Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Upper Table Rock

I didn't plan on taking any more pictures as I made my way back down the Upper Table Rock trail the other day. I'd already overdone it and the last thing I needed to do was burn out my newly rekindled passion for photography. Of course if I saw something that really got my attention, an exception was in order (The red honeysuckle berries I posted were a good example!). Have you ever noticed that once you begin to notice photographic subjects, it's really hard to turn this sense off? As I walked along the meandering dirt trail, subjects flashed by trying to get my attention. Countless glowing leaves, interesting bark, trees, branches, plants, moss… This can be a bit maddening and it's exhausting to process the flow of information, continuing to say, "No, I have enough pictures. I can appreciate this for myself but no more photos." Another flash got my attention and the unfamiliar shape turned my head and stopped me in my tracks. I peered closer…what was I seeing? Why, it looked like a tiny Japanese lantern! Approaching to get a better look, I could see warm rays of light illuminating a pair of poison oak leaves which had dried up facing one another, creating the lovely and unique effect. Ok, now THIS was something worth taking a picture of. In the many years that I've been exploring the woods on our property and here as well, I've never seen anything like this before. I made sure to include the important clue which helped me to identify what I was looking at: a remaining poison oak berry which makes these leaves instantly recognizable. Pam, I hope that you have had a very nice Sunday! It was very cold but beautiful this morning and the sunshine warmed the day considerably as the hours passed by. I took pictures for the Macro Monday 2.0 challenge and had a really nice time figuring out which would be best to post! Hope you're doing well my dear!

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam , we would love to have you! You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley ------------------------- Yesterday's blog was full of what I'd done the day before and so I didn't mention what I actually did yesterday! I hiked to the top of the LOWER Table Rock trail! I originally planned to hike both the Upper and Lower Table Rock trails in one day but I realized on the way up the Upper that it was too much to expect that I do both trails AND take pictures too. So I axed the Lower and figured I'd do it the next day if I was up to it. As it turned out, I was! :D I also didn't bring my camera since I'd taken so many pictures the day before. Better to come back another time for that. However, as we all know, the time that you don't bring your camera is the time you see something incredible but you don't have a camera! As I was about one quarter of the way up I encountered the most adorable and fluffy grey squirrel, which was very close to me and spent a lot of time low in a nearby tree. I just stood and enjoyed the moments before I finally walked on. Yeah, I could have pulled out my phone but I didn't feel like it. What a great experience that was!! This morning I was greeted with frost on the ground which twinkled up at me as I walked up and down our drive, listening to my Niven audio story, "Dream Park.". The sun soon melted what little frost there was, as it was just at freezing, but I loved seeing the tiny crystals on the leaves, grass, and our cars. While I trooped along, I also thought about the past few days. With the help of Peggy C, I started up a new ipernity group, Pictures for Pam. Heidiho suggested the idea, and thus our new group is a reality! It has become quite an instant success and the crowning prize is that Pam is having a wonderful time looking at all of the pictures that we've been submitting. I hope our combined virtual hug will give her an extra push towards recovery! Today's picture features a group of lovely little wild honeysuckle berries at the end of their show. In truth I was a bit surprised that the picture turned out at all because the two attempts I made were really just quick clicks without much care. I'd been heading back down the Upper Table Rock trail when I saw a flash of something red as I went by. I stopped and returned to the spot…oh! Berries! Neato! At that point I was ready to be done so snapped a couple of pictures and called it a day. Well, what a nice treat when I went through the images and found that one of them was actually nice enough that I am posting it today! Pam, I know that you love and appreciate pictures of things that may not be in perfect condition, but still deserve an appreciative stare. These berries are on their way out but that very quality adds to their interest with some cool texture and notable areas to look at! Here's hoping for a nice day and plenty of rest! All my best!!

