Not The Hotel California, The California Hotel

"Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know whats more than enough."

~Billie Holiday

2013 has brought me some renewed interest in checking out places of historic interest around the Bay Area. I haven't been able to get out and about as much as I have wanted to the last couple weeks, but with the ant invasion fully solved, I now have some free time to put together at least a loose itinerary of places to visit. I enjoy old buildings and historic properties. I like imagining the ghosts that might still roam the grounds. Ghosts aren't always scary, sometimes they are quite charming and helpful. Sometimes they merely encourage one to venture out beyond one's own limits. That is a very good thing, when one is a shutterbug. When I hosted the Monday Photo Shoot, I always tried to encourage participants to go beyond the obvious. I tried to ask my friends to think of every possible angle and interpretation.

I did that to challenge my thinking as well, but I took almost a year off from regular photography and I find that now I need that extra bit of challenge that comes from giving myself structured assignments, rather than simply grabbing the camera, heading out, and hopefully finding something visually interesting. Not that there is anything wrong about that approach, in fact, sometimes when I assign a subject to myself, I find wonderful things along the way. I have to admit that the picture above was done last evening in one of those "on the fly" photo jaunts. The California Hotel always catches my eye when I past it, because of the song "Hotel California" by the Eagles. I love that song, and while this hotel isn't the real Hotel California, I always found the name somewhat amusing.

After doing a bit of research, however, I found out that the California Hotel actually has it's own unique musical past. At one time this was a hot spot for celebrities and Blues and Jazz enthusiasts. Built in the 1920's it was one of a few hotels in the Bay Area that allowed African Americans to stay, and featured many African American performers. Billie Holiday once sang in the lobby of the hotel, as well as headliners Fats Domino and in later decades, Ike and Tina Turner played there. I wish I had a better photo to show you, unfortunately I was losing the light fast, but no worries, I will be back soon. It is a grand place that has gone through many changes, especially in recent years. It went through major renovations in 2011, and was converted to lower income apartments. It lives on in the community that embraced it. I love the architecture, and I love the history. So, for now I show you a kind of sneak peek, but like I said, I will be back soon!

Stay Tuned! There's More To Come.

The Richmond San Rafael Bridge

"The bridges that you cross before you come to them are over rivers that aren't there."

~Gene Brown

I don't give the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge the proper photographic attention it deserves. I want to fix that this year. It's a gorgeous bridge, day or night, and it connects the East Bay with San Rafael in Marin County. Marin County is breathtakingly beautiful and I don't visit up there nearly enough! The Richmond is not the longest of the Bay Area bridges, but it certainly provides a stunning view of Mount Tamalpias. Additionally, if you are making your way across it's span to visit a friend, or foe at San Quentin prison, why this is the bridge for you, as the prison sits just off the west side of the bridge. In fact, when heading back to the East Bay, you are reminded, more than once, that the San Quentin exit is the LAST MARIN COUNTY EXIT! LOL. I think, for some, it's the last exit period, but it's a lovely spot for a prison!

And a bridge!





 



And the view heading back to the East Bay...



~Happiness :)

~Me

It's What Happens In January

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within it's heart.

~Charles G. Slater

The leaves continue to turn and fall. It's what happens in January. Still. Quiet. Dark. No fanfare. Just a necessary event to encourage an earthly renewal. It's a good thing, and I am already planning which roses will bring new life to the rose garden in 2013. Perhaps I will embrace the muted tones this year. Honey Dijon and Pumpkin Patch. Both unusual and lovely. We'll see. For now, I share the last of the roses of 2012.

Just a little something to keep you warm.

 

 

 

And some leaves...

 

You knew there had to be leaves... right? ;)

~Happiness :)

~Me

2016

"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

~Mark Twain

Okay, short post for tonight. Kachoooooooooo. KACHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Yep. I have the flu. Or a common cold. Or a special cold. Don't know. But I don't feel good. But I am enjoying the hell out of the raging fever I have. It's pretty. So I will just ask one question of you, dear reader...

Will it be Chris Christie or Ryan Gosling in 2016?

You know... for President Of The United States.

Chris Christie or Ryan Gosling?

And who would each man choose as their Veep?

Speak. Speculate. Ponder. Consider.

~Happiness

~Me :)

Palm Trees In The Sunset

"Trees are as close to immortality as the rest of us ever come."

~Karen Joy Fowler

Palm trees. I don't really like palm trees. They don't have seasons. You can't watch their leaves turn bright beautiful colors, then turn muted earth tones just before they go bare for the winter. You can't kick their fallen leaves around, because they don't have leaves, they have palm fronds... whatever that means. They come in different varieties, so that's probably a good thing... if you like palm trees. Palm trees don't have rings inside to tell their age by, but I am guessing that like some humans, all palm trees are about 39.

Some palm trees produce coconuts. Alan is allergic, and it has never been one of my favorite flavors, so while pleasant enough, I wouldn't miss it if I couldn't have coconut ever again. On the other hand, one of the best tasting salads ever has hearts of palm in it. So okay... that's a plus. Palm fronds are also used in basket making and in clothing. Palm trees have a strong religious significance as in the Palm Sunday. In Judaism, the palm represents peace and plenty.

Okay, so I have done my research, and palms absolutely have their place. They make the world a better place. But that being said, they still aren't my favorite tree. I just don't like them that much. But my goodness, when you see a palm tree or two, against a beautiful sunset, they sure display an amazing scene. Lovely. Calming. Safe. And most certainly needed!

Okay, palm trees can stay.

:)

~Happiness :)

~Me

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Mooing

"The cow is of the bovine ilk; one end is moo, the other milk."

~Ogden Nash, Free Wheeling

I spent a little time in Marin County late last week. I didn't get a chance to mosey on over to the shoreline or to the headlands, but I did see some lovely places in and around the town of Novato. Like the cows you see in the picture above. On the way home we were treated to an awesome sunset, which was a bit obscured by the hills, but there was enough to get a few really nice representations of the color. I must get back up to Marin soon, with any luck perhaps later this week. We'll see.





~Happiness

~Me :)

Woody Allen's Summer Project 2012 Gets A Title

"We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I will be spending the rest of our lives."

~Woody Allen

 

It's official! The name of the upcoming Woody Allen movie, which was partially filmed in San Francisco, and I pretty much obsessed over late last summer, will be called... Blue Jasmine. The release date has yet to be announced, but I assume it will hit theaters sometime in late spring or summer. Personally, I am hoping for a date sometime around my birthday on June 29th! A couple years ago Alan took me to see "Midnight In Paris" on my birthday, and I loved that film! So sweet, and Paris was... as you might expect... breathtaking!

San Francisco and Manhattan will be the backdrops for the filmmaker's latest film, which couldn't make this fan happier! As much as I enjoy the European locations, it is going to be a thrill to see some familiar San Francisco neighborhoods, some of which I was in during the filming last summer, and also get to see the very best of Manhattan, the number one place on my Bucket List of must see places before I die. If you read my Ellipsis entries last summer, during his filming in the city, you know that Woody Allen had a place in my dream of New York.

When I got to stand on the corner 20th and Lexington, and on Ulloa and Claremont, in San Francisco, during three days of filming, an element of my dream came true. I had imagined seeing Woody, sitting across the room from me at the Carnegie Deli, eating a sandwich. That's it! My total perfect Manhattan day consisted of merely seeing my favorite filmmaker eating lunch! LOL. You see, if I were to try to say hello, it would come out a little more like... haaaallaaaalloooo. LOL. Completely incoherent and perhaps a bit... ummm... dare I say... stunningly embarrassing? Yep, that's the correct word... EMBARRASSING.

I kind of got that confirmed last summer, when upon arrival at the 20th and Lexington location, I experienced the oddest panic attack I have ever had. The minute I turned onto 20th, I suddenly became aware that I was mere steps away, from Woody Allen! He is a legend. He is the living embodiment of comedy! And why did I think that the outfit I was wearing was appropriate? Who, I ask you, who wears black pants with a grey top? What was I thinking? LOL. My mouth went completely dry, and I was wearing a wildly ridiculous outfit! NOW WHAT?

