Number 68

 

"Love the trees until their leaves fall off,

 then encourage them to try again next year."

 

~Chad Sugg 

We are already at the sixty-eighth autumn leaf featured for 2020. How can a year, so full of tragedy and pain, have actually gone by so quickly? And at the same time, these last couple months leading up to the handover of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, seem to be dragging. How does that work? Don't answer, I already know deep down why, I guess I just have to pose the question into the void sometimes, because, it feels less lonely.

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 28th 2020

 

Bird Watching Is A Lot Like Autumn Leaf Peeping

 

"November at it's best...

 with a sort of delightful menace in the air."

 

~Anne Bosworth Greene 

 

There are so many species of birds in the Central Valley, that I could spend my whole life out here with the camera, and not photograph the same bird twice. I wonder which of my albums will contain more individual photos by the end of 2021, my Leaves, or my Birds? It's a very pleasant thing to ponder. Peep.

 

~Carly

Stockton California

November 27th 2020

 

Thanksgiving 2020

 

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

 

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

From Our House To Yours

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

~Carly

November 26th 2020

Stockton California

Flying About The Earth

 

"Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love... that makes life and nature harmonize. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

 

~George Eliot

George Eliot's Life As Related In Her Letter And Journals

Volume #1

 

 

 This has been one of the warmest Thanksgivings I can remember. I don't know if that is a good thing, considering Climate Change, but it's nice for doing landscape and wildlife photography. I have some new subjects, so my body is grateful for the temperatures, although ever since I was a child I have hoped for cold, ideally rainy, Thanksgivings. Doesn't Thanksgiving dinner taste better when it's cold and raining outside? Just like in the summertime I like to put on the air conditioner and climb under a blanket. I'm just wired weird I think. Sunny California gets boring, particularly after summers that don't seem to end. Why does autumn go by so fast, but summer sometimes seems to never end? Just one more thing to ponder I suppose.

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 25th 2020

Autumn Reflections Winter Shadows

 

"The smell of burning firewood and the molding of organic earthly substances reminded her of jumping wildly into the enormous leaf piles of autumns past and she suddenly wished that it was appropriate for someone her age to do such a thing."

 

~Abby Slovin

Letters In Cardboard Boxes 

 

I guess I really shouldn't complain, after all this year's autumn was more than generous with it's leaves, but I can feel winter coming on, and in a little less than a month from now, this project, and the season will come to an end. So, I guess it's time to choose a project for winter, and realistically, I think I choose birds as my new subject, with maybe tree skeletons as a sub-subject. Both will allow me to do my photography from inside the house, or the car, if the weather, or Covid-19 makes it necessary. The long shadows of the winter sun can't be counted on, which is fine, but it's another fascination of mine. Who knows, maybe when the time comes, I won't limit myself to one subject or another, maybe I will let my Twitter family decide which works the best as a nod to the season of winter.

 

What do you think about the two photos in this post?

Black and White or Color?

Which is the most pleasing to the eye?

 

Click To Enlarge

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 24th 2020

 

 

Autumn And The Sandhill Crane

 

Pilgrims

 

Tuscan reds and ochre hues

Olive greens and skies of blue

Sunlit valleys of charm

Secluded homestead and hilltop farm

 

Over hills birds in flight

Aromas whet the appetite

Autumn rustle fills the air

Reveling grace of trees laid bare

 

Pathways meander through the vale

Inviting travelers its height to scale

Sunset rewards as evening ends

And pilgrims to the night descend

 

~Collette O'Mahony

The Soul In Words: A Collection Of Poetry And Verse

 

 

Last Saturday was such a pretty autumn day, that we decided to take a drive to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, in Lodi, California. A couple weeks ago, I came across an article about how large numbers of Sandhill Cranes stop in the Delta wetlands, just west of Lodi, while on their migratory path. I have always loved Snowy Egrets and Herons, but I have never seen a Sandhill Crane, so it was kind of exciting to add a new bird to my Google Album, Birds. Seeing these cranes for the first time, has been an incredible mood lifter! There is way to much beauty in life, especially in autumn, to waste one day in the house! The cranes are such popular visitors every year, that Lodi now holds a Sandhill Crane Festival welcome them, as they move along their migratory path!

