Nacimiento Reservoir is about half way between Petaluma and Pt. Reyes.  Summer heat has lowered the water level. The reservoir is quiet excepting a lone Canadian Goose calling sadly from the opposite shore.  The sun beats down, and  the surface of the water is covered by a rich green algae bloom, happily photosynthesizing and doing its part to fight global warming.

The water level is low enough to expose an old roadway.  The road is normally submerged in the reservoir. Time and water have eaten a fissure across the road. At exactly the moment I arrive, the algae begins flowing through from one side of the road to the other, a green cloud colonizing the virgin black surface of the water.

I spend the next hour on that causeway, photographing the algae.  I'm fascinated by the variety of shapes it forms, how it moves, and how it forms dark openings revealing the water below.  (I also spend a half hour trying to photograph dragonflies, which I do not recommend, for they are subtle and quick to anger.)

A little later I come across a horse paddock.  The resident is standing at the water trough, looking bored beyond my comprehension.  I might have been the most interesting thing he has seen today, but he doesn't seem to think that I'm all that interesting either.  The horse is old and worn, and his coat is dusty and covered with cockleburs.  If this horse were a donkey, he would be named Eeyore.  Feeling sorry for him, I take his portrait, backlit by the afternoon sun, and reflected in his water trough.

Colombia & Ecuador

In a little over a week, Dan and I will be heading to Colombia.  We'll be driving overland from Cartagena to Quito, Ecuador.  As I usually do, I'll post stories and photos from the road.

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