I can laugh now, but at the time, it was high drama!

It's a memory I wouldn't trade for anything. We live in a harsh world, and filmmakers like Woody Allen make things bearable by giving us a respite from the pain of being human, and for that I have thanked him, quietly to myself, about a million times since last summer. He gave me three days my cameras and I will never forget. And soon, he will give me one more memory when Alan and I go to our favorite theater to see Woody Allen's Summer Project for 2012 Blue Jasmine. It's a lovely title, and I can't wait to see how it fits the film, but that movie will always be simply... W.A.S.P. to me.

Once again, thank you Woody! :)

Link:Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine Acquired By Sony

And now, the trailer to the movie Sleeper. I love that movie!




~Happiness

~Me :)

Go 49ers! Go Akers!

"There Definitely needs to be water on the sidelines for these players, but I also had some Gatorade just in case they were allergic to the water or vice versa."

~John Madden

 

San Francisco landmarks have had their red on for the last couple days in support of the San Francisco 49ers, who will face the Green Bay Packers this evening in a playoff game. It's a fun thought to imagine them in the Super Bowl, I mean who doesn't want to see their home team take it all? I love football, and I have been watching them closely this season. While I admit that I am first, and foremost a Philadelphia Eagles fan, but I love the 49ers too, so, in fact, I guess I have two loves in football! One on the east coast, and one right here at home!

San Francisco Mayor, Ed Lee, has made a friendly wager with the Mayor of Green Bay, James Schmitt. You can read all about it here, but I have to tell you, those cheese curds sound terrifically delicious! I bet it would be just the thing to enjoy with with a nice, warm, freshly baked slice of bread from San Francisco bakery Boudin! I am eating a slice of their bread right now as I type this, and I can tell you... YUM!

I know the 49ers will probably win their game against Green Bay, but I have to say it has been difficult to watch their kicker, David Akers, miss so many field goals this year. But from what I have seen and heard, no one has been sadder then Akers about his performance this season. I feel for the guy, as I do for the rest of the team. I have no doubt that if he could change the past, he would. It makes me crazy that he had to actually close his Twitter account because of death threats. What the HELL is that about? The death penalty for a bad year in football? Seriously? Wouldn't you just love to know not only the work ethic of a person who would hate that much, but what about their job performance? In the world they have made in their own mind, would they be safe?

A little tidbit for all the haters to remember...

On September 9th, 2012, Akers tied the NFL record for longest field goal by kicking a 63 yard field goal off the crossbar against the GREEN BAY PACKERS! So instead of acting like a fair weather football fan, how about giving the guy some support! NO ONE respects a fan who is only a fan when things are going well. David Akers has my respect for going out on the field week after week in spite of the hate!

Sometimes, America doesn't seem mature enough for football.

 :(

Come this evening, Alan and I will be cheering on the 49ers, and especially David Akers. 

Go 49ers!
Go Akers!

~Me

 NOTE: After the game I will comeback and update this post with the score.

UPDATE: It looks like San Francisco will be wearing the RED and GOLD a little longer!

San Francisco 49ers: 45
Green Bay Packers: 31

The Invincible Autumn

"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

I know what you're thinking... "Here she does again, yammering on about autumn." LOL. Of course you aren't wrong. I am yammering on about autumn, but to be fair, when it's cold outside, and a bit gloomy and maybe even a tad depressing, my eyes, almost instinctively, look toward any natural color that is to be found. Sometimes it's a gorgeous sunset, sometimes an amazing rainbow, but somehow if there is just one autumn leaf still hanging on for dear life, I feel like I must give it the gift of photographic immortality. And if I am lucky enough to still find a tree that is covered with autumn light, I spend a few moments under it, and pray that autumn won't take too long to comeback.

:) Beautiful In Winter...








And as if the occasional collection of invincible autumn leaves wasn't enough to make me smile, I am happy to report some significant progress has been made in riding the cottage of the ants, but the battle continues!


