Washburn Trail, Joseph D. Grant County Park, Santa Clara County, CA, 2/11/2007
On this chilly afternoon in Joseph D. Grant County Park near San Jose, CA, the sky was graced with beautiful clouds. Occasionally in winter streams of cumulus clouds like these are able to travel inland this far from the Pacific Ocean without dissipating or completely filling the sky. After photographing one of my favorite trees, I decided to walk east past the White Barn near Washburn Trail. I climbed down a small hill to discover this seasonal pond and perfect view of Mt. Hamilton in the distance. Here is a case of an inevitable photograph; the moment I saw this view, I knew I must capture it! The clouds and their reflections in the pond form a balanced X shape across the entire composition, guiding the eye toward the old oak tree at center. The pond can be found here only in the rainy seasons of winter and spring; during the rest of the year this area is dry and the fence goes through pasture, not water. At an elevation of 4,213 feet, Mt. Hamilton is the tallest mountain overlooking the Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley) and is the site of Lick Observatory, the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory, constructed in the 1880s.
