Earthquake Trail

Ferns, Creek, Alders - Point Reyes  2018

Badger Hole - Point Reyes  2018

We strolled through the Earthquake Trail near the park HQ. Lots of interpretive signs having to do with the San Andreas fault. Also, intriguing badger holes!

The ranger explained that the holes are signs that badgers were digging for moles there. Holes for moles.

Point Reyes Excursion

Fence, Clouds - Point Reyes  2018

Fences - Point Reyes  2018

The cabin camping crew ventured forth to Point Reyes for a look at the HQ exhibits and a short hike. Lots of threatening clouds, but no actual rain.

Cabin Camping

Cabin, Forget-Me-Nots (Taylor Park) - Marin County  2018

Running (Taylor Park) - Marin County  2018

Hali, Hanna and Mike went "cabin camping" at SP Taylor park in early April. You sleep in a cabin (after carrying all your gear from your car), but have to cook outdoors . . . Hali was cooking on the porch during some heavy rain.

Monday Eagle Blogging

Eagle, Snow Mountains (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

On a dead tree in the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Top photo taken with an iPhone, below,  one taken with an Olympus E-M10 and a 75-300mm telephoto lens. Contrast range of the bird was pretty extreme.

Eagle (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

SF Presidio - Letterman Digital Arts Center

Statue, Eadweard Muybridge - San Francisco  2018

Seven Samurai Poster - San Francisco  2018

So, I'd never walked around the Lucas facility located at the San Francisco Presidio. Very interesting, with some statues paying homage to early communications personalities.

Ursula LeGuin

Napa LeGuin 1989 Project - Marin County  2018

I have always admired the work of Ursula LeGuin (who died earlier this year), especially her earlier works. How pleasing to be able to participate in this small, elegant project! The text for "Napa: The Roots and Springs of the Valley" (1989) was excerpted from a chapter in LeGuin's novel, Always Coming Home. The photos, to be honest, are not that great (small 35mm black and white prints). But the overall product is quite nice . . . designed and produced by James Linden.

A few years after the project came out, LeGuin was in Marin County for a booksigning. I went and purchased her latest book, and brought along one of the "Roots and Springs" copies. I thought that I'd just slip it in there for her signature, but she paused, flipped through the pages, then said, "Why, we're collaborators!"

Shook my hand!

Update: Below, one of the photos from the project, along with the Publisher's Notes. Quite possibly I could have done a better printing job if I had had Photoshop. Alas, I didn't.

LeGuin Project Photo #2 - Napa Valley 1989

Publisher's Notes (LeGuin Project) 1989

Chinatown Rain

Street (Chinatown) - San Francisco  2018

Alley (Chinatown) - San Francisco  2018

No umbrellas for us, however! We had our Patagonia parkas.

Valencia Street Sightems - 2

Residences - San Francisco  2018

Serra Mortuary - San Francisco  2018

Both of these photos were taken with an Olympus E-PL7 and a 25mm (50mm equiv) lens. I have to admit, though, that sometimes that combo wasn't quite flexible enough, causing me to switch to my iPhone 7 plus.

Can't be sure, but I expect I did perspective correction in Photoshop.

Valencia Street Sightems - 1

Sasquatch - San Francisco  2018

Mural (Valencia St) - San Francisco  2018

Valencia Street is in San Francisco's Mission District . . . it appears to be rapidly, um, gentrifying. Quelle horreur!

San Francisco Colors

Red Door - San Francisco  2018

Red Tile - San Francisco  2018

Walking around San Francisco last March.

Yellow Tile - San Francisco  2018

Monday Cedar Waxwing Blogging

Cedar Waxwing - Marin County  2018

Taken last March. Hali spotted a group of  Cedar Waxwings noisily foraging in our (volunteer) privet tree. I got out an Olympus E-M10 with a 75-300mm lens attached and shot a number of photos through a sliding glass door. No burst mode used, single shots only.

So checking out the photo data, I see that I used a shutter speed of 1/2000th second with the lens pushed out to the 300mm max (600 35mm equiv.). What's interesting is the ISO that the camera used: 16,000! Wow . . . I would have thought that an ISO that high would have resulted in a completely unusable file. But no: not half bad!

