Category Archives: The Intimate Landscape

The small details, shapes, and textures that catch my eye.

Reflecting Back

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“Clouds and Rocks”
Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Reflecting back, just a week ago we were in the Joshua Tree National Park in the Mohave Desert. It was a warm beautiful day in the high 80’s. It was a great vacation.

When I saw this scene, I thought it looked like smoke was coming out of the rocks above us. It reminded me of the days when I was a boy, laying in the grass at the ranch, looking up at the sky, and imagining stories that the clouds above were portraying. Many summer days were spent dreaming. I still find myself dreaming as the clouds move across the sky. I wonder what the rocks were trying to communicate with their smoke signals.

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Quite a Change

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“Hoar Frost on Redbud”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

When we left for our vacation, Heatherwood was in its fall color prime. When we returned 2 weeks later, most of the leaves on the trees had fallen. The only trees with any appreciable leaves hanging are some October Glory maples, a few oaks, and a Vanessa perrotia.

When we left Palm desert two days ago it was 85 degrees. Yesterday, when we returned home it was a bitter 29 degrees. There was still hoar frost on the trees and other plants at 1:30p. I couldn’t help getting my camera out for a few quick photos of the garden.

As the garden transitions from fall to winter, Heatherwood is still full of color. In addition, the textures of the flowing grasses and the branches of shrubs provide a striking contrast of structure. Berries and fruits remain on our crabapples, viburnums, and hollies. Several evergreens have turned to their bright yellow color as ground covers have turned to their oranges, reds, and burgundies. Heatherwood has been designed for four season interest. A winter stroll wrapped in warm clothes is enticing.

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Missing Home

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“Lower Yard & View”
Heatherwood Fall

After two weeks of vacation, we are missing our Heatherwood home. We look forward to see how much has changed during our absence. With a serious wind storm, we expect that all the leaves on the trees have fallen and the shrubs and grasses have been weather beaten. I am sure that this scene will be quite different when we return.

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Last Day …

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“15th Hole, Marriott Desert Springs Valley Course”
Palm Desert, California

Today is our last day of our two week vacation in Palm Desert. We played seven rounds of golf during our stay. It was the most golf I’ve played in a long, long, long time. I had many adventures around the courses, but had enough good shots to encourage me to get back into the game.

We had a great time with relatives and friends, enjoying the wonderful weather, golf, great food, and excursions into the desert. Now it’s time to return home and prepare for Thanksgiving.

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Does It Matter?

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“Rocks of Alabama”
Alabama Hills, California

I cannot define why these rock formations caught my eye. They just did. Was it their unusual shapes? Was it the contrast between the smooth eroded rocks in the foreground and the more rugged rocks in the background? Was it the textural difference between the Alabama Hills and the background Eastern Sierras? Or was it the memories of all the old cowboy movies of my childhood? Does it matter?

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Do I See a Walrus?

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“Rock Folds”
Alabama Hills, California

When both Mary and I saw this folded rock formation we both said, “It kind of looks like a walrus.” The Alabama Hills are filled with such strange looking rock formations. It is an exciting opportunity to let my mind go wild! I can easily get lost imagining what could be.

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Contrast

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“Spent But Still in Fall Glory”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today’s image is quite a contrast to my last B&W post. This ‘Waterfall’ Japanese Maple decided to show off a few of its remaining leaves against the background of a brilliant Fothergilla. Heatherwood is still full of fall splendor. As one plant loses it color, another blossoms out in its fall glory. Every day in our garden brings change and a new perspective … just like life. It is our opportunity and challenge to make the best out of each new day.

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Cloudy, Wet, and Cool

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“Akebono Cherry & Waterfall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today, I woke up to a cool, dreary morning … great day for photographing! This newly planted (this spring) Akebono cherry has lost all of its leaves and just looked cold against the flowing waterfall. Black and white captured the feeling.

The Akebono was the first of our cherry trees to transition to its golden yellow fall color. As such, it was also first to loose its leaves. Our Heatherwood garden has sixteen cherry trees. The two Kwansan Cherries and a couple of our weeping cheery trees still have their leaves, the other twelve are now just “stick trees” waiting for winter to come.

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Visualizing for Fun

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“Liatris”
Heatherwood Meadow

As I walk through our Heatherwood garden, I constantly look for little vignettes that catch my eye. When I see something of interest, I pause to look at it from different perspectives. I tilt my head, squat up and down, move around, squint my eyes, and imagine how I can translate what I see into something a little unique. Many times I just move on, other times I imagine what I can do in post processing. For this image, I knew that it was a painting from the start. With a little help from Topaz Impression out popped my interpretation.

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