Autumn Leaf Of The Day #44

 

"The white towers and golden domes of the church gleamed in the sapphire sky. The luxuriant autumn asleep till morning. The silence of the earth seemed to merge with the silence of the heavens and the mystery of the earth touched the mystery of the stars."

 

 ~Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #74

 

“Life turns grey as the leaves fall in Autumn.”

 
~Kieron Shepherd 

 

 

This tiny leaf made me smile for hours! My two favorite colors, in such an awesome design, what leaf peeper could ask for more than this?

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #71

 

And sometimes, and only in spring,
a dove from the river's soft vale of lilies
will fly as close to you as trust,
and a calm in the great reds of autumn
will, as often as you need, lie down
beside you, raising a brow you've known
above the eyes of the only woman
you will ever have a need to dream or touch.”

 
~James Ragan,

  Too Long a Solitude

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #50

 

“In the autumn, the entire backyard became a mass of lollipop-yellow leaves, so bright they lit up the night like daylight. Birds nesting in the trees would get confused because they couldn't tell what time of day it was, and they would stay awake for days until they dropped out of the branches with exhaustion.”

 
~Sarah Addison Allen,

  The Peach Keeper

 

I found this leaf in Sacramento, at the Capitol Rose Garden, which is currently under renovation. There were no roses, but the trees surrounding the circle were putting on quite a show. Definitely one of my favorite places to leaf peep. Sacramento is enchanting in Autumn.

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #37

 

“Autumn
The autumn comes, a maiden fair
In slenderness and grace,
With nodding rice-stems in her hair
And lilies in her face.
In flowers of grasses she is clad;
And as she moves along,
Birds greet her with their cooing glad
Like bracelets' tinkling song.” 

~Kālidāsa 

 

Green is a color of autumn too. Although I have to admit, I really love the purples. They are the best of all worlds. A little spring, and a little autumn. The darker shades of purple remind me of fresh plums. Deep burgundy/red inside, deep purple outside. I have a favorite sweater of the same colors. I think of plum pudding and sugarplum danish. Fruits of the Forest and Mincemeat pies. Jeepers Creepers, now I am hungry! Lets face it, I love all autumn leaves, even the brown and orange. I search for purple this time of year, but that doesn't mean I don't see the beauty in the rest of the falling leaves.

Do you have a favorite color, or type of leaf?

 

Autumn Comes, Autumn Falls + Autumn Leaf #21

 

“You cannot move forward in the real world
if you cannot see the real world.
You cannot find the beauty in the world
if all you see is its adornment.

Autumn comes.
Autumn falls.
Autumn leaves.
The world turns fire
and burns off all that is fading.” 

~Shellen Lubin 

 

My photography is moving along okay, despite being distracted by the ongoing middle east conflicts. Our own politics in the United States. The project with making the spare bedroom into a pleasant laptop room/game room, moving along as slow as molasses, and the slow arrival of most of the birds. Its really strange. Today I counted 5 Snow Geese, but last year there wasn't a single one until October 31st, when one adult and one juvenile showed up on Desmond road. This year the first ones, a pair, showed up at the end of August. It was a great Halloween surprise, but then I didn't see another one until weeks later. The Sandhill cranes came in almost 2 weeks later than usual as well. There are all kinds of birds that haven't made it here yet. I dunno, maybe I am just being impatient. I don't know why I should be, as long as I have that gorgeous Red-shouldered Hawk to play with. 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #21

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #9

 

“September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours,

 but in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn.” 

 

~Rowland E. Robinson 

 

It's the last day of September. Sigh. That always feels bittersweet to me. I like the month of September. Don't get me wrong, October will always be my favorite month, but September smells like pencils. Ticonderoga #2, to be exact. Mmmm. Oh my... the memories of back to school time. It's makes me want to take a class in brain surgery or something. 

;)

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #6

 

“Autumn is a place where words fall short.

 It is a magic that must be felt, breathed, experienced, and treasured.” 