~Happiness :)

~Me 

Yesterday's Twilight

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."

~Robert Frost

 

I have been happy with a lot of my late afternoon lighting opportunities. I take my camera with me wherever I go, even if I am just running another one of life's mundane errands, because you just never know what wonderful moment is just waiting around the corner. Yesterday I had some luck with the lighting, in the final moments of daylight I caught a sundown that dazzled in those lovely earthy muted tones that make me so happy inside.

 :)

~Me

Hey, Hangers Don't Grow On Trees You Know!

"Last year I built a Courage Machine, but I thought it might be noisy and was too afraid to turn it on. So I coated it with glue, covered it with cat hair, mounted it on my wall, and started claiming it was an exotic animal I killed on a Safari in Africa. I'd like to believe people believe me, on account of it being so strange that it has to be true."

~Jarod Kintz, This Book Is Not For Sale

Still battling ants. But on the plus side, I have been visiting Walmart a whole lot in the new year! LOL. You didn't really think, I thought, that visiting Walmart more often was any kind of plus did you? A plus? LOL. Well, to be fair I guess there was a plus in the fact that they had Combat round ant stakes on sale for $1.00 less than Home Depot. So okay, I am giving the devil, and the Walton family, their due. Shopping at Walmart has it's pluses, you just have to let yourself embrace the minuses.

On the other hand, wouldn't it be nice if Warren Buffet would consider starting a discount store, similar to Walmart, only a lot less greedy? It could be called... BuffMart. Or how about... WarMart? Nah, that last one sounds like a one-shop-shop where rednecks could buy bullets and wedding invitations, you know, like Walmart. Of course if you are in the market for bullets and wedding invitations, Walmart is a definite plus! Nope, no minus to be seen!

Hey, I totally get it. I shop at Walmart because Alan works hard for us, and a name brand product, like Combat ant stakes, is just that, a name brand, and good, bad or otherwise, it's cheaper at Walmart. It doesn't make sense to buy the ant stakes at Home Depot and spend extra money. I just wish it didn't feel so awful about doing it.

Bottom lining it... Hangers Don't Grow On Trees!

"Sleeping in a tinfoil suit keeps me warmer and helps prepare me for my voyage to the moon. Would you care for some licorice?"

~Jarod Kintz, 


~Me

Golden Skies And The Surreal

"Lord of the far horizons
Give us the eyes to see
Over the verge of the sundown
The beauty that is to be."

~William Bliss Carman

 

The temperature rose to a balmy 50 degrees yesterday! Time to break out the flannel shorts methinks! Which is amazingly good news, because I was growing tired of the fleece lined leggings anyway! Well, actually, there is no real need for special clothing exchanging, according to the weatherperson, we are not only due for more colder weather later this week, but there could be snow as low as 2,000 feet, which is pretty much Grizzly Peak Blvd!

:)

 Hendrix... grab mommy's mittens!

Dylan grab mommy's scarf!

Alan... grab my cameras and the top to the garbage can, and lets take the boys tobogganing!

Have you ever tobogganed with a cat?

It's not for the faint of heart! I imagine. LOL.

Anyway, as Alan and I continue to battle the ANTS, I haven't had a lot of time to go out and do many new photos, but good photographer that I am, I had my trusty small red Kodak EasyShare M5320. I got a chance to snap some photos on the run, an activity that I am having a lot of fun with, and I am happy to have gotten a few more photos that I am filing in the folder titled... "Sun On The Run." So far, I am a happy girl... unless we are talking ANTS and the $300 we have now spent trying to rid that cottage of them. NOTHING is working.

Honestly, I don't quite know what else to do. I think it might be possible that they are nested in the roof, which opens an entire new can of worms. I refuse to let myself believe that the rest of 2013 is going to be as messed up as the last 7 days have been, but it's not too easy to keep my spirits up either. Oh well, the sunsets help a lot, and if we are graced with snow, it will make me very happy, and hopefully it will slow the ants down a bit.

Hope.

It's better than NO HOPE.

