Monday Pigeon Blogging

Pigeon (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Pigeon (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

"The band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) is a pigeon native to the Americas, and one of the largest pigeons in this region. It is largely gray, but with a thin white collar on the nape and a purple-gray breast.

"The genus Patagioenas is the most closely related living genus to the extinct passenger pigeon, and as a species of this genus, the band-tailed pigeon has been investigated for the potential use in efforts to bring back the passenger pigeon species."

Morning walk sightems.

Roy's Redwoods - Tripod Shots Using a Nikon Z7II

Burnt Redwood (Roy's Redwoods) - Marin County  2026

Redwood Grove (Roy's Redwoods) - Marin County  2026

I've been wanting to try some tripod shots using my Nikon Z7II, a high-res (45 megapixels) camera. The idea being that using a tripod one can set the ISO to the lowest setting (64) and capture some super detailed shots with relatively long exposure times.

It worked! There's a quite high amount of detail available in extreme enlargements (see below). I guess if I was going to make billboard-sized prints I'd have to use a tripod more often. But as of now I don't have any plans to make billboard-sized prints.

Burnt Redwood (crop) - Marin County  2026

Loma Alta Summit Views

Fencing (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Mt. Tamalpais from Loma Alta - Marin County  2026

Maybe the now-dilapidated fencing was once used for cows. 

I ate a Kirkland Protein Bar at the top, standing up (should have brought my super light backpack chair). Then the foot-pounding trek downhill.

Loma Alta Views

Richmond Bridge from Loma Alta - Marin County  2026

San Francisco Skyline from Loma Alta - Marin County  2026

Hazy. Photos taken using a Nikon Z7II and a 24-200mm zoom lens.

Little Bighorn Battle Anniversary

Little Bighorn Battlefield - Wyoming  1987

"Almost 150 years ago, Sitting Bull’s followers defeated Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, one of the most closely studied and hotly debated military clashes in American history. Sitting Bull is said to have had a vision that presaged a great victory, which came weeks later for warriors led by Crazy Horse." (NYT)

Photo taken during a trip to South Dakota with my parents in 1987. I used a Mamiya twin-lens medium format camera.

Loma Alta Plants

Vetch (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Milk Thistle (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

"This fairly typical thistle has red to purple flowers and shiny pale green leaves with white veins. Once native from Southern Europe through Asia, it has spread throughout the world." 

Loma Alta Gate / Ridge

Cattle Gate (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Summit Ridge (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Alas, no cows, unlike my 2020 hike.

Monday Cat Blogging

Della - San Francisco  2026

Cat in Window (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Cat on Fence (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Della has appeared before on the blog . . . the bottom two cats were seen during our morning walks here in Fairfax.

Loma Alta Views

Mt. Tamalpais from Loma Alta - Marin County  2026

Grass, Fence - Marin County  2026

"At 1592 feet, Loma Alta is one of the highest points in Marin."

My last hike to the top was in 2023, so I was thinking that it was probably time to go up again.

San Rafael Sightems

On-Ramp (San Rafael) - Marin County  2026

Litchfield's Sign (San Rafael) - Marin County  2026

Walking around with a Sony RX100 while the Highlander was being serviced.

"Dubbed “California’s Las Vegas,” Litchfield’s Bermuda Palms was the place to be during the ’60s and ’70s. Built in the late 1940s by Irving “Whitey” Litchfield, a millionaire construction mogul, the resort had a luxury swimming pool, color television, nightly dancing and rooms for under $10 a night."

Afternoon Clouds

Rain Clouds - Marin County  2026

Hills, Clouds - Marin County  2026

. . . taken in April this year.

Lake Lagunitas (January / February)

Trees, Cloud, Lake - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Reeds, Branches, Lake - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Top photo taken in January (iPhone).

Bottom one taken in February (Olympus).

Lake Lagunitas (February)

Lake, Clouds - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Lake, Clouds - Lake Lagunitas  2026

 Early Sunday mornings.

Local Trees (March)

Buckeye (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Oak Branches (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Both photos taken on our daily morning walk, both taken with a Sony RX100.