~Laura Jaworski 

 

 

Northern Harrier And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #46

 

"At no other time than in autumn does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth, in a smell that is in now way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honey t sweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost."

 

~Rainer-Maria Rilko

Letter On Cezanne

 

Click To Enlarge

Sometimes, when I am out taking pictures, I wonder what some of the artists I have admired most like, Cezanne or Monet, would think of the beautiful autumn scenes I am currently enjoying. I am sure they enjoyed as much their scenery, as I do, Monet had quite a beautiful garden, but I just mean right now in time when we are standing on the precipice of losing so much. The drought, no doubt caused by Global warming, has inflicted a lot of damage to the ecosystem of California. I mentioned a while back about the Monarch butterflies all but having disappeared from Pacific Grove, and right now, Yolo seems to have a lot fewer birds than last year at this time. The hawks and vultures were out and about the other day, but there were very few ducks, geese or even Ibis to be seen! So, I made the best of it. I got a better picture of a Long-billed Curlew then I had on file, and of this fella too, the Northern Harrier. I have been seeing more and more of it. I just saw one on Desmond road the day before I visited Yolo, and while there I saw another one. That's more than I saw all of last year, which is a shame, because what a work of art it is!

 

 

 

 

~Me

#29 On The 30th

"They tell you to turn a new leaf 

and the complain about your faded color."

Nitya Parkash

No words today, well just one...

Happiness.    :)

 

October Leaves

 

"The fallen leaves in the forest seemed to make

 even the ground glow and burn with light."

 

~Malcolm Lowry

October Ferry To Gabriola

 

It looks like a perfect October pumpkin, doesn't it? I love this leaf, but the tree that it was on wasn't doing well the last time I checked in on it. Another victim of California's relentless drought. It is one of my favorite trees, and is in the quaint town of Ione, California. It's from the Judas tree, one of only 4 trees in that town I visit each year. It is one of my, new old tree friends, replacing so many that I had to leave behind back in the Bay Area. Please wish it well, and please pray for some rain for us. October is the prettiest month of the autumn season, in my opinion, and I am hoping next October will be a great big harvest of beautiful leaves of all kinds!

 

 

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

December 19th 2020

 

 

 

Life Under The Canopy Of Autumn

"The Might of life 

honors the waning sun of autumn

be-decking the landscape 

in a fancy blaze of tangerine."

 

~Tara Estacaan

 

It's basically the last week of autumn and some trees have shed their last leaf, while others are hanging on with overfilled branches of beautiful leaves. So, as sad as I am, I know the post-season of leaves will continue to keep me smiling for at least another month, maybe two! They will get me through until the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20th. Sigh. It's only a little over a month away, 39 days to be exact, but it feels like forever. If only Trump would stop, and autumn play in my mind forever. 

 

Let There Be Light...

~Carly

Stockton, California

December 12th 2020

 

 

Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt

"Autumn is a season of desperate hopes. The leaves are souls begging to turn life on pause. Begging to stop, begging to take a break, hiding under smiles and childish words."

 

~Teodora Savu

Listen To The Leaves

 

So, this is what I woke up to today. It was really loud, really obnoxious and it was really scary, until I realized what it was, but thank GOD it wasn't an emergency message warning of incoming ICBM's, which I have been expecting since Donald Trump took office! I suppose it was a bad enough message, in that, as I mentioned earlier this week, San Joaquin County is now in an official lock-down, through Christmas. And if I don't miss my guess here, it will be until at least the first week in January.

 

 Once I was focused, and a little less annoyed, I couldn't help but think of American Horror Story, and how the season of Apocalypse began with one of my favorite characters, Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt, receiving a text similar to mine, which served as a warning of ICBMs incoming, and informing that most world capitols were already gone, destroyed in a tit for tat nuclear annihilation of the occupants of earth. I could identify with Coco, when her dad called to say it was all true, all she wanted in that moment was to be with her family and boyfriend. I guess we all would. My biggest fear is that I won't be able to say goodbye to Alan. That I will not be able to hear his voice one last time. Also scary... I survive the initial blast, but I am just close enough to the action that I drown in radiation and become a walking puss ball. No thanks, I'd rather go quickly. 

