Autumn Leaf Of The Day #19

 

“Autumn is a classical music; when it begins, the gravity disappears!”
 

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

 

Do you a fish? Maybe a salmon? That's what I see when I look at this autumn leaf! It comes from one of my favorite trees, the Judas tree, and I know of exactly one that is accessible, it sits in a Park and Ride in, Ione, California. I visit that tree yearly, just for the gorgeous leaves of all colors. And in the same lot, sits an equally lovely oak tree, and some grapevines. It's a great place for leaf peeping.

 

An Afternoon With A Green Heron And His Friend

“I tell myself relationships are hard work. No one is perfect.

 There's no such thing as happily ever after.” 

― Laura Nowlin,

  If He Had Been with Me

 

 

I met this guy at the Clifton Court Forebay the other day. I went there to search for ducks and grebes, and I found some, but not in any great numbers. All I saw was a couple Bufflehead and some Ring-necked ducks. There was a few Egrets, but nothing in any great numbers. So I was pleasantly surprised when this gorgeous little bird flew over, and began fishing along the rocks. After a few minutes of searching he found a snack, and as intrigued and impressed as I was, I found I was equally sad for the poor little fish that was about to be swallowed whole. None of it gets any easier. Go for birding with the camera, hoping for an interesting photo that highlights a bird's life, and you many very well come home with beautiful but depressing photo of how all life really works. If only all animals, sea life, and birds were vegetarians! But then again, my friend Boris The Spider would end up a lot bigger! 

 

The Green Heron wasn't the only one fishing that day...

 

Western Grebe and it's lunch of Black Bass

  What a day at the Clifton Court Forebay!

 

 "Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?”

 
~Robert Frost,

   The Poetry of Robert Frost

 

 

On The Last Day Of November

 

 

“I could feel the bite of the autumn air,

 warning us all of the harsh winter that was on its way.”

 
~Jennifer Starzec,

  Determination

 

It was ridiculously cold at the Clifton Court Forebay yesterday, but that didn't stop this very pretty Ring-billed gull from swimming and splashing about in the water! He was half playing, half trying to beat the other gulls to the tasty school of morsels passing just under them. I watched him capture, and eat, more than one tiny fish, and I was very impressed with its ability to fly to great heights in the sky, only to fall in a deep dive, to fetch his dinner. Birds fascinate me. I didn't see any new birds yesterday, and my hands were aching from the cold, so I didn't stay long, but they were all lovely, and entertaining, and made the pain well worth the visit. I can't wait to see what other birds fly in, as December progresses. 

 

Here is bird #161 for the year.

 

Red-winged Bicolored Blackbird