Some Friday Ramblings

"Photography is an art of observation.  It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."  Elliot Erwitt


I agree with this quote, except maybe when it comes to landscape photos like mine above.  I mean, it's there.  The view is what it is; I'm not sure one could "see" it any other way. 

I can't believe how fast this year is zooming by!  September in a few days...I can't wrap my mind around that.  I didn't get out on the lake much this year; I have Lupus and being in the sun is becoming harder for me.  My family enjoyed it, though.  If this drought keeps up, I'm wondering if people will be able to put their boats on the lake next summer.  It's pretty low now, as you can see in the photo below.

In years when rain and snow has been at normal amounts, you won't see the ramps that lead down to the boats, and all the exposed sand is normally underwater.  Several years ago (well, maybe more than that, I can't remember exactly), there were very few boats on the lake because there wasn't enough water in it to allow for recreational boating and to supply people with water for drinking, etc.  I recently read a report that said by 2020 (less than five and a half years from now!) the Southwest, including Southern and Central California, will be in a permanent drought.  That's a really scary thought.  It wouldn't just impact the people who live in California, but people all over the United States.  Well, those who like to eat vegetables, various kinds of fruit and nuts, etc.  California farmers supply nearly half of what the nation consumes of these crops. 

On a happier note, the nurseries have started putting out Chrysanthemums, so I bought a couple.

And I've started putting out some Halloween things because...

One month is just not long enough to really enjoy all the Halloween and Autumn decorations! 

Early Autumn Color

Some early autumn color, before it's officially Autumn.

Wednesday's Winding Road

Taken in May of 2009, on the way out to Breezy Point (so named because it is windy there just about all of the time).  In the lower right hand side of the photo you can see some wild California Lilacs in bloom.  This one is white, but they also come in blue and lavender colors.

It's National Dog Day!

This is my darling Bonnie Lee.  She's been in Heaven for several years but, of course, I still miss her. I don't think we ever stop missing those who have gone on ahead of us.  Bonnie was a Shepherd/Dobie mix, and such a sweet girl.  I desperately want another dog, but the cats we adopted after Bonnie left have never seen a dog up close.  They're terrified if they even hear a dog bark. 

Anyway, if you have a dog, give them extra hugs today!  And, if you don't have a dog, maybe you could save a stray or adopt one from a shelter or just donate several bags of dog food and blankets to a shelter. 

Sunday Sunsets

Taken in May of 2010 down in Cleghorn Canyon by Lake Silverwood. 

Wednesday's Winding Road

A rainy winding road!  Sorry about the blurriness and the windshield wiper right in the photo...I was driving and photo-taking again.  There was intense thunder and lightening for about two hours before the rain started.  The rain only lasted for about an hour, but everything got a good wash and, hopefully, a drink.  The ground is so hard in some places, the water just runs right off.  And, it was wonderfully cool today; our high was only 59 degrees F.  Lovely!

A Quotation for Monday

"When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction."  Mark Twain 

(That's Stella Bella in the photo.  She agrees with Mr. Twain, as do I).

Sunday Sunsets

The gold at the end of the day...

Meet Lucy

When Lucy was barely four weeks old, her mother, Mrs. Rachael Littleface, moved her kittens.  But, she left little Lucy by my front door.  I kept watching, waiting for Rachael to come back.  Lucy was in bad shape; eyes glued shut, nose completely clogged by mucus.  After about an hour, Rachael came back, looked at Lucy, then looked me right in the eyes for a long moment...and then turned and walked away.  I figured she was telling me, "She's sick and I can't heal her.  I know you can...take her."  So I did. This isn't the first time a feral mother has brought her kitten to me for help.
I brought Lucy inside, cleaned her up and then took her to the vet.  They said she had both a viral infection and a bacterial infection and was dehydrated.  They kept her overnight.  It was so, SO hard to leave her there, but I knew they'd take good care of her.  The next day, I brought her home and she was on various meds for a couple of weeks. (That's her dad's hand by her above).

Her appetite was good, and by six weeks old she was playing happily with her favorite toys in the kitchen.

But, Lucy was a bit of an angry little girl at first.  She would bite and sometimes scratch when I would try to hold her.  After a few days of this, I figured out she didn't like being held, but if I would sit down and put her on my lap, she would tolerate being petted.

Eventually I noticed she would sit up when she wanted me to put her on my lap.  Progress!  I still had to be careful and watch her body language for clues to her mood.  When her tail started twitching at its very end, I knew I would have to put her down on the floor quickly or she would turn on me.

When she was old enough (eight weeks) to meet her siblings (that's Max, who adores her), I think she figured out that human moms are not for playing roughly with...

But to be loved.  And she knows I love her...and that my lap is the most comfortable place to sleep!  I think the smile on her face says it all...

Wednesday's Winding Road

A winding, very narrow dirt road this time.  It comes to an end shortly around the bend, then it's all forest and all uphill.  There is a little path that winds though it, made by the animals in the forest...and a nature-loving woman sometimes walks there, too.  :)

Sunday Sunlight...

