Snake Pit, Ladder / Sonata: Melrose Avenue #83

Snake Pit, Ladder (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2023

Sonata (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2023

Semi-Halloweenish-type images. 

Monday Cat Blogging

Sadie Looking - Los Angeles  2023

Sadie Looking Away - Los Angeles  2023

Pat's cat Sadie has been featured in a number of posts. Always very photogenic!

Yucca, Sad Boy: Melrose Avenue #82

Yucca, Sad Boy - Los Angeles  2023

Sad Boy has already been featured on the blog, so I was excited to see this fully-grown yucca adding some variety to the scene.

Lamborghini / Pancakes

Lamborghini - Los Angeles  2023

Pancakes - Los Angeles  2023

Flipper's. It was their trial run opening, serving Japanese-style fluffy pancakes (somewhat similar to Gram in San Francisco.)

We gave it a try, and the pancakes were good, but they took quite a long time to arrive. As one Yelp reviewer put it:

"Food is good, service takes 12 years and a day to get water and another 12 to get your food. By the time you get the bill, