Autumn Leaf Of The Day #7/Movies And Other Stuff

 

“If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool 

Autumn day to freeze your lungs

 and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.”

~Kyle Lake

 

Last night, and all through the weekend, we are watching movie double features, starting with last night's movies, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones Diary. Tonight, hubby will take a turn, and Sunday night I guess we will flip for it! You see, in that Monday is October 1st, it will be time to begin the, 31 Days of October fest, and it will feature at least one horror movie each night until Halloween, when we will try to fit as many horror movies as possible in that 24 hours. Life goes on, there will be things to do, places to go, goodies to bake, so some nights might just be one short film, and then there's the traditional Godfather-athon and we always watch, Dark Passage, when we visit Marin County, which I hope to do on vacation. So there is a lot to do and look forward to. I am not as spry as I used to be, but it's our traditional vacation/movie month and I was to see and experience as much of autumn as possible, and then there's the birds. Whew! Wish me luck!

 

HELP! There's A Humpback Whale In The Bay! And #11

 “FALLING IN LOVE WITH OCTOBER

Leaves descending to the ground,
Orange, magenta, green & brown
The cool crisp breezes in the air,
Autumn season must be here”
 

~ Charmaine J Forde 

 

I am torn. The leaves are turning and falling earlier than usual. It's barely October and autumn has exploded! The birds are coming in larger numbers every day. San Francisco, my dearest old friend, is calling to me, so is Monterey. I wanna take a bay cruise. I wanna see the Elk in Point Reyes Station. I wanna go to scary movies... 

 

HELP! I NEED MORE ENERGY!

 

 

Mid-Century... Vacation Motor Lodge

 "You were born to do so much more than to pay bills and die."

~Unknown

If photography has taught me anything, it's that there is life beyond the moments of despair that tend to creep into our lives. I can get lost for a little while. I love that a single moment in time, can live in so many different existences around me. In that moment, I can be in my own world photographing a gorgeous Anna's hummingbird, while a few hundred miles away someone could be checking into the Vacation Motor Lodge, in Reno Nevada. Photography is allowing me to step out of this overwhelming pain I am in right now. I need that. I need to see what might be happening today, or even a few days from now, while I am depressed, so I can see beyond it. Time is an issue, as is money to do so. There is yard photography, but I hurt my foot, so there's that. Things are tough right now, but when I can, I can lose myself in a simpler time. I just wish I could do it more often.

 

There will be leaves soon.

 

Right?

 

 

 

 ~Me

Stockton, Ca

September 6th, 2021

 

 

 

 

#PhotoByRequest: Black And White Moods

"Such days of autumnal decline hold a strange mystery

 which adds to the gravity of all our moods."

~Charles Nodler

Smarra and Trilby

For this time around of #PhotoByRequest Karen chose the subject of "Black and White Moods." I love this one, because vacation was anything but a non stop joy-fest, in fact, I couldn't be happier it's over! A lot went wrong. The burglar that tried to break in just three days before it was to begin! The burglar came back two more times after it began. PG&E prevented us from attending our annual free movie screening in Orinda, and the following week when it finally showed, I was experiencing a full blown Fibromyalgia fit. Three times we tried to visit our favorite federal parks, and found that they had closed that day, due to EXTREME FIRE DANGER, including Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpias! Next came our anniversary dinner. I picked lunch at Sizzler.

 That was a really bad idea, due to the fact that they were 45 minutes late with bringing us something to drink, and then finally our meal. I was trying to save some money, and I got what I paid for. Next came the near fatal car accident on highway 99, that we were kinda/sorta in. I say that because the car slammed into the car in the lane beside us doing 65, and how it didn't fishtail into us is a miracle! Alan and I didn't realize until the next day, that our car was damaged, not badly, just a few scratches, but considering what could have happened, we were very lucky!

