and wineries to follow from this day of fresh air and space.  Happy Thursday Doors.

Be well everyone.

Folsom Lake Quarantine Lupine Walk

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Do we stay in or do we go out?  Quarantine has been lifted but COVID is on the rise.  I realize I never posted Lupine photos from a little walk we took on Folsom Lake from a few months ago.  The Lupines were a sure sign of spring growing out of the cold snow run off.  Butterflies were frolicking like all of us were desperate to do.  We all just wanted to get out of the house and back to work, back to “normal.”  Now, looking back, we are free again but the numbers are on the rise and people are angry and the economy is suffering and people are confused.  We are fearful we will get put on lock down again.  Numbers are worse than they were when we were locked down but yet I am back to work surrounded by an unseen virus worried I will share it with my family.  Just going to the grocery store is aggravating. None of it makes sense.

But, the beautiful Lupines bring some peace and it is easy to realize how important nature and the arts can be.

I hope this post finds all of you healthy and happy and safe.  Peace.