Butterfly Lifestyles

Monarch Butterfly
Conservatory Of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
September 4th 2013

"Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat. 'I don't know,' Alice answered. 'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter."

~Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland

 

I learned so much about photographing butterflies from my friend Steven. I remember him telling me to "remember that Monarchs will not behave like Zebra Longwings. Some types of butterflies will sit contently sipping from a milkweed plant, while others will bounce from flower to flower." He was right. I took his advice, and I was really grateful to have it, as I said, I learned a lot from him. I miss him very much, and wish that I could still continue to share my photographs with him. I miss my friend.

 

Monarch Butterflies

Zebra Longwing

Great Southern White

Pipevine Swallowtail

Sometimes its a sad feeling to know I can't just go home and email off to him some picture of an amazing butterfly I have taken, but sometimes when I am at the Conservatory, and a butterfly is really making me work hard to take it's picture, I can almost hear Steven saying to me... "patience." And I can't help but smile a little, and just be thankful to have known Steven at all.

Mood: Quiet

~Me

Art About Town: San Francisco... "Untitled Sphere" And "Hermes And Dionysos: A Momument To Analysis"

"Untitled Sphere"
By Fritz Koenig
333 Battery St.
San Francisco, California
September 4th, 2013

"Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art."

~Neil Gaiman

I have to say upfront... I LOVE these two sculptures! They have kind of become like old friends in a way! You see, when Alan and I are in the downtown area of San Francisco, and we know we are going home by way of the Bay Bridge, we usually drive past both sculptures on our way to the bridge. No matter how the day has gone, or the week for that matter, I always know that on my way home, I will get to see these two sculptures, and I will have a chance to contemplate the artist's inspiration. I love public art. I love sculpture, but not all pieces I see speak to me, but these two do! There is just something about seeing both of them that makes my day better.

Fritz Koenig, is was the artist behind the famous "Untitled Sphere" that once stood in the plaza between the World Trade Center Twin Towers in Manhattan. The sculpture was heavily damaged on that horrible day, 9/11, but it wasn't completely destroyed. Today it stands, in it's current state, damaged, but resilient, in Manhattan's Battery Park. I kinda appreciate that! Although I wish it had been returned to it's original space, and was a part of the official 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero. One day, if I am ever lucky enough to cross Manhattan off my Bucket List, I want to see the WTC sphere for myself. It's a monument of strength, of rising from the ashes, damaged, but not broken.

Art heals.

Like an old friends, that you know so well, and fully understand with words getting in the way!


"Hermes And Dionysos: Monument To Analysis"
By Arman
411 Sansome Street
San Francisco, California
September 4th, 2013

"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams."

~Albert Einstein

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Just Me Rambling On About Autumn Again :)

"There is always music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it."

~Minnie Aumonier

Just Me, Rambling On About Autumn Again...

I don't know about you, but I love a cool, late summer day, with just a little breeze to it. It gives me a lot to look forward to. Like the sound of the leaves as they begin to change. Soon, in early autumn, when all the leaves are mostly green, their sound will be similar to the here and now, soft and quiet, but as autumn progresses, they begin to make a joyful noise during the increasingly breezy days of October and November. The leaves will turn red, and yellow, and orange and sometimes purple, in their own time of course. Sometimes the color seems to happen all at once, some years it feels like the autumn color will never arrive, but it does eventually, and finally, in late autumn, in December, the leaves will be more and more difficult to find, but the ones that are left, laugh out loud, as they sway on the branches and then fall softly, quietly to the ground. It's a lovely life, fully lived.

But you already knew that. Right?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Remembering David And Lynn Angell

"Death ends life, not a relationship."
Mitch Albom, Tuesdays With Morrie

I never had the pleasure of meeting David and Lynn Angell in this life, but I came to love them through the research I did about them, for my post honoring them as part of the 9/11 Project some years ago. On September 11th, 2001, I didn't know that they were killed when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. I also didn't know that it was Mr. Angell that had brought me so many moments of laughter, through his work on the television shows, Cheer's, Frasier, and Wings. He made the world a better place by sharing his gift of humor with the world, and his wife Lynn through her love and charity towards children. They were unique, kind and loving people, and the world is a darker place without them. No, I never get meet them in my lifetime, but I will never forget them, they will always have a special place in my heart.

