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Southern stroll

Hiking South SJ

By Carl Fisher

April 3^rd, 2018

greenery

It was Sunday and it seemed as good a time as any to take a walk on the not so wild side. It is finally Spring and I was expecting a fantastic display of color in the local hills. One of the benefits of the recent rains was that almost every vista was a lush shade of green. You'd think you'd been transported to Ireland.

There must be some cold hands somewhere.

parking it

While there are plenty of options in the South Bay, I was looking for something that was close to home and yet far enough away that it would have some nice views. I also didn't want to have to put on my billy goat shoes to get there. I settled upon Santa Teresa County Park. The ratings were good and it turned out to be just the right amount of exertion required.

scenery

I was a little disappointed with the lack of blooms. I guess I was a bit too early. The ones that were out were on the small side. Still, they did add some welcome color.

I was surprised to be able to walk so close to wildlife. I'm referring to all the cows that were scattered about the place. They seemed to be leading quite the life of leisure. Good that they were enjoying the day with plenty of time for rumination.

higher def

For the most part I don't take HDR photos unless I'm using my iPhone. It can really make a profound difference, especially if there are clouds involved. As you can see by the following pics, those white puffies can really pop when you combine several photos from my DSLR into one. Sometimes the software goes a little over the top and things start to look a bit too tweaked out, but it makes for some compelling images.