Winter Plants (Lake Lagunitas)

Irises - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Pacific Hounds Tongue - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Top photo taken with a Nikon Z7II, bottom one with an Olympus E-M1II. 

Monday Butterfly Blogging

Pipevine Swallowtail - Marin County  2026

Western Tiger Swallowtail - Marin County  2026

Two recent exotic visitors. I managed to get fairly close in with the iPhone which could then give me accurate identifications.

Of interest: I've been able to revisit some earlier butterfly posts with some up to date identifications, for example, a "California Sister" seen near Yosemite.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge - Marin County  2026

San Francisco Skyline - Marin County  2026

Evening drive back from San Francisco to Marin County. I felt that I had to stop at the bridge viewpoint to get some twilight photos.

Sutro Tower

Sutro Tower, Houses - San Francisco  2026

Sutro Tower, Evening - San Francisco  2026

No visit to Twin Peaks would be complete without some photos of Sutro Tower. 

Although, bottom photo not taken during my Twin Peaks hike, but rather in the evening using the iPhone's wide-angle option.

Twin Peaks Views

Market Street View - San Francisco  2026

Golden Gate Bridge from Twin Peaks - San Francisco  2026

Cloudless day, alas. That's been happening to me lately. 

Of course, Photoshop can always whip up some clouds:

Market Street View - San Francisco  2026

City Views (San Francisco)

Buildings, Ocean - San Francisco  2026

Buildings (View from Twin Peaks) - San Francisco  2026

Photos taken with a Sony RX100.

Marview / Twin Peaks Path

Marview & Aquavista - San Francisco  2026

Very steep hike up Marview to the new path that's been constructed from Marview up to the Twin Peaks overlook. Weather conditions were clear and warm, with a slight breeze. Below, a newly constructed trail up to the top (old version seen in foggy conditions earlier on the blog.)

New Trail (Twin Peaks) - San Francisco  2026

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas - San Francisco  2026

Hydrangeas, Ferns - San Francisco  2026

Nice hydrangeas seen on my walk/hike up to Twin Peaks.

Monday Crow Blogging

Crow at Twin Peaks - San Francisco  2026

Taken during a recent hike up to Twin Peaks. As I noted before, the crows there are really quite big. I saw tourists feeding them, so they see no need to move away from humans.

Drive Through Sacramento Valley

Valley Hills - Central California  2026

Dilapidated Structure - Central California  2026

Interesting drive back home: I got turned around in Merced and had to switch on the GPS lady - she was able to get me to Highway 99 north. But then she found an alternate route cutting across the Sacramento Valley utilizing a series of small two lane roads. 

I don't know how much time was saved, but the drive was nicer than freeway traffic. I had to stop at one intersection for pix of hills and a falling-down structure.

Mariposa Creek / Road Closed

Mariposa Creek - Mariposa  2006

I had made sure to bring along everything that I would need for a photo trip into Yosemite. As I drove out of Mariposa on Highway 140 I was pleased that I had gotten an early start. Then I saw the electronic sign ahead: "Highway Closed at Bear Creek Bridge."

What!!??

I pulled over and checked out the Yosemite website. Yikes . . . sure enough the road was closed between Mariposa and El Portal due to a landslide. 

Then a U-turn and back to the motel, where I was able to verify that indeed the road was closed. I quickly tried to run through various options in case I stayed an extra day in Mariposa. But I had spent a lot of time the day before taking photos in the foothills along highway 49. Luckily I was able to cancel the motel reservation.

Before leaving I went for a walk along Mariposa Creek. Nice!

Road Conditions Screenshot 2006

Mariposa Sightems - 2

Street - Mariposa  2026

Truck, Clouds - Mariposa  2026

Some rain, but not enough to get the streets wet. Dinner at a Mexican restaurant, then prep for the next day's trip into Yosemite.

Mariposa Sightems - 1

Garage, Clouds - Mariposa  2026

Shed - Mariposa  2026

 After leaving Hornitos I drove the short distance to the town of Mariposa and checked in to my motel. Then walked around with a Sony RX100 and an iPhone. (Top photo - iPhone.  Bottom one - Sony.)

St. Catherine's Church (Hornitos) - 2

Tombstone, Church (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  2026

Cemetery (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  2026

I've photographed this church several times before, starting in the 1990s. The dramatic clouds seen in yesterday's post were still there for this visit. 

I used a Nikon Z7II.

I couldn't quite decipher the inscription on the tombstone, but I was able to look it up on the web: