RRC: By The Water

"Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."

-Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

RRC: By The Water

I LOVE living in the Bay Area! Actually, I love living in California, even with all the troubles the state has faced in recent years. I know, I know... I have disparaged it from time to time by referring to it not as The Golden State, but rather The Tin Foil State. But that's all politics. As we all know, politics can be... well... disparaging. But enough of all that. At the end of the day, California is a breathtakingly beautiful place to live. It has it all. One February, a few years back, I actually watched the Mavericks surfing competition on the beach in Half Moon Bay, and the next day I was off to the snow in South Lake Tahoe! How is that for versatility? As varied as California can be, it's the shoreline I love the best.

San Francisco, as seen from the Marin Headlands.



On the cliffs in Monterey, California.



On A Foggy Day In Morro Bay, California



Pacific Grove, California



Sunset in near Hearst Castle, California



Autumn in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco



Near Bodega Bay, California



South Lake Tahoe, California



Susan's Spot Cisco Grove Campground (Placer County, California)


Okie doke... that's my pictorial of "By The Water" now go check out the entries by the other participating Robins!

Linking List, as of 12:00 AM Saturday, July 31st 2010

***WELCOME NEW PARTICIPANTS!

Carly... Ellipsis
Posted!

Karen... Mavarin
Posted!

Jama... Sweet Memories
Posted!

Rich... Rich Image
Posted!

Freda... Day One
Posted!

Linda... Mommy's Treasures
Posted!

Monica... Shutterly Happy
Posted!

Jennifer Robin... Robins Woods
Posted!

***Tanya... Capturing Tranquility
Posted!

Fhaye... Your Daily Photo Depot


Margaret... Margaret's Musings
Posted!

***Taylor... Taylor's Photos
Posted!

Peggy... Holmespunfun Memes and Themes
Posted!

Maryt... Mary Tomaselli's Photos
Posted!

Sandy... From The Heart Of Texas
Posted!

***Rue (aka Ethos)... Passion in the Moments
Posted!

Manang Kim... My Photography In Focus
Posted!

Ruth... Scrabblequeen
Posted!

Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
Posted!

Be sure to check the official Round Robin blog tomorrow, to find out the topic of our next challenge!

-Carly

On A Mid-Summer Afternoon...

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer...
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.


~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


If all summers were like this one, I could really come to love summer! Can you believe it, it's sunny and 64 degrees outside. All the roses in my flower garden are in bloom, and pretty soon we will have some amazing sunflowers to compliment everything. I even found 16 little Heirloom tomatoes growing on the tomato vine. The garden is just bustling with life. It makes me feel so alive and at peace. :) Today, I am not dwelling on all the bad stuff, I am just enjoying whats going right!

-Carly

A Thought For The Day...

From For Ellipsis

"In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday."

-Unknown

I wonder... just who is this "unknown" person?

(Tee Hee)

-Carly

Those Summer Days...

"The followed that beautiful season... summer... Filled was the air with that dreamy, magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in the freshness of childhood."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some summer days, have wonderful summer moments...

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tension with one's clothes, and the right time of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all is right with the world."

-Ada Louise Huxtable

-OndineMonet
"Montara In Summer"
Montara, California
August 9th, 2006
Late Afternoon

Summer Is Coming!

Summer Is Coming
By Dora Goodale

Summer is coming! the soft breezes whisper;
Summer is coming! the glad birdies sing,
Summer is coming! I hear her quick footsteps;

Take your last look at beautiful spring.

Lightly, she steps from her throne in the woodlands:
Summer is coming and I cannot stay;
Two of my children have crept from my bosom:
April has left me but lingering May.

What tho' bright summer is crowned with roses.
Deep in the forest Arbutus doth hide;
I am the herald of all the rejoicing me? She cried.

Down in the meadow she stoops to the daisies,
Plucks the first bloom from the apple tree's bough:
Autumn will rob of all the sweet apples;
I will take one from her store of them now.

Summer is coming! I hear the glad echo;
Clearly it rings o'er the mountain and plain.
Sorrowful spring leaves the beautiful woodlands,
Bright, happy summer begins her sweet reign.

Ok, I know, I know... summer is still a little over a week away, but it was a lovely nearly summer's day yesterday, and I just had to show you what I saw from my bike. :) I am seeing the most amazing things lately. I liked this scene very much. The angle, the color of the day... and oh the flowers. I turned a corner, and there they were in a small patch. They were tall and strong, and seemed to be reaching for the sun. Yeah... they were reaching for the sun!

;)

-OndineMonet
"Summer Is Coming"
Tilden Park
Berkeley, California
June 14, 2008
Afternoon

Looking For The Barenaked Ladies

"Disappointments are to the soul, what the thunder-storm is to the air."

-Friedrich von Schiller

Some days are just disappointing. Yesterday, the Barenaked Ladies, were in San Mateo at Barnes and Noble, performing and signing copies of their latest CD, "Snack Time." The CD is a collection of songs for children, but I have already come to love the song 789. Have you heard it? The collection songs, while child friendly, can be enjoyed by adults, as opposed to an all Elmo or Barney type CD, which I think might drive me crazy! LOL. Anyway, needless to say I had been looking forward to seeing one of my favorite bands, and enjoying watching the crowd, not to mention coming home with a signed copy of some new tunes. Well, some days just don't work out the way you want them to, no matter how much planning you do.

Alan and I had discussed what would be our best route and time schedule for the day. We decided that it would be more practical if we took one car, for the trek across the bay, especially since we had just spent $100 to fill both of them with gas. To take one car, meant I had to wait for him to get off work, which was fine, because he gets off work at 2 and the CD signing was at 3:30. It would give us plenty of time to get across the bay, by way of the San Mateo bridge. There was one problem however, that being the guy that relieves Alan at work for the swing shift. A man who is habitually late, so he can finish his weekly golf game.

We talked about this possible problem, but Alan said that the guy hadn't been late in almost two weeks! A record for his being on time! That probably should have been a Murphy's Law clue, but naively I chose to ignore it and hope for the best. Running true to form, the guy was late by almost 10 minutes, which meant Alan had to spend an additional 25 minutes in traffic on the way home. In the Bay Area if you leave just 5 minutes sooner or later then you usually do, you can either shave or add 30 minutes to your commute. There are 5 freeways/highways between Alan's work and home. HWY 92, HWY 880, HWY 238, HWY 580, and HWY 13.

We finally got to Barnes and Noble at 3:20 PM, where we stood in line for 5 minutes before being told that the store had reached the maximum capacity and there was no more people being allowed in. Sigh. Alan and I just looked at each other, shook our heads in disappointment, and walked back to the car. Oh well, sometimes in life you are a 7 and sometimes you are a 9! LOL. Yesterday, we both felt like a 9, which wasn't a good thing at all. LOL.

Me: Hey Elvis, why was 6 afraid of 7?

Elvis: I don't know mommy, why?

Me: Because 7 8 (ate) 9!

Get a free download of the song, 789 here.

Official Barenaked Ladies Website

-OndineMonet

"Looking For The Barenaked Ladies"
Hillsdale Mall
San Mateo, California
June 12th, 2008
Late Afternoon