This poppy peeping trip was up North Fork Drive out of Three Rivers. It was with one friend in a Mustang convertible that her Mom bought on her 88th Christmas. (No, my friend isn’t 88 – it was her Mom who was 88). It was a great top-down day, and sometimes I just stood on the seat to get the right photos. Handy set up.
There were poppies, (early) redbud, lupine, the North Fork of the Kaweah, sycamores, oaks, and cows. Lovely time, truly enjoyable companionship, beautiful drive.
When the poppies are out, there is no time to be wasted! Get out and see them, now!
2008 was a spectacular poppy year for all the foothills in Central California, and it was a source of great inspiration to this Central California artist.
2016 is looking almost as good.
A few friends and I took a drive up Dry Creek Road for some poppy peeping on February 26. Have a look:
Who can resist a ride in an open-top red Jeep toward the siren pull of those golden hills? Not these bandana-headed chicks! (“You look like you oughta be somebody’s wife somewhere”. . . a little Meryl Haggard, in case you were wondering)
This is my favorite photo of the whole day. This is one of 3 types of lupine we saw at Kaweah Lake.
This is another type – bush lupine.
Some sort of clover was very abundant and quite fragrant.
This road made me wonder how Three Rivers might be today had Terminus Dam not been built in 1963. The road would meander near the river, and perhaps the river would be more accessible to the public, at least down at that elevation. Most of the river is locked up by private land, and trashy trespassing becomes a real problem every summer.
Visalia, down the hill, would have had massive flooding for many years. It probably would not have the population that it has now, if the dam hadn’t been built.
Like Scarlett, I’ll think about it tomorrow, because today is springtime in Three Rivers and there are wildflowers to gawk at.
Trail Guy and I had a road trip planned, although it pains me to leave Three Rivers in spring. However, life interfered, and being prudent, flexible and spontaneous (don’t hurt yourself laughing), we decided to spend spring here in Three Rivers.
Have a look at an excursion to Kaweah Lake.
That is Alta Peak in the distance, and in a month or so all this lake bottom will be underwater.
My great-uncle used to lament all the “drowned wildflower seeds” resulting from Terminus Dam, built in 1963. Hmmm, looks like those seeds were resurrected.
The flat slick rock on the right side leading down to the water is called “Slick Rock”. Duh.
The jagged rocks in the distance are called “Castle Rocks”. Nice name.
I love to go walking in Three Rivers, particularly in February, my favorite month for weather. It is really green this year. Muddy too. Thank you God, for rain!!
I got all excited about this beautiful moss. My sister from Oregon looked at me as if I were loopy.
Moss AND lichen, oh my.
Green. GREEN! THANK YOU, GOD, FOR RAIN!
There are horses running around in one of my favorite walking areas. I’m not very horsey, but they are beautiful creatures.
This color combination is really beautiful: a reddish horse with a blond mane.
This mare was not pleased with my walking buddy’s walking stick. She looked downright hostile.
Anyone know the right horsey description for this color of horse?
Water! February is so beautiful, especially in a wet winter in Three Rivers.
In Three Rivers, February has the capability of bringing snow or wildflowers or both. It has long been my favorite month for weather.
The morning after it snowed, several hundred feet in elevation above my home and studio. . . I had to walk a couple of miles to see snow sticking on the ground.
That afternoon was COLD. I had the heater roaring in the painting studio, and kept poking my camera out the door.
The snow rarely lasts into the afternoon, but this time it was different.
The late afternoon sunlight was beautiful. Snow in Three Rivers is beautiful. February is beautiful.
Sometimes I go for walks.
No, lots of times I go for walks.
It is sort of assumed that when women want to hang out with friends that they go shopping and go out to lunch.
Not this woman. I call a friend and say “Want to go for a walk?”
It is one of the best things about living in Three Rivers.
A peculiar sight. . . it happens occasionally on my walks.
“Research” is a word that used to bring to mind libraries with stacks of books and the microfiche machine. Now it means Google.
In the case of this Central California artist, it means a field trip.
I drove the 6.5 miles up the Mineral King Road and spent some time walking around the bridge, climbing into areas that I avoid in the summer because I have a healthy fear of rattlesnakes.
Lots of rain so far this winter means a decent flow beneath the bridge. I really want to see it if we get a flood-like storm!
Water or root-beer?
It’s difficult to get a photo of it from a straight-on angle. The shrubs and trees keep growing and obstructing the view.
This is the most common angle that I paint.
I’ve never taken this angle before. I think it would be a weird painting.
Sometimes the last support and the abutment visually overlap in my paintings and I get confused by all the shapes.
Might as well take a strange angle of the other side. One never knows what might be helpful.
I think the “T” is for Tulare County. I also needed to see what the detailed shape of this post is, because it is always too small to show in my other paintings. This time, in the 24×30″ painting, it just might matter.
Remember, February 8 at 6 p.m. at the Three Rivers Veterans’ Memorial Building, the Tulare Co. planning commission is holding a meeting about the bridge’s future.
My favorite bridge is currently my favorite subject for oil painting. (Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Dept.)
The Oak Grove Bridge crosses the East Fork of the Kaweah River, 6.5 miles up the Mineral King Road, out of Three Rivers, in Tulare County, California.
Some governmental agency has declared it to be unsafe. There is talk of rebuilding it, leaving it in place as a foot bridge and building a new driving bridge upstream, and even tearing it down.
Better start saving $ for my bail, because I might have to chain myself to the bridge and then get arrested.
Nah. I’ll think about that tomorrow. I have some paintings to finish.
The detail on the railing is the most difficult part of painting this bridge, especially when it is 8×10″. Too too tiny.
Why is this upside down? Because every part except the top of the painting has wet paint on it. Okay, the back doesn’t have any paint, but you probably figured that out. This one is a commission, and the customer specifically requested detail around all four edges.
Saturday, December 5, 2015, is what is called “First Saturday” in Three Rivers. I know, thanks, Captain Obvious.
Every first Saturday of the month, special things happen at various businesses and artist studios in Three Rivers.
Tomorrow, the Kaweah Artisans will hold a little show and sale called the “Stocking Stuffer Boutique”. It will be at the same location as last year’s – a one-day location from a generous business person in Three Rivers.
I will bring;