Late afternoon on a beautiful day after Thanksgiving, these are my favorite humans standing in the sun-sparkled ocean.
Shades of Gratitude in Monochrome
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Category Archives: Photography
Grateful
There’s always, always something to be grateful for, right?
This morning, I’m thankful for the sky’s breathtaking sunrise. What amazing colors!
The fiery intensity is surreal. No filters, no editing; this is exactly how the sky looked at 6 a.m.
Happy Thanksgiving… or as Jon Stewart said, “I celebrated Thanksgiving the old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.“
Small But Colorful
No, I’m not narcissistically describing ME, lol, but this little Thanksgiving cactus (zygocactus) with its dazzling, almost glowing, salmon pink showy blooms, is all dressed up to become the centerpiece at dinner.
Up close.
Pink Symmetry
This is the first bloom from my Marie Bracey camellia japonica. Dozens of buds formed, but this symmetrical, ruffled, peony-like beauty is the first that’s fully open.
The camellia is a flowering evergreen shrub with dark, glossy leaves and large, lush blossoms that appear and bloom for several weeks during the fall through early spring period in warmer regions.
Camellias represent a spirit of depth, self-reflection, and inner strength. This plant will need all of those traits to survive a mostly drought environment.
Camellias also symbolize perfection and excellence due to their symmetry. Soon, I’ll have to plant it in the ground, but for this initial blooming season, I’m going to leave it right where it is, at the front door.
Sunsets on Fire and Devil Winds
Last night’s sunset was spectacular.
We’re in the middle of a moderate Santa Ana weather event with hot, windy, clear skies and such low humidity that my throat is scratchy and my curly hair turned straight-ISH.
It’s also fire season and there were a couple house and vegetation fires in the area, but none close enough for me to worry about evacuating.
When I went for a late afternoon walk, the sky colors were brilliant orange and red, like the world was on fire, and maybe it is.
According to legend, Native Americans associated the strong winds with an evil presence–something fiery and destructive. After Spanish colonization, missionaries altered the term Devil Winds to “Caliente Aliento de Satanas”–the hot breath of Satan. It was subsequently shortened and Americanized to Santa Ana winds.
Next week, the weather forecast calls for rain with a Pacific storm, the first time we’ll have seen sky water in months. Fingers crossed it’ll happen because my garden is PARCHED.
Happy Friday!
Ch-ch-changes | Autumn Colors
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Ch-ch-changes…
Sing it, David Bowie!
We all fell back last night and gained an hour. For me, It’s always a bit of an unsettling feeling for about a week or so until I get used to it.
More ch-ch-changes…
Did you know that certain trees in Southern California DO change color and lose leaves in autumn?
This is my fruit-bearing mulberry.
The leaves morph into a sunny, vibrant yellow.
Green and yellow against a blue sky.
My garden doesn’t boast any maples that turn red, but these ch-ch-changes mark the hands of time; another autumn, another winter approaching, another year almost over and finished.
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you’re gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Sunrise | Sunset
I don’t know how it happened since I had all the vaccines; flu, pneumonia, and Covid – but I got sick!
Fever, chills, headache, congestion–all the worst symptoms. I’m feeling better after a few days of antibiotics. When I didn’t have much to do except look through old photos, I found some of my favorites from the Pacific Northwest. I sure wish I was there!
Sunrise through the trees.
Sunset on Shilshole Bay with the beautiful Olympic mountain range in silhouette.
Overlooking the marina.
It doesn’t ALWAYS rain, sometimes the weather is absolutely magnificent.
More Vitamin Sea
Glittery sparkles on the water like a million diamonds.
#Tamarack #PacificOcean #California #PhotoOfTheDay
The Adventitious Line Up
Adventitious: associated with something by chance rather than as an integral part; extrinsic.
I didn’t realize until I checked the photo that all of those seagulls were lined up because my eyes were only focused on the waves. The gulls were an unexpected happenstance.
The term “line up” is usually associated with a row of surfers in a spot where they anticipate a good wave break, in their attempt to catch that elusive best ride of the surf sesh.
Adventitious; an unanticipated word of the day.
Hanging By A Thread
“A spider lives inside my head
Who weaves a strange and wondrous web
Of silken threads and silver strings
To catch all sorts of flying things,
Like crumbs of thoughts and bits of smiles
And specks of dried-up tears,
And dust of dreams that catch and cling
For years and years and years…”
― Shel Silverstein
Hanging by a thread is exactly how I feel every once in a while, how about you?
This is the last of my spider posts, I promise!
You’re looking at one of the many orbweaver spiders that make my garden their home. Yes, they’re fairly large but that’s no reason to be scared of them! Orb-weavers, like most spiders, are highly beneficial and eat lots of insects: mosquitoes, bees, wasps, flies, small moths and butterflies, and even grasshoppers.
This guy was attached to an apple tree but I’m not sure of his ultimate destination…
