Scary Spells.....

Song - I Put A Spell On You by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Guess what holiday is coming soon?

David, Tim, Dad & me - circa 1960 at my grandparents home

And guess who's favorite holiday it is?

Mr. B's!

Watch you guts around him!!!

My dad's Uncle Harold (l) and my grandfather (r)

Witch and Ghost make merry 

On this last of dear

October's Days.

--Unknown

H is for Hawk

Song - Bird On A Wire by KD Lang

Ever since we returned from Tahoe, I have been waking up with the morning sun.  To my delight it is a beautiful time to enjoy the birds.

The little Black Capped Chickadee.....

.....and the Oak Titmouse waiting his turn at the feeder......

.....several American Goldfinch's nibbling at my Salvia........

.....a grumpy looking Black Headed Grosbeak - that plops onto the feeder and chases all the other songbirds away......

And almost every morning I wake to a hawk calling but he seems too close to the house so I go out on the deck and spot a bird about the size of a Robin that is making this hawk-like noise.  But he is too small and does not have a raptor type beak. As he flies away, I notice the red feathers under his wings and realize that he is actually a Northern Flicker!

The next morning, I am ready for him with my camera.

 

Isn't he a beauty?

Love that morning light on him!

 (If you click HERE, you will open a new tab from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Then click on the top call - The Kyeer Call to play - doesn't it sound like a Hawk?) 

I also caught this little Hummer sitting patiently waiting for the sun to warm him up.

And yesterday afternoon, I spotted this Red Shouldered Hawk in front of our house.  A big guy with beautiful wings that I saw when he got tired of his "photo shoot" and flew away.

"Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings."  --  Victor Hugo

 

Hair Quandry

Song - Almost Cut My Hair by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young


 So for the last few weeks I have been going through my parents old albums and scanning photo's to share with my family.  One thing really stood out for me was my hair.



First mom had me looking like a little Kewpie Doll....

Next she took me through the uneven bang stage.....

I look very confused by it all!

All dolled up and my big brother is taking me to the Easter Parade.  But still, check out those bangs!  Maybe I was frigidity while getting my bangs cut, or maybe mom was figidity?

I am the one in the middle but it looks like my mom got ahold of my cousin Kari as well and gave her the "Betty Special"! My little brother Tim looks like he just woke from a nap with bed hair. Cute though - love those corduroy rompers and dimples!

OK.....here is where mom really lost it.  She must of trimmed my hair while I was napping????
My brother David and I were busy painting the house with water in this photo. 

Looks like it is finally growing out after several years.....or maybe I just learned to tip my head in a certain direction so my bangs look more level?

We're getting better.......

And I think we have a winner! 

The boys were easy - dad just shaved it all off, I think it was called a "butch cut". 

I think this was during mom's "Toni" permanent wave stage. Remember the pink plastic curling rods, paper wrappers and stinky smell of the permanent wave lotion?  Can you pick me out in this crowd of brothers and cousins?

Finally mom must of just given up and let me grow out my bangs and curled them into little pin curls.
(This was my Grace Kelly look while having tea with my friend Judy and our dolls - very chic)

I know, I know.....quite the rain outfit right?  But my wonky bangs are still peeking out!

Free at last of my funny bangs but it looks like Tim is in need of a haircut....oh Dad time to get out the clippers!

Later in life I went though my own hair phases but that will have to wait for another day......


"You're only as good as your last haircut" --Fran Lebowitz

Warning - May Contain Graphic Content & Violence

Song - Lizard Love by Aerosmith (this song will wake you up in a hurry!)


Looking out the window of my office the other day, I spotted hundreds of little winged insects emerging from the ground in my vegetable garden.  There were birds flying overhead picking them out of the sky so I slipped on my sandals and grabbed my camera.

I am hoping they are flying ants NOT termites!

There were also about 8-10 small lizards who would sit on warm, sunny rocks and wait for these insects to land or fly near enough to gobble them up.

These are technically Western Fence Lizards but when I was a kid we called them Blue-Belly Lizards because.....

 How nice of him to strike a pose for me!



