iBlog: Bothe Napa State Park

Bothe nestles just about a mile north of St. Helena. Although located just off of Highway 29 (128), you can easily miss this gem. You're trying to look for the sign that is sorta hidden in the bushes on the right side, as you go North. The sign above is looking from the South, so it looks so visible in the picture.


The park is a find. Nice, friendly & knowledgeable Park Rangers. They don't know whether the part will be open any further, due to the CA state budget (as of Aug 2009). But you might as well enjoy the park, as almost nobody walks it's peaceful paths. Try the Ritchey Trail, which runs along (big surprise) Ritchey Creek. When we were there, we could have had any campsite that was nice.



........from Wei's iPhone

iBlog: Japanese Market

After a dining on a delectable selection of hand-made Japanese goodies, we still had the audacity to visit a food store. Nijiya is a true Japanese grocer specializing in homeland food for one's palate.

They carried many types of fresh fish. What disappears quickly is fish specifically brought over from Japan, even though it may be fresh frozen. In this case the grocer presented his fish with such freshness that his customers were enticed to grab the tongs and put a few fish in their plastic bags for dinner that night.

I asked one Japanese lady if she intended to make sushi. No, she would prepare the fish with shoyu (soy sauce) and other family ingredients for the barbeque that evening. It took much of my willpower not to be so boorish as to invite myself over for dinner....

iBlog: Wonder in Sunlight

Most of the time direct sunlight is not the best prescription for a
good photo of flowers. In this case I muted the contrast & upped the
saturation of these purple gems. My feeling was joy in being right in
the beaming Napa sunlight.

I don't believe changing the scene with a translucent reflector would
have captured the warm & clean sunlight of an August summer day.

iBlog: Flowers Along a Sidewalk

We visited our recooperating niece today. She's much better, but she needs to take lots of time to recover. As she is young & relatively healthy, she really would like to get on with life. Maybe she should take it easy.

These flowers lining her walkway are a beautiful reminder to stop & enjoy some of nature's beauty. The end point can always wait.



.........from Wei's iPhone

iBlog: Hospital Memories

I visited a hospital again, this time for my niece. She fractured a
vertebra in what seemed to be a small bicycle accident.

While there I discovered a posted message about Cancer that I share
with you. It reminded me of the months I spent at the hospital,
recovering. It can beat!

iBlog: Bol Kai Temple

My uncle Dougie Chong & I visited this temple last year. It was being reconstructed, & the painters asked Dougie for some help with the Chinese characters.

Everything turned out nicely, as we returned on a chance visit back. Other views of the temple were through those iron gates that surround the premises. We went to Marysville on a lark and arrived after the temple closed.

iBlog: Beauty in Food

These are simple cremes & sauces. So what catches your eye is not the bland colors of what you're buying, but the fruit "flowers" at the front. They beg customers to at least take a look--to consider such a delectable treat.

Notice the flowers are slightly off-center and not aligned. They are
placed if naturally falling on the creme. Are you buying the flowers?
I think not. Most will only what they came for--the creme. But the
customer will remember how good it looked with the flower.

Just like I took the picture of what I will always remember. The
flowers, even though the creme consttutes most of the frame.

iBlog: Fresh Produce

At Mi Pueblo vegetables & fruits are arranged in impecable rows & columns, within easy reach. Everything looks fresh. So much so that it's a treat when you find out prices can be darn right low.

Look at the displays below. Don't you just feel like putting something
in your cart?

iBlog: What Makes a Wonderful Grocer?

Well, the frontage is clean & nice. It exudes what this market is all about: upscale Mexican groceries.

The smoke on the left side is from the BBQ chickens, whose aroma makes one want to BUY some.

More to come. Aren't you starting to get hungry?

IBlog: Self-Portrait in Arnold

In this beautiful forest just outside Arnold, I framed myself with a DIY tripod for my iPhone. Sometimes it is cooler to use an iPhone rather than a better quality DLSR. I didn't have to position my larger tripod, which wouldn't fit on the table anyways.

This pix has been enhanced w/PhotoGene to account for white balance, exposure, & levels (contrast). I did take panos w/ dlsr, & obviously the quality was well beyond a camera phone. But I had fun w/the iPhone.

IBlog: Afternoon Spider Lilies

How petite these flowers are, surviving in near-drought conditions. We manage our water carefully to give most of our plants a chance to live.

The spider lilies do well because they gather water from the ground, as well as the air (w/their long "arms.")

......from Wei's iPhone

iBlog - Garden Flowers 2009-01

It's wonderful being in a garden before anyone else is up.

With my iPhone I can snap & send, for you to enjoy.

BTW, I finally figured out how to directly load this iBlog from my iPhone, w/o going through my desktop computer.

......from Wei's iPhone