"The greatest artist and web-designer ever, is indeed a spider!!"
~Munia Kahn
With summer on it's way out the seasonal door, I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorite parts of this time of year, the amazing summer webs! I will continue to look for webs throughout autumn, but there is just something about the webs spun in summer that speaks to me. I just wish I could have seen the spider, or spiders, who built this intricate arachnid condominium.
What says, it's the last days of summer. quite like finding a gorgeous, Great Egret, sitting in a tree, waiting for a dragonfly to hop into it's mouth.
Can you feel it in the air? Is the sun seeming to be a little more yellow and bright? I know, I know, it's still summer, but it has seemed to me that both those things have begun happening out my window, for the last a couple weeks, so there is not doubt in my mind, it's already autumn! I guess pre-season football has also helped me feel, despite fighting a stomach virus, like autumn is here to heal me, just with a wave and a slant of lovely light. The last day of August is almost here, in fact it's tomorrow, so I really don't mean to rush the natural order of things, but this has been a brutal month as far as temperatures go, and I am really looking forward to the temperatures of autumn. Even the days that are hot, bring early, cool nights that require a sweater, or at least a cozy blanket at the end of the bed!
Anyway, autumn is almost here, so enjoy a little preview of what could be.
It's on 65 days to go until the midterm elections. The midterms should be the great healer this year! Here's to Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026!
"Sunsets prove that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully."
~Kristen Butler
Here are my photos of a gorgeous sunset. Both taken along Franklin blvd the other night while we were birding and batting. But, is it the past spring sunset photos, or the first summer photos of 2026? Summer hasn't officially started yet, but a couple weeks ago, we celebrated Memorial day, which most folks think of as the unofficial beginning of summer! I guess we are closer to summer than spring. Spring is feeling tired and quiet, while summer is raring to go! Okay, I talked myself into it. These photos represent the first sunset photos in my summer folder!
"Bees do have a scent you know, and if they don't they should,
for their feet are dusted with the spice from a million flowers."
~Ray Bradbury
Dandelion Wine
Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer, but reality says we have about three weeks until the season really begins. Either way, there are signs everywhere that cheer me up in a summer way, and one of them is roadside sunflowers, and little bees enjoying them. It's a pretty happy turn of events, and quite welcome. Especially when it's May 27th, and it's cold.
Mother nature certainly has a strange sense of humor.
so each petal that falls will remind you that the earth breathes and the moon rises."
~Carolyn Riker
My Love Has Not Forgotten You
It's been hot the last few days, and there is more of it along the way! The wildflowers are all drying out now, there's still roadside sunflowers, but the more delicate ones are definitely on the decline. Despite all that, I came across a small patch of California poppies, and they were so beautiful, they made me smile! I knew this was an opportunity not to be missed!
Ed, has insomnia. He is depressed. His wife is cheating on him. He's screwing up at work. Probably because he has insomnia, due to his depression and his wife cheating on him. Or any combination of the three dynamics, but one night everything changes, and it all gets worse! Or maybe better. You see the sudden encounter with a stranger named, Diana, rocks Ed's life. Is she just what Ed needed? Or is she the worse thing that could have happened to him. You get the drift... Ed leads a dull life... but life can change on a dime, with twists and turns you never see coming, and suddenly life isn't a boring and depressing routine! With a great cast and an amazing, title song by, B.B. King, Into The Night, is a fun little mystery that will keep you guessing, what can possibly happen next?
"Be like a butterfly and a flower... beautiful and sought after, yet unassuming and gentle."
~Jarod Kintz
Despite all the depressing stuff going on, it's not like there isn't beauty in the world. While on Woodbridge road the other day, I spotted the first of two unique types of butterflies for 2026, floating along the wildflowers along the road! This particular one is the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) which is one of my favorites, and seeing it reminds me that there is a lot to focus on, beyond politics. Why do I and should I, let the stupid stuff steal my joy? I wish I could answer that question! Today, for example, my body hurts head to toe, all because I tensed up yesterday, in anticipation of nuclear annihilation of Iran, and the very real possibility of World War III. I should have known Trump would Taco at the last minute, but I wasn't sure he would! Oh well, that was Tuesday, and today is today, and we all got here one moment at a time, so going forward I am trying that! One moment at a time.
Wish me luck!
I will have more new photos this week, so come back for that!
"Life is short... buy those shoes, have a sense of humor and take a break when you want."
~Unknow
Yesterday was Easter, and we had a good time. We enjoyed the boys having fun picking toys out of their Peep's Easter basket. Tyler immediately put his catnip toy mouse into his water bowl. He has a bug up his ass about that. He puts all his toys in his water bowl. Strange. It's like he's seen fish in a pond. I know he hasn't, but odd habit remains. Simon chose a little blue bunny to bat around. So sweet. Later they will get some nom noms and big snuggles. I am really in love with my little stress buster cats. I don't know where I would be without them! Mom and dad are made a special dinner of, roast chicken, stuffing and green bean bake! Delicious. Despite the awful things happening right now, history will tell the tale, we are had a good day. The way it should be!
"Easter is the one morning in all of history where dawn came twice;
once in the eastern horizon and again in eternity."
~Charles Lounsbrough
HAPPY EASTER!
I hope your day is filled with peace and love. I will be spending the morning preparing an Easter Basket for the kitties. It's Simon and Tyler's first Easter, so I hope they will have a ball. I am filling the yellow chick basket I have, with all kinds of goodies. Plastic eggs with catnip toys inside, Temptations cat treats. Some Delectable chicken sticks, and Temptation's nom noms. And some tinkle balls. There is a little something for everyone! Hopefully pictures will come tomorrow, we'll see how well the basket goes over with the boys! Sometimes they are really into things like this, other times they are like meh. Everything is TBD.