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam , we would love to have you! You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley ------------------------- Yesterday's hike to the top of the Upper Table Rock was great fun, partly because I took my husband's Canon 5D Mark III with me! I told myself to be reasonable with the pictures, but you know how it is…"OHHHH LOOK AT THAT!!!" A moment later, "OOOOOOOOH!!! HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!" And so I made my way up to the top, clicking away and immersing myself in the bliss of photography and appreciating the world around me through the lens of my camera. Do you feel as I do? That your camera is like an extension of yourself? I am so very thankful that I enacted my idea to take pictures for Pam to enjoy. After such a very long time, my unquenchable passion for photography has finally been reawakened. What a priceless gift. I truly did not know if I would come back to life again…I'd tried over and over again to reignite my inner flame, but it always sputtered out. Now we're cookin' with GAS!! :D By the time I got up to the top of the trail, I'd captured over 100 pictures, slightly embarrassed at my lack of control, but pleased that I was having such fun. I walked out from the shady oak forest and onto the brightly lit mesa, adjusting to the full sunlight with a big smile on my face. It's so cool up here! Covered with volcanic rocks everywhere, a prairie covers the top of this flat plain and makes a home to a myriad critters including a rare shrimp that completes its lifecycle every spring. A few moments later I was at the edge which looks out majestically over the lovely Rogue Valley. What a sight to see! I was perplexed at the haze in the air because I thought the forest fires in southern Oregon were pretty much out. Obviously I was wrong, I sighed. Snickering to myself, I peered through my camera's lens knowing what I would see. Hardly anything of course! That's because my 100mm macro lens is NOT wide-angle, and if I actually hoped to get an image of this view, it wouldn't be with this camera. Awww, poor I00mm…I do use it for everything but there's just no pretending with a huge view like this. So I pulled out my Samsung smartphone and took some pictures, including a corny selfie for my husband, which I sent to him as I always do when I hike up the Table Rocks. I wandered back along the mesa, taking some time to crawl around looking for some sporophytes to photograph or other nifty macro subjects. Drat--I'd neglected to bring my knee pads. Oh well! I did prepare myself with the likelihood that any macro shots would probably be blurry. Hand-held macros are something I'm pretty good at but I hadn't practiced. This meant almost certain failure, as macro photography is totally unforgiving. It takes patience and the willingness to make sets of various apertures and distances to ensure at least one good picture of a given subject will be a keeper. I wasn't in the mood. So I took a few pictures but didn't expect anything useable. I confirmed later that I got close with a few images but none of them were worthy of seeing the light of day. Deee-leeet! My hike down the trail yielded another few dozen pictures to be excited about. What a great day! How wonderful to be back in the game again! I looked forward to getting home to see how many turned out. Looking through my pictures on my computer, I was extremely pleased to find that the majority of my images were "keepers." It really does blow me away how much our photography skills mimic abilities such as driving a car…even though you may not have done it for a while, the skills come right back and merely need a brush-up to get back to where you left off! GROOVY!!! :D Working through the pile of images, I cropped each "keeper" into a pleasing composition in Canon's Camera Raw, chucking duds or unfavorable duplicates and after a while I looked up at the clock and realized I wasn't going to have time to create the collage I'd planned on. The Samsung snapshot came to mind which I quickly copied over and made it my picture for yesterday. The rest of the images I kept could be doled out over the coming days and weeks if I chose. It was a better plan. Today I sat down and opened up Adobe Bridge. I already knew the picture I would post for Pam to see! I remember walking up the sun-dappled trail and seeing a brilliant flash of yellow catch my eye. Coming closer with my camera, I found this lovely leaf glowing on its branch, with an added bonus of lovely spiderwebs to give it extra character. Talk about a winner of a leaf!! Hooray! Pam, I hope that you enjoy this beautiful treasure from the Upper Table Rock trail…it is as rich and warm as you are my dear! Feel better and take the glow of this beautiful leaf into your heart! :) Explored on 11/14/18, highest placement, #18.

