[Leica] Trip to Collinsville - this time with GOOD URL's

[abridge at gmail.com (Adam Bridge)]

(my apologies for posting twice but I made an error composing the URLs
and I didn't check them before sending.....ab)

Today, while the world was watching the infinite pre-game shows before the
Super-De-Duper Bowl we drove down to Collinsville, one of favorite areas.

Driving south from Davis about 30 miles the plains of the Central Valley
abruptly begin to roll and then form a set of hills which bound the 
Sacramento
River to the north, herding it, along with Mount Diablo to the south, toward 
the
Carcinez Straits and San Francisco Bay.

The rolling land is farmed - wheat, sheep, and goats being the most often 
found
but there are still many small water courses and copses of trees, usually
eucalyptus imported in the 1860's from Australia. The valley oaks don't find 
the
terrain to their liking, I suppose.

We drove to Bird's Landing and then west along a narrow partially paved road
where we encountered this specimen strutting along the road as if he owned 
it:

<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9324.jpg>

I've met many roosters who were more skittish.

As I was taking this picture, it's nearly full-frame, there was the constant
sound of shot-guns being fired on a trap shooting range to the south within 
easy
sight. It was the base for, yes, of course, a pheasant club!

Later on we found another but he was in bad shape - I think West Nile had hit
him. He walked listlessly, his tail feathers were partially gone. He hid 
along a
fence-line:

<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9341.jpg>

Just up the road this jack-rabbit, I'll leave it to those steeped in the 
lore of
such things to identify the species. He watched warily as I snapped these 
two:

<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9342.jpg>

His profile just before he took flight:

<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9343.jpg>

Further down the road I found this vast snaking pipeline, draining land 
north of
our road into the wetlands. The entire area is administered to control 
salinity
in the wetlands and tulle marshes. I believe this represents a portion of the
work. Cows roam the field through which this fast serpent wends:

<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9346-bw.jpg>

We saw four different ring-necked pheasants during our drive today - none of
which were in the least bit alarmed. In the autumn there are NOT so easy to
approach.

There is another kind of farming in this area as well: wind farms. Old wind
turbines, the bane of raptors with their fast-turning blades, are being 
replaced
with new larger ones whose blades make long, slow, stately arcs across the 
sky
as they generate their power.

I liked very much the reflections in this vernal pool. A few months from now 
it
will be gone leaving only a damp patch of wild flowers. The hillside will 
turn
golden as the wheat matures, hawks will circle looking for ground squirrels 
and
other rodents.

<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9354.jpg>
<http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2006/02/05/_L3U9358.jpg>

All of the animal images were made with the 560 Telyt and Canon 1Ds Mk II. I
hope the images don't appear to be made of silly putty. ;-}

The landscapes were made with the 24-70 F2.8L Canon zoom.

I also took along an M6 and will have a different interpretation of the 
pipeline
and perhaps a stand of windmills both very old and very new to show in a few
days.

Comments are welcome and invited.

Adam Bridge