"Not humans, but birds often witness the most beautiful mornings in this world."
~Mehmet Murat ildan
Saturday is going to be a really busy day, so I am posting today about some beautiful birds I found tucked away in my archived photos in my storage files. Most of the pics have never been posted before, so it feels good to share them now. Who knows why I passed them up originally?
Note: I am taking the weekend off from the posting to the blog, but I will be back on Monday with a new post, detailing all about Saturday's, No Kings Rally!
Enjoy some music while you scroll.
I heard this song in the movie, The Big Year, and fell in love with it!
'Today will be terrible, but don't worry, it won't be as terrible as tomorrow or Friday."
~Jonah Goldberg
Today is the last full day of winter. Can you believe it? As of tomorrow afternoon, it will only take one more season to get me to autumn again! All the comforts are awaiting. Cozy sweaters. Hot chocolate. Amazing holidays. The midterm elections! I am giddy thinking about it! But first I have to get through the next 6 months! The very half of the year I despise the most. Spring and Summer. Look at those temperatures! It's been super hot the last few days, which I could live without! And there is no real end in sight. We are breaking temperatures in Northern California every day! There's just something rude about Summer temperatures just walking all over Spring to deliver days so hot you can't even think. The last full day of winter should have it's last bow in peace. Don't you think?
"As one grows older, one should grow more expert at finding beauty in unexpected places, in deserts and even in towns, in ordinary faces and among wild weeds."
~C.C. Vyvyan
This beautiful purple blossom is called, wild radish. It's that gorgeous purple you see dotting fields and roadsides, and that looks so lovely with the yellow wildflower known as field mustard or wild turnip. Both of these flowers grow all over California each spring and summer, but it never occurred to me to look up their stories. Both can be used in cooking, I think they would look beautiful on salads, as well as other uses. How great would it be to have a wildflower salad paired with a chilled soup like Gazpacho or maybe Honeydew mint, on a hot late spring afternoon! I have been trying to do more photography beyond my birding. I used to do that all the time in the Bay Area. Public art. Lighthouses. Flowers in my garden. You name it, I was there with my camera. A favorite was photographing celebrities, but, alas, there isn't much Hollywood north out here. But I am happy finding new things to see. This spring will probably bring some lovely cloud filled skies, and rainbows. So, as the Pacific flyway closes, it's about time I photographed all the colors of spring!
"When life gives you pumpkins, make pumpkin pies!"
~Unknown
Recently, while on Woodbridge road, in Lodi, I spotted these gourds, partially submerged under water. The colors caught my eye. Things are mostly gray right now, as one would expect in January, in the San Joaquin Valley, so colors catch my eye. This is a pretty easy time of year to spot a birds color, and shape from far away. but I knew instantly, from far down the road, that this wasn't a group of birds, it was the last of the farmland's harvest, giving back to the earth, and all the little creatures passing through. I never knew how damn beautiful autumn could be in winter. See how little it takes to make me truly happy? Squeeeeee!
"A lion does not flinch at the laughter coming from a hyena.
A gorilla does not budge from a banana thrown at it from a monkey.
A nightingale does not stop singing it's beautiful song, at the intrusion of an annoying woodpecker."
~Suzy Kassam
Rise Up And Salute The Sun: The Writings Of Suzy Kassam
The weather was a gentle mixture of sunshine, rain and rainbows. Well, I guess rainbows are more of a weather phenomenon then weather itself, but the point is, we didn't actually get all the apocalypse predicted. The Sierras, saw heavy snow, and the Bay Area was slammed pretty hard, but here in the San Joaquin country, we made it through pretty well! Louis Park was pretty today, that's where I photographed this gorgeous Acorn woodpecker, resting among the last leaves in the park. Birds were easier to find, as you might imagine, but I didn't get anything new, what I did get was beautiful, and it gives me an idea for what to plan for when we begin a new year of birding, on January 1st! There were lots of birders on the roads with us, which was nice, it's always good to see!
It's the last day, well partial day, of autumn, so I though it would be fun to feature a movie that brought a little autumn horror to Christmas. This movie is the second in the "Conjuring" series, and a holiday favorite for hubby and me. It's set in 1977 Enfield London England, and details the famous Enfield haunting of the Hodgson family, which coincidently, takes place during Christmas. There are plenty of scares in this movie, so watch it in the dark, but make no mistake, there are plenty of heartwarming moments as well. I know, it's a little off beat as a choice for a Christmas movie recommendation, but it's a good change of pace movie. Give it a try. I just love the autumn months, they give us such variety in our available choices!
This gorgeous leaf is from my yard. I have the most beautiful Sugar Maple in my front yard, I've told this before, but I live for this tree to turn each Autumn, and that's is most of the time around, mid-October. This year, however, it only turned after Thanksgiving, a full month later than it usually does! So I have very few leaves to share in the project. That made me sad, but even after the season ends, I will share what beauty is still left. I can't let it go, without sharing the last of it's in all it's glory!
When someday you return to Christmastown, would you tell Santa about our little homeless toys? I'm sure he will find little boys and girls who will take them in. A toy is never truly happy until it is loved by a child."
~Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Who didn't love, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, growing up? It's first airing on TV was in 1964. I was 2, my sister was 12, and my brother would have been 16. I can't remember the original broadcast, but I am sure me and my siblings were siting around our old black and white TV watching it! Years later, I was growing up alone, as my siblings moved on their way, but every Christmas I had great old gems to enjoy, even if on my own, year after year, and even now! So, I will be making the hot chocolate and cuddling up with hubby to watch this old lovely holiday classic.
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