Trail Sightems - Roy's Redwoods

 

Blackberry Vine, Buckeye, Redwoods - Marin County  2020

Rock, Bay Leaves - Marin County  2020

Hiking in the shade.

Grass

 

Frost on Grass - Marin County  2020

Grass, Telephone Poles - Marin County  2020

Roy's Redwoods loop trail. I was using a Nikon Z5 with a 24-200mm lens.

Oaks

 

Coyote Bush, Oaks - Marin County  2020

Oaks - Marin County  2020

A very cold morning. I was taking the Roy's Redwoods loop trail trying desperately to keep my hands warm.

Monday Kinglet Blogging

 

Kinglet  - Marin County  2020

Kinglet - Marin County  2020

The same kinglet as seen before. I've been going through my October photos preparing for my regular quarterly backup and found two extra photos of the little bird.

Hali's Birthday

 

Hali Hiking in Crater (Volcanoes National Park) - Hawaii  2007

Wow!

From an earlier post:

As we drove through the rain the road steadily climbed and the air grew chill. Wisps of fog began to trail across the highway. We finally reached the small town of Volcano and located our rental cottage. Once inside we set out some leftover orchids from the wedding dinner the night before.

Next day dawned damp but rainless: an excellent day for a hike through a still-steaming crater in nearby Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

Kona Lua Rain - Hawaii  2007

Trees, Streets

 

Olema Road, Trees  - Marin County  2020

Drake Blvd, Trees - Marin County  2020

Although this Autumn's rainfall total has been worryingly slight, one benefit has been that the leaves on deciduous trees have lingered for quite some time now. Some of the displays have been really spectacular, better than we saw on our 2018 New York trip.

Gingerbread House, Xmas Lights

 

Gingerbread House - Marin County  2018

Constructed by Hali at one of Barbara's annual Gingerbread House parties. Below, Xmas sightem seen on one of our early morning walks.

Xmas Lights - Marin County  2020

Olive Tree

 

Olive Tree - Marin County  2020

Our olive tree. So, it doesn't produce any olives, but it still looks nice. Photo taken with a Nikon Z5, 24-200mm zoom lens.

Blackberry Leaves

 

Blackberry Leaves - Marin County  2020

Blackberry Leaves - Marin County  2020

Top photo taken in November, bottom one in December. Two different Olympus cameras were used.

Lake Lagunitas

 

Bracken, Hill (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2020

Oak Leaves, Reflections (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2020

Hali got an annual parking permit for the Sky Oaks area, so I've been able to drive up there on a regular basis recently.

Photos taken with a Nikon Z5 and 24-200mm zoom lens.

Monday Bewick's Wren Blogging

 

Bewick's Wren (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Bewick's Wren (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Hopping in and out of the foliage in our courtyard. I hurried back into the house to grab a camera, then took a number of photos, just enough to be able to identify the bird as a Bewick's Wren. Wow! (Better photos at the link.)

Lake Lagunitas

 

Branches, Reeds (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2020

Branches, Reflections (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2020

Lake Lagunitas is located in the Marin County Water District just west of Fairfax. Photos taken with a Nikon Z5 with a 24-200mm zoom lens.

Nikon Z5

 

Nikon Z5, Olympus EM-10 - Marin County  2020

Recently acquired (on the left). Nikon wants it designated as "Z 5", with a space, but I'm just going to use Z5. My last Nikon was the D90 DSLR, for which I did a longish writeup (no extensive post this time). I've included in the photo an Olympus E-M10 camera on the right for comparison. Yes, the Z5 is much bigger (and heavier, of course). Among Nikon users the Z5 with the lens shown, a 24-200mm telephoto zoom, is considered to be small and lightweight, and I guess that compared to Nikon's humongous DSLRs, the whole package is. 

Usually, the larger the camera the better the final image quality, though I don't expect any major differences to be perceptible on computer screens. Will have to wait and do some printing. We'll see.

Garbage Truck Action

 

Garbage Truck - Marin County  2020

Garbage Truck Workers - Marin County  2020

Some garbage truck action seen on one of our early morning walks recently. I used a small Olympus EM10 with a 25mm lens.

Horn BBQ

 

Horn BBQ Menu - Oakland  2020

Take the Stones - Oakland  2020

Really rated high in the Yelp reviews. Well worth the wait! they say. But when we arrived at the Mandela Parkway address in Oakland, we could see that the line was long. Extremely long.