 

 This year, however, all the festivals in California have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 virus, which is sad, because festivals are one of the nicest ways to get to know the best of where you live! One of my favorites from the Bay Area, was the Pumpkin Festival, held yearly, in Half Moon Bay. I sure hope 2021 brings all of us some relief from the pandemic, and the world will see a genuine vaccine that will make everything safer for everyone. I am ready to stretch my wings a bit, now that I am fully settled into the Central Valley. I like little festivals, and the Central Valley has some delicious crops to celebrate. Apricots, Walnuts, Grapes abound, but for viewing just sheer beauty, you gotta love these beautiful birds! I am definitely making a note on my 2021 calendar. 

 

Once I got to the reserve, I was astonished to find that not only were there hundreds of cranes, but there were many other species of birds to see and photograph for the first time! Alan and I counted about 20 new species of birds that we hadn't seen before. We both agreed that we will be visiting again. Soon. The delta is so beautiful, the next time we venture out there will probably be to do some twilight shots. Sunrise and sunset is when they are at their most active, so hopefully there will be a colorful sunset to make for a beautiful photo of the cranes in flight. And to my delight, there is still a lot of autumn colors in the trees. Can you tell how happy I am to be on this new adventure with the camera?

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 23rd 2020

Love Among Leaves

 

"Autumn is no time to lie alone."

 

~Murasaki Shikibu

 

Sometimes it makes me a little sad to see a single leaf, all alone on the sidewalk. Solitary, as if without friends. When I was a little girl I learned that it is a good idea to talk to your plants and trees, because they respond on a basic level, and there was at least some anecdotal evidence that it's positive for humans too. I know, leaves don't have friends, but each one does spend it's life in clusters of company, on the same branches, with other leaves of difference shades and fingerprints, but one community all the same. Does love exist among leaves? I always wondered, if when one of the group drops, is there a sadness that is understood among the leaves, or is it a time of rejoice because, for the leaves, things worked as it should have? 

 

Just another mystery in the universe I suppose.

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 22nd 2020

 

Brown Sugar And Cimmonette

 

"It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust

 of brown sugar and cinnamon."

 

~Sarah Addison Allen

First Frost

 

 I said I might do some more teddy bear photos, and I did and I think this one came out pretty good! Heidi is a good pal, and so is her little pal, Cimmonette. I love the name, Cimmonette. I had a friend, when I was a small child, who was named that. I loved that it sounded so girly and a little like my favorite spice, cinnamon. I never really liked my name, but what can you do? Funny how that works. Anyway, I always liked the name, and figured I would name a beloved pet Cimmonette one day, but then Alan and I decided to name our cats after singers because of our love of different genres of music. It just worked out that way. I don't know... all's well that ends well I guess. I think my next object to photograph will be a honey bear, which, as it turns out, looks good in any lighting or setting. Some things just aren't fair!

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 21st 2020

...About As Smart As A Box Of Hangers

 

"Change is coming, she whispered to the bugs

 bouncing off her window. You can't escape it."

 

~A. Lynn

Itsy's Ugly 

 

Alan and I were visiting Berkeley, a couple months ago, and as we drove down Ashby, I was snapping photos of everything I saw. I missed Berkeley a lot, so visiting was nice, and there is always something to see! Ordinarily when we visit, I spend, for the most part, in Tilden park. It's so pretty there, and it relaxes me to enjoy the trees and the wildlife. But on this day, I wanted to visit other parts of town, and so I decided that I really needed to visit Gladys, who lives on Ashby. You remember Gladys? She is my gorgeous friend (sculpture) who lives with her friends, in a strange little house with a lot of windows. Oh well, see below. If you know me, or have been reading this blog, then you know her, if you are new here, after you see her photo, if you have questions, feel free to ask.

 

 Anyway, it was on that day that I spotted a box of hangers, just sitting by the side of the street. I snapped the photo, with no real idea how I would use it one day, and promptly filed it away in my brain. Well, yesterday, as the crazy unfolded, I, for whatever reason, began to think about the box of hangers, and how Rudy Guiliani is about as smart as a random box of hangers, sitting by the side of the road. See, the perfect photo for the perfect situation and post. Let that be a lesson to you, never pass up a chance to photograph a box of hangers! 

