Maybe, Maybe Not And The Leaf Of The Day

"Why do they say ghosts are cold? Mine are warm. a breath dampening your cheek, a voice when you thought you were alone."

~Julie Buntin Marlena

I believe in ghosts. I believe in the paranormal. I believe in prophetic dreams. I believe in a lot of stuff. But mostly, I believe in ghosts. Since I was a child I have felt things around me that couldn't be seen. I could feel something watching me, and Ill say straight up, I can't prove there was anything supernatural there, in my presence, but it would happen randomly, and it was a strong, unmistakable feeling of not being alone.

Alan never experienced a single paranormal experience growing up, but since he had reached adulthood, he has shared some unnerving incidents, which might have had a perfectly rational explanation, but since we have been together, the incidents of things that have happened to us, that couldn't be explained, has increased significantly for both of us! If I told you all the weird stuff Alan and I have been through, your jaw would drop!

Actually "weird" isn't really the right word, because he and I have stopped thinking of it as weird, and have rather come to think of our experiences as stuff that is perfectly natural, but that most folks are too busy to notice! Although the word "weird" does initially pop up, when something new occurs. Like the photo you see above!

I took that photograph on Independence day of this year. He and I bought a box of fireworks, and had some fun in the front yard, while we waited for the Fireworks show began down at the Stockton Waterfront! We are lucky enough to have a direct angle from our house, to be able to see the annual display! Anyway, while playing with our own box of fireworks, we set off a set of cones, just after dark. I had my camera on hand to practice some night shots, and didn't notice I had taken that cool photo, until I began editing photos on my computer.

Now, I fully admit I was using a digital camera, and night photography with a digital camera can be challenging, but this shot is just plain weird, and I don't remember anything that could have produced either the shape, or the tiny orbs that surround it. It seems small, like a child, but in someways it also reminds me of my late cat Elvis. He was a lot of fun, and absolutely unafraid of anything! It's like fear never occurred to him, although he was an incredible judge of character, and more than once warned us about danger, by growling like a dog at certain people, who almost always turned out to be dreadful human beings.

Elvis passed away in October, of 2008. He died of cancer, and I miss him every single day! I now have three of the most loving, special, happy little boy cats, but Elvis is still in my heart. He is the one you don't get over! I have never seen an animal, or human for that matter, that embraced life quite the way he did! He did everything fully, there was no half way with him. And those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will remember, he insisted on wearing hats, t-shirts, and if it was sunny outside, shaded goggles! It was his will, and his alone. He was more human, than some actual humans I have known. And he was more trustworthy!

So it's not like it would hurt my feelings if he stopped by for a visit. He would only be visiting out of love, and because he knows how much he is still loved and missed. Sigh. On the other hand, if it's not him, I can't figure out who it is, or if the shape is that of a child, or a full grown person who was just sitting with us. Perhaps a former owner of our house, or maybe it was a residual ghost passing by, or I could be completely off track, and it was simply a trick of light. I haven't decided it is a ghost in the photo because I can't, there is NO proof at all that that is true, but it is weird, that of all the photos I took, this is the only one that not only didn't come out crisp and clear, but it's the only one that has this odd shape. 

Weird. There goes that word again!

Weird!

Here is one of my favorite photos from the 4th of July, not previously published on Ellipsis.

The Leaf Of The Day

#15 Leaf Of The Day

October 6th, 2018

Ione, California

~Mood: Curious

~Me    :)

Late Summer Birds And The Leaf Of The Day

"Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought

 of which the sea would not be a part."

~Hermann Broch

Seagulls, Pelicans and Cormorants

Davenport, California

September 2nd 2018

Nikon

 For my whole life, whenever I just couldn't stand another moment of the real world, Alan and I would hop in the car and head to the beach, or for a ride down the coast. I love the smell of ocean air. I love sitting at the lighthouses that dot HWY 1, and I love the sea sounds of the birds! There are so many, and together they make such a beautiful noise! On this particular day, September 2nd of this year, it was clear that summer was on it's way out early, and that thought made me very happy! I was also delighted to discover among the Seagulls, Cormorants, and Pelicans, where some Blue Buntings, and I was lucky enough to be able to photograph both a male and female.