We got in line and started making a few inquiries. After talking to some fellow line-waiters up in front we quickly determined that the wait time was going to be, what? Hours? Maybe. Hard core foodies would think nothing of it, but Mike is not a foodie. Not being a foodie, he had to balance the minus factor of the time spent in line, against the supposed delights of the BBQ brisket. And, there was no bathroom to be seen.

So, we left and had Thai takeout lunch over at Margaret's. But that's not the end of the story! Hali's friend Kathy's husband is a foodie. After hearing our sad story he made his way to Oakland, waited in line, and got us some genuine Horn BBQ! Whoa!

It was good! But for Mike, saying that something was good doesn't do it justice, of course. You'll have to go to the Yelp reviews for higher, more informed praise.

Horn BBQ Takeout - Marin County  2020 (Photo by Hali)

Masa's Birthday

 

Masa & Nolan - San Francisco  2016

Wow!

Oakland Sightems

 

Dragon - Oakland  2020

Storage Units - Oakland  2020

On and near the Mandela Parkway in Oakland. Photos taken with an iPhone 7 Plus.

Monday Oak Titmouse Blogging

 

Oak Titmouse (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Where do they come up with these names? An Oak Titmouse on our backyard fence. For once, I was able to ID it using the National Geographic bird book.

Hanna's Birthday

 

Hanna, Bicycle Stand - San Francisco  2014

Wow!

Oakland Sightems

 

One-Way, Bicycle - Oakland  2020

Trailer - Oakland  2020

In Oakland recently for BBQ. We had to park far away, so encountered some examples of "wheel estate" living situations.

Bay Tree

 

Bay Tree - Marin County  2020

Subject of an earlier July post . . . seen this time from a different angle.

Mount Tamalpais - 3

 

Mt Tamalpais, Sidelit - Marin County  2020

Light from the sunrise coming in from the east. I used an Olympus EM1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm zoom lens.

Mount Tamalpais - 2

 

Mt Tamalpais - Marin County  2020

Mt. Tamalpais in the distance. Very few clouds to be seen here recently, so this was a lucky event.

Mount Tamalpais - 1

 

Mt Tamalpais (Bon Tempe Lake) - Marin County  2020

Photo taken while standing on the dam at the beginning of an early morning hike on the shady side of the lake.

Monday Phoebe and Quail Blogging

 

Phoebe - Point Reyes  2020

Quail - Point Reyes  2020

Two nice-looking birds seen on our recent Abbotts Lagoon hike.

Ripples, Fog, Lagoon

 

Ripples, Fog, Lagoon - Point Reyes  2020

By the time we had reached the bridge marking the turnaround point for our hike the fog had moved in, obscuring the view. A slight breeze created some nice ripples on the lower lagoon, but somehow placed them a little bit too far to the left. Maybe a vertical crop?

Thistles, Fog Bank

 

Thistles, Fog Bank - Point Reyes  2020

So, a bright and clear day, with some wisps of fog in the distance. Deceptive, because at one point the fog started swirling around us.

Spider Webs (Abbotts Lagoon)

 

Spider Web - Point Reyes  2020

Spider Web - Point Reyes  2020

Early morning sun highlighting the webs.

Return to Abbotts Lagoon

Branches and Hills - Point Reyes  2020

Most of Point Reyes is off-limits, because of unstable trail conditions due to the Woodward Fire. But the Abbotts Lagoon trail is open, so we recently drove there, not just to see the river otters, but to hike towards the lower lagoon for photo ops. (Lots of earlier Abbots Lagoon posts, by the way.)

U.C. Field Station Windows

 

Window #1 - Point Reyes  2020

Window #2 - Point Reyes  2020

Didn't spend that much time there, just was able to perform a quick survey of the area (neat windows). Will have to come back.

U.C. Field Station (Point Reyes)

 

Coyote Bush - Point Reyes 2020

Hali, Margaret - Point Reyes  2020

A couple of recent visits out to Point Reyes. The first was a ride out to the Point Reyes Field Station, a UC research site, to help Margaret with a car key issue. There was still some smoke in the vicinity from the Woodward Fire. 

I'd like to be able to explain in detail the work going on there, but it was kind of a quick visit. I expect the studies have something to do with . . . soil?