Fog!

As weather patterns have changed over the years, the dense tule fog we used to get in the winter has become a rare thing. I remember days, even weeks, of unbroken fog that drove people mad; now fog is something people comment on in an excited voice, almost as if they're talking about a double rainbow.

The last couple of nights have been foggy and eerily quiet. Yesterday the fog lasted all morning and I took the opportunity to drive out to the Yolo Bypass off Interstate 80 that separates Davis from West Sacramento (and Sacramento) on the other side of the Sacramento River. With the opening of the Sacramento Weir last Tuesday for the first time in 11 years, the Bypass has become an inland sea. While the fog made it impossible to see very far, the partially submerged trees made for hauntingly beautiful photographs.

Tree silhouette along Interstate 80

The beginning of the Yolo Causeway on Interstate 80

Trees looking like a pencil drawing

Looking east towards Sacramento

The levee along the Yolo Bypass is a popular place to walk but yesterday morning I saw nobody.

Yolo Bypass levee barely visible in the fog

My wife and I went back today to walk our faithful black lab, and the visibility was much better. In the photo below, the buildings you see in the distance to the left of the trees are in downtown Sacramento:

Here is a panorama of the fields on the Davis side of the levee, the levee, and the flooded Yolo Bypass on the left:

Last night I took advantage of the fog to take photos around the neighborhood. It felt odd standing outside next to a tripod with nobody else around.

Just across the street, looking west

Our street, looking north

Bambusa chungii 'Barbellata' in the front yard

'Desert Museum' palo verde in the driveway

'Desert Museum' palo verde in the driveway

Cul-de-sac across the street to the south

Cul-de-sac across the street to the south

'Sonoran Emerald' palo verde

'Desert Museum' palo verde along the street

Mistletoe in the City-owned 'Bradford' pear tree--about the only time the mistletoe is attractive