Pears and Apples

preset "kk_touchavintage"

A few weeks ago, Kim posted a still life using a pear and some autumn leaves. It was an interesting combination, and then I saw them popping up on several sites. There were so many inspiring images that I decided to do my own with all what I've learned in Start to Finish so far.

This photo is the only one in this series that is in "real color" - no textures, no preset. Just the way it was.

I have to admit that I'm not a big lover of pears. Most times I find them too hard. Where are the pears of my childhood that were soft and the sweet juices would run down your arm when you took a bite into the fruit?

So I went to the grocery store's produce department and bought ONE pear. For the sole purpose of taking pictures of it. Kaefer ate it afterwards.

After applying Kim's preset "hazydazy" I used her texture "kk_wednesday", rotated it by 180°, removed most of the texture from the pear and then did a level adjustment of the texture only

However, photographing the pear was fun. Setting up one or two still lives as well. I had discovered this plate (and a matching bowl) a few days before in a clearance sale, and I was happy that I could use it for this shoot.

preset "kk_gentle"

While I don't like pears that much, I do like apples. I had some in the house and I picked three of them - the reddest ones - for another shot on the plate.

preset "kk_hazydazy"

I am linking to Kim's Texture Tuesday - it's always wonderful to see what other people do with textures. It is so inspiring!

Crimson Flag

No, I am not talking about a comic here (first hit when you google "crimson flag") but about a flower that I recently found in a nursery in Tomales which mainly concentrates on Mostly Natives. Jo and I went there for their October sales, looking for beautiful plants that would further improve the look of our gardens.

I was sold when I lay my eyes on these beauties! Its botanical name is Hesperantha coccinea, it belongs to the Iridaceae family and is a native to South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is also known by the names River Lily or Cape Lily.

The color is striking - a bright red that you can see from far away. I needed a color spot like that in my garden, and I thought that it would be a wonderful contrast to the many shades of purple and lavender that seem to dominate in my personal slice of paradise.  It's also perfect along some yellow and white flowering plants - in brief, it's the perfect match for my front garden, and many people will see it there which is the idea behind it. I love it when people find pleasure in my flowers.

I hope I will get it through its first winter. I know practically nothing about this flower, and a google research didn't enlighten me very much. So this is an experiment - I will let you know about the result next spring or summer. It's a late blooming flower which again is perfect for my garden. I got three of them just to better the odds of survival.

In the late afternoon when the sun is low over the horizon, it back lits the flowers - and the result is stunning. The flowers seem to glow against the background, they are completely lit up. Such a striking view! These photos don't do it justice but give you an idea.

(Not) Finding Halloween

This week I tried to find Halloween - as in Halloween decorations in the neighborhood. I went to our historic district that is famous for its over-the-top Halloween. However, this year I found almost nothing.

It struck me as odd since I, who usually loves to decorate for this funky holiday, haven't decorated much myself either. What is some kind of universal feeling?

So I just have a few Halloween decorations that I found and want to show here. Most of them are in my own neighborhood, just down the street. However, those that I did find are really cool - at least I think so.

These glowing ghosts are right across the street from our house and we can see them every night. And this lovely trio I already discovered in September in a nursery in Berkeley.

But - there are two mixed media paintings. After I hadn't painted for several months I finally started again at the end of summer and I enjoyed creating these two Halloween paintings, the cat and the little ladybug girl. They came to life after the wonderful mermaid painting class I joined in August.

I am linking up to Paint Party Friday for the first time in several months again, and to Friday Finds.

Farm Fences

Of course there were many fences at the pumpkin patch we went to last Sunday. After all, it's a fully working dairy farm, and there have to be fences.

This was the part of the pumpkin patch reserved for school classes only - it's where the  pumpkins are "not bigger than your head". I remember when I was chaperoning with Kaefer's preschool and first two years or so at elementary school that I had to silently giggle what some students thought how big their heads were... funny.

Many fences here if you look closely. This was actually already the farm right across the road. As I mentioned in my last post, this is the area of Sonoma County that is mainly farm land and you don't find any vineyards. You can also see how dry the land is in our fourth year of severe drought.

I always have a weakness for barbed wire, I don't really know why.

