Autumn in Silicon Valley, California

I have lived in this area we call Silicon Valley for 15 years, and continuously in California for 21 years. I wanted to move right here where I am right now since 1970 to attend UC at Santa Cruz and to California since I was 6 years old, raised on stories of loved relatives and their histories in California going back to the 1800's. As my grandmother used to say, " I lived in LA before there were sidewalks!" A great-great uncle helped develop Pacifica and married a lovely lady whose mother sang in the San Francisco opera. My father wanted us to settle in the Hollywood area in the 1948 so that he could work on music for movies and put together another big band there with friends who already were establishing themselves.

The glamour and excitement was very magnetic but it was the natural world that really drew me here. I would imagine the coast and starfish on sparkly sand when I was a little girl. Later, seeing photos of the breathtaking Big Sur coast I was completely enamoured with California. I loved the music and the art. When I first visited in the early 1960's it was Disneyland and eye-popping observations of the people, culture and pace of life. But what stuck was the incredible evening sea breezes in LA that wafted in to my great aunt's retro apartment. I had to ask her what it was. It was the most beautiful sweet air I had ever experienced...now just a memory.

Here in the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA, is one of the best autumns I have ever had the pleasure of living in. It is the season of the plein aire, the special atmosphere that exists in just 2 other parts of the world that Impressionist painters need. It is the best place to paint I have ever been. Here palm trees and deciduous trees co-exist and the latter turn incredible crimsons, oranges, mingling with greens until they are yellow and then brown and fall off and blow away.  Deep rose colored berries pop out in clusters and all kinds of seeds on trees drop to the ground for the squirrels and birds. Pomegranate trees display balls of red fruit in yards all through the neighborhoods. San Jose is a forest city with a team that cares for it called City Forest.

One of the most exciting scenes, though is the floral. The royalty at this season is the Bird of Paradise. Here are a few shots of one at the end or opening of my street, also computer enhanced. It only makes it's appearance in the autumn and disappears during the winter.

 A beautiful dancing crowned bird showing us the joy of the season!



So much going on

I haven't been able to write much since my mother fell ill in July from a uro-sepsis infection. It's been non-stop care for her until now, at last, things are slowing down and she has stabilized. The caring world around illness especially for seniors has been an education for me. I've also learned alot about Medicare, secondary providers, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and the symptoms and presentations of several new diagnosed illnesses, one after another presenting themselves to her new doctors as she fought for her life over the last few months. A wonderful seniors social worker introduced herself and her services to me when I was treading in the deep water of living facilities and Mom is now happily living in a small facility which is a wonderful house not far from me in a terrific neighborhood. She is saying good-by to her home care nurse who helped diagnose skin cancer and get her blood sugars down and stabilize her blood pressure. She has round the clock care just in case she crashes again. Her cardiologist is finishing up blood clot searches with a carotid ultrasound this month and it should be smooth sailing into the holidays ahead.

Somewhere I read earlier last summer about the death rattle. It happens just before expiration and that is what I witnessed in my mother this last July as she nearly bled out right in front of us at the ICU. 4 times she nearly died within 24 hours. I watched as teams of code blue professionals worked intensely to save her life, a life she was giving up on. Several times I received calls from the nursing home she went into after her hospital stay or frantic looks and conversations from her concerned roommate that she was taking a turn for the worse and would go back to the hospital. My months of end of summer August and September were on edge, never knowing what the phone ringing would mean. All plans for business expansion trips went on hold. I only lived a mile away so I could get there easily, the nursing facility was right across the street from Good Samaritan Hospital.

My family has had a couple of reunions between us, step-brothers and sisters to rally around for her (and me) and to help straighten out her home and yard. It is so wonderful that we all have a great sense of humor! She has finally decided she could live here in San Jose (it was too hot before) because, Wow! what wonderful people are here! My step-brother from Palm Springs is a real estate agent and has listed her property. We only need an estate sale now and to move a few belongings here.

So my lessons have been deep in caring for an aging parent. It had been so easy up to now, with traveling for business expansion to different parts of the Sanctuaries, going to museums in San Francisco, movies and cultural events in Carmel, and getting together for the holidays. Mom is an octogenarian, her mom was a centenarian and it was just unexpected that a catastrophic illness could knock her down so far. Accepting that and coming back maybe with less strength has been the big lesson for us all.

The one thing that has helped me throughout this ordeal and deep life lesson immersion besides the amazing care-givers, concerned family members, and new found friends has been the Sierra Club and their involvement in global warming issues. The activities and new found friends have buoyed me up through some very dark experiences. This organization has kept me in touch with my business needs and goals which had to go to a low-key level while I stayed on call for my mother. My blog will be devoted to issues around what I have been doing and what the Sierra Club is doing in terms of educating our population to global warming issues. The far reaching effects in lifestyle changes in my city of San Jose, my county of Santa Clara in Silicon Valley, in California, in the US and we are hoping for the whole world are taking place right in front of me.

Like almost losing my mother, slipping away slowly or dramatically in front of me was very close to how I felt about the condition of our environment in the world. I was almost at acceptance of a desolate future, one with no hope but only of watching the destruction coming on by our wasteful energy. I was giving up as well. But through so many good people that have come together with really quite simple ideas and a bond that we can change, I have renewed hope for the future of our world. That is how my holidays are beginning to look...as we experience the world darkening for winter, a wonderful new light is shining, in the forests, out at sea, in the cities, on ranches and farms, in the deserts, and from continent to continent. We need to listen and understand and please...believe. Don't give up hope!

Winter and Spring at the same time.

I was without my camera the last two days, but I want to record the amazing weather experience of Silicon Valley this year. We just received a thorough drenching for about a week, up to 11 inches in parts of the Santa Cruz Mts., something like 7-8 inches here in San Jose. I was sick for the duration, staying inside. The first sunny day, Wednesday, I was feeling more up to par and took off to appointments and meetings. I noticed the foliage, just some magnolia trees beginning to open their flowers, noting there was one I wanted to capture on my camera in a few days. When I was finished, at the end of the day, traveling along the same route home I was astounded by an amazing array of blooming trees which always take my breath away every year. Fully in bloom, dazzling white blossoms and rich pink blossomed trees marked the whole way home. The combination of rain and warm sunshine apparently forced the trees into an immediate and early awakening...one day! Then when I got home there at the end of the back road behind my house were the peaks rising above the rooftops...covered with snow!! The temp must have been 68 degrees.

Soon I will have some of these trees on my camera and can share them here. Just had to share this part with you...a lovely nature head-turner in the Valley.

Bursts of Spring in Silicon Valley

Took this photo a couple of days ago on a gorgeous spring day here in Silicon Valley. Everywhere I looked the trees were bursting through with their pretty pale pink, purple and white blossoms. Now they are in full bloom, so tomorrow I am going on another photo shoot just to capture some of those breathtaking trees. The magnolias bloomed in last week and are still going strong. I know where there is a special one over in the next neighborhood so I hope to get it too.

I am doing several things at once but besides just simply enjoying the advent of spring, I am also working at lessons from an online digital camera class at HP.

This shot also was designed to use perspective lines. My camera is a Canon Powershot A520. It is a perfect little camera to carry with me everywhere and then it has marvelous point and shoot abilities that anyone can understand. I like Canons, I had a 35 mm film Canon in the 80's and 90's. Canon is the greenest camera company there is.

The House just passed a fabulous Energy Bill...cutting the tax credits to the oil industry. Wonder if it will ever make it to the Executive Desk and get signed.

Promise to myself: I am going to blog green more and more from now on.