David And Lynn... I will remember you!

Love, Carly

I came across this blog post, written by a friend of the Angell. Please visit the links below to learn more about this amazing couple and their legacy.

9/11 And David And Lynn Angell
By Their Friend, Ken Levine

The Angell Foundation


"Though lovers may be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion."

~Dylan Thomas

Mood: Quiet

~Me

Where Theres Smoke, Theres Probably Someone Throwing Water On A Fire

"Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?

~George Carlin

 


Yesterday, Monday, in a mad fit of "I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE" I put new batteries, and new SD cards in my cameras, got into my little blue car and went for a ride. The "IT" I was running from was overwhelming, mind-numbing, boredom! Oh, and the sound of my immature neighbor "Donny" throwing things about on his patio, because he was angry at himself for alienating yet another neighbor by letting his dog BARK and throw himself against his fence, 2 days in a row! At 5:45 A.M.! The neighbor in question has been a really good neighbor, is quiet and minds his own business, which is all I really require in a neighbor, so why Donny decided to be a jerk, yet again, is beyond me. Donny is simply... and we will focus on the word... simple... here. Simple.

The other thing eating at me is the media blitz that President Obama is engaging in, in his run up to that war with Syria he is aching for! TV yesterday offered very little for the weary viewer. Daytime TV is embarrassing to admit to watching. The news is just more of the same. I turned on both CNN and MSMBC and heard pretty much the same questions being asked about the Syrian situation, so off I went. I got myself a nice big order of FROYO and headed for the hills! Mt Diablo to be exact! Why Mt Diablo you ask? Well, because it was on fire! According to my handy dandy text alert messages on my phone contraption, the fire which had begun on Sunday, had doubled overnight! There was also a text message from Alan, who said he saw the fire from the San Francisco peninsula last night! Mt. Diablo is one of the higher peaks in the Bay Area, but to be able to see the flames from that far away, meant it had to be kinda spectacular!

Okay... off I went.

Here is one of the best shots I got. It really doesn't do much to show the gravity of the fire. I was closer to the western slope of Mt. Diablo. But it gives you some idea of how close I got. There is an amazing album over at the ABC/KGO website that really demonstrates the fire properly. If it is still burning later today, I might try to get a better angle on things. You never know. Today is probably going to be just as irritating as yesterday. Honestly! Sheesh! I can't do anything to force my neighbor Donny to grow his ass up and stop annoying people. And I can't do anything about President Obama and his inability to lead. So I am left hoping that Donny will just go to work tomorrow, rather than piddle around the property, acting like a jerk. As for Obama, well, later today he will be addressing the nation, hopefully to say there has been a legitimate deal brokered by Russia, to disarm Assad of his chemical weapons. Fingers Crossed.

GOD DAMN IT! Did you ever think you would see RUSSIA coming in to save the day with rationality?

Still, yesterday wasn't a total loss. I came home to the news of George Zimmerman being "detained" in regards to a domestic violence issue regarding his soon to be ex-wife Shellie, and her family. Poor George (I say sarcastically) anyone want to start a DIVORCE DEFENSE FUND? No?

I didn't think so!


Mood: Sarcastic

~Me :)

The Driveways Of San Francisco #3

"Come to me. I want to plow you like a Calgary driveway at Christmas."

~John Cleese

LOL. Okay, so there's no snow in the driveway, but still, what a way to start a week!

;)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

3:20 In The Afternoon In Late Summer

"Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can't buy more hours. Scientists can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow."

~Denis Waitley

I spotted this clock in downtown San Francisco the other day. It's beautiful! The time was wrong, off by exactly an hour, but then it seems no two clocks I have seen in the city ever seem to agree! LOL. It's a quirk of big cities I think. Anyway, while it might have been wrong about the time the other day, when we set the clocks back this autumn, it will be right again, and I will be right again to. My inner clock will be back to normal, the days will be darker, and there will be a pleasant chill in the air. How wonderful does that sound?

Mood: Tired

~Me