Alone On A Beach

"Outside of a dog, a book is man"s best friend.

Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

~Groucho Marx

The Essential Groucho:

 Writings For By And About Groucho Marx

As I get ready to begin some autumn blogging, I have been tip-toeing through my archives to see what inspired me in years past. All the usual suspects abound... leaves, sunsets, butterflies. The colors of autumn in the natural world and in decorations. What I don't have a lot of are the creatures you happen upon. The ones you can't really plan for. I have so many memories of the odd dog or cat doing something super interesting, but that I had failed to photograph, because it was more fun to just stop and watch them, then it was to get the dream shot. It's always a difficult choice for the avid shutterbug. Do I grab my camera and document this extremely interesting moment to share with my followers and friends, or do I put the camera down and just have the quiet moment all to myself?

As you can see by the technical errors in the photo above I had a moment of indecision. It's not perfect, but fortunately it is interesting, if not a little whimsical. Here I was, standing on a cliff in Montara, watching this beautiful pup running around in the sand, barking and enjoying his life. I stopped to watch him, then he stopped to watch me! I wonder what his picture of me would have looked like, had he had a camera and been able to use it! Would there be an interesting light behind me? Would he have zoomed in closer? Zoomed out? Would he have struggled with the rule of thirds? We will never know, but he and I made eye contact, and starred at each other for about 2 solid minutes. I wish I knew what he was thinking. The next time I have an opportunity like this one, I think I will also take a photo directly behind me so I can see the full picture, from all perspectives.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Those Summer Days...

"The followed that beautiful season... summer... Filled was the air with that dreamy, magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in the freshness of childhood."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some summer days, have wonderful summer moments...

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tension with one's clothes, and the right time of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all is right with the world."

-Ada Louise Huxtable

-OndineMonet
"Montara In Summer"
Montara, California
August 9th, 2006
Late Afternoon

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Blue Skies

"When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky."

-Buddha

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Picture some blue, blue skies. Wide stretches of blue are the goal here. Fluffy clouds are great, too - but try to get skies mostly blue. Interesting stuff in the foreground is groovy, too.

-John Scalzi (By The Way)

I remember this day, it was August 9th of 2006, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day! It was a mild day, as temperature goes, and I swear I could see forever. :) Earlier in the day, I had met a bit of stress when someone came very close to hitting my car on the freeway. It was so close a call, that it left me shaken for most of the day, but I continued on with my plans all the same. We spent the day photographing butterflies at the Conservatory of Flowers, and when we were finished, we decided to take the long way home, by way of HWY 1 along the coast. Alan knew all I needed was a nice long break at my favorite little lighthouse, to calm my nerves. It worked perfectly. By late in the afternoon, we were at Point Montara Lighthouse. He and I sat in the little area, just to the right of the lighthouse in the picture. My favorite green Adirondack chair was waiting for me. We talked and laughed, and counted out blessings. It was a close call we had had that day, but just sitting in that warm summer sun, under that gorgeous sky, I was just focused on all that blue.

Blue Skies
By Irving Berlin

I was blue, just blue as I could be
Every day was cloudy day for me
Then good luck came a-knocking at my door
Skies were gray but they're not gray anymore

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long

Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on

I should care if the wind blows east or west
I should fret if the worst looks like the best
I should mind if they say it can't be true
I should smile, that's exactly what I do

-OndineMonet
Point Montara Lighthouse
Montara, California
August 9th, 2006
Late Afternoon