A Wednesday In Autumn

"Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun."

To some, yesterday was just another Wednesday in autumn, to me, it was the beginning of our vacation. For the next couple weeks, Alan and I will finally have the chance to just stop all the clutter of every day life, and enjoy each other's company. We have tons of things planned, more then we will probably do, which is just how we like it. We have a ton of day trips to some special places around California, so the cameras will be busy, but if for whatever delicious reason we don't actually leave the house... it's ok. Some of the best days of my life, started out as Plan "B" days. ;) We'll see what becomes of our time together.

But first, I have to share with you about yesterday. I woke up to the sound of George Bush's voice, as he gave a news conference from the White House. Did anyone else think that news conference seemed a little bizarre? Anyway, I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, and my mood was on it's way to the dumpster. LOL. Alan turned off the TV, gave me a big hug, and said, "Carly, grab your camera and tripod... we are going to see the butterflies in San Francisco." And off we went. It was a fabulous day at the conservatory, there were at least four new varieties butterflies to enjoy photographing, and enjoy them I did.

I took over 200 photos inside the conservatory. The autumn sun shining through the window cast all kinds of beautiful light on the walls, and on the butterflies themselves. It made them look like little panels of stained glass. The type of butterfly in the above photo is a Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis Sennae). I have seen this particular type of butterfly at the conservatory before, but yesterday I had my best luck with photographing it. It is a busy little lady, and she doesn't like to sit down for long. It takes a lot of patience, with both myself, and the butterfly, to capture a really good photo. She was kind to me, and we made friends. There is nothing like talking to a butterfly, they are great little listeners. :)



After I finished in the conservatory, we went out to the Dahlia garden which sits to the side of the conservatory. There is probably 500 different dahlias. I was loving the colors of the flowers and the sun...well...the sun was amazing. I swear, the sun in autumn is all I need sometimes, to make me feel as if I will live forever. It truly effects me in all kinds of good ways, and it is something I look forward to all year. More then anything else, I look for that specific light. Never been able to figure out why it affects me the way it does, but maybe some things aren't supposed to be understood. You know? :)

So, that was my first day. I will be sharing the photos I took yesterday, but I think I will save some back for those cold, dark, days of winter, when I won't be able to go out with my camera. Nothing like bringing some sunshine to a rainy day. :) Today, I will be on a long car trip down to HWY 101. I am planning on taking around 700 photos on my journey. :) Next week, there are three special day trips planned, then during the last week of the month, we will be heading out of state, to Nevada. Can you believe it? The Sierra got 11 inches of snow the other day! That will make for some gorgeous photos if all goes well. But if it doesn't, there is always Plan "B". ;) Lots, and lots of plan "B's." ;)

-OndineMonet
"Cloudless Sulphur"
Conservatory Of Flowers
San Francisco, California
October 11th, 2006
Morning