Sources of inspiration | Cabin Art

The Most Beautiful Fruit Bowl I’ve Ever Seen

Maybe the fruit is the most beautiful rather than the bowl. Maybe it was the setting. The light was superior, and I could hardly concentrate on the task at hand, which was helping to decide how many propane lamps might be necessary in a neighboring cabin. Trail Guy walked around with a tape measure, and I was mesmerized by this bowl.

I could paint this, or it might just be so doggone perfect that a painting would be a cheap imitation. I kept adjusting the position of the various pieces of fruit, the position of the bowl, and position of myself. Isn’t this just stunning? Thank you, Judee, for letting me experiment with your fruit bowl!

How Do You Know Fall’s Coming When It’s Still Hot?

In Mineral King, there are consistent signs that fall is coming. It may still be 105 down the hill during the day, but in Mineral King we know summer is about to be history.

The light is different, and the grass is as high as an elephant’s eye.

The water flows in a sluggish manner.

The deer are plentiful and the fawns’ spots are fading.

Not many wildflowers remain except asters.

Things have a yellowish tinge to them.

The Park Service begins patrolling on horseback, interviewing hunters who have crossed over into Forest Service land.

What helps you believe fall is coming in spite of the heat?

Mineral King

A New Idea

Trail Guy had a great idea for me this summer. We are now beginning to develop it. Here are the photos we used in our designing phase.

“Phase” makes it sound huge and extensive, don’t you think?

More will be revealed. . .

Mineral King, Late Summer

It was remarkably clear in Mineral King in late August. The place is a continual source of inspiration and painting ideas for this central California artist.

California Artist Mineral King

White Chief, Part Two

One way you can tell that you are middle-aged is when hiking downhill is more painful than hiking uphill. (Can I get an “Amen”?)

Last week I left you wondering how we were going to leave White Chief if not by the same trail we used to get there. Trail Guy loves loops – I might start calling him “Loopy” – no, bad idea. I call him Trail Guy, but about 40% of the time he is Off-Trail Guy.

He pointed up to a ridge above and to the west of lower White Chief canyon and said if we climbed it, we’d drop down into Eagle Meadow. That is in the area of the Mosquito and Eagle Lakes junction. He said he knew it wasn’t hard, because he had explored there last year.

Sure, Off-Trail Guy.

Trail Guy and friend leaving White Chief Canyon — That is Timber Gap in the middle distance. We are higher than it, because we are looking over the top of it to the Middle Fork drainage of the Kaweah River. I got a little bit behind Trail Guy and PC because of a serious distraction.

Explorer's Gentian photo by Jana Botkin — Explorer’s Gentian are my favorite flower! That color just slays me. The one on the left is a little odd – normally they have 5 petals. They appear in August and like to bloom and grow in damp places.

ridge between White Chief and Eagle Lake photo by Jana Botkin — Not hard at all. Just go up. Pick a clean route. Keep your goal in mind. Don’t step on a wasp nest. Watch out for rocks that are rocky. Just sashay up that little ridge!

looking down from the ridge photo by Jana Botkin — Whoa. We have to go down really really far now. Into those trees, and we will catch the trail down from Eagle and Mosquito Lakes, right? Eagle Lake is off the photo to the left, behind the trees. Trail Guy, are you SURE this will work?? I’m not in favor of getting bluffed up.

Eagle Creek photo by Jana Botkin — Here is Eagle Creek, flowing through Eagle Meadow. It is really hard to get lost in Mineral King. The danger is in getting bluffed up. This wasn’t a bad route, and we hit Eagle Meadow just like Trail Guy planned.

Eagle Creek, just above the sinkhole photo by Jana Botkin — Here is Eagle Creek, just before it disappears into the sinkhole.

photo by Jana Botkin of Eagle sinkhole — This never photographs well. Eagle Creek flows into a deep hole. You can see the bottom of the hole – the water just disappears! (Don’t you hate it when someone says “this is a bad photo”? Then why are you showing it?? Because it’s all I have!)

Mineral King

White Chief in Mineral King is a Steep Hike

White Chief might be the most popular short(ish) hike in Mineral King. It might also be the steepest one. It is always worth the effort, especially when back home again.

Farewell Gap photo by Jana Botkin — This is the first awe-inspring view on the way to White Chief. It is Farewell Gap at around 10 a.m.

bridge over Spring Creek — A bridge is a welcome sight when one isn’t that great at rock-hopping.

fireweed photo by Jana Botkin — Nice patch of Fireweed by Spring Creek. Icky name for a gorgeous blossom!

White Chief photo by Jana Botkin — FINALLY at the end of the steep climb to White Chief, about to break into the canyon. I think someone moved the place higher since I last went there. The flat topped peak is White Chief Peak.

view from White Chief Canyon photo by Jana Botkin — Walk a little further up canyon, turn around, see this view.

creek in White Chief canyon photo by Jana Botkin — The creek in the middle part of White Chief is so cold that the marrow in my foot bones might have frozen a little bit. (It HAD to help plantar fasciitis, right?)

Trail Guy having lunch in White Chief canyon — Trail Guy finds great spots to perch for lunch, but the cheese was with me down in the creek. Bummer, Dude, I’m not moving because my feet are frozen.

cloudy view from middle of White Chief canyon — Tut-tut, it looks like rain. Let’s choose a different route home. (No, not a helicopter) Maybe over that ridge ahead, see that bare spot in the trees?

This is getting to be a bit long. I’ll continue it next Friday. . . same bat time, same bat channel.

