the mikereport

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Stanislaus County Views

Hills, Clouds - Stanislaus County 2026

Photos taken from the side of the road leading to Knights Ferry.

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Escalon Sightems - 2

Azores Band Escalon - San Joaquin County 2026

Building, Clouds (Escalon) - San Joaquin County 2026

"In the early 1980s, many Portuguese migrants came to California in search of opportunity while maintaining their culture and identity. Among them was John da Silveira, who, along with local Portuguese immigrants, sought to continue the musical traditions of their homeland. Their dream became reality when they formed a small band in the Nunes dairy of Escalon, today known as the Azores Band of Escalon."

1980s? That's pretty recent.

Friday, May 8, 2026

Escalon Sightems - 1

Museum Window (Escalon) - San Joaquin County 2026

Mural (Escalon) - San Joaquin County 2026

I used to drive straight through Escalon on my way to the mountains, but recently I've stopped and walked around a little.

That mural has been shown before on the blog, but this photo is better.

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Rainwater Ponds

Rainwater Pond - San Joaquin County 2026

Across the street from yesterday's almond trees. Haven't been able to figure out what this industrial-looking site was for. (Almond processing?)

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Almonds

Almonds - San Joaquin County 2026

Almond Trees - San Joaquin County 2026

I was driving east on highway 120 when I decided to turn down a side road at random and go off the main highway for a bit. I found this grove of almond trees, with a nice crop on the branches and a lot of almonds lying on the ground. (Maybe knocked off by the previous day's heavy rains?)

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

McDonalds (Pleasanton)

Egg McMuffin Meal, Sony RX100 - Alameda County 2026

McDonalds KPop Demon Hunters Poster - Alameda County 2026

The start of my most recent road trip, driving from Marin County to Mariposa County via Highway 49.

Alas, I wasn't aware of the Saja Boys breakfast meal when I got the same ole Egg McMuffin that I always get.

Monday, May 4, 2026

Monday Woodpecker Blogging

Acorn Woodpecker - Lake Lagunitas 2026

Pileated Woodpecker - Lake Lagunitas 2026

The top two photos were taken up at Lake Lagunitas. The second one was taken with a (non-zoom) 25mm prime lens.

Bottom photo taken during one of our Saturday walks . . . a Nuttall's Woodpecker. "In particular, these woodpeckers prefer oak woodlands, although they also occur in riparian sites and chaparral in the most southern parts of their range because of the decrease in oak abundance."

The Sony RX100 I used focused mainly on the branches, not the bird.