Fall 2009 Richard Loller October13 - December 21

Well, first we had a lot of rain and then we had a cold snap and then we had more rain.  Seems like the Fall has just blown by.  Here is some catch-up for all the days I've been tardy.

Thursday I looked up and this doe was standing on the edge of the walk way giving me the once over.  I've seen her before with her two half grown babies.	Saturday I caught several of these young bass while fishing for crappie.  But no luck with crappie.
This is one of the restored homes in Leaper's Fork I toured with a group of Historic Preservationists.  I got to go on a scholarship or something.	This grand old mansion in Spring Hill was the last stop on our tour.  They served beaten biscuits with country ham and mint julips.  Real hospitality!
Finally caught a few crappie at Percy Priest.  It's been slow.	Here I am in front of our favorite little Mexican eatery on Gallatin Road.  The menu is on the wall in Spanish and better be careful what you ask for.  Only drawback is the Mexican Soap Operas that are usually playing on the TV.
First week in November and I finally found some little chayote fruits under all the mass of leaves.  I was afraid I wouldn't get any with frost so near, but Milwant said they would be all right until we got a really bad frost because the leaves would shelter the fruit.	This giant plant is actually three all growing up the same trellis.  I think maybe that accounts for the low production of fruits.  Too much competition for sun.
This is my best eggplant.  Got three or four others that I had to pull before they got half this size since the frost was due that night.  All in all a poor crop.	I was surprized and pleased by the sweet potatoes.  They did pretty well considering I planted corn, beans, and okra on each hill.  Won't make that mistake again.  But we got a really nice harvest and will be still eating them at Christmas.
Here they are all washed up and drying.  Some were really big.  You can also see some regular potatoes on the top row.  They were growing back from the ones I missed when I harvested the earlier plants.	Our first chayote and what a whopper.  It's in the bowl with some turnips and radishes I got at Milwant's patch.  I also brought home a large batch of mixed greens, turnips, mustard, and collards.
Another small catch, but they are good size, so enough for us to eat.	Another cold morning with mist rising from the pond at SB.
Mid November and a good harvest of Christmas Lima Beans.	The lady bugs really like this clematis.  Must be full of aphids.  They are eating like crazy to fatten up for the winter.
The Heavenly Blue Morning Glories are really showing their class.	In the morning and evening the morning glories cover the arch.  And when it's really cloudy they stay open all day.
The mallards are back on the pond at SB.  Passing through mostly.	They also like the high water among the trees back in the sloughs.
This pair of hawks was doing fancy dives and circles, so I guess they were courting.	They ended up not too far away, but far enough so I couldn't tell what they were.
October 31 and the lake at Fall Creek was low and cold.  This nice oriental fisherman helped me get my boat in and out.	So when I got lucky and caught 5 or six nice crappie I gave them to him.  Forgot to take a photo until they were in his bucket.  Oh well.
Cold as it was, this young hispanic fellow was casting for fish in the shallows.  His wife and baby were out there too to get the catch and put it into the bucket she is carrying.  Brrrrr....made me colder just watching.
I spend several days at Ed's farm trying to get a Thanksgiving turkey, but never saw one.  After the hundreds I saw last year this was really a let down.  I even climbed all the way up to the ridge and walked it.	Whenever I got a fairly clear view I stopped and studied the fields with my binoculars, but still no turkeys.  The blue on the right is one of the farm ponds.  It was almost as hard, and much more dangerous, climbing down as going up.
That's the last of our Swiss Chard, eggplants, tomatoes, chayotes, and limas.	Here is why I spend so much time and energy on the garden.  I believe I'd rather have a bowl of lima beans than a juicy steak.
Out in the slough at SB I saw this fungus reflected in the water.	December 12th on the ramp at Percy Priest.  Normally, the water would be half way up the ramp.  It has been half way up the post on the right.
After all the rain early in November we got a long spell of cold and dry weather which put one of the attractors I usually fish out of water.  You can see where the long marker is stained brown which marks the usual level.	Once more my hopes for crappie were dashed.  At least a few young bass were in a sporting mood and kept me from getting completely skunked.
This blue heron looks like he is having as little luck as I am.	Lots of gulls sitting on the water and flying about.  They are a little company for me.  Otherwise I had this part of the lake to myself.
December 15 and this diver duck is the lone visitor to the SB pond.	These mallards preferred the shallow water in the flooded woods.
This buck leaped across the walkway in front of me, but turned to watch me when he felt he was far enough away.	Then another buck came up to stare just behind him.  Great day at SB.
December 18th was our 45th wedding anniversary and we celebrated it at the Alliance Francoise Christmas Party.  The entertainment was caroling in French.	December 21, last day of fall, and the fog was heavy and wet at SB.  Winter is coming and it will be too cold to get out some days.  But, on the bright side, the days are now getting longer.  Hot dog.  Can't wait for Spring!

