Glorious Morning on Table Mountain
North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, Oroville, CA
A Glimpse into a Glorious Morning on Table Mountain:
While this image is glorious, the moment was peaceful. It was a relaxing morning in a truly pastoral setting. With a little heat and wind this green oasis will turn to brown grass, and sharp rocks. But on this day that time felt far off. The simple beauty called for slow walking. No reason to rush, everywhere I looked was gorgeous!
On this day I was excited to see what the flower situation was going to be. I was expecting lots of tall flowers and I don’t know why. The season had been full of vast carpets of smaller flowers low to the ground. I hiked a pretty wide loop covering a couple miles. There was no lupin and very little pinks or blues at all. Yellow on the other hand was in abundance!
I chose this spot and started composing the image. Table Mountain is popular, but being mid-week in the morning I had this area mostly to myself. The image represents much of what makes this place special. Large fields of flowers in expanses of green grass. Exposed lava cap tells the story of past volcanic activity. Water in the stream and clouds in the sky remind us of the vital roll water plays.