California Central Valley Cloudscapes

Tonight I am going to share some cloudscape pictures from the California Central Valley.

Central Valley Cloudscape, Artistic Pictures, Landscapes, CloudsThis one does not have much definition in the clouds. I had originally planned on just sharing some Central Valley landscapes and my mind wandered to cloudscapes as the theme 🙂 I had already picked this picture so it stayed in the collection. It does have some clouds, just not as majestic as some of them below.

This does give a nice slice of the Central Valley with fields in the foreground and the hills rising in the background.

Central Valley Cloudscape, Artistic Pictures, Landscapes, CloudsI like this picture with the big beautiful clouds above the silhouetted trees that are in the foreground.

Central Valley Cloudscape, Artistic Pictures, Landscapes, CloudsHere is another common Central Valley view with a field that is ready for planting. They seem to be waiting for the last rain of the season before setting out the seedlings.

Vineyard, California, Central Valley, HillsHere is another cloudscape with a vineyard in the foreground. The area where I normally wander is full of orchards, vineyards and row crops.

Central Valley Cloudscape, Artistic Pictures, Landscapes, CloudsI really like this cloudscape. It is my favorite of those shared in this post.

There is a beginning of a sunset and you can see Mount Diablo silhouetted at the bottom center.

The clouds are fanned out with the prevailing wind that is blowing to the east.

This was one of those times when it was hard to keep my eyes on the road ahead when I had such a beautiful sky to look at.

Which of these is your favorite?

Steven

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An Indian Lunch

Today I went with two old friends to have an Indian lunch.

Last week I was teaching a train the trainer course with service engineers from around the world. One of the students was from India and asked about one of our former trainers who had held a class there many years ago. I just happened to run into the former trainer at a restaurant a few months ago as he now works close to our office.

So, I contacted him and we made plans to meet for lunch this week and catch up.

Indian Food, Sri Ananda Bhavan, Pleasanton, CaliforniaHere is Paul the former trainer. You can see our meals in front of us. You will get a closer look later in the post.

Indian Food, Sri Ananda Bhavan, Pleasanton, CaliforniaHere is Alam, my student from India. He will be helping me teach a class this week to build on the knowledge he gained last week.

Indian Food, Sri Ananda Bhavan, Pleasanton, CaliforniaHere am I with my meal in front of me. I was already having memories of similar meals during trips to India.

We met at Sri Ananda Bhava in Pleasanton which is a South Indian vegetarian restaurant.

South Indian Thali, Indian Food, Sri Ananda Bhavan, Pleasanton, CaliforniaWe all had the South Indian Thali.

Thali is actually the name of the platter that is holding the food. The Thali is is a style of cuisine in India that combines small portions of food that are astringent, bitter, salt, sour, spicy and sweet. The foods are served in small katori (bowls) that are arranged around the edge of the platter.

South Indian Thali, Indian Food, Sri Ananda Bhavan, Pleasanton, CaliforniaDepending on the region the makeup of a Thali differs. In some regions they may be vegetarian, but in others they may include meat or seafood. In the south rice is typically served with a Thali, and in other regions you may get roti.

I really enjoyed the meal, both for the food and also the great company as we shared memories of times past.

Steven

 

Posted in Culture, Food, India, Memories | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment