It was a tale of two worlds on this winter morning in the Sacramento Valley--the pastoral life of the peacefully grazing sheep, and the hunting life of the restless soaring raptors. And then there was me, the photographer, both immersed in and alienated from this miraculous landscape.

Butte County, CA

Tags:   California California Central Valley Canon 15-85mm USM IS Canon 7D Early Morning Hills Hillside Landscape Lightroom5 Meadow Northern California Pastoral Scene Ranchland Sacramento Valley Sheep Sutter Buttes Sutter County Topaz SW Raptors

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Last week my Flickr friend Thomas and I took a run down to the California Central Valley to check out the Sutter Buttes. The Sutter Buttes are renowned for being the smallest mountain range in the world. That's the local brag anyway and I can believe it. You can jam over after your morning walk with the dogs, drive around their circumference, snap off a few shots, and be back for lunch and a nap.

If you're in the neighborhood, the Buttes are definitely worth a nose-around. They're a pretty cool volcanic outcropping that juts out of the California Central Valley like a load of camel humps that came dislodged during a mad dash for dinner. Despite being a California state park, the Buttes are surrounded by private property with only a couple of gated "restricted access" roads leading into the park. As far I could see, this venue is a drive-by event unless you have some special clearance from a high authority, like Elmer who runs the local bait shop and controls the access permits. It's probably just as well. The Buttes reputedly sport a healthy glut of rattlesnakes. A friend of my wife told me that when her group went on a hike here, they brought along a Native American who was a snake charmer--swear on a stack of bibles and may my hair fall out if I'm lying.

Sutter Buttes, Sutter County, CA

Tags:   California California Central Valley Canon 15-85mm USM IS Canon 7D Clouds Early Morning Hills Hillside Landscape Lightroom5 Meadow Northern California Pastoral Scene Ranchland Rolling Hills Sacramento Valley Sheep Sutter Buttes Sutter County Topaz SW Winter

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The California Central Valley is full of two lane rural roads. If you someday find yourself traveling one, pull over, step out of your car and give a listen. All you will hear are the chatter of the birds and the whisper of the wind in the grass.Then from afar you hear the sound of an approaching truck. It grows louder and louder until it's right upon you, and then it flashes by you leaving gravel and dust whipping in it's wake, and you hear it's low guttural sound as it recedes into the far distance, gradually becoming less and less, until you are once again left with the chatter of the birds and the wind.

Sutter County, CA

Tags:   California California Central Valley Canon 15-85mm USM IS Canon 7D Clouds Early Morning Hills Hillside Landscape Lightroom5 Moody Northern California Road Road Trip Sacramento Valley Sutter Buttes Sutter County Topaz SW Two Lane Road Winter

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The perfectly ploughed rows of a winter field stretch out toward the foothills--the sign of a farmer who knows his business and takes pride in his land. Can you believe this is winter? Well, it's our current reality in draught-stricken California. Come spring there will be some tough decisions to make on water allocation. I'm sure the farmer who owns this land doesn't turn out the lights at night without a bit of worry gnawing at his gut. Despite all the worry, it's hard to not take advantage of the beauty that great weather affords a man and his camera. Carpe diem.

Sacramento Valley, Sutter County, CA

Tags:   California California Central Valley Canon 15-85mm USM IS Canon 7D Early Morning Farm Farmland Hills Landscape Lightroom5 Northern California Sacramento Valley Sutter County Topaz SW Winter

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A matrix of naked trees lends a nice symmetry to the rough-hewn buttes as they languish in the morning sunlight. It dawned on me recently, that I've spent a lot of time in the mountains and at the seashore while ignoring the beauty of the California Central Valley, and it's just a hop, skip, and a jump away from me. So off I went, hopping, skipping, and jumping along. More to come.

Sutter Buttes, Sutter County, CA

Tags:   Almond Orchard California California Central Valley Canon 15-85mm USM IS Canon 7D Early Morning Farm Farmland Hills Hillside Landscape Lightroom5 Northern California Orchard Rolling Hills Sutter Buttes Sutter County Topaz SW Winter

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