 

 

 

 




~Happiness

~Me :)

P.S. Last week's Ellipsis Poll is now closed, but there is a brand new Tuesday poll for your blog visiting pleasure! Enjoy! ;)

The Ghosts Of 5:31 P.M.

"The people you love become ghosts inside of you, and like this you keep them alive."

~Rob Montgomery

As Alan and were traveling though Crow Canyon the other night, I was snapping photo after photo because it was pretty close to sundown, and there was some wonderful shadows and last light of day to play with. I love this time of day for taking photos, but I don't enjoy this time of day for driving. I guess it's my 50 year old eyes failing me, but I just don't see as well as I would like to, so I happily hand the key to Alan, and sat back, and enjoyed doing photos while on the move. Like with the sunset photos I took last month while we drove along Grizzly Peak Blvd, it was impossible to know if I was getting anything good enough to post, and taking the time to check each photo would have meant losing a lot of chances. So, I snapped when it felt right, and crossed my fingers.

When I got home and took a look at the pictures, I found about 4 or so out of the group of 20 photos that I was pleased with. The one posted above struck the loudest cord. It immediately reminded me of a photo I had taken about 30 years ago while on a ride through a different canyon, while my friend Judith drove. Even 30 years ago I preferred to hand the keys to someone else during twilight if at all possible. Hmmm... maybe it wasn't my 50 year old eyes after all! LOL. Anyway, Judith and I were coming back from having spent the day in San Jose. Judith participated in Dr. Who meetings that were at that time held at channel 54. She had spent the day picking up materials for the meeting that was to be held the following day, and I was simply along for the ride.

We left the studio fairly early in afternoon, and with the extra time we decided to take the long way back to the east bay, by way of connecting the canyons, starting with Calaveras Canyon. We were having a good time talking about the upcoming Dr. Who meeting, and the prospect of maybe getting George Takai for the Star Trek convention she was also working on. The slow ride back home was fun and relaxing, and I had a nice opportunity to take some photos as the spirit moved me. There wasn't digital back then, so I had to be a bit more picky about what shots I took. The music on the radio was good, the conversation was fun, we could really make each other laugh over the stupidest things, and it was an amazingly clear night at the end of a week of heavy rain. I couldn't have been more comfortable, but then IT happened.

"IT" being a MASSIVE case of the wiggins. We had just finished laughing our butts off at something... I don't remember what... and there had been a momentary lull in the conversation when all of a sudden Judith and I both turned and looked into the back seat of the car, for no apparent reason, well, except for the overwhelming feeling that something... or ... someone... was sitting there with us! We both got the feeling at the same exact moment. We both looked back at the same time! Suddenly, there was a decidedly heavy feeling in the car! As we turned to each other, we both began to laugh nervously. "Did you...?" Judith asked. "Yes," I answered. "I just felt like there was someone telling me to look in the backseat." "Me too" she said.

I can tell you this, you never saw two people get the hell out of a canyon so fast! There was a heavy feeling in the car throughout the drive back to HWY680! Judith and I decided to stop for a bit and in the clear light of a very well lit Denny's,  and my friend and I decided to talk about what had just happened. Was it a case of both of us experiencing the same subliminal thought? Had a certain stretch of the road jarred some distant memory of a show we may have both seen at some point? We couldn't say, so we began to consider and discuss what was happening just prior to the feeling of  suddenly something riding along with us in the car.

Let's see. Neil Sedaka and Elton John were singing Bad Blood on the radio. That wasn't it. There were a couple cars ahead of us, and a couple behind us, so it wasn't like we were all alone on a deserted road. It wasn't completely dark yet, but rather on the edge of twilight, so yes there was still some light. We had been discussing how many lists it took to put on a proper science fiction convention. That wasn't it. What else... what else? Scent, could it be something associated with scent? After all, the senses store memories we aren't always aware of. Did either of us smell anything unusual just prior to the thought we shared? Nope. I hadn't, and she didn't think so either. We talked for about an hour, but nothing really seemed to fit.