In that it was autumn, the time of year that we always take, for the absolute beauty of it, we began to depend on the leaves changing to make up for a lot of the disappointments, but it's heartbreaking this year, because it's almost as if autumn itself is depressed! The trees have not put on their bright colors. Most are dull and some are just dead! I found some beauty here and there, but I am having to really hunt for it. It's sad. But one day, while we were still on vacation, we drove through a, Jack In The Box, to grab a couple sodas, and I spotted this photo of Jack Box in the window. His photo made me laugh, because it seemed to nail exactly how I was feeling. I identified with him, and felt less alone, even if the kinship was with a fictional character.

We are both happy vacation is over, and we are grateful to be back on a schedule that makes sense. We have been happy, and less fussy with each other. That is a good thing. Maybe we will do some little jaunts while it's still autumn, and continue to search for the colors. I don't want to give up on all the incredible beauty. I need it. I love it. We both enjoy the annual cascade of falling leaves, so there is some joy still out there, but I have never been so happy to share a black and white feeling in photographs so much. It was a sad time, but that photo left me hopeful and unwilling to give up, just because I was tired! So, the search for autumn continues, and I am ready for what I might discover along the way!

Here are more Black and White Moods...

Quiet/Reflective

Being disabled leaves me with a strange kind of gratefulness. I am grateful that there is a little help, so I can pursue things that make my life so much better. 

Grateful

#46 Leaf Of The Day

November 7th 2019

Nevada City, California

Nikon

~Mood: Happy
~Me  :)

"YOU ARE LOVED" Messages In Autumn

"What is the name of your dream? A lovely wooden cottage in the middle of a forest? Or walking in an endless autumn path? What is the name of your dream? Don't give a name, always give a list! Fill yourself with dreams because dream is the path to reality."

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

It's all about time. Today marks the first day back at work for Alan, and it also just happens to be the first Monday after the clocks are changed back an hour. Which is nice and all, but I think it will take us more than one hour to make up for how exhausting this vacation has been! It was not the most relaxing one we ever had, but in a lot of ways it could have been a lot worse. I will be posting this week about all the misadventures, but to start out the week on the right note, I am kicking this week off with a simple post about the beautiful leaves I came across on vacation. You see, no matter how awful things got, or what a waste of time every thing seemed, there was always the beautiful autumn light, the leaves, my fur-babies and my amazing Alan to make it all okay.

This year was number 29 for us! 29 years of ridiculous happiness! He and I have found something to laugh about, every single day we've been together. Even on our worst days, we make it work. How did I get so lucky? Or am I simply sleepwalking the best dream ever? Forget it... I don't want to know, I am happy to just continue counting my dreams, and watching them come true. Sitting at the bridge a couple weeks ago I got a really beautiful message from the universe, just when I needed it most! Look really closely at the picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. If you are seeing that message, and you are really glad you saw it, because you needed to feel loved, then it means it was sent to you as well, and I am very happy to pass it along to you!

"YOU ARE LOVED"

San Francisco is where love lives it's best life.

Now, on to the leaves.

"Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead,

 has never watched them dancing on a windy day." 

~Shira Tamir

Stockton, California

November 2nd, 2019

Golden Gate Park

San Francisco, California

October 23rd 2019

 Grass Valley, California

October 20th 2019

 Berkeley, California

October 8th 2019

Nevada City, California

October 20th 2019

 Sacramento, California

November 1st 2019

 Stockton, California

November 3rd 2019

Cull Canyon

September 28th 2019

Nevada City, California

October 25th 2019

 Apple Hill

Camino, California

October 16th 2019

#43 Leaf Of The Day

November 4th 2019

Photographed October 25th 2019

Nevada City, California

Nikon

~Mood: Grateful

~Me  :)

 

 

If Every Day Were Saturday And Every Month October

"I wish that ever day was Saturday,

 and every month was October."

~Charmaine J. Forde

It's A Mystery

Cat? Chicken? Or Owl?