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam , we would love to have you! You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley ------------------------- Well, as you can see, this image isn't the collage I planned on! In fact, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that it's from my phone! I did touch it up in Photoshop but I have to admit that the pictures I get from my Samsung are really quite nice, so I thought, "Why not post this picture for today?" I was really running late and it was obvious that a collage wasn't going to happen at this rate. It occurred to me…wait a second. Yesterday's picture was a view of the Upper Table Rock from our back deck, so why not post a picture from the top for today?! Who needs a collage anyway?!!! :D So here we are! I do want to add though, that my hike up the Upper Table Rock was just as wonderful as I knew it would be. I took Steve's camera with my 100mm macro lens, and had a lovely time taking pictures as I went. I really did try to restrain myself, I did! However, I ended up with over 50 "keepers" after chucking duds and extras. Trying to choose about ten of them for my collage turned out to be troublesome at best, and so I decided to abandon the idea. I plan to post some of the nicer ones in the days to come. This will also solve my problem of finding interesting subjects on my property. Of course they are everywhere but I've burned myself out to some extent (to subject matter on our property) and being able to use pictures I've captured on my trip up the Upper Table Rock trail will make me a very happy girl! Plus, there are lots of cool images and they deserve to be seen alone and not in a collage! :) I'm cutting my usual bloggish diatribe short because I would like to post this picture before it's ridiculously late, and I'd like to spend some time visiting everyone who has taken the time to leave comment on my picrtures! Thank you all!! :) Explored on 11/15/18, highest placement, #62.

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam , we would love to have you! You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley ------------------------- Waking up with a virtual wagging tail, my mind was brimming with wonderful ideas on how I would spend my day. Foremostly, I had a super notion for my image today—which would actually be a collage when I was done. However, my plan was cut short when I realized that what I'd hoped to do wasn't going to happen today. You see, I thought that it would be a grand adventure to walk to the tops of our nearby natural monuments, the Upper and Lower Table Rocks, and take pictures of highlights to share with Pam. Unfortunately I need to stay on the property because we have a package being delivered and I need to be here when it arrives…which could be anywhere from now until 8pm. Blast and drat it all! One of my worst faults is impatience and when a roadblock is thrown in front of my happy agenda I get extremely and unfairly frustrated and annoyed. But I thought to myself, now is always a good time to work on flaws, so I sighed inwardly and admitted that my plan would work just as nicely tomorrow as it would today. Why do I always need instant gratification? Why am I so pushy and rude about needing to have my way? How is it that I can be so patient and understanding in some situations, and yet such an unreasonable, tempestuous brat in others? I've been travelling on a road of introspection as of late and doing my best to work on parts of me that could use improvement. Tomorrow is indeed another day and my upcoming hikes will be something to look forward to! I do love the joy of anticipating something fun on the horizon, so working on my impatience has become its own reward. That's kind of cool, isn't it? With that in mind, my picture for the day was instantly upon me. I went upstairs to get my husband's camera, which usually has the 17-40 wide-angle mounted, as much his favorite lens as my 100mm is to me. I figured I'd swap lenses but then thought better of it. Steve finally got a new camera a year ago, as he was sorely in need of an upgrade to his aged Canon 5D (aka Mk 1). When I graduated from my beloved point-and-shoot super-zoom Canon SX30IS, we leapfrogged to the Canon 5D MkII, a camera which allowed me to fully blossom as a photographer. Steve got a Canon 5D MkIII, and I've got to admit that it's an amazing camera and outshines mine in every way. Still, I prefer to use "my" camera, so I haven't given the MkIII the workout that it truly deserves. Today though, I decided to leave the 17-40 on his camera and took it downstairs and out onto the back deck. If I can't take pictures of my hike up the Table Rocks, why not take a picture of one of them from our back deck?! We are blessed with a stunning view of the Upper Table Rock and a glimpse of the Lower Table Rock too, and I have taken a myriad pictures of this view over the years. It really is a sight that never grows old. So, a few clicks later, I had a picture that you see now! Pam, today is another day to rest and recuperate. I do hope that each day is better than the last. Feel better soon my friend…my thoughts are with you! Explored on 11/14/18, highest placement, #56.

One of the most beautiful flowers of southern Oregon is the stunning Grass Widow. They don't grow on our property, but instead, on the tops of the Upper and Lower Table Rocks, which are just a few miles from our home. These breathtaking flowers burst into bloom in early spring and draw admirers from miles away to appreciate their beauty. (And the view from the tops of these mesas are spectacular too!) Here are some other pictures of Grass Widows that I've taken.

Springtime at the top of the Upper and Lower Tablerocks is very special. These grassy plataeus are bone-dry between June-October, but when the rains finally come, it is slowly transformed into a breathtaking wonderland. Beginning in February and lasting into June, flowers explode into bloom and unique vernal pools turn much of the Table Rock's surface into a marshy wetland. At the edges of the pools, and within them as well, tender plants grow and tiny flowers open in miniature living bouquets. It was here that I knelt carefully on the soggy ground to capture this lovely little scene. It looked like the sort of place a fairy might run and play, dancing among the moss and grass!

