This past week, I was treated to one of the happiest sights I have seen in a long time, a decent dusting of autumn leaves under one of my favorite Stockton trees! I have been here for 5 autumns now, and in all that time I have not seen autumn kick in as early as this one, but that's okay, I'll take it with a grateful heart. And actually it's not just Stockton, my favorite tree in Cull Canyon is also in full autumn leaf bloom this past weekend too. I am pretty happy, they are going to help my mood as we move closer to the election. I am hoping it's a good omen about how things will go. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I keep thinking about last year, when I couldn't find autumn, no matter how hard I looked for it. I figure Mother Nature owes us one!And it seems yellow is winning the race so far, and I am loving it!
So far I have mostly photographed leaves from a Liquid Amber tree, but I am planning a visit to Ione, California next weekend, where my favorite Judas tree is. I absolutely love their shape. Kinda like a fan, and kinda like a butterfly, in peaches, pinks, greens and yellows. In other words... the colors of autumn!
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.
It is the fundamental emotion that stands
at the cradle of true are and true science."
~Albert Einstein
The World As I See It
Remember Gladys? Gladys and I go way back. We made friends back in 2014, while I was stopped in traffic on Ashby avenue, in Berkeley, California. I had just finished with a therapy appointment, and was on my way to do errands in the East Bay, when I looked over, and there she was! As I explained in the original post, I had probably passed her a thousand times, without ever realizing she was there! I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time to notice that tucked back from the road, ever so slightly, was this beautiful lady and some of her friends. Not doing much of anything, just waiting for a slightly sad, perhaps a bit lonely neurotic lady to stop in traffic long enough to notice her.
I don't think her name is actually Gladys, that's just what I call her. While I was studying her that day, that name just came to me, and we have been friends ever since. Eventually I took up politely waving when I passed her coming into or leaving town. I enjoyed doing that. It was a landmark in town that made me feel safe, and comfortable, even downright happy sometimes. She is a cool piece of art, watching over the road, and she is all the beauty and mystery that art should be.
There is some paper attached to the little building that she shares with her friends, but I have deliberately chosen to avoid reading it to see if her real name and story is there. I kind of like things as they are. She's a cool pal, and I like thinking of her that way. I miss Berkeley so much that it makes my heart hurt sometimes, but I look forward to seeing Gladys wherever I visit, and I know she will be right there when I come home. She continually inspires me to look a little deeper at all the places I photograph. What if there are more out there like her, and I simply missed them over the years? Nah... she's clearly an original, but I still find myself looking deeper into the big picture, and for that I am grateful to Gladys and her friends on Ashby, in Berkeley, California.
"Say the truth again and again so that the tedious can grip it.
Say the truth again and again in the speed of drilling
in the tree trunks by woodpeckers beak."
~Unknown
Vacation begins in just a little less than a month, so it is time to get in some practice with the camera, and Friday was my first day to get on it. Because of the thick smoke, I couldn't be out as long as I wanted to be, unfortunately, but while I was out I made the most of it. I found some new leaves by Humphrey's College, and this great, Nuttall's Woodpecker, hugging a tree in Victory Park. Well, actually Alan spotted him first, and then shared with me. I wouldn't have seen him at all, if it had just been me, he blended with the tree really well, and his red crown was not as bright as I have seen on other birds. This was also the smallest woodpecker I have ever seen, but it sure is a beauty. It's just under 7 inches long, and has a slender body. I only managed a couple shots of him, before he was on his way across the park. He's an interesting little creature, see the link below if you would like to learn about him. I usually wait until it's officially autumn before I do posts about birds, but in that I found a new one, I suppose it's close enough. I'm happy. So far things are off to a good start for this year.
I have posted a remembrance of those lost, September 11th 2001, on this blog for years. David and Lynn Angell are, of course, in my thoughts, as are other's lost that day, but I think this year I am going to remember and reflect in private. I will speak about why, in time, maybe after November 3rd, but this year, for the first time, I just want to be thankful to those we lost that day by remembering in silence. I will also be remembering John Ritter, lost to us on September 11th, 2003. He was brilliant, and I still miss him so much.
For this post I thought I would share two beautiful leaves I found in the yard Wednesday. Cottonwood is quickly becoming one of my favorite leaves to photograph in autumn. While they don't have an especially striking color, as some leaves in autumn do, they are a deep green until autumn, when they turn a pretty lemon color, the tree is fairly interesting and the lemon color is quite pretty. As the leaf ages on the ground it becomes a light brown/red in color. As it becomes more brittle, they tend to get a lacy appearance. It's a beautiful leaf in it's own way, and I am happy to have been able to learn about more about the leaf and tree. I am probably going to feature the Cottonwood as my first, Leaf Of The Day, for this year's project. It would make sense, in that I have one next door that provides me with so many leaves to choose from.
