Tag Archives: Photography

White Feather in the Sky

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Is it a feather or a cloud?

I looked up and there it was displayed in a beautiful horizontal position in the blueblue sky, so I ran inside to grab my camera and my phone. When I returned, it was still there, thank goodness.

My question is this: is it a feather or a cloud? A cloud or a feather? What do you think? Is there symbolism or is it simply a cloud that looks like a white feather?

Even taken from different perspectives, still the same.

I have found a few white feathers here and there and I wonder if a sky feather symbolizes these same spiritual qualities???

White feathers imply purity, peace, love, hope, heaven, angels, and protection. It’s also a message from our ancestors that everything is well on the other side and is a blessing of wisdom in connection with the moon. White feathers significantly mean that everything is okay; a reminder to keep the faith and stay strong.
(https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/white-feather-meaning-and-symbolism/the-feather-implies)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Disintegration

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Piece by piece, it’s coming apart. Disintegrating. The demolition has been a long, slow process.

The Encina Power Station, located between Agua Hedionda Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, opened in 1954 and was decommissioned in 2018. The stack was erected years later in 1978.

I remember when the stack was decorated for the holidays with bright and colorful lights, but they stopped doing that a long time ago.

Even so, It’s been a welcoming beacon and landmark to let us know we’re getting close to home sweet home.

Here’s what’s going to take its place…“The Carlsbad Energy Center will be built behind the present location of the Encina Power Station, and will add two new smokestacks with solely industrial purposes. Each smokestack will tower over 100 feet tall and add something the citizens of Carlsbad will have no choice in beautifying. One smokestack with a historic past and a potential for a brilliant future will be replaced by two ten-story towers to serve the new power plant. Meanwhile, neither the City of Carlsbad nor NRG have any concrete plans in place for what will happen after plant is destroyed.”
(From http://www.savethecarlsbadstack.com)

As usual, most of Carlsbad’s elected officials have failed to include the desires of the community in the planning process.

These unfiltered, unedited photos were taken yesterday at about 5:15 p.m. just as the sun was heading toward the horizon. I think it’s this lack of light along with the streaky clouds that account for the hazy, almost sepia-toned quality.

Happy Birthday, Mommy

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If only she could see her namesake or the one that’s a curly haired clone of the other one, that would be truly awesome; however, today we’d be celebrating her 106 years on this earth and that wasn’t meant to be.

She died in 1987 from pancreatic cancer, still one of the most horrible and painful diseases. We took care of her here at home with the help of hospice. Since she was a head nurse, she taught me things like how to do her IV and heparin locks, and she’s the reason why I’m a great caregiver and caretaker. I’m forever grateful that I was able to care for her until the end.

Angel Boy 1.0 was –without a doubt– the love of her life. Here she is with AB at 18 months, the same age as Angel Girl 2.0 is right now. They were best buddies. She would be so very proud that he grew up to be a great dad AND a tenured professor before he was forty years old. (Notice the clever way I slipped that in?) We knew he was VERY smart.

Always fashion forward, I found some old pics of me and mommy. It’s true what they say. You never stop missing your mom, no matter how old you are.

I wonder what I’m reaching for…

Here I am the same age as AB 2.0, just about five years old. Funny thing to share is that I still braid my hair like this in pigtails (like right now) and I still don’t know how to throw a ball, but I DO know for certain that my ribbons perfectly matched my outfit. Always. Check out the saddle shoes that were never dirty.

Happy birthday to the original CharChar; you are missed.

Wispy Sky Angel Wings

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At the risk of being accused of always having my head in the clouds (guilty!) I took this photo a couple days ago right about 4:30 or so in the afternoon directly across the street from Casa de Enchanted Seashells.

I’ve never seen the sky like this–Picasso-esque–almost as if these shapes are petroglyphs or messages speaking to me, but I can’t seem to decipher the code.

I’m not very good at comprehending signs from the Universe. For example, a while back I would be drawn to notice 5:14 on the dot, AM and PM, every single day for a couple of weeks. That’s my birthdate, so it must mean something important, right?

I never could figure it out, but subsequently, there was 5:41 AM and PM for a few days, and I have absolutely NO IDEA if that’s some kind of karmic joke or if it was mere coincidence. Like sometimes a rose is just a rose? I dunno, but it confused me and made me feel ignorant because if it WAS a message, what was it? Who was it from?

Sometimes I’m simply not very smart because 5:14 is popping up again unbidden. WTF? Mom, is that you? If so, WHAT DO YOU WANT? Sheesh, she can so annoying.

Apple Blossom Time #WordlessWednesday

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It’s a little early for this blossoming activity because SoCal can’t decide if it’s winter or spring–looks like spring won the contest.

They smell so delicious, I might have to try Helena Rubinstein’s Apple Blossom perfume which was originally released in 1936 and is still in production. The license from Helena Rubinstein was acquired by Kent Cosmetics in 1988 and according to the manufacturer, the formula is still the same.

Hmmm, I’d be curious to see if any human-made scent could duplicate the purity of intense fragrance contained within these five little flower petals. If so, I’d be tempted to bathe in it every day.

Cloudscape Wonder

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When I look up, I see sky.

Fascinated, I find childlike joy in the wonderfulness of clouds; undulating, alive, and in motion.

In The Snow-Covered Hills

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It has come to the attention of my brain that I seem to write a lot about weather.

Sun, heat, rain, hail, snow, clouds, fog…I wonder if that’s because there’s really so little weather here in SoCal. For a majority of the time, it’s sunny and warm. Or sunny and hot. Or sunny with drought-like conditions. This isn’t me being critical of our weather; I’ve simply reflected upon how much of a weather watcher I am.

From the monsoonal–like deluge

that transformed a dry river bed into a not-so-dry river bed

to a beautiful sunset.

I was driving on a favorite street — do you have a favorite street? Mine is one that offers a breath-taking view of San Gorgonio and San Jacinto, mountains to the north of me. They received several feet of new snow during the same winter storm.

This sight is so beyond magnificent, it literally took away my breath for several seconds.

Hand to heart, as I was snapping a few photos of the snow covered mountains, one of my most special songs came on the radio, Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide, with the iconic lyrics, “And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills –‘Til the landslide brought me down.”

A mindful moment of perfection.

I love Stevie Nick’s live performances.

From the Mountains to the Sea

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Mother Nature gifted us with rain, wind, hail, snow, and surf.

Yesterday was so windy, it almost knocked me over. Trees and power lines were down all along the coast.

I think it’s astonishing that I can see these mountains sixty to eighty miles away when I stand in the middle of my street right in front of my house. I live exactly three miles away from the Pacific Ocean. It’s a bit hazy and the camera lens is trying as hard as it can to capture the snow capped hills.

After walking up nearly fifty steps to the very top of my garden, this is the view facing east to either Palomar Mountain or Mount Laguna (I can’t tell the difference) where they had about a foot of snow.

The power lines are actually quite far away; they seem closer than they actually are.

These apartments are an ugly blight on the landscape, ruining the mountain pic. This city has zero sense about the value of open space.

I would love to drive up to Mammoth Mountain to ski ‘cos I hear they received eight to ten feet of new snow in the Sierra Nevada, but I had a bad experience driving to Snow Summit and have never been able to shake the fear. I had taken my son skiing for his thirteenth birthday and we had a really fun day together but on the way back home, my brakes went out and we almost crashed. REALLY! Actually, we ran off the road at a Ranger’s Station and we’re lucky to be alive. Highway Patrol arrived and we were towed to San Bernadino and the shop was able to repair whatever brake issue caused the malfunction and we drove home. Ever since then, I’ve been too afraid to drive to the mountains. That was about the closest to death I’ve ever been and it traumatized me. Not my Angel Boy though; he’s fearless, and that’s the way it should be.

After the rain, our beautiful ocean is still a little agitated, and the next storm’s clouds loom on the horizon…

Thank you, Mother Nature.

Fire in Carlsbad!

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UPDATE: Forty-nine-year-old transient, Dawn Ann Crawford, was arrested for causing this and other fires in Carlsbad.
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What a day!

On this auspicious January 20, 2021 when we welcomed President BIden and Vice President Harris along with their beautiful families, the weather here was warm and super windy.

I saw a notice on PulsePoint that there was a vegetation fire down the street from me. Hmmm, I thought to myself, should I go see what it’s all about?

And then I saw another alert for another fire just a couple blocks from the first one and then all hell broke loose around here with the sound of sirens and fire engines and police cars speeding down my street.

I didn’t even change my clothes. I was wearing old animal print leggings and a “Someone at Yale loves you” t-shirt. My hair was in a messy bun and I was wearing my glasses, but I couldn’t resist being nosy, so I got my good camera and jumped in the car.

Streets were already blocked off and homeowners were being evacuated so I had to turn around and find my secret pathways (not gonna tell). I was able to get super close and take incredible video and photos.

A couple structures were slightly damaged but I had to leave after the planes dropped fire retardant because it was hard to breathe.

I don’t have official confirmation but off the record, I heard it was arson.

All the firefighters and the police did an absolutely amazing job. Many thanks to Cal Fire, Vista Fire Department, San Marcos Fire Department, San Diego Fire Department, and Encinitas Fire Department.

If not for their heroic efforts, this entire neighborhood would have burned up.

Here’s my raw video and a bunch of photos:

And a few videos:

Birds of SoCal

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Here in SoCal it’s pretty warm during the day, bugs are out and about and these noisy little birds snapped them out of the air right in front of me. It was daylong entertainment, at least half a dozen birds catching flies and (I think) termites in mid-flight.

Black Phoebe

Scratching on the ground, a few California Towhees make my garden their home. They love their reflection and tap at the window or anywhere they can see themselves.

This was a peaceful first weekend of 2021.