This is the last of this particular sunset from October. It was October 25th, in the Central Valley, and it had been a glorious autumn day! Warm... almost too warm... and delicious! Alan took me out that day to search for all things autumn! Leaves, trees, birds, light. Autumn sunlight. Well, I found all those things and more! We took along some snacks, of apples and cheese. The taste of a really cold apple, on a warm autumn day is incredible! I enjoy our little getaways so much, and at the end of an almost perfect day, we were treated to this amazing fire in the sky. As we drove back home, past all the barns and vineyards of the valley, I did a series of photographs as we drove, and this picture was in the folder, ready to be posted at last. 

When I clicked on it, I noticed, for the first time, that in the right corner was a small oddly shaped object, just beyond the fence. Was it a chicken? A Cat? To tell you the truth, I am really not sure! I tried enlarging it, but I still can't say in absolute certainty what it is, but I think it might be an owl! I have been wanting to see one, and I kinda have a couple times, the problem is, when I usually spot them, we are driving past at 50 mph, it's at dusk and they are ground level. Those are not ideal conditions for spotting owls, let alone photographing them, but that is what I have to work with. Anyway, the shape seems right, but it also does if it is a cat or a chicken, so who knows? But I am leaning toward it being an owl, sitting on a piece of wood. How about you, care to guess?

#78 Leaf Of The Day

December 8th 2018

Photographed September 29th 2018

Cull Canyon

Samsung

~Mood: Happy

~Me :)

In A World With Octobers

Dippin Dots

Monterey, California

October 14th, 2018

 "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

~L. M. Montgomery

Anne Of Green Gables

I love Dippin Dots... a lot! I have a sweet tooth, so I enjoy almost any flavor of ice cream, but there is just something fun about Dippin Dots that really speaks to the kid in me! I bought these in Monterey last week, after not having been able to find them for well over 20 years! The stores where I used to get them had stopped selling them long ago, so I gave up trying to find them, or anything remotely similar. Then, one day about a month ago or so, I read that there were stores nearby, in Stockton, that we selling them again!

I checked the Dippin Dots website, and sure enough, they were also being sold on Cannery Row, in Monterey, so I decided to wait until our trip, to treat myself to them as part of our special visit to the Monterey peninsula! The Banana Split flavor was always my favorite, so I crossed my fingers that they still had that flavor, and I hoped they would still be as ridiculously delicious as I remembered! Pleasantly, I was very happy to find out they did indeed still have the Banana Split, and that they were even better than I remembered! Our trip to Monterey, turned out to be an absolutely fantastic day, start to finish! So, stay tuned, because I have a lot more from that day to share! I really love October, it's been very good to me, just about my whole life!

Dippin Dot Leaves

Cull Canyon

October 25th, 2018

Dippin Dots Sunset

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, California

October 25th 2018

#37 Leaf Of The Day

October 27th 2018

Pacific Grove, California

~Mood: Happy
~Me

The Colors Of Autumn And Of Love

"Ah, lovely October, as you usher in the season that awakens my soul, your awesome beauty compels my spirit to soar like a leaf caught in an autumn breeze and my heart to sing like a heavenly choir."

~Peggy Toney Horton

I don't know which I love more, an autumn sunrise, or an autumn twilight! Yesterday afternoon was beautiful, but it was an autumn day, so how could I not feel that old familiar love story, especially when I also wake up with Alan? Alan is as much a part of autumn as the falling leaves! We fell in love in autumn. We got married in autumn, and we adopted our fur babies, all in autumn! Every year we take our vacation from the middle of October, to the middle of November! We take little trips all around Northern California and Nevada. We leaf peep. We walk around pumpkin patches. We have picnics. And there is car karaoke. We watch lots of spooky movies in our home theater. There is a lot of laughter, and a lot of enjoying autumn sunrises and sunsets together! 

We were supposed to take some trips this week, but I have been a bit under the weather this week, I had a bad reaction to a new medication, but I am on the mend, and later today, Alan and I are off on another car trip, to seek out beauty of autumn and snuggle under a big autumn tree! October is almost over with, and my heart is sinking, as I think about waiting another 11 months for it to come around again! I am thinking about doing something different this year. I plan on writing my future self a letter, with my predictions for the coming year! From the first day of Winter 2018, to the first day of Autumn, 2019! 

