A Winter's Day In Monterey

 

The Lone Cypress

17 Mile Drive

Monterey, California

January 8th 2024

“Monterey is a place, a grating noise, a quality of light,

 a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.”

 

~John Steinbeck,

  Cannery Row

 

 

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!

 

Photographed By Hubby

Dude, There's A Bird On Your Head

 

"He never forgot anything, 

but he never bothered to arrange his memories."

 

~John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

 

Yep, that's John Steinbeck with a seagull on his head. The statue is in Monterey, California, in the Cannery Row district of the town. I photographed this duo, October 17th, 2018, but this is the first time posting it on my blog... I think. I may have posted it previously, but not in this context. The context I am referring to here, is working with one photograph, different styles, such as black and white, color and sepia. In this case I liked the black and white style a lot more than the others. Steinbeck looks more realistic, just weathered. Like an old man sitting very still with a bird on his head, but the color version gives all of the photograph's secrets away. The sepia was nice, but made the picture feel depressing somehow, rather than quirky. I think I have would rather not dwell too much in sad images. I am still learning to not be stressed out constantly and it's getting better, so why mess with things? Right? The last couple weeks have felt like they were a couple weeks, with is a strange feeling in and of itself. It's almost as if time is righting itself.

 

 

~Carly

Walking In Autumn In 2019

"It is autumn on tip-toe that silently walks the hills and treads the forested expanses, gracing in each step a billion leaves

 in a chorus of colors so brilliantly ingenious

 that a thousand museums or more will never possess

 the talent to produce what autumn effortlessly creates."

~Craig Lounsbrough

It's dark and cold, and the trees have finally started turning spicy autumn. Finally, I feel happy, and at ease. I hope the leaves will be able to carry me through winter, but the leaves, and sometimes whole branches, are falling to the ground dry and dead. It makes me sad, and worries me deeply. Climate change is apparent in so many ways. It's not just the devastating wild fires California has seen, but last year, when we visited the, Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary, it was depressingly apparent that the Monarch grove had a lot less butterflies than in previous years. Yet another victim of Climate Change damage, which is happening all over California. It's scary and sad. I am committed to doing my part, as is Alan, but America needs to elect someone who understands basic science, and can be the living example of how to care for our nation and planet.

 I pray that folks will wake up, and vote for a president that can be a real leader on the issue of Climate Change, but the truth is, folks have free will to do what they will. So, either folks will wake up to the science or they won't. Our future, it would seem, is a 50/50 bet. Either we will survive or we won't, but if you take a closer look, a realistic look, it's more like if something doesn't change, regarding America's approach to the climate crisis, soon, it will be more accurate to say, that we have no chance at all. I first heard about climate change (global warming) when I was in 3rd grade, back in the old days when it wasn't controversial to take care of the earth. Now we live in the information age, where we can check statistics and facts on how things have changed, regarding global warming, over time, but it's being discouraged and deemed a hoax by the most powerful office in the world. And rather than think for themselves, those who put him in office would rather not have to think, or read, or do their own research.

A hoax?

How many more autumns will I see?

More and more damage to towns and communities yearly.

In every state.

How can anyone watch an entire community burn to the ground and believe Climate Change is a hoax? Or watch helpless as unprecedented floods or storms ravage two or three states at a time, and call it a hoax? 

When will I see the last California autumn? 

Right now, it's easy to believe that I am living it, right now.

#49 Leaf Of The Day

November 10th 2019

Photographed October 8th 2019

Berkeley, California

Nikon

~Mood: Quiet

~Me   

 

 

Dancing In The Wind

"Autumn colors remind us, we are all dancing in the wind."

~Lorin Morgan-Richards 

As we are in the last month of the year, and I may not be able to do as much photography outdoors as I would like, I thought I would visit this year's archived photos, to have a second look at all the amazing things I photographed, but never got the chance to post. I love photographing birds, and this little guy was just too beautiful to let fly off and never seen again. Look at him! There are a ton of these birds, or ones similar to him, but the autumn sun was shining down on him, in such a way that it nearly took my breath away.

Why hadn't I never noticed how absolutely stunning these tiny birds are?

He is a Rusty Blackbird, and I spotted him near the rock wall, at Lover's Park, in Pacific Grove. We were there in October, and the air, even near Monterey Bay, was still warm, and the October sun was just beginning to turn that amazing shade of gold, that we only get to see in autumn! I was so happy that day, because the Monterey peninsula has always felt so much like a second home to me. All that natural beauty, right along my beautiful Pacific. It's second only to my gorgeous, vibrant San Francisco!

San Francisco. Oh my. I haven't spent nearly enough time there this year! We spent a little time there, while we were on vacation, but I need to see it again, before we cross over into the new year! The holidays in San Francisco always meant so much to Alan and I, because there is so much to do and see. The move to Stockton, inn 2015, changed some things for us, and one of them is being able to hop across the bay any time we want! San Francisco simply isn't as easy to visit as it once was, but it's not going anywhere. That's a comforting thought, it is waiting for me, well, for us, just over the hills!

Anyway, back to this lovely bird! He is identified as a Rusty Blackbird (Breeding Male) and unfortunately, while he had seen like a fairly common black bird at first glance, they are actually one of the most rapidly declining species of birds. They have declined between 85-90 percent over the last 40 years, according to Cornell Lab Of Ornithology. That fact truly saddens me... deeply. How many more species of birds, and wildlife in general, do we have to lose, before something is done to correct the damage already done to the planet? I am glad I took the time that day to photograph this lovely bird, and to look up the information about him! Who knows if I will even be able to find one, should I make it back to Monterey Bay next year? I am sorry for all the time I took his species for granted.

Take my advice... stop and look at as much natural beauty around you as you can. Birds. The leaves. Flakes of snow. Lady bugs. Spiders. If it's a part of the natural world, really look at it. Maybe photograph it, but certainly take time to enjoy it, because you never know if you will ever get a chance to see it again! The earth is changing, and not for the better. Sometimes, it feels like earth is in the winter of it's life, but God I hope I'm wrong!

Rusty Blackbird

Cornell Lab Of Ornithology

 #72 Leaf Of The Day

December 2nd 2018

Photographed September 29th 2018

Ione, California

Samsung

~Mood: Quiet

~Me

 

 

On All Hallows Eve... A Look Back At October 2014

"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.

Stay Tuned!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)