My "Stuff You See Along The Way" Album

"Because it's like taking a vacation from real life,

 and real life is mostly terrible."

~Kara Lee Corthron

The Truth Of Right Now

 This past year has been exhausting. One dreadful day, after another, so I was really ready for our vacation, but I have to tell you, our vacation was a mixed bag of experiences, so I was ready to get back to real life. It wasn't the most relaxing or fun vacation we have ever had, but we did have an amazing time here and there. We took lots of day trips, and we enjoyed the autumn sun very much! Watched a lot of movies, mostly Halloween/spooky themed movies, but we also watched a lot of different Rob Lowe movies, my favorite being, St. Elmo's Fire! And no, I haven't forgot to clue you in about our Rob Lowe experience/memories, I am just saving them for next week! So stay tuned for the details! It's kinda fun! Well, it was fun for us!

Anyway, because we took so many day trips, mostly around the Central Valley, Carson City, and the Sierra, we naturally saw all kinds of interesting things! Stuff I had NO IDEA even existed! We found some new restaurants, and parks! We found a lot of amazing little towns, bright with autumn color, and we did what we could to just take a step back from the muck of day to day politics! But one odd thing that kept coming up, that we hadn't noticed on past vacations, was that people seemed grumpy, and not quite as welcoming. I can't blame them, they are living in the same world we are, and they weren't on vacation! It's important to try to remember right now, we are all under stress, and it's also best to remember, if someone offends you, and you know you did nothing wrong, it's not you, it's the world weariness we are all under!

Think Compassion First,

 But Stand Up For Yourself With Forgiveness! 

Pretty Rock

Plumas National Forest

Flag Rock

Eastern Sierra Range, Nevada

Altamont Pass

San Joaquin County, California

Highway 124

Near Ione, California

Cave Rock Tunnel

Lake Tahoe

Nuclear Plant

Sacramento County, California

Frankenstein

Pastorino's Pumpkin Patch

Half Moon Bay, California

Kit Carson Trail Medallion

Carson City,Nevada

Multi-colored Pumpkin

Manteca, California

Toiyabe National Forest Ranger Station

 "Thanks"

Carson City, Nevada

Scarecrow Kitty

Orinda, California

Skydiver

Lodi, California

Olives And Honey

Manteca, California

American Flag

Rainbow Orchards

Apple Hill, Camino, California

Central Valley "Stonehenge"

Ione, California

Leaves And Lavender

Castro Valley, California

Confetti Falling Leaves

Placerville, California

"Stick"

Carson City, Nevada

 Eastern Sierra Sunset

Carson City, Nevada

#18 Leaf Of The Day

November 18th, 2017

Cull Canyon, California

 Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Laughing And Crying In Autumn

Carson City, Nevada

October 22nd, 2016

"Autumn has come

and reason has gone.

Yesterday, I sold the sun for you

and tonight the stars are running

 When you first spoke

you slowly annihilated my world. 

Your mouth was like the sea...

in your kisses I sank.

Your hands were the Ocean...

in your caresses I sank.

I ask for no salvation on this moonless night

I only ask for more autumn."

~Kamand Kojouri

The photo at the top of this post, was taken on October 22nd, 2016, in Carson City, Nevada. The color around the Sierra was at it's peak, and down in Carson City it was no different! Autumn last year, was so alive with color, that in my imagination it seemed like if I stood very still, I could almost hear the season laughing out loud! I know, I am a bit unreasonable when it comes to autumn, but autumn is as much a part of me, as my arms, legs, and especially my eyes! And no one loves a good deep laugh as much as I do!God knows I stumble enough through life, making goofy mistakes, that I can safely say, I laugh at my own mistakes several times a week!

Fate gave me a sense of humor, and a love of photography, reading, and I am a bit of a joker. I like making others, and myself, laugh. It's good for them, and it's good for me! But mostly, I enjoy sharing my photography, and sharing the things that I see that touch my soul! I think if fate ever really got mad at me, it would take my eyesight, so I wouldn't be able to see another autumn or flower, or bird. So, I try to be good to others, and live a quiet life, although I get a little pissed off on social media from time to time, but I am not alone in that. These are trying times, and it feels like America is at it's lowest point, of my lifetime. So many things have changed, especially since the 2016 election. But I guess my assessment is true or false, depending on who you ask. 

