B/W 2024 #3

 

“There are no facts, only interpretations.” 

~Friedrich Nietzsche 

 

I went to the archives for this one. I just didn't do anything this past week that inspired me, so I thought maybe I missed an opportunity in the past, and yes I had. We visited Alameda a couple years ago, in search of some nifty little shorebirds and ducks. Well, we weren't very lucky about finding the birds, but we did find a magnificent view of San Francisco and the bay, and in the case of this photograph, Mount Tamalpias peeking out of the fog that was surrounding the bay! I think the black and white gives it a haunting feel. Not scary necessarily but rather in terms of history. That view has been there forever. Just think about how many folks stood in the spot I did, and appreciated the natural beauty in front of them. 

 

One of them might have been my dad, who worked his whole career in Alameda, at the Navel Air Station. He and I both enjoyed a love fort the bay, and the mountains surrounding the Bay Area. Mount Tam is just one of the mountains that inspires me, and it does in almost every way! We have been to the top only once, so I think this summer would be a good time to maybe do some photos of the gorgeous views that go on forever, and of course a sunset over San Francisco would absolutely fill my heart. In fact, Mount Diablo, Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County, Mount Lassen, all the way up in Lassen County, and finally gorgeous Mount Shasta, might also be a fun way to shake up the subjects a bit. And in that there are birds everywhere, well, that just makes for one beautiful day! Black and White or color is just beside the point!

 

 Elevations

 

Mount Tamalpias... 2,571

Mount Diablo... 3,849

Mount Hamilton... 4,265

Mount Shasta... 14,179

I hope I can move beyond my fears and go. I really want to break out of the box of reluctance and travel anxiety I live in. I want to experience new things, especially when my love of birds and photography calls me at the same time.

 

 

On Such A Winter's Day

"She was sitting in a garden more beautiful than ever her rampaging imagination could ever have conjured up, and she was being serenaded by trees."

~Lynn Kurland, Spellweaver

I am hopeless about trees. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I was a maybe a Druid in some past lifetime. I can't help it... I am hopeless about trees! I am at my worst in autumn, as you might have already figured out, because every time I pass a tree in during that season, that has all of it's amazing color, or colors, on full display, I invariably have to tap Alan on the arm and say... "Look at that tree, isn't it amazing?" To which is kindly replies, "Yes it is!" As if he has never heard me ask him that before, when he and I both know that I repeat that question almost daily throughout the season! Alan is a patient man, and he loves me, because if he didn't surly he would have begun to make fun of me by know! Hell, I make fun of myself about it, but he never does. Oh the things you find yourself putting up with when you are in love! LOL.

While the trees I saw and photographed the other day on MT Hamilton road had only a passing glance of autumn still in them, I found myself nearly as thrilled by the glistening drops of melted snowflakes that made the trees look like they were crying softly to themselves. The smell of the pine, and the visual treat of what seemed to be tiny rainbows, made me almost forget that autumn is my favorite season, rather than winter. I could have stayed on the top of the mountain for 3 or 4 more hours, but our time there was limited. It was okay, as we drove down the mountain we took turns seeing who could make the other laugh the hardest! I won when I named the block of snow we put on the hood of the car, Nutty Hardpack! Don't ask! LOL. I made up a whole life story for Nutty, and at one point Alan was laughing so hard he could barely drive. LOL.

Can you believe it? After 22 years of marriage I can still make my hubby laugh that hard?

What is it about snow, that makes one feel like a kid again?

:) Here is the last of my Mount Hamilton Road Series. Enjoy...

 

"Trees are as close to imortality as the rest of us ever come."

~Karen Joy Fowler, Sarah Canary

Mood: Happy

~Me