Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, CA

I'm lucky to live so close to Las Trampas Regional Wilderness and its 4,636 acres of open space. Once you are there, you really feel like you are far removed from the urban hustle and bustle just a few miles away. There are several entrances to the park, but my favorite is at the end of Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon. And my favorite hike is along the stunningly scenic Las Trampas Ridge. 

Luckily for me, the older Z gets, the more he likes to hike, and since I don't hike by myself anymore, he makes a great companion - although he does tend to hike at a much brisker pace than I do; hey, I do have to keep an eye out for photo ops and stop frequently to take advantage of them, right? That slows me down a bit! Now put on your hiking boots and let's go. This one only takes 1.5 hours...

If you go here, be sure to take the Mahogany Trail off of the Las Trampas Ridge Trail. It goes through particularly pretty terrain.

Signs of Autumn

Autumn arrived late here in San Ramon, much later than usual. Warm temperatures, soft breezes, and sunny blue skies prevailed day after day. It seemed that proud Summer would never give way to her patient sister, Autumn. The leaves on the trees changed colors very slowly and only now are they beginning their earthbound journey. Here are a few captures of some of my walks around the neighborhoods in San Ramon as I searched for signs of my favorite season, autumn...

Hiking trail in the western foothills...

Blue and Gold, the colors of California...

A family of liquidamber leaves...

Mulberry leaves enjoying the late afternoon sunshine...

A row of golden Sycamore trees...

A lone leaf casting a giant shadow...

Decomposition...

Fun at the baseball diamond on a warm afternoon...

Changing leaves against the brilliant blue sky...

Wispy clouds passing by...

Interesting cloud formations...

Dreaming of faraway places...

How is the season unfolding in your neighborhood?

Hiking at Bishop Ranch

The weather here in San Ramon the past few days has been rather unseasonably hot and humid, but with the heat come some very interesting and unusual skies. One minute the sky will be filled with an assortment of clouds and the next minute they're all gone leaving behind nothing but heavenly blue skies. Yesterday around sunset I even saw quite a few lenticular clouds hovering over the foothills. (Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me). This morning was another one of those days, so I decided that instead of starting in on painting our office (yuck!), I'd better run up to the top of the ridge at Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space and get some photos while the skies were still putting on a display...The skies were quite photoworthy but so was the scenery alongside the trail...

The trail is quite steep in some sections, but you can get to the top of the ridge and back in about one hour unless you make frequent stops to admire the views, flowers, and birds!

Click HERE to see what this place is like in November or HERE to see shots from January.

Farmers Market - San Ramon

It's that time of year again...San Ramon's very own farmers market is back in full swing. It's open every Saturday morning from May through October on the picturesque grounds of Forest Home Farms. You can find fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade crafts, organic munchies, live music, well-behaved sheep, and lots of yummy foods cooked right there on the premises. Take a look at my photos from last Saturday, but if you're ever in the neighborhood on a Saturday morning, stop on by and stroll around among the various venders...

Is there a farmers market in your community?