A lunatic I am and glad to be.
The orange on many of the trees (and rocks) is carotene pigmented green algae, which does not harm the trees.
This spread of ice plant seemed to be growing right out of the rock.
I specifically looked for branches trimmed with this
Weston Beach has more photographic opportunities than any single place in the park. On my visit in May, I concentrated on tide pools. This time I stayed with a wider view to capture the naturally saturated green and orange and blue.
The southern section of the park that includes the picturesque trail to China Cove was closed, so I walked out to Sea Lion Point and was pleasantly surprised by the seaside garden of flowers still in bloom.
Another birthday and
After staying a few days with me, I drove to them to San Francisco. First stop was Treasure Island to view the cityscape.
Then Chinatown for lunch
and checking out the stores
By the time we arrived at Ghirardelli Square, the sun had disappeared, but we were pretty much done for the day anyway.
They stayed over for another day of touring the City.
I was told that this is a female. I don't know how to tell, but she looks lovely on a bed of petals.
By adding 3 extension tubes, I was able to move in close enough to see the details of her UFO shaped head and tiny dot eyes.
I left her soaking up some sun.
Seen any critters lately in your backyard?
and then trooped up to the observatory to wait for the sky to blacken and stars to emerge. On moonless nights the observatory stays open until midnight for campers, amateur astronomers, and photographers to peer into the universe. This first photo was taken at 9:30, before the sky was completely black. Look closely and you'll see both the Big and Little Dippers.
By 10 o'clock the sky was dark enough to see the Milky Way. I cannot look at it without feeling reverence, appreciation, and a bit bewitched. I veer toward the poetic.
One Hundred Billion
The final hour of the night, we practiced photographing star trails. To get really long, clear star trails requires taking a series of exposures (like 20 or more) and then blending them into one image. I don't have the skill or the patience to tackle that, so I left the shutter open for 30 minutes and hoped for the best. During that 30 minutes, I leaned back and gazed at the sky, spotting several shooting stars. I liked the image that resulted, but I had to clean out a lot of noise (colored pixels) caused by the long exposure. Do you know why one star (toward the upper right of the frame) does not have a trail? That star (Polaris) and a sextant will tell you where you are in the world: the first GPS system.
This photo of me and a few of my nocturnal comrades
I learned a valuable (think expensive) lesson on the walk back to the car: take the time to securely stow your camera gear. I didn't and when I adjusted the bag on my shoulder, my camera flew out and hit the asphalt hard. Fortunately, an edge of the lens took the brunt of the impact (shattering the UV filter). I am hopeful that everything still works, but the filter is so dented I can't get it off the lens to check it all out.
Gizdich is a working fruit ranch in Watsonville with acres of apple orchards and berry patches. You can pick your own strawberries or buy them by the flat in the produce store. For this photographer, visual overload hit as soon as I stepped out of my car. Farm equipment (some working and some in neglected disrepair), old cars and motorcycles, antiques, barns, junk piles and scenic vistas reminiscent of Tuscany triggered a fit of ADD. I turned in circles not knowing where to go first. I chose the closest orchard. 
I walked in and focused on the apples. The wide expanse of rows and structure had a calming effect and I started seeing forms and color and details. At 7:30am, the overcast, gray sky provided perfect diffused light.
There was enough in the orchards to occupy me for hours, but I knew there was more so I set about exploring. Behind the barn, a crippled motorcycle and a blue, decrepit VW Bug were surrounded by a junk yard of rusting plow and tractor parts. Everything was seemingly held together by spider webs.
Inside a shed, I spied a snake pile of irrigation hoses. I was intrigued by the repetitious, circular lines, but didn't think that translated into an interesting photo, so panned the camera during the exposure to create a special effect.
Click on a photo to view a larger image.
Hoping to capture a unique image (or two), I used a technique I had read about in an online article. I switched the camera to manual focus and set it for infinity. Then I adjusted the shutter speed to "bulb," which would keep the shutter open as long as the release button was depressed. (I didn't actually keep my finger on the button. I used a cable release attached to the camera.)
An added benefit of this method is that I could watch the full spectrum of the show. Once the camera was set up, I did not need to look through the lens to get the shots. Not all the bursts are in the same place in the sky, so some were missed completely and shots had only a fraction of the bursts, but overall, I found the results very pleasing.
