Saturday, November 11, 2017

Washington Bound

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep
 because reality is better than your dreams."

~Dr. Seuss

As Alan and I passed this truck, on Highway 5, last week, I couldn't help but smile and wave some good luck their way, and let me tell you, the smile on the young man's face was amazing! Even in the simple act, of smiling at a stranger passing him on the highway, that was wishing them luck, you could tell he had found his soulmate, and he couldn't wait for the adventure to begin! I wish them so much love, and so many wonderful, fun, exciting years together!

#11 Leaf Of The Day
November 11th, 2017
Knight's Ferry, California

Mood: Happy
Me :)


 

Friday, November 10, 2017

Hugging Trees With Leaves On Trees

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all.
 But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself."

~William Blake

Leaves On Trees


I am never happier than when I am out with my camera,
 hugging a tree, especially an autumn tree.



#10 Leaf Of The Day
November 10th 2017
Cull Canyon, 2017



Mood: Happy
~Me :)

Thursday, November 09, 2017

The Car With Three Messages

"Crying is all right in it's own way while it lasts.
 But you have to stop sooner or later,
 and then you still have to decide what to do."

~C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair

While on our way to Lake Tahoe, last Monday, I spotted two very distinct vehicles, that caught my photographers eye. Both of which contained very different messages. This was the first one, so in that we had an election day on Tuesday, I thought I would share it first, and give give my regular blog visitors, a much needed break from the autumn overdose I tend to engage in this time of year.

Of course, now that I think about it, it does have a connection to autumn, just not this one. It was all about the election of autumn 2016, and the sentiments are still baring witness to the insanity of nearly one year ago to the day exactly. Decisions, decisions.Would it be Hillary or Bernie in the primaries? We already knew that Trump had locked it all up for the GOP as he set about destroying  the field of establishment Republican candidates will bombastic rhetoric and frankly, character assassination.

Alan and I debated, for about 25 miles, about what this person was actually trying to say. He and I never came to an agreement about what it was, the combination of possibilities was too great, and we began to dwell on the depression of the reality that the far right candidate actually won, but that depressive/oppressive thought gave me what seems like the most likely possibility about the message. 

Hillary. Bernie. Trump.

Was it as simple as Hillary Clinton was the actual Democrat, Bernie was an Independent, and Donald Trump was a Far Right candidate? Could it have been NO deeper than that?

Now lately, and by lately, I mean in the past couple weeks, I have gone through a bit of a political awaking of sorts. A while back, I told a pal of mine in the Twitterverse, that I believed we needed to pay attention to the Democratic side of the mess we find ourselves in, because this doesn't belong mainly to the Republicans.

 If Putin was planning on doing a thorough job of invading and disrupting out democracy, like the brilliant ex-KGB agent he was, we need to pay close attention to both sides, no matter how painful it might be. If we find ourselves as a divided nation, it's because there is one more mole burrowing in the garden of good and evil. I paraphrase myself there, but you get the idea!

I never thought I would lose so much respect, for so many of my Democratic party heroes, as I have in the last week.

Donna Brazile. Elizabeth Warren. Bernie Sanders.

Now, I gave up on Bernie Sanders a long time ago. At times, his "Bernie Bros" have seemed as bad as the far-right Trump supporters that attack anyone who doesn't walk in lockstep with the Nazi or Nationalist beliefs and propaganda nonsense that was well on it's way to destroying what America was built on. We weren't perfect in the beginning of our democracy, and we still aren't, but we have evolved in logical ways that furthered out reputation on the world stage, and in society, so selfish agendas for personal ambition, are not something I take kindly to.

Where was Bernie Sanders, when his "bros" were trying to degrade the Democratic party after his loss to Hillary Clinton? Nowhere! Accept maybe off pouting somewhere about his loss in the 2016 primary, and plotting his next move in his attempt at relevance, as a viable presidential candidate in 2020, or perhaps preparing Elizabeth Warren for her rise to the presidency. Don't know. Don't care. What we needed last year was less... ME... and more...WE. Or is that asking too much in the fast food information age?

