Solar Eclipse 2024 And Puppies And And And...

 

"Nations, like stars, entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Down and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.

 

~Victor Hugo 

 

It was a morning. There was a solar eclipse, and there was a group of puppies roaming the neighborhood to help us enjoy it. I hope to update this post later today, with pictures of the puppies, but for now just know they are... awesome. Labradors... I think. One is a gorgeous mink brown, the rest are black with white spots, although a bit different on each one. I call the brown one Peanut. The smallest one is black, with white on his chest. He has one blue eye and one brown. A little slower then the rest of the litter, but friendly, and he seems a bit shy, or maybe. He's a great dog. I call him Aidan. All of them will be, and I wish them the best of luck. It's apparent someone dumped them here, sigh. So they deserve some luck. They are so wonderful, and my heart aches to take them in, but... well... kitties live here right now. It's just bad timing.

 

 

Now, onto the Solar Eclipse and other stories in the news. First of all, it was only a partial eclipse in my area. About 35%. Still it was fun, and I enjoyed attempting some photos. It's a bright sunny day, cold, you can feel the snow in the Sierra, but as days go, it was a stunner! So it was fun. It was nice to stretch my photographers legs and try for a difficult subject. I am happy with the way it turned out, but I think I did better last fall, with the eclipse. Shrug. The next total eclipse will be in 20 years. I will be 81. While I may stop blogging by then, I am hoping my camera will still be by my side and ready to go. Perhaps by then, I will be good enough, with even difficult subjects, that I will be able to stun the world with my beautiful photographs of the total eclipse of the sun. We'll see! In other news, Donald Trump is still trying to stall his hush money trial, and Marjorie Taylor Green hasn't been raptured yet! Weird... right?

Finally, macarons, new shoes, new toothbrushes, and a new wheelchair, all appeared in my life, all on the same day of the eclipse and the puppies. Some days are like that. No matter what, puppies should always be involved in any day.

More later.

 

 

Marching On

"It was one of those March days

 when the sun shines bright and the wind blows cold:

 when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

~Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

It's the last few weeks of winter, but you wouldn't know it. The hard rain of this past few months has finally let up, although we are due for a small storm this coming Sunday! The rain has been healing both for my moods, and for the drought damaged Central Valley! Everything is a beautiful green, or if in full bloom, pick, purple, white and a dark pink! It's pretty, and it inspires me to grab the camera and search for beauty. I didn't photograph much of winter, I just wasn't in the mood, but as my mood thaws, so does the earth, and it's just too much beauty to not embrace.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Happy Easter

Easter is...

Joining in a birdsong,

Eying an early sunrise,

Smelling yellow daffodils,

Unbolting windows and doors,

Skipping through meadows,

Cuddling newborns,

Hoping, believing,

Reviving spent life,

Inhaling fresh air,

Sprinkling seeds along furrows,

Tracking in the mud.

Easter is the soul's first taste of spring."

Richelle E. Goodrich

From Our House To Yours...

HAPPY EASTER!

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

And Spring Went BOING...

"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; 

the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!"

~Sitting Bull

Nikon CoolPix S3500

Well, appropriately for the last day of winter, a little light and color was added to my world. Yesterday afternoon, Alan found my pink Nikon CoolPix S3600 that went missing last autumn! I had only owned it a couple months, when I thought I had lost it forever, a sad occurrence if ever there was one! And I pretty much hung a puss for most of November and December over it, but my loving husband Alan, got me a new one, right around Christmas. It was one of my early gifts. I chose a Nikon CoolPix S3500, this time in purple. While I haven't gotten out very much in the time I have had it, from what I have seen of it's capabilities, it can hold it's own to the original Nikon. So now, with the new old camera back in my life I am very camera prolific! It was quite kind of winter to leave me with a special bit of sun... my gorgeous, girly Nikon CoolPix S3600 in pink. 

A pink camera, and a purple camera, perfect for photographing flowers!

WELCOME BACK TO MY

 NIKON S3600

 in Pink

October 24th 2014

Nikon CoolPix S3600

 

And Welcome To Spring!

