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“Here is a list of terrible things,
The jaws of sharks, a vultures wings
The rabid bite of the dogs of war,
The voice of one who went before,
But most of all the mirror's gaze,
Which counts us out our numbered days.” 

 
~Clive Barker

  Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War

 

Pray for Israel. Pray for Palestine. I can't take a side here, I watched so much shame in the last decade. Shame plenty to go around. Hamas is a terrorist organization, but Israel has done horrible things to the Palestinian people. When I look at the situation I just feel small and quiet, and maybe that's for the best. Ultimately, my heart and strength is with the innocent.

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #16

 

“Each leaf tells us a story. The story of its struggle.

 The story of the storms that it faces in life.”
~Avijeet Das

 

  Why the Silhouette?

 

Atmospheric rivers. Droughts that last for decades. The avian flu that just ripped through the bird populations. The hottest temperatures on record keep breaking the records year after year. And this year, a monsoon struck southern Nevada, causing flooding and power outages throughout the city. The Earth is unhappy, and it can be seen in the amount of dead trees I am seeing everywhere. We had a really wet year, but water alone won't fix the damage humans have allowed to happen. Climate Change is real. Full stop!

 

San Francisco Fleet Week 2023

 

 

“What could be more exciting than an October day?

 It's your birthday, Fourth of July and Christmas all rolled into one.” 

~ Peggy Toney Horton 

 

 

San Francisco Fleet Week

 

It's Fleet Week, and yesterday it was practice day for the Blue Angels, and I enjoyed watching them zigzag across the bay. One moments soaring over the Bay Bridge, the next moment... literally... they were doing all sorts of diving acrobatics over the Golden Gate. The was silvery. It was late afternoon, so the sun was well into the western sky, and this being October, the sun and the bay twinkled silver. If I had been on the San Francisco side of the bay, I would have had a different, more of a blue background, but I decided at the last minute it would be nice to see if I could find a decent vantage point.

 

 I was in the east bay, which is fine, because Emeryville has several spots on the bay and I got to include San Francisco in the background if I could just find a spot. And I did. Thank you little blue handicapped placard. It almost makes having a bad knee worth it! Any time I can see San Francisco makes me feel wonderful inside, but having the Blue Angels in the photo is especially nice because it brings back memories of going to the airshow when I was a very little girl.

 

 

 My dad worked at the Alameda Navel Air Station, and therefore had one of the best seats on the bay to watch. The military base where he worked. I will never forget the insanely loud roar as the planes departed the nearby aircraft carrier, even the noise canceling headphones I was wearing didn't completely muffle it. I looked forward to our little October tradition, and then one year we just stopped going, who knows why? Maybe I just got too old for it, or maybe dad did. I don't know which, but it was dad's birthday yesterday, and he would have turned 105 years old. We would have enjoyed seeing them again, and I do wish he could have been with me yesterday. I miss him.

 

 

The Little Green Punk Rocker Heron

 

“Fall has always been my favorite season. 

The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” 

~Lauren DeStefano

  Wither 

 

The thing I love most about birding, is how you will very often spot a bird you had no idea you would see. I went to the forebay the other day, in search of shorebirds and ducks, and came home with pics of cormorants, pelicans and this amazing bird, the Little Green Heron. I will never get tired of coming across this little bird. He's only about the size of a crow, making him the smallest of the herons in my area, but all those colors photograph so differently, depending on the time of day, and cloud cover. It's definitely a beauty. The poor little lizard it was eating for dinner probably wasn't as impressed as I was. Yikes! And doesn't he kinda look like punk is it's favorite music genre?

 

 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #15

 

“leaves glow under
a haze of sunlight,
and hang
still on a windless
day”

 

 ~Bremer Acosta

  Cosmos in a Tree

 

 

Dragons And Damsels And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #14

 

Summer leaves sulkily with rains.
Winter sets off gaily leaving spring behind.
Autumn walks a fine line.

(Haiku)
~Monika Ajay Kaul 

 

The cool days are here. Well, cool for the Central Valley. Some years it's well into October before I need a sweater, but hubby is helping me get all the warm stuff washed and put on standby. Yes, I even get excited about washing my favorite autumn and winter sweaters for the season. I am hoping to still be able to catch a few more dragonflies and damselflies before the rains come in. They are an amazing challenge for me to photograph, but just look at them, so delicate and so beautiful I can't help but try.

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #13

 

“The leaf does not immediately absorb the drop of water falling on it;

 she slowly drinks with great pleasure!”

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

The Little Yellow Butterfly

 “And the yellow sunflower by the brook, in autumn beauty stood.” 

~William Cullen Bryant 

 

Eurema Lisa, or "Little Yellow Butterfly" are so tiny, that it took the whole summer of practice with the camera to get a decent photograph. Fortunately I finally got one I was satisfied with, while I was on  Woodbridge road, on the last day of September. Then my second photo was done at Yolo Bypass, a couple days later. It was such a pleasant way to end the month of September and to begin October.

 

 Autumn... the great healer!

And Then This Happened...

 

“Reader, suppose you were an idiot.

 And suppose you were a member of Congress.

 But I repeat myself.”

 
~Mark Twain 

 

Okay, this was not unexpected, and yet when it happens I wonder why and how one party, the republicans, can be filled with such overwhelming stupidity and viciousness? Don't get me wrong, I can't stand Kevin McCarthy, he is a spineless simpleton, that has his head so far up Trump's ass he is now that thing on Trump's head. But damn, all McCarthy did was not kowtow to them. Oh wait... it all makes sense now! He stood up to them! But he didn't stop there. He also pissed off the Democrats. If he wouldn't have blamed the Democratic party for how close we got to the shut down, last Saturday, a few from across the aisle might have supported him. Especially considering it took our support to put a temporary stop gap in place on the dept ceiling last Saturday. Oh my... it's tough being an adult. It's tough being in politics. But one day, everybody has to choose who and what one wants to be and support.

:)

 

This is the first time America has kicked a Speaker Of The House out of their position.This is how they choose to make history? Clowns!

 

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE!

 

 

Shut Up, You Big Fat Baby!

 

"There is such a thing as tempting the gods. Talking too much, too soon and with too much self-satisfaction has always seemed to me a sure way to court disaster. The forces of retribution are always listening. They never sleep."

~Meg Greenfield

Finally, someone stuck a sock in his big fat mouth! What did he do to deserve it? During a break from his New York fraud trial, he posted a picture to his Truth Social account, of the court clerk, that was taken of her and Sen. Chuck Schumer and a democratic fundraiser, implying that she was some sort of partisan plant for the democratic party, and Schumer's girlfriend. Which, as you might guess, is a complete lie. Read all about it in the New York Times here.

Thank you, Judge Engoron!

 

 

 

Autumn Blackberries And Spiders, Plus Autumn Leaf Of The Day #12

 

“I gazed at the monster and couldn't rip my gaze away.

 He was... beautifully twisted.” 

 
~Jennifer West,

  The Legend of Acacia Vitak

 

 Something has changed in me. Today, I found myself mesmerized by this HUGE spider spinning it's web in a fading blackberry bush, along Bruceville road. It was strangely beautiful, and I could have watched it forever, but it was getting late in the day, and I still needed to check on the birds on Desmond road, so I took a few photos and went about my way. An hour later, I was still thinking about him, and feeling really impressed with the house it was building. I had never seen a spider spinning a web before, and now I have a great deal of respect for that creature and it's abilities. But I know for certain, however, I would rather love and admire him from afar, then get to know him in person. He has his world, and I am happy in mine, with a camera in my hand, and a big curiosity about all I may have missed.

 

LIVE NOW: Donald Trump in NY Court Over Civil Fraud Trial

 

 

 

  “Oh, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "what do you know of fear?Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the dire wolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods” 

~George R.R. Martin,

  A Game of Thrones

 

I think he might be afraid. If he is, it will be the first time that I can think of where he responded correctly to his situation. Of course he might just be pissed off. Shrug. The video is live, so it will end eventually, but justice is just beginning. 

 

Trump has been put on the witness list, will he eventually testify? Or will he take the Fifth Amendment? I guess he will shut up in court, but run his mouth anywhere he can find a hot mic. Although we will find out this week about whether he will have at least a partial gag order coming his way. Fun times ahead.

 

 

 

HELP! There's A Humpback Whale In The Bay! And #11

 “FALLING IN LOVE WITH OCTOBER

Leaves descending to the ground,
Orange, magenta, green & brown
The cool crisp breezes in the air,
Autumn season must be here”
 

~ Charmaine J Forde 

 

I am torn. The leaves are turning and falling earlier than usual. It's barely October and autumn has exploded! The birds are coming in larger numbers every day. San Francisco, my dearest old friend, is calling to me, so is Monterey. I wanna take a bay cruise. I wanna see the Elk in Point Reyes Station. I wanna go to scary movies... 

 

HELP! I NEED MORE ENERGY!

 

 

American Goldfinch And The Last Of The Little Daisies

 

“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

 

The last of summer remains on Woodbridge road, as all the roadside daisies, and American Goldfinch have all but disappeared. Soon, the geese and Sandhill crane will be the main feature, but you shouldn't ignore the little perching birds. I expect the Cedar Waxwing will be here soon. There are little berries on trees and bushes everywhere just waiting for the them to swoop in and gobble them up. I love it in the Central Valley. The nature is wonderful. I can't believe I just said that, I love it here! Especially in autumn... well... autumn is the only time I am really happy.