Wait! It's The 7th? And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #76 and #77

 

"The wind was as ripe as apples,

 so full of fall that you could almost bit every breath."

 

~Robert Newton Peck

Soup

 

 Well, it seems I have missed a few postings, or at one posting. You see, I have been out enjoying the last few days, with a great sense of love for my favorite season. The Sandill cranes, and all the birds really, seem to be falling in numbers. The usual places don't have nearly the number of birds I would expect this time of year, but then it hasn't been as cold, nor has their been as much rain, and really, almost everything is lacking in normality. There is an avian flu amongst the bird populations, and unfortunately I think the powers that be are attempting to lessen the spread by humans, so they are taking the necessary steps to prevent us from spreading the germs on our feet. The Monterey Bay avian exhibit is temporarily closed for that very reason. And, as a result, my bird friends aren't showing up in the numbers I had hoped, and are moving on at a faster pace. But, I found a few cranes to play with, and they always seem to pose for me, or they are at least patient while I take their photos, so I was able to enjoy that.

 

Tonight there is a full moon. But not just any full moon, the last full moon of 2022. I like the December moon very much, and tonight this full moon brings along a friend! Mars will be seen in the form of a lunar osculation as Mars meets the moon, then disappears behind it, then eventually returns on the other side. It sounds pretty cool. I don't know if I will be able to watch all of it, the cold and my arthritis don't happily hold hands in the cold months. Shrug. But speaking of cold months, not only does the full moon tonight carry the name of Cold Moon, it has many other names as well! I am not sure which one I like the most, but I think I traditionally, when I posted about the full moon, I went with the Full Snow Moon. It's a pretty name, don't you think so? Oh well. Yes. We will go with that name. If I get any good shots tonight I will come back and update this post below.

 

1. Full Cold Moon - Mohawk 

2. Full Snow Moon - Haida and Cherokee

3. Winter Maker Moon - Western Abenaki 

 

It's the holiday season, so things are busy, and there is the added attraction of waiting on ordered packages. One has to be right on top of things, or the packages are stolen right off the porch!

 

I can't wait to see more!

 

~Me

 

Frost At Night And Warm Sunny Days and #75

 

"It was the best time of year. Frost at night and warm, sunny days, when yellows and oranges of the aspens and cottonwoods did something to the blue of the sky behind them that an artist might never mimic."

 

~Peter Heller

Celine

 

This, is a Dark-eyed Junco. He's a difficult little bird to photograph. He is small, and fast, and mostly gets his meals from the ground, and that means he hides under bushes and piles of leaves. Fortunately for me, they are in great numbers so finding them isn't really difficult, and while it seems like I am complaining, I am not. I enjoy the process of photographing birds, no two are the same, and sometimes it comes with elements I wish didn't exist. Like finding the perfect shot, which includes ... gulp... them chowing down on another bird. Such as a Kestrel eating a Sparrow. The Dark-eyed Junco is absolutely worth the effort it takes to photograph them, now if only they would stand still so I could get a really good photo! This is my second attempt this year, and while it's not as good as I would have liked, I think I will quit while I am ahead, and on a high note!

~Me

 

 

Beautiful But Sad Poetry And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #74

 

"Autumn is a beautiful but sad poem that

 dying leaves recite with great enthusiasm

 so that the world will remember them

 as they bid farewell to the world!"

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 

 I saw so much this week. The beautiful. The scary. The Rain. The Sun. The sad. The amazing. For seven days, it carried a lot for eyes to see. The autumn is coming to a close, but the leaves show no signs of giving up, and as long as they can be found, I will be there. There is snow in the mountains right now, and I expect in Yosemite as well, so I cannot help but think about what opportunities lie beyond photographing the last of the leaves and the birds. The leaves will probably fade away fairly soon after my last Autumn Leaf Of The Day posting on December 21st. The birds don't really start to wane until sometime in the spring. About the only time I don't have something of interest overlapping is spring into summer. Mostly I just experience depression in summertime, but maybe this next summer will have something for me, if I start my search now. Maybe I will just focus on July and August, and take it slow. I have to find something to lift my spirits. I know there is something out there, I just haven't discovered it yet. So coming the research into the possibilities.