We never really figured it out. We tried a couple times to make it all happen again, just to put the questions away, but had no luck recreating the incident. Finally, we just let the whole thing go. It was just one of those weird, unexplainable things that happens in life to keep it all interesting. Maybe someone was there, maybe there wasn't, but either way we were none the less for wear, and had an interesting story to share. It was all good. What can you do, right? I just put it in a file with all the other silly times Judith and I had in our friendship, and there were a million of them.

A couple years after that incident, Judith and I had a falling out, and our friendship never recovered. There was no way to fix it, but neither of us held onto the badness, it just wasn't really who we were as people. We grew apart, and just kept going our own way. My pal passed away in 1992 of a heart attack. I was so sad when I heard of her death because her heart simply gave out, and I didn't understand why God or whoever makes these decisions, didn't give her a warning or a second chance. Something. But that was the grief. It just was what it was. She was just gone. I missed my friend, but I don't know that I would have done anything different in the path of our friendship.

I miss her when I watch Star Trek sometimes. I miss her when I do something incredibly stupid, and I know I need to lighten up. I think about her when I see a really good spooky movie, because we both had always enjoyed that kind of thing. I think about how infuriated she would have been over George W. Bush and his presidency. I think about what a nincompoop she would have thought Sarah Palin was and is. I know she would have enjoyed meeting my cat Elvis. Everyone did. I know all that because she was my friend. Sometimes, well rarely really, I can sense her nearby, especially when I hear that old Herman's Hermits song, Henry The VIII. Every time I was in her presence and it came on the radio she would crank up the radio really loud and sing along for all she was worth! It was hysterical. Goodness... she could make me laugh!

I thought about her when I saw this picture the other night. I haven't felt her visiting me in a long time, I assume she is in the part of the heavenly afterlife known as SciFiVania. LOL. She is discussing Star Trek episodes with Gene Roddenberry. Or begging James Doohan to speak in "Scotty." She might be following H.G. Wells about the afterlife, discussing how time machines could absolutely work, and thanking him for having thought of it. Or she might be driving Henry The VIII crazy by singing that song to the top of her ethereal lungs. I can just imagine his reaction, especially when I think about all the different reactions it elicited in the living, depending on how much you liked her. LOL.

I see her off somewhere, grinning ear to ear because she now knows what happened on that canyon road all those years ago, and I have to wait until forever claims me before I find out. In other words, she is off somewhere... just... being... Judith.

"Trust me, you see the dead walking around, you learn not to scream, laugh, or piss yourself pretty quickly."

~Stacey Kade, The Ghost And The Goth


:)

~Me

Two Ants Walk Into A Bar...

"Night was spreading slowly around the spinning Earth. It should have been full of pinpricks of light. It was not. There were five billion people down there. What was going to happen soon would make barbarism look like a picnic... hot, nasty, and eventually given over to the ants."

~Neil Gaiman

 
Miss Agatha Pendragon, of the Berkeley Pendragons

ANTS. We still have ANTS. For almost a week now they have been a constant presence in our kitchen. We have tried ant stakes and traps. We have tried spraying RAID. We have tried wiping down the walls with HOT water and ammonia. We have tried caulking about the cabinets in an effort to stop them from coming in one of the pinpoint holes they frequent. The are under the cabinets and have spread to my nearly brand new stove. I don't know what is feeding them. We have both wiped the counters and taken everything out of the cabinets and wiped them down throughly. As for the stove, I am pretty much psycho about how clean I keep it. Alan bought it for me, and when we bought it, he let me choose the one I wanted. I didn't purchase the most expensive one, but I didn't choose the cheapest either. I wanted one with preheat timers, and delay cooking features, and the really nifty 4 option burners, you know for sauteing, boiling and, well you get the drift. We have spent the last week or so doing everything we can think of and NOTHING is working! Alan and I don't really know what to do!

