Autumn, But Winter Also

 

“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust

 of brown sugar and cinnamon.” 

~Sarah Addison Allen,

  First Frost

 

 I know, I know, I have used that quote, perhaps more than once, during the last autumn season, but what can I say, it applies! And it should come as no surprise that if there is autumn to be found, I will be there, camera in hand. And I am happy! But, oh my, the beauty of winter when you live on the delta! I love all the shadows and reflections, the boats also. It's so great when there is something of both seasons to focus on and appreciate at the same time. I wish I had seen the beauty of Smith Canal sooner. I posted photos from the canal a while back, and I hope to combine some birding with canal photos this spring. Spring isn't my favorite time of year, but I like blossoms and flowers, so perhaps I will be a bit more open minded about turning them into subjects for my photography. Hey, letting my imagination lead the way is how I found the amazing spider, Boris, and also the fun of the Mexican Free-tailed bat of summer. 

Winter On The Delta

Smith Canal 

Louis Park/Pixie Woods

Stockton, Ca

Jan 18th 2024

 

“I love to watch the fine mist of the night come on,
The windows and the stars illumined, one by one,
The rivers of dark smoke pour upward lazily,
And the moon rise and turn them silver. I shall see
The springs, the summers, and the autumns slowly pass;
And when old Winter puts his blank face to the glass,
I shall close all my shutters, pull the curtains tight,
And build me stately palaces by candlelight.”

 
~Charles Baudelaire

  Les Fleurs du Mal 

 

 
 

 

Lighting And Timing

 

Sandhill Crane

Woodbridge road

Lodi, California

 

“For me, the subject of the picture is always

 more important than the picture.” 

~Diane Arbus 

 

Sandhill crane always inspire me to search for the beauty in the world, and despite the vile cruelty in the world, natural beauty eclipses it. They are becoming my favorite subject. So far I have never seen them, when they weren't photogenic, not all birds are like that. The crane will be on their way soon, and I will miss them very much, because photographing them has taught me a lot about lighting and timing. I will miss their beauty, but I will especially miss hearing their call, but September will bring them back home, as we usher in the autumn season. Its all only two seasons away. It's a long time away, but I have plenty of subjects to keep me busy while I wait for their return. And hey, I spotted a couple of them that were banded, so hopefully I will get to photograph the same group in the fall!

Ellipsis... Brought To You By...

 

 

 

 “Advertisement shouldn’t look like information,

 it should look like a promise.” 

~Amit Kalantri

 

 Eat your cereal. Eat your toaster pastry. Eat your ice cream.

 

Remember Post Toasties? Lordy I loved the commercials of the 50's, 50's and 70's, so here is 17 minutes, or so, of some fun ones from, among other brands, Post, Seven Seas, and Bird's Eye. My goodness advertising was great from back then. I get so nostalgic for these simpler and more dangerous times. Yum. Food additives, lack of safety seals, and false advertising. Good times.

 

 

Ahhh Yes... Sodium

 

“Sir Humphrey Davy
Detested gravy
He lived in the odium
Of having invented sodium.” 

~Edmund Bentley 

 

Ahhh yes... sodium. I enjoyed sodium filled products my whole life. Chinese food. Italian food. HAMBURGERS. Buffalo wings. You name it, I was a sodium fiend. Let me stress, I was a sodium fiend. Ugh. Age makes us alter our thinking about food, and now that I am 106 years old, well, it's just a matter not wanting to fall over dead, while picking out Blood oranges at Trader Joe's. I just hate the thought of dying in public, don't you? Having to look at total strangers staring down at you, speculating on everything from why I was wearing a mask in public, to whether or not I had a next of kin in the car, while you see the white light of a thousand or more fluffy angels come flying to your side. Your last thoughts could be, wait... did I put underwear on this morning? Or perhaps, why the HELL did I have that salt platter of death last night? If I had just listened to my doctor, I might have at least made it to my car before I dropped dead. Sigh.

 

The delight you see in this post is from Panera. It's the absolutely perfect, Cranberry Orange Muffin. Worth the calories. Worth the sodium. Worth every naughty crumble, especially if you just do a little planning for it. Figure out what you want to spend your calories, fat, sodium and all the rest of it on, and give yourself a free day once a month! It will work for weight loss, I guarantee it, and it will work with cutting back other nutritional concerns as well. I tried it just after I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes back in 2007, and honestly it was one of the easiest things I have ever attempted. I gave up restaurants. I ate all the foods I loved, but they were homemade, and once a month I fed the culinary cravings, which I think made me less likely to drop the modified diet, because I knew there was a day waiting for me to enjoy each month. It works. So, that's what I plan to do now, all these years later. Salt in moderation. Salt measured. Not only am I lacking for nothing, I might just live to reach the car, the day I go tits up!

Well done, future me!

Happy Or Sad

 

 Yellow-billed Magpie

Louis Park

January11th 2024

Minolta ProShot MN67Z

 

“A magpie can be happy or sad: sometimes so happy that he sits on a high, high gum tree and rolls the sunrise around in his throat like beads of pink sunlight; and sometimes so sad that you would expect the tears to drip off his beak.This magpie was like that.” 

~Colin Thiele

  Magpie Island

 

It's seems magpies are a lot like humans in the sense that we all have good and bad days. This magpie was quite happy, he was hopping about from tree top to tree top, searching for seeds or acorns, or perhaps he was simply playing with his magpie buddies. I never see a magpie alone, they always have a community around them. Some birds are definitely loners like, for example, the Shrike, but magpies apparently believe there is safety in numbers. The shrike, by contrast is an aggressive bird that will, in human terms, will cut a bitch! LOL. Truthfully, they are simply nasty, cruel bird, but they sure are pretty. Figures. I love learning about the lives of birds, I have missed so much in my life by taking nature for granted. 

 

 

The American Kestrel

 

“Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development,

 invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.” 

~Edgar Allan Poe 

 

I don't think the American Kestrel has ever brought me to tears, but I do know that I photograph them every chance I get. They catch my eye not just because of their beauty, but because at a glance the share a lot of the same features of a Merlin, although Merlin's are a bit bigger. I have yet to find a Merlin, to add to my birding lift list, but I am having a great time searching for them. That's how I found the American Kestrel is the smallest of the falcons, but what a cool, mighty little bird!

Sierra Snow

 “Snow falling soundlessly in the middle of the night

 will always fill my heart with sweet clarity” 

~Novala Takemoto,

  Missin' (Novel)

 

I never get tired of looking at the snow on the Sierras. I can stand in the valley, my favorite spots are Woodbridge road, in Lodi, and Desmond road, in Galt, and just marvel at the beauty of the hills covered in the color of snow. Like I said a while back, the San Joaquin Valley isn't home, and it will never be as beautiful or as exciting as San Francisco, but it has some unique beauty that I am really glad I got to see and appreciate in my lifetime.