Sacramento

Spring iPhone NURSERY photos… but not the kind this Mama normally sees

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Ok so clearly by the lack of regular posting this last year it is clear I have my hands full in the home nursery. But, true to form, my little guy’s favorite thing to do is to observe and smell flowers and just generally be outside. Sooo…we spend a lot of time at a few local flower nurseries so both of us can get some fresh air and smell the flowers as it were. I hope you enjoy a few lovely little iPhone shots that aren’t too shabby considering it’s not my good camera and my other hand is wrangling a high energy toddler!

Happy Spring wherever you are. Are the flowers out and proud in your end of the word?

This dogwood won the prize for prettiest flower of the day for meThese blooms look like they are in a race to see who can bid first. It’s fun to take he time to watch the buds slowly openHard to tell if I am in California or Hawaii!This is one of the most beautiful plants I’ve ever seen. I did the right thing and left it for someone with a green thumb to purchase so it may actually survive. :)

McKinley Park Rose Garden – Downtown Sacramento

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McKinley Park is an iconic downtown Sacramento park. I have been coming here for years. There is no better time to visit than during the spring Rose Flush. This park and these roses are a spark of what is perfect about the Northern California region this time of year. Spring is springing and the heat of summer isn’t depressing and making us flee yet. The aroma of new roses mixed with the citrus smell of surrounding tree buds is enticing. The birds are chirping, mothers are strolling their babies, and it is impossible to be sour in this setting. Many a bride has been married in this very spotColors only Mother Nature can perfect Volunteers keep the roses ship shape hereThis tree is amazing!Perfection in pinkWish I could share the smell with you through your screenA sign of what’s to come

Foggy Sacramento Morning

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Greetings from a foggy Sacramento morning. Typically the weather turns for us here around Halloween. I feel likes it’s only just starting now a bit late. Running errands in Sacramento today made it feel like winter especially stumbling upon workers getting the Christmas tree ready for the tree lighting at the state capitol.

The capitol sits on a splendid park which I need to properly photograph for you one of these days. I’ve photographed countless weddings here and photoshoots on the capitol steps. I suppose because of that I never head down for fun to shoot the park.

Workers setting up for the tree lighting at the capitolThe tower bridge is an icon of Sacramento. Its beautiful golden color shines bright day and night. Foggy morning over the Tower bridgeThe Crocker Art Museum is a world class art museum which has grown leaps and bounds over the years. It’s a must visit location when in Sacramento. Stroll along the river walk when you are done and finish at one of the wonderful eateries in historic old town Sacramento. The Crocker Art museum has changed so much since I was a kid but it remains a Sacramento icon and travel staple

Happy Fall and early Winter everyone. Stay warm!

Postcard from Sacramento

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Greetings from my home town Sacramento, California! I’m still alive. I’m just over here sequestered in my house raising a tiny human and working in between with the occasional break to eat and sleep. Thank you for your patience with my lack of posts and lack of travels. 

I headed downtown this morning for an appointment and snapped some random Sacramento photos of things not everyone would pick to highlight my town. I’ve never really posted much about Sacramento so I finally took a moment to focus on a few locations and things that have always been the background of my runnings around. These are some places I enjoy for one reason or another. The art, the old signs, the institution of it, or the plane weirdness emitted. 

Yup. That’s a cow on the roof.

Are we in Greece or Mexico with these color?

Flipper!

The Tower theatre across the street from what was the original Tower Records and Books

A clock on a cemetery sign?

Always loved this sign

Water tower that has just always silently been in the background

Bon Lair. As close to Scotland as I can get right now.


The food is marginal but I go for the name.

Charming

Railroad Museum – Old Sacramento

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I had the opportunity last weekend to visit the Old Sacramento Railroad Museum with my extended family and my new baby. This museum has a wonderful collection of old locomotives and railroad equipment. They even have a mock up of the controversial bullet train planned to go from Northern California to LA. The museum is located in the interesting and fun Old Sacramento district. Upstairs the museum is filled with a very large collection of train toys. The toys were far more interesting to the baby than I thought they would be. The Thomas the train tables and toys will surely be a go-to when he is older! They were a hit with the many toddlers and their exhausted looking parents.

Sacramento Zoo

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Well, everyone.  It was inevitable I would finally take a few photos at my local Sacramento Zoo.  I spent a few hours checking out my childhood zoo and snapping a few photos recently.  Sadly, a lot of the animals are in enclosures that made it difficult to photograph without getting cages in the photos but I hope you enjoy the animal energy despite occasional cage sighting.

I have visited the San Diego Zoo, the Belize Zoo, the Safari West Zoo in Sonoma, California, and the Phoenix Zoo  since starting my blog.  Check out those links if you never saw them or would like to revisit them again.  Some of the animal shots are my favorites of all time and I love to share them whenever I get the chance.

Do you have a great Zoo near you that I need to visit?

Sacramento Train Museum in Old Sacramento – Train Nerds Rejoice

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A young friend of mine expressed some interest in learning photography recently.  I was going to take her to my backyard and teach her some basics about her camera.  But, instead, another random opportunity presented itself.  Mike’s Camera Shop in downtown Sacramento hosted a free photography meetup at the Sacramento Train Museum.  I couldn’t think of a less interesting place to take a 12 year old girl so we headed out with promises that it would be a great place to practice her skills.  It turned out we both had a blast taking photos of “creepy manikins”, welds, train wheels, cattle guards, old luggage, and to be honest things I don’t even know the name of.  I considered it a success because my young friend took hundreds of photos and never got tired of looking at the details of cool old trains.  She left boasting terms like depth of field, manual focus, and shutter speed.  A highlight for me was watching her lay on the floor in order to get a cool shot with a “fuzzy background” as she called it.  (Good photographers always get on the ground in my book!)  We rewarded ourselves with an ice cream cone and a walk through Old Sacramento!

Train nerds rejoice.  (You know who you are.)  I took far more photos of train details than I care to admit.  I hope you enjoy!

I consider this to be an “odd” subject to photograph so I am happy to submit the post to Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge!