Winter Sky

Wow, it's been a while since I posted, hasn't it? Amazing how time flies. This year is nearly over already.

Did get a new camera, so I thought I'd post a few pics. Still learning to use it of course, but so far, so good. It's taking some nice pics. The little bird sitting in the rose branches over our gate was taking from about 50' away. So the bigger zoom is really working well for me. I really like my older camera, but going from x4 Zoom to x16 Zoom is making a big difference. Plus this camera has Macro Mode, Panorama Mode and a bunch of other features, some of which I'll probably never figure out. LOL.

Anyhow, took these pics at sunset last night. We've been having some stunning sunsets and sunrises the last week or so. As the new Lumix has a Sunset mode, the colors are really being captured nicely.

Tehama Sunset

On the day we drove up to Mt. Shasta, we came home fairly late. So as we headed out of Red Bluff, into the open country side homeward bound, the sun started sinking into the hazy cloudcover, getting ready to disappear behind the coastal range.

Though my little camera isn't much, still a few of the pics, which I took hanging out the truck window, came out pretty nice. So thought I would share them here. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Hummingbird HQ

Most of the time, as I look out the window from our little table, this little hummingbird is resting on that same branch. It appears to be his, in between sips of nectar, Headquarters. At first I only noticed him in the late afternoon/early evening hours, as the sun is setting. That's when I took this picture.

But now I look for him a lot and he sits there throughout the day, whenever he needs a breather from visiting the feeder, dipping into flowers or chasing of rivals.

As I am posting this, he just zoomed back into the pale blue skies once again.......snacktime!!

Sunsets

Lately we've had some of the most amazing sunsets. Huge, strange cloud formations, building and moving to the West of us, over the coastal ranges. Some evenings I just sit on the steps and enjoy the show. But often that's the time of night I am feeding the cats and dogs their evening meal, only to find myself running back out again and again in between getting their dishes ready, for one more look or one more picture. I don't think the four-legged ones are impressed. But I just can't resist. Too beautiful to miss.

Tehama Skies

Though I am somewhat limited by my little Exilim camera, still thought this November Sunset bears sharing . The tall Italian Cypresses in the background delineate our property line. We face the Western Coastal Range and often have wonderful sunsets. As I saw the sun making it's way behind the Yolla Bolla mountains, suddenly the low hanging clouds lit up, giving the appearance of a forest fire blazing in the distance. Just had to capture and share it, imperfect as it might be.