 

Elle Magazine

Did You See Rudy Guiliani's Hair Dye Running Down His Face?

Because Twitter Sure Did! 

 

Gladys

~Carly

Stockton, California

Art About Town: Sacramento: Capitol Electrical Box Art

 

"Take heart and dive into the quiet maturity of autumn."

 

~Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann

 

I don't know how mature you can call this autumn, but here we are. As you might expect, Donald Trump is still refusing to admit Joe Biden won the election. He's still hold up in Washington D.C., pouting and drowning in Fox News and listening to the advice of former New York City Mayor, Rudy Guiliani, and listening to the advice of, soon to be convicted felon, Steve Bannon, so everything is pretty much normal. Well, normal as measured by the last 4 years. As Trump moved through his, on the job training for his position of emperor of all he surveys, life has moved into a kind of a, well, living nightmare of abnormal. It's been exhausting. So, maturity, and normal, I never realized how comforting those words are. Funny the things we take for granted.

On a side Note...

 The U.S. just passed 250,000 dead of Covid-19 yesterday.

 

My heart is broken. My guess is it will break several more times again before President-Elect Biden takes office. Thank God I have art to give me strength.

Art About Town: Sacramento, California

Capitol Art Box

"Statues And Lights"

By Sam Sellers

November 1st 2020

Nikon

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 19th 2020

 

Sunny Days/Rainly Days

 

"How can you understand something is really beautiful? Very simple: When that thing comes out of your life, you start desperately waiting for it to come back! And autumn's beauty is such a beauty!"

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 

I'm stressed out. I just am. So, how about I don't yammer on about how I feel. How about just leaves. Just leaves.

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 18th 2020

Arlo

 

"Don't you imagine the leaves dream now

how comfortable it will be to touch

the earth instead of the nothingness of the air and the endless

freshets of wind? And don't you think the trees, especially those with mossy hollows, are beginning to look for the birds that will come...

six, a dozen... to sleep inside their bodies?

And don't you hear the goldenrod whispering goodbye,

the everlasting being crowned with the first tuffets of snow?

 

The pond stiffens and the white field over which

the fox runs so quickly brings out

it's long blue shadows. The wind wags

its many tails. And in the evening

the piled firewood shifts a little

longing to be on its way." 

 

~Mary Oliver

Song For Autumn

 

Covid-19 Update 

Every single prediction came true, just as I believed it would from the beginning. And I believe predictive models will too. That means it will be perhaps another 200,000 dead by March 1st, and if that does happen, I am not sure if I will be here to see another autumn. And worse, will I lose my darling? I love him. Very much. I'm not going there. It's unimaginable. All I know is, things in the world better change! I hate it, but beginning tomorrow new restrictive measures will be implemented in California, and while I hate that it's necessary at this point, I applaud the move by the governor. Governor Newsom is even considering imposing curfews. Not sure how that will work, but I will be taking my last holiday grocery trip this week, and will be back home, well before dark. Holidays. The word almost sounds obscene. I better do plenty of photographs while I shop, because who knows when I will be able to venture into another store. What is so fucking hard about wearing a mask? How can there not be laws preventing what Donald Trump has done? And is doing? And I haven't even mentioned he sought what his options were for launching a war with Iran! Oops. I just did! Will he plunge the United States into war, just to fuck with Joe Biden? Nah... that doesn't sound like him at all! I wonder if he realizes that once he leaves office, he no longer has access to the bunker?

On the other hand, isn't Arlo adorable? If you're wondering, I turn to poetry and comforting stuff when I am sad and frightened. I still have a small stuffed cat I bought at the San Jose Manetta Airport, when Alan and I flew back east in 1992. Lordy I hate flying in the big planes. So, sometimes I cling to a stuffed animal. Who doesn't? Is there a poem or stuffed bear big enough to handle what's coming? I don't know, but I know Arlo helps me. How do you not smile, when you see that silly face, and his sweater, which doesn't quite fit?

John Hopkins

~Carly

November 17th 2020

Stockton, California