Autumn Leaf Of The Day #15

 

"Falling leaves are like dancing dreams."

~Anonymous

Dreams Of Summers Past

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wildflowers in our hair... "

~Susan Polis Schutz

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, and the longest day of the year, but today is the first full day of summer, and the time is now moving back toward those dark autumn days I love so much! Despite the sun, and the hot temperature, it was beautiful along Desmond road, at the Cosumnes River Preserve, and it gave me the chance to pick up the photos for this post! I was only out a little while, but it was enough to tire of the hot summer sun, and to pray that autumn will come early, as it did last year. I felt like I was melting, and it made me homesick for rides along the coastline, in summer, when the sky is clear, and the air is filled with the smells of the wildflowers and the ocean. I am trying to find what's special about the here and now. I live here after all, and this will be my 11th summer, so I can look back all I want, but it will just make me heartsick, and that's no way to live. The summer always makes me feel this way, it must be the temperature or something. I know that as I ease into summer, I will be right again. I always am.

Anyway...

Beautiful, Breathtaking, Woodbridge Road

"Feed the birds in winter; in return, they will feed your soul with the look of gratitude."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

Beautiful, breathtaking, Woodbridge road. There is so much beauty to be found there, no matter what season it happens to be. I think of all the places we do our birding, Woodbridge is my favorite, although, Desmond road is a close second! Moments like this, ethereal and calming, revives me!

More from Thursday's trip down Woodbridge road to come! 

Watch this space!

Autumn's Sandhill Crane

 

"Birds are the eyes of Heaven."

~Suzy Kassem

Rise Up And Salute The Sun: The Writings Of Suzy Kassam

These birds are so unbelievably beautiful, that you should believe me when I say, I will never be able to photograph them in such that will pay justice to their grace. All I can do is try, and try again, but personally I know it can never be done. These birds live in my heart.

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #39

 

“October's Party
October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.” 

~George Cooper 

 

The leaves aren't very bright this year. I have only come across a few that are showing off in the lighter colors of autumn. I don't know... it's like something, or someone, drained the colors from them this year. I will keep looking, because no matter what, I will celebrate autumn as long as it wants me to, whether it's smiling or not!

 

 

The Greens Of Autumn

 

“He'd grown unused to woods like this. He'd become accustomed to the Northwest, evergreen and shaded dark. Here he was surrounded by soft leaves, not needles; leaves that carried their deaths secretly inside them, that already heard the whispers of Autumn. Roots and branches that knew things.”

 
~Michael Montoure,

  Slices

 

 I know that these are green trees left over from summer, but it was three weeks into autumn, in Yosemite, and summer had been gone, officially, for three weeks, so I gave them to autumn. I love Yosemite. It's just there for the fantasy of it.

 

 

 

Promise And Enthusiasm

 

“Try things out, be happy to make mistakes, but above all have a go.”

 
~Charles Dowding,

       Charles Dowding's Skills for Growing

 

That gorgeous bird is the Great Blue Heron, and he is standing at the edge of a great BIG corn field! I love photographing heron, not only are they very accommodating to the casual photographer, but they are so photogenic that it makes my heart skip a beat! They aren't my favorite birds, the Sandhill Crane are, but the heron can be found in the San Joaquin Valley in all seasons, so I get lots of practice with my birding photography. Speaking of the crane, I have been tracking them, and right now there is a pair just above Elk Grove! It won't be long, it looks like at least a couple of them will be arriving on Woodbridge road, in Lodi, right on time! Cross your fingers for Monday! Just in case, I am planning to be out and about on the Delta next week, until I find them! I hope that is a realistic goal. I was recently diagnosed with mild anemia, so my stamina isn't what it used to be, in fact I am exhausted just few hours after I get up. We'll see. Here's to promise and enthusiasm the world of birding brings me! Positive vibes, right!

 

 

Golden Blossoms, Red Fences

 

“We tried the golden age's of lands, what of all the other soil, water and air, with all that lives in each, who wants a bit of gold too. 

 

 Who knows when does winter ends.”

 

~Unknown

 

That's was a beautiful autumn moment in front to me, but obviously winter and spring are there too. Seasons are magical, as I overstate every autumn. To be honest, I believe it's the magic of autumn that allows me to see it in nature, when I need it the most, and there it was the other day... autumn, winter, and spring all sharing one space. Some folks may not notice the things that make each seasons special, but in that photography keeps you in the moment, I am lucky enough the be able to really see spring blossoms, the Mexican free-tailed bats of summer, the glorious autumn leaves and the shadows of winter. I live in the moment as much as possible.

I love it. 

 

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

 

 

It's Better, But...

 

"Birds know themselves not to be the center of anything, but at the margins of everything. The end of the map. We only live where someone's horizon sweeps someone else's. We are only noticed on the edge of things; but on the edge of things, we notice much."

~Gregory Maguire

Out Of Oz

 

It's Better, But...

