Happy Easter 2024

 

Easter is…
Joining in a birdsong,
Eying an early sunrise,
Smelling yellow daffodils,
Unbolting windows and doors,
Skipping through meadows,
Cuddling newborns,
Hoping, believing,
Reviving spent life,
Inhaling fresh air,
Sprinkling seeds along furrows,
Tracking in the mud.
Easter is the soul’s first taste of spring.

~Richelle E. Goodrich

 

  Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

 

I am a person of faith, and I don't speak about it much here because my faith is too personal to expose it to the ugliness of social media, but all the blessings you see listed above, and more, is because of God, and his son Jesus Christ. If you aren't a person of faith, I stand by you, I will not try to change you or your values in any way, you have my respect in your values, but on this one day, allow me to share the part of me that I keep to myself. My faith. Believe me, I have felt God's love and empathy in this past year, as I have navigated the death of my sister, niece and nephew. It helped me get back up from my depression and I am beginning to move on. I think about them every day, but the lingering sadness isn't lingering as much anymore. I hate this last part of letting go, because then they will really be gone, but there is a strength in all this, and it has come through really hard work, and God being there every step of the way!

 

 And by the way, Joe Biden is right...

“There will come a day, I promise you, when the thought of your son, or daughter, or your wife or your husband, brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. It will happen. My prayer for you is that day will come sooner than later.”

~Joe Biden

 

Happy Easter to you and your family.

I hope your day is filled with love, warmth,

 and every blessing and kindness too.

 Never forget the strength of kindness.

Don't forget to be kind to yourself.

 

The Pretty Red Hen Of Knight's Ferry

"The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into winter wools."

~Henry Beston 

My thoughts are scattered. Scattered like a million leaves at the base of a tree in autumn. I'm in October. My favorite beautiful, luscious, tasty month of autumn, and I am feeling uninspired. Some of it is stress. The ballots are being sent out to voters today. I want it to arrive tomorrow, but I know that probably isn't going to happen. It will be at least Wednesday before I see it, which in any other year, would be just fine, but this year it feels like forever.

 Trump pulled one hell of a stunt yesterday, with that little joyride he took around Walter Reed hospital, just so he could hear applause from his cultists. Again, history won't fail to document it, but it's so hard to take. It was dangerous for the agents who had to accompany him. It's embarrassing. It's frightening. It's unnecessary. And who is going to tell him NO? That's the frustrating part.

 Political analysts, pundits, and even folks like myself will complain, but ultimately there is very little going to happen over it. Was he sick or not? How could he have Covid-19 and find the will and energy to do something so incredibly stupid? I guess I will have to leave that up to history too. Vacation begins in four days, will history be able to answer that question by then, who knows? All I know is, nothing at all. But isn't that a pretty little hen? I took that photo in 2017, and never posted it. Whats up with that? The photos of the leaves are also from my archives. I guess some autumns just make more sense than others.

 

Today's Autumn Leaf Of The Day

~Carly

October 5th 2020

Stockton, California

 

If Every Day Were Saturday And Every Month October

"I wish that ever day was Saturday,

 and every month was October."

~Charmaine J. Forde

It's A Mystery

Cat? Chicken? Or Owl?

This is the last of this particular sunset from October. It was October 25th, in the Central Valley, and it had been a glorious autumn day! Warm... almost too warm... and delicious! Alan took me out that day to search for all things autumn! Leaves, trees, birds, light. Autumn sunlight. Well, I found all those things and more! We took along some snacks, of apples and cheese. The taste of a really cold apple, on a warm autumn day is incredible! I enjoy our little getaways so much, and at the end of an almost perfect day, we were treated to this amazing fire in the sky. As we drove back home, past all the barns and vineyards of the valley, I did a series of photographs as we drove, and this picture was in the folder, ready to be posted at last. 

When I clicked on it, I noticed, for the first time, that in the right corner was a small oddly shaped object, just beyond the fence. Was it a chicken? A Cat? To tell you the truth, I am really not sure! I tried enlarging it, but I still can't say in absolute certainty what it is, but I think it might be an owl! I have been wanting to see one, and I kinda have a couple times, the problem is, when I usually spot them, we are driving past at 50 mph, it's at dusk and they are ground level. Those are not ideal conditions for spotting owls, let alone photographing them, but that is what I have to work with. Anyway, the shape seems right, but it also does if it is a cat or a chicken, so who knows? But I am leaning toward it being an owl, sitting on a piece of wood. How about you, care to guess?

#78 Leaf Of The Day

December 8th 2018

Photographed September 29th 2018

Cull Canyon

Samsung

~Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Well... It DOESN'T!

"Shoving feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken!"

~Brad Pitt

Right... so sometimes I simply don't have anything to say. It's in those times that I search out some mildly interesting photo from the archive, that didn't make it to the post, for whatever reason, and I make good use of it by posting it to bring you a grin. The chicken I you see above sits by the side of the road, just on the outskirts of Turlock, Ca. It made me smile, so I posted it to Twitter. And now it makes it's debut here. Turlock might be HELL on earth, but you see some interesting things there!

 

Leaf Of The Day

September 28th, 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 101~ Inspiration On 20th

"Eighty percent of success is showing up."

-Woody Allen

While Alan and I waited to see Woody Allen at the 20th and Lexington location, we passed the time by taking in the ambient sights. 20th and Lexington is an interesting intersection, of two interesting streets, and every few minutes someone, or something, unusual passed by. It was a feast for a photographer's eyes. It was just life, but what life! Here... see for yourself...

