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| Basketball Court - Marin County 2020 |
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| Oleanders - Marin County 2020 |
As the sky grew lighter it became apparent that the orange tint wasn't going to go away. A school light cast our twin shadows onto the basketball court.
Then, some oleanders on the main road. (Not a cure.)
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| School Window (Fairfax) - Marin County 2020 |
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| School, Smoke (Fairfax) - Marin County 2020 |
September 9th. As we set out for our Tuesday morning walk we were surprised at how dark it was. We made out way up to the school at the end of the street where one of the rooms was brightly lit. As the gloom started to decrease there was a noticible orange tint to the sky.
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| Crows - Marin County 2020 |
September 9th. Photo taken at the Richmond Bridge outlook in Marin County. I used a Olympus E-M1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm zoom lens.
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| Sunrise, Smoke - Marin County 2020 |
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| Dirt Road, Smoke Light - Marin County 2020 |
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| Smoke Light (Fairfax) - Marin County 2020 |
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| Woodward Fire Sign (San Anselmo) - Marin County 2020 |
As it turned out, the exciting thunder and lightning storm had started several fires. One was close by: the Woodward Fire at Point Reyes. Interestingly enough, the same area was the site of an earlier burn event - the 1995 Mount Vision fire.
Mike has hiked the Woodward Trail before, passing though the burn area.
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| Poison Oak, Bay Trunks - Marin County 2020 |
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| Poison Oak - Marin County 2020 |
August 16. The poison oak leaves starting to change color.
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| Fenceposts - Marin County 2020 |
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| Dried Grass, Fenceposts - Marin County 2020 |
August 16. One of the places that I regularly visit for fence photos.
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| Maple Leaves, Rain - Marin County 2020 |
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| Maple Leaves - Marin County 2020 |
August 16, 2020. Raindrops from the storm the night before collected on rapidly turning maple leaves.
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| Storm Clouds - Marin County 2020 |
August 16, 2020. During the night there had been some light rain, along with flashes of lightning and (sometimes very loud) thunder.
When it was light enough it became apparent that impressive clouds were still overhead. Mike headed out to the San Geronimo Valley with an Olympus camera and an iPhone 7 Plus to take advantage of the shade provided by the overcast sky. First, yesterday's cow stop, then on to the Willis Evans trail area.
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| Cow - Marin County 2020 |
Taken at my favorite cow-viewing site. A dark, overcast sky; there had been some rain overnight.
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| Flamingos - Berkeley 2020 |
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| Maple Tree, Shed - Berkeley 2020 |
Per Margaret, that maple tree needs to be planted in the ground.
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| Flowers - Berkeley 2020 |
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| Fig Leaves - Berkeley 2020 |
Photos taken during a visit to Margaret's place in August.
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| Railroad Tracks, Asphalt Company - Berkeley 2020 |
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| Door, Asphalt Company - Berkeley 2020 |
The storage tanks have been seen before on the blog, but back then I didn't know that they were part of an asphalt company.
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| Plant, Shadows - Berkeley 2020 |
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| Chainlink Gate - Berkeley 2020 |
iPhone photos, taken on 5th Street in Berkeley.
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| Flowers - Berkeley 2020 |
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| Flowers - Berkeley 2020 |
For the past few months Mike has been quite constrained in his travels. No trip to Japan, and no camping outings. Places he's been to: Marin County and Berkeley.
These nice looking flowers seen at Margaret and Jim's house in Berkeley.
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| M&G (Fairfax) - Marin County 2020 |
Kind of an impulse stop. It was close to lunch time, so we pulled into M&G's parking lot and got takeout! Burgers 'n fries, of course. And easy enough to take home without the food getting cold. It was good!
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| Costco Return - Marin County 2020 |
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| Latte - Marin County 2020 |
This was our first visit to Costco in quite a while. Mainly to return a defective outdoor heater . . . once that was done we ventured inside and bought some heavy duty extension cords, then left.
Mike's last latte was had on March 10 . . . this purchase on August 19 at a nearby Starbucks broke the months long latte-free spell.
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| Road Construction (San Rafael) - Marin County 2020 |
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| Theresa and Johnny's (San Rafael) - Marin County 2020 |
Photos taken while making necessary visits to San Rafael.
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| Agave - Marin County 2020 |
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| Learning is in the Process - Marin County 2020 |
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| Umbrella - Marin County 2020 |
The school at the end of our street has been closed since last March. Some of our daily walks take us through the school property, where we frequently come upon the blackboard shown above. "The Learning is in the Process, not the answer."
How true!
By the way, that umbrella has been seen before, with a junco, in happier times.
(Last week, parents were seen driving up to the school to pick up student materials that were needed for distance learning.)
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| Deer, Gate (Fairfax) - Marin County 2020 |
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| Deer, Trash Cans (Fairfax) - Marin County 2020 |
More urban sightings.
And for another sighting from New Mexico near Los Alamos, see the below photo taken from inside her house by my sister-in-law Kay. Whoa, deer and cat!
" . . . it's hard to tell but the buck is ~8ft away from the window,"
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| Deer, Cat - New Mexico 2020 (Photo K Beeley) |
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| Marquard's - San Francisco 1999 |
Closed in 2004:
Marquard's Smoke Shop feels like a little slice of Sam Spade's San Francisco. Squint through the dusty windows under the vintage awning and you can almost picture the hard-boiled private eye sauntering in for a bottle of whiskey and a pack of smokes.
But by the end of the month, the newsstand on the corner of Powell and O'Farrell streets will go the way of many mom-and-pop shops, closing as commercial rents soar out of reach.
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| Grass, Ocean - Point Lobos 1999 |
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| Wave - Point Lobos 1999 |
Taken in the days when Point Lobos wasn't inundated by crowds.
The community has spoken, and State Parks has listened: Starting as early as next summer, visiting Point Lobos State Natural Reserve will require a reservation, aimed to prevent the park from being loved to death, and to curb the sometimes chaotic parking on the side of Highway 1.
“I’ve heard from docents who used to help visitors see whales, and now they’re picking up diapers, says Kate Daniels, chief of staff for County Supervisor Mary Adams, whose district includes the Carmel and Big Sur coast.
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| Alley (Oroville) - Butte County 1997 |
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| Club Sierra (Oroville) - Butte County 1997 |
Some friends of ours used to own a trailer in the woods near Oroville; I was able to stay there a few times. Photos were taken with a Mamiya twin-lens reflex.
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| Lake Oroville - Butte County 1997 |
