In early November Marilyn and I went to Sonoma on a wine country vacation with friends. I was still on East Coast time and woke up at 5:30 every morning. Instead of tossing and turning and trying to go back to sleep, I got dressed, grabbed my camera and went to a nearby woodland in the northern California foothills. I spent three early mornings walking and wandering through this oak covered hillside as the sun rose and its light filtered through the oak trees. I know - who goes on a wine tasting vacation and rises before sunrise to go hiking each morning? It wasn’t my original plan but I am very happy I did!  I have always loved the twisted and gnarled branches of California oaks and how they rise out of the dry golden grass of the hills.  Add in the beautiful sunrise light and each morning was magical.  This small preserved woodland was just 1.5 miles long and less than a mile wide. But the combination of light from the rising sun, color from the grasses and leaves, and lines from the trunks of the oaks was truly captivating. 

A short Photo Story from November 2018, by Brian Reitenauer.