"I was nauseous and tingly all over. It was either love, or I had smallpox."

~Woody Allen

I HEART San Francisco...



"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out my nose."

~Woody Allen

Smile On 20th...



"I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys."

~Woody Allen

I Can't Say...



"A talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have."

~Woody Allen

Happy Tea...



"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once."

~Woody Allen

A Chick Getting Her Shopping Done...



"It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off."

~Woody Allen

Woody Allen And The Red Stairs...



See what I mean, there was a lot to take in. I am so glad I went back a second day, and took a closer look around. I think last Friday will remain among my favorite days with the camera. Life. Wonderful, strange, kooky, glorious life!

I am hoping to be able to find Woody again before he wraps up shooting in San Francisco. According to most sources he will be around until the end of August. With a little luck, and fingers crossed my camera and I will be there!

~Me :)

Today's Link...

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/08/apadf6-98-and-99.html

Round Robin Challenge: Chickens

From For Ellipsis

"People who count their chickens before they are hatched, act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately."

-Oscar Wilde

RRC: Chickens (A Challenge Most Fowl)
Suggested by Sherrie, author of the blog, Sherrie's Stuff.

Bok, Bok, Bok... Sherrie is the one to thank for this FOWL challenge, which is wonderful because... Bok, Bok, Bok, Bok.... I LOVE chickens! When I was a little girl I raised several different kinds of chickens as pets and for the wonderful fresh eggs.Ahhh ... there's nothing like it. You might be surprised to find out what wonderful pets they make, I had a small bantam chicken that was my constant companion when I was about 4 years old. Cuddly and friendly. It's was a lot of fun, but a lot of work as well. Whenever I get nostalgic for those happy times in my childhood, I pay a visit to the Little Farm inTilden Park, where there are all kinds of wonderful animals to watch and interact with. Here are some photos from my recent visit there...

From For Ellipsis

From For Ellipsis

From For Ellipsis

Bok, Bok, Bok, Bok, that's my entry, now go see what they other Robins have come up with for this foul assignment...

Linking List
WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS!

Sherrie... Sherrie's Stuff


Carly... Ellipsis
Posted!

Karen... Outpost Mavarin
Posted!

Linda... Mommy's Treasures
Posted!

Jenn... My Muskoka
Posted!

Lana G... Above The Clouds
Posted!

Nancy... Bondi Resort Blog


Maria Berg... Everything Is Green
Posted! 09/04/09

Boliyou... Endomental
Posted!

Molly Mavis... Visual Dialogues


Margaret... Facts From A Fact Woman


Suzanne R... SuzyQ421's Photo Blog
Posted!

Ruth... Scrabble Queen
Posted!

Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
Posted!

Ellen B... The Happy Wonderer
Posted!

Vicki... Sea Turtle Mom
Posted!

Hip Chick... Hip Chick's Photos
Posted!

Peggy... Holmespun Fun
Posted!

Teena... It's all about me!
Posted!

Please Note: I am having some difficulties with my computer, and I will do my best to get around to everyone, but I am not sure if I will be able to. If your name isn't on the above list, I apologize and I will add it on as soon as I can.

Be sure to check the official Round Robin blog tomorrow, to find out what our next challenge will be!

-Carly

A Visit To Tilden Park's Little Farm

"I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the "lower animals" (so called) and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result humiliating to me."

-Mark Twain, Letters From Earth, 1907



As I mentioned in a previous entry, Alan and I celebrated our 18th anniversary last Monday. We went out to a nice relaxing dinner, then engaged in some minor shopping therapy. I will share more about that later, I found some neat little bargains, and it was a hoot to be sure! Anyway, Alan is on vacation for the next three weeks, so we are planning some fun things close to home, but we have at least two long drive day trips coming up which should result in a ton of new autumn photos for the blog. Stay tuned on that. But first I have the pictures of my visit to the Little Farm, that sits in Berkeley's Tilden Park.



A day spent with the farm animals was just what the doctor ordered. Alan and I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a bunch of celery to take with us. Goats LOVE celery, and the farm encourages visitors to bring either celery or lettuce to feed the animals. I had so much fun. Alan feed the entire bunch of celery to the goats, poor little sheep didn't get any! We will be going back soon I think, so I will bring them some then. LOL. Spending the day on this little farm was relaxing and enjoyable, because the animals are well feed and have plenty of room to wander and be happy. Not all farm animals are treated humanly. I am voting "YES" on California Prop 2 in November. I hope you will too, if you are a California resident.



So, that was our first big outing on our vacation 2008! Next up, we have a date this Friday night to see the film, "W." I can't wait. I have been looking forward to that all summer. Sheesh. George Bush. We are going to the movie in the evening, then out for a slice of pizza and a sundae afterward. We have such a good time together, and lately we have been hugging each other just a little bit closer. We are doing better in our grief, it's a one day at a time proposition. In some ways Alan has had a much more difficult year then I have, in that it was his brother who passed away last February, and it was our friend Paul who passed away just a couple weeks later. One thing about years like this, we know 2009 will definitely be better! Years rarely run bad consecutively... although I probably shouldn't have said that! Way to go Carly! LOL. :) See, I have my sense of humor back! :)

Vote "YES" on California State Proposition 2: Standards For Confining Farm Animals Initive Statute.

-Carly
"Silly Goose"
Tilden Park Little Farm
Berkeley, California
October 15th 2008
Afternoon