 

I had to pick up a prescription the other day, and because I am a very lucky woman, Alan offered to get it for me, while I waited in the car. Fortunately, I  had my camera with me, which meant I got to play with a group of Cedar Waxwings floating just above my head. Cedar Waxwings travel in communities. This particular community had about 12 or so, which means there was a pretty good chance I would be hit by a bird bomb, or at least one of those juicy berries the birds were getting drunk on. That is the blessing and curse of owning a car with a sunroof, but I happily chanced it, and to my delight, they didn't hit me, or the interior of Bridget, once. The outside got some poop, but the only thing that made it's way inside the car was the berries that fell off the branch as they ate. I had the same trouble getting the wingtips and tails, but look how pretty they look in the sunshine! The photos are better than the last time I tried to photograph them, but practice will make perfect.

It's Better, But...

 

Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve?

 

 

No cold, Flu or Covid-19 so far. Yep, you read that right, our most recent Covid-19 home test is negative, so could 2022 be the year that breaks the spell? Will this be, the first time since moving to the San Joaquin Valley, that Alan and I aren't sick on Christmas? To be clear, we have both been sick on Christmas in other years, but not with the consistency we have experienced since moving here. We have been sick, EVERY... SINGLE... YEAR since 2015! Life is an adventure, but last year was a little more than an adventure, and I would rather not repeat it. Sometimes it feels like Covid-19 is just waiting in the wings, like with the original Omicron, which was basically unavoidable. Shrug. The numbers are climbing here again. They are climbing everywhere, because folks are dumb as dirt, and don't take it seriously. Sigh. If you look at the stats, things are definitely better than last year, but, there is even more room to improve, and the problem is, I can do my part, but if the guy at the store next to me isn't, I am sunk. I guess that is pretty much true about most situations in life. 

Sigh. I guess the best we can hope for at this point it is,

 

 IT'S BETTER, BUT... .

 

 ~Me

Northern Harrier And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #46

 

"At no other time than in autumn does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth, in a smell that is in now way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honey t sweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost."

 

~Rainer-Maria Rilko

Letter On Cezanne

 

Click To Enlarge

Sometimes, when I am out taking pictures, I wonder what some of the artists I have admired most like, Cezanne or Monet, would think of the beautiful autumn scenes I am currently enjoying. I am sure they enjoyed as much their scenery, as I do, Monet had quite a beautiful garden, but I just mean right now in time when we are standing on the precipice of losing so much. The drought, no doubt caused by Global warming, has inflicted a lot of damage to the ecosystem of California. I mentioned a while back about the Monarch butterflies all but having disappeared from Pacific Grove, and right now, Yolo seems to have a lot fewer birds than last year at this time. The hawks and vultures were out and about the other day, but there were very few ducks, geese or even Ibis to be seen! So, I made the best of it. I got a better picture of a Long-billed Curlew then I had on file, and of this fella too, the Northern Harrier. I have been seeing more and more of it. I just saw one on Desmond road the day before I visited Yolo, and while there I saw another one. That's more than I saw all of last year, which is a shame, because what a work of art it is!

 

 

 

 

~Me

Say's Phoebe And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #45

 

"The wind was as ripe as apples,

 so full that you could almost bite every breath."

 

~Robert Newton Peck

Soup

 

It was cold this morning. Not a big surprise for November, right? But this cold weather seemed to come on really fast, like overnight, not the gradual transition one would usually see. There is snow on the foothills, and more on the way, and the birds love it! And I love it too! All kinds of birds are flying in now. The last couple days have been a real treat for the eyes! A Ruby-crowned Kinglet, in Cull Canyon the other day, and in Yolo Bypass, a Purple finch and this, a Say's Phoebe. It just flew past us, and landed on the top of a section of k-rail. Hell, it posed, which was delightful! While we were there we saw plenty of birds, and even an otter, but not really anything new to us, except this gorgeous, and cooperative bird. I am glad I got to see it! Just look at those colors and try to not smile! On the way home we stopped at Desmond road and we spotted a large group of Tundra swans, but I don't have a photo because they were so far away. I got pictures just good enough for an ID. Shrug. I will try again tomorrow. Tomorrow is beginning to sound like a really good word!

 

~Me

 

Autumn Picnics And Todays Autumn Leaf Of The Day #9

 

Still

By Jaakko A. Ahokas

 

In the fall, I believe in poetry again

if nothing else it is

a movement of the mind.

Summers ball together

into sticky lumps,

evenings are glass beads from one mould

for standard-size youth

winter a smooth heaviness, not even cold.

But the mind trembles

here, on the brink 

the mind trembles

there is life, after all,

there is life, still

unbelief left. 

 

A mother, father, and two baby Clark's Grebes frolic in the warm afternoon sun, in early autumn. The father swims a short distance away, and returns a little bit later with the perfect meal for their picnic... a shiny silver colored fish. He hands it off to one of his children, and floats over to his wife to give her a kiss. They are a happy American family, enjoying life in their home, the waters of the Clifton Court Forebay, in Byron, California. There is just something deeply magical about the sunshine in autumn, that no other season enjoys.

 

 

 

Today's Autumn Leaf Of The Day...

~Me

 

 

Canada Geese, Late In The Day. Plus Leaf #5

 

"If, of all the seasons, there is a season in which a person completely forgets himself and constantly watches the magical environment, it is undoubtedly autumn!"

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 

 That old familiar song... honk... honk honk. I am not completely sure what the geese are saying, but it sure sounds like, I love autumn, to me!

 

 

~Me