I posted the two males on Twitter, just after my trip to Davenport, but this is the first time I have posted the female. Lovely in her own right, I was thrilled to add both of them to my birding file! I have been astoundingly lucky this year to find several new birds on my outings. I am going to do my very best on vacation to try to set a couple days aside, specifically for searching for new birds. Perhaps visiting the Delta, the Sierra or maybe the North Bay. There are lots of shore birds I haven't photographed yet, so I think it will be fun, and very therapeutic, to search them out. There is a lot to look forward to on this vacation, and any excuse to be near the Delta or the Pacific, makes me very happy. It's all good! 

But I do miss living by the Ocean.

Male Blue Bunting

Davenport, California

September 2nd, 2018

Nikon

 Female Blue Bunting

Davenport, California

September 2nd 2018

Nikon

And Now The Leaf Of The Day

#14 Leaf Of The Day

October 5th, 2018

 Cull Canyon, California

Samsung 

~Mood: Excited

~Me  :)

Please Don't Take Us To Your Leader + The Leaf of The Day

"I wonder if aliens deny that we exist?'

~Anthony Hicks

About a year ago, Alan discovered a really great market in Lathrop, California, called Power Mart. It was fairly close to where he was working, and their prices were reasonable, as was the variety of items that they carried. That's kind of unusual for a mini-mart, but what made it truly unique was the fact that it had apparently been a fairly convenient place to pick up a few grocery needs, if you were from outer space!

According to Roadside America, there are several Power Marts that stretch between Sacramento and San Francisco! I am not sure how I missed these markets, but I was happy to find this one. It's absolutely adorable and it was fun to photograph the astounding number of cute aliens throughout the place!

If you're into the whimsical, this is definitely the place for you! 

So, that was my summer, 4th Of July, close encounter, and I am pretty sure what caused them to crash, was the thought of Donald Trump proposing America create a "Space Force." Not out of fear mind you, but because it's pretty much the stupidest waste of money ever proposed by a sitting president. Especially, when you consider we already have NASA! You know, the NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION!

He's so embarrassing!

#13 Leaf Of The Day

October 4th, 2018

Ione, California

~Mood: Happy

~Me 

Power Mart #104

192 Lathrop rd, Lathrop, California

209-858-4998

Read All About It Here.

 

By Land And Sea + The Leaf Of The Day

"Above all, life for a photographer 

cannot be a matter of indifference."

~Robert Frank

Photography is my passion. I work hard at it. I love it, I breathe it. I want to be really good at it. I am at my happiest, when I have a camera in my hand, and I am discovering a new bird, or landscape I haven't seen before, or even a random slant of light or shadow. But I have been becoming indifferent inside, sometimes to life itself, with Donald Trump in office. It's affected every aspect of my life. Things I used to look forward to, are now pushed away by me, into a box of quiet darkness. 

If this mess ever ends, I would like to resume my life again. I fight the depression with all I have, but a lot of joy is simply gone. As we begin our vacation next week, Alan and I have a couple things planned that may provoke some feeling again. I take groups of photos like these, to try and stretch my creativity muscle, because I know that depression is treated using a number of different elements, and art is one of them. So I really am trying!

This group of photos are not my best work, they just aren't, but they are an attempt at moving away from the sadness, and toward happiness. There was a time when I would rather take photos than breathe, but with Trump in office, I feel like all my energy is gone. Just gone. And if this weeks news hasn't been horrific enough, later today we will be getting a "Presidential Tweet" that tests the Emergency Broadcast system. And we are given NO CHOICE! The call will come, whether we want to receive it or not!

 Yet another intrusion from Donald Trump.  

Will it ever end?

