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😊

 

 

Weariness Or Witherings

 

"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness or witherings, of tarnishing."

 

~Anais Nin

 

None of their deaths were natural. All came too soon.

 

RIP

Jessica

Ralph jr.

And their mother, my sister, Bonny.

 

I can't share my grief right now, it's too deep and dark to share here. Mostly I don't anymore. I am processing it inside. And that's okay. This blog is my happy place, even when I am pissed or scared or bored. But grieving... no. That is just for me to deal with. I can, and probably will, share little tidbits on how it is processing through, here and there, but summer is over next week, and I want to have this autumn for me, filled with new leaves, new birds, hopefully, and my new office, which is almost finished! My therapist says I need to begin the hard work. The moving on part. The facing each day part. The letting go part. I am trying.

There I said everything out loud.

And I am okay.

Right?

 

 

#PhotoByRequest: Black And White Moods

"Such days of autumnal decline hold a strange mystery

 which adds to the gravity of all our moods."

~Charles Nodler

Smarra and Trilby

For this time around of #PhotoByRequest Karen chose the subject of "Black and White Moods." I love this one, because vacation was anything but a non stop joy-fest, in fact, I couldn't be happier it's over! A lot went wrong. The burglar that tried to break in just three days before it was to begin! The burglar came back two more times after it began. PG&E prevented us from attending our annual free movie screening in Orinda, and the following week when it finally showed, I was experiencing a full blown Fibromyalgia fit. Three times we tried to visit our favorite federal parks, and found that they had closed that day, due to EXTREME FIRE DANGER, including Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpias! Next came our anniversary dinner. I picked lunch at Sizzler.

 That was a really bad idea, due to the fact that they were 45 minutes late with bringing us something to drink, and then finally our meal. I was trying to save some money, and I got what I paid for. Next came the near fatal car accident on highway 99, that we were kinda/sorta in. I say that because the car slammed into the car in the lane beside us doing 65, and how it didn't fishtail into us is a miracle! Alan and I didn't realize until the next day, that our car was damaged, not badly, just a few scratches, but considering what could have happened, we were very lucky!

In that it was autumn, the time of year that we always take, for the absolute beauty of it, we began to depend on the leaves changing to make up for a lot of the disappointments, but it's heartbreaking this year, because it's almost as if autumn itself is depressed! The trees have not put on their bright colors. Most are dull and some are just dead! I found some beauty here and there, but I am having to really hunt for it. It's sad. But one day, while we were still on vacation, we drove through a, Jack In The Box, to grab a couple sodas, and I spotted this photo of Jack Box in the window. His photo made me laugh, because it seemed to nail exactly how I was feeling. I identified with him, and felt less alone, even if the kinship was with a fictional character.

We are both happy vacation is over, and we are grateful to be back on a schedule that makes sense. We have been happy, and less fussy with each other. That is a good thing. Maybe we will do some little jaunts while it's still autumn, and continue to search for the colors. I don't want to give up on all the incredible beauty. I need it. I love it. We both enjoy the annual cascade of falling leaves, so there is some joy still out there, but I have never been so happy to share a black and white feeling in photographs so much. It was a sad time, but that photo left me hopeful and unwilling to give up, just because I was tired! So, the search for autumn continues, and I am ready for what I might discover along the way!

Here are more Black and White Moods...

Quiet/Reflective

Being disabled leaves me with a strange kind of gratefulness. I am grateful that there is a little help, so I can pursue things that make my life so much better. 

Grateful

#46 Leaf Of The Day

November 7th 2019

Nevada City, California

Nikon

~Mood: Happy
~Me  :)

Dreams Can Randomly Vanish

"Autumn is the greatest reminder: It reminds us how dreamlike beauties our earth has and it reminds us how all these beautiful dreams can randomly vanish!"

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

I'm feeling quiet. Alan and I were nearly in a car accident last night. We were coming back from Nevada City, on highway 99, when we came upon a car accident that had just occurred. It was three cars, in the center lane, and it looked bad. As we slowed down to pass, the car in the lane next to us, hit one of the cars that had just been hit! It hit the car at about 50mph without any brakes that we could see or hear. Parts of both cars flew everywhere, it spun and nearly hit us. It was on my side of the car, and I thought it was going to kill me.

 It was that close to my door. As it was, we ended up running over part of the fender that came off of the vehicle that hit the other cars. I am lucky and grateful to be alive. Seriously, I am not a fan of our vacation this year, and yet at the same time, if looked at through the lens of a slightly different perspective, it could be looked at as autumn is protecting me. After all, I can say this was the year I didn't die in a car accident on hwy 99, on October 25th, 2019. So with that perspective in mind, I am going to enjoy that beautiful sunset from a couple days ago, and just be grateful for every day!

#34 Leaf Of The Day

October 26th, 2019

Stockton, California

Nikon

~Mood: Rattled

~Me