Happy Valentine's Day

I love you.

 I hate you. 

I like you.

 I hate you.

 I think you're stupid. 

I think you're a loser.

 I think you're wonderful.

 I want to be with you.

 I don't want to be with you. 

I would never date you.

 I hate you. 

    I love you... 

I think the madness started the moment we met and you shook my hand. 

Did you have a disease or something?

~Shannon L. Adler

Oh my God, have I ever felt like this before! I have fallen in love at first sight. I once took 12 years to fully fall in love, and it was totally worth the wait! I feel in love many times with the wrong person, and just once with the right one. I have fallen in love with stars so high in the sky, that I will never be able to touch, only admire from here on earth. Which is terrific, because that light will always be there. You know the light... right? The light of perfection. The light that lives in the part of the sky where the picnic is always perfect, and where there is always a cool breeze moves gently past your face that always smells a bit like lavender, and where his eyes hold your eyes for a million years. You know this is fantasy love, and it has it's place. It's important. And one of the best parts about being alive. It's all part of a dream life, that is just as relevant as the real thing. Just ask any one of my celebrity crushes, because chances are, they have also felt that way about someone, at some point in their life. The crush... is there anything else like it? No, not quite. The crush takes no work, and it lives as long as you want it to. The crush lives forever, up in the tiny lights in the sky. 

My Celebrity Crushes

  (In no particular order)

David Duchovny

Micky Dolenz

Hubert Humphrey

Richard Thomas (John-Boy Walton)

Anson Williams

David Cassidy

Steve Wozniak

Harry Connick Jr.

Dylan McDermott

Keith Olbermann

Mark Harmon

Bruce Willis (David Addison)

David Hedison

Judge Reinhold

Steven King (the author)

Bruce Boxleitner

Paul McCartney

Dr. Robert Reich

Harrison Ford

Pierce Brosnan

::::Sigh::::

Dreamy, and as unreachable as the stars. Thank goodness!

:)

"I want to touch with my mouth. His mouth, with my mouth. Maybe his neck too. But first things first: Make him aware I exist. 

It's possible that he already aware, if only in a

 'don't step on the small girl' kind of way."

~Laini Taylor

Night Of Cake And Puppets

Real love is the best love. But crush love has it's place too. 

If only to remind one how wonderful it is here on earth!

Love every single day, as much as you can!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mood: HAPPY

~Me :)

Far Off Laughter On Late Winter Afternoons

"The Earth Is Art, The Photographer Is Only A Witness."

~Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Earth from Above

God has been working overtime as an artist lately... at least in my little corner of the earth. I am continuing to enjoy the sight of a bounty of beautiful autumn leaves, falling to the earth alongside the the softest of pink blossoms. When I see a late winter afternoon produce this kind of color, and shadow, I can't help but imagine that late in the evening, long after the park is closed, there are all kinds of spirits and sprites throwing hilarious drunken parties. Ones where they spend their entire time drinking all kinds of lovely elixirs, and making fun of the mere mortals like myself who can't believe nature can be this beautiful! Nature is a strange and wonderful magical realm.

Here are the original photos with the Watercolor filter versions alongside. I am thinking of doing a series of paintings next autumn. We'll see.



 

 

Tell me, when you are out and it's just you and your camera, do you ever hear tiny far off laughter?

And then trip for no apparent reason?

Is it always clumsiness?

Or do more than leaves, blossoms and the occasional animal haunt the parks and woods?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

NOTE: I am still fighting this cold, but I hope to have some new and exciting photos soon! Until then, I still have some photos from late February and early March that haven't been posted before.

Stay Tuned!

First Comes Autumn

"The last fling of winter is over... the earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it. It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell."

~Donald Culross Peattie

For the next five days or so, there will be some chilly weather systems moving through the Bay Area that will bring some fog, moderate rain and fairly cool temperatures, but it won't be harsh because basically, winter has already moved on. The snow last week on Mount Hamilton was short lived, but amazingly beautiful all the same, and it is more than likely the last time we will see it dusting the Diablo range this year. There will likely be a bit of a snow fall in the Sierra, but schedules being what they are, I am not sure I can make it up there to do any photography. That makes me a little sad, because our trip to Mt. Hamilton gave me a wonderful chance to experiment with lighting that I don't get to experiment with often. I loved how one moment the sun would create a halo affect around trees or branches and blossoms, but the wind around a corner and the whole scene would suddenly appear to have a blue cast on it. For an amateur such as myself, it was a lot of fun to work with!

Still, I have very few complaints about the situation with the weather. I plan to grab the cameras and head into Tilden Park for some late afternoon photography. Tilden never lets me down! There are plenty of opportunities to work with lighting and shadows. I am especially fond of the area around Little Farm and Lake Anza. Lots of birds and different kinds of trees, and if there is time, the Botanic Garden always provides some of the parks loveliest pathways and small trails. The best way to approach a day in Tilden is to plan not to plan! LOL. Just grab the cameras and let the scenes unfold without expectations. And when you finish in the park, there are usually some stunning sunsets to see! Grizzly Peak Boulevard is one of my favorite places to photograph the sun setting behind the Golden Gate. I never get tired of watching it!

Here are the remaining photos from the series I did last week in Walnut Creek and Cull Canyon Lake...

First Comes Autumn


And Now Spring
"Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be the only one of his instruments, not the composer."
 ~ Geoffrey Charlesworth


Proof Winter Was Here...
"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley


It will be time to feed and nurture the rose garden soon. The roses need some vitamins and a good solid dusting of cinnamon to begin the season. I am looking forward to seeing all those beautiful rose faces again! My cat Hendrix loves to eat rose petals like potato chips! LOL. He is a silly cat! He even cries for them when he sees me near them, so I always pick one or two for him. Fortunately they are one of the plants that is non-toxic to cats. No lilies for this girl! I only give him a couple petals at a time, and I only work with organic gardening products that I mostly make myself. I have to, my boy loves the roses almost as much as I do! :)

Winter was just cold enough this year to inflict a small amount of damage to the rose garden, but it's okay, thankfully, the roses are a lot smarter than I am, and they know what to do! Spring is an expert at renewing life... I will trust the season, and some TLC from me, to help the garden along. By the time summer arrives, the garden will be in all it's glory, and I can rest a bit. I chose roses that have a strong, spicy, clove scent, and some with a bit of a peach/citrus scent. It all blends together nicely, and on hot summer evenings, it makes me very happy to sit in the garden and watch the sun set!

Mood: Content

~Me :)