There is a time in the last few days of summer when the ripeness of autumn fills the air, and time is quiet and mellow.
~ Rudolfo Anaya
Saturday, December 02, 2023
November's Moon
The autumn air is clear,
The autumn moon is bright.
Fallen leaves gather and scatter,
The jackdaw perches and starts anew.
We think of each other- when will we meet?
This hour, this night, my feelings are hard.”
~
Friday, December 01, 2023
On The Last Day Of November
“I could feel the bite of the autumn air,
warning us all of the harsh winter that was on its way.”
~
It was ridiculously cold at the Clifton Court Forebay yesterday, but that didn't stop this very pretty Ring-billed gull from swimming and splashing about in the water! He was half playing, half trying to beat the other gulls to the tasty school of morsels passing just under them. I watched him capture, and eat, more than one tiny fish, and I was very impressed with its ability to fly to great heights in the sky, only to fall in a deep dive, to fetch his dinner. Birds fascinate me. I didn't see any new birds yesterday, and my hands were aching from the cold, so I didn't stay long, but they were all lovely, and entertaining, and made the pain well worth the visit. I can't wait to see what other birds fly in, as December progresses.
Here is bird #161 for the year.
Red-winged Bicolored Blackbird
Autumn Leaf Of The Day #71
And sometimes, and only in spring,
a dove from the river's soft vale of lilies
will fly as close to you as trust,
and a calm in the great reds of autumn
will, as often as you need, lie down
beside you, raising a brow you've known
above the eyes of the only woman
you will ever have a need to dream or touch.”
a dove from the river's soft vale of lilies
will fly as close to you as trust,
and a calm in the great reds of autumn
will, as often as you need, lie down
beside you, raising a brow you've known
above the eyes of the only woman
you will ever have a need to dream or touch.”
~
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Cinnamon Pecans
It's the first day of Autumn!
A time of hot chocolatey mornings,
and toasty marshmallow evenings,
and, best of all, leaping into leaves!
~Winnie The Pooh
Well, it's not really the first day of Autumn, it's actually closer to the end of Autumn, but I feel the urge to bake this time of year, so I present to you, Cinnamon Pecans. Other than the Thanksgiving meal I tag-teamed with Hubby on, this is my first trip into the holiday baking realm. If you also don't count the monster cakelets I made for Halloween. I think the next might be, well, you'll just have to stay tuned.
Autumn Leaf Of The Day #70
“Methinks I see the sunset light flooding the river valley, the western
hills stretching to the horizon, overhung with trees gorgeous and
glowing with the tints of autumn -- a mighty flower garden blossoming
under the spell of the enchanter, frost.”
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Autumn Leaf Of The Day #69
Harvest Moon
By
~Neil Young
Come a little bit closerHear what I have to sayJust like children sleepin'We could dream this night away
But there's a full moon risin'Let's go dancin' in the lightWe know where the music's playin'Let's go out and feel the night
Because I'm still in love with youI want to see you dance againBecause I'm still in love with youOn this harvest moon
When we were strangersI watched you from afarWhen we were loversI loved you with all my heart
But now it's gettin' lateAnd the moon is climbin' highI want to celebrateSee it shinin' in your eye
Because I'm still in love with youI want to see you dance againBecause I'm still in love with youOn this harvest moon
Because I'm still in love with youI want to see you dance againBecause I'm still in love with youOn this harvest moon
Fuck Elon Musk
"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.
They live inside us, and sometimes they win.
~Stephen King
I have complained about the childish ghoul, Elon Musk, before and now I will complain yet again, because every single time I think he has hit rock bottom with his abusive nonsense, he slips deeper into the abyss of evil. Just in the last few days, since Thanksgiving anyway, he has taken a trip to Israel, to clean up his reputation for having propagated antisemitism. Because to an anti-Semite all one needs to do, after insulting all Jews everywhere, is to utter the words, "how could you come to think I am an anti-Semite, some of my best friends are Jews." And his most recent, as of Tuesday anyway, was bring back Pizzagate from the dead. A conspiracy that was buried deep into the damp cold earth almost a decade ago.
