No Really, I'm A Nuthatch!

 

“Katy stayed in the treetops, no one ever found her. Except for the squirrels and the birds all around her. At last she was free, just as free as the breeze, And how Katy did love it up there in the trees.”

 

~Bill Peet

The Caboose That Got Loose

 

I spend as much time as I can in tree tops. Not literally, obviously, but what I mean is, I am a birder, therefore my eyes are constantly gazing upwards. It's good for me, because often my moods and body condition leave me weighed down. The other day I was sitting on a bench, at the Cosumnes River Preserve Wetlands walk, when I heard a rustle in the tree above me. I was excited, perhaps this was my chance to finally capture a beautiful photo of a White-breasted Nuthatch! Ummm... nope. It was this gorgeous squirrel making all the ruckus! I was delighted! It was pretty and funny and it entertained me long enough to leave a smile on my face for the rest of the day! Nature is a great healer! Just look at these photos and argue my point!

 

 Go ahead, I dare you!

 

 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #32

 

“Wild is the music
of autumnal winds
Amongst the faded woods.” 

~William Wordsworth 

 

Today is Family Day, and Half Moon Bay, and possibly San Francisco, awaits! It's an adventure, one that I love dearly, and so I am along for the ride. 

 

Fragile As A Leaf In Autumn

 

“Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound” 

~Norah Jones 

 

Autumn is in the fragile stage now. While there are plenty of Autumn leaves left to see and enjoy, the temperatures are turning very cold. Sigh. I am already looking forward to and planning ahead for next Autumn. So much so that I know the exact date and time it will arrive.

2024

 

Spring 

March 19th 2024

8:06 PM (Pacific)

 

Summer

June 20th 2024

1:50 PM (Pacific)

 

Autumn

September 22nd 2024

5:43 AM (Pacific)

 

Winter

December 21st 2024

1:20 AM (Pacific)

 

It's going to be a long year. No matter what else comes my way, I will know that at least the seasons can bring their own beautiful personalities. I am actually looking forward to each one like never before!

Seven Years

By

Norah Jones

Spinning, laughing
Dancing to her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
Is all alone

Eyes wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she'll sing her song to anyone
That comes along

Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound

Crooked little smile on her face
Tells a tale of grace
That's all her own

Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound

Spinning, laughing
Dancing to her favorite song
She's a little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone
A little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone

Autumnal Rainbows And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #8

 

"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

 

White-faced Ibis are beautiful, full stop. As a juvenile they shine with iridescent dark green feathers. There are other colors mixed in, but as they fly overhead all you can see is either green or black feathers. These two Ibis are among the most lovely I've seen, and with the autumn sun shining through their feathers, illuminating a beautiful rainbow, I can't think of a more fascinating or photogenic bird. 

 

 

~Me

Woodbridge And The Cosumnes RIver

"In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence."

 

Robert Lynd 

 

Northern Mockingbird

Woodbridge

Lodi, California

January 3rd 2020

I happened upon my new hobby of, watching and photographing birds, kinda by mistake. It was this past November, and it appeared that we in, San Joaquin County, were going to be asked to stay indoors as much as possible, because of the surge of Covid-19. I was also anticipating autumn ending soon, and with it my Autumn Leaf project, so I did a quick search online to see what my options were. Purely by accident I found a link to an article about delta birds, and the Sandhill Crane in particular. A bird so revered in my area, that it has it's very own festival, held annually in November, in Lodi! Well, as you might imagine, the festival for 2020 was cancelled, due to Covid-19 concerns, but the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve was open, and nothing was mentioned about it being off limits.

 

White-crowned Sparrow

Woodbridge

Lodi, California

2020 kicked my ass, and the ass of most folks I know. My nerves have felt shot. Too much Trump. Too much tragedy. Too much self whining. Too much! I wanted some peace and quiet, so it sounded like a fairly nice place to visit as a change of pace. A real chance to get out of my own head for a little while, and besides, there might be one or two new kinds of leaves to photograph! I never would have guessed how much joy that place would bring me, on that late autumn day. It was quiet, except for the sounds of the hundreds of different birds and water fowl, and the occasional human who had no clue about how successful bird watching is best done with eyes open and mouths closed. Humans! Oh well, I am happy to say, that birders and fellow photographers get alone nicely. Politics doesn't come up, when you are too busy sitting on a bench listening to a nearby bird, or watching the majestic sight of a large flock of crane returning home from wherever a crane goes for the day, or watching a sunset over Mount Diablo. 

 

 

I started keeping track on day one of the beautiful birds I was photographing, and from there I discovered the Cosumnes River Wildlife Reserve, in next door Galt, California. And as of the new year, I am now keeping a Google album which I hope to fill with at least 300 new bird sightings for the year. That's my goal anyway. Between the two different reserves, I am well on my way. Realistically, I will only be able to visit there on the weekends, but there are always a ton of different types of birds at both places, and sometimes on power poles between them, to add to my album. Just last Sunday, I photographed about 25 or so, distinct birds. It was thrilling. I like having a new subject to photograph, and new places to visit. I have read that the coastline from Point Reyes to Bodega Bay is a birders paradise. I can't wait to visit, later this year, possibly in the spring, because it's also a photographers paradise. And don't tell anyone, but you can find a lot of autumn beauty just inland, at the wineries in Napa and Sonoma Counties. 

The quiet has never been so beautiful.

And look, there is a little autumn left to make me smile!

 

Oak Tree

Cosumnes River Wildlife Reserve

Galt, California

 

 

~Carly

 

 

The People In The Trees

"We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them. We say we love trees, yet we cut them down. And people still wonder why some are afraid when told they are loved."

-Unknown

The decision will probably be made this coming Monday, by an Alameda County Superior Court judge, regarding the fate of more then three dozen oak trees in danger of being removed by, University Of California Berkeley, in order to make room for a $125 million athletic training center, which includes a 900 space parking garage and the seismic retrofit of Berkeley's Memorial Stadium. The project, the university claims is badly needed, has been met with opposition for over a month now, by local environmentalists, and residents of Berkeley, including long-time resident, folk singer, Country Joe McDonald. Tree sitters have been keeping watch over the beautiful grove of Oak trees since early December, and have no intention of leaving. The new training center would provide accommodations for the over 300 staff and students who would use the facility. The tree sitters are in favor of the new center being built, just not at the cost of the trees, some of which are over 200 years old.

The tree sitters cause got a boost this past week, when three very brave Berkeley residents joined them in protest of the planned removal. 71 year old Shirley Dean, the former mayor of Berkeley, Betty Olds, Berkeley City Councilwoman, and Sylvia Mclaughlin, 91, co-founder of Save The Bay, allowed themselves to be hoisted up high into the trees, to demonstrate their commitment to seeing the trees being saved. What a snazzy thing to do! I am somewhat afraid of heights, so I am not sure I could be that brave. As I drove by the grove today, I saw that the protest continues, and I am glad. I am really hoping the decision will be to keep the trees in place. One of the nicest things about Berkeley, is the beautiful trees that surround the city, and outline the university. This particular grove provides a calm, natural escape from the narrow, sometimes, packed streets that line the university. The trees represent a part of Berkeley's natural history. What a shame it would be to lose that forever, in the name of progress. Sigh.

Here is some of what I saw today, as I visited the grove...

You can read more about the effort to save the trees at the "Save The Oaks" official website.

UPDATE: An Alameda County judge issued a temporary restraining order this morning (Monday 1/29/06) to halt the construction of the Memorial Stadium project. Go Trees! :)

-OndineMonet
"The Oak Grove"
2245 Piedmont ave
Berkeley, California
January 27th, 2007
Late Afternoon