Horse trough near Avery’s Pond

I never really began to realize how much fun photographing wildflowers could be until my first hike with my Nikon Coolpix 5700 along the Avery’s Pond trail at Rattlesnake Bar (Folsom Lake) in April 2005. I was still fairly new to digital photography and had only used simple point-and-shoot cameras, so I frequently had trouble finding the right focus and light settings on small blooms. Still, trying to master this challenge soon had me hooked. How I wish now that I had been more on top of organizing my digital images; so many of my early shots have been lost — although it’s entirely possible that they were so awful I chose to immediately delete them! I’ve returned to this trail many times since, but I think it’s really at its best in the spring.

Shady trail with big rocks on one side, and Folsom Lake, far below, on the other

One of my favorite spots along the trail to Avery’s Pond

Yellow irises at Avery’s Pond looked to me like something from a Monet painting

Douglas iris along the trail

Red paintbrush

Folsom Lake at Miner’s Ravine; the water level was quite low in April 2005

Wider view, with the trail/access road visible at the top of the photo