In Just One Week In Autumn

 

"And you stand on your stoop or in your door yard at mid-afternoon and watch the cloud shadows rush across Griffin's pasture and up Schoolyard Hill, light and dark, light and dark, like the shutters of the god's being opened and closed."

~Stephen King

Salem's Lot

It's only been a week. Just one week. 

And that's not counting my own daily events. It was one of those weeks that makes you turn to Stephen King, just to make it all make sense.

Here's more in pictures...

 

And there was so much more, including taking Simon and Tyler to be neutered and microchipped. Tyler took the long ride over the Altamont pass really well, Simon, not so much. While in his travel kennel, he cried LOUD and jumped around. He pulled at the metal screen and scared his mommy for about 50 miles of the 70 mile trip. Sigh. But he stopped all complaining when we turned on the 80's channel on Siris XM. What had been a nerve wracking trip, suddenly became a fun filled trip for the whole family. The kitties were in the pet hospital for a couple days, so naturally their mommy got so nervous that her kitties weren't with her, that she got hives! I am so stupid! But what can I say? They aren't just cats they are my babies! I am thoroughly in love with both of them, and I am trying to get photos, but kitten energy makes it tough! Oh well, it will happen. If I don't drop dead from exhaustion!

Just kidding.

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.

Also on Friday, August 29th, 2025

 

 

“There was no other sound in the world like a car crash.”

 
― Maggie Stiefvater,

  The Dream Thieves

 

Also on Friday, as we were returning from picking up our new kitty, Tyler, this happened! Not to us, but these two cars. One was making a left turn into a gated community, the white car was speeding in the right lane, coming in the opposite direction, and hit the SUV and a crash occurred which knocked the SUV on its side. We stopped immediately, to provide help if needed, and to make sure they had a witness if need be. As it turns out, the car parked behind the accident, also stopped, and that man had to run down the passenger of the white car that got out and ran. I am reluctant to show his photo, as he was only 15. But what does that say, that he would leave his friend, who was injured, and run? Amazingly, an off duty police officer was driving behind the white car and saw him hit the SUV! That's very bad news for him!

 

 And get this, that was the second accident we had seen in two days!

 

We had to drive down to the Bay Area on Thursday, to pick up Tyler. That ended up being it's own drama, I will share about that sometime. So, anyway, we were kinda stressed on the way home, which I am sure you understand, and then, suddenly, we were witnesses to an accident. We also stopped at that one. Fortunately, there were no injuries! They exchanged their info amicably and we were on our way again. Luckily, there was no need for the police. As was good, so we were on our way.

 

But...

 

On the very top of the Altamont Pass, the engine light came on in the Cooper! Holy Hell! It turned out to be a minor thing, and again we were on our way, but doggone, can anything else scare the Hell out of me? Whew! Thursday was a day, and Friday had it's moments too, but we were okay. The biggest dramas were happening to others. It didn't matter to me if it was a democrat or republican, it never entered my mind, all I knew was that we had to stop when those accidents happened, and help! End of story. I hope others feel the same, but I don't know, we are all so fractured right now. Sigh.

 

Anyway was a strange week, and I can't help but wonder how much the moon, or sun flares, or just plain being distracted, by all the worldly drama played a part. All I know is we are okay, and that's the story. Driving on HWY 4 and the Altamont is a challenge. People speed, and weave in and out of traffic. You have to really be aware of what's happening around you. You just do. I hate taking HWY 4 in any direction, but if I want to do some birding this year, at the Clifton Court Forebay, we have to take HWY 4. It's the only way to get there! I guess I will worry about it when the time comes, sometime after the middle of this month!

 

For now... Ohmmm Ohmmm, HERE KITTY KITTY KITTY😊

 

 

By Land And Sea + The Leaf Of The Day

"Above all, life for a photographer 

cannot be a matter of indifference."

~Robert Frank

Photography is my passion. I work hard at it. I love it, I breathe it. I want to be really good at it. I am at my happiest, when I have a camera in my hand, and I am discovering a new bird, or landscape I haven't seen before, or even a random slant of light or shadow. But I have been becoming indifferent inside, sometimes to life itself, with Donald Trump in office. It's affected every aspect of my life. Things I used to look forward to, are now pushed away by me, into a box of quiet darkness. 

If this mess ever ends, I would like to resume my life again. I fight the depression with all I have, but a lot of joy is simply gone. As we begin our vacation next week, Alan and I have a couple things planned that may provoke some feeling again. I take groups of photos like these, to try and stretch my creativity muscle, because I know that depression is treated using a number of different elements, and art is one of them. So I really am trying!

This group of photos are not my best work, they just aren't, but they are an attempt at moving away from the sadness, and toward happiness. There was a time when I would rather take photos than breathe, but with Trump in office, I feel like all my energy is gone. Just gone. And if this weeks news hasn't been horrific enough, later today we will be getting a "Presidential Tweet" that tests the Emergency Broadcast system. And we are given NO CHOICE! The call will come, whether we want to receive it or not!

 Yet another intrusion from Donald Trump.  

Will it ever end?

Altamont Pass

By The Pacific Ocean

If how I feel inside couple be summed up by a photo,

 it would be this one. Foggy. Dark. Quiet.

#12 Leaf Of The Day

October 3rd, 2018

Ione, California

~Mood: Quiet

~Me

 

Altamont Fog Part Two... Days Of Black And White

"Photograph is a reality so subtle

 that it becomes more real than reality."

~Alfred Stieglitz

Foggy days, that puts that soft glow on all the colors around you, are some of my favorite conditions to do photos. Sometimes it can be so early in the day, and so foggy, that you don't really see the color around you, and I used to really enjoy taking color photographs that had the appearance of a black and white photo but wasn't. I still enjoy that a lot, but I find with my photograph that a lot of what I notice, and see around me, has a lot to do with my mood. Fortunately yesterday I was able to see the color through the fog, but I also noticed the beauty of the world in black and white, and decided to convert the photo to black and white. I was lucky, it was the best of all worlds! 

Leaf Of The Day

December 16th, 2016

Mood: Quiet/Okay

~Me  

Altamont Fog Part One... The Last Of Autumn Color

"There is October in every November and there is November in every December! All seasons melted in each other's life!"

~Mehmet Murat ildan

Alan and I had business in the Bay Area yesterday, so we went by way of the Altamont pass, and on any given day this time of year, you will have to deal with December fog! It was mostly light, and well on it's way to burning off, but it made everything look so beautiful! I first noticed it last year, when I occasionally went to work with Alan on Sunday nights! The next morning the fog on the way home really spoke to my creative side. I took a number of lovely sunrise fog photos, and was pleased with the results.

 I wish I could get out and do more photos like this, but now that Alan is working in the Central Valley, Monday through Friday,  time for photography is completely different! Because of my Fibromyalgia, driving myself around in foggy weather isn't always feasible, but on the days I can get out, I enjoy it very much! I had a good time doing the photos as we drove, I love the challenge of doing photographs on the run. I have less time to think about the shot, so I rely more on instinct. 

Yesterday, I did one set in color, and one set in black and white, based on the scene and density of the fog. I am hoping to be able to do more photos along the Altamont before the end of the month, but we will have to see. There is a heavy storm due in later today, and that will have an affect on the trees and leaves, so I may just stay local. Winds in the Bay Area are supposed to gust to 50 miles an hour in some places, so like I said, we will just have to see! But for now, the photo above is from part one of this series, in a couple days I will post the black and white photos!

Stay Tuned! 

 Leaf Of The Day

December 15th, 2016

Mood: Creative

~Me :) 

The Winds Of War... Or Maybe Just Wind

"It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. 

They teach us how to think.

 If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact.

  But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers."

~Patrick Rothfuss

The Wise Man's Fear

New Altamont Wind Turbines

A couple weeks ago, Alan and I were on our way down to the Bay Area, through the Altamont Pass, and the traffic came to a stop, as it does on most days, and while we were lingering I was looking at how pretty the wind turbines on the left side of the pass looked. Photogenic they are, good for the bird population, not so much! But on the right side of the pass I spotted some new, more environmental friendly turbines being installed. Will they completely protect the bird population? Probably not. Will they be a step in the right direction? Probably. It's going to take years, and multiple studies to determine the true outcome, but there are a lot of people, smarter than me, who seem to know that this is a solid move forward in managing wildlife and energy needs.