Altamont Pass

By The Pacific Ocean

If how I feel inside couple be summed up by a photo,

 it would be this one. Foggy. Dark. Quiet.

#12 Leaf Of The Day

October 3rd, 2018

Ione, California

~Mood: Quiet

~Me

 

Where Memories Gather

"Stop looking at the walls, look out the window."

~Karl Pilington

The Ricky Gervais Show

Seasons 1-3 

Okay, so I began removing some of my photographs off the sidebar. I might take even more of them down, because as my pal Jeff once advised, the sidebar was "too cluttered and would have a more impressive look to it, if it wasn't so busy." He was right, but I had such fond memories of all the photos I had posted there, that it was difficult to take them down. I wanted to hold onto each and every moment and memory, that I had created in the Bay Area!

 When I began blogging on Ellipsis, I had designed my blog for myself, and not for those who may visit. There is some logic to that, in that there is no real way to know who has come by, or how many consistent readers I have on a weekly basis, so I decorated the blog, as I would my home! But in the last few months, as I pondered whether or not I needed cease my blogging all together, I began to see how a new outlook on the blog might be just what I needed to inspire me pick the camera back up, and look for the unseen or overlooked!

So, the collections in this post, are a last look back, at the photographs that graced my sidebar from 2006 until now. They all mean a lot to me, but I have a new folder for them, and it feels good to start looking for the reality I am in right now, as opposed to the life I had in Berkeley. In 2015, life picked me up, twirled me around in a shit storm, and threw me hard into the Central Valley, and into the city of Stockton, where I landed with a HARD THUD! It was difficult to come to terms with those facts, but I've been lucky to have had Alan by my side, as we dealt with it together. I'm so lucky, and so blessed to have people who care about me, and who give me strength.  

But revamping Ellipsis, is another necessary step toward moving forward! We have decorated our home, one room at a time, and with each coat of paint, or one more carefully chosen painting, or rug, or toss pillow, home becomes a little more HOME. Decorating a new place takes time, and in a weird way, the house will guide you with lighting, and natural sounds, until it all comes together in your imagination. As that process nears completion, I am finally coming out of that three year fog I was in, and accepting that it all goes together, even my blog, because it is a part of my creative reality, even if no one reads my blog or sees my photographs.

Ellipsis is a place for my memories to gather.

And it's time to make new ones!

 

Autumn trips. Time spent in Golden Gate Park. Sunsets from the Berkeley Hills. My rose garden. My beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. I love looking back on those days, even as I plan new trips and new photo opportunities. 

I'm excited!

#11 Leaf Of The Day

October 2nd 2018

Ione, California

~Mood: Excited

~Me :)

 

Under Construction And The Leaf Of The Day

"Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,

We had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"

~Humbert Wolfe

As you might have noticed, I have been working on editing the design of Ellipsis. I had a lot of gadgets and photographs that no longer applied, so it's time to move on to a more enthusiastic outlook and design! It will take me a few days, so bear with me if the blog looks a little odd, I have a pretty good idea how I want it to look, but it's going to take me a little while to get there! All things in their own time, right?

#10 Leaf Of The Day

October 1st, 2018 

Stockton, Ca

~Mood: Creative

~Me :)

 

Rhythm Of The Wind

"If you move faster than the music, it will look strange; if you move slower than the music, it will look strange! Be like autumn leaves which follow exactly the rhythm of the wind."

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

Sometimes in autumn, I like to post pictures of big piles of leaves, and here we have the first one of the season! There are oak leaves and Dogwood, and I think there might be a few Japanese Maple leaves mixed in, although that tree looked pretty green, so I am not really sure about that. Anyway, I am surprised to see leaves turning this early, I just hope there will still be color late into the season, and not all drop off by Thanksgiving. Cross your fingers for me, because I have a lot of day trips, and leaf destinations planned!

#9 Leaf Of The Day

September 30th, 2018

Stockton, Ca

~Mood: Happy

 ~Me