Falling In Love In San Francisco

 

"Or maybe spring is the season of love

 and fall the season of mad lust. Spring for flirting but fall for the

 untamed delicious wild thing."

~Elizabeth Cohen

The Hypothetical Girl 

I am no world traveler, but I did get to see different cities in America, when I went on a Greyhound bus adventure with my parents. Fred MacMurray talked them into it. By the way, you have to be five years on either side of my age to know who that is! LOL. Anyway, I was 16 years old, and I was really happy to see what life outside California looked like! One of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, was in Flagstaff Arizona.

 Imagine a beautiful late July sunset, with the fabulous Saguaro cactus in dark silhouette. It made an impression on me. Sometimes I think my interest in sunsets, comes from that single sunset all those years ago. In any case, all those cities had something unique and wonderful about them. History was the one thing they all had in common.

Which brings me back to my beautiful San Francisco. This series of photos includes the Golden Gate Bridge, Ocean Beach, but also points south of San Francisco, like Point Montara and Half Moon Bay. The light is beautiful. The city is beautiful. Autumn is beautiful. All those other cities I have been lucky enough to see, are beautiful, but none of them will ever match the beauty of San Francisco, and the Pacific coast. Like the great Herb Caen once said...

" One day, if I do go to heaven,

 I'll look around and say, 'it aint bad,

 but it ain't San Francisco' "

~Herb Caen

Someday, if I make it to Heaven, I will have to have a long chat with him about the coastline of Marin and the San Mateo peninsula. I bet I will be able to talk him into loving it all as much as I do. San Francisco inspires so much in me, artistically speaking. If you can't fall in love in San Francisco... you can't fall in love!

Here is San Francisco

 and points along the coast

 in no particular order!

#41 Leaf Of The Day

November 2nd 2019

Cull Canyon

Nikon

 ~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

Punky #57 But Also #29

"Halloween is a day in which some people choose to wear a mask... while others finally feel safe to take theirs off."

~Steve Maraboli

We have a tradition in our house. Alan designs the pumpkin's facial expressions, and I get to clean it out. I couldn't be happier with that arrangement. I love every little thing about a fresh pumpkin, from the seeds to the little strings of beta carotene. Gutting the pumpkin was my job as a kid as well. My dad carved some awesome pumpkins. He preferred the tall flat ones, but I always liked the classic round ones. No matter which one we ended up with, we had fun. Halloween was always my favorite holiday, because it was the one day when my parents didn't argue. Mom ignored it. Dad embraced it and it worked out. Alan grew up in a happy, healthy home, so he has a fondness for the day in the purest sense. We had a good day. He and I watched horror movies, and had our traditional Mexican cuisine, and ate a lot of candy! It was my 57 Halloween, and I am grateful to have made it this far!

 This is Punky #57 of my life, but the 29th of our marriage!

#40 Leaf Of The Day

November 1st 2019

Half Moon Bay, California

Nikon

~Mood: Happy

~Me   :)

Ghosts, Witches And A Yellow Rubber Duck

"As a spirit having a human experience, you can choose to not merely exist but to be fully conscience and aware of living in a limited world. 

When you take a conscience part in life and its multitudes of choices, you won't let life happen to you... you will make life happen for you."

~James Van Praagh

Ghosts Among Us:

 Uncovering The Truth About The Other Side 

It's Halloween, and I never get so grown up, as to give up on Halloween as my favorite holiday. If I haven't changed my mind yet, I probably won't be doing that at all. No, Halloween is still the most glorious, magical, fun night of the year. Yes, Christmas is lovely, and its all about family, but Halloween is the one holiday where you can be exactly who you want to be. One year I was a green M&M and on a different year I was a yellow rubber duck. Most years now, I am an American Horror Story witch. I like that costume, because I get to wear my Victorian Gothic jewelry and carry my black lace parasol, which I really enjoy doing, but being a rubber duck, or a yummy piece of candy isn't bad either! Still, I think I am more witch these days, than anything else. 