And since you liked the calves so much, here are two more photos - behind a fence, of course. The calves had just been bottle fed and there was still some milk on the fence, and some of the calves thought they better lick it!

I'm linking to Theresa's Good Fences because these are definitely good fences!

October Means Pumpkin Patch

Processed with Kim's texture "golden" in soft light at 75%; texture removed from pumpkin

This year it first looked like we were skipping the pumpkin patch - the first time since we moved to the States. But on Sunday, when after some much needed rain the sun was shining brightly and it promised to be a gorgeous day, we spontaneously decided to visit a pumpkin patch.

We went to the same pumpkin patch as last year. This is a very low key pumpkin patch - no corn maze, no jumpy houses - but also no fields where the pumpkins are trucked in every week. This is a working dairy farm that grows two large pumpkin fields with a wonderful variety of pumpkins (be prepared for lots of photos):

I absolutely love the many different pumpkins you can pick here - yes, all of them are on the vine, they're prickly to twist off, but they're wonderfully real. These are by far not all of them!

The farm is located along Bodega Avenue between Petaluma and Bodega Bay where Sonoma County is still mainly agricultural and not so much wine country. I love this area!

Processed with "golden" - my go-to texture - in soft light at 100%; texture removed from pumpkin

Kaefer is sixteen now (and two weeks ago she passed her driver's test and is the proud owner of a brand new drivers license - and perfectly able to drive a stick!), but she still loved running around the pumpkins searching for the perfect one. Her quirky sense of humor is always present!

As I mentioned, this is a working dairy farm where you can also buy eggs, milk and European style butter. They have goats, geese - and these cute calves that visitors were allowed to feed from milk bottles. I offered my fingers to one calf and it enthusiastically sucked on them (I have loved doing this since I was a child and accompanied my Dad, who was a veterinarian, on his tours to the farms around my hometown in Germany).

I am linking up to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday - there is some wonderful texture work to admire!

A Global Cultural Icon Made of Iron

You can't talk about Paris without mentioning the Eiffel Tour, or as the French would say, la Tour Eiffel. Like it or not, it's impossible to ignore it since it is smack in the middle of the city right at the river Seine and visible from so many places.

It was erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the World's Fair and first was criticized by many and loved by not so many. This, however, has changed over the years as the Eiffel Tower has become a global cultural icon of Paris, if not even the entire country of France. It is named after its engineer, Gustave Eiffel (1832 - 1923), whose company designed and built the tower. Of course you know the other famous landmark designed by Gustave Eiffel that is located on Liberty Island!

The pillars in the middle are erected in preparation for the celebration of Bastille Day, July 14th

The Eiffel Tower is 324 meters (1,063 feet) tall and has three levels. You can get up the tower by escalators to all three levels, but you can also take the stairs and climb up to the second level. If you want to get further up to the third level you need to take the lift since the stairs at this height are not open to the public.

I love the intricate work of the wrought iron in the arches - it is so beautiful to look at. I am pretty much in awe of this magnificent work.

When we visited the Eiffel Tower we decided to take the stairs to the second level. This means climbing more than 300 steps, but that sounds worse than it actually was. It's much better than standing in line for the lifts for a long time - it's not even half as crowded on the stairs since most people opt to take the lifts.

Can you see the stairs? You climb up between all the beautiful iron work and can really appreciate this extraordinary engineering. The views in between are pretty cool as well.

On the second level you have to take the lift if you want to get to the top of the tower. We did go up there, however, the views over Paris are much better from the second level.

Place de l'Etoile (or Place Charles de Gaulle) with Arc de Triomphe

There has to be a heart on this landmark of the City of love! Hôtel National des Invalides and Notre Dame to the very left

The Seine with Pont Alexandre III, Jardin des Tuileries and Rue de Rivoli

Montmartre with Sacré-Cœur

At night the tower is beautifully lit up and clearly visible against the dark sky. Simply unforgettable.

Every full hour at night (until midnight I think) it sparkles for about five minutes - quite spectacular!

You want a souvenir of the Eiffel Tour? Look no further... in the colors of your national flag or filled with cognac, you can have it all.

A votre santé!!