What will the year bring? I am almost afraid to speculate about national and world events. You know that our 'DEAR LEADER" will provide all the negativity he can muster, so there will be an exhausting amount of push back, emotionally speaking, but I will cope by checking maps, and requesting travel brochures from reliably autumn filled small towns we have never had the chance to visit, and do a lot of praying! It will be exhausting, but Autumn will come around again, and October will follow close behind, and before we know it, once again, he and I will be in each other's arms for hours and hours, under a big autumn tree!

My idea of Heaven, is a perfect Autumn day, that ends with a beautiful sunset in all the colors of my favorite season, and a nap in Alan's arms, where I feel safe, and deeply loved!

#35 Leaf Of The Day

October 25th, 2018

Tilden Park

Little Farm

Berkeley, California

Photographed October 11th, 2018

~Mood: In Love

~Me :)

 

Our Love Story Began In 1977

"February is merely as long as is needed

 to pass the time until March."

~J. R. Stockton

 

I had a day out with the camera last week. Well, it wasn't just a day of photography, it was a date with Alan. An early Valentine's Day date. After I did some photographs, of some early blossoms, we bummed around the East Bay a bit. First we visited Berkeley for a little while, and it was fun to be back home, then we went to see When Harry Met Sally, at the Orinda theater. When Harry Met Sally, is very similar to how Alan and I first met, and the journey to how we became friends first, then how we fell in love.

The movie even begins 1977, which is the same year Alan and I met. And there are more similarities, like how I always order certain elements of my meal, on the side, just like Sally does, and Alan, at times, is just as analytical and quirky about things as Harry. And it took us the same amount of time to fall in love, as it did Harry and Sally. Really, that movie could have been written about us!

Alan and I had ourselves a Harry and Sally day, and it was nice to have some time with him, especially in our old stomping grounds, the place we love most, Berkeley. Visiting Berkeley is always somewhat magical for me. Whatever stress I feel, seems to be lifted off my shoulders as soon as we hit the city limits! It's beautiful, it has everything anyone could want. The food is magnificent, and there is always something to see. It's a wonderful place and I miss it very much, so it was the perfect way to begin our mini vacation. 

But that was just Thursday, we got four full days of each other's company!That's something we haven't been able to do too much of recently. Work, and overtime call, as we continue to struggle with bills, taxes and all things tedious and necessary in the world of adulthood. You know how it is... time waits for no one, and February has less days than any other month of the year, so like the saying goes...

"Time flies whether you are having fun or not."

~Mary Engelbreit

But isn't it great when you are having fun?

Mood: Relaxed
~Me :)

 

Late Summer Album 2017

"Autumn is the time of year when Mother Nature says, "Look how easy, how healthy, and how beautiful letting go can be."

~Toni Sorenson

This set of photos were taken a few days before the end of the summer of, 2017. It wasn't officially autumn, but autumn was definitely making itself known. The light was autumn. The air was autumn. The sky was autumn, and all of it came together in one of the loveliest sunsets I have ever seen along the California coast! I'm thinking about the transition of seasons, because we only have a little over a month to go, before winter comes roaring in.

 There is a fair amount of snow coming into the Sierra this week, as it usually does about this time every year, so I will probably make my way up to the Sierra to photograph it, but I will still be holding onto autumn in my heart until the very last moment. Winter will bring it's own special beauty, and I will be happy to photograph it, because letting go is a good thing, after all, I need to begin planning for next autumn. There will be places to go, and leaves to photograph, and that takes planning! But for now, here is a look back at late summer 2017, by the Pacific Ocean.

Late Summer Album

September 2017

(Some photos where previously posted in September)

#16 Leaf Of The Day

November 16th 2017

Cull Canyon

Mood: Happy

~Me :)