 

Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.   - Albert Einstein

A Birthday Surprise

Song - A Little Help From My Friends by Paul McCartney and Ringo Star

This is my dear friend Jill, who's birthday we celebrated on Saturday.  I knew 2 months ago what I wanted to plan to celebrate but I wanted to keep it a surprise.  So I asked her to reserved the entire day from 9:30 until midnight for me.  I had a car full of blankets, towels, ice chest and 6 special cards.  In each card I placed a "clue" as to what we were going to do in the evening.  And at the final card she needed to unscramble 5 letters and 1 word.  Easy right?

First card - GO

Second - a star

Third - just a funny note about going to a field to watch the stars

Fourth - IN

Fifth - R

Sixth - a more serious card about all of the fun times we have had over our many years of friendship

We went to the beach at Point Reyes first. It was windy but we found a little area in the dunes where we could spread the blanket and be sheltered from the wind.  At this point Jill just had the first two cards - GO STAR

I explained to her that something special was happening that evening with the stars.  I feigned shock that she wasn't aware of the celestial excitement for that evening.  I told her that we would be in a big field watching the stars. TRUTH!

I had made lunch reservations at Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay so she received the next 2 cards there.

I made sure that I had picked out some very mature cards for my sensitive friend!


She now had Clues 1-4......GO STAR IN......and she didn't have a clue as to the answer......the suspense was killing her!  If you know Jill, she is always pulling a rabbit out of her hat so it was fun for me to have the tables turned for a change!

The water was crazy-rough out on the bay while we walked out to the little party shed on the end of the dock.

 We found some shelter behind the building and a lovely couple offered to take our photo.

Here I gave her the "R" card and I thought for sure she would put it all together at that point. Nope.  She is a brilliant nurse and could not unscramble 5 letters....mmm.....early onset dementia perhaps?


As we headed over the hills inland to Sonoma I decided to give her the last card and an extra obvious surprise clue.  Just that morning I had made a CD of this star's songs which I played for her but she just couldn't get past the order she had opened the cards in - GO STAR IN R........

She is singing along with all of the songs from the CD and chatting about how much she would like us to go see this performer the next time he tours California.  We are 3 blocks from the venue and I am thinking that she will soon see a poster or sign for the concert.

So I ask her to please try unscrambling the letters again.......and tears came to her eyes.....I knew she had figured it out at last.

Here we are in Sonoma at The Field of Dreams seeing Ringo Starr......

Those are Ringo's drums in the back with the STAR on them.  In the front is the opening act Pablo Cruz's drums.

Pablo Cruz was fun but it was all about Ringo and His All Star Band tonight (see I told you we would be in a field with star's!)

The sun had set and the lights came on!  Here he comes.....

They played a lot of Ringo's songs but each of the band members is a star in their own right so a lot of other songs where enjoyed.  Ringo is very generous in sharing the spotlight.

Look at those hands fly over his drum set!!!!

Oh, oh......I think he spied me taking photo's with my telephoto lens.....doesn't look too happy.

Yup, looking directly at me.




Me and thousands of other fans taking photos!!!!

Yes, Ringo is a little corny but sometimes we all need corny in our lives.  He was an important musician when I was young so I hold a special place in my heart for each of the Beatles.

Thanks Ringo for the great concert and thanks Jill for the many years of friendship!

from the Jumbo-tron

And remember....

Quote for the day:

14 Paintings in 30 Days

Leslie Saeta's online challenge to paint 30 Paintings in 30 Days

The month of September was full of learning and letting go.  I have been in the Sierra's for the last three weeks and thought I would have oodles of time to paint since some of that time I was at the cabin alone. 

Number One - I went to a larger size canvas.  In January's online challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days, I used 6 x 6 panels and this time I was using 8 x 10.  Just that little difference made for a longer painting session.

Number Two - I used my own photographs for the most part instead of an artist's rendering which is what I did in January.  With the photograph I had to make my own decisions as to how I perceived the image.....this took longer than the artist's rendering where they have already made most of the decisions for you, like cropping, composition, coloring, etc.

Number Three - In January I was very disciplined about having a daily painting schedule.  There was something about being in the mountains this time that made me think....."I'm on vacation and there will be plenty of time later."

Number Four - Was about cutting myself some slack and being proud of what I did accomplish in 30 days.  I have 14 new paintings that I would not of had otherwise!

I still intend on doing my 30 paintings but now on a more leisurely schedule.  I'll keep you posted!

"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions." — Augusten Burroughs