Yesterday, in Monterey, it was as about as beautiful a day as it gets. It was clear, and the water blue and beautiful, as opposed to times when the it is almost gray and full of kelp and frankly... stinky. Don't get me wrong, I love Monterey any time of the year, and any time of day, and no matter how the water looks, but yesterday it was particularly beautiful, and dreamlike. It was hours not moments of Zen. It was cool outside, but not really cold, at least not until much later in the day. We spent the day bopping from spot to spot through Pacific Grove, and then along the 17 Mile Drive, which paid off, because we came home with 13 birds for the 2024 file. It was a very good day by the numbers, but we only saw one new species, the Black Turnstone. We smiled a lot too, especially while watching the Sanderling running toward the water to catch their lunch in the surf, and then darting back to the dry sand as the waves came in. It was a silly little dance, and I wouldn't have miss it for the world. This was dear hubby's birthday trip, and I am so glad he got to spend his day, in the sunshine, in one of the most amazing places in California!
“If you want to get lost without getting lost, a rainy day is exactly
the day you are looking for! Everyone you see here and there is immersed
in their own world under their umbrella, almost teleported to another
place, lost in an abstract world!”
~Mehmet Murat ildan
We never made it to Bodega Bay, we changed our mind and decided to go Monterey on Monday. The birds are slightly more intriguing there right now. Auklets and puffins have been spotted! I am really looking forward to getting a photograph of them. And the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary is right there in Pacific Grove. But I need to rest up for that long of a drive, and I actually like being home today. It rained, and I had a chance to catch my breath. I had a busy week, searching for birds for this year's album. God they are so beautiful! It was a fun week, but since I had Covid-19 my energy level sometimes falls to nearly zero. Sigh. I don't mind saying, I am paranoid about getting it again. I sometimes feel 20 years older than I am right now, but birding helps, and playing board game with dear hubby, and watching movies, and yes, watching it raining outside! It is a real gift! Not only is it beautiful, but it inspires me hold the good memories, and plan for new ones. Hopefully Monterey will be a blast, and put me one with all the beauty it has to offer. If you have been there you know exactly what I am taking about. Monterey has healed my broken heart so many time I can't count. Here's to Monday, and all the gorgeous nature waiting for me!
"The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it's as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all by yourself from the clues."
~Terry Pratchett
Moving Pictures
I love movies! Who doesn't want a few minutes away from the muck of every day life, by escaping into a world completely different than the ones we live in? A world with it's own problems perhaps, and while imperfect, hey, at least it's a world completely devoid of Trump! A world that doesn't contain cell phones, but does contain phone booths. A world that still has interesting, local easy listening music, rather than 24 hour cable news cycles! Yep, the early 1970's America was a lot different than today's America, but what hasn't changed is, the crazy!
Clint Eastwood really should have gotten more credit for this film than he did! Everyone acted like Fatal Attraction was some big deal, because it dealt with OCD behavior that ended up in the stalking of a married man. Well, sorry, as well done as that movie was, Clint Eastwood did it first in, Play Misty For Me. But okay, for the sake of argument, there were some differences. We won't split hairs, or boil bunnies, lets just leave it at, Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut with, Play Misty For Me, and the subject of his film was quite progressive for the time.
And, to his credit, he didn't try to give the main character, Dave Garver any breaks. Dave wasn't interested in any long term relationships, and while he made that clear to his stalker, Evelyn Draper, he kept jumping back in bed with her, every time she showed up. I was also impressed with the fact that Eastwood did not make Garver out to be some unwitting victim, he knew the score, and even directed some genuine compassion toward Evelyn and her obvious need of psychological help. It was never intimated that Evelyn should have just been thrown away, or mocked because of her illness.
Alan and I have had many a debate about this film, and it remains one of our favorite movies to discuss on long road trips, especially if we are heading down the Monterey Peninsula. I always think about it when we are in the area, because another thing I have to give Clint Eastwood credit for, is that he knew how to make the natural beauty of where he is filming, become a featured character of his movies. He did right by Monterey, Carmel, and my lovely, Bixby Creek Bridge. He used each of those places, to counter the crazy tense moments of the film, by just immersing you in the quiet, beautiful escape, that is the Monterey Peninsula. And it's definitely one of my favorite characters in the movie.
One of the reasons we chose Monterey and Carmel to visit on our vacation last October, was to see how much the town and landmarks in the film had changed since 1971. I love doing the visual comparisons, between then and now, and it adds to the excitement of actually stepping sideways into a moment of great movie making. It's as close as I will probably ever get, to stepping into an alternate universe! I used to visit movie locations all the time, when we lived in the East Bay, San Francisco is full of them, but now it is a bit more difficult... but... it's not impossible! So, look for more posts like this one, because of all the subjects I enjoy posting about, and photographing, movie magic is among my favorites!
The Sardine Factory played a major role in the film...
*The address rock is still there! :)
As did The Cannery and Prescott Avenue
1971
2018
I had a lot of fun with Alan, that day. We made some awesome memories! He enjoys exploring movie magic and TV magic as much as I do! He gets into the area, by checking out little coffee shops, while I work the camera. He makes me so happy! I was so lucky to have found him in this big world! It's his turn to choose which movie or TV show to step into next. Maybe it will be a movie filmed or set in San Francisco, like the Maltese Falcon, or perhaps it will be a TV show, filmed in and near Stockton, like Sons Of Anarchy. We'll see what comes next!