Mood: Happy/Silly

~Me :)

Memories Of Monday Pumpkins And Roses On Monday

Pastorino's

Monday October 29th 2007

Half Moon Bay, California

"Songs and smells will bring you back to a moment in time more than anything else. It's amazing how much can be conjured with a few notes of a song or a solitary whiff of a room. A song you didn't even pay attention to at the time, a place that you didn't even know had a particular smell."

~Emily Giffin

  Something Borrowed

I came across this photo in my 2007 archives, and decided to post it. I took this picture on Monday, October 29th 2007, and when I look at it, I have to smile, because it had been a very nice day. Alan and I were in Half Moon Bay, at Pastorino's Pumpkin Patch, and everything had an amazing autumn glow to it. Big surprise, in that it was smack dab in the middle of autumn, but it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the roses were trying really hard to out-beauty the pumpkins! And oh my god... the smell of sweet spicy roses, and fresh pumpkin, and the chilly air, and the sound of children excited for Halloween. Ahhhh... If I close my eyes, I am right back there, and it's as if almost 8 years ago was yesterday!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

February Quince

"Groundhog found fog. New snows and blue toes. Fine and dandy for Valentine candy

Snow spittin; if you're not mitten-smitten, you'll be frostbitten! By jing-y feels spring-y."

~Old Farmer's Almanac 

This is one of the first photos taken with my new phone!

16 megapixels

5212 x 2988

Phase Detection Autofocus LED Flash

So far... I am IN LOVE!

Stay Tuned

I love my new phone. 

I love it so much, I am taking it out for Valentine's Day.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Pink

"Stop counting crayons, just draw pictures."

~RuPaul

Good advice! Sometimes it's just as simple as that!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Strength Of Observation

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way, so we must dig and delve unceasingly."

~Claude Monet

I have spent the last week or so digging deep into my archives, trying to get photos moved to the new computer. I should have saved the images to either a portable storage device, or online cloud, but I procrastinate a bit, so now I find myself tasked with going through files going all the way back to 2003, to make decisions about what to store, what to keep on a flash drive, and what to store in one of the older computers I keep for just that... storing files.

It's quite a task, I have a lot of images to file, but it's a lot of fun too! I have been smiling a lot the last few days as I reminisce about my kitty Elvis... gosh I miss him... and all the flowers and interesting places I have been in the last decade! I have come across photos, and memories, I hadn't considered in years! I think tip-toeing through the archives more often! Sometimes one forgets just how happy they really are, and how happy they have been!

Life is good!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Appreciating The Light

"Dreams are what guide us, art is what defines us, math is what makes it all possible, and lights our way."

~Mike Norton

I saw this beautiful flower on my visit last month to Flowerland, in Albany. I could have just stood in that light and admired the beautiful pink color all day! Sometimes light just pulls me in, and warms me, not in a harsh way, more like a hug. This particular day was cold, and overcast, so it felt especially good to just stand in the light. Not a care in the world.

It was nice. :)

One day, years ago, my dear friend Steven described me as, "Carly... seeker of light."

At the time I had to wonder why he saw that in me. I felt that I was, or at least had been, a really negative, dark thinking person. But perhaps people, especially friends, can see things in us we can't see in ourselves. Anyway, while it took me a little while to believe him, I realized one day that he had no reason to lie. So yeah, I guess I am a seeker of light!

That was quite a gift he gave me that day. I would give anything to be able to say Thank you! He always took the most beautiful photograph of flowers! I appreciated his talent. And appreciated the the encouragement he gave me when it came to my own photography. He had plenty of light in him too!

Mood: Reflective

~Me :)

Reflection Of A Waterlily

"Sometimes a girl just has to dive under the duvet and regroup."

~Jody Gehrman, Confessions Of A Triple Shot Betty

I think the cloud is beginning to pass. I hope so anyway. I am not pushing things, so today's photo is from the archives. September, 2005. Alan and I were visiting the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. We walked the whole place then finally visited the last room, that is kept extremely HOT and HUMID because all the wonderful tropical plants are at their happiest when it is HOT and Humid. The amazon waterlilies were thriving, and couldn't have been more lovely. I couldn't put the camera down! I was so pleased to be able to capture this pink one, with just the right angle and lighting, to bring it's reflection in focus so finely. It was a good day with the camera!

I am focusing on good memories as I work through the negativity.

Mood: Content

~Me :)

A Week Of Pink: Days 3 And 4... Blossoms In Dark And Light

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

~Anais Nin

Blossoms. To me, they are the most beautiful part of spring. We are currently in the middle of my least favorite season, and it is more like summer than anything resembling spring! All the blossoms came and went by the early part of the season. California has been unseasonably warm this year, in fact, I only remember a few truly cold days back at the end of November! Otherwise it's been depressingly bright and sunny! If everything is this green now, and the temperatures continue the way they are going, I think we will have a very early autumn this year! Not that I am complaining, it's my favorite season, but I hate the thought of it being cold and rainy for Halloween! Oh well, if it is, I will be warm, I am thinking of going as a Sock Monkey this year to match my car!

;)



About the photos...

The top photo was taken right as the sun began to set. I waited until the very last moment I could to snap it, and then applied a little photo editing magic to achieve the desired effect of a night blossom. I loved working with that photo! It has always been one of my favorite projects!

Photo #2 was a simple photo to do. It was taken on a clear, crisp, cool spring day. It took almost no effort, which makes it one of those photos I have a hard time taking any compliments for. I didn't do anything but see a moment of nature, and save it for all time. It took no special talent, just maybe the ability to spot the beauty in an otherwise ordinary day.

Photo #3 below, was taken on a very foggy, cloudy late winter day in 2006. It was the end of February I think, and it had been warm the previous week, then turned cold and misty suddenly. I was lucky to find some blossoms that didn't have much, if any, cold damage to them. I loved photographing this white blossom. There was just something about the scene that could have kept me there forever!

 

Okay, two days, and three different looks at blossoms under different natural conditions, and the opportunities they provided me. I loved these times, and I am still referencing back to what I learned on those days! That's my favorite thing about photography, while you are grabbing a moment to save forever, you are constantly learning from that moment the rest of your creative life!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Look Back At April 2014...

"All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person's (or thing's) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time's relentless melt."

~Susan Sontag

April was a busy month from day one! Joey spent a couple days in the hospital to be neutered, we made the decision to buy a car, and while the actual purchase went smoothly enough, there was some elements of the whole thing that brought about some unnecessary stress! But, as of today, we are at the end of the month and all that is behind us. That's why I enjoy doing these monthly retrospectives so much! It gives me one last chance to look back, and then let go! Each month, like each day, is a new start to do it all again, and get it right! You don't have to wait until January 1st to begin anew!

Let's Take A Look Back Shall We?

April 2014 Gallery...













April was certainly yellow... wasn't it? LOL. That's okay, May is getting off to a decidedly PINK start. LOL. What can I say... it's the middle of spring! 

:)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Week Of Pink Day Two: Pink Butterfly Car Magnets...

"Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun makes at twilight and in the down."

~C. JoyBell C.

Isn't She Lovely... 



My new car is silver. And I love silver, but I thought my car could use a tiny bit of color... just a splash! So, last week I decided to order some butterfly car magnets. They came in a package of 4. One Yellow. One Green. One Blue. And one Pink. They pink one is my favorite. In 2013, when we went car shopping for our first Chevy Spark, we narrowed it down to two colors... Denim Blue, and Techno Pink. There was NO WAY I was going to make Alan drive around in a pink car, but boy was I ever in love with that color! Alan means more to me, so off into the sunset we went in the Denim colored 2013 Chevy Spark! It was okay, I liked blue.

When we went shopping for a Spark this time around, there was NO 2013 Chevy Spark in Techno Pink to be found. Sigh. Bye, Bye girlie colored car... HELLO pretty, shiny, Silver Ice! One of my favorite cars from years gone by was a silver car that I affectionately nicknamed TINFOIL. It was a 1996 KIA. Terrible car as far as the brakes went, honestly, we replaced the brakes, pads and drums 3 times in 2 years, but it was a comfortable ride, and got amazing gas mileage. Her name was Sophie. 

A person makes a lot of memories in a car. The places you drive a car comes to mean a lot to you. Work. The hospital. Your parents funeral. One HELL of a Girl's Day. Dates with your husband. Simple chores. Sometimes when you just need to close the windows and turn the music up as high as you can, so you can sing without scaring the cats... THAT is what your car is there for! So why not give it a little personality above and beyond it's initial first impression?

Now I just hope no one steals them, but I know there is a good chance they will. Sigh. But maybe they won't. Fingers crossed. 

SHRUG!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

ART FOR YOUR CAR (Amazon.com)

A Week Of Pink Day One... Pink Promise Rose At Twilight

Pink Promise Rose At Twilight
October, 2012
Twilight

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing... kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."

~Audrey Hepburn

I know... I should have chosen a more difficult color to find in spring, but instead, I chose PINK. That was my favorite color as a child, but as a grown-up no so much. I only have a few pieces in my closet that are pink because the color doesn't suit me that much. I just don't have the right complexion for it, much to my dismay. Pink was pretty much the only color I wore as a child. I absolutely loved it. Now as an old lady, I tend to wear more earth tones. Odd how our tastes change as we mature, and we begin to dress attractively, and for success. I still have plenty of pink in my life, my rose garden is one example, and then there are the pink touches throughout my home. I am just a little more aware of how to use pink to make me happy!

I like being my age. I am so much smarter and aware of things.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Mr. Blue Sky

"Pink is a beautiful color because it is one of the colors that the sun makes at twilight and in the dawn."

C. Joybell C.

This past Saturday had one of the deepest, loveliest, blues skies I had seen in a long time. And right in the middle of the blue sky, came this arrangement of yellow and pink balloons. Yellow and pink, especially in this hue, is my favorite color combination. I couldn't help but watch them and smile as the floated up... up... up... and away to some far off party, maybe on a distant planet, or perhaps a local car dealership holding a hootenanny. One never really knows about these things.

:)

Mood: Happy

ELO "Mr. Blue Sky"



~Me :)

Why?

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden."

~Ruth Stout

 

Ellipsis is going to be a bit flower and garden heavy for the next few days, except for an update I have planned about my adventures with Windows 8. It's been a little over a month, and I have figured some things out so I want to revisit some previous gripes I had. Good, bad or otherwise, I am immensely happy that I have been able to learn something new. Over all I am a happy girl, but there are still a ton of questions I would love to ask Microsoft! LOL.

Like maybe... WHY? LOL. That's all, just... WHY?

Stay Tuned!

 "Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again."

 ~Gustav Mahler


Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: My Vehicle Of Choice

From For Ellipsis

"Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams."

-Mary McCleary

RRC: My Vehicle Of Choice
Suggested by Suzanne, of the blog, SuzyQ421's Photoblog

Suzanne had a really good idea with this one, basically we are to spend a little time pimping our favorite rides! Above you see my car Lilith. I bought her in late September of 2006. She is a 2007 Saturn ION, in Cypress Green. Alan has a matching on in Golden Cashmere. We bought our cars on the same day. There are a lot of pluses to doing things that way, but a lot of minuses as well, like having both registrations come due at the same time. Sheesh. It will $450 out the window in the next couple months, just for car registrations. Oh well, I love my car. She is dependable, and easy to drive, and she is a good fit for me. She is actually the second Saturn I have owned, my previous one was a 1999 Saturn SL1, in black and white, and when I bought that one, Alan also purchased an SW1 Wagon. As you can tell, we love the Saturn line of cars, and we were sorry to hear about the possibility of the brand being done away with. Hopefully things will work out in the end.

Here is my other favorite ride... my bike. We love to take our bikes across the bay, and ride them along the Marina Green, Fort Point and the Promenade at Chrissy Field, in San Francisco. It's beautiful there. :)

From For Ellipsis

Well, that's it for me! How about you, what do you drive? Thanks you Suzanne, I loved this idea! Now, go see what everyone else came up with, just follow the links...

Linking List (Welcome New Members)

1. Suzanne... SuzyQ421's Photoblog
Posted!

2. Carly... Ellipsis
Posted!

3. Betty... A Corgi in Southern California
Posted!

4. Monica... Shutterly Happy
Posted!

5. Jen... Phun with Photography


6. J.R. ... Eskimo Blue Boys Deviant Art


7. Chrissie... Chrissea's Corner


8. Martha... Menagerie
Posted!

9. Boliyou... Endomental


10. Karen... Outpost Mavarin
Posted!

11. Linda... Mommy's Treasurers
Posted!

12. Molly Mavis... Visual Dialogues
Posted!

13. Sherrie... Sherrie's Stuff
Posted!

14. Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
Posted!

15. Lin... Ups and Downs With Anastasia
Posted!

16. Maria... Everything Can Be Green
Posted!

17. Kara... Hip Chick's Home
Posted! 07/26/09

18. Fhaye... Photodito
Posted! 07/26/09

-Carly

Round Robin Challenge: "Pink"

"One of the most important things for a critic to learn is how to sleep undetected in a theater."

-William Archer

Pink is my favorite color! It has been my whole life, although I am rather fond of green as well, but there is just something about pink that makes me feel happy inside. I am so pleased that someone chose such a happy color to honor. As I looked in my digital photo files for something pink, I realized something peculiar, it seems that while pink might be my favorite color, as it turns out, I have photographed very few things that are pink! Odd. I will have to work on that. I did come across a few examples that represent my favorite color well, such as the picture above of the, Fremont Theater, in San Luis Obispo, California. It is such a pretty theater, especially at night when all the lights are on. The next time I am in SLO, I will have to take more photos of this historic movie house. As a matter of fact, I have been thinking about doing a photo series of theaters this summer. My camera is always on the move... well... as much as I can find the energy for. :) I hope you enjoy the following examples of "Pink."

Fireworks at the Kaboom concert, May 2006.

Pink orchid at the Conservatory of Flowers, summer 2006.

Gorgeous pink/purple cliffs along the Monterey Bay, spring 2007.

Renee, author of the blog, "Ode to the Muse" chose this challenge for us. Thank you Renee, for the fun challenge! Please be sure to drop by her blog and the blogs of all our participants to see their entries for this challenge! And don't forget to drop by the official Round Robin blog this Thursday, to find out the topic for our next round of the challenges!



-OndineMonet

Linking List

1. Renee... Ode to the Muse
POSTED!

2. Karen... Outpost Mavarin
POSTED!

3. Carly... Ellipsis... Suddenly Carly
POSTED!

4. Kerrin... A New Day
POSTED!

5. Janet... Fond of Photograhy
POSTED!

6. Meg... In Quest of the Truth
POSTED!

7. Cosette... Birds of Venus
POSTED!

8. Marie... Photographs and Memories Too
POSTED!

9. Gina... Gina's Space
POSTED!

10. Teena... It's all about me!
POSTED!

11. Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
POSTED!

Neither Emotions Nor Conflicts

"Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts."

-Sigmund Freud

The tulips at the Queen Wilhelmina Garden, in Golden Gate Park, is gorgeous right now. Tulips everywhere, and in my favorite color combination, yellow and pink. Every spring it is a different color of tulip to look forward to, right now it is spectacular. Alan and I are going back next week to have lunch there, I wasn't really on my game today with the camera. Sometimes getting out with the camera after therapy is, well, therapeutic. Sometimes... sigh... I should just put the camera down, and enjoy the view in front of me. That's the thing about taking pictures, occasionally it comes down to the photo, or the memory. There's no shame in choosing the memory over the moment, you just come back later, when you are ready to focus.

-OndineMonet
"Beautiful"
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, Ca
March 21, 2007
Afternoon

The Focus We Choose

"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."

-William Somerset Maugham

Long day with the camera. Good day. Productive day. A day where at the end, I feel like I accomplished something... GOOD. I am helping with a project, more of which I will share at a later time, that is helping me weed out all the head noise that has been bogging me down since late December. Sometimes, when we are willing to set the bar higher, and not settle, the best things come our way, and we find that what we thought we could never do, is only a matter of closing our eyes and jumping head first into the future. I know I make it sound easy... it's not... resistance to the future is normal... but sometimes the future is the focus we choose, for me, the future lives in the lens of my camera. :) Don't you just love the affirmations this time of year provides? :) It's all new, in every direction. Life.

-OndineMonet
"In The Pink"
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
March 7th, 2007
Afternoon