Lessons, Good Friends and the Hypnotic Lure of Sunshine on a Chilly Morning

This morning I wandered outside for my usual stroll through the garden to wake up and get some morning air. The air this morning was really brisk but the sun was so beautiful and golden. I pulled the kitchen door shut, but not tightly, just enough to keep the chilly air out of the house.

As usual, I grabbed my phone in case there was something out there worth photographing. I saw this beautiful blue watering can against the wall and the warm sunshine made it glow nicely. So, I snapped.

Next snap, these beautiful flowers. I loved these flowers. They reminded me of the end summer and the arrival of autumn.

The sunlight really was beautiful and I was enjoying the morning outside. My long list of things to do waiting for me at my desk didn't matter. The fact that I hadn't even eaten breakfast or had my morning coffee didn't matter. Look at this light! Glorious! I could spend all day out there. I realized that should have brought my Diana outside with me. So,I walked back to the house to grab my Diana and that's when I realized that the door that I pulled to keep out the chilly morning air had locked completely and I was locked out of the house, in my pajamas in the backyard. My nose had started to run and my toes were cold. Yes, the sunshine was gorgeous, but why do I do these things? I should know better than attempt to function before coffee. I got excited by the sunlight in the backyard and off I went like a magpie drawn to something shiny, again.

 

At least I had my phone with me. I called a friend with a key. She was able to leave work and come to my rescue. Thank goodness for that warm sunshine. My toes were nearing numbness. The warmest spot was by the back fence where the kids who live on the other side had smacked their baseball, again.

   

Here is a typical Northern California backyard view - tropical tree, citrus tree, fence and blue sky. Yes, I was pretty cold at this point and was trying to keep myself busy while waiting for my friend with the key to arrive.

My friend arrived just as I snapped this beautiful fuyu persimmon. I have been watching this fuyu ripen from a green and bitter fruit to a beautiful orange and sweet fruit. I think there is a Japanese Buddhist lesson about the persimmon changing from green and bitter to orange and sweet meaning how man is born ignorant but grows to be wise. I have learned my lesson today. Don't just carry my phone on my morning stroll through the garden - always carry my house key.

Ghost of Summer

Lately I have been scanning images made with my Diana F+. It was a Christmas gift that I didn't use all that much when I first got it, but now I can't seem to put it down. Over the past couple of years friends and, oddly, random people have given me heaps of expired film. At the beginning of the summer I decided that it was time to give this plastic camera a whirl. I am in love.

This double exposure was taken in a field just below Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. I love this image even more now as summer is fading here in Northern California. The air is warm and dry but the sun is setting earlier and earlier. The autumn sunsets are glorious and remind us to enjoy the last few warm evenings we have before the rainy days start.