"There is a season for everything under the sun...
even when we can't see the sun."
~Jared Brock
A Year Of Living Prayerfully: How A Curious Traveler Met The Pope, Walked On Coals,
Danced With Rabbis and Revived His Prayer Life
The Santa Ana winds are officially blowing. The smoke from the fires surrounding the Central Valley are making conditions worse than they were a few weeks ago. I can't believe what I am seeing. That (pic above) was the sky yesterday, and by 6:00 pm, I couldn't even find the sun. It was lost behind the smoke. I saw some photos of San Francisco, and everything was lost under an apocalyptic red glow. I never saw the Golden Gate Bridge look like that. It hurts my feelings, and leaves me feeling even more lonely for my beautiful bridge.
On the TV, the story of the day revolved around the revelation that Donald John Trump is a damn liar. Big surprise... right? But specifically, he lied about how dangerous the Covid-19 Pandemic was. As I told Alan, I am thankful that I never listened to him to begin with. Rachel Maddow was the first to bring us the information about the virus, and her coverage, once again, was concise and accurate. We are lucky that we had her to count on, because if we were left to our own government, we would probably all be dead or dying.
At least we are not all completely alone in this.
We have someone we can count on.
I am planning to do some photography on Friday. I am not completely sure about the destination, but I am hoping to visit at least the East Bay. I have a mammography planned for the early morning, then it's off on a photo adventure. Hopefully Berkeley will be possible, but we will have to see how the smoke is by then. With a huge amount of luck, San Francisco could be another destination. Personally, I will be happy with the East Bay. Vacation begins in less than a month. With it being so close, I am happy to just wait and have it be really special. Maybe by then there will be a real season outside. Summer ends in about 10 days, and I will be grateful when it does, but the next 8 weeks or so are the height of fire season, and when the Santa Ana's are at their worst.
Life is a lot of things... boring is not one of them.
And the days began to shrink under one's very eyes."
~Hope Mirrlees
That's how I used to think about autumn. Like the the trees begin to speak again, when mean-spirited, oppressive summer is ready to lie down and sleep, but the weather this year is challenging my ideas. This year, this summer, shows no indication that it's cruelty will be backing down anytime soon. The temperature the last few days has broken records all over the state, and in my little corner of the world as well. The coming week is supposed to be a bit cooler, but not by much, and the state is still experiencing wildfires, which is playing havic with the air quality. Things are better than a couple weeks ago, but it really all depends on which way the wind is blowing.
This was the last unofficial weekend of summer. When I was a kid it was exciting because that meant that school was beginning in a couple days, most years anyway, it was the Wednesday following Labor Day. Everything smelled like new clothes and pencils. There was something about that, that made it all exciting somehow. Maybe it was because it was almost like it was a secret, but at the same time, if was a secret, it was more the worst kept secret in the world! But it was special at the time, and in my memory as well.
Sitting here, with my childhood behind me for too many decades to mention, I find myself lonely for how simple and unafraid I was. We didn't have the wildfires we have today. There was no such thing as whole communities burning to the ground. In effect the entire state of California has been on fire for weeks, that was unheard when I was a kid. We also didn't have to worry about a mentally ill, out of control president, getting us all killed in our sleep. It's all so surreal. Both the natural world, and the world of politics, seem more like some sort of waking nightmare than any kind of possible reality.
I remember the last day, of the last weekend, of the summer of 1978. It was Monday, so of course I watched the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. Well, it was on my portable TV in my room, but I was preoccupied with the week ahead. I was busy choosing my new denim skirt, pink peasant blouse, denim purse, brown boots and brown canvas book bag for first day of school on Wednesday. I was excited and wanted to be sure that's what I wanted to wear. There was a guy, Scott, that I wanted to impress on our first day back. Little did I know I would see him smoking a cigarette, after Home Room the following Thursday, and fall completely out of the crush I had been carrying for most of the summer. Easy Come. Easy Go.
Fast forward...
I wish I wasn't so scared all the time.
I feel like there isn't much more that can be said. At least not in this mean-spirited political season.
I remember having the jitters so bad, that I called KFRC on that Labor Day evening, back in 1978, and requested a song. One of my favorites that always made me smile, and feel happy and safe just by hearing it. Wouldn't It Be Nice, By The Beach Boys. It sure did that night, all those years ago. Wouldn't it be nice if things were still that simple?
"Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive."
