Discovering the world around us...

My hike the other day to discover the small pond near my house reminded me of my various exploration trips as a kid. Back then, it was just me and my bike and I rode everywhere. At one point from Diamond Bar to La Puente and as far as Ontario. Through the streets of Pomona and the many hills of Diamond Bar, I got to see my immediate surrounding differently than the usual drive by in the car. It's always my desire to know what's around the corner that edges me on.

Even today, I like taking a different route home if I get a chance. It's always interesting to see the different parts of our city. And with today's technology, I use a combination of Google Maps and Bing Maps to get a birds eye view of the world around me while at my desk. But even with the amount of details in the satellite maps, it still requires one to go see things on foot.

Sunday evening, Terrence and I took a quick sunset hike before dinner, to see a hidden pond that is nestle in the local hills. The pond was just out of view from the street. We found a trail that we guess would take us to the pond.

On the trail, Terrence got to stomp on a ant mound, picked up sticks to flick at weeds and destroy gopher holes. Definitely a boy in every sense of the word. But it was his way of discovering the world around him. It was fun watching him at play, and we didn't even get to our destination yet. All along the way, we got to see prickly weeds and natural cactus that pickled what left of the native landscape.

Here are some photos from that sunset hike.

God's majestic display almost daily here in So.Cal. It's nice to be able to enjoy it practically in our own backyard.

Sunsets are rewards to end the day. Love it's warm light through the leaves.

On the trails surrounded by track homes, but you quickly forget. With the recent rain, the desert landscape we call home is blooming with life. And it's still winter.

A stick and the outdoors provides a kid with hours of amusement.

Breaking through the reeds to get a glimpse of the pond. It's our version of the midwest's cornfields I suppose.

A serene little pond.

Check out this old dam. It was surrounded by a fence to keep people off the dam, but no sooner than I try to decide on whether to ignore it or not, Terrence found a way around it and was through. It's hard to tell, but it's a pretty steep drop to the creek below.

Night falls and the mosquito start to swarm. So it's time to escape the threat. But the horizon still glow from the sunset.

A last look at the same little tree as before, silhouetted by the sunset.

The following morning, I set out to hike to the same pond from the western side. I brought my camera a long with me to try and capture some of the beauty lit by the morning sun. These little trips by myself helps me recharge my creative juices and helps to balance me. I once read a quote that said creativity is learning to hide ones' source. I don't need to hide the fact that for me, the source is the world around us. It inspires me to try and capture it's beauty on display. Not always the easiest in two dimensional form. We just need to train ourselves to see it amidst our busy life. Here are some things I discovered a long the way.

I love the look of sun flare through the camera. Each lens display the rainbow of colors hidden in the sun ray a different way. But the effect is nice, warm and golden sunlight.

Orange trees in the middle of nowhere. At least it appears that way. I can't help by wonder if the entire landscape was full of orange trees a century ago.

A dead tree branch allow me to practice seeing it as a tool for composition. I was never able to find the angle but I am sure the practice will come in handy when I least expect it.

I saw remnants of an old bee hive in a man made bin. Nature adapting itself as we learn to adapt to nature when needed. Before this experience, I wasn't sure if it was a bee hive or hornet's nest. But a friend points out that hornet's nest are made of mud and wasp nest are paper like. Looks like some animal has gotten to the honey long before I arrived.

I couldn't help but marvelled at the honeycomb structure. It was so perfectly made. Waxy and light to the touch. So cool.

I have seen this pattern drawn before, and I now know the source of inspiration. It's crazy that little bees created this.

A morning view of the old dam from a different vantage point.

From this side of the pond, the shade provide an environment for the moss to grow. I like the look of moss on stone for some reason. It just feels out of it's element here in So.Cal.

A pretty steep decent over the dam. But looks shallow due to the tricks of the camera optics.

Looking eastward.

A father with his son out to try their luck fishing in the pond. I will have to try my luck here on a future date. They came from the side Terrence and I did the night before. The side I hike up this morning was a bit more treacherous to say the least.

Trees and plants blooming in the middle of Winter as if the Spring season has started. I guess we're not too far from Spring.