The photo below was taken on November 6th, 2017. A little over a year after the first one. When it comes to autumn, a few weeks can make a big difference. We had a storm come through around the first of November, and the first bit of cold wind, rain and snow came down in Northern California, the Western Sierra, and all the way down to Carson City. It was a fast moving storm, but a potent one, that dropped a lot of leaves! Some trees fared better than others. There were a few around Carson City still full, and lush with leaves, but others looked like like skeletons, sad and ready for their winter shrouds to cover them.

As much as I love the leaves that covered the trees in the 2016 photograph, the 2017 photograph touched my mood with much greater accuracy, as to reflect how I feel inside right now. I am ready for winter in my soul. This year has been such a dark, cold place with Trump in office, that sometimes I feel inside, like those cold dark branches, waiting for the winter to come tell me it's okay to sleep for a while, to give me the energy, to move forward.

There are three seasons just waiting to have their time, and I have to endure them, somehow, to end up back in autumn, where I am at my happiest, and most content. With a little luck perhaps all this madness will be behind us a year from now, at least I hope so, and if so, maybe the autumn leaves will be laughing once again. One year I was finding autumn leaves in March, sharing tree branches with blossoms! Wouldn't that be nice to see again?

Carson City, Nevada
November 6th, 2017

"You make autumn mist taste like champagne

and turn winter rain into the elixir of life itself."

~Sanober Khan

Leaves And Blossoms
March 25th, 2013
Cull Canyon, California

#17 Leaf Of The Day

November 17th, 2017

 Cull Canyon, California

Mood: Inspired

~Me :)

Late Summer Album 2017

"Autumn is the time of year when Mother Nature says, "Look how easy, how healthy, and how beautiful letting go can be."

~Toni Sorenson

This set of photos were taken a few days before the end of the summer of, 2017. It wasn't officially autumn, but autumn was definitely making itself known. The light was autumn. The air was autumn. The sky was autumn, and all of it came together in one of the loveliest sunsets I have ever seen along the California coast! I'm thinking about the transition of seasons, because we only have a little over a month to go, before winter comes roaring in.

 There is a fair amount of snow coming into the Sierra this week, as it usually does about this time every year, so I will probably make my way up to the Sierra to photograph it, but I will still be holding onto autumn in my heart until the very last moment. Winter will bring it's own special beauty, and I will be happy to photograph it, because letting go is a good thing, after all, I need to begin planning for next autumn. There will be places to go, and leaves to photograph, and that takes planning! But for now, here is a look back at late summer 2017, by the Pacific Ocean.

Late Summer Album

September 2017

(Some photos where previously posted in September)

#16 Leaf Of The Day

November 16th 2017

Cull Canyon

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Standing In The Last Leaves Of October

"In this universe there might be roses which sing."

~Stephen King

IT

That is a photo of the last of October leaves of 2017. It was also the last moments of light, on October 28th, in Quincy, California, and across the street the movie IT was on the marque of a small movie house. In my imagination, for just a few minutes, I could have sworn I was in Derry, Maine, home of Pennywise the clown, waiting for him to pop out of nowhere with a red balloon to offer me.  

Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors. I like being scared, and his books do just that... scare me! But they also comfort me in an odd way, because they cause great introspection, and encourage me to imagine my response, and how I would react should I find myself in a terrifying unforeseen circumstance. So one day, last summer I think, when King posted on his Twitter feed that Donald Trump had blocked him, I was dumbfounded for a moment, and I couldn't quite wrap my mind around Trump blocking Stephen King!

I guess on some level, King had touched a nerve. He either angered a madman, or frightened him, I wasn't sure which, because those two emotions are so close in relation. The Fight or Flight response tends to kick in when we are faced with a sudden situation presents itself. Do we run... or do we stay and take a stand?

It seems to me that Trump runs, more often than he chooses to stand. Running is easier than facing what frightens you. In Trump's case, I believe it's truth that scares him, and drives most of his decisions. President Pennywise, much like Pennywise the clown, he plays on the fears of anyone who dare stand up to him. Ironically, it's fear that drives most of his maniacal decisions.