~Eliot Erwitt
My friend, Karen, has posted some stunning photographs over the past year, some in color, some in black and white. I have truly fallen in love with her work. Often she posts both versions of her photographs, side by side, for comparison, which has lead to my rethinking my approach to photography. I think I have overlooked the impact black and white can make. When I think of my color photographs, it seems I always go away thinking of the pop color it tends to make. The WOW factor. Sometimes it can be a pretty loud sound of color, but it can be soft too, but what it rarely is, is mysterious! The imagination really has no where to go. Black and White definitely leaves more to the imagination to interpret. I like that. I haven't been doing much photography this year, because of Covid-19, so I'm a bit rusty when it comes to any photography, so it's very nice to have a new mission of doing some photos in a different style. I am thankful to Karen for giving me a new outlook. I need a fresh approach, and this change might make all my autumn photos have a new edge. Its something creative to look forward to, just when I needed it most!
Stop by and see her wonderful photos of Tucson, and the beautiful landscape that surrounds it.
"If my dreams came true, I'd be living in a horror movie"
~Marty Rubin
Okay, so Blogger is acting up again, so no new photos today, but if you liked the movie I posted a couple days ago, you'll love this one. From 1985, also an ABC made for TV movie, I bring you, In The Midnight Hour. It's a lighthearted take on all things, Halloween, and includes some good music, a few laughs, and yes, what would a horror movie be without some chills? Anyway, it's one of my favorites so sit back and enjoy some fun.
Cast
Shari Belafonte-Harper
DeDee Pfeiffer
Dick Van Patton LeVar Burton
Enjoy!
Update!
Oh look, Blogger is letting me post photos again. Sigh. But I already wrote this post and added the video. Oh well, enjoy the film and I will be posting some new photos tomorrow... I hope. Check back then.
"The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen."
~Shannon L. Adler
Isn't that a pretty moon? When I stepped outside tonight, to photograph the, Full Corn Moon, I was surprised to find that it had a light orange appearance to it. I had completely forgotten that there is still just just enough smoke in the air, from the Northern California wildfires, to change the moon from it's usual bright white color, to a shade that is almost pumpkin color. Strange how a situation so scary and so sad, can produce something so beautiful. I am hoping that when all the fire is finally extinguished, we in California, will be done with "fire season" at least unofficially.
Of course officially it will be well into November. It used to be from May thru October, but with Climate Change, that has all changed. Scientists believe that "fire season" is now year round. I remember as a child there being maybe one or two good sized fires in California, mostly over the summer months, but I also remember my teachers saying that if we don't start taking care of the Earth, we would end up with unprecedented weather and climate events. And here we are!
Here is a look back at how the moon appeared
in the night sky during the Camp Fire,
in the town of Paradise, California.
Our vacation begins in about 6 weeks. Hopefully, all the fires will be extinguished. I am looking forward to some long car rides, and a lot of autumn leaf peeping!
"I am like a small creature swallowed whole bu a monster, she thought, and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside."
~Shirley Jackson
The Haunting Of Hill House
Well, I said I might be showing a movie or two this year, and it seemed like a good day to do just that, especially in that Blogger isn't allowing me to upload the picture I would have been posting. Shrug. It happens. I don't know, maybe it's a good thing. Movies are a big part of my interests, especially horror movies, and this one is definitely one of my favorites, since childhood.
It first aired as the, Saturday Movie Of The Week, on February 5th, 1972, although this recording is the, Tuesday Movie Of The Week. I suppose it was a repeat of the original broadcast. But that's fine, because I remember loving it so much, that I am pretty sure I would have watched the rebroadcast, and I am fairly sure dad was sitting on the couch right next to me. Watching scary movies with my father, are some of the most rewarding memories I have of being a little girl. Dad and I had a difficult relationship, but he and I shared a lot too. We had the same sense of humor. We both loved horror movies, and we both enjoyed cooking. He loved autumn as much as I did. His birthday was in early autumn, and always included the first pies of the year.
My father passed away, August 29th, 1995, and while I don't watch for the date on the calendar, I do tend to miss him a bit more. He loved the color of the early autumn sun, and I finally saw that autumn light coming through the bedroom window yesterday. It's here. Autumn is here, and it's just a matter of the official hand-off from summer to autumn in a few weeks! I just wish dad was here to enjoy it with me.
Dad would be the first to say, don't look back, just enjoy where you are, right this moment, so I am excited to immerse myself into the season, and vacation this year, and look for as much beauty as can be found. I feel a bit more optimistic, but I am not being naive, I know that positive outlook will probably come and go. So, for right now, I am going to roll with all the happiness a favorite old movie or book can bring. I have never read the book, so maybe I will do some looking around, perhaps I can find a copy of it at a used bookstore.