Note: At the end of Play Misty For Me, when Evelyn is lying in the water, that isn't a stunt person that's floating, that actually is Jessica Walter! How excellent is that?
"Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet, saffron and russet,
and the days were clear and crisp under harvest skies."
~Sharon Kay Penman
Time And Chance
Everything, even a rusty old truck, is beautiful in autumn. I loved this scene, when we happened upon it, on our visit to Apple Hill, earlier this week. I am sure that beautiful old farm truck carries a lot memories for someone. Did it carry the best of an autumn harvest? Apples? Pumpkins? Pears? Maybe even grapes for wine? How many autumn harvests did it work through? Was it loved and appreciated? I will probably never know, but I can see its life in my imagination, and I will always remember the warmth I felt inside, as I was looking at it through the lens of my Nikon! I just had to photograph it! Even if no one else has a harvest memory attached to it, at least I do, and it makes me feel really good!
"And that afternoon, as the sun slanted low through the changing autumn leaves, I remembered to savor the moment, soak in the beauty, breathe deeply and feel the immensity of God."
~Cindee Snider Re
Discovering Hope:
Beginning The Journey Toward Hope
In Chronic Illness
Today's post is a brief one. I have been fighting my Fibromyalgia for a few days now, and it usually wins if I try to fight too hard, and if I don't fight hard enough! That leaves me with a rather narrow road. So, okay, chronic illness, I will play along. I will post a brief post about the lovely birds I saw recently in Monterey, along Cannery Row.
I am not sure what type of bird they are, but there was about a million of them, and they were definitely perching birds. I think maybe they are Finches, but again I am not sure. I did a little searching on Google, unfortunately I couldn't come up an exact match, but House Finches came pretty close! If you know what they are, please, sing out in the comment thread, or look me up on Twitter! I look forward to your feedback!
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."
~L. M. Montgomery
Anne Of Green Gables
I love Dippin Dots... a lot! I have a sweet tooth, so I enjoy almost any flavor of ice cream, but there is just something fun about Dippin Dots that really speaks to the kid in me! I bought these in Monterey last week, after not having been able to find them for well over 20 years! The stores where I used to get them had stopped selling them long ago, so I gave up trying to find them, or anything remotely similar. Then, one day about a month ago or so, I read that there were stores nearby, in Stockton, that we selling them again!
I checked the Dippin Dots website, and sure enough, they were also being sold on Cannery Row, in Monterey, so I decided to wait until our trip, to treat myself to them as part of our special visit to the Monterey peninsula! The Banana Split flavor was always my favorite, so I crossed my fingers that they still had that flavor, and I hoped they would still be as ridiculously delicious as I remembered! Pleasantly, I was very happy to find out they did indeed still have the Banana Split, and that they were even better than I remembered! Our trip to Monterey, turned out to be an absolutely fantastic day, start to finish! So, stay tuned, because I have a lot more from that day to share! I really love October, it's been very good to me, just about my whole life!
"Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera."
~Yousuf Karsh
I only had my Nikon CoolPix S3600 for a couple months before it went missing, while we were on vacation last October. I still have no idea what happened to it, but wherever it is, I hope it is assisting some other person with a great love of photography, the way it did me! Oh my, I loved that camera, and it was an anniversary gift from Alan. It makes me sad thinking about it. So I try not to, but it's difficult, and frustrating, to not have any idea what happened to it.
Just look at one of the beautiful moments it captured...
Sunset On The 17 Mile Drive, Monterey, California
October 18th, 2014
Oh my, I had big plans for that camera! Lots, and lots of photographic adventures!
But...
Alan, knew how much photography means to me, so shortly after Thanksgiving, he bought me my newest Nikon CoolPix camera, the model #S3600. It's not that cute feminine pink, but rather an elegant and fun purple. I love the pretty color, and so far, I am loving the new camera as much as the old one! It's a dream to use.
Just look what my new camera can do...
Sunset Over Marin County, As Seen From The Berkeley Hills.
but I don't think my bathtub can hold that many people."
~Jarod Kintz
Who Moved My Choose?: An Amazing Way To Deal With Change
By Deciding To Le Indecision Into Your Life
Last month, while on vacation, and loving October completely, I came across many different sights and sounds that were awesome, but that I just couldn't seem to fit into an Ellipsis post. But yesterday, while going through last months archives, I decided that it would be a shame to not let these photos be seen, so here is a little more from October. Random Yes! But oh so fun!
Enjoy!
I Couldn't Agree More!
Yes, Go Giants! But TMI!
It Gets Cold In San Francisco
Me Too!
SSSSSSSSSssssssssssssss!
Pretty, But Odd. Pretty Odd.
I Wonder If Her Name Is Ondine?
I love photography, I love seeing things and capturing their image forever...
"The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats. Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black or velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plum of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked."
~Ray Bradbury
The Halloween Tree
Well, the vacation is almost over, as is my favorite month, October. It was a busy month, filled with long drives, and leaf gathering, not to mention all the fun of San Francisco. I have mixed feelings today, as Halloween is my favorite holiday, and yet it comes at the very end of my favorite month!
That's a difficult dynamic.
Oh well. I am not that sad really, I know I romanticize it a bit, but really isn't October amazing?
Let's have a look back... Shall We?
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Whew! 31 pages... that's a new record number of photographs for a single month! We had a lot of fun, and it was just what I needed to shake off all the gloominess 2014 had. We are still on vacation through Wednesday of next week, so there are a few more vacation photos to come.