I have NO idea what the person who owns that car is really trying to say, but I know it provoke a reasonably passionate discussion between Alan and myself, and I did a lot of thinking about my expectations politically and socially. Are there heroes anymore? Did I fail to grow up about that? When "Deflategate" happened a few years ago, it was easy to think of it as a one off. A stupid situation of blatant cheating, that Tom Brady got away with. It was sports. Who cares... right? Stupid shit happens in sports. Who could imagine that it would flow over to the most important thing in our American existence... our democracy?

And if all this going on this week hasn't shaken me enough, Anthony Weiner is officially off to prison this week for engaging in an illicit communication with an underage Trump supporter! The idiot had a brilliant future in the Democratic party. He passionately worked for his constituents, and stood up for health funding for 9/11 first responders! Then he took a road he should have been smarter to not take. He will have 21 months to think about how HE was his own worst enemy, and how he gave Breitbart news not just relevancy, but, indeed, in his case, credibility. Hey, at least he pled guilty, and owned it! Thanks hero, I'm older and wiser now! I hope you are too!

So, if you care to speculate on what the person with, the car of three messages means, feel free to leave me a respectful response. I would love to hear some ideas! As for me, I think I have finally grown up about heroes, and villains, maybe they are simply the shortest route, to the easy way out of thinking it all through, when deciding what the hell to do!

#9 Leaf Of The Day
November 9th, 2017
Carson City, Nevada


Mood: Introspective
~Me



Wednesday, November 08, 2017

Heart Heaven And Soul

"Every season has it's own art
 and the art of autumn is to bewitch the people."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

This is a beautiful bench on the grounds of the Nevada Capitol grounds, in Carson City, Nevada. It's one of my autumn visits each year. I usually get there earlier in the season, but this year I was a little late. It's okay though, because I loved the color the waning light cast on everything. The color of the leaves, the ground, the sky... all of it filled my soul! Monday of this week was extraordinary day. We took a ride to Placerville, for some Apple Cider doughnuts, and then continued on to Lake Tahoe and Carson City! My last post was all about Lake Tahoe, and now, here is a look around Placerville and Carson City, Nevada!



I've said that San Francisco is my Heart, and my Heaven, but Autumn is my Heart, Heaven and Soul.

 #8 Leaf Of The Day
November 8th, 2017
Carson City, Nevada 


Mood: Happy

~Me :)
 

Tuesday, November 07, 2017

Lake Tahoe On A November Afternoon

"The river this November afternoon
Rests in an equipoise of sun and cloud:
A glooming light, a gleaming darkness shroud
It's passage. All seems tranquil, all the time."

~Cecil Day-Lewis
The Complete Poems Of C. Day Lewis

As I write this post, I am absolutely exhausted! Alan and I took a long drive to Lake Tahoe, and Carson City, Nevada on Monday, and I didn't have my pain medication with me, so I had to work extra hard to get some decent photographs, but I think I did okay. I was happy, for the most part! I will be sharing them as the week goes by. 

Most of the leaves are gone now, at least in the Sierra and Nevada, but Sacramento seems to be making a beautiful mess, so I will also be spending some time there, and perhaps even some time in Napa and Marin, and Sonoma Counties, where you can find touches of autumn, late into the year. It's all up to Mother Nature, but I feel good about the possibilities!

We'll See! 

#7 Leaf Of The Day
November 7th, 2017
Carson City, Nevada

 Mood: Tired/Happy
~Me :)
 

Monday, November 06, 2017

In November... Sticks And Bones

 "In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still."