When Michael Calls, is based on the 1967 book of the same name, by John Farris. It's equal parts ghost story, and detective story, but more than anything else it's just good all around storytelling. A few twists, that might be a bit predictable, and would otherwise leave me cold, is negated by the excellent acting of Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, and Ben Gazzara. The story was sufficiently spooky, but not so much that it would have given me nightmares as a child. Of course I learned at an early age to see the story through, so I could arrive at the explanation of what was actually going on, because, after all, there are no such things as ghosts, right?
Having watched the film, I know whether or not there was a ghost, but you don't, so you will just have to sit back, hit the play, and enjoy a really good film that will put you in the mood for autumn. 2020 has been a truly dreadful year so far, so it owes us all one. I am hoping that autumn, as it leads us into the last couple weeks of the year, will have gently corrected everything that has gone wrong, or caused pain. Perhaps I am pinning to much on autumn, but I think it's okay to embrace a little hope.
"It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer."
~Dorothea Lange
If you look in the sky, right over big storms, you can sometimes see the most amazing things. I spotted these "angels" last January, after a brief lightning storm, that made it's way across the Central Valley, with just enough intensity to make things interesting. I don't usually spend too much time looking for cloud angels, because why, when it's just as easy to see a mermaid, or a horse, or like my friend Stephen once told me, bunnies. I, personally, have never really settled in on one shape. I see letters, numbers, I even once saw the unmistakable shape of Snoopy's pal,Woodstock. But the last couple years, without trying, I have seen more angel shapes than anything else, and frankly, I am not sure what to make of it. With no real evidence to go on, I can't realistically take it as any kind of sign, after all, it's my interpretation of what an angel might look like... right? They haven't scared me, so that's a good thing. I think. I suppose if that winged thing in the sky is an angel, and it hasn't zapped me for being a complete heathen, at least it let me take it's picture. And if that's true, then I can't be all bad!
Carly Stockton, California August 31st 2020
Photo: Stockton, California January 18th 2020 Nikon
"Days decrease and autumn grows, autumn in everything."
~Robert Browning
The sun is finally shining again. The smoke from the wildfires has cleared, so that autumn light, that always starts in late august, is free to come through the bedroom window.That window has the morning light, and the autumn light hitting the mirror is so pretty. It's easy to wake up happy when that's the first thing you see in the morning.
I am beginning to see little bit of autumn everywhere. In the trees. In the colors catching my eye. In silly disregard chairs. In the fruits and veggies at Central Valley fruit stands. In fish at the cute little Oakdale Cheese and Specialties, in Oakdale, California. We visited there last Saturday, and even the Koi in the pond had me thinking of autumn, which is on a breath away.
I always think of autumn as the great corrective of the year. The Equinox will fix it, whatever "it" is. This year, there is a lot of pain caused by the pandemic and wildfires. Life during the pandemic and all the Trump drama has made life so difficult, but hope is waiting like a superhero, and in just a few weeks it will fly in, and with it comes everything I love, including vacation, and while everything is Covid-19 hesitant, and scaled down, leaf peeping remains constant. I picked a good subject to specialize in. Wonderful, glorious, magnificent autumn in all it's beauty. That's one thing the pandemic can't touch.
I see faces in things. The other day I saw the face on this cute little cart at the grocery store. I also saw the opportunity to make a statement about covering your face, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It's the easiest thing to do, to help in the fight, and yet folks won't do it. I am not going to go into it, history will write it, I am just going to keep wearing my masks and hoping for the best. I have been home since March, with no end in sight, but at least I know that I have done the best I can, to not be a selfish spreader of the worst pandemic in over 100 years. Yes, history will tell that tale, and it breaks my heart to think of how sad it might be!
I had been wanting to photograph this old motel for a long time. The first time I spotted it, was five years ago, when I moved to Stockton. I was on the freeway, on my way to my new house, from the motel I had been living in, in Turlock. Man, it was the longest summer in that Turlock motel, waiting for the condo to built, and then when that situation blew up, it was even longer while house hunting, but we eventually found our home and our community. It was scary, but having a brand new canvas of possibilities was good. New sights and sounds. New things to photograph. New histories to learn.Too bad I just wasn't in the right head space to embrace it, but still, that didn't stop me from taking a visual note of that great sign, so that when I was ready, I would know where to go for inspiration.
I edited two versions, color and black/white. Frankly, I am not sure which I like best. The color shows it's original funky mid-century style of not just the lines, but the overuse of that hideous orange color. Funny how folks felt about color back then. Orange and turquoise? And yet I have seen more than one building, from that era, that had that exact color scheme. Stockton is full of it, and for some inexplicable reason, it's growing on me. The black and white is really great because it's like I had to step into an old movie to accomplish the photo. Both are great. Maybe I will leave it up to Twitter to decide.