 

 

~Me

Sad Soggy Cereal And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #73

 

"Leaves covered the pavement like soggy cereal."

 

~Patricia Cornwall

The Body Farm

 

I love that quote, and I love the title of the book it came from. It's all very definitely autumn inspired and inspiring. It was raining today, and it's going to raining for several days. I absolutely love it! It's fantastic for California, it's great for my bird friends and it's wonderful for my nerves. What isn't so wonderful... someone stole some packages off my porch yesterday, and the day hadn't been the best day to begin with. So, shit! That's the thing about this condo. When we just go inside, lock the door and ignore the world, we are fine, but things like having your packages stolen off your porch, every year around Christmas, gets a little sad, and scary, and downright infuriating. Who needs it? I was hoping that after what happened last year, again packages lifted, which contained the complete series dvds of, The Munsters and Hogans Heroes, you would have thought I would have learned. Oh well, I guess I was really hoping it was a one off, I guess I know now, what it actually is... life on my street! But I won't always be living here. Nothing good, or bad, lasts forever!

Autumn always has made me smarter.

 

~Me

Nature's Last Party

 

Autumn Suppers

 

Autumn is Nature's last party of the year. And dressing for the occasion, forests don their brightest attire, while the creatures follow suit with plush coasts of fur, As the birds savor their final flights in the waning embers of light, Natures children scamper about in search of manna for their winter pantries, pausing long enough to frolic in the heaps of newly fallen leaves.

 

Orange Coast Magazine

Oct, 1983

 

~Me

 

 

UP, UP, And Away... And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #71

 

"A soul that smiles in empathy is a soul that blew away the sadness as the wild wilds blew. A soul that parts its lips is a soul that smiled away the sadness, as the autumn leaves flew... ."

~Jayita Bhattacharjee

There is no real sadness in autumn, especially when by conservative accounts, about 8 thousand birds of all kinds have just flown over your head. There were probably more snow geese than any other kind of bird, but there were great numbers of Northern Pintail and Greater White-fronted geese as well!

It's a wonderful feeling to see, and hear, the phenomenon of a great number of migratory birds all flying off at once! I've mentioned this before and I will be mentioning this again, so bear with me. I see it, and by the next day I have to question my own memory as to whether or not it was as glorious as I remember it to be!

And to my delight, I know it was!

 

~Me

An Autumn Place And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #70

 

"The music of falling leave, the autumnal story to tell, 

as I drink in its nostalgic smell. The flash of red, the flash of gold. 

 Yesterday is past, yet, the tale did not grow old."

 

~Jayita Bhattacharjee

 

I had a favorite tree in the East Bay. It was in a park I used to visit when I could, which in autumn seemed to be at least once a week. I would take my lunch there and just breathe in the sights and sound of autumn. I love that Halloween happens right in the middle of all this beauty. There are so many memories surrounding that old tree. It makes me terribly sad that I can no longer visit it on a whim, but this tree in Stockton is definitely easing that pain. The leaves are completely different, and in truth, I feel a lot less safe in this park, but look at that light! October never passes away as long as I have that color and that light, and my heart holds on with such appreciation.  I love this tree, we are friends. It felt my pain last year, and it held out it's hand and said to me... come here, sit beside me, and let it all out. My branches are strong enough to hold you. Everyone should have a place like this to go to. I have two!

 

 

~Me

Fly Dry... A Public Service Message And #69

 

"November at it's best ... 

with a sort of delightful menace in the air."

