Latkes And Pine Trees

"Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said.

 "Christmas and Hanukkah are completely different things."

"But different things can often blend together," said the pine tree. 

"Let me tell you a funny story about pagan rituals."

~Lemony Snicket

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story

This holiday season is fine, but everything surrounding it has been a little bit strange. Do you feel it too? I mean there is the usual stupidity... mass shootings, flaky family fights making the news, weather incidents, because for some odd reason people tend to forget what rain and snow are, and then there is the special kind of stupidity of politics... 

stupidity which usually comes with raisins on top whether you order raisins or not.

I expect stupid. Stupid has been a part of the American fabric for some time now, but I think 2014 has been a special kind of... WHAT THE FRESH HELL IS THIS?... with one scenario after another. I plan to address that later, after Christmas, for now I am concentrating on the most disturbing part of this holiday season... the lack of the heart of things. The decorations, the smiles on peoples faces, I even find myself missing the Christmas music playing in the background, like a soundtrack, as I shop. Something is missing, and it isn't because any silly made up WAR ON CHRISTMAS, it's missing because we are all mourning common sense. Remember that thing? Common sense?

Oh well, with each word I type here, I am reminded that by complaining right now it means I am passing some of the bad feelings along, and doing that right before the holiday could get me nothing but a lump of coal on Christmas morning. So, in that same spirit that I find lacking all around me, I will move on for now, and embrace feelings less negative by sharing photos I took earlier this month. They're pretty, and they remind me of all the good of the season... well... any season for that matter... nature and the gifts of color and beauty. They were taken on days when I just felt like giving up. I wanted to just throw my hands up in the air and say... OKAY YOU WIN... NO holiday spirit will happen in this house!

Fortunately, as always, my camera helped me come to my senses.

 My common senses!

Like I said at the top of this post... This holiday season is fine. There's is plenty of time for ranting and raving, and make no mistake, I plan to, but for right now I think my attention is turned toward something more important. My attitude.

The Reason For The Season

Peace On Earth, Goodwill Towards Men.

And Women.

And Cats.

And...

:)

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Equinox Meets Solstice

(Autumn silently slips away at 3:02 P.M. EST.)

"The leaves fall patiently

Nothing remembers or grieves

The river takes to the sea

The yellow drift of leaves."

~Sara Teasdale

Why does it always seem like autumn goes by faster than any other season? I know the answer to that question, it's because I am so in love with every single moment of it. I live all year, just to cross over from the hostile summer heat, into the gentle coolness of the cinnamon colored season of autumn. I love Fall because I can think again, as summer always leaves me tired, and cranky, and uninspired. I love autumn for the first taste of candy corn, hot spiced cider, and the warmth of my favorite brown sweater. I love autumn for all the scary movies, and the short dark days... and for the leaves... of yes, the colors of the earth, and of lemon drops, sometimes all in one big bunch of color! And I mourn it's passing, like mourning an old friend. I always wonder how I will face all those months until it comes back around, but somehow I do. If only I could chase autumn around the earth. I would.

Goodnight Autumn 

I shall miss you.

(Winter Begins At 3:03 P.M. PST)

"Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o' clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without."

~Thomas de Quincey

Confessions Of An English Opium Eater

I love baking and creating new recipes. And while I am not quite as active with the cameras during winter, I do enjoy photographing San Francisco in the rain. Everything takes on a glow, and the tiny raindrops sparkle all over the city. It's really quite amazing. I think this year I might try to do more with all the things that make winter beautiful. Umbrellas, coats, wet pavement, frost, snow, and the winter light that makes everything look brand new. Oh my, the winter light... how it makes me smile!

Since Autumn and Winter share the day equally, I will post the last photo of Autumn 2014 today, but I am compiling an online album of all the leaves I photographed, including ones not previously photographed which I will post between Christmas and New Years! In fact, I hope to be able to do an album of all of my autumn photos. If I do, I will also include a link to that album as well.

The Last Autumn Leaf Of The Year

Mood: Quiet But Happy

~Me :)

He Was My Forever Friend

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

 and the winds long to play with your hair."

~Khalil Gibran

The Prophet

"Close your eyes and turn your face into the wind."

Feel it sweep along your skin in an invisible ocean of exultation.

Suddenly, you know you are alive."

~Vera Nazarian

The Perpetual Calendar Of Inspiration

This is the last full day of autumn, and out of all the last few months, it was those windy days of October and late November I remember the most fondly. The sound of the leaves rolling across the yard, reminded me of my cat Elvis. He loved to play in the crunchy leaves of an old poplar tree we used to have. Oh my, the sound of him crunching those leaves, especially when he was outside late at night, was such a fun sound to me. He would stomp along for what seemed like forever.  He was so happy. And I remember how he seemed to enjoy the sound the wind chimes when they swayed in the breeze. Elvis was such a fun cat. He liked the smell of flowers, and he liked sounds and textures. I miss him... a lot. He was always by my side in the yard when I did my photos, and he became a big part of my autumn inspiration. He passed away in 2008, and you would think I would have gotten over him by now, but not a day goes by that I don't think of him. He was a beautiful cat, and a very kind soul, and fun to play with in autumn... or in any season really.

He was my forever friend.

"Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,

For I would ride with you upon the wind,

Run on the top of the disheveled tide,

And dance upon the mountains like a flame."

~W. B. Yeats

The Land Of Heart's Desire

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Law Of The Infinite Mind

"Autumn, that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness, that season which has drawn from every poet, worthy of being read, some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling. She occupied her mind as much as possible in such musings and quotations."

~Jane Austen

Crunch... Crunch... Crunch...

"There is no season in all the year so beautiful, so radiant with glory, as the early autumn. There is no time when the human soul drinks in so fully the glory and beauty of nature. All objects of beauty are more beautiful while passing away from us. The closing up of a beautiful life... the fading of the holy stars in the dim light of morning... the ending of a quiet summer day and the passing away of the bright summer glory, are all more sweet and lovely as they are lost to us. The death-glow always beautifies anything that wears the trace of beauty ere it goes back to nothingness.

 We do not understand the secret of this principle, 

yet we know that it is some law of the infinite mind."

~The Northern Advocate

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Autumn Before, Autumn After

"Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul... but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October."

~Peggy Toney Horton

The season is rapidly coming to a close, so I thought it would be fun to look back at how it began

And how it ended...

I love you autumn. You are beautiful and delicious in any light!

Sigh.

The Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Preview Of Spring And Happy Hanukkah!

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair... "

~Susan Polis Schutz

Can you believe all that color? I cam upon these gorgeous purple flowers, while photographing leaves at the Brazil Room in Tilden Park, here in Berkeley. I couldn't resist taking a photo. They were so vibrant, and so lovely, that they were distracting me from the leaves, which almost never happens. As seasons go, I find spring to be my least inspiring. It's such an easy season to find beauty, that there is nothing very challenging about it, but still, when I come across something as beautiful as this flower, especially on a cold, rainy, almost winter day, I begin to look forward to the possibilities of spring. 

It will be here soon enough.

:)

The Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

My Christmas Lights... Hendrix, Dylan And Joey

"If there were to be a universal sound depicting peace... I would surely vote for the purr."

~Barbara L. Diamond

Last year my boys made their very first video as dancing partners. It was our Christmas present to everyone who has still stuck by this blog through the years. Can you believe I have been photo blogging over 11 years now? Sheesh. I must have posted a couple thousand photos by now, if not more, and I am continuing to find inspiration everywhere. Anyway, I am thankful for all my visitors, but the ones who have been with me through all the political rantings, and silly stories of my misadventures,and especially those who loved me through the loss of Elvis... well.. I love you.

Know that!
 :)
So now, an encore performance of "Silent Night"
 by The Brothers Gordon!

Enjoy!

Be sure to comeback here on Christmas Eve to see this year's performance!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Art About Town: Orinda, California "Beholding" By Artist James Moore

"Beholding"

By James Moore

Orinda, California

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."

~Aristotle

I love Public Art. But you already knew that. Well, you might know that if you have been reading me for a while, anyway, I don't know if I have quite explained the reason I search it out whenever possible. You see, it has been Public Art that has saved me, on occasion, and reinvigorated my creativity many times over. At times, while in a cold, wintry mood, when everything seemed like stick figure trees, I have found a piece of art like this one, and found the magic again, by studying the figure or the angle or even the color scheme. Public Art should never just be passed by... no that is a big mistake... Public Art should be looked at. Often. And should be contemplated. Public Art should be learned from. Often. But most importantly it should be enjoyed. As OFTEN as possible. 

Here is a challenge between you and I. The next time you see yourself passing a piece of Public Art stop and contemplate it's beauty. Really discover it's meaning. Then sometime in the next 24 hours or so take a picture, and tell me what you saw, and whether the Public Art piece inspired the photo. I would be really interested to see what you come up with. Also, tell me how the experience made you feel. Was it exciting? Was it dull. Did your mood improve? Share all the details with me! Chasing art is an amazing way to do away the cold wintry blues!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Inspired

~Me :)

Autumn Perfection...

"I am made for autumn. Summer and I have a fickle relationship, but everything about autumn is perfect to me. Wooly jumpers, Wellington boot, scarves, thin first, then thick, socks. The low slanting light, the crisp mornings, the chill in my fingers, those last warm sunny days before the rain and wind

Her moody hues and subdued palate punctuated

 every now and again by a 

brilliant orange, scarlet or copper goodbye.

 She is my true love."

~Alys Fowler

Last Friday held a few more scattered showers from the big storm that came through the Bay Area last Thursday. Venturing out Thursday was out of the question. It simply wasn't safe. So, Friday, while still rainy, it wasn't so rainy that we couldn't just enjoy the day. And enjoy we did! The trees, the leaves, the puffy white clouds... it was beautiful! The air in the park smelled so good, and the tiny raindrops on the tips of the leaves looked like tiny diamonds. It was breathtaking!

 "The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes

 from the summer cottons into its winter wools."

~Henry Beston

The Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Gingerbread Men

"One of the most glorious messes in the world is

 the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly."

~Andy Rooney

Alan and I put up our Christmas tree this past week, and it's going to be posted here soon, but until then there are a lot of things still to do to make everything in the house all merry and ready for the big day. One thing being the ordering of a nice flower arrangement! I love fresh flowers in the house for Christmas, especially organic roses. Why do they have to be organic? Well, see, Hendrix loves the taste of rose petals! He eats them like you or I would eat potato chips. LOL. Or for the holiday... Gingerbread men! He actually whines for them whenever I bring roses in the house. He found a taste for them when I began my organic rose garden some years back. I checked and it seems that roses are not a toxic plant for cats, unlike most traditionally Christmas decorative plants. Poinsettias... toxic. Pine... toxic. Lilly... toxic. Mistletoe... toxic.

 TOXIC, TOXIC, TOXIC! 

That's okay, I will just have to muddle through with gorgeous red roses! 

The things we do for love!

:)

Dangerous Winter Holiday Plants For Pets

(PetMD)

The Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Last Days Of Autumn...

"Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold,

Her  early leaf's a flower;

But only for an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay."

~Robert Frost

Nothing Gold Can Stay

 

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)