The only left methinks is to once again wipe everything and paint the cabinets and walls. Hopefully that will wall them up throughly enough. It would be different if we owned our cottage, but we don't, we rent. The landlord has only owned the property for a little over a year, and in that time they have refused to replace appliances that are in other units because they have to. Having a working washer or refrigerator is not guarenteeed a tenant in California. It sucks, but it's true. We haven't personally asked the landlord about this issue, but if things don't change after our next effort of painting, then I am going to call and ask politely to have them hire an exterminator. An option I am dreading. Not because of the cost, so much as the risk to all my favorite little critters that frequent the yard. My oppssums, birds, kitty friends, deer, raccoons, which I don't really like, but look cute from afar. My favorite of all those is the oppossum.

Why do I like opossums? They RARELY if EVER get rabies, because they are flea free creatures. They clean up the yard by eating fallen fruit and vegetables. And oh yeah... THEY EAT ANTS JUST LIKE AN AARDVARK!

I guess I have one more option before contacting an exterminator... I could go down to the nature center and adopt a opossum! When Elvis was alive he had an opossum friend that used to come by to see him every night. We named her Agatha Pendragon. She was a beauty. Agatha had a little boy that Elvis just loved. We named him Epson. We called him that because when he would run he would across the yard he would make this sound that was similar to "epppp... epppp... epppp." Epson and Agatha would come by to see Elvis most days at around 2 in the afternoon, which is heartwarming in an odd kinda way, because opossums are nocturnal. It was just a little bit more magic we experienced by owning Elvis. He was very special, and I still miss him to this day, and his friends. Agatha stopped coming to the yard after Elvis passed away, and Epson was poisoned by an ignorant neighbor who didn't have enough sense to educate themselves about opossums. I miss Agatha and Epson, almost as much as I miss Elvis. But I digress I think. Anyway, wish us luck... okay? But if you ever get the chance to own an opossum, do so. You will never have to worry about ANTS!

:(

And Now, The Ant Conservatory Theater's Production of "Two Ants Walk Into A Bar."
(not really)

Ant #1
So, uh, do you ever worry that your itsy little neck is just going to snap under the weight of your head?
Ant #2
Stop asking me that. You ask me that, like every five minutes.
Ant #1
Sometimes I notice my antennae out of the corner of my eye and I'm like... AHH! Something is on me! Get it off! Get it off!
Ant #2
Yeah, the antennae again. Listen, I just remembered, I have to go walk around aimlessly now.

~Jim Benton, Okay, So Maybe I do Have Superpowers


~Me

Embarcadero Center Art Walk #1 "Blocks" + Finding Faces In Unusual Places

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

~Edgar Degas


(Blocks, Anne Van Kleeck, 1971 Bronze)


It's time to revisit my love of public art! A couple weeks ago, while Alan and I were at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to not just photograph the happenings at the Holiday Ice Rink, but to also take in some of the public art that peppers the Embarcadero Center! It's been way too long since I spent any time searching out public art installations around the bay, so I am thrilled to be able to revisit one of my favorite subjects! While the photographs in this post are   technically a part my 2012 collection of photos, I had planned to post them sometime after the new year, so they are new to 2013! Shrug... ;)

Finding Faces In Unusual Places...

Okay, now for a little fun! Tell me, do you see the face? Go ahead, take a good look before scrolling down. I see a face. Alan saw a face in a different place than I did. And the face he saw was kinda spooky, and now I see that one also! How about you? Do you see a face? How about two faces? Three maybe?



"I want to meet a guy named Art. Take him to a museum, hang him on the wall, criticize him, and leave."

~Jarod Kintz, I Want

I love finding faces! 2012 was a very good year for finding faces in unusual places. Thank goodness they were friendly... right? Because I would rather not find demonic ones that people on shows about the supernatural tend to see! LOL! But on the other hand, I have always wanted to see a ghost!

Hmmm... Whimsy? Or Spooky? Whimsy? Or Spooky?

Couldn't we all use a little more Wimsy?

The Embarcadero Center Art Walk has 19 pieces of art. This is the first of the series. I hope to post a new photo about every couple weeks or so. I will also be seeking public art around the bay, and bring you many different views! If you decide to do your own series on public art, please let me know! Leave me the link in the comment thread so I can come by and see what you come up with!

