The Cala lillies are blooming again in the backyard. The yard is drenched. It is the wettest March ever recorded in Northern California. Spring is getting close. The trees are exploding with small green leaves. Everywhere one turns new life is popping up. I’m happy again.

A person could get used to a camera as great as the Canon EOS 20D. I took it out hiking today near Lake Berryessa. Athough the sun was out in full force and harsh shadows were everywhere I managed to get some good shots. The images that this camera captures are flawless! I suppose for $1599 retail for the body (I found it for $1,269.99 at Abe’s of Maine I guess they better be. Still, I am really blown away. Check out some of the other images I took at my flickr account.

So there I am pulling out of my driveway going to get something to eat for dinner and I see the most amazing moonrise. The upper portion of the sky is a velvet black while the lower portion is sea green. Plus, it just so happens that the moon is in my favorite phase; the phase that looks like a giant smile! As I admire it I realize that I am a total moron if I don’t go back into the house to grab the EOS 20D and get a shot.

Of course, it is too dark to shot by hand, so I have to grab my tripod out of the trunk. As I am attatching the tripod mount to the camera, the pan/tilt handle falls out of the tripod and rolls behind a fake plant in my hallway. I begin yelling at myself, “You’ve got 10 seconds light max!” Finally, the tripod mount is screwed into the camera and I retrieve the pan/tilt handle from the halway and get it put back into place quick enough to squeeze off 4 shots.

While not totally impressive, I am stunned by the quality of a night shot with this camera. Film couldn’t do much better. However, I was able to see the results immediately! You just gotta love the digital age.

I have been given the oportunity to spend the weekend with a brand new Canon EOS 20D digital camera. I’ve only taken about 10 quick snapshots with it and am already in love! I can tell this weekend is gonna spoil me. I’ll never want to pick up my Canon A70 again.

I plan on putting it through its paces so stay tuned for more shots.

Spring is definitely upon us here in Northern California! This weekend was exquisite. I was able to get out an do some more hiking. This time it was at the American River Canyon Creek trail. The trail was fairly difficult as it was downhill the entire way out (meaning uphill the entire way back) with an elevation loss of about 1700 feet. I’m very sore today, but it was worth it. The number of amazing waterfalls on this trail was stunning and the lushness was unexpected for a trail in the Sierra foothills. Anyone interested should check out Leon Turnbull’s site, Waterfalls West. It is an excellent resource for hiking trails with waterfalls.

Last weekend was a gorgeous weekend…and the hiking was spectacular. I hope to repeat it this weekend if the weather can cooperate.

This morning, as I joined my sister for her morning commute, we had the pleasure of being involved in a car accident. It wasn’t anything major. Melody merged into a lane at the same time someone else was. Melody’s car was slightly scratched, but nothing too bad.

So, here I present a photo of the officer who gave Melody a ticket for improper lane change. Enjoy!

P.S. My dad is doing much better. He appreciates everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

We had a great time though. RVing is definitely the luxury living way to go camping. (On Sunday I made strawberry crepes for breakfast. Try that with a one burner campstove). Stuffing ourselves on fresh crab, homemade french onion soup and garlic bread was probably second only to the perfect day we spent kicking around on the beach.