We got there a day ahead of  them, so we visited around some.  This is a black berry still not ripe we saw at the Audubon refuge in Sausalido.	On our way back to San Francisco we climbed Hawk Hill and got this good view of the Bay Bridge.
This is where we stayed--the Queen Anne Hotel.  It's on Telegraph Hill.  It was built by one of the Silver Kings as a private residence.	I got up early for a walk our first morning there and got this shot of the full moon setting over a row of Victorian houses.  Boy, those hills were steep.
We picked Frank and Mary up at the airport.  They had had some delays and layovers, so they were sincerely glad to see us--and especially glad to see the ice, glasses, and drinks we had in the car for them.	Next day we all went down to Pier 39 and Chris, James' and Travis' friend, took us for a sailboat ride across the bay.  Chris makes a living by piloting a dinner boat and lives on another boat near where we met him.  Altogether a nautical kind of guy.
This beautiful boat is used for training now.  The day was beautiful and warm.	This is a view from on of the hills looking out over Alcatraz.
Sherry loved this bench in the elevator at the Queen Anne.  Nothing like a comfortable place to sit while the slow and stately elevator rises to floor three.	She also liked having a convenient phone next to the bench in case we got stuck.
There were several of these elaborate dolls decorating the corners.	At one point in its career the Queen Anne was run by the Episcopal Church as a rooming house for working young ladies--respectable ones, of course.
The hotel was loaded with antiques.  These were along the wall in our hall.	This is the lounge where tea and sherry were served from 4 to 6.  Needless to say I drank too much Sherry the first night and pigged out on the delicious chocolate chip cookies.  After that I gave the whole occasion a bye.

This is the Fall Crafts Fair at Centennial Park.  This lady had such an interesting booth that I shot several shots of her wares.  As usual, the weather was bad.  It had rained all night and the ground was soaked.  As I left it began again.	Fantasy figures less than 12 inches high read a tiny newspaper, perfect in every detail.  Interesting, but not my cup of tea.  Where would you put such stuff?
Late September and the great arch is loaded with wisteria and heavenly blue morning glories.	Now that the angle of the sun is lower and many days are cloudy the heavenly blues sometimes stay open all day.  Lovely.
October had a near record rainfall.  The pond at SB is full and this is an early morning shot.  Those aren't raindrops.  Little fish making rings all over.	This deer evidently thought she was pretty well hidden.  She let me get within 30 feet or so and stayed there while I made this shot.
Another cold and foggy morning at the big field by the pavilion.	This informational exhibit at the pavilion shows one of the pieces of mississippian art work found near this area.  Pretty good.  Lots better than some stuff I see.
Our friends Barry and Sherry bid on and won a kayak trip we offered at the St. Ann's Church auction.  Here we are out enjoying a break in the rain on a beautiful October day on a crystal clear creek.  They got the double kayak.	Here are the hostess and host posing together in our separate kayaks.
This is a mystery house or pavilion way up on the bluff.  Hard to see the details, but it is round and open on the sides with what looks like trees supporting it.	I took my turkey call on the kayak trip and although I couldn't claim credit for calling any in, we did see this flock on the way out--way up a hillside in a cow pasture.
We also saw many fall wild flowers along the banks as we paddled along.  This is a Turtle Head (Chelone glabra).  "Found along streambanks and wet low lying areas. Flowers are set in a cluster at the top of the stem. The blooms are tubed shaped with 2 "lips" with the top one overlapping the lower."	Almost back at the take out we saw a pair of wood ducks way back in a bay.  They didn't seem to mind our looking.  Man!  How could you shoot one?