Autumn Leaf Of The Day #2

 

“Autumn leaves don't fall, they fly.

 They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.”

 
~Delia Owens

  Where the Crawdads Sing

 

A pretty orange flower to start the week!

September Midnight

By Sara Teasdale

Lyric night of the lingering Indian summer,
Shadowy fields that are scentless but full of singing,
Never a bird, but the passionless chant of insects,
Ceaseless, insistent.
The grasshopper’s horn, and far-off, high in the maples,
The wheel of a locust leisurely grinding the silence
Under a moon waning and worn, broken,
Tired with summer.
Let me remember you, voices of little insects,
Weeds in the moonlight, fields that are tangled with asters,
Let me remember, soon will the winter be on us,
Snow-hushed and heavy.
Over my soul murmur your mute benediction,
While I gaze, O fields that rest after harvest,
As those who part look long in the eyes they lean to,
Lest they forget them." 

 

 

The Colors Of Autumn

 

“But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.” 

~Stephen King

  ’Salem’s Lot

 

I spotted this little Dark-eyed Junco a couple days ago in Castro Valley. My favorite park is coming alive with color! My favorite tree is off to a good start, and in the shrubbery beneath it were a couple beautiful spiders to play with! It struck me that this bird offered the best of Summer and Autumn. Brown and black, with just a touch of red. It blended into the fallen leaves so well I nearly missed it! Had it not been for my favorite birding app, GoBird, I would have missed it! We picked up the sounds of several birds we need for the 2024 file, and all signs point to it being a great place to really get in touch with autumn. We still haven't found the Brown Creeper, but it will be this year's quest. In birding one needs patience and luck. Mostly luck!

 

   

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #1

 

“Aprils have never meant much to me, 

autumns seem that season of beginning, spring.” 

~Truman Capote

  Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories

 

Can you believe it? We have finally arrived at the first day of autumn! A welcome old friend. I photographed this leaf in Castro Valley yesterday, after I dropped off some unused food and a test kit Dylan never got to use. Oh my. Autumn will have a much different feel to it this year, but as I have always said, and believe even now, autumn heals me like nothing else, and I am grateful for that! Hopefully it will fill my heart with every beautiful thing, and I will see beyond this overwhelming sense of loss. Sorry to be so maudlin, I won't be like this every day, I promise, but autumn is the season of letting go after a life well lived, isn't it? And all things in their time.

Autumn Begins

Sunday, September 22nd, 2024

5:43 a.m. PDT

 

Saying Goodbye To Summer

 

“Nothing ever really goes away--it just changes into something else. Something beautiful.”

~Sarah Ockler

  Twenty Boy Summer

 

On one of the last nights of seeing the bats fly from underneath the Franklin blvd bridge, a single crispy brown cottonwood leaf feel gently onto the wall next to me. There was a stunning sunset, and a few early bats were flying about, which all made for quite a magical night. With the night coming sooner, and the bat population waning, and a dry leaf, it was apparent it was the end of summer. I didn't need a calendar, because autumn was mostly in the air, but celebrating it early just seems wrong this year, so I held onto the photo until now. I am not feeling rushed the way I have in the past. Dylan's passing made me realize just how fast 16 years goes by. Don't take any single day for granted. Anyway, this is my tribute to the end of summer. It was hot this summer. Really hot. But here, in the last days, the temperature has turned and I have an extra blanket standing by. If I had to lose my boy, I am glad he left me in summer. You see, I need fall this year to be a gentle distraction. My grief is deep, and the election is coming, and there is a lot to unpack about everything, but for now, I am living in this moment. One moment at a time. One emotion at a time. One broken heart at a time.

The very first, Leaf Of The Day, photo posts on Sunday! Don't forget!

 

Goodbye Super Kitty

 

"There will come a day, I promise you,when the thought of your son or daughter, wife or husband brings a smile to your lips before it brings tears to your eye. It will happen. My prayer for you is that day comes sooner than later."