When Donald Trump came through California during the primary season he spouted a lot of rhetoric. He promised that California wasn't in an actual drought, no, it was man-made hoax to keep water from the republican leaning farmers. Oh, and also he would make California Great Again by opening up the water reserve for the drought starved California. And what about those wind turbines, killing all those bald eagles? Hundreds and hundreds of birds ladies and gentlemen... what about the birds? Apparently lacking in the facts that there was a transition underway to install the more environmentally friendly turbines. Perhaps it won't be perfect solution, but innovation into clean energy is constantly evolving. But what would Donald Trump know about research or innovation?

Alan and I are looking into perhaps installing solar panels in order to survive paying our bills. Two months in a row our bills, just for PG&E, were over $400.00 for a 3 bedroom house, without running the air conditioner 24/7 or leaving lights on. That's unsustainable for us. Something has to be done. Bills like that might just mean the difference between keeping our house, and throwing in the towel. Right now, there are some incentives for installing the panels, and this week we will be looking into it. Sigh. I am afraid to wait until January 20th, because Donald Trump is looking to make things a lot harder on the middle class. He is poised to be the best friend of big business, and a villain to clean energy futures. I expect the tax credit for installing solar panels will end soon. 

Ironic. Alan and I got this house after years of renting, and being fine with that. We thought, and felt, that after what we went through all those years of uncertainty, it was time. All we want is a safe, legal, roof over our head, and to live out our lives in relative peace and safety. We moved to Stockton, a place I am falling in love with more and more every day, despite being outside the Bay Area. But I don't know if we will be able to swing the next four years here. Suddenly the prospects seem quite dark. Interest rates are definitely rising, which will affect home sales. So, at least if we will be able to install a panel or two, it will increase interest in our home, should resale be necessary. And if the market will be moving.

Sigh.

I am truly overwhelmed at the moment. There is too much to be frightened about, and I haven't even mentioned my concerns about the imminent destruction of Medicare. The Affordable Care Act and the EPA. All on the Republicans hit list. I have never wanted to believe in Santa more than I want to right now! I don't want a big, shiny wrapped present with bows! I don't want Christmas sock stuffed with gift cards to Bloomingdale's. I want the Electoral Collage to look at Donald Trump's behavior since winning the election, and see he is a dangerous man who will ruin America, and run us, should we even survive his policies, into the deepest abyss. He has just taunted China, yet again, just a few hours ago. How much longer before China has had enough?

Are we feeling the winds of war?

Or

Is it all just Donald Trump's wind? 

Which might get us first the next great American Depression 

Or

Our own great deep depression?

"Never forget we walk on hell, gazing at flowers."

~Kobayashi Issa

Leaf Of The Day

December 5th 2016

Mood: Quiet

~Me 

Change-A-Palooza

"Never miss an opportunity to see anything that is beautiful."

~Janet Hobson

I didn't post yesterday, but it's okay, right? I was busy. Busy wrapping presents, baking 6 dozen cookies, paying the bills that get paid in the middle of the month, doing laundry, photographing more leaves, searching recipes for Baked Ham, bringing in all the late packages ordered from Amazon.com and Groupon, 15 at last count, tracking down a new noise in the house I never heard before and de-worming the cat. Hendrix to be exact. Yes, he has worms... again!

This time, because I can't face putting him through the stress of putting him in a kennel and driving him 90 miles to see Dr. B., we are trying the tablets that kill worms. It takes about a week to work, but from what I have read it does the job. If it doesn't work, I will slip my kitty some Valium, and myself as well, and we will drive down to the Bay Area to the best doctor ever! Or will I? 

That's the debate between Alan and I. He wants to find someone closer, for Hendrix's sake. He doesn't want to put him through the long drive and the stress of the car and all the scary sounds. I want to make sure my kitty gets the best care possible, and that means Dr. B. . The problem is, my argument that Hendrix will be okay once he is home again, isn't a terribly strong one. I know Alan is right, but it doesn't make either of us very happy.

Sigh.

 Losing Dr. B, is probably the worst part of what happened. 

Sigh.

