Best Photo of 2020 That Reflects the past as It Looks to the Future

Circle of Life Sculpture, Charolais Corridor Trail, © Barbara Radisavljevic, 2020

 Is this the best photo I took in 2020? It's the best one to show the contrast between past and the future I hope for in 2021. It features Robert Roemisch's metal sculpture, "Circle of Life" which you can find at the beginning of the Charolais Corridor Trail in Paso Robles. That trail happens to be behind the tract where I live, so I walk it often, usually in the late afternoon or as the sun is setting. 

You can see in the sculpture that life goes on. The dark cloud of 2020 with all its storms seems to be disappearing into the horizon and leaving the sky above it clear and blue. I hope this will be the case. I hope some of the conflict and death that marked 2020 will be replaced with seeing what we have in common, the end of the pandemic, and a return to normal life. 

That being said, those things aren't under our control. We control only our own thoughts and the  actions that spring from them. Whatever is ahead, I will trust God to bring good out of it. I will pray my leaders will be wise in their decisions and seek divine wisdom. I will try to do what's right with what I have and in the way I treat people. All that God requires of me and others is to do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. (Micah 6:8) And that's what I want to do. 

Let's all walk courageously into 2021 and see what awaits us. 

In case you're wondering, the most popular post on this blog in 2020 of the six I wrote was this one: Spring Begins with Wet Sidewalks and Gray Clouds. 

This blog is part of the City Daily Photo Blogger Network. See what other members considered their best photo of 2020, the theme for this January. 

Peace After a Stressful Day

"All's Well That Ends Well," as the Bard Said

My day began with stress but ended in peace. I find that when I'm stressed, nature soothes me. Sometimes just walking the two blocks to my mailbox at dusk will calm me down. Sometimes just looking at a sunset works. Or seeing a gorgeous sky framed by trees.

So what stressed me out today?

For the two days before today my cable connection that controls the television, the landline and the internet was faulty. My connection would drop while I was trying to send an email, comment on a post, or save a post in progress. You know how annoying that can be, especially during a blogging challenge when I need to get so much done online quickly. Although I don't watch much TV, for the little time I did the sound and picture became distorted every few seconds.

When I went to call Charter to report the problem, my phone (Charter powered, of course) wouldn't work properly.  The person that answered couldn't hear me. I had to pull out my rarely used cell phone to get through. That was Tuesday. The earliest a technician could come out was today between 1 and 2 pm. They said they would call to confirm and cancel if no one answered. So I kept my cell phone on and took it to my bedroom last night. I usually keep it in my purse, turned off.

Also last night before bed I discovered my primary website was offline. It's never been offline before.  I couldn't get it up and I couldn't get into my administrative panel. I didn't want to try calling tech support on my little mobile flip phone because I don't know how to put it on speaker phone -- a must for tech support calls. I couldn't rely on the landline to work. I hadn't been able to post my blog last night, either.

Even my little brother suffered phone frustration.
From family photo collection

Last night Charter called my cell phone and the landline simultaneously and I confirmed the appointment. Today at the proper time both phones rang at the same time again. I answered the cell and the person on the other end's voice was so distorted I couldn't understand a word and he couldn't seem to hear me. Then the line went dead. My husband answered the landline and talked to the human to confirm the appointment time. 2:00 came and went. At 2:30 I got really tense.

I called Charter again, but their call volume was too high and they weren't taking anymore calls for a while. The connection had appeared to be working better, so I went to their website and waited half an hour for a chat rep to come on line. He told me first that the appointment had been canceled because it hadn't been confirmed. Not true. Then he said he no longer detected a problem with the connection. I thought maybe they had resolved it since I hadn't had problems in the morning or afternoon. I was still quite unhappy that no one notified me of the cancellation or of the fact they thought the problem was resolved. I expressed my dissatisfaction in the handy survey I had to fill out after the chat session ended.

Resolving My Website Issue

Fortunately, I was able to get my website issue solved quickly. After bracing myself for a long tech support session and fortifying myself with pizza to quell my hunger pains, I call my wonderful web host at Siteground. They had my site back up in seconds. They told me the problem was a faulty update for the Heartbeat plug-in, they changed the file name, and the website came up immediately. I love their tech support people.

So What Now?

My website is back up, and that was the biggest issue for my business. After I began writing this post, though, I noticed my internet connection cutting in and out again. I tried to watch TV while I ate my pizza, and the people on the screen turned into monsters every few seconds and their voices sounded like they had a bad cell phone connection. Since my internet and phone had worked earlier, I thought maybe our ancient television was telling us to replace it. But then when the internet went haywire again, I knew maybe Charter hadn't solved my problem after all or I had a new problem. I'm not looking forward to getting back to them tomorrow. Meanwhile, I lost my connection several times while writing this post.

The trees in the photo above have seen their share of stress and though gravely wounded have so far survived. I'm thankful my three-day physical headache had vanished by the time I woke up this morning. It left me better able to face this  stressful day without breaking. Perhaps when I wake up tomorrow, my Charter headache will have disappeared. But I'm not counting on it. I'll take it one day at a time.

Has anything stressed you out lately?

This post is for Day 6 in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Sky Photos from Charolais Corridor Trail at Dusk

Back on the Charolais Corridor Trail for a Photo Walk

Life has prevented me from doing much walking in these past few months, but tonight I couldn't stand being confined and so I walked. I drove to the trailhead of the Charolais Corridor Trail across from Larry Moore Park in Paso Robles, camera in hand, as the sun was beginning to set. The weather was just right for a walk. 

Sundown from Charolais Corridor Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

Photos of The Sky from the Trail

I will show these sky photos in the order in which I took them so you can imagine you are walking with me. All photos, watermarked or not, are my intellectual property and may not be used without my written permission.

As I started my walk along the trail, a solid band of clouds was just in front of me above the treetops. As you will see later, the color deepened as the sun got lower and disappeared.

A Band of Clouds across The Sky Over the Trail, © B. RadisavljevicAs you 

As you look at these photos you will notice I love tree silhouettes against the sky, as in the photo below.

Golden Stripe of Sunset behind Tree Silhouette, © B. Radisavljevic

I also like unusual cloud formations like this one. I saw it from many different angles as I walked. It was always in front of me or off to the right of the trail. Here it appears to be disappearing into the oaks below it.

V-Shaped Cloud Formation on South Side of Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

The trail runs between two housing areas: Riverbank on the north side and the rural properties, many of them small farms, that face onto Oak Lane on the south side. The palm is in one of the yards in the Riverbank tract.

Palm in Yard Across the Fence Along Trail with Clouds Behind, © B. Radisavljevic

I was not alone on the trail tonight. Two families passed me with their dogs. I thought the boy was going to have to carry the little black dog. It was stubbornly refusing to keep walking. Finally, it decided to follow, but only after much urging.

Company on the Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

These large trees are on the side where the small farms are. I love their silhouettes as the sky darkens.

Whisps of Clouds behind Tree Silhouettes, © B. Radisavljevic

This is the same band of clouds I showed you earlier, but now some time has passed. Both its color and shape have changed a bit.

Band of Clouds Across Trail Is Turning Pink, © B. Radisavljevic

There are many more pictures I could have shown you -- over a hundred -- but this is enough to give you an idea of what you missed. This last photo was taken after I returned to the entrance. The trees are on the end of Riverbank Lane, near where I parked. If you live in Paso Robles and haven't walked this trail yet, it's very manageable -- even for those with disabilities. It's mostly level, and you can see it is paved with concrete. Walkers do need to watch out for cyclists, though. I often encounter them here.

Back to Where I Started as It Begins to Get Dark, © B. Radisavljevic

If you enjoyed these photos, why not share them on Pinterest?

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What a Difference Five Minutes Can Make in the Sky

Evening Sky on Wordless Wednesday 

Just a few words! the sky was gray almost all day. I wasn't even going to post photos. At around 5 PM I looked out and saw this scene instead of the steady gray, so I was going to title it The Most Exciting Sky of the Day.

Paso Robles Sky to the West at 5 PM, 2-8-17, after a Gray Day

I went in the house, downloaded the photo and edited it to post. Then I looked out the window again and saw this. 

Paso Robles Sky to the West at 5:05 PM, 2-8-17, Approaching Sunset

What a difference a few minutes and the sun can make in the sky!

Sky Journal for First Two Days of February.

Sky Journal

I'm starting a sky journal today because I'm addicted to photographing the sky. You may have noticed that. Since I couldn't post any sky photos yesterday because it was theme day, I will post for both yesterday and today. 

Clouds Between Storms, February 2, 2017, Paso Robles

Most of my sky photos will be taken from this approximate place. Sometimes the oak tree will be more prominent, and sometimes the palms. Sometimes I will face in a different direction, but I'll still be on this corner. 

Hereafter I will post sky photos when I have taken any that day. If I have another topic I want to write about, I'll post my sky photo at the end. It fascinates me how the sky is different every day if clouds are present. 

Sky Photos for February 1

It seems appropriate to start a new focus on this day because I published the first post on this blog on February 1, 2015.  Yesterday was my second blogaversary. Here are my February 1 sky photos. These photos were taken around 5 PM within minutes of each other. 

Dark Clouds Rolling In before Rain, February 1, 2017

Clouds Looking North, February 1, 2017, Paso Robles

Clouds Before Rain, February 1, 2017, Paso Robles

 Mug-Cloudy Sky over Templeton CA Coffee Mug
I have featured the sky on several different products in my Zazzle store. Why not enjoy the sky even when you are inside?

 Encouragement Card with cloudy sky. Puzzle: Bare Oak in Winter under Stormy Sky Poster: Clouds Over Paso Robles at Sunset Poster iPad Case: Sunset Case For The iPad Mini

Trees Are Leafing Out Again

Although it's not yet officially spring, the trees are leafing out again. Perhaps it's to respond to all the rain that is refreshing their roots. It seems just last week most trees were still bare, except for the flowering trees. After they shed their blossoms, they started wearing leaves.

I took a photo of the birch tree in my side yard that was naked just a few days ago. Now it's dressed in green. I actually think it's more interesting without the leaves. I love its delicate frame of branches.

After photographing the birch tree, I turned my attention to the oak across the street. Unlike the photo of the same tree in the top corner, I did not apply any effects to these photos. You will notice how blue the sky is in the photo above as I was looking east. In the photos  below, I was looking north, and the sky was still cloudy gray, yet I took the photos within minutes of each other.

As you can see, it was a gray day, even though the rain was past. I could not fit all of my neighbor's large oak tree into the photo because of where the sun was. That's a lamp post sticking up on the right side.

The photo above shows the delicate leaves contrasting with the sturdy frame of the oak. Below we see the smaller branches at the very top.

Fairytale Garden 3D Effect Window View Picture Canvas Print



Bring a spring window view of trees right into your home with this 3-D canvas wrapped print. It looks like a real window on your wall. Great for a small room with no windows. Is it still looking like winter where you live? Bring a spring window view of trees right into your home with this 3-D canvas wrapped print. It looks like a real window on your wall. Great for a small room with no windows.

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Dramatic Clouds and an Earthquake

© B. Radisavljevic

On Thursday afternoon I noticed the sky had some dramatic cloud formations. I thought with  such clouds we would have a spectacular sunset. These cloud photos are from mid afternoon.

© B. Radisavljevic

After taking these sky photos, I went back into the house to continue my work on the taxes, hoping to come back at sundown and get some great sunset photos. When I went back outside, all the clouds had disappeared and there was nothing left worth taking a picture of in the sky. 

I came back in the house and started to do some computer work and then my chair started shaking. It wasn't very hard shaking, but it was an earthquake. While I was looking it up online, my husband called from our Templeton house to ask if I had felt it. He said there was a lot of shaking there. By that time I'd found the site and discovered it was a 3.4 earthquake only three miles from Templeton. Here's the news report from the evening of February 18.

When the 6.5 earthquake struck us in 2003, the Templeton house was also affected much more than the house in Paso Robles, where my mom was living at the time, only seven miles northeast of our Templeton home. This is how our upstairs hall in Templeton, lined with bookcases on both sides, looked when the shaking had stopped. 

© B. Radisavljevic

When we called my mom to see how she was, she had hardly noticed it, yet she was only a seven minute drive away. Such is the way of earthquakes. Personally, I prefer the ground to stay in one place.  How about you?

T-Shirt EARTHQUAKES GET ME ALL SHOOK UP!
Try Zazzle's online t-shirt making tool.

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Bird in Tree Enjoying the Rain

Bird in Tree Enjoying the Rain, © B. Radisavljevic

As I was standing on a covered porch looking out at my backyard during a light rain, I noticed some birds frolicking on the ground. I ran for my camera, but by the time I came back, the birds were gone. I stood there for a few minutes with the camera aimed toward the ground before I saw a bird heading for this tall tree. I was delighted when it forsook the lower branches and moved to the very top where it was more visible. I loved seeing the bird in the tree enjoying the rain. I loved it even more when it remained there long enough for me to photograph it.

The tree itself is dormant. It's supposed to be an apricot tree, but it's never had a blossom in twenty years. It shades my roses in summer and probably robs them of nutrients and water. My mom planted it wanting apricots, and either she was wrong about the type of tree or there is no tree nearby to cross-pollinate it. She may have thought one was not needed. There are plenty of bees, so lack of pollinators is not the problem.

I have almost had this tree removed many times, but have not yet been able to afford the cost of having it done. Removing our pine tree, which was in front of it, was fairly expensive. I'd rather put a smaller tree here that does produce fruit. I'm glad, though, that the tree was here for my friend with feathers today.

Below is a bird whose photo I took in another tree during another gray winter day. This magnet can be customized with an inspirational text or left as is.

Small Bird in Bare Tree in Winter 2 Inch Square Magnet
Look at Birds Magnets online at Zazzle.com

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