~Happiness!

Click to download a copy of the Embarcadero Art Walk Self Guided Tour!

~Me :)

Quiet On The Set!

"Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare."

~Alfred Hitchcock

Yesterday, as I was tiptoeing through my 2012 archives, I came across a several photos that I liked a lot, but that I never got around to posting before the end of the year. So, in the coming weeks I think I will be posting a combination of brand new photos, and some from 2012 that for whatever reason, didn't quite make it to the blog. I am happy that I came across the photos from 2012 that are fresh to the blog because when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve it didn't just usher in a new year, it brought a nice little colony of ants along for the fun! Needless to say, I have been a busy lady lately.

Ugg... I hate ants. I managed to do really well with keeping them out of the garden last summer, just by maintaining a certain amount of diligent gardening, including the occasional deep dusting of cinnamon, which as you might know is natures best way to confuse an ant! No kidding! Cinnamon causes the ants to become confused, which in turn gives you a way to send them on their way without accidentally hurting any other little creature that might happen through the yard. The garden was an amazing success, and I owe it all to cinnamon!

I am going to Costco later today to purchase a large amount of cinnamon, to make the same liquid spray solution I used last summer, to try and eradicate this new collection. The ones in the house seem to be grease eating ants, which is fine, they are quite easy to deal with, but the trouble is, we can't seem to figure out where they are getting in. Ugg AGAIN!. We have been working on the situation, literally since New Year's Day, and it's just a never ending line of ants! There are a couple more things we will be trying this weekend, hopefully it will finally bring an end to the ant drama!

Think good thoughts for me, and bad thoughts for the ants! Okay?

If nothing else, perhaps I will get some good photos of the invaders. I need to do more practice with macro photography. Wish me luck with that also!

Will they be ready for their close-up?

Stay Tuned!


~Me :)
"Quiet On The Set"
AMC
Emeryville, Ca
August 9th 2012

Winter By Day Winter By Night

"Colder by the hour, more dead with every breath."

~John Green

 

"One moon lights a thousand forevers..."

~Meng Chiao

In continuing with my night photography project, I decided to see how the leaves that are left on the trees change the feeling of the photos when captured at night. I like the tree with the tiny yellow leaves, but the big leaf maple leaves me a bit indifferent. A goal is to do some early morning photography, but if possible, I would like to have some snow on the ground to help bounce the light a bit. About 30 years ago, while visiting my aunt in Maryland, I was lucky enough to see what the moonlight can do, when it bounces off some new fallen snow. It illuminated all the tips of the trees and leaves that remained, making it look like someone had poured tiny diamonds all over the earth.

"By day each soul must walk within it's shadow. Only night can make us whole again..."

~Nicholas Gordon

As if that wasn't beautiful enough, she had a rooster that roamed freely in the yard, and just happened to be near my window, and the feathers on the rooster just glowed. It was quite a scene. I would give anything to be back in that moment sometimes, only with my cameras in my hand. I would love to see another scene like it one day. With some luck and some planning, I hope to be able to head up to the Sierra foothills sometime before spring to get in a little practice working with the snow. It's going to take a nice full moon, a crystal clear sky, and some patience. It's that last part that I may need the most help with. It was 6 below zero in Truckee last night, brrrrrr. Needless to say, my arthritis would be protesting LOUDLY. Still, where there's a will there is a way!

"How lovely are the portals of the night, when stars come out to watch the daylight die."

~Thomas Cole, Twilight
















 

~Happiness

~Thoughts?

~Me

Day And Night

"The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why."

~Mark Twain

 

It's clear and painfully cold. That happens in January. This year it seems colder than any I remember, but the bright clear days and dark cold nights give me a chance to practice some ambient light photography I  have wanted to do for a long time. So far, I am pleased with the result. I am going to do more of this type of thing as the month moves along, maybe even in some rainy conditions to get a different kind of light play.

The baby bat
Screamed out in fright
Turn on the dark
I'm afraid of the light

~Shel Silverstein

~Me :)