The First Robin Of 2024

 

“If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.” 

~Emily Dickinson 

 

This was not the first picture I took for the year, but it is the first picture of a bird I took for year. The first picture I took was of a dumpster with a refrigerator sitting next to it. It looked like it had been a pleasant enough appliance at some point, but now it was a discarded old fridge that probably had stored many a New Year's Eve snack. What a way to treat a faithful old pal like that. And on New Year's Day to be exact. On the other hand, I once had a refrigerator that I hated so deeply, I begged my husband to let me personally throw the damn thing down the garbage chute at the dump myself. But I save that story for a different day. Right now it's all about the birds, and as I sit here, I am a happy girl. We have almost 50 birds in the 2024 album, most of them from yesterday, so the year is off to a wonderful beginning, and we are planning on visiting Bodega Bay later this week. A lot of gorgeous stuff has been reported in the last couple days, and hubby and I are both really excited for the possibilities. Who knows, maybe we will make this a really BIG YEAR and top our number for 2023. We ended at 163 birds, many of which were new sightings, like the Black Oystercatchers and Caspian Tern. Maybe 2024 will be there year that we spot a California Condor and a Snowy Plover!

The Last Love Of 2023

 

“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...” 

~Alfred Lord Tennyson 

 

 

It's the almost last of the year 2023. Well, what I mean is, it's December 30th, and that means it's time to clean up my desktop, and put away the last of 2023. My files. My photos. My compilation of the trumpiness of Trump. And it's a last chance to put the past in, well, the past. The picture you see above is the last of the autumn leaves of 2023. It's raining now, and we are well on our way to storms that will rob me of any bit of autumn that endures, but hey, what a way to go! I kinda love the soggy cereal look of the leaves and I sorta look forward to that stage of things. You must solider through the work of the year, to arrive at a time of fun and splendor. Of autumn leaves and sweaters and hot chocolate. See, I am not mourning autumn 2023, I am looking forward to, and planning for, autumn 2024! But back to the photo portion of this post. Below you will find some final impressions of 2023 that I photographed. I hope they make you smile. 

 

 

Planning, Timing And Luck

 

“I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter,

 and that this was the secret of the universe.” 

~Donna Tartt,

  The Goldfinch

 

That's an a American Goldfinch I met at Yolo the other day. I knew that there would be some perching birds to be found, but I was a little surprised to see the goldfinch, because I have to date not seen one before the Spring. Of course I am basing that on the ones I have seen mostly along Desmond road, in Galt. I have only seen them once in across the street, in Louis Park, but never in the yard tree. Birding is definitely a science. It's not as easy as picking up a pair of binoculars and looking for birds. I use several apps to help me locate, and ID,  certain birds and even with those resources, there are no guarantees. There is only two more weeks to find the perchers left on my list, so I am going to have to do a lot of planning to reach my goal for the year of 170. 8 more birds to go. It won't be easy, but the positive part of Autumn crossing into Winter is that the skeleton trees make the perching birds so much easier to spot. Birding is part planning, part timing, and part luck, but sometimes I think sheer luck runs it all. 8 birds to go... with a little luck I think it is possible.

 

Ivank Trump... I Don't Recall

Finally, Ivanka Trump testifies, and the prosecution rests, with the option of recalling certain previous witnesses. She didn't cause any moments of wow, it was either, I don't recall, I am not sure, or she admitted to whatever was asked of her. Sigh. The drama resumes tonight with Donald Trumps big fancy speech, designed to interrupt the next Republican debate, and Monday when his witnesses begin to testify. But both sides have planned motions and Trump's side may ask for a directed verdict. Sigh. The circus continues.

 

Click here, to read some of the relevant points of the day.

 

So fucking tedious.

 

 

My Happy Place

 

“Come, little leaves," said the Wind one day, "Come to the meadows with me and play. Put on your dresses of red and gold; For Summer is past, and the days grow cold.” 

~George Cooper 

 

 

“Squeeze your eyes closed, as tight as you can, and think of all your favorite autumns, crisp and perfect, all bound up together like a stack of cards. That is what it is like, the awful, wonderful brightness of Fairy colors. Try to smell the hard, pale wood sending up sharp, green smoke into the afternoon. To feel the mellow, golden sun on your skin, more gentle and cozier and more golden than even the light of your favorite reading nook at the close of the day.” 

~ Catherynne M. Valente,

  The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making 

 

 

Close your eyes and imagine yourself surrounded by crimson red leaves dancing around in the air. Smell the scent of the raw earth, just after the corn is harvested. Geese and Sandhill crane flying by, singing for everyone to hear as they arrive high above Woodbridge road. Imagine a sky, filled with clouds that seem to go on forever, with just enough blue sky surrounding them to make you think of the ocean. That's what it's like here in Autumn, and no other season presents itself with that kind of beauty. This is one of my happy places. It's really helping my process my grief. I loved my niece and nephew, very much. I am so sorry they died and I miss them greatly, but being out in nature provides me a gentle relief from the stress and sadness. In an upcoming post I will tell you about some of the other sights I see on Woodbridge and Desmond roads. It's a truly amazing place.

