I have posted a remembrance of those lost, September 11th 2001, on this blog for years. David and Lynn Angell are, of course, in my thoughts, as are other's lost that day, but I think this year I am going to remember and reflect in private. I will speak about why, in time, maybe after November 3rd, but this year, for the first time, I just want to be thankful to those we lost that day by remembering in silence. I will also be remembering John Ritter, lost to us on September 11th, 2003. He was brilliant, and I still miss him so much.
For this post I thought I would share two beautiful leaves I found in the yard Wednesday. Cottonwood is quickly becoming one of my favorite leaves to photograph in autumn. While they don't have an especially striking color, as some leaves in autumn do, they are a deep green until autumn, when they turn a pretty lemon color, the tree is fairly interesting and the lemon color is quite pretty. As the leaf ages on the ground it becomes a light brown/red in color. As it becomes more brittle, they tend to get a lacy appearance. It's a beautiful leaf in it's own way, and I am happy to have been able to learn about more about the leaf and tree. I am probably going to feature the Cottonwood as my first, Leaf Of The Day, for this year's project. It would make sense, in that I have one next door that provides me with so many leaves to choose from.
"There is a season for everything under the sun...
even when we can't see the sun."
~Jared Brock
A Year Of Living Prayerfully: How A Curious Traveler Met The Pope, Walked On Coals,
Danced With Rabbis and Revived His Prayer Life
The Santa Ana winds are officially blowing. The smoke from the fires surrounding the Central Valley are making conditions worse than they were a few weeks ago. I can't believe what I am seeing. That (pic above) was the sky yesterday, and by 6:00 pm, I couldn't even find the sun. It was lost behind the smoke. I saw some photos of San Francisco, and everything was lost under an apocalyptic red glow. I never saw the Golden Gate Bridge look like that. It hurts my feelings, and leaves me feeling even more lonely for my beautiful bridge.
On the TV, the story of the day revolved around the revelation that Donald John Trump is a damn liar. Big surprise... right? But specifically, he lied about how dangerous the Covid-19 Pandemic was. As I told Alan, I am thankful that I never listened to him to begin with. Rachel Maddow was the first to bring us the information about the virus, and her coverage, once again, was concise and accurate. We are lucky that we had her to count on, because if we were left to our own government, we would probably all be dead or dying.
At least we are not all completely alone in this.
We have someone we can count on.
I am planning to do some photography on Friday. I am not completely sure about the destination, but I am hoping to visit at least the East Bay. I have a mammography planned for the early morning, then it's off on a photo adventure. Hopefully Berkeley will be possible, but we will have to see how the smoke is by then. With a huge amount of luck, San Francisco could be another destination. Personally, I will be happy with the East Bay. Vacation begins in less than a month. With it being so close, I am happy to just wait and have it be really special. Maybe by then there will be a real season outside. Summer ends in about 10 days, and I will be grateful when it does, but the next 8 weeks or so are the height of fire season, and when the Santa Ana's are at their worst.
Life is a lot of things... boring is not one of them.
And the days began to shrink under one's very eyes."
~Hope Mirrlees
That's how I used to think about autumn. Like the the trees begin to speak again, when mean-spirited, oppressive summer is ready to lie down and sleep, but the weather this year is challenging my ideas. This year, this summer, shows no indication that it's cruelty will be backing down anytime soon. The temperature the last few days has broken records all over the state, and in my little corner of the world as well. The coming week is supposed to be a bit cooler, but not by much, and the state is still experiencing wildfires, which is playing havic with the air quality. Things are better than a couple weeks ago, but it really all depends on which way the wind is blowing.
This was the last unofficial weekend of summer. When I was a kid it was exciting because that meant that school was beginning in a couple days, most years anyway, it was the Wednesday following Labor Day. Everything smelled like new clothes and pencils. There was something about that, that made it all exciting somehow. Maybe it was because it was almost like it was a secret, but at the same time, if was a secret, it was more the worst kept secret in the world! But it was special at the time, and in my memory as well.
Sitting here, with my childhood behind me for too many decades to mention, I find myself lonely for how simple and unafraid I was. We didn't have the wildfires we have today. There was no such thing as whole communities burning to the ground. In effect the entire state of California has been on fire for weeks, that was unheard when I was a kid. We also didn't have to worry about a mentally ill, out of control president, getting us all killed in our sleep. It's all so surreal. Both the natural world, and the world of politics, seem more like some sort of waking nightmare than any kind of possible reality.
I remember the last day, of the last weekend, of the summer of 1978. It was Monday, so of course I watched the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. Well, it was on my portable TV in my room, but I was preoccupied with the week ahead. I was busy choosing my new denim skirt, pink peasant blouse, denim purse, brown boots and brown canvas book bag for first day of school on Wednesday. I was excited and wanted to be sure that's what I wanted to wear. There was a guy, Scott, that I wanted to impress on our first day back. Little did I know I would see him smoking a cigarette, after Home Room the following Thursday, and fall completely out of the crush I had been carrying for most of the summer. Easy Come. Easy Go.
Fast forward...
I wish I wasn't so scared all the time.
I feel like there isn't much more that can be said. At least not in this mean-spirited political season.
I remember having the jitters so bad, that I called KFRC on that Labor Day evening, back in 1978, and requested a song. One of my favorites that always made me smile, and feel happy and safe just by hearing it. Wouldn't It Be Nice, By The Beach Boys. It sure did that night, all those years ago. Wouldn't it be nice if things were still that simple?
"Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive."
~Eliot Erwitt
My friend, Karen, has posted some stunning photographs over the past year, some in color, some in black and white. I have truly fallen in love with her work. Often she posts both versions of her photographs, side by side, for comparison, which has lead to my rethinking my approach to photography. I think I have overlooked the impact black and white can make. When I think of my color photographs, it seems I always go away thinking of the pop color it tends to make. The WOW factor. Sometimes it can be a pretty loud sound of color, but it can be soft too, but what it rarely is, is mysterious! The imagination really has no where to go. Black and White definitely leaves more to the imagination to interpret. I like that. I haven't been doing much photography this year, because of Covid-19, so I'm a bit rusty when it comes to any photography, so it's very nice to have a new mission of doing some photos in a different style. I am thankful to Karen for giving me a new outlook. I need a fresh approach, and this change might make all my autumn photos have a new edge. Its something creative to look forward to, just when I needed it most!
Stop by and see her wonderful photos of Tucson, and the beautiful landscape that surrounds it.