(3 more in notes above) Steve and I live very close to a prominent pair of landmarks in southern Oregon called the Upper and Lower Tablerocks. Every Spring, these plateaus explode into a flowering wonderland, complete with a seasonal marsh. The stars of the show are acres of magenta-colored flowers called Grass Widows. Steve and I went up to photograph the flowers a couple of years ago and while I was wandering around, I found this amazing blossom! I didn't know they come in any other color, let alone two tones! I have since learned that there are rare white ones, though I have never seen one here. The background of this picture was not ideal so I created a textured background to replace the original. Explored on March 18, 2016. Highest placement, #54.

Just a few miles from our home are the beautiful Upper and Loweer Table Rock plateaus. Every spring the rain turns these plateaus into large marshy areas with pools of water everywhere. The flora and fauna are wonderful to see, and some are unique to the Table Rocks. Steve and I ventured up to the top for a photo walk back in March 2012 and enjoyed photographing the special environment there. These buds are probably a common, very tiny flower called Spring Sandwort, and when I saw these buds surrounded by water, I couldn't resist taking pictures! It was a challenge to get this image and not fall face-first into the muck!

This image was taken on the 4th of July Fireworks MeetUp Hike to the top of Lower Table Rock, Southern Oregon

[best appreciated at full size against black] Here's the perfect music for this picture! www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlCiDEXuxxA At the top of the Upper and Lower Table Rocks, there are seasonal marshy areas called vernal pools. They are the home to many plants and animals, including the very rare fairy shrimp and a flower found only on the Table Rocks, Dwarf Wooly Meadowfoam. (I hope to take pictures of both as the season progresses!). I didn't think I'd find any frogs, though they were making an incredible racket, but I thought I might see a pollywog or two. Nope. What I DID find were zillions of little black beetles zooming around in the water! I took some pictures, all the while figuring they wouldn't be interesting enough to post, but when I got home and looked at my images I found... TINY BUBBLES!! After looking through my pictures, I realized that making a collage with the bubbles would be much more fun than showing off the water scavenger beetles, which you can also see in three of the pictures here. I hope you like them! :D If you would like to know more about water scavenger beetles, take a look here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrophilidae If you would like to know more about vernal pools and the Table Rocks, take a look here! :) www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/tablerock/table-rock-... This image was taken in March, 2012.

About a month ago, Steve and I went to the top of the Upper Table Rock to take pictures of spring wildflowers and whatever else we could find that was cool. The Table Rocks are flat on top, hence their name, and at one time there was a landing strip on the Lower one. Steve and I were taking pictures when we heard a plane overhead, and to our surprise, found a one-seater flying extremely low above us. We don't think he actually planned to land, but it made for a chance to take some fun pictures! By the way, check my EXIF data: this picture was taken with my 100mm macro lens!!! :D If you would like to know more about the beautiful Upper and Lower Table Rocks, which we can see from our home, Wiki has a wonderful page here: Wiki Upper and Lower Table Rock This image was taken in March, 2012.

This is from my archives. Steve and I went up to the top of the Upper Table Rock last February to take pictures of new wildflowers, This is a tiny blossom which measured only about 1/4" in diameter!! To me it looks very much like a miniature tulip but it's actually called Spring Sandwort. It is found where it's very wet, and it was growing at the edge of a vernal pool.

Today Steve and I went to the Upper Table Rock trail head, which is only about 10 minutes from our house (you can see it from our house and is in some of my pictures!). We met one of our new friends there, Michael Adams, and his son Josh, and we all took off up the trail for a lovely hike and photography as well! It was such a great day and I got lots of pictures despite the wind on top! I'm only sharing 5 today, but I'll have more to slip in as archive images in the future! :) This picture shows what is in my opinion, the signature flower of the Table Rocks, the incredibly beautiful Grass Widow flower. I'm so glad they were still in bloom, because I thought Steve and I came up here in February last year to take pictures, but in fact, we were here exactly one year ago!! (If you'd like to see my pictures from last year, there's another Grass Widow picture below: click on it and scroll down! :D) Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States. Wikipedia: Ralph Waldo Emerson