New Hummingbird Feeder

We have a new hummingbird feeder. The old one gave good service (see Where are the Hummingbirds? and Here are the Hummingbirds). I had chosen the glass and metal design to eliminate plastic and be more sustainable, but over the last year the metal component of the old one had started to rust, which gave the sugar water an alarming rust color. I didn't like the idea of the birds drinking rusty sugar water.

New hummingbird feeder with no metal

The replacement is a Jalan Wang design of glass with a silicone and plastic feeding reservoir. The hummingbirds have found the new feeder and seem to love it! After a long drink, some of them seem to forage for insects among the pittosporum leaves. My husband and I can watch the tiny birds feeding from our offices that overlook the small courtyard. It is a pleasure to see their busy activity.

Thanksgiving 2023

Preparations are in full swing! The turkey is thawing. Pies are partially made and some baked. The two extra turkey drumsticks are roasting and will soon be made into a rich broth for gravy. The table cloth is on the table and ready for decorating and setting. The house is mostly cleaned and straightened, at least in the most visited rooms. I'm looking forward to hosting our Thanksgiving feast!

Fresh cranberry sauce

In the midst of all the preparations, my thoughts go to my far flung family and friends in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Southern California, Arizona, Idaho and beyond, and to all the Thanksgiving feasts of the past. This is a wonderful time of year to reflect on all the many blessings and pleasures of life.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Fall Light

What is it about the golden light of autumn? Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the afternoon sunlight of fall seems to glow. I've celebrated it before (see Golden Hour at Lake Temescal, Fall Colors, and Fall Fun), and it never gets old.

Fall light at Bishop Lake

In the fall, the sun changes its position, from high in the sky during summer to low in winter. Due to the 23.5 degree tilt of the planet, this change in position causes the sunlight to strike the earth at an oblique angle, which changes our perception of the light, from a full beam to a slanted glow.

Colors and textures come alive in the fall light

After the time change (fall back), the golden hour falls earlier and earlier, and finally fades to cold winter light. Celebrate the golden fall light for as long as possible!

Birthday Flowers: Chrysanthemum

This year we're delving into birthday flowers that are associated with the month in which a person was born. Floriography, or communication through flowers, is a fun aspect of birthday flowers. Celebrating birthdays with flowers fits right in with this year's theme of celebrating life in The Roaring Twenties.

For November, birthday flowers include Chrysanthemums and Peonies. I'm focusing on chrysanthemums (or mums), since they bloom in late summer and fall and have been bred to produce wonderful fall colors. In general, mums signify life and rebirth, good luck, happiness, joy, longevity, honor and respect. In China, they are a symbol of stateliness.

Different colors of chrysanthemums Chrysanthemum x morifolium.
(Photo by Jebulon)

Flower colors can convey particular meaning:

• White - purity, innocence, truth, and honesty
• Yellow - neglected love and sorrow
• Pink - longevity, attraction, romance
• Purple - care, understanding, get well wishes
• Red - love and deep passion

The Chrysanthemum genus is in the daisy family (Asteraceae). The plants can be one to three feet high with an upright growth habit. Leaves are dark green and deeply lobed. Flowers can be single, semidouble or double, and take many forms, including daisy-like, pompom, button and spidery. Mums originated in China and were later introduced to Japan and Europe.  The original color was golden, but many other colors are now available. Mums are considered an annual, but they dry nicely, so you can enjoy them in arrangements or wreaths long after the plant has died. In China, chrysanthemums were used medicinally for headaches, to lower blood pressure, and to reduce inflammation.

While researching chrysanthemums, I remembered the movie Curse of the Golden Flower (2006),  which is set in the royal court of the late Tang dynasty in ancient China. It is a complex story of court intrigue. Memorable elements includes a courtyard filled with golden mums and the queen's golden army of 10,000 assassins (each of whom wears an embroidered golden chrysanthemum made by the queen herself). Does the golden mum represent neglected love and sorrow?

