Two Sounds Of Autumn

"Two sounds of autumn are unmistabable... the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street... by a gusty wind... and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese."

 

~Hal Borland

 

Okay, I am hooked, photographing the birds the last couple weeks has really brought me out of my funk. I have been needing to practice my action photography, and I can't think of a better way to do that, then being at the mercy of birds. All shapes. All sizes. All lighting conditions. I'm ready for all of it! I have visited both the Woodbridge Preserve and the Cosumnes River and was pleased to find new birds with each visit. This past weekend it was the Canadian Geese that I photographed the most, because the Sandhill Cranes were nowhere to be found. It was warmer than on my first visit, and it was a lot clearer, so I am sure they were off enjoying the weather somewhere up the delta. My guess would be either across the Rio Linda bridge, or perhaps all the way up in Sacramento. I don't want to know which, I am not wanting to be tempted to try to find them. I am enjoying being surprised and delighted by the variety of birds at the both places, at any given time. In due time will be adding new spots as we move into 2021, but I am in no hurry, if worse comes to worse, I can always do bird watching in my yard. Hey, we ended up with a full sized male Pheasant in the yard a couple years ago, that was a game changer to be sure! Now, wouldn't it be nice if a Snowy Egret found it's way to the yard?

 

Today's Leaf Of The Day

 ~Carly

Stockton, California

December 1st 2020

Winter Migration

Canadian Geese

December 21st 2019

Lathrop, California

 Nikon

"She decided to free herself, dance into the wind, create a new language. And birds fluttered around her, writing "yes" in the sky."

~Monique Duval

Migrating Canadian Geese

Black & white

December 21st, 2019

Nikon

On the way home last Saturday, I spotted all kinds of different birds making their way south. Migration in the Central Valley has been lovely so far! Not only did I spot a brand new bird, just a couple weeks ago, but on Saturday I got to watch a gorgeous flock on Canadian Geese, and then a large group of Starlings making their way south, to warmer temperatures. I am thinking of asking Santa Claus for some bird feeders for Christmas, because that is something I can have a lot of fun with, even on this horrible Fibromyalgia days when there is no leaving the house because of pain! Who knows how many new birds I might be able to spot in 2020!? What a lovely thing to be able to look forward to!

 Starlings

~Mood: Happy
~Me    :)

Thoughts Like Leaves On A Random Autumn Day

"Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable... the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese."

~Hal Borland 

My mind was absolutely scattered yesterday. So was my creativity! Alan and I spent the day, roaming the exhibits at the Haggin Museum, and I really thought the day would be different than it turned out to be. It was our very first visit, and we saw a lot of interesting exhibits, especially the ones that dealt with the innovation and history of early Stockton. I did a lot of photographs of the artifacts, and historic pieces, but when I got home and looked at my file of the photos I took, there was only a handful on pictures I considered good enough to post!

It was a beautiful day, and we had a good time, so I am not sure what was blocking my creative eye, unless it was the slight preoccupation I was feeling about Tuesdays midterm election! I wasn't dwelling all that deep, at least I didn't feel like I was. So much of it seems absurd, but that's not exactly a new feeling when it comes to national politics. But right now its all I can do to hold my nerves, surrounding the absurdities, together! The absurd should be something mocks, or disregards, but the word "absurd" has come to mean something completely different to me. It's a little less easy to dismiss than it used to be.

So this post is representational of the way my mind is processing information right now. A minute on this, a minute on that. Anxiety, and yet still searching for something, anything, that helps me hang on to some sort of hope. God, I sound like such a defeatist. We haven't even got to the day yet, and I am determined to feel as negative as possible! But that's the thing... I don't want to, but after the stomach punch, and depression, of 2016, I don't want to ever take anything political for granted again. And I am ruining my life, and well being, on pushing happiness away.

My creativity makes me happy, but at the moment, I am finding it difficult to find it! But I promised myself I would post to this blog at least once a day, at least until autumn is over. So, here are a handful of photographs I took, that I didn't think came out too bad! You may like them, but I can see every single flaw. I just wish I could figure out how to cut this pain out of me, so I can recognize the beauty again. I have been so scared for the last couple years, and so tired since 2015, when everything changed for us. I need some hope. That's all. And a never ending autumn, so I can maybe have a do-over with finding some beauty I know is there, but is, right now, elusive to me. All I feel at the moment is scattered, like a leaf floating randomly in the autumn wind.

"It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than life."

~P. D. James

A Taste Foe Death

Canadian Geese

Leaf Of The Day

#44 Leaf Of The Day

November 4th, 2018

Photographed October 29th, 2018

Haggin Museum, Stockton, California

Samsung

~Mood: Scattered

~Me