Autumn Leaf Of The Day #13

 

“I love the autumn—that melancholy season that suits memories so well. When the trees have lost their leaves, when the sky at sunset still preserves the russet hue that fills with gold the withered grass, it is sweet to watch the final fading of the fires that until recently burnt within you.” 

 
~Gustave Flaubert,

  Memoirs of a Madman and November

 

 

 

I Miss You, Baby

 "What greater gift, than the love of a cat?

 

~Charles Dickens

 

I loved Dylan so much! I cannot believe he passed over the rainbow bridge a year ago today. He was my soul mate. No one, human or otherwise, loved me as purely as he did. He was soft, and cuddly. He loved nom-noms, and anything that contained butter! He talked to me, and did weird things with his poop. He was difficult, yet self correcting at times. He was complicated, and yet the simplest cats I have ever known. He sang twice a day, just before sunrise and again, just before sundown. Out of the three cats I owned, he was the best behaved in the car, when we needed to check in with Dr. Barrett. It's a 60 mile trip round trip, and he wouldn't complain a bit, he just relaxed and enjoyed the ride! His nicknames were, Mr. Pissypants, Dillybean, Old Bean, Corn Muffin, The Baby, and believe me, he lived up to all those names. And if those weren't enough names for him, his middle name was Andrew!

 

Dylan was my child. And I miss him so much. He was a force of nature.

 

And he loved me. 

 

I miss you, baby. 

 

 

 

A Sunset, In 5 Acts

 

“The first stab of love is like a sunset,

 a blaze of color -- oranges, pearly pinks, vibrant purples...” 

~Anna Godbersen,

  The Luxe

 

This is all one sunset, just taken over 30 minutes or so, and from different angles throughout the Cosumnes River Preserve in Galt, California. A beautiful winter sunset in the valley, there is nothing quite like it!

 

The Solice In The Golden Sunsets

"It is the hour of pearl... the interval between day

 and night when time stops and examines itself."

~John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

I appreciate sunsets, especially the golden ones like this. 

And just think... tomorrow... it will happen again!

"It's all fine to say, "Time will heal everything, this too shall pass away. People will forget"... and things like that when you are not involved, but when you are there is no passage of time, people do not forget and you are in the middle of something that does not change."

~John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: Sunrise, Sunset

"There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope."

~Bern Williams

RRC: Sunrise/Sunset

Okay, for this challenge Karen wants to see some sunrises and sunsets! Can do! Unfortunately, I am at a bit of a handicap this time around. You see, my carpal tunnel is flaring, and my shoulder is still out of whack from the kitten dislocating my shoulder. Imagine... I was taken out by a kitten! LOL. Anyway, I couldn't get out with the camera, so it was off to the archives. 

Enjoy!

Sunrise/Sunset Gallery

Sunrise...


Sunset...


Sunrise...


Sunset...








Yeah, I tried to find more sunrise photos, but, alas, I am just not a morning person! LOL. All of the sunrise photos in this post were taken on my way to the Sierra, mostly to do autumn photos! But it's okay I suppose, it just gives me one more idea to challenge myself with. Sunrise photos in 2014!

"There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them."

~Jo Walton

Karen, can we revisit this topic later this year?

Be sure to drop by the official Round Robin blog to find the links to the other participating Robins! Just click the link at the top of the post to be redirected! And while you are there, consider joining in this challenge! I know Karen would love to have you play along!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Mid June Sunset

"Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are. There cannot be one without the other, yet they cannon exist at the same time. How would it feel, I remember wondering, to be always together yet forever apart.?"

~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

 

When I walked outside to check on the roses last night, I actually didn't even make it to the garden. This sunset just grabbed my attention, and my imagination, and all I could do is spend the last few moments of light watching the colorful clouds move past. It was breathtaking!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Wishes Granted

"Squeeze your eyes closed, as tight as you can, and think of all your favorite autumns, crisp and perfect, all bound up together like a stack of cards. That is what it is like, the awful, wonderful brightness of fairy colors. Try to smell the hard, pale wood sending up sharp, green smoke into the afternoon. To feel the mellow, golden sun on your skin, more gentle and cozier and more golden than even the light of your favorite reading nook at the close of the day."

~Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making

Autumn, this year, seems a little reluctant to let go of it's day in the sun. I don't remember too many years when it was this colorful, for this long. To me it is an absolute delight. It is wonderful to see that colorful burst of autumn color and life, among a forest of stick figure trees. It's January, and to my delight I am still able to find all kinds of color and light, that if I didn't know better, I would swear could only occur in deep October to mid November. I know I should probably move onto more subjects unique to January or winter, but as along as the leaves are smiling at me, I am only too happy to stop and spend a little time with them, because clearly there is a message in them, or at least something to be learned. A little more practice with low light photography, if nothing else. Or maybe, someone who decides these things grants silly wishes like... "I wish I didn't have to wait so long for autumn to come around again." Hey, who knows, what does it hurt to throw out a wish once in a while, you never know when Mother Nature, or God, or Goddess, might just say... "WISH GRANTED!"

And it doesn't hurt that the leaves seem to be showing off their finest shades of red and gold, almost like encouragement for the San Francisco 49ers to make it all the way to the Super Bowl.

Just Saying :)



"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."

~Eric Sloane

~Happiness

~Me :)

UPDATE: Go see what my pal JR has been up to! He always has wonderful inspiring photography posted on his blog, and his latest work is no exception! :)

JR Cline Photography

Yesterday's Twilight

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."

~Robert Frost

 

I have been happy with a lot of my late afternoon lighting opportunities. I take my camera with me wherever I go, even if I am just running another one of life's mundane errands, because you just never know what wonderful moment is just waiting around the corner. Yesterday I had some luck with the lighting, in the final moments of daylight I caught a sundown that dazzled in those lovely earthy muted tones that make me so happy inside.

 :)

~Me

Golden Skies And The Surreal

"Lord of the far horizons
Give us the eyes to see
Over the verge of the sundown
The beauty that is to be."

~William Bliss Carman

 

The temperature rose to a balmy 50 degrees yesterday! Time to break out the flannel shorts methinks! Which is amazingly good news, because I was growing tired of the fleece lined leggings anyway! Well, actually, there is no real need for special clothing exchanging, according to the weatherperson, we are not only due for more colder weather later this week, but there could be snow as low as 2,000 feet, which is pretty much Grizzly Peak Blvd!

:)

 Hendrix... grab mommy's mittens!

Dylan grab mommy's scarf!

Alan... grab my cameras and the top to the garbage can, and lets take the boys tobogganing!

Have you ever tobogganed with a cat?

It's not for the faint of heart! I imagine. LOL.

Anyway, as Alan and I continue to battle the ANTS, I haven't had a lot of time to go out and do many new photos, but good photographer that I am, I had my trusty small red Kodak EasyShare M5320. I got a chance to snap some photos on the run, an activity that I am having a lot of fun with, and I am happy to have gotten a few more photos that I am filing in the folder titled... "Sun On The Run." So far, I am a happy girl... unless we are talking ANTS and the $300 we have now spent trying to rid that cottage of them. NOTHING is working.

Honestly, I don't quite know what else to do. I think it might be possible that they are nested in the roof, which opens an entire new can of worms. I refuse to let myself believe that the rest of 2013 is going to be as messed up as the last 7 days have been, but it's not too easy to keep my spirits up either. Oh well, the sunsets help a lot, and if we are graced with snow, it will make me very happy, and hopefully it will slow the ants down a bit.

Hope.

It's better than NO HOPE.

 

 

 

 




~Happiness

~Me :)

P.S. Last week's Ellipsis Poll is now closed, but there is a brand new Tuesday poll for your blog visiting pleasure! Enjoy! ;)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: ~Day 97 In A Moment

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions."

~Albert Einstein

Not bad for a picture, taken on my Android, in a moving car. If I have a camera, I will find the picture. After I get the picture, I like writing the opening or closing paragraph to a new story. Just the opening, or just the closing, the middle part doesn't matter all that much. Like any given day. It's a wonderful change-up on county sheep, and a wonderful way to rethink the photos you get when you have done a big photo jaunt. Try it sometime. Just take your best photo from the group, and write a short story, not only will you sleep better, you will look at scenes in front of you differently.

-Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day29~Golden Opportunities

"Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator., another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail."


-Og Mandino

Can you believe it? This photo was taken on December 22 2011! I love California for so many reasons, but as a photographer, the main reason is because it's just so amazingly photogenic. Personally, I would have enjoyed a cold, rainy, possibly snowy week of Christmas, but I can't deny how beautiful it was last December, and the view from up here in the Berkeley hills was gorgeous!


~Me :)


This is day 29 of my A Photo A Day For 6 Months challenge. If would like to join me, you are more than welcome to. Post your photo, and come back here with a direct link back to it. I will share your link in my post for tomorrow. No theme to follow, just whatever you want to share.


Now, let's see what my pal JR has come up with...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/06/apadf6-27.html

Karen's Weekend Assignment # 199: When Do You Sleep?

"Night has brought to those who sleep, only dreams they can not keep."