 

~Anne Bosworth Greene

 

Meet the Cedar Waxwing. I think I have probably shared this beautiful bird before, you might even have noticed them flying about in your own yard, but I bet you didn't know that, as they fly about sort of  manic and sometimes engaging in an odd kind of darting back and forth, what might happening is ... well ... they might actually be drunk! You see, some of the fruit waxwings love so much, like these berries, tend to ferment, which can lead to a drunk bird, or birds, flying about the neighborhood, singing off key, chirping strange bird words, and pooping any doggone place they want, with NO REGARD for anyone.

 

 At all.

 

There, I said my peace. And no, I didn't get hit by any drunk waxwing poopiness, but that's a weird enough fact about these wonderful birds to properly amuse me. Another fun fact is that somehow they just know when you are doing a photo of them. How do I know this? Because every time I try to get a photo of them, they tuck their wingtips, and tail tips, between branches so you can't see the color in the photographs. They have other distinctive markings, so I can always tell when it's them, but I sure would like to show off the whole bird because the wing and tail tips are quite lovely. Quite unique. Sigh. I love them anyway, and I miss them, so much, when they continue on their migratory path. These birds are fascinating, go read about them!

Cedar Waxwing

Drunk Birds In Texas

 

~Me

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #68

 

"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace

 as I have seen in one autumnal face."

 

~John Donne

The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose

 

And just look at that face! A green leaf in the waning days of autumn. The autumn of autumn. Beautiful. But today I am thinking about Christmas. It's time to start buying presents, and I have NO IDEA what to get, as usual, for dear hubby. He is the hardest person to buy a gift for that I have ever encountered. I have been blowing the fine art of Christmas presenting, when it comes to him, for 32 years now and beyond! I ask him what he wants, and I get grunts! So, dumb presents make their way under the tree, while I get absolute gold! Arrgh! So, I have no doubt this year will be any different, but I have an idea from Shutterfly, so maybe all will not be lost. We will see. I will let you know on December 26th!

 

I love this time of year. I really do.

 And this year I feel more like myself. One day at a time, right?

 

~Me

 

Crunchy Leaves And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #67

 

"There's an endless autumn in me,

 scenting my thoughts like campfire smoke."

 

~Jarod K. Anderson

Field Guide To The Haunted Forest

 

This year has been so dry and the leaves are damaged. It's noticeable, if only republicans would just look around them. But, between you and me, I believe they fully know that Climate Change is affecting California to a devastating degree. Autumns will be less colorful in the next few years, and if there are many colors to be found it will be , like Plumas or Butte counties. I can't get there as easily as I once did, and that makes me sad. I will keep looking for autumn all around me, and I am fairly sure I will get back up in the hills at some point next year, but I know autumn is the time for last hurrahs, and I am feeling my life is wanting me to do as much living as I can, because winter is coming, and it brings glorious darkness with it!

 

 ~Me

Nature's Art And The Autumn Leaf Of The Day #66

"There is something so incredible and

 nostalgic about the cascade of autumn leaves.

 

 ~Joe E. Wheeler

 

Just a leaf.

 Sometimes that is all I want to say. Isn't this leaf a work of art? 

~Me

Stay I Say To Him And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #65

 

"Stay I say to him. Stay in the car. 

Stay in this moment. 

But of course he never does."

 

~Nora Nowlin

If He Had Been With Me

 

Meet the Pied-billed Grebe. What a sweet little bird. Look at his face, so curious. So gentle. He is the one bird that always reminds me of a stuffed animal. A stuffed animal. I really love this little fella, despite the strange call it has. That's just him. To me it sounds like the "bah" sound that sheep make. I should try to find a big group of grebes on YouTube that I can embed in a future post. In the meantime, look at that awesome reflection. I am thinking about entering the Audubon photo contest, which is held after the first of the year. I doubt I could win, given all the amazing entries they receive. Still, that's such a cool accomplishment, that would carry me all the way to my untimely death at the possible talons of an eagle, or the paws of an indoor orange tabby cat. 

