End of August

Poison Oak - Marin County  2012

Buckeye Leaves - Marin County  2012

Some pix to commemorate:

Poison oak leaves turning red with the season.

Buckeye leaves starting to wither and turn brown.

San Rafael Sightems

Cubicles for Rent - San Rafael  2012

Welding - San Rafael  2012

Cubicles for rent!

Tempting.

Also, welding. Iphone iPhone pix.

Mr. Pollo II

Mr. Pollo Dish - San Francisco  2012

One of the dishes served at Mr. Pollo: pork tenderloin slice with deep-fried and grilled white eggplant, fig and sauce.

Yum! But yes, very minimal.

Mr. Pollo I

Mr. Pollo Sign - San Francisco  2012

Mr. Pollo Front - San Francisco  2012

Just across (almost) from the 24th St BART station is this interesting little restaurant: Mr. Pollo.

The name does not speak to the type of food being offered: California cuisine with a few South American items. It has room for 12 customers: you need to be in line before Mr. Pollo opens at 6 PM, which we were - just - able to do.

Monday Hummingbird Blogging

Hummingbird - San Anselmo  2012

Hummingbird and agapanthus seen in San Anselmo.

Sierra Plants

Grass Stem - Sierra Nevada  2012

Vetch - Sierra Nevada  2012

Not native, alas. Grass stem seen on our hike and some vetch near the cabin we stayed in. Vetch is very similar to sweet peas, but no aroma. Alas.

Super MG & Corridor

Super MG - Mazatlan  2002

Corridor - Mazatlan  2002

. . . taken in Mazatlan. Corridor found in the time-share where we were staying. Don't know about the Super MG . . . probably seen at the downtown marketplace.

Mineral (Murphys)

Mineral - Sierra Nevada  2012

"Scallops" (Tofu) - Sierra Nevada  2012

During our mini-vacation in the Sierra we had dinner at Mineral restaurant in Murphys. Murphys is an historic gold rush town that has somehow morphed into a wine bar/boutique hub.

Mineral is a vegetarian restaurant . . . quite good. The best offering was a "burger" made from wheat gluten. It was gone before I could take a photo.

Sierra Hike (cont.)

Pine Tree, Cabin - Sierra Nevada  2012

Burnt Bark - Sierra Nevada  2012

Mike walked over to one of the cabins and got the pine-tree-in-front-of-log-cabin shot. And then, later on, the old "burnt tree bark" trick.

It was left up to Hali to discover the marmot peeking from inside the cabin. Vanished as soon as he saw Mike's camera.

Sierra Hike

Duck Lake -  Sierra Nevada  2012

Cabin - Sierra Nevada  2012

Hali and Mike took a nice 3.5 mile hike while enjoying a recent weekender up in the mountains: a loop trip around Duck Lake in Alpine County. Very pastoral scene, with a few old log cabins scattered about.

Hali used trekking poles, took her time and finished the hike with relative ease. Great progress since August 22 of last year!

Hali Adjusting Boots - Sierra Nevada  2012

Lupita & La Perrada

Lupita - Mazatlan  2002

La Perrada - Mazatlan  2002

Posted together because of the color schemes.

Monday Jackrabbit Blogging

Jackrabbit - Marin County  2012

Seen while I was taking a short hike in the Marin hills. Please note the presence of broom plants to the right and left.

The camera focused fast enough, but not on the correct target . . . so the (rather large, actually) animal is not quite in focus.

Also, 2010 Monday Jackrabbit Blogging.

Kids

Kids - San Francisco  2002

Taken with a Leica Minilux on Powell St in San Francisco during the Christmas season, 2002.

Mazatlan Self Portrait

Self Portrait - Mazatlan  2002

Mike, holding his little Leica Minilux.

That's It 2012

That's It - San Francisco  2012

That's It (Man Eating) - San Francisco  2012

Most recent of the That's It series taken earlier this month at night.

I mean it's the world's largest Torta Cubana! Yikes!

That's It 2008

That's It (Rain) - San Francisco  2008

That's It (Detail) - San Francisco  2008

Two more That's It pix, from 2008. (Different months.)

