Sandwich 23152

 "One of the most important things you can do on this earth

 is to let people know they are not alone."

 

~Shannon L. Alder

 

Sandwich 23152

 

One day, late last year, I was in Sacramento doing some autumn leaf photography, when I spotted a sandwich lying on top of a parking meter. I didn't touch it, obviously, so I don't know what kind of sandwich it was, or who placed it there, but I have a suspicion that it was put there to help feed the homeless in, and near, the park. The particular park sits across from the Crocker Museum. But that's just a guess on my part. If true I approve. Empathy is something that isn't practiced enough in this world. No child born aspires to be homeless, and we have no idea what each individual struggle was, so if we can just remember that it could happen to any one of us, perhaps homelessness will one day decline by real numbers, but as long as it remains ignored or treated with ignorance then we are are causing the very thing we revile and fear.

 

 

 

 

23 And Me (Part Two)

 

"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,

 whispering, 'it will be happier'... "

 

~Alfred Lord Tennyson 

 

23 And Me...

(Part 2)

 

Will the year to come be happier then 2022? That remains to be seen, but so far, yeah, I would say it has potential, even though I am still perpetually in transition. It started with the move, way back in 2015. The anniversary of the first day of this adventure will be here soon, and it still fills me with a unique sadness that I know is deeply misplaced, yet it will be here soon, March in fact. But it feels like I am finally letting go of all that, and I am finally beginning to transition through the experience of owning and losing my first home. That's the easy part. Dealing with the pain of selling my first home, under the circumstances that existed, will be a little later down the road. Nope, I still haven't grieved over the loss of the house, but I know I will one day, and it will be spectacular! 

 

Speaking of houses, grieving, and transitions, guess what? We are currently in escrow to buy the condo! I can't believe it! Nicole decided to sell the place late last year, and the thought crossed our minds to purchase, rather than pack... again... so soon. Its what's best, and as Ajeanna said about the first condo... the one in Patterson that started all this... it's not forever. As I have come to learn, "it's not forever" applies to just about everything. Why am I not bouncing off the walls in a nervous fit? Simple, I don't think we will get it. There is a lot working against it, debt to income rations being just one. If we do get it, well then, life won't change from what I am currently used to, so I guess I am flowing with the white caps, and doing just fine. I'll worry about the potential for Tsunamis after it swallows me up. What else can I do?

 

2023 is revealing itself a little at a time, and I am not scared.

 

Steady on. 

 

 

23 And Me (Part One)

 "It's not like I planned it. It's not like I woke up one day and said, okay, world, today I am gonna spaz."

 

~Shannon Celebi

After Spring Comes

 

23 And Me...

(Part One)

 

 

Sigh. Okay, I meant to do a post on New Year's Day. I really did. But... you see... a big storm came knocking at the door. An 'atmospheric river' if you will. Both literally and figuratively. A REAL series of storms has been pounding California for a couple weeks now, knocking down trees, knocking out power, and basically turning rural roads such as Woodbridge into small lakes and rivers. Great for the birds, lousy for humans. As bad as Woodbridge is, Cosumnes is a lot worse. Flooding so bad we can't even think about venturing down Franklin, Desmond or Bruceville roads. The Clifton Court forebay has been one of a handful of places still available for birding, and Woodbridge is now sufficiently passable, but Yolo is still under water as is the Cosumnes Visitor's Center. The forecast has improved, however, so there is light at the end of the tunnel. With any luck, the roads may be open late next week. We'll see!

 

Oh, and I guess we are buying the condo.

Oh, and as of yesterday, I have 75 birds for 2023!

 But I will save all that for another post! 

 

2023 is off to quite a start!

 

 

It's Better, But...

 

"Birds know themselves not to be the center of anything, but at the margins of everything. The end of the map. We only live where someone's horizon sweeps someone else's. We are only noticed on the edge of things; but on the edge of things, we notice much."

~Gregory Maguire

Out Of Oz

 

It's Better, But...

 

I had to pick up a prescription the other day, and because I am a very lucky woman, Alan offered to get it for me, while I waited in the car. Fortunately, I  had my camera with me, which meant I got to play with a group of Cedar Waxwings floating just above my head. Cedar Waxwings travel in communities. This particular community had about 12 or so, which means there was a pretty good chance I would be hit by a bird bomb, or at least one of those juicy berries the birds were getting drunk on. That is the blessing and curse of owning a car with a sunroof, but I happily chanced it, and to my delight, they didn't hit me, or the interior of Bridget, once. The outside got some poop, but the only thing that made it's way inside the car was the berries that fell off the branch as they ate. I had the same trouble getting the wingtips and tails, but look how pretty they look in the sunshine! The photos are better than the last time I tried to photograph them, but practice will make perfect.