View from Twin Peaks

View from Twin Peaks - San Francisco  2018

Hali had never been to Twin Peaks before, but Mike had.

So, not as dramatic as the earlier shot, but still pretty impressive.

Rogue One

Rogue One - San Francisco  2018

Mural seen near Hayes Street.

In Mike's HO, Rogue One has been the best of the reconfigured Star Wars movies, The Last Jedi the worst.

San Francisco MOMA - 2

Sitting on Floor (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Sitting on Ledge (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Wow, people photos!

San Francisco MOMA - 1

Staircase (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Buildings Through Screen (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Hali and I spent some time last March in San Francisco. Heavy rain! One of our sightseeing items was the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . . . we went not to see any particular exhibit, but because we hadn't been in a long time, and we were in the vicinity.

Hali, Anselm Kiefer Painting (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Maxwell Sightems - 2

Jefferson (Maxwell) - Colusa County 2018

Christmas (Maxwell) - Colusa County  2018

We the people of the 23 counties of Northern California, hereafter known as Jefferson, formally demand an immediate Article 4, Section 3, (U.S.) state split. We declare the State of California is in open rebellion and insurrection against the government of the United States.

Governor J. Brown, Lt Governor G. Newsom, Senate Pro Tem K. León, Speaker A Rendon, States Attorney General X. Becerra, Senator K. Harris, and the majority of voting members of the California Legislature, have openly and publicly declared war on the government of the United States.

Ironic, indeed, that Colusa County is Jerry Brown's future home!

Maxwell Sightems - 1

American Legion ( Maxwell) - Colusa County  2018

Bakery Painting (Maxwell) - Colusa County  2018

Shooting from the car with a Canon G5X.

Monday Buffalo Blogging

Buffalo - Colusa County  2018

I searched on Google for a "buffalo" "Colusa County" match, trying to see if anyone else had seen or posted about these animals. Alas, nothing of significance.

I saw them just west of Maxwell on the Stoneyford road. For some reason, I can't remember if I shot from the car or whether I was able to get out for the photo. Hm. I used an Olympus E-M1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm lens. So maybe I was out of the car.

Colusa County Weather

Houses, Storm Clouds - Colusa County  2018

Grain Elevator, Clouds - Colusa County  2018

Very impressive storm system . . . cloudbursts off and on.

Storm Clouds - Colusa County  2018

Colusa County Oak Trees - 2

Oaks, Dark Sky - Colusa County  2018

Oaks, Two Hills -  Colusa County  2018

So anyway, Jerry Brown is planning to build a retirement house in Colusa County.

Hope he's considering turning it into a B&B for at least some of the time. I'd definitely go.

Colusa County Oak Trees - 1

Oak - Colusa County  2018

Oaks - Colusa County  2018

Even though I've been here before, I wasn't quite prepared for just how photogenic Colusa County's oaks are.

Colusa County Sightems

Cattle Pen - Colusa County  2018

Hills - Colusa County  2018

I took a quick drive west of Maxwell for some sightseeing. Actually, I had been here before, when I camped at Dixie Glade campground in the Mendocino Highlands. That was in the 90's I expect.

(OK, it was in 1994.)

Nice clouds! And some very heavy rain, on and off.

Sacramento Wildlife Refuge Sightems - 2

Thistles, Marsh, Clouds (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Geese - Colusa County  2018

I was at the refuge early, but not early enough for the fly-off. Below, the sunrise fly-off taken in January, 2008.

Fly-off (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County 2008

Sacramento Wildlife Refuge Sightems - 1

Marsh (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Tree, Reeds (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

My search for a positive tree ID was inconclusive, alas.

Monday Ring-Necked Pheasant & Snow Geese Blogging

Ring-Necked Pheasant (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Snow Geese (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Driving around the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, early in the morning. Maybe the first to go through!

I was using an Olympus 75-300mm lens on an Olympus E-M10 camera, taking photos out the driver's and passenger's side windows. Results, as always, were hit and miss using a telephoto lens with that much reach.