In northern California, my favorite time of year is spring when the hills turn a beautiful shade of green. You learn to enjoy it while you can, because soon enough they turn back to their signature 'golden' color. On one April day, I went out in search of a good place to take pictures. I found it in Livermore at Sycamore Grove Park. Okay, I'm going to humbly admit that I really didn't know what a sycamore looked like, but they are now one of my favorite trees. Their white bark and rambling branches create a lovely contrast to the 'spring green'. Sycamore Grove is popular with runners and has a winding trail that is a bit too remote for me. It didn't help to see signs posted, warning of possible wildlife encounters. Yeah, that did make me a bit nervous, especially since news reports had told of mountain lions wandering this area and being spotted in backyards! Luckily, my only wildlife encounter was with a huge hawk, sitting not more than ten feet above me in a tree. It was truly a magical moment, to look up and see his 'hawk eyes' staring down at me. I quickly swung my camera up (remembering it now, it was in slow-motion) and got a shot of him flying away. A perfect mano-a-nature moment. :)
To see my hawk and other photos of this nice spring day, click on the picture labelled 'Sycamore Grove Park' to the right.
TREES
