October

"I keep falling in love with October, over and over again!"

 

~Charmaine J. Forde

 

We are heading to Plumas later today... I think. I say "I think" because trying to keep a schedule has been ridiculous. Something has gone wrong at every turn, but hopefully things will get back on track soon. Like later today. I need to see some autumn, because it's not really happening here in Stockton yet. Perhaps that means I will have it, locally, a little later than usual. I am keeping my fingers crossed for that. Please keep your fingers crossed too. Anyway, I took these photographs at Apple Hill the other day, and they are kinda gorgeous, so it's not like there hasn't been any October beauty in my life. Not at all. And I am grateful for it! 

 

#26 Leaf of The Day

October 19th 2019

Ione, California

Nikon

 ~Mood: Okay

~Me  :)

Rusty Autumn Harvest

"Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet, saffron and russet,

 and the days were clear and crisp under harvest skies."

~Sharon Kay Penman

Time And Chance

Everything, even a rusty old truck, is beautiful in autumn. I loved this scene, when we happened upon it, on our visit to Apple Hill, earlier this week. I am sure that beautiful old farm truck carries a lot memories for someone. Did it carry the best of an autumn harvest? Apples? Pumpkins? Pears? Maybe even grapes for wine? How many autumn harvests did it work through? Was it loved and appreciated? I will probably never know, but I can see its life in my imagination, and I will always remember the warmth I felt inside, as I was looking at it through the lens of my Nikon! I just had to photograph it! Even if no one else has a harvest memory attached to it, at least I do, and it makes me feel really good!

 #64 Leaf Of The Day

November 24th 2018

Monterey, California

October 17th 2018

Nikon

~Mood: Happy

~Me

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

"When you appreciate the blessings in life, your soul rejoices."

~Lailah Gifty Akita

Think Great Be Great

I am grateful for so much in my life. Alan and I just celebrated our 28th year of happiness. Our furbabies are all healthy and happy. We have a roof over our head. We are truly blessed! But even in the times of sorrow, I knew that we were given a lifetime of love for each other, and it is never taken for granted. Every Thanksgiving, is another year of feeling grateful for the life I live with him, but we also live that emotion daily, when we share, I Love Yous, through texts! The smiles he gives me, when he comes through the door at the end of the day, is everything! I am so grateful for all that I have! 

Friends. Health. Happiness. Love everlasting! 

And of course... autumn!

#62 Leaf Of The Day

November 22nd 2018

Photographed November 21nd 2018

Stockton, California

~Mood: Grateful

~Me

On An Autumn Jaunt

"I told some imprecisely imagined interlocutor

 that each year I hoped to have outgrown being moved by the autumn and each year I hadn't"

~Bridgid Brophy

The King Of A Rainy Country

On an autumn day, we took a ride to find clear skies, clear air, and autumn in all it's splendor. We didn't have to go very far either, just a short jaunt to Placerville and the city of Camino, just across the road! The drive there was absolutely beautiful! Every imaginable color was on display, and full of spicy autumn beauty! There is snow predicted for this week, and with half a chance we will be able to drive back up, and hopefully, I will be able to photograph snow and autumn in all their intense glory! My heart is doing back flips just thinking about the possibilities!

 

And then the moon, almost full, waiting for nightfall.

#61 Leaf Of The Day

November 21st 2018

Photographed November 11th 2018

Stockton, California

~Mood: Quiet But Happy

~Me

If Autumn Had A Schoolhouse

"Come, little leaves," said the leaves 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 old."

~George Cooper

I spotted this little bench, one day when Alan and I were visiting Rainbow Orchards, in Apple Hill. For some reason, it kind of reminded me of where a spirit teacher would sit, if teaching a class about nature, but autumn specifically. I don't know why really, it's just the image that flashed in my head. I think it's probably just a place for the owners to sit, and relax, or take a little time to enjoy the amazing autumn scenery, and the spicy smell of fresh apple cider donuts, being made just a few feet away, at their bakery/kitchen. 

Believe, me there is nothing like the smell of cartons of fresh apples, being pressed, and filled with spices, of cinnamon, clove and brown sugar, all coming together, in a warn apple donut! But I couldn't shake the image of a spirit, or autumn soul, surrounded by autumn leaves, playing with them, and encourage them to shine, and show off their beautiful colors, until that day, when it's time to go home.If the picture at the top is an autumn leaf schoolhouse, then the pictures below are of the leaves running, and floating about the playground, waiting for the school bell!

#28th Leaf Of The Day

November 28th 2017

Apple Hill, Camino, California

 

Mood: Happy

~Me

The Beautiful Sadness

'

"Autumn is the time of year when Mother Nature says,

 "Look how easy, how healthy, 

and how beautiful letting go can be.'"