 

Hopefully, I will never have to face that, and I know I am going to feel better about things after January 20th, when Joe Biden takes office. But until then I have to make yard photography work, which is fine, because there is still a lot I am in the emotional weeds over, so I might as well learn to love my predicament. Honestly, if Ryan Murphy doesn't create a season of American Horror Story, devoted to the events of 2020, then he's not the master storyteller I know him to be! By the way, if you haven't seen American Horror Story: Apcalypse, go, scoot... watch it. The end of the world has never been more fun! Mutt and Jeff are priceless!

 ~Carly

Stockton, California

December 9th 2020

 

 

Diamonds On The Weeds

 

"Sometimes I am the winter tree,

 and most of these times, a gathering of autumn leaves."

 

~Goitsemang Mvula

 

It looks like tiny diamonds, but what it actually is, is a small weed, with dew from yesterday's fog, glistening on it's fine thread branches. It was a beautiful, no actually, stunning, autumn day. It had just enough clouds, light rain, and fog to make my photographs really nice. I was a very happy person, but it wasn't lost on me that soon I will be doing a lot more photos like this one, as the autumn season officially slips into it's own demise. Seasons come and go, and I only have a little over a month left in this one. I don't hate winter, it has it's place, the only thing that I don't like about it is that the leaves aren't there anymore lift my spirits and warm me inside, but this coming winter already has a bone chilling veil to it, that is intruding on this autumn, as if it carries a grudge for the hope the autumn provided this year. It feels jealous to me. Maybe it's that Trump is refusing to concede the race, and every day he wakes for the sole desire of making life as painful for everyone, but his sycophants and cultists, delivered in his usual wintry posture. 

 

The inauguration is January 20th, will winter make our bare bones ache, or will it be a warm winter sun easing our minds, as the chilly winds blow past us? It's hard not knowing which it will be. There were protesters outside Secretary Of State Clinton's house last night, shouting their usual childish refrain, "lock her up." An old cry, but I fear everlasting. It all makes me so sad. This isn't politics anymore, it's something else, something dark and scary. Something tragic. It makes me depressed for what could come next. I am really brave on Twitter though, counseling others to ignore Cheeto-Hitler, to not give him the attention he seeks.

 

I'm a hypocrite telling them what to do, because I'm terrified too. It just hurts to hear how much pain they are in. The Cult of Trump won't be going away any time soon, but neither will the will of the 78,781,258 who just want to wake up to something other than a school yard bully who pitches mean tweets like spitballs. Maybe ignoring it is unrealistic at this point, but wallowing in it is unhealthy. It's a kind opioid, and the withdrawal will be painful. It's hard to make the decision to let go. It get it. As I have said, I am going to attempt my recovery, from casual political observation, by taking more photographs at ground level, lets see how long that lasts before the vomiting, chills and shakes, force me back into giving a shit.

This Matters.

 

 ~Carly

Stockton, California

November 16th 2020

Sunday's In Sacramento In Autumn

 

"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 Fairly colors. Try to smell the hard, pale wood sending up sharp, green smile 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 

 

Sacramento, formerly known as the, City Of Trees, is about as beautiful place in Autumn as it gets. I haven't devoted much time to doing my photography there, since moving to Stockton, but this season that might be all different. I can't afford to do the trips into the Sierra like I did on past years, but that's okay, it gives me a chance to get to know Sacramento as well as I had gotten to know San Francisco. It's home now, and I am feeling really good, despite 2020's cruelty. As I have mentioned before it's time to fight back. Do what I need to, to take care of Alan and myself, and resume living. Sacramento is a beautiful place! We were just there a couple days ago, on Sunday, and were delighted to find that it has finally put on it's pallet of the colors of autumn. It's almost impossible to not be happy. I'm pretty sure I will be spending a lot of Sunday's there from now, through winter. 

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 8th 2020