 

 

 

 Take a moment to just daydream. 

Heaven, I'm In Heaven

 

“She'd always imagined an autumn wedding.

 Russet leaves and black velvets and dancing to Fred Astaire.” 

~Hazel Gaynor

  The Cottingley Secret

 

Sandhill cranes are such romantic characters. They dance and spruce up their feathers to entice a future mate, and then when they find one, the pair will mate for life, but they continue to jump and dance for each other throughout the seasons, and their lives, to strengthen their bond with each other. They are beautiful birds, with a beautiful story, and I am constantly fascinated and delighted by them. How romantic! While their life together is forever, they actually continue to work on their marriages, by being the very best versions of themselves possible. Cranes in captivity have been known to live up to 80 years, while cranes in the wild live up to 30 years. I have been lucky to be married to a guy who loves me unconditionally, and who still behaves in all circumstances as the best man he can be. Married 33 years now, I guess we are just an old pair of Sandhill cranes! We could have a worse example to live by. Cranes do a similar dance and jump to ward off predators, which is very romantic in it's own way. You can read a little more about these terrific birds, here and here.

Cheek To Cheek

By Irving Berlin

 

Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Yes, heaven, I'm in heaven
And the cares that hung around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Oh I love to climb to mountain
And reach the highest peak
But it doesn't thrill me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek

Oh I love to go out fishing
In a river or a creek
But I don't enjoy it half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek

Now mama dance with me
I want my arms about you
That charm about you
Will carry me through

Yes, heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek
Take it Ella swing it

Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Heaven, I'm in heaven
And the cares that hung around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Oh I love to climb a mountain
And reach the highest peak
But it doesn't thrill me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek

Oh I love to go out fishing
In a river or a creek
But I don't enjoy it half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek

Come on and dance with me
I want my arms about you
That charm about you
Will carry me through

To heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Dance with me
I want my arms about you
That charm about you
Will carry me through

To heaven (heaven), I'm in heaven (I'm in heaven)
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek
Cheek to cheek
Cheek to cheek
Cheek to cheek

 

 

Punky's Big Day 2023

 

 

 

“No season appeals to the eyes as much as autumn; no season touches the souls as powerfully as autumn and no season invites us to the world of mournful thoughts as intensely as autumn!”

 
~Mehmet Murat ildan 

 

Halloween has come and gone, but it's giving me something to look forward to. And I already am! But it's not like my mourning got in the way of me enjoying the HELL out of yesterday! 

 

First we went to lunch

 

And we met this guy...

 

Then we had an amazing meal. I love Mexican food!
 

 Next we came home and made cakelets...

 

And then hubby carved a pumpkin... and it was glorious! Punky's name is Electra this year. Yep, it's a girl. Rare for us, we usually have boy pumpkins, but she just spoke to us and said, "I was born to be your girl!"

She watched over the goodies...

 

It was a good day.

 

Silky October Balloons

 “Sadness in autumn is an autumn within autumn!” 

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

 

 I am seeing less and less tiny webs drifting across the sky. I will miss those tiny strands and orbs ballooning across the sky, but when spider mating season begins again next October, I will be there, looking for the light from the silk, once again, streaking across the sky!

Fate, And Welcome To It

 

“Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers

 we more than gain in fruits.” 

~Samuel Butler 

 

 

Oh my. Some of the most beautiful colors of autumn, happen in vineyards, in October. Delicious ripe grapes, make delicious wines, and the Central Valley has no shortages of them. My favorite wine, Apothic, comes from a vineyard in Modesto. Grandpa owned a vineyard in Lodi, and dad spoke often about the colors of the grapes in the autumn. I wish I could have seen it, but the entirety of the property was sold years ago. Maybe one day I wish search my family tree and see if I could locate where the property sat. It would be nice to see what my past looked like. I wish I could have known my grandfather, he immigrated here in the early 1900's with 6 wife, 6 children, and a rather large sewing machine. Not long after they settled in, grandma became pregnant with my father, the only one of his kids born in the United States, and soon after giving birth she perished from the flu pandemic of 1918. See, with my fathers deep roots, finding myself living here was probably fate, and I am really okay with that. While dad never liked the valley either, he was mightily impressed with the grapes, and all the other joys of living here. Now, I understand it too!

 

Zombie Sticks + Autumn Leaf Of The Day #20

 

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 don't know... even dead thistle from the summer makes me smile in autumn. I am not happy about their death, they are bright purple when in full bloom, and nasty to step through as well, but even in death they have the loveliest shape, and are downright photogenic against other weeds finding the end of their season. The child in me sees thin spiky monsters, or maybe plant zombies Summer spills over into autumn in so many ways, and I am grateful for every last bit of it.

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #