Yolo County

Needing to learn some basics about photography I called my friend Bill Reid to give me some pointers. He invited me to the Yolo County Art and Ag Project. We left Davis early on Saturday morning and made our way to Chowdown Farm near Esparto.

Bill Reid taking a photo of the classic barn at Chowdown Farm.

After the frustration of watching the video tutorial for the Canon Rebel T5i (narration so quick it may as well as been in Spanish), getting a private coaching session with Bill empowered me to take lots of photos and try different camera settings.

The farm had handsome Dorper sheep, a hardy breed from South Africa, interesting trees and outbuildings including a classic barn.

It was very kind of the farmer Brian to open up the property to painters and photographers through the Art and Ag Project.

My camera is sufficient quality to challenge me for a very long time. Fortunately it also has an automatic setting that takes super pictures without any effort.

When we returned to Davis I downloaded my photos and I was very satisfied. We also watched a video from YouTube (YEAH for YouTube videos!).

I bought this camera to be able to supply better pictures for this blog. Hopefully with the “burst” feature (taking several photos a second) and the lenses I will be able to bring you the color of le Tour de France.

The city of Winters just keeps getting hipper and hipper. Located in Yolo County (on the edge of Solano County), it hugs Putah Creek and offers the charm of small town with very cool community life.

It is a cycling hub with Mike’s Velo City bike shop, and several places to stop for coffee or breakfast including Steady Eddy’s. It has an impressive restaurant to citizen ratio. My favorite is Ficelle with tapas and other delicious small plates.

Putah Creek Cafe is a great diner that also serves Sunday dinners. It says pies on the awning, but I have not found pie available the times I went (disappointing!). The Buckhorn Steakhouse is an institution and terrific. We celebrated a family birthday the other night; the service was off the charts and my rack of lamb was so good I was gnawing on the bones to get every bit. Steakhouse prices, so we will save it for celebrations.

There is a crowd of young people who are starting wineries and breweries and cheese shops. First stop: Turkovich Family Winery for wine tasting.

They even have a yarn store, a fabric/quilting store, and a piano on Main Street!

Adapted from a post that first appeared on Bay Delta Tourist blog.

Tag: Yolo County

Ag & Art in Yolo County

Let’s Go to Hip Winters, California