 

~Joe Biden

 

I said goodbye to Dylan yesterday. He died peacefully and we loved and loved each other deeply, as we made eye contact with each other, as he began to slip away. I always knew he would need me at the end, just as he needed me when we made eye contact when I first met him. We always needed each other. And we were there for each other throughout the years. He made me laugh, oh my god how he could piss me off, but he was also a lot of fun to snuggle with, and we shared biscuits with butter. He loved butter. He had a full personality, sometimes he was Dillybean, other times he was Mr. Pissypants!He was complicated, but we found our way. Eventually, in 2020, he began to have health problems, and the end came when he was 16 years old. That's 81 in cat years. He lived a long safe life with us, and his brothers, Hendrix and Joey. There is never a good time to say goodbye, and I will miss him forever. But he lives deep in my heart, and one day we will see each other again, and we will play our favorite game, Super Kitty. 

 

Super kittttty. He flies to the east, and he flies to the west.

 

Heee's Supppper Kitty

 

Goodnight my baby.

 

 

 

You Are The Love/Hate You Give

 

Donald posted this nasty message on his Truth Social website this morning, and later in the day this happened...

 

Yep, that's right, there has been a second attempt at an assassination of Donald Trump. It was just about two months ago that the last one took place. Make no mistake, I do not condone political violence, in any way, but somehow when I heard the news that there had been a shooting in Florida, at this golf course, it didn't even particularly raise my interest, but throughout the day I have checked on the details, but it's just really hard to care about what happens next. This should be a time to celebrate our freedoms in America, we are about to enjoy our most precious act as American's... voting. But every day he, and J. D. Vance find new darker roads to take us down. Just this morning J.D. Vance admitted to making up stories and sharing them with constituents and the media for political gain. It's sick. And how can we not expect their actions to not effect folks who are perhaps mentally ill, and needing help? No one is safe in this political climate. I don't love what happened today, but nothing will surprise me when I wake up tomorrow. That's what he's done to us. We are all numb.

 

 And this stupid shit doesn't help either!

 

 

The Seasons Of Love

 

 

“Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together yet forever apart?”

 
~Nicholas Sparks

  The Notebook

 

Sunset on Desmond road. It was one of the last hot summer nights of summer, and yet the air, the light, the colors all whispered autumn. We were on the way to see one of the last flights of the Mexican Free-tailed bats. Nights like this are bittersweet. The bats are my only summer friend, and I miss them very much when they leave, but look at that sunset, it's got a little autumn influence to it, and I love it, but unfortunately, the bats won't be a part of it soon. I wish we humans could customize our living adventure. Put everything together. Oh well, second thought, every season has amazing gifts, and the longing of love can be a good thing. 

They're Eating Cats And Dogs

 

 

 "I have a concept of a plan."

~DJT

2024 Debate, when asked about replacing the Affordable Care Act.

 

 

 Debate Transcript

ABC News 

September 10th 2024 

 

 

Trust me, she won.

 

 

If You Would Have Told Me 20 Years Ago...

 

 

 “In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.

 He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. 

He can never be trusted with power again.”

 

~Dick Cheney

September 6th 2024

 

... that I would admire Dick (Darth Vader) Cheney about anything, I would have laughed in your face, and spit on your grave! But here I am today, finding myself in just that position! Cheney, despite being a staunch hardcore republican, is endorsing Kamala Harris for president, because of the extreme danger Donald Trump poses to democracy. Trump has always been danger to this country, and frankly this endorsement should have come a long time ago, like before Trump tried to steal the 2020 election, but I am glad he came to the light, there is a lot of room for those looking for their way, or to maybe just see a better day going forward. His daughter, Liz Cheney, endorsed Harris yesterday, and it is my hope more republicans will follow. All are welcome, there is plenty of room over here with us.

Come to the light.

 

Update... the nutjob speaks.

 

 

Dancing In September

 

“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.”

 
~J.K. Rowling,

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

 

This year, September 1st, was bright and vibrant with color! From here in Stockton, all the way to Placerville, you can see little pockets of color, much earlier than I have seen in years! Maybe the heat of the summer was good for the leaves. I am not sure, but I am already in the autumn spirit, and that feels really good, because this year, with the national election, everything will be especially stressful. I plan on soaking up all the color I can find, because I am going to need it!

 

 

I'm 21!

 

YES! She's talking about YOU! Asshole!

And I'm talking about you too! Especially on the anniversary of this blog! You see, you are a weirdo, as are your posse, J.D. Vance and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. . Two political losers, who out of personal bitterness and political greed, want to take us back in time not just to the dark days of the Trump administration, but to the even darker times of Jim Crow and beyond. These unhinged scared men want a dystopian America where women, minorities, and those who simply disagree with their political, social,  and cultural views and polices are cast aside and perhaps imprisoned. Where THEY get to choose who you love, and to police our medical records, beginning with abortion and ending up who knows where! They will end Social Security, and decided your worth on whether or not you have given birth or if you can contribute to society whether or not you are disabled!

Kamala Harris was indeed talking about him last night at the, Democratic National Convention, as she accepted the nomination for President of the United States, but she was also talking about her love for her family. Her love of country. Her determination to see America be that "shining city on the hill."She spoke of her career as a prosecutor in Alameda County, as District Attorney of San Francisco. As a senator who took on big banks, and yes, handed Trump his ass, when she and other attorneys general from around the country sued Donald him for fraud over the phony Trump University scam!

So yes Trump, she was talking about you. But she was mostly talking to us about a brighter future that waiting for us, just a few months from now. If we let it be. When I began this blog, I never dreamed where my blog and I would go together. Highs. Lows. Autumn leaves and Sandhill Crane. Deadly pandemics, and Donald Trump. Hillary. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Di Nero. Grief. Healing. Mindfulness, Music. Sorrow. But the greatest of all things, will always be LOVE. Those are the posts that I think make this blog worth existing. I pray as I write this that when I wish my blog Happy Anniversary next year, the world will be a little happier then it is at this moment. That life will feel good again, and that our country will be coming together as one. 

 

This blog turns 21 years old today. It's old enough to drive, drink and vote.

 

It's a person all it's own. For now. Because if Trump wins, he will control what we read, the media, the music we listen to, the shows we stream, and all of that is what has gone into to bring this blog to life.

 

If that happens. I will pull the plug on this blog. No more photography. 

 

But I am not really afraid of that happening, because Kamala Harris will when in November, and take us forward, because WE'RE NOT GOING BACK! WE MUST VOTE!

 

  This is my prayer.

 

AMEN!

 

 

For Immediate Release

  “So, for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world. Friends you can trust, work with and depend upon, especially on matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this.

 Our alliances make our people safer.”

 

President Joe Biden

August 1st 2024

 

I hope folks remember that, when preparing to vote this coming November. Right now, in Trump, people on the right are seeing the entertainer, not the dangerous reality TV buffoon. Joe Biden has been an amazing president, and he will work for us until his last day in office. I can sleep at night because of him, so I honestly don't understand why folks can't see what a decent man he is. I am hoping by November, the voting public with begin to see, Trump for who, and what, he is! A selfish man, who is in it to keep himself out of prison. I have the greatest of faith in the Biden/Harris administration, and for Kamala Harris as president one day soon! Lately, every day seems better than the last. I am almost afraid to be this happy!

Weird

 

"I have never been asked a question in such a horrible manner, first question. You don't even say "Hello, how are you." Are you with ABC?

 Because I think they are a fake news network,

 a terrible network"

 

July 31st, 2024

National Association Of Black Journalists Convention

Chicago, Illinois

 

WEIRD! Or the usual Trump fuckery? No, after contemplation it was weird, because he imploded in an spectacular manner, like he wants to lose the election! Life, lately, has almost been too good to be true! I am almost afraid to be this happy!

George W. Bush saw the weird all the way back in 2017!

via @CBoTheEggman

·

 

 

November 5th 2024

 

During a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Vance — now former President Donald Trump’s running mate — said Harris was one of the “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable too.” Vance added, “If you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”

 

 

See you on November 5th, J.D.! 

 

 

Kamala Harris, For The People

Via New York Times

 

Thank you, President Joe Biden, And God's Speed!

 

History Writes The Script

 

I Heard The News Today, Oh Boy

 

“Popular culture is a place where pity is called compassion, flattery is called love, propaganda is called knowledge, tension is called peace, gossip is called news, and auto-tune is called singing.” 

~Criss Jami

   Killosophy

 

 

So, news happened today.

 

God, I'm tired. God, Give me strength. God, give me hope.

 

 

The Path Of The Bullet

 

“There are no bad pictures;

 that's just how your face looks sometimes.” 

~Abraham Lincoln

Via New York Times