I have spent most of this past year terrified. Will nuclear war break out? Will the tax plan he is pushing, make it impossible to hold onto our new house? Will he continue to drive us mad with his constant denials that Russia was involved in the 2016 election? What has be promised Putin, and is it too late to fix the damage? And most recently, will he manufacture false evidence to begin jailing his political opponents, and if so, will he also begin jailing folks like you and me, in essence, anyone who dare speak against him?

But standing in that pile of leaves, on that late afternoon, in October, I didn't know what to do. It was the middle of vacation, and I had a chill deep down in my soul, like I was seeing autumn for the last time, and it made me sad, and scared. Sigh. So many things have happened in my life, that I never saw coming, both good and bad, and to tell you the truth, I think I handled it better because I didn't see it coming. Like an earthquake, knowing about it, wouldn't have give me the power to stop it. It is going to happen with or without my permission, and it was the decision, in the moment, that saved me.

 So, I was pondering, on that day, what it would be like to go through your entire life, so self absorbed, that when when something happens to you, unexpectedly, you pretend that truth doesn't exist, unless you have NO choice but decide your path in the moment. But in all other scenarios, if you block the source of the truth that could lead you to saving your own life or the life of others, what happens then?

Trump once admitted seeing a man fall, and hit his head so hard that the man began bleeding badly, and he chose not to lift a finger to help him. Trump is the king of lies, and anyone paying attention knows he lies to himself, as much as he lies to the rest of us, but if that story, if true, proved himself not just a liar, but indeed a coward. It takes courage to take a stand, and for months now I have seen very few in our government willing to do much, if anything to take a stand against his dangerous decisions and actions. 

Does love always win?

Does it matter if you have courage, if the circumstances requiring you to choose your stance, are completely out of your control? Then it dawned on me, that Trump isn't just President Pennywise, he is at least half Randall Flagg, the evil protagonist, from The Stand. I know, I know, books that provoke the timeless questions of how defeat evil is what King writes about, many authors do, but maybe it's time to pay attention to the moral of King's stories. Anything worth living for, is worth fighting for, and that requires strength, truth, and self esteem. So, if I am going to survive Trump's presidency, I have to find my courage, and refuse to let that clown in the White House steal my life.

And I'm trying to do just that.

Some days are easier than others, but I'm working on it.

If Trump is so scared of the honest opinions and truth that he blocked Stephen King, then I would say we are all in good company, and we are not alone in this. 

That feeling of not being alone makes me feel stronger.

We will survive this, and I will be standing in a big pile of leaves in some October yet to come, with no fear, only relief.

"The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there... and still on your feet."

Stephen King
~The Stand

#15 Leaf Of The Day
November 15th 2017
Stockton, California

Mood: Contemplative

~Me

Tree Art Safari

 "Everything you can imagine is real."

~Pablo Picasso

I miss Berkeley! It's one of my favorite places in the Bay Area to go, especially when I am weary. It has amazing food, in the Gourmet Getto on Shattuck avenue. The people are wonderful. It's absolutely lovely at any time of year, and of course the energy around town is terrific! It's a university town, so there are collage students everywhere, and a lot of diversity! You can sit at a coffee shop and hear 10 different languages all speaking at the same time! It was and is music to my ears!

But when I am visiting, and I just need a little less head noise, my go to place is Tilden Park! It has breathtaking views of the bay, and on a clear day you can see Oakland, San Francisco, Marin County, and the San Mateo County peninsula. The park itself is quite lovely and full of things to do, like the Botanical Garden, Lake Anza, Little Farm, a golf course, a Stream Train and an amazing carousel, with a long history! During this time of year, it is decorated for the holidays at Halloween and Christmas, with big inflatable characters, and every kind of holiday icons you can imagine. It has a very special place in my heart!

Now, if you have been following my photography, or my blog, for any length of time, you know I love public art, and Berkeley, has an abundant amount around town, both commissioned, and spontaneous! I have photographed a lot of the art downtown, but I decided on this vacation, to photograph a couple pieces of the creative tree art, that line the road up the hill to Tilden Park.