That's It 2005

That's It - San Francisco  2005

One of Mike's favorite subjects: That's It on Mission Street. Above, Mike's earliest photo taken in 2005.

Someday we must try the Torta Cubana served there. And . . . accessible using BART!

Mazatlan Sculpture

Sculpture & Door - Mazatlan  2002

Building (Sculpture to Right) - Mazatlan  2002

. . . adorning an older building in Mazatlan.

I'm pretty sure that this is a well-known work of art, but I haven't been able to identify it on Google. (?)

[Update: From the comments, Anonymous states that "This building was the University of Mazatlan, or UniMaz, for many years. It has been abandoned for a good 10 years now."]

Monday Junco Blogging: Return, and Departure, of the Angry Birds

Junco - Marin County  2012

Junco Nest - Marin County  2012

The juncos took over our courtyard once more this summer, angrily chirping at us every time we presumed to enter the house. This went on for quite some time.

Then, early one mid-July morning we walked out to the car only to spy a young junco, not flying very straight, crashing right into the garage wall (didn't seem any the worse for wear.) The parents were very angry concerned. I avoided the courtyard the rest of the day. Peeking out the window every now and then I could see two chicks being fed by the older birds.

The next day they were gone. We found their tiny nest hidden under the camellia, one unhatched egg remaining.

Gimnastics

Gimnastics - Mazatlan  2002

After the 1970s Mike didn't get to take any Mexico pix for quite awhile. In fact, his next trip didn't occur until 2002 with a visit to Mazatlan. The cameras used in the earlier 1970s Ensenada photos followed Mike's usual big camera/small camera routine: a Nikon F using Panatomic-X film (small camera) and a Mamiya medium-format camera (big camera).

In Mazatlan Mike again brought two cameras with him: a Minolta 7000i 35mm SLR with a zoom lens (big camera), and a Leica Minilux 35mm fixed lens (small) camera. He used Kodacolor film in the Minolta and Ilford chromogenic (black and white) film in the Leica; both films could be commercially processed.

[Update: final day of the Olympics!]

Flowers

Hydrangeas - Sausalito  2012

Flower Pots - Marin County  2012

Top: Hydrangeas in vase, Sausalito.

Bottom: Flower pots, Corte Madera.

Swinging

Swinging - Ensenada  1979

Campers and exercise pens for the dog show in the background.

Boulevard Restaurant Lunch

Boulevard Restaurant - San Francisco  2012

Petrale Sole (Boulevard Restaurant) - San Francisco  2012

Mike had the opportunity last month to have lunch at Boulevard Restaurant.

Very good, of course. He ordered the petrale sole, with "whole grain mustard, new potatoes, bloomsdale spinach salad with pickled mushrooms & shallots & smoked bacon."

The pickled mushrooms were a particularly nice touch.

San Anselmo Sightems

Acupuncture - Marin County  2012

Kennedy for President - Marin County  2012

Walking around, waiting for the art supply store to open.

Bomberos

Bomberos - Ensenada  1979

“Bombero es la persona que se dedica a extinguir incendios.”

Monday Deer Blogging

Two Deer, Running - Marin County  2012

Deer, Running - Marin County  2012

Two deer, seen running on a ridge overlooking the campground at Devils Gulch in Taylor Park.

We speculated as to their motives: was one chasing the other? Were they just fooling around?

Kids

Kids - San Francisco  2012

Very cute.

Rare shot, to be honest: nowadays almost a forbidden subject matter, right up there with the produce bin at Whole Foods.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco  2012

Golden Gate Bridge, South End - San Francisco  2012

Two views from the ferry, using the Olympus 40-150mm telephoto zoom lens.

Fairfax Sightems

Early AM Overcast - Marin County  2012

Helichrysum petiolare - Marin County  2012

Top: Early morning on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Fog to the west, sun coming in low from the east hitting the hills.

Bottom: A detail from our front yard: Helichrysum petiolare. "Native to South Africa."

San Anselmo Sightems

Staircase - Marin County  2012

Lavender & Wall - Marin County  2012

As to the staircase photo: I've posted a photo of this house earlier . . . turns out that it's for sale.

$635,000. Hm. On a busy street, next to the San Anselmo Fire Station.

Hm.

Take One - Marin County  2012