~Cynthia Rylant
In November

I'm quiet tonight. History will record why, but I will share anyway. Another shooting in America. The loss of life is staggering, as it always is. Still, nothing is being done about gun control, banning the sale of assault weapons, bump stocks. No new funding for psychological help for veterans, in fact under the Trump budget funding for veterans will be cut. And I don't imagine tomorrow, or the next day, things will be any different. Nothing will change in the near future that will make any real difference to make us safer! But, at some point in America's future, it will take something truly unspeakable, something so horrific that I, thankfully, can't begin to imagine, will take have to take place, we will grieve deeply, yet again, but we will learn from it, and change.

I hope.
I dream. 
I wish. 
And yes, I pray.

All I want to do is love my husband forever. Photograph Autumn leaves, drink big mugs of hot chocolate, go to movies, watch old black and white spooky movies on tv, eat a mug of warm tomato soup, pet my cats, nap under my favorite cold weather throw, and put on my favorite sweaters, without worrying about being shot to death in the middle of an average day.

That's all I want.

"You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one."

~John Lennon
"Imagine"

#6 Leaf Of The Day
November 6th, 2017
Knight's Ferry, California


Mood: Sad
~Me

Sunday, November 05, 2017

Dark Horses

"A frightening possibility occured to him: maybe sometimes things didn't just go wrong and then stop; maybe sometimes they just kept going wronger and wronger until everything was totally fucked."

~Stephen King
"IT"
Last week, while we were in Quincy, enjoying the incredible beauty of the leaves, and sheer quaintness of the small town in Plumas County, in the middle of the stunning beauty, suddenly more than one thing stuck out to me as being quite ominous. The dark horse on their street lights, and the movie playing at what seemed to be their only movie theater, Stephen King's "IT." 

In past years, I found the street lights, of Quincy, kind of charming, but this year there was a certain feeling down in my bones, something feeding my fears and dread so deep, that I was thankful for the darkness, and loss of light to photograph the leaves we drove three hours to see. Last week, Quincy had a different feel. It was less quaint, and definitely more Derry, Maine, the town that Pennywise terrorized every 30 years.

Please don't get me wrong, the people of Quincy are quite lovely! They depend a great deal on leaf peepers and avid shutterbugs, such as myself, for a good deal of their tourist income. No, it was something in me, not them or really even the town. I don't know what to call it. Fear. Dread. Maybe even my good old friend depression, but something inside of me felt a cold chill when I looked at that horse, and then noticed through it, that IT would be playing all weekend.

I have been feeling those very feelings since before last year's election, with brief moments of respite, but I felt the same feelings again on Friday when I read about Donna Brazile's book regarding Hillary Clinton having rigged the primary against Bernie Sanders. And then when it was given validity by Elizabeth Warren, someone who I had considered a hero, but now I no longer feel I can trust. A Brazile's book has been widely debunked over this weekend, but I fear that some damage has been to the chances of two upcoming gubernatorial elections taking place next Tuesday in Virginia and New Jersey. 

How much darker will this country grow? Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? And how much longer until we find out who and what Pennywise actually is? Most of the time, I think of Donald Trump as Pennywise, because of his strong penchant for fear mongering. I know I now live in constant fear that the west coast will be wiped off the map, in the middle of the night by a nuclear missile from North Korea, but maybe Donald Trump isn't Putin's end game. Maybe it' something so unspeakable, I don't want to even speculate here, be carry around in my own conscienceness, and that I try to put out of my head whenever it yells... BEEP BEEP CARLY!

I don't know. 

God, how I wish I did.

One thing I do know, Donald Trump blocked Stephen King on Twitter some months back, so for now I know he is who I will listen to about defeating the fear, so that it's possible to defeat the clown. Alan and I are going next week to see the reboot of IT and maybe I will pick up some new tips, or maybe it's still the 1990 version, which was a pure masterpiece, that still holds the key of standing up to what scares us the most. I guess I will find out!

Quincy Scrapbook
October 28th, 2017

 #5 Leaf Of The Day
November 5th, 2017
Quincy, California

Mood:Weary
~Me