I guess I should find the boys a doctor up here, if for nothing else, emergencies, but it's difficult to trust anyone other than Dr. B., he is amazing, but I have to do whats right for the boys. Right? But what is that exactly? It's less stress for them to have a doctor here in town, but what if I can't find one who will be as good as their current one? Taking them on the 90 mile drive will terrify them, but I will have piece of mind that they are getting the best care possible. Either way, I hope these pills do the trick, I don't want my boys to be uncomfortable. I love them. They are my children. And as I sit here I guess I know what I have to do. I have to find them a doctor up here. 

Weep.

Sigh.

Stupid.

It's All Just Stupid.

And what is my lesson for the last full day of autumn?

Things Change.

Sometimes everything does, all in a single action.

I think I will concentrate on that plate of cookies,

 it's a thing of beauty. So are the leaves...

Leaf Of The Day

December 19th 2015

Leaf Of The Day

December 20th 2015

Mood: Exasperated/Sad/Frustrated

~Me

Thankfulness

"Even in the midst of the storm, the sun is still shining."

~Dayna Lovely

California is finally getting rain! And snow! I love a cold, dark, rainy Thanksgiving, because it makes for a cuddly, lazy day with Alan and the boys. It's been forever since we all took a long nap together, while the cold rain outside sang us to sleep. I am hoping for rain on Thanksgiving, but alas, I think it will only be partly cloudy. Oh well, that's fine, bottom lining it we are together, and happy, and yes, THANKFUL. While 2015 has been nothing short of turbulent, it's also held some wonderful surprises! After all, we had NO idea we would be in our own home this year, and yet here we are, and despite all the uncertainty we are happy. That's because of the love we feel for each other, the fur babies included, we are just happy we are together, nothing else matters.

And for that I am truly thankful!

Leaf Of The Day

November 25th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Altamont Pass Sunrise #4

"You've gotta taste the light, like my friend and fellow shooter Chip Maury says. And when you see the light like this, trust me, it's like a strawberry sundae with sprinkles"

~Joe McNally

The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets From One Of The World's Top Shooters

While I was photographing the sunrise last Monday, I was seeing all kinds of things on the Altamont Pass that I wanted to stop, and include in the photos, but instead I just tried to make some visual notes, and grab those fleeting moments as fast as I could. We were in a car, on the 580 freeway, and the whole scene was just unfolding so fast that I just kept clicking the camera as I saw the possibilities! One of those most striking aspects of the pass that morning were the power lines.

Ordinarily I don't pay that much attention to them, in fact I try really hard to keep them out of my shots, but like the wind turbines, the power lines seemed transformed by the colors of the sunrise into something really beautiful. I am glad I went ahead and included them in the series. I think I will be looking at them differently in the future. That's what I love about photography, it changes your world view and creativity. It changes the way you see things, and any chance for growth is a good thing!

And then finally as we exited the Altamont Pass the sky transitioned into a beautiful morning sky over Stockton. Slightly cloudy, slightly foggy and really cold. But I was happy inside. I got a lot done on that car ride. The photos I took were rewarding to me and I got them in one of my favorite ways to do photography, out the car's passenger window, as a casual observer, with no real time to overthink the photo, just the instinct and inspiration to take it!

Leaf Of The Day

November 13th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Altamont Sunrise #3

"That time of day when the sun hasn't come up yet,

 but you can already feel it coming.

 It's an elusive warmth, like a subtle promise whispered in your ear and you can go on with your day knowing you've been give another chance to get it right."

~Cassia Leo

Relentless

As I was admiring this amazing sunrise Monday morning, it occurred to me that I have seen more sunrises this year, then in a very long time, but none quite as striking as this one! I am not an early riser, in fact more times than not if I want to see a sunrise, I simply don't go to bed. I am a lifelong insomniac and then there are times when Alan's snoring makes it impossible to sleep, so I stay up and do my cleaning, or photo editing, and then I turn in for some sleep after he leaves for work. But last Sunday evening I went with him to work, as he did the graveyard shift, and as we came home we were treated to this lovely, vibrant, romantic sunrise, I was glad I had been able to see it! It was inspiring, and I am hoping to be able to do a lot more sunrise photography. I have to do some research and find some good places to park on the side roads off the Altamont Pass, so I can get as many different perspectives as possible. One good thing about moving, it has opened me up to all the new possibilities for photo jaunts. There is a lot of interesting history in this part of California, and I think it will be fun to learn all I can about where I live. It is time to explore new horizons I think.

Leaf Of The Day

November 12th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)