It's Better, But...

 

Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve?

 

 

No cold, Flu or Covid-19 so far. Yep, you read that right, our most recent Covid-19 home test is negative, so could 2022 be the year that breaks the spell? Will this be, the first time since moving to the San Joaquin Valley, that Alan and I aren't sick on Christmas? To be clear, we have both been sick on Christmas in other years, but not with the consistency we have experienced since moving here. We have been sick, EVERY... SINGLE... YEAR since 2015! Life is an adventure, but last year was a little more than an adventure, and I would rather not repeat it. Sometimes it feels like Covid-19 is just waiting in the wings, like with the original Omicron, which was basically unavoidable. Shrug. The numbers are climbing here again. They are climbing everywhere, because folks are dumb as dirt, and don't take it seriously. Sigh. If you look at the stats, things are definitely better than last year, but, there is even more room to improve, and the problem is, I can do my part, but if the guy at the store next to me isn't, I am sunk. I guess that is pretty much true about most situations in life. 

Sigh. I guess the best we can hope for at this point it is,

 

 IT'S BETTER, BUT... .

 

 ~Me

Green-winged Teal

 

"Birds were created to record everything. They were not designed just to be beautiful jewels in the sky, but to serve as the eyes of heaven."

 

~Suzy Kassem

Rise Up and Salute The Sun: The Writings Of Suzy Kassem

 

Click To Enlarge
 

I was delighted to see a fairly large paddling of ducks at the Cosumnes River, the other day, and not just any duck, it was the small, yet mighty, Green-winged Teal. I had seen some in the waters off Desmond road, but at the Cosumnes River visitor's Center, I was able to walk right up to the waters edge. The Teal were being quite accommodating, in fact they were perfect little models! I wish all birds were that easy to photograph. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the Bullock's Oriole are probably the most difficult for me to photograph, both are even more difficult than the Cedar Waxwings, which have given me more than one headache while trying to get a photo. With the waxwings, it's the difficulty of getting a photo of the bird with it's wing and tail tips featured. It is universally believed that waxwings hide those special markings on purpose.LOL. They don't, of course, but it does seem at times that birds have a plot to make the photographer work as hard as possible to archive a photo good enough to enter the Audubon photo contest. I am not sure if I have ever gotten a photo good enough to win, but I might try to enter the contest next year anyway, just for the experience of it. Shrug. We'll see. Right now, I am just focused on Christmas, and New Year's, although, birds are always a welcome distraction.

 

 

 Tomorrow... the Cedar Waxwings

~Me

 

The Last Of The Leaves...

 

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."

 

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

It's the longest and saddest day of the year. Autumn is gone again, and with it goes my heart, head, and pure existence. Winter is here, barely. It's warm and sunny, which has never been my favorite conditions for winter, as I like to celebrate dark days, with calm dark feelings of contentment. I love winter, but not when it delivers spring way before it's time, and that's exactly what the heat of an autumn day does. I haven't posted much lately, not even my leaf portraits, because sometimes life gets busy and sometimes a little sad, but that's life I guess. So sorry to be cryptic, but I know what I mean, my thoughts make sense to me, and that's who this blog is for, me. If you wanna know, just ask, and we will talk.

 

Anyway...

 

Getting caught up on my lovely leaves and birds, so off we go. Nothing sad here, just beauty in the world.

 

The last of the leaves...

 

#78

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Tomorrow, it's all about the birds, and what both my bird and leaf projects will look like next year! I can't wait!

~Me

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

 

"The wind was as ripe as apples,

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

 

~Robert Newton Peck

Soup

 

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

 

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

 

1. Full Cold Moon - Mohawk 

2. Full Snow Moon - Haida and Cherokee

3. Winter Maker Moon - Western Abenaki 

 

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

 

I can't wait to see more!

 

~Me

 

Frost At Night And Warm Sunny Days and #75

 

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

 

~Peter Heller

Celine

 

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

~Me

 

 

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

 

"Autumn is a beautiful but sad poem that

 dying leaves recite with great enthusiasm

 so that the world will remember them

 as they bid farewell to the world!"

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 

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

 

 

~Me

Sad Soggy Cereal And Autumn Leaf Of The Day #73

 

"Leaves covered the pavement like soggy cereal."

 

~Patricia Cornwall

The Body Farm

 

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

Autumn always has made me smarter.

 

~Me

Nature's Last Party

 

Autumn Suppers

 

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

 

Orange Coast Magazine

Oct, 1983

 

~Me

 

 

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

 

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

~Jayita Bhattacharjee

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

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

And to my delight, I know it was!

 

~Me