-Enya

Weekend Assignment #199: What is your usual sleep schedule on weeknights? Are you an "early to bed, early to rise" sort of person, or do you stay awake far into the night (voluntarily or otherwise), and get up as late as your work schedule permits? Do you give priority to getting adequate sleep? If so, how is that working out for you?

Extra Credit: If you had no work or family scheduling obligations, would your sleeping pattern change substantially?

-Karen Funk Blocher

Sleep. Yawn. Yawn, yawn, yawn... stretch. Excuse me, I was just enjoying a bit of a snooze. LOL. I am sleeping really well these days, especially since last summer, when I set about changing my sleeping schedule 360 degrees. I have been a lifelong sufferer of insomnia. My first bout began when I was about 12 or 13. I went through long periods of not being able to go to bed and sleep like my friends did. In retrospect, I think I know what probably kick-started the situation. My father worked the graveyard shift when I was a wee folk of about 2 and continued to do so until I was about 6 years old. My mother would allow me to stay up until my father came home, and then he and I would play or talk or listen to music. So, I am pretty sure that my sleeping habits were conditioned at that young age.

As an adult, it wasn't and isn't reasonable to keep those hours, although when I began blogging I did. Alan is a loud snorer, and there was no sleeping with that, so I sat up at night and blogged and when I was finished, I did whatever housework that was needing to be done, and then climb in bed next to him just before his alarm went off, so we could spend some time together. It worked out ok, it made since to sleep while he was at work, that way everything got done, and we wouldn't have to miss spending any time together because of chores. But life kind of played us a few cards I wasn't counting on.

First I got Fibromyalgia and that zapped all my energy, then I got diabetes, and that brought with it challenges of it's own. The Fibro was bad enough, now throw on top of everything, having to adjust my whole lifestyle to suit the diabetes, and what you get is a girl who better learn to go with the flow and life like most of the real world, whether she likes it or not. But actually... I really kinda do like it. :)

I began by taking some classes in sleep hygiene and with the new meal adjustments such as eating lighter dinners, and getting some exercise several times a day, I feel much more relaxed and ready to sleep by the time we go to bed. In fact, I look forward to it. It wasn't any more difficult to change my sleeping habits, then it was to change my sleeping habits. The additional exercise has aided my relaxation and so put it all together and you see a happier, healthier lady then I was a year ago.

It's undeniable. Keeping yourself on a proper schedule with nutrition, sleep, play, and exercise is good for the body and the mind. I still blog, I still get my housework done, I still go out and take photos, I still read, I still watch David Letterman, only now I watch him on the DVR. :) I have David Letterman with my Special K Red Berries in the morning. YUM. DELICIOUS even. So what about the only other part of my staying up late... talking on the phone and texting with my pal H.P.? Well, our friendship is going on 5 years now. He makes time for me, even if it has to be in the middle of the day. :)

So, to directly answer Karen's question... I usually go to bed at 10:00 pm and rise at about 7:30 am, unless Elvis decides otherwise. On the weekends I might stay up a little later, if there is a good movie on, or something special on TV. I have a few friends, that keep later hours, and sometimes I stay up to talk to them, because, I would miss them very much otherwise. Sometimes Alan and I will play a board game, and we will usually play it out, rather then go to bed and try to resume it the next day, but mostly it's 10-7:30 for me :) Boring... but true.

Extra Credit: Nope, I am doing something right with my diabetes and my general overall health, so I would have to say NO, nothing would change dramatically.

-OndineMonet
"Sundown In Moss Beach"
Moss Beach, California
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
Early Evening

The Glow

"The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere, the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling, gloaming on the sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls."

-John Muir

I am really tired, it was a long day, so I am making this a brief entry. I did get a chance to take some photos of the sky, with the effects of the Moonlight fire and the Lick fire, still hanging heavily in the air. The fire has now grown to 27,000 acres, and there are over 1,800 firefighters attempting to bring it under control. They still have a long way to go. I was able to get a photograph of how it appeared here in Berkeley at about 7:30, Thursday morning, and another shot as it appeared at about 6:15 in the evening, just north of the Monterey Peninsula . As you can see, the sky is a deep red glow, and the air is thick and gray. Sigh. And to think, this all started from an illegal fire ignited in a barrel. :( It brings back a lot of memories of the Oakland/Berkeley firestorm of 1991.



"The sunset caught me, turned the brush to copper, set the clouds to one great roof of flame above the earth."

-Elizabeth Coatsworth

27,000 Acre Coe Park Fire Shows No Sign Of Slowing (CBS - KPIX)

-OndineMonet
"The Glow"
Berkeley, California
September 6, 2007
7:30 AM