Picking Pumpkins: A Fall Pastime!

On Sunday we drove up Highway 1 to pick some pumpkins for our Third Annual Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza! We went to Bob's in Half Moon Bay.  It was a bit of a drive but it was well worth it.  Bob's Pumpkin Patch is a big open field of pumpkins with a view of the Pacific Ocean.  I'm also told the prices can't be beat.  But there's more!  At Bob's there were pigs that fell over in a heap of contentment when you pet them and goats that stared into your soul and then coyly trotted away. There was also an old rusted out truck and bales of hay and some of those boards with painted bodies and holes you can stick your head through (at Bob's you could try on the body of a fat ghost, a formal looking skeleton or a witch hunched over her cauldron) . . . But most of all there were pumpkins--lots and lots of pumpkins!  There were the tall oval pumpkins that C likes and the perfectly round ones that are just right for those classic jack-o-lantern faces and hilariously lumpy ones that beg for a creative hand to transform them and the short squat pumpkins that I love--all sorts of pumpkins!

After everyone found their perfect pumpkin, we drove back down the coast and rewarded ourselves with cups of warm coffee and cider and pieces of blackberry cobbler, pumpkin pie and strawberry shortcake at Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport (because choosing the perfect pumpkin is a lot of work).  Then, with bellies full and warm, we headed back to Santa Cruz to plot our designs for our Third Annual Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza!

Below are some photos from this year's pumpkin patch adventures:

Pig Whisperer

Hog Heaven

Buckwheat Meets Pig.

Sniffing Each Other Out

The Pumpkin Haul

Pick your Pumpkin!

Tall ones, squat ones, round ones, fat ones!

T & J Haul the Pumpkins

At Bob's You Can Try on Any of These Ghoulish Figures!

Buckwheat is a Pretty Good Sport

Adventures are Better with Dog.

C at Swanton Berry Farm

On Tuesday our friend hosted our Third Annual Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza.  Photos of our pumpkin creations to come soon!

Happy Fall Everyone!

(9 - 12 taken by C)

Home is These Two

On Sunday night I returned home tired and, I'll admit, a little cranky after a quick trip to Seattle and an evening spent in transit.  My irritation didn't last long though--I returned home to find a tidy little condo, a homemade lasagna in the fridge and a couple dozen cookies on the counter (also homemade).  Yes, I'm pretty lucky!  But the best thing about coming home, was being reunited with these two: 

My Boys, My Loves.

My trip to Seattle was good and necessary--the visit gave me some much needed family time (and also a little taste of fall).  A part of me hadn't wanted to leave Seattle that morning, but a much bigger part of me couldn't wait to get back to Santa Cruz.  Because Santa Cruz meant these two and these two mean home. 

Holga Roll 2

Below are a couple of frames from my second roll of film taken with my Holga.

Frame 2, French Laundry Gardens in Yountville, CA

Frame 4, Buckwheat on a hike in Pogonip / Tree in Pogonip

Frame 12, Buckwheat at Home

I forgot to wind the film all the way to the next frame on the fourth frame (a fact I realized immediately after pressing down on the shutter).  Frame 12 is too dark but Buckwheat is just so cute that I decided to share it anyway.    

Since unloading roll 2, I've put some batteries in my camera so now I can use the flash for shooting inside (and in darker lighting situations).  However, after paying to develop three rolls of film, I've decided that I'm probably just going to save my Holga for ideal lighting conditions . . . at least for now.

Looking for Fall

It's felt like summer here for the last ten months.  No joke.  Last December it cleared up after a period of rain and I marveled at how it was gloriously blue skied and perfect out day after day (in December!).  But ever since then, most days have been like that.  There was a week or so of rain in March (which happened to be when my family visited) and maybe a rainy day or two in April but otherwise Santa Cruz has been decidedly dry.  There have also been a couple of days when the fog never quite burned off and a slight chill hung in the air but those days never lasted into whole weeks.  Yes, it's been sky, monotonous blue sky, for the better part of a year now. 

I know I shouldn't complain about sunshine and warm weather but I miss the seasons in Seattle.  Hell, I even miss the rain.  A week or two ago the fog rolled in every night and hung around until midday and I thought, maybe, just maybe, fall was moving in.  The days have heated back up though. Yesterday and today temperatures climbed into the 90s (and may have even reached 100 degrees).  I guess it's an Indian Summer.  But I'm tired (really, really tired) of summer.  So I'm looking for fall.  And at this point, I'll take what I can get. 

Some of the best fall foliage on display downtown

Fall underfoot

Some signs of fall along the San Lorenzo

Buckwheat is ready for fall!

Fall fringed treetops in Pogonip

I miss wearing sweaters in the daytime and hearing rain falling outside at night and curling up on the couch with a warm drink on a dreary Sunday morning . . . I want to put away my shorts and stop ordering cold drinks and wear my coats and make soups!  Summer's been nice but has definitely overstayed its welcome.  So come on fall, I'm ready for you!

Holga, Roll 1

Last week I got back my first roll of processed film from my Holga (a birthday present from C).  I was kind of nervous about it.  I've gotten so used to the instant feedback of digital photography that I'm not always as careful as I should be.  I knew I made some mistakes while shooting and by the time I went to pick up the processed film and photos from Bay Photo, I was totally prepared to get back a series of goofs.  However the film turned out better than expected.  None of the frames were perfect or even that great but I didn't live up to my worst fear and ruin the entire roll!

Below are a couple of  photos from roll 1 on my Holga:

Frame 4

Frame 6: Double Exposure

Frame 7

I think using my Holga will force me to be more thoughtful and attentive in my photography.  Or at least that's the hope.  I'm about halfway through roll two and I already feel a little more confident about the shots I've taken this time around.  I guess we'll see if my confidence is warranted when I actually get my second roll developed (hopefully sometime next week).  If nothing else, using my Holga to take photos is a fun break from my norm.  And a Holga is a whole lot lighter to carry around than a Canon