Mineral King

Interesting And Random Photos of Mineral King

scarlet monkey flower photo by jana Botkin — I’ve only seen the scarlet monkey flower in my favorite wildflower book but never in person until this year along the Mineral King Road.

Sawtooth Peak in Mineral King, photo by jana Botkin — Some days Sawtooth looks particularly captivating, but I’d rather photograph it than climb it.

Mineral King Bridge photo by Jana Botkin — HEY LOOK! The new Mineral King Bridge has a railing! It is definitely different than the old, but it is easier and more comfortable to sit on than the old one.

horses and mules below Timber Gap photo by Jana Botkin — The Park Service (AKA NPS, Sequoia, and SNP) has used its Mineral King corral quite a bit this year. That is Timber Gap in the not so distant distance. It is much further if you are huffing and puffing your way up the trail than if you are standing beneath it with a camera.

Fawn photo by Jana Botkin — There was a pair plus Mama, but only this fawn paused long enough for me to get my camera. There’s nothing quite like a blue tarp, a piece of my dusty car and a little bit of marmot fencing to set off a wild animal shot.

Mineral King

Going Places

Imagine you are on a road trip, just sitting there like a knitting machine, and your driving husband pulls over and says “I thought you might want a picture of this”.

Wouldn’t that be grand and thoughtful? It is.

Trail Guy and I like to visit his sister in Lake Tahoe. (Hi Laurie!) On one such trip we were passing Kirkwood, and he pulled over so I could photograph this scene. Kirkwood Meadow is outside of Lake Tahoe (south east? south west? just plain southish?) It is a ski resort, but in October it looks like this:

oil painting of Kirkwood Meadow — Kirkwood Meadow, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×6″

There were several horses in the photos I took. I chose this one and scooted him to a better place. That tiny little horse ’bout done near kilt me off. I had to go paint some nice oversized oranges to recover. Must be a California artist way of getting over the trauma. . . gave me flashbacks to Put-My-Parents-in-the-Painting.

The painting was for several reasons: to see if it is a good subject for a larger painting, because I wanted to paint it, and as a gift for a generous friend who sends me a new book to read almost every month.

California Artist Kirkwood Meadow oil painting oil paintings

The Best Flowers in Mineral King

It must be Friday because the California artist is talking about Mineral King again.

You can count on seeing the best variety of flowers in Mineral King in 2 places: along the Nature Trail and at the Farewell Gap/ Franklin Lake junction. The first week of July is when they are usually the most profuse. It is about 4 miles to the junction from the bridge at the end of the road, aka “The Mineral King Bridge”.

Crystal Creek, Mineral King — Crossing Crystal Creek is easy, thanks to a log-jam type bridge. It is one mile up the trail from the beginning of the hike.

along the Franklin/Farewell Gap trail, Mineral King — Trail Guy shows the way at this intersection. The sign also helps, but if you would rather go to Soda Springs, ignore the sign.

blazing star wildflower — There are 2 places I know to always find Blazing Star in Mineral King – the trail to Soda Springs and on the way to Franklin Lakes or Farewell Gap.

The sign says it is 4 miles back to Mineral King at the Franklin Lake/Farewell Gap junction, but I am always a little surprised that it is so far. This is because I love this hike!

Wildflowers of Mineral King — The flowers are this good in a not-so-good flower year at the junction. Last year was better. No, I’m not whining on the yacht.

This is off the trail, because I follow Trail Guy lots of places besides trails. He led me to the best larkspur I’ve ever seen – the boldest color, the tallest, the thickest blossoms on the stems, the biggest clumps I’ve EVER seen in Mineral King, and all this in a not-so-great flower year.

Leopard lilies are Trail Guy’s favorites. We often smell them before we see them. Most people call them “tiger lilies” but I associate tigers with stripes and these are spotted like leopards. Or giraffes. They are tall like giraffes, so perhaps it is time to rename them.

I love to put my feet in Franklin Creek on the way home. It makes them feel good for about 25 steps after putting my boots back on.

Mineral King

Sometimes I Leave California

I hope it isn’t too shocking to you, my fine readers, to learn that the California artist sometimes goes out of the state. She has a penchant for the Pacific Northwest. (“Penchant” means a strong habitual liking.) She also blogs while she is away so that the bad guys on the internet can’t tell that she is gone. Tricky, eh?

While visiting these other places, she takes photos that she hopes to paint one day. She hopes to have a show called “Going Places” to show and sell these as of yet unpainted pieces of art.

And, while she is away, sometimes she gets on a weird roll and begins writing in third person.

unknown blue wildflower — How exciting – lots of these along the roads in Northern California and Southern Oregon. What are they??

natural bridge on Oregon coast — Here is some of the Oregon coastline. Figures I’d show you a bridge, albeit a natural one. (“Albeit” is a cool way to say “although”.)

blue hydrangea — The hydrangeas are blue in the Pacific Northwest because there is so much acid in their soil. I was in blue flower heaven. The acid is also what makes them able to grow blueberries. Acid = blue??

driftwood structure on an Oregon Beach — There was a TON of driftwood on the beach where we stayed. There were also many of these structures, probably built as windbreaks. That is Trail Guy on the beach, in case you were wondering who I went to Oregon with.

Are these pebbles on an Oregon beach? They look like river rocks to me. This Oregon beach was difficult for walking because a beach walker was trying to not freeze to death, clumping along over rocks, or negotiating through driftwood. I loved it anyway.

To be continued tomorrow. . .

blue wildflower Oregon beaches Oregon Coast

Category: Sources of inspiration