A Moment Out Of Yesterday

 

"Nobody has ever taken a photograph of something they want to forget. We can build a wall of happy Kodak moments around ourselves, a wall of our Christmases, birthdays, baby showers and weddings, but we can never forget that celluloid film is see through, that behind it, all the misery of life waits for our wall to collapse someday."

 

~Rebecca McNutt

 

On Thornton road, between the Woodbridge ecological Reserve, and the Cosumnes River Reserve, sits this picturesque old barn. I absolutely love it. I can think of about a hundred stories I could make up about it. Some spooky, some sweet and enduring, some that just make you scratch your head! The real history about this barn probably isn't all that profound. It's a barn, pure and simple. Most often barns are things of practicality... right? But every once in a while a truly wonderful story comes along that requires a barn as a co-star to it's main protagonist. Unfortunately, I am not a writer. I can barely write this blog. I am not sure what is wrong with my wiring, because I can write stuff in my head, but I have no talent for making it make sense of paper, or the pages of Ellipsis. As frustrating as that is, I am pleased to simply enjoy photographing cool structures like this barn, and let the bits of a 100 or so different stories bounce around my brain. Creatively, I am a visual person, but sometimes I wish I could write a story about a haunted barn, or a witch spending the night in an old barn because her broom was out of gas. Or maybe even something homespun, like The Waltons. You get the idea.

Mumpfh.

I wonder what the real story is about this gorgeous old barn?

 It's a really cool moment out of yesterday,

 and I'd like to know more about it!

Winter Orchard

~Carly

 

Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese And White Pelicans

 

"Birds were created to record everything.

 They were not designed to be beautiful jewels in the sky,

 but to serve as the eyes of heaven."

 

~Daphne du Maurier

The Birds And Other Short Stories

 

My love affair with discovering new birds continues. My latest set of photos, from my two favorite bird watching spots, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, in Lodi, and the Cosumnes River Reserve, in Galt, have each provided me some exciting moments lately, in the pursuit of my newest hobby. Sandhill Cranes, which I never get tired of photographing, seem to be thinning out in numbers, but there is always a new opportunity to photograph a new bird I haven't seen before, as the cranes make their way south on their migratory path. My latest joy is in photographing the Snow Goose. A large flock of them finally stopped at the river in Galt. I had spotted them for the first time on January 10th, when Alan and I decided to explore birding possibilities in Rio Vista. I saw a large gathering on the side of the highway, but there was nowhere to stop and do a photo. The photos I did manage, out of a moving car no less, where okay, but they were definitely not up to my usual posting standards. You can imagine my delight when I found them in Galt, less than ten days later.

 

January 16th was a very good day for finding birds at the Cosumnes River Reserve. There were some of my favorites, like the Cinnamon Teal, and the Sanhill Crane, but the number of Snow Geese made it nearly impossible to not get some good photos. I got to see them up close and I was able to give the camera one hell of a workout doing some action photos as they landed. But as amazing as that opportunity was, I was ecstatic to see some, American White Pelicans, sunning themselves on a sandbar, in the middle of the  Snow Geese that were swimming in the river. It was an amazing find. I had no idea that pelicans came that far inland. I was under the impression that if I wanted to see one, it would require a trip to Bodega Bay, or perhaps Point Reyes. After doing a little research, it turns out they visit the delta every year, so I can now look forward to photographing them in the future. 

 

My mood is getting better. My depression is lifting. And dare I say it? I am happy! We are basically at the end of January, and I have counted 18 different birds species so far. I need to do some more editing and I need to do some yard photography, but I will be ending this month with a decent count of birds. I can't wait to see what birds I will discover in February. I need to check out some new places, and do some research into cities that have festivals in honor of birds, like Lodi does, around the Sandhill Crane, and the Snow Goose in Chico. I am pretty sure that, due to Covid-19, most festivals will be cancelled this year, just as they were in 2020, but visiting the web pages for festivals in prior years is a big help in planning for next year. The Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyby, is giving me something to look forward to in January of 2022!

 

Snow Geese

January 16th 2021

Cosumnes River Reserve

Galt, California

 

American White Pelican

Cosumnes River Reserve

January 16th 2021

Galt, California

 

~Carly

 

Remember The Alamo!

 

 Cosumnes River Reserve

Lodi, California

January 10th, 2021

 

"Never say more than is necessary."

 

~Richard Brinsley Sheridan

 

 As of later today, Donald John Trump will officially go down in history as the only president, so far, to be Impeached twice. We are living through extraordinary times. I feel like someone should be knitting something, like when Betsy Ross knitted the flag. Is there such a thing as an Impeachment flag? Nah... probably not. But doesn't that seem about right? Like there should be some wildly artsy thing happening? I imagine there might be a hillbilly off somewhere writing a special song for the soon to be ex-president, or perhaps a poem. Shrug. I am thinking of making some Impeachment scones for the occasion, I mean days like this don't come along everyday, but oddly enough, they have come around three times in my lifetime. Rickard Nixon, William Jefferson Clinton and of course the overachiever, Donald Trump.

 

Richard Nixon, of course, never actually faced Impeachment because he was smart enough to shut up, write a simple resignation letter and accept a full pardon from Gerald Ford. Clinton learned what happens when you aren't even as smart as Richard Nixon. You run your mouth, lie to Congress, and you get Impeached. Luckily, he wasn't forced out of office by the Senate, but what a sad time that was for America. I was so disillusioned, but all these years later I realize that I probably wasn't so much disillusioned as just plan sad that such a man, who governed brilliantly, had fallen so far. It still makes me sad when I think about all the damage it caused. But Trump is a completely different story. It wasn't a shaded stretch of the truth or a lie to congress, no, it was inciting a coup against the government of the United States. Our country. 

 

It's unforgivable. And so is the fact that he continues to run his mouth to the masses, to incite Civil War, in a selfish attempt to hold off the inevitable... jail. As of right now, that might be the last thing he has to worry about, Hell at least jail would mean there will be a roof over his head and food in his stomach. Two things he could be missing soon, as his equity drops. As of right now he has been kicked off most social media platforms, lost his contract with the PGA, the ability to process credit card receipts through Stripe, a host of other partnerships and the biggest of them all, Deutsche Bank called it quits on him yesterday. I'm waiting for a Breaking News alert saying Melania has filed for divorce. I'm not actually waiting for that, but it wouldn't surprise me if it happens before we reach June.

 

Well, anyway, today is going to be a long day, so I will leave it here with a letter from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs from yesterday, vowing to do their job and keep their promise to do due diligence. The second letter is from Vice President Mike Pence. I'd like to think he isn't invoking the 25th Amendment because he doesn't want to kick a man when he's down, but I know he is just a milquetoast coward, so there's that. I do have to hope Pence writes a book one day, and hopefully he will share why Trump chose, The Alamo, as his last Batshit stand. LOL. Oh well, holy Hell, I always did say Trump was one Impeachment away from charging up San Juan Hill! CHARGGGGE!