So, just remember that, or I'll put a spell on you!

Bwahahahahahahahahahah!

Hey, look at this, an autumn leaf in costume, as a hummingbird!

#39 Leaf Of The Day

October 31st 2019

Ione, California

Nikon

~Mood: Happy

~Me   :)

Practical Magic

"You ever put your arms out and spin really, really fast? Well, that's what love is like. It makes your heart race.
 It turns the world upside down.
 But if you're not careful, if you don't keep your eyes on something still, you can lose your balance.
 You can't see what's happening to the people around you.
 You can't see you are about to fall."

~Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic

Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies, but before that, it was one of my favorite books. The two are very different, stand alone stories. The book is very dark. A magical cautionary tale, mostly about being careful what you wish for, while the movie embraces woman-power, magic, and of course, love. Love of family and life, and the love that celebrates finding someone..."a love, that will make time itself lie down and be still".  The movie also has one of the most beautiful pieces of music, ever in film. To me, it is the sound of autumn, and Halloween in particular.

Amas Veritas

 "Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender for luck. Fall in love whenever you can."

Sally Owens

~Practical Magic

#38 Leaf Of The Day

October 30th 2019

Grass Valley, California

Nikon

~Mood: Quiet

~Me 

Falling In Love In Autumn

"After the keen days of September, the October sun filled the world with mellow warmth... The Maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch. The oaks along the roadway glowed yellow and bronze. The fields stretched like a carpet of jewels, emerald and topaz and garnet. Everywhere she walked the color shouted and sang around her... In October any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible."

~Elizabeth George Speare

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The weather has turned, in just the last few days.There is a definite chill in the air. The halfway point of autumn comes on October 31st, a fact I have always loved. It should happen on that day, because Halloween is all about magic. There is a slant of light right now, even on cloudy days, that is unmistakable. Maybe it's the light of 3 apple juice. Maybe it's simple the decline of yet another year, with the promise of a fresh start right around the corner. Maybe it's the smell of damp earth and wet leaves. Maybe it's different for everybody, but roll it up together, and you have autumn. Mist, golden light, autumn fruits and squash. A season so alive, so special, it holds more colors than all the other seasons combined. And more love too. Autumn is the best season to fall in love.

 #37 Leaf Of The Day

October 29th 2019

Grass Valley, Ca

Nikon

~Mood: Happy

~Nikon

The October Elements

"In the winter of my life I fell in love with autumn, and you.

 The leaves will change and fall but your

 love is here to stay, at least for just another day."

~Maria Koszler

It has been extremely windy the last few days, and it makes me fear that the leaves will be falling before I have a chance to get really started with my annual leaf project. As of Halloween, we will only be at the midpoint of autumn, and it feels like I have not done much this year. All the leaves in the Sierra peaked early, like about a month before they usually do, then the Santa Ana winds threatened to make fire season even worse than it already is, as if it hasn't caused enough damage this year in, Sonoma County, it just doesn't get enough. But still, I have been happy with my results. The truth is, there will never been enough autumn to play in, and it leaves me melancholy, but it's okay, because I am already looking forward to October 1st, 2020. Wind and Fire in October, in California, is becoming the things of which nightmares are made.

And now...

#36 Leaf of The Day

October 28th 2019

Ione, California

Nikon

~Mood: Okay

~Me  :)

The Yellows And Browns Of Autumn

"Falling leaves gave the air an amber hue

 as though seen through a jar of honey."

~Paula Wall

The Rock Orchard

Celebrating the yellows and browns of autumn. These seem to be the predominate colors this season. Don't get me wrong, there are strong splashes, here and there, of Orange, and the pastels. Purple, pink and blue. It doesn't matter I love all the colors. They all heal.

And now, the autumn leaf of the day...

#35 Leaf Of The Day

October 27th 2019

Nevada City, California

Nikon

~Mood: Okay

~Me  :)