~Toni Sorenson

I have the hardest time letting go! Letting go of places I have lived, pets and friends when they have passed on, ideas that never quite came to fruition, even restaurants that I have loved, that have eventually closed, and TV shows that get cancelled! You name it, I don't like to let go of it! Every single year, I have the same melancholy feeling from the day after Halloween, that stays with me until at least a couple months into winter! I go out and continue to look for leaves, until I photograph the very last one I find, because knowing it is the last one, makes it all the more lovely, even if it's less than perfect!

Obsession much? Perhaps, but it does something else for me, it gives me time outside with the camera, and it keeps me focused on life away from the things that scare me, like whatever the next scary thought our president has, that I have no control of! There is nothing I can do about his decisions. Nothing. So searching for leaves, gives me a nice respite from worrying. If I don't find autumn leaves in late December, it's okay, because I might find something completely unrelated to autumn, that will encourage or inspire me. So no worries!

I have depression. It's that simple, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Like I said a few posts back, it had been in remission for about 20 years, but it's back now, and it's been good for me to get out with the camera. I am going to do that as much as possible, but I wish autumn would hang on a little longer, because it brings some beauty to the sadness, and makes me a better photographer. I know when I accept that fact that autumn is gone for another year, I have done my best to capture it's beauty forever in my photos. All the life affirming beauty of autumn leaves, reminds me that there is an unmistakable beauty in letting go, and moving on. 

The end of autumn, gives me a beautiful sadness, 

but it's important keep moving forward. 

#25 Leaf Of The Day

November 25th, 2017

Apple Hill, Camino, California 

 Mood: Quiet

~Me

An Apple A Day...

"Seasons of mists and mellow fruitlessness! Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless with fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage trees, and fill all fruit with ripeness to the core."

~John Keats

Is there anything better, on a cold autumn night, like some freshly made apple cider? Add a little spice, and it's just the thing to soothe a weary soul. And it's pretty healthy too, which is just what I need after a month of fast food on road trips, and several bags of Trick or Treat candy! Ugg, I am eating the very last piece of the fun sized Milky Way bars we bought! Sometimes, it feels really good to know that vacation is over, and it's time for reality, and schedules, and normal hours for sleep and eating! All good things for any age, but especially for me right now. 

Late autumn, while beautiful and definitely my favorite season, when it turns from warm with a slight chill, to cold with little sun, my Fibromyalgia begins to scream at me. That's why it's good to get back to a more normal schedule, because getting out with the camera will probably be cut back, now to the weekends only. But with a little planning, I can make it work! And who knows, if a special opportunity presents itself, I might be able to fit in a photo jaunt on a weekday or two!

 #13 Leaf Of The Day

October 28th, 2017

Truckee, California

 

Mood: Happy

 ~Me :)

Acorn Woodpecker

"In order to see birds it is necessary

 to become a part of the silence."

~Robert Lynd

That pretty bird, is a female Acorn Woodpecker. It is a new bird for my album of birds, and I spotted it on a trip through Ione, on our way to Placerville, last Wednesday afternoon. It's one of the smallest woodpeckers I photographed, but it might just be one of  the most colorful ones! I was very happy to see such a lovely creature, and I am hoping to do a little more bird hunting while we are on vacation. I have always wanted to photograph an owl in the wild, but haven't had the chance, maybe this vacation I will get lucky and spot one! Fingers crossed!

And speaking of colorful... isn't this color amazing? This is a vineyard in Camino, California, in the Apple Hill region! I absolutely love this beautiful burst of autumn colors! While there are only a few trees in Apple Hill that actually produce autumn colors, the vineyards more than make up for it with beautiful rolling hills that look like this! Oh my, I could look at it forever! 

#20 Leaf Of The Day

October 20th 2017

Camino, California

Mood: Happy

~Me :) 

The Colors Of A Single Autumn Day...

"Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers."

~Ray Bradbury

 Dandelion Wine

Leaves, bees, flowers, sunsets, sunrises, everything seems so much more vibrant in autumn! It made me happy to study that tiny little creature, as it hopped from mum to mum. It even paused for a brief moment among some leaves, as if he appreciated them as much as I did, but then it was right back to the flowers! He was an active guy, almost as happy as I was think! I hope all this beautiful color lasts long into winter, as it does in some years, but we are almost at the half point of the this season. Can you believe how fast this autumn has gone by? Hopefully that is a good sign for continued color!

The Colors Of A Single Autumn Day... 

Leaf Of The Day

October 28th 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

The Colors Of Apple Hill

"When everything looks like a magical oil painting,

 you know you are in Autumn."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

Alan and I paid a visit to Apple Hill yesterday, and the autumn life filled my heart with so much happiness! Everything kinda looked like it was covered in cinnamon and cloves, and the smell of freshly picked apples was amazing! Truly, it wouldn't be autumn for me, without a trip to Apple Hill, especially in October!

Can't you just taste those apples?

Sweet?

Tangy?

Juicy?

Delicious!

Leaf Of The Day

October 21st, 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :)