Promise And Enthusiasm

 

“Try things out, be happy to make mistakes, but above all have a go.”

 
~Charles Dowding,

       Charles Dowding's Skills for Growing

 

That gorgeous bird is the Great Blue Heron, and he is standing at the edge of a great BIG corn field! I love photographing heron, not only are they very accommodating to the casual photographer, but they are so photogenic that it makes my heart skip a beat! They aren't my favorite birds, the Sandhill Crane are, but the heron can be found in the San Joaquin Valley in all seasons, so I get lots of practice with my birding photography. Speaking of the crane, I have been tracking them, and right now there is a pair just above Elk Grove! It won't be long, it looks like at least a couple of them will be arriving on Woodbridge road, in Lodi, right on time! Cross your fingers for Monday! Just in case, I am planning to be out and about on the Delta next week, until I find them! I hope that is a realistic goal. I was recently diagnosed with mild anemia, so my stamina isn't what it used to be, in fact I am exhausted just few hours after I get up. We'll see. Here's to promise and enthusiasm the world of birding brings me! Positive vibes, right!

 

 

Questions Deserve Answers

 

“All violence is the result of people tricking themselves into believing that their pain derives from other people and that consequently those people deserve to be punished.”

 
~Marshall B. Rosenberg,

       Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

 

KCRA Sacramento 3 

Stockton family seeks answers after police shooting of 19-year-old

 

We are in dark days. Has the last few weeks seemed a lot more stressful than usual? The name of the young man killed in my neighborhood a few days ago was, Rocco Robinson. The shooter who killed Charlie Kirk is named, Tyler Robinson. Coincidence? Of course! But I have always had questions about coincidences. Are there deeper meanings in them? Are they omens? A they yet another peak into the metaphysical? And do they exist at all? I believe in curses. I written about them many times, but what about coincidences? This coming week will be all about seeking answers to the questions that keep you up at night.

 

Updates About Charlie Kirk

NYT 

 

My answers have to come from within. I need to call Sylvie.

 

 

Pardon My Sunflower

 

“Everything takes time. Bees have to move very fast to stay still.”

 

     ~David Foster Wallace,

   Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

 

Pardon me for yet another sunflower photo, but I am off on a little photo adventure today, which means I need to get in bed soon. So, just another little sunflower, in the late summer sun, making friends with a bee.

 

And all is right with the world.

 

 

I Got This

 

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.

 Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” 

~Rumi 

 

Autumn will be here next week, but throughout the summer I found some wonderful crunchy autumn leaves, as if it had begun on June 21st! This photo was taken in Cull Canyon, in late August. Just a beautiful pile of leaves in all shapes and sizes, colors and degree of life. It was a strange summer. It would seem this autumn will have it's moments. But I have leaves, and Chai lattes, and everything else that heals my heart. Not to mention two kittens who will keep me laughing, and Joey, who never lets me feel unloved. And lets not forget Sylvie, my therapist, who talks me down, and then talks me through it.

 

I got this.

 

 

I'm Tired

 “How many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys?”
― Stephen King,  

Guns

 

 

Usually I don't begin quoting Stephen King until the first day of autumn, but after last nights events (see my previous post) and the apparent assassination of right-wing influencer and CEO of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, I turn to horror to find my center. The lights you see, shining through my bedroom window, are the lights from the various police, fire trucks, D.A. vehicles, and ambulances. They light shined through my window until 5:00 a.m. this morning. You see, there was an officer involved shooting across the street from where I live, basically right under my window. It's overwhelmingly stressful. (Update)

 

I couldn't stand Charlie Kirk, I believed he was verbally dangerous, and was dangerous politically motivated but I would have never wished this for him. I will not be celebrating his death. As someone said today, we must try to reach deep down in our souls and find our better angels. 

 

(Feeling Quiet)

 

About 18 months ago I witnessed a man shooting a gun, at his wife, in the back alleyway of the condos where we live. He shot toward her second floor condo, while we were driving next to him toward our parking spot. It was terrifying, and it stayed with me for months. I wrote about it here. Eventually I let go of that incident, but I hear gunshots in my neighborhood regularly. Mostly I close my eyes, and try to meditate it away. Mostly. But sometimes I hold in my fear, because what can I do about my situation? Well, we are considering moving, our condo has gained just enough equity to cover a down payment on a new place, and moving costs, but we can't move right this minute. I want more savings toward the move, so we don't go broke by starting over. 

 

Life is hard. Charlie Kirk dying at 31 is horrific. A young father of two, and husband to his wife, Erica, with a full life ahead of him. We must address guns, but we won't, and nothing ever change. We must address political apeshittery, but we won't. We must stop thinking of each other as the enemy, we won't. But sadly, nothing ever changes. 

 

Shortly after the events of 9/11, American's came together. Then we drifted apart.

 

Tomorrow is the 24th anniversary of that horrific event.  

 

(Sigh)

 

I'm tired. 

 

“Time seemed frozen, the applause went on and on even though heads were turning, necks were craning; someone had screamed because there was a man in the gallery and the man was holding a rifle and this was something they had all seen on TV, it was a situation with classic elements that they all recognized. In it's own way, it was as American as The Wonderful World of Disney. The politician and the man in a high place with the gun.”

 
~Stephen King,

  The Dead Zone

 

 Here is a booklet from the Department Of Homeland Security on how to keep yourself safe, should you find yourself in an active shooter situation. It's worth downloading.

 

 Active Shooter and How To Respond ( DHS ) 

Song Of Nature

 

“In their previous lives, poets were bats, and thinkers were owls.”

 
~Michael Bassey Johnson,

  Song of a Nature Lover

 

  

The bats of 2025 were beautiful, but that's not a new revelation. If you know me at all, you know I fell hopelessly in love with every single Mexican Free-tailed bat the visits each year. But this year I cherished them even more, as their numbers at the Franklin boulevard Bridge were noticeably fewer. As were the mosquitos. The two go together. It was disappointing and a little scary to witness such a change. In years past, the bridge would be lined with my fellow bat enthusiasts, the kids love it! But between the strangely cool summer we had, and the lack of our bat friends, it was an unusual year for nature in the San Joaquin Valley. I have also noticed less birds here as well! I am obviously not sure whether it is the decline of the ecosystem due to Climate Change, caused by greed and ignorance, or just one of those off years that happens sometimes! I have my suspicions. California has done better than most states in our fight for environmental causes, but we are far from perfect. There is discarded trash everywhere in the valley. Folks throw their old furniture and tires anywhere they think no one will notice. The folks around me just don't care! Stocktonians are dead inside.

 

Speaking of which, while I was working on this post,

 this happened, right outside my bedroom window... 

 

CBS 13 Sacramento

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG

SIREN, SIREN,SIREN, SIREN, SIREN

FIRETRUCK

 

(Silence)

 

Stockton Police helicopter circling, in a beautiful sky, above my home.

(Falcon One)

 

It's been 2 hours and the police still have the streets closed off.

 

DRAMA. Useless drama.

 

( Sad, Scared, Depressed, Silence) 

 

Man, this post went sideways fast! 

 

Okay, so lets just focus of the beauty, shall we?

 

 

Stay Safe My Friends,

 And Be Grateful For The Beautiful Things In Life.

It's The Signature, Stupid

 

NBC News

Donald Trump's signature

 

Is it or isn't it his? 

 

Secrecy And Silence

 

“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure that no one listens. To this end, he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rationalization. After every atrocity one can expect to hear the same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies; the victim exaggerates; the victim brought it upon herself; and in any case it is time to forget the past and move on. The more powerful the perpetrator, the greater is his prerogative to name and define reality, and the more completely his arguments prevail.” 

~Judith Lewis Herman

 

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror  

The quote says it all. So do the math on this man. 

 

 

The Spiders Of Summer

 

“If you run from your fears
And don't bother to find,
The things you think scare you
They'll stay in your mind.” 

~Elena Schietinger,

 

  There'S a Spider in My Closet!

 

I didn't get out this summer quite as much as I have in other years, but I searched for spiders every time I did, and while they were difficult to find, I did find a few I absolutely loved for their colors and shapes. This one, for example. It is an orb spider, and colored in earth tones, which is very much to my liking! I guess you could say, its my favorite type of spider, if having a favorite spider is a thing, but in any case, I highly respect them for their designing capabilities! They have gorgeous homes! I don't know which impresses me more, the beautiful webs they spin, or the beauty of the spiders themselves. I am still not fond on tarantulas, after the encounter with one I had in Turlock, but at the same time, perhaps this will be the year I spot one on Mount Diablo. From the car, of course! 

 

European Garden Spider 

 

 

A Quote And A Hawk

 

“I dreamed my shoulders held up the sky for a thousand hawks that squawked and cawed and beat their feathered wings against the hotness of the day. I supported their flight, watching and marveling, until sweat dripped from my body, and groans crossed my lips over fatiguing muscles.

Choosing to let the sky fall, I awoke.

My eyes opened to a cast of hawks gripping me in their talons. They supported my weight, hauling me high above the clouds through a blue expanse of heaven. And though they struggled—squawking and flapping wearily—never once did a single bird release its hold.” 

 

 
~Richelle E. Goodrich,

  Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

 

Today, Just a quote and a beautiful bird, the Red-shouldered hawk.

 The world can take care of itself.