Treasures in Tahoe

For our recent trip to Dinosaur National Monument, we chose the north shore of Lake Tahoe to book end our travels. Tahoe is about three hours from the San Francisco Bay Area and home, so it is  a comfortable drive to both kick off and bring to an end our first long road trip since 2018. At this stage of life, my husband and I are content with shorter driving days and more time to explore and enjoy both the journey and the destination.

Into the pines
[Note: click on a photo to see a larger image.]

Lake Tahoe (Google maps)

In early afternoon, we packed up the car and headed for Tahoe via Interstate 680 to Interstate 80. Traffic was thick but clipped along, slowed periodically by road construction. Traffic finally cleared after Auburn CA, about the same time we entered the pines. We learned that Jeffrey Pine is dominant around the Lake Tahoe area, and their distinct look and fragrance is wonderful. We took exit 880B to 267, and drove the 10 miles to Kings Beach on the North Shore.

Kings Beach

We checked into the Crown Motel, which is right on the lake. After settling in, we sat out on the deck to watch the water. The sun was bright, but a stiff breeze had kicked up off the lake. I called my folks and enjoyed a nice chat from a deck chair out of the breeze in the warm sun. For dinner, we walked over to Jason's Beachside Grille for prime rib and fish and chips, and split warm apple pie ala mode for dessert. We watched the tail end of the sunset from the shore, and then walked back to the motel.

Room with a view of Lake Tahoe

Choppy water on the lake

Dinner at Jason's Beachside Grille

Sunset on Lake Tahoe

The next day was warm and bright and the breeze had calmed down. We packed up, feeling very rested, checked out, and then enjoyed breakfast at the The Old Post Office Cafe at Carnelian Bay. We stopped at Starbucks to fill up our commuter cups and get a few road treats, and then headed for Elko NV and a full day of driving.

Old Post Office Cafe on Carnelian Bay

Breakfast at The Old Post Office Cafe

Carnelian Bay

On the way back from Dinosaur National Monument, we spent two more days in Tahoe. We checked into our cabin at Cedar Glen Lodge on Carnelian Bay after a full day of driving and just relaxed. Hunger finally drove us to nearby Jiffys Pizza for a delicious dinner. By then it was raining, but very cozy at the restaurant. Back in our cabin, we finished off the day looking at photographs and reflecting back over the day's travels. 

Our cabin at Cedar Glen Lodge (#3 on the left)

Cozy nook

Drive Around Lake Tahoe

The next day we returned The Old Post Office Cafe for a leisurely breakfast, and then bought gas and picked up Starbucks coffee and treats. We had decided to drive around Lake Tahoe, a 72 mile drive. Our mission was to see what other areas we might like to explore on a return trip. We headed down the East side first, through South Lake Tahoe, and then up West Lake Tahoe. We had thought we might stop to snap some pictures, but it was crowded and busy with folks on their Sunday drives. We still got a good feeling of all that Lake Tahoe has to offer, so feel we completed our mission! We decided we prefer North Shore, with more wilderness, less development, and less congestion (at least when there is no snow on the ground)! My husband recalled being in West Lake Tahoe with his Dad and his wife in the 1970s as part of a trip to Reno NV. 

Relaxing by the fire

Fire pit under the pines

Back at the cabin, we lounged around for a while and enjoyed a family phone call with the Alaskan and Oregonian contingents. For dinner we went to Spindleshanks Tahoe Restaurant and had a lovely dinner and shared dessert. Back at the lodge we sat out under the pines by the fire pit and enjoyed a crackling fire.

Home Again

The next day was sunny but quite chilly - definitely a fall feeling in the air. After a brisk walk, we packed up, snapped a few pictures, and then checked out of the cabin. We headed back to Spindleshanks for our last big breakfast of the trip, bought coffee and treats at the nearby Starbucks, and then hit the road for home. We enjoyed our trip so much!

Sunshine over Cedar Glen Lodge (after the rain)

Breakfast at Spindleshanks

The trees of Tahoe