The tree alligator at the top of the post, has been on Claremont avenue, for a few years. And even when I have been at my most weary it has made me smile! But this year, to my happy surprise, a little further up the road was a tree Octopus! Claremont avenue is becoming quite the outdoor museum, and I wonder what tree animal will come along next? Whatever it might be, I know it will be inspiring, and a joyous piece of real art!

#14 Leaf Of The Day

November 14th, 2017

Truckee, California

Mood: Happy
~Me :)

An Apple A Day...

"Seasons of mists and mellow fruitlessness! Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage trees, and fill all fruit with ripeness to the core."

~John Keats

Is there anything better, on a cold autumn night, like some freshly made apple cider? Add a little spice, and it's just the thing to soothe a weary soul. And it's pretty healthy too, which is just what I need after a month of fast food on road trips, and several bags of Trick or Treat candy! Ugg, I am eating the very last piece of the fun sized Milky Way bars we bought! Sometimes, it feels really good to know that vacation is over, and it's time for reality, and schedules, and normal hours for sleep and eating! All good things for any age, but especially for me right now. 

Late autumn, while beautiful and definitely my favorite season, when it turns from warm with a slight chill, to cold with little sun, my Fibromyalgia begins to scream at me. That's why it's good to get back to a more normal schedule, because getting out with the camera will probably be cut back, now to the weekends only. But with a little planning, I can make it work! And who knows, if a special opportunity presents itself, I might be able to fit in a photo jaunt on a weekday or two!

 #13 Leaf Of The Day

October 28th, 2017

Truckee, California

 

Mood: Happy

 ~Me :)

My Knight's Ferry Album

"Country life has it's advantages,,' he used to say."You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good... and there are gooseberries."

~Anton Chekhov

 Gooseberries 

I'm, straight-up a city girl! Moving out to the Central Valley has been one of the biggest challenges of my life, and if you are near my age of 55, you will understand what sudden change can do to you! It's just a simple fact that life can be, well, challenging. Now, factor in the whole moving drama back in 2015, the national election of 2016. The Trump drama of this year, and you get full on anxiety depression. I'm not kidding about that, my diagnoses of depression with acute anxiety returned this year, after a 17 year remission.

                                Bummer!                                     

But I am fighting it, and getting out with my camera has been really therapeutic. Also, I am watching less cable news, and listening to more music! I had stopped all music in my life, as I descended into the depression, and one day I realized, I was losing the battle, and depression was winning! I got scared. I called my doctor who talked me through the anxiety, and reassured me that she had many patients who had expressed distress about having a president that is scaring, embarrassing, or just lying to us on a daily basis!

I wasn't the failure that I thought I was... I was normal... apparently.

So, I took her advice, and picked my camera up again, and got out of the house to see what the world around me was really like! Our vacation was coming up and Alan was just as tired as I was, so we went on this year's adventure! We had a pretty mixed bag of adventures, I will explain that in upcoming posts. Actor, Rob Lowe, played a surprisingly LARGE part of our vacation! In fact, in a weird way, he kinda saved my life! I honestly didn't see that coming, and I don't really have a way to say thank you, but it's okay, shrug! It's funny how other people can touch a stranger's life for the better, and not even realize the true impact! Also Dean Koontz made an odd appearance in the hilarity! No, not in person, of course, but in a more ethereal way.

Anyway, one of our day trips was to Knight's Ferry, California. I think I shared about that in an earlier post, so now I want to share my album of the tiny Central Valley town, because it was stunning in autumn, and in fact might be an annual visit from now on, we'll see! Time has a way of healing through artistic endeavors, and I found out a long ago, you see things you might not catch without looking through a camera lens. Anyway, here is my album from Knight's Ferry, California! I hope you enjoy seeing what I saw!

Knight's Ferry Album

October 25th, 2017

Knight's Ferry is a lovely place, but then more of the little country towns out here in the Central Valley are, and every day I get a little more comfortable and appreciate that Stockton is my home and the little towns in the middle of the valley, are close friends!

 #12 Leaf Of The Day

October 22nd

Dublin, California

Thank You, Rob Lowe!

Mood: Grateful!

~Me :)