In the form of a sunflower (Helianthus annuus).  Like a lot of other flowers, those showy petals around the center aren't really the flower; the real flowers are the tiny florets found in the center of the ray petals.  They're native to North America and weren't brought to Europe until the 16th century.  It's a myth that they follow the sun; only the immature buds do that.  I always loved it when I would look at a field of sunflowers which were facing all different directions.  Rebel sunflowers!  Non-conformist, free-thinking sunflowers! I finally looked it up and was a little disappointed when I found out that they weren't really rebels...

They do have a bit of a dark side, too.  Sunflowers release a toxin that suppresses the growth of plants near them.  Killer sunflowers, who knew?  Fortunately for that ladybug though, sunflowers love ladybugs...and bees, butterflies, birds, animals...everyone, I guess, except other plants who would steal their nutrients and ladies wearing large hats who approach them with scissors.  I distinctly heard one say to a friend, who was intending to cut some of its flowers, "Get away from me, horrible woman!"  No really, I did.  I think she heard it too, because she abruptly turned to me and said crossly, "Well, if you didn't want me to pick any sunflowers, you should have said so before!"  She still doesn't believe that it was the sunflower who said that, but thinks it was me, can you imagine?  My voice doesn't sound anything like the voices of sunflowers!

Wednesday's Winding Road

A Quotation For Monday

"Never presume August is a safe or reliable time of year.  It is the season of reversals, when birds no longer sing in the morning and the evenings are made up of equal parts golden light and black clouds."  Alice Hoffman, from the book 'Practical Magic,' one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.

This is an area on Highway 18, just as you're coming into Rim Forest.  You can see this from the turnout at Red Rock Wall (although you need a good zoom lens), and sometimes the light there is spectacular.

Sunday Sunsets

Taken earlier this summer at Lake Gregory.

We had a tiny bit of rain overnight, and right now it's gotten very dark and it's thundering.  Maybe we'll get more rain.  Down in Forest Falls it's flooding.  The town and houses are built in a very narrow canyon that runs east to west and every time there are heavy rains higher up it floods.  Fortunately, the flooding is usually over quickly with minimal damage done because these summer rains only last about five minutes...not long enough to do any real good, but very welcome nonetheless. 

And...here comes the rain! :) :) :)

Wednesday's Winding Road

I snapped this through the windshield this past spring.  I know I should stop and get out, but time doesn't always let me.

I probably shouldn't be taking photos while driving, either.  Not that I'm looking through the viewfinder; I just hold out the camera in my right hand and snap.  Amazing any of them turn out in any viewable condition at all...especially since the windshield is so spotty!

Tigers Like These Mountains

Usually these Humboldt Lilies (Lilium humboldtii spp ocellatum), commonly called Tiger Lilies, are done blooming by this time of year.  I found these today in a very shaded area in the middle of some cedar and dogwood trees.  They're native to Southern California mountains and foothills.  Once considered invasive, now they're on the endangered list, mostly due to loss of habitat.  I'm always surprised when I see these flowers in this forest because they look so exotic and tropical.  But California is the only place in the world where this species naturally occurs!

It's interesting how these flowers propagate themselves.  They grow from bulbs, but they make those bulbs from little seeds.  In the fall the seed must land on exactly the right spot in the soil where it can burrow in and rest over the winter.  If there is enough winter rain, the seed makes a microscopic bulb and sends up one small green shoot that looks like a blade of grass.  It takes about five to six years for the bulb to get big enough to produce flowers.  I found an online nursery, Las Pilitas, that sells the bulbs.  They're out now, but I'm going to check back next spring to see if they have some for sale.  Here's hoping...

A Quotation for Monday

"Rest is not idleness and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."  John Lubbock

Sunday Sunsets

Lots of clouds around this July, but no rain.  I thought for sure it would rain today; the sky was very dark for several hours and thunder rumbled.  I could smell the rain, but it wasn't reaching the ground.  It's been too dry here for too long.  The weather "experts" have been talking about an El Nino that might occur this winter, which may bring us lots of rain.  I sure hope they're right.  By sunset all the clouds had cleared out except for a few that stuck around to give us a pretty sunset.  At least the lightening didn't start any fires and that's a LOT to be grateful for!

Weeds

My husband took one of my photos and altered it somehow in Photoshop.  I thought it looked rather like a painting.  But... 

I kind of like my photo of the weeds just the way they really looked.  I need to find out the name of these plants because I've always thought they were beautiful once the got to this stage.  So delicate looking...

Wednesday's Winding Road

A Quote for Monday

"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart.  It's a way of life."  Henri Cartier-Bresson

Faeries Friday

I think this Faery is trying to pretend that she's a butterfly...but to do that, she'd better get her sparkles under control!  I hope she won't be disappointed that the toadstool is just ceramic, instead of magical...

Wednesday's Winding Road

On the backside of Hwy 138, coming up from the Mojave Desert.