 

 

~Me

Happy Thanksgiving And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #64

 

"Thankfulness creates gratitude

 which generates contentment that causes peace."

 

~Todd Stocker

 

Last year we didn't celebrate much, then on Christmas, of course, we both got Covid-19 ( Omicron ). We are sick every year on Christmas, well, at least every year since we moved to the San Joaquin Valley, however this year is different. Alan is retired now, so the likelihood of his getting sick, and passing it on to me, is almost zero. While we will never know for sure, Omicron was just as likely to be spread by someone causally walking past you, as someone you worked with, even if your coworkers are giant idiots! Anyway, I have an amazing amount to be thankful for. We are happily married. Dylan is still doing well, as are my other cats. I am enjoying birding with Alan, and I have a brand new box of books to read through the year. I already have a small library, and now more has been added to it. The Republicans didn't get that "Red Wave" the expected and I am enjoying making holiday graphics, like the one above, from my own photos. 2022 has been a fairly good year, I sure hope 2023 won't hold it against us. 

 

I will let you know in a year how it goes!

 

 

~Me

Blue Skies, Smiling At Me And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #63

 

"Once in a while I am struck all over again

 by just how blue the sky appears on wind played autumn mornings, blue enough to bruise a heart."

 

~Sanober Kahn

 

The sky has been amazingly beautiful lately. Of course I credit the leaves with that. Just look at those bright orange leaves. But wouldn't any color standout against a sky that blue? Well, maybe, but in all fairness to blue, I think God chose the right color to put in the sky. All the variations of blue are so beautiful,  and it's keeping my eyes focused upwards, into the sun's warm light. Blue is also the color of my love's eyes. He has the most beautiful eyes, although it was his sexy knees that first caught my eye. He was a high school athlete, track, to be exact, which explains his gorgeous knees! Anyway, his blue eyes have also encouraged me to focus upwards, in mood and in life in general. That means everything to me.

 

 

~Me

Uncanny Witcher In It's Changed Trees And #62

 

"Autumn is a classical music, when it begins, the gravity disappears."

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan 

 

 November ... with uncanny witcher in its changed trees. With murky red sunsets flaming in smoky crimson behind the westering hills. With dear days when the austere woods were beautiful and gracious in a dignified serenity of folded hands and closed eyes ... days full of a fine, pale sunshine that sifted through the late, leafless gold of the juniper trees and glimmered among the grey beeches, lighting up evergreen banks of moss and washing the colonnades of the pines. Days with a high-sprung sky of flawless turquoise. Days when an exquisite melancholy seemed to hang over the landscape and dream about the lake. But days, too, of the wild blackness of great storms, followed by dank, wet, streaming nights when there was witch laughter in the pines and fitful moans among the mainland trees. What cared they? Old Tom had built his roof well, and his chimney drew."

 

L. M. Montgomery

 

November is almost over, but I am already missing it. It has been, well, absolutely stunning! Almost as delicious as October, and I can't even believe just how much I mean that! 

 

~Me

Now For Something Different And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #61

 

"Joy ... in the fall, winter, and always in the mountains where people are few, wildlife is abundant and there is peace in the quiet."

 

~Donna Lynn Hope

 

I post a lot of photos of birds, so many in fact, that one might imagine that I only seek out, or come across, birds. That is certainly not the case, I am lucky enough to see a lot of other happy little creatures. This year for example, I saw my very first ground squirrel, and there were a ton of rabbits all through the valley, from Galt to Davis! I liked that very much. I also encountered some not so awesome creatures, such as field mice and even a couple coyotes. They were nice to observe from a distance, as was this pair. I think they were curious as to whether I had brought them an apple or some carrots, but they didn't spend too much time on it. They politely posed for this photo and then they were on their way, as it should be. It was nice. I could have stood there all day chatting, but it was cold, and it was time to rejoin the human world. Unfortunately. 

 

~Me