I had set last December 31st as my exit from Twitter, now X, but laziness or complacency has kept me in place. Starting all over is a daunting thought. Sigh. There are so many folks still supporting my photography, and who have been very kind to me, so leaving is difficult. But, I have to admit, Threads is extremely similar, and Facebook is a lot nicer too, so maybe it really is time to just go this time. Oh brother. Or should I say, OH BOTHER. It had only taken Trump a little over a year to evenly divide America over Twitter, and Elon Musk a little over a year to destroy Twitter completely. Demonic entities are fast workers.
I will see my, Autumn Leaf Of The Day, project to the end. It only has a little less than a month to go, so why not complete it? I should leave the day after I post my last leaf, but December 31st seems like the right time go. Time for whoever wants to see the leaves be able to drop by for a last look, and time for me to let folks know where to find me if they want to. I will rebuild. I will jump in with the photography community. I will do what I did with Twitter... not look for the number of followers, and let each day play out the way it will. When Treat was alive, he encouraged we of like minds to stay and fight back against Musk's nonsense. Treat was worth doing that for, but now that he is gone there isn't a lot to hold onto. Xander is has moved on. Margo has moved on. Susan has moved on. Karen has moved on.
It's time for me to move on as well.
Why the HELL isn't there a support group for this kind of shit?
Note: The graphic isn't mine, it was the graphic Keith Olbermann added to his profile when he announced yesterday that he too would be leaving X. He suggested that we all add it to our profiles, but I am not sure it's my style. I am mulling it over.
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Autumn Leaf Of The Day #68
“It was one of those sumptuous days when the world is full of autumn
muskiness and tangy, crisp perfection: vivid blue sky, deep green
fields, leaves in a thousand luminous hues. It is a truly astounding
sight when every tree in a landscape becomes individual, when each
winding back highway and plump hillside is suddenly and infinitely
splashed with every sharp shade that nature can bestow - flaming
scarlet, lustrous gold, throbbing vermilion, fiery orange.”
~
I have used this quotes before, but some quotes fit so well with not just the leaf, but with my mood as well. This one just spoke to me, as did the leaf when I found it.
Fragile As A Leaf In Autumn
“Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound”
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound”
~
Spinning, laughing
Dancing to her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
Is all alone
Eyes wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she'll sing her song to anyone
That comes along
Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound
Crooked little smile on her face
Tells a tale of grace
That's all her own
Dancing to her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
Is all alone
Eyes wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she'll sing her song to anyone
That comes along
Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound
Crooked little smile on her face
Tells a tale of grace
That's all her own
Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound
Spinning, laughing
Dancing to her favorite song
She's a little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone
A little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound
Spinning, laughing
Dancing to her favorite song
She's a little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone
A little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone
Monday, November 27, 2023
Dear Sir And Or Madam...
“Next time, can you ask him to bring cookies?
I don't like to put up
with that level of insane unless there's some kind of high-calorie
compensation.”
~
That probably wasn't the strangest Thanksgiving message ever issued by DJT, but it does seem to cover all of those who have an interest in him. Notably absent, a post wishing his family and supporters, a happy thanksgiving. I guess "Happy Thanksgiving to All" addresses that, but it pretty much makes his family, friends, supporters and whoever else that gives a shit about him, Mary Anne and the Professor from Gilligan's Island. Honestly, every holiday from now until forever will be fucked by that lunatic, just like it was when he was in office. Sigh. When he was actually in office, and not just another ignorant Floridian with brain lice, standing on his lawn in his underwear, barking at stray cats, proclaiming himself to be Lord King Trump, president of Miami, we had no real choice but to deal with whatever crazy ass thing that took up shop in his brain. I would still like to know what the hell, "covfefe" meant. Did you know that nonsensical word has it's own Wikipedia page? Honesty, it was exhausting having with him in political life, and I fear he has a really good chance of being put back in office, despite his 91 felony charges.
Here is today's Truth Social post from Mad King Trump...
It's his ridiculous attempt at explaining away his apparent cognitive decline, that bugs me to no end. While in office, the big test was for him to remember 5 words.
Man, Woman, TV, Camera, Person
Wouldn't it have been better to have him remember
words that had nothing to do with his life?
Book, Paste, Mustard, Rose, Dog
But I guess all words can lead back to Trump...
1.Trump has never read a book.
2. I just know he ate paste on his first day of kindergarten
3. It wasn't mustard he threw at the walls in the White House, it was ketchup
4. Melania took an axe to the beautiful White House Rose Garden
5. Trump will never own a dog, it would steal too much attention away from him.
I am fairly sure he is going to be reelected. I think the thought of a president serving from prison intrigues some of the right. We are in dangerous times when that ever seems like a good idea to the electorate. The last time he was in office took years off my life, I fear the next time he serves as president will be no different, and it's not like I have a full lifetime in front of me. If losing my niece and nephew this past summer taught me anything, it was that life is too short to be weighed down by the insanity that is Trump. So I hope I can learn some healthier coping mechanisms between now and November, because the sheet-caking I did last time is just not the way to go! But GOD it helped, and the Grilled Cheese sandwich was the dessert!
Try this recipe for Croque-Monsieur it's amazing! Keep it handy!
Autumn Leaf Of The Day #67
“All at once, it seemed, the leaves of cottonwood trees around the cabin
turned golden and whispered to themselves, then curled into black
flutes and floated to the ground in crispy, lacy heaps.”
~
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Autumn Leaf Of The Day #66
“I ate breakfast in the kitchen by candle-light, and then drove the five
miles to the station through the most glorious October colouring. The
sun came up on the way, and the swamp maples and dogwood glowed crimson
and orange and the stone walls and cornfields sparkled with hoar frost;
the air was keen and clear and full of promise. I knew something was going to happen. ”
~
That Time Gilligan's Island Saved Our Lives...
~
What you are looking at is the, Amanita phalloides, aka, the Death Cap mushroom, commonly found in parks throughout California. You don't want to eat these... THEY WILL KILL YOU! Every single year it will be on the news... a story about folks venturing out to their favorite park in search of wild mushrooms, to prep and serve in some amazing culinary dish passed down from family member to family member. Probably something with turkey. Unfortunately, sometimes the chef gets it wrong, and they return from their pleasant day of park shopping, with a deadly mushroom. Like Maryanne did in Gilligan's Island. You know... the professor told her the bad mushrooms would result in a case of, Roomus igloomas. Not a real condition, but wild mushroom poisoning is very real and deadly.
The San Francisco Chronicle featured a story, from last summer, about the deadly fungus and issued warnings, but the harvesting continues. A lady in Australia is suspected of poisoning her in-laws with poisonous mushrooms, but she contends that she got them at two different local stores. She has not yet been arrested, but she is still under suspicion by the Australian authorities. But back to sunny California. Because of this year's El Nino conditions in California, the bloom should be even greater than last year. Just don't do it! Mushrooms aren't that expensive, if you want yummy and organic, let Whole Foods or Trader Joe's do the work for you. A liver transplant is not what you want to give your Uncle Bob for Christmas!
Personally, since my bout with Covid-19 (Omicron) in the winter of 2021, I can't eat mushrooms. They taste nothing like I remember them tasting. In fact, they have no scent, and taste like old garbage, so I will be fine, but I think about all those well meaning adults in the world, who don't know any better than to eat mushrooms out of a park. I mean... what else are they deciding to take home and eat? Oleander? Castor Beans? And it's not just we dense humans that have to worry, did you know that cats are highly allergic to common holiday plant, the poinsettia? Look friends... just be careful, and keep the phone number for the poison control center and emergency animal shelter handy. Okay?
San Francisco Chronicle
August 17th, 2023
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