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Beauty Surrounds Me: A Short Photographic Tour of West Templeton

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Please Join Me in Walking through My Neighborhood in West Templeton through These Photographs

A series of storms have passed through our Templeton neighborhood in the last few weeks, and the hills are green again. On the ground the puddles reflect the trees and the spectacular clouds that bring the rain. As I've been chasing the sky to photograph the way it changes from day to day and hour by hour, I've decided it's a never-ending display of God's grandeur. The cloud show is amazing today because it's a day between storms. With a few hills and trees to frame it, the views I had of today's sky were breath-taking beyond what my camera could capture. Yet closer to the ground I found more loveliness that it's easy to overlook from day to day. I came to the conclusion that if I but open my eyes and take a good look, I can choose to see beauty almost anywhere I look.

I'm going to take you on a short tour of my neighborhood -- all within walking distance -- all in places where I have actually walked from my home in West Templeton. We will look up, down, and all around. I took these pictures in February, 2010, in the winter. In spring and summer the scenes change on both the ground and in the sky. Each day is unique. Each sky show is unique. We have to only open our eyes and really see what's around us and above us to renew our spirits and restore our souls.

The View from Our Land Near Highway 46 West and Vineyard Drive

Please click the pictures to enlarge and see captions.

My husband is chasing something that blew the equivalent of two blocks down the hill. It was a frame protecting a tiny orange tree from the frost. A really bad storm with rains of about 50 mph not only blew it off the tree, but also the heavy tire my husband had put on top of the frame to weight it down. Once the tire blew off, the frame took off like a kite in the wind. He found it in a clump of poison oak.

My husband is chasing something that blew the equivalent of two blocks down the hill. It was a frame protecting a tiny orange tree from the frost. A really bad storm with rains of about 50 mph not only blew it off the tree, but also the heavy tire my husband had put on top of the frame to weight it down. Once the tire blew off, the frame took off like a kite in the wind. He found it in a clump of poison oak.

My husband is chasing something that blew the equivalent of two blocks down the hill. It was a frame protecting a tiny orange tree from the frost. A really bad storm with rains of about 50 mph not only blew it off the tree, but also the heavy tire my husband had put on top of the frame to weight it down. Once the tire blew off, the frame took off like a kite in the wind. He found it in a clump of poison oak.
This view is from our back yard. If we stand in the orchard or the herb garden behind the kitchen window, we can see across the highway to our neighbor's vineyard and mansion on the hilltop. This view changes with the weather and cloud formations every day.
I liked the cloud formation here. I think this is looking into the neighbor's vineyard. It's a view I see often from my kitchen window.
Just the sky as the new storm is on its way in.
I love the way the clouds are framed by the trees.
Another spectacular cloud formation.
These storm clouds are also framed in the trees.
I don't know which is prettier -- the tree silhouettes or the clouds above them.
All the beauty is not in the sky. Even the weeds and the rock can combine to make a work of art if you really look at them and open your heart to their gift.
Even a common puddle serves as a picture frame for the tree and the clouds above it.

Can you find beauty anywhere?

I believe you don't have to go far from home to find a bit of beauty. If you really look, you may see beauty in things you've never really noticed before. Even a common weed can have it's own kind of beauty -- or a leaf, a wildflower, a tree, the sky, or even a puddle. Even if you live in a city full of blacktop and cement and tall buildings, there is still the sky, a bird singing, or a dandelion poking up through the cracks in the sidewalk. Do you agree? Or is no beauty to be found in your neighborhood at all?

Is there a bit of beauty to be found in almost any neighborhood, especially yours?

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Yes, I can always find something of beauty near where I live.

_Joan_ says:

You know me. I think the weeds growing in my yard and my neighbors' yards are beautiful. And some of the cultivated plants are beautiful, too. Not to mention the beauty of the people, young and old, who live around me.

Posted September 20, 2010

JaguarJulie says:

OMG, YES!!!! This is what helps to keep me invigorated daily. From my home office, I look out over a natural marsh at the end of our backyard. I watch the birds, cats, raccoons and occasional armadillo and then I smile!

Posted September 20, 2010

mbgphoto says:

Yes, I think there is always beauty surrounding us if we just look for it. I especially find the sky to be beautiful. I love the different ways it looks...early in the morning, just at dusk, and when a storm is approaching.

Posted September 20, 2010

Pukeko says:

I live in New Zealand, this is easy.

Posted April 29, 2010

Alfiesgirl says:

I live in the heart of London and next door to a power plant incinerator which chucks out thick black smoke 24/7..then one day a few months ago i was chatting with God as i often do when i spotted a rainbow trying its very hardest to break through the smog..God answered me that afternoon which was so beautiful.

Posted February 16, 2010

No. I don't see much that's beautiful anywhere within walking distance from where I live.

 
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Our converted barn home as seen from Croad's Tasting Room.

Our house is the green barn in the middle of the picture, as seen from neighboring hilltop 

Templeton Scenes from Zazzle

Here are some other scenes from Templeton that are featured in my Zazzle store.
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Photographing My Neighborhood of West Templeton

I will take you where my friend and I often walked before she moved. When you come out of our driveway onto Highway 46 West and turn left, the first street where you can turn left is Oakdale. It is a back road which winds around some forested areas and some pastures, small farms, and vineyards. It dead-ends onto Vineyard Dr. Turn left on Vineyard and it will take you back to 46 West. This walk is about 4 miles all the way around, but it's a lovely walk. It's hard to take pictures around the trees because they are too close. The forest clears on Oakdale about halfway to Vineyard Drive and then you see the fields and hills and scattered oaks which are easier to photograph -- and always the sky over all.
  • Photobucket

    I will begin this tour at the corner of Hwy 46 and Oakdale Road at Hunt Cellars Winery and Tasting Room. This is a side view as I start down Oakdale.
  • templeton,california,rural,clouds,oak

    One of the first Oakdale scenes to tempt my camera.
  • templeton,california,rural,clouds,oak

    You probably know by know I'm a sucker for oak trees, especially for lonely oaks such as this one. If the sky is also interesting, it tempts my camera even more.
  • california,rural,clouds,oak

    One of the things I was looking for today was green grass, hills, and rain clouds in one shot. This was one of many I found in my search today.
  • california,rural,clouds,oak

    Most of the oaks I see up close have at least one clump of mistletoe hanging on them. This one is no exception. This also gave me another shot of grass, hills, and interesting clouds.
  • sky,clouds,storm

    I aimed my camera at the sky when the sun peaked out from the clouds for a minute.
  • california,rural,clouds,oak

    This shot was mostly for the sky. We are almost back to Vineyard Drive by this time.
  • winery,Templeton,California

    Now we are back to the corner of Vineyard Drive and 46 West, and we have another winery just off that intersection. This one has a nice picnic area in back. Off to the right of this picture, which you can't see, is the entrance to another nice hike --two miles round trip. It's a dirt road one mile long, but it's not fun to walk right after a rain. I'll take you there some other time. The winery is on Vineyard Drive. Highway 46 West lies behind the three trees on the left.
    We have come almost full circle now. This is my neighborhood, and I hope you see why I don't need to go far from home to soak my soul in beauty.

Have you written a lens about your neighborhood?

I'd love to take your guided tour around your neighborhood. If you've written a lens about your immediate neighborhood, please add it to this Plexo. This is just for lenses that feature walking tours close to home -- not for lenses about your city as a whole.

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BarbRad

In my life I've been student, public library clerk, English teacher in public school, elementary teacher in private schools,card buyer for Logos Bookstore... more »

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