Erickson Ranch February 2013

     Wow, where did February go!? It always comes to an abrupt end, maybe it's natures way of rushing towards spring. Although we haven't had much of a winter yet this year, I could use a few more rainy days to hibernate without feeling like I should be doing something productive! I'll blame this late post on the rain, it was planned to post Friday, but I found myself not wanting to do much yesterday since it was so rainy and had that perfect, watch a movie on the couch feel. Today the sun peeked out, so I thought, "Oh, I guess I better do something with my life now." ;) 

     February at Erickson Ranch has a definite sunny feel. While going through the photos I took last year I noticed the color yellow appears over and over this month. From the daffodils to the fields of mustard right down to the home on the property! February begins a sneak peak into what the spring promises to bring. Flower buds on the trees begin to emerge, brave daffodils stretch their yellow heads up towards the sun, despite the cold. Ray keeps busy with preparing the orchards for the upcoming growth season and making sure the equipment is up and running and the business of the ranch is in order. It's pretty impressive watching him (and Vicky) go about their day to day business. There is so much that goes into running a successful ranch and good old fashion experience plays a key in the way they do so. Following Ray around asking questions, I was impressed at just how much he stores in his head and how in tune with the seasons of the ranch he is, to know what needs to be done. It's also inspiring to see that even with experience there is a constant need to adjust to new ways of doing certain things in our changing world. From the new way people interact socially and in business, for example using social media, to the new technologies used to make growing food more efficient and ecologically smart. Two months into our project and I was hooked. 

To see all months from my 2013 year long project click on the month: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September

February 2014 Favorite

     Keeping up with my Photo a Month project, I chose this photo in part because I love it as a photo and in part because I love this pretty, little succulent. Succulents have always held a special place in my gardening heart. I admire friends who have lovely, overflowing displays of succulents growing in pots on their front porches, those who have them beautifully placed in their homes and nurseries with wonderfully crafted displays that I only dream of having in my own yard. I have found some success in ignoring my plants as too much attention usually makes mine unhappy. I have also found that too much neglect also makes them unhappy! Perhaps I have them in the wrong location or have yet to figure out the perfect balance of attention, but sadly most of my succulents don't last for more than a season. Usually they wither away, grow tall and fall apart or just disappear! What's that all about?? haha! There has been one exception to this though. I found this lovely succulent last year, it was a beautiful, plump, silvery grey-green with hints of pink. The perfect little specimen for my grey and soft color loving heart. It flourished in a spot in my living room for many months and then one day (clearly after a while of neglect on my part, whoops!) I looked over and it had transformed from one beautiful specimen to another. In it's withered state this little one became just as beautiful, just in a different way. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away and had no idea how to revive it. So I left it, walking by it daily thinking about how much I loved the colors it had turned and that I needed to photograph it. February rolled around and it remains the same. Inspired by the blue-grey dresser I painted for the baby's room, I finally got around to photographing it! 

Do you have any secrets or tips on growing succulents successfully? I'd love to hear from you!

Erickson Ranch January 2013

     In January 2013 I began a year long project in collaboration with Ray & Vicky Erickson, owners of Erickson Ranch in Suisun Valley. I began visiting the ranch once (and often more than once) a month to document the seasonal cycle of the ranch, the events, as well as to make a historical record for Ray & Vicky. Some days I wandered on my own, taking in the great expanse of the fruit orchards, flower gardens and vegetable plots. Other days I hung out with Ray and marveled at his never ending knowledge of, well, everything related to the ranch and the surrounding area; the land, the fruit trees, the birds, the animals, the history...his knowledge is awe inspiring. He is one of the most interesting people I have met in my life. And nice as can be, to boot. I learned so much over the last year and feel like I've made two lifelong friends in both Ray & Vicky, this project has become so much more than just a year of photos. 

     One of the things that emerged after photographing at the ranch for a year is the astonishing, ever changing beauty I came across each month. Each month that I explored the ranch I found myself ooo'ing and aw'ing over one aspect or another. I never ran out of things to photograph. Mother nature is a truly inspiring entity. From the barren soils of the winter, the most beautiful things emerge throughout the growing season and once again return to the earth as the cold approaches. And guiding mother nature here is the hard working rancher and his family. Over the next year I will share the images from 2013 during their corresponding months. I tried to do this as I made the photos over the last year and I decided I really needed to soak in the year and just focus on photographing, learning and being in the moment in order to truly understand what I was producing. I'm so glad I did, reflecting back over the months after seeing the year as a whole has been an amazing journey. 

     January at the ranch involves a lot of projects; fixing equipment that has been broken over the course of the year, tending to the trees, preparing to graft (which -at a very basic level- is a small shoot of one tree inserted into another) and planning the marketing & business aspects of the ranch for the upcoming year. The land is very bare, trees skeletal and last year the mud was a four wheeler's dream. My very first visit I photographed a lot of the details around the property and the land. Ray walked and drove me all over and explained what was what and what they do. Sometimes I feel it's better to give in to the conversation versus being so adamant about taking a photo. I'm glad I recognized that early on, because it ends up over the course of the year I would fall into such interesting conversations and really get to know Ray & Vicky. All the while having plenty of time to make photos. 

     This year, promises to be a different year for the ranch with the looming threat of drought here in California, so the photos I made last year reflect the ranch under a different set of conditions than you might find this year. But in speaking with Vicky and Ray, they both share the same sentiment - it's all about adjusting and continuing on.

To see all months from my 2013 year long project click on the month: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September

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