Autumn Leaf Of The Day #77

 “Nature is an alchemist,
gathering the last of summer’s green
and turning it to gold.” 

~Laura Jaworski 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #73

 

“Rest your eyes well before September

 because with all its colours autumn is coming to visit them!”

 
~Mehmet Murat ildan 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #42

 

I like best of all autumn, because its leaves are a little yellow, its tone mellower, its colors richer, and it is tinged a little with sorrow and a premonition of death. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor of the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content. From a knowledge of those limitations and its richness of experience emerges a symphony of colors, richer than all, its green speaking of life and strength, its orange speaking of golden content and its purple of resignation and death." 

 

~Lin Yutang

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #38

 

"Autumn dresses up in gold, the richest season."

 

~Angie Weiland Crosby

 

 

The Color Of Summer And Autumn

 

"Fall colors are funny. They’re so bright and intense and beautiful. It’s like nature is trying to fill you up with color, to saturate you so you can stockpile it before winter turns everything muted and dreary."

 

 ~Siobhan Vivian,

 Same Difference

 

Sunflowers in autumn, my goodness, is there anything more uplifting then the color yellow? These beauties grow wild along the roadside, all through the San Joaquin Valley, from early summer, through mid-autumn. And I always smile when I see them return each year, because I know autumn is on it's way! I thought posting these photos on the first day of October, my favorite month, would be uplifting for my mood, and hopefully for those who visit this blog.

 

 And The bees love them too!

Solar Eclipse 2024 And Puppies And And And...

 

"Nations, like stars, entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Down and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.

 

~Victor Hugo 

 

It was a morning. There was a solar eclipse, and there was a group of puppies roaming the neighborhood to help us enjoy it. I hope to update this post later today, with pictures of the puppies, but for now just know they are... awesome. Labradors... I think. One is a gorgeous mink brown, the rest are black with white spots, although a bit different on each one. I call the brown one Peanut. The smallest one is black, with white on his chest. He has one blue eye and one brown. A little slower then the rest of the litter, but friendly, and he seems a bit shy, or maybe. He's a great dog. I call him Aidan. All of them will be, and I wish them the best of luck. It's apparent someone dumped them here, sigh. So they deserve some luck. They are so wonderful, and my heart aches to take them in, but... well... kitties live here right now. It's just bad timing.

 

 

Now, onto the Solar Eclipse and other stories in the news. First of all, it was only a partial eclipse in my area. About 35%. Still it was fun, and I enjoyed attempting some photos. It's a bright sunny day, cold, you can feel the snow in the Sierra, but as days go, it was a stunner! So it was fun. It was nice to stretch my photographers legs and try for a difficult subject. I am happy with the way it turned out, but I think I did better last fall, with the eclipse. Shrug. The next total eclipse will be in 20 years. I will be 81. While I may stop blogging by then, I am hoping my camera will still be by my side and ready to go. Perhaps by then, I will be good enough, with even difficult subjects, that I will be able to stun the world with my beautiful photographs of the total eclipse of the sun. We'll see! In other news, Donald Trump is still trying to stall his hush money trial, and Marjorie Taylor Green hasn't been raptured yet! Weird... right?

Finally, macarons, new shoes, new toothbrushes, and a new wheelchair, all appeared in my life, all on the same day of the eclipse and the puppies. Some days are like that. No matter what, puppies should always be involved in any day.

More later.

 

 

Everything Autumn Everywhere All At Once

 

“And that afternoon, as the sun slanted low through the changing autumn leaves, I remembered to savor the moment, soak in the beauty, breathe deeply and feel the immensity of God.” 

~Cindee Snider Re,

  Discovering Hope:

  Beginning the Journey Toward Hope in Chronic Illness

 

It's Autumn, and as I have mentioned in several posts, I feel pressured. I feel rushed. I feel inspired, but I feel like fitting in the time to savor the incredibly healing benefits of even one glorious Oak tree or grapevine, is selfish. However, sometimes one should say, well, fuck it, and head out to the farmland and the city parks, and simply let the season thrill you, and heal you. Never underestimate the power the natural world plays in the well being of the body. It's been a tough year for me. It was a mixed bag of blessings and grief, but my therapist encouraged me yesterday, during our regular monthly session, to treat myself with some kindness. Love. So, Autumn is peaking in my area right now, and I am out in it with my camera, documenting what I see, feel and smell. All it takes is one incredibly lovely oak tree and I instantly feel myself reach a state of calm. Hearing the migrating birds fly over has the same affect, and a sweet potato for dinner helps me sleep like no drug can. I feel pretty good, except for my arthritis, but even that hasn't stopped me too much. I am reaching happy. How about that?!

 

Homemade Minestrone Soup

Northern Harrier And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #46

 

"At no other time than in autumn does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth, in a smell that is in now way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honey t sweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost."

 

~Rainer-Maria Rilko

Letter On Cezanne

 

Click To Enlarge

Sometimes, when I am out taking pictures, I wonder what some of the artists I have admired most like, Cezanne or Monet, would think of the beautiful autumn scenes I am currently enjoying. I am sure they enjoyed as much their scenery, as I do, Monet had quite a beautiful garden, but I just mean right now in time when we are standing on the precipice of losing so much. The drought, no doubt caused by Global warming, has inflicted a lot of damage to the ecosystem of California. I mentioned a while back about the Monarch butterflies all but having disappeared from Pacific Grove, and right now, Yolo seems to have a lot fewer birds than last year at this time. The hawks and vultures were out and about the other day, but there were very few ducks, geese or even Ibis to be seen! So, I made the best of it. I got a better picture of a Long-billed Curlew then I had on file, and of this fella too, the Northern Harrier. I have been seeing more and more of it. I just saw one on Desmond road the day before I visited Yolo, and while there I saw another one. That's more than I saw all of last year, which is a shame, because what a work of art it is!

 

 

 

 

~Me

Canada Geese, Late In The Day. Plus Leaf #5

 

"If, of all the seasons, there is a season in which a person completely forgets himself and constantly watches the magical environment, it is undoubtedly autumn!"

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 

 That old familiar song... honk... honk honk. I am not completely sure what the geese are saying, but it sure sounds like, I love autumn, to me!

 

 

~Me

 

Swainson's Thrush (Russet-Backed) And Ginko

 

 

"Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with hum how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

 

~John Keats

Complete Poems And Selected Letters

 

I have to keep reminding myself that we are in December! Honestly, it feels much more like November, than any December I can remember. Most days have been in the mid-60's and overnight hours about the low to mid-50's. As a consequence of that, there is some fire danger here in California. I spoke a little about how the fire season has been extended in recent years, by several months, but I was hoping at the time it would be declared over, long before now. Sadly, it looks like it will, in fact, remain in the red zone until the end of this month. There is a small chance of rain, but I don't think it will be enough to change the forecast as far as fire season goes.

 

It's very sad. I am praying for rain after the first of the year, to get a possible running start on the fire season of 2021, which will begin in March. Who knows what the temperatures will be by then. It kinda feels like California may not see another normal seasonal year. According to the Los Angeles Times, August, September and October, of 2020, were the hottest on record. That was easy to believe, judging by the lack of moisture in most of the leaves I collected, regardless of species. It's apparent, Climate Change will only continue to progress, and I can see the possibility that California could become unliveable within my lifetime. It's heartbreaking. Hopefully, the incoming Biden administration will be able to finally put some science, and of course, federal funds, into fighting the effects of Climate Change in not just California, but the other western states facing as much tragedy as we have.  

Autumn comes to an end in just a couple weeks, and it has me thinking about what it will be like next year. The ecosystem is changing so much, I wonder how things have already changed when it comes to the migratory path of the beautiful birds I am just beginning to get to know. What about the creepy crawlies? 5 or 10 years from now, will we be overrun with different bugs we haven't had in California, or at least not in this part of California? I'd rather not have that, particular if the birds begin a different migratory pattern. I am trying to not put too much thought into the possibilities and the what-ifs, but I am continuing to do my part. In fact, Alan suggested the other day, that we start taking a garbage bag with us, when we go to the wetland's to bird watch, because there always seems to be some amount of discarded items, ranging from aluminum cans, to masks, and we need to do more than our part if folks are going to be that damn careless, selfish and ignorant. 

Ginko 

 

 

 ~Carly

December 8th 2020

Stockton, California

 

Windmills And A Yellow Leaf

"The tall white windmills that came to her mind. How their skinny long arms all turned, but never together, except for just once in a while two of them would be turning the same way, their arms poised at the same place in the sky."

~Elizabeth Stout

Anything Is Possible

As we were driving across the Altamont Pass, earlier in the week, I was of course captivated by them, as I always am, while scoffing at Donald Trump's assertion that the noise from the gives you cancer. I can't pass them without thinking about that lunatic remark. If you can't get what you want any other way, lie about it, even if it makes you seem like, well, you're a lunatic! I mean just look at them! What's there to fear? I think they are beautiful, in fact, I was thinking the other day that this new sleeker type remind me of my favorite bird, the Snowy Egret. And before you say it, this kind of windmill was developed to be less dangerous to birds of all kinds. 

Windmills are a good thing. I will risk the cancer.

Something pretty from the natural world. A new leaf! 

January 14th 2020

Castro Valley Community Center

Nikon 

Mood: Happy

Me  :)

Walking With Autumn Thoughts

"There's something to walking with autumnal thoughts through the evening fog. One likes to compose poems at a time like that."

~Hermann Hesse

 Demian. Die Geschgichte von emil Sinclairs Jugend

More from my visit to the Stockton Rural Cemetery last month. The leaves were still reluctant to show their colors, well, most of them anyway, but across the way, in the very far corner there was a beautiful tree in full autumn bloom. It was gorgeous! Isn't it strange when one tree out of many seems to think for itself? Oh I know, it has more to do with the amount of sun, and moisture and all, but it's nice to imagine that they have the will to shine and it be about determination, rather than natural order. Shrug. I have no idea how things work, I just live on this planet.

#50 Leaf Of The Day

November 11th 2019

Photographed October 10th 2019

Berkeley, California

Nikon

~Mood: Quiet

~Me  

The Longest Day Of The Year

'The festival of the summer solstice speaks of love and light, of freedom and generosity of spirit. It is a beautiful time of the year where vibrant flowers whisper to us with scented breath, forests and woodlands hang heavy in the summer's heat and our souls become enchanted with midsummer magic."

~Carole Carlton

Mrs. Darley's Pagan Whispers

A Celebration of Pagan Festivals, Sacred Days, Spirituality and Traditions of the Year 

Summer, is here, faster than I thought it would be. This year is really moving along nicely. That means that in just 90 days, we will be starting autumn. If you've been reading my blog, for any length of time, or just happen to know me... at all... you already know how excited I am right now. Summer is a necessary evil, an annoyance to endure, until we to get to autumn, with it's earthly beauty, and colorful celebration of old age and death. Autumn, the one season that I feel truly alive. 

While we are only on the first day of summer, the hot weather in the Central Valley usually begins in middle of May. Thankfully, we have only had a few truly HOT days so far. But I anticipate that as we round the corner from June to July things will change in a big way. Last year, on the 4th of July, the heat was absolutely unbearable. I thought I would melt, but that evening was downright dreamy. Alan and I watched the fireworks, from our front yard, which has been our tradition since we bought the house. It was so much fun. 

This year, however, we are planning to head back to San Francisco, to enjoy one of our, now old fashioned, July 4th traditions of watching the fireworks, as we drive along the Embarcadero. We haven't done that in years, and I really miss it, so as you might imagine, I am really happy to see my lovely city again. It's going to be fun, and I am praying that I haven't jinxed the trip by sharing our plans. That has happened more times than I can count. LOL. Hopefully July, and summer,  and whichever demon is in charge of spoiling fun will be agreeable this year, as we navigate through, as Stephen King puts it, "treacherous summer."

 A truly necessary evil.

There is something equally treacherous about the first day of the summer, also being the longest day of the year!

Summer Solstice 2019

Begins at 11:54 AM EDT N. of the Equator

As the sun is directly over the Tropic Of Cancer 

There will be 14.5 to 15 hours of sunlight

Sunrise: 5:48 am Sunset 8:43 pm PST 

San Francisco... we will be there soon!

Note: This is also the time of year I start getting myself back into the swing of blogging. I will be posting more often, as we move through the summer. New words. New photographs. Lots to share. Check back often for new content, usually a couple times a week or so. I will publish a new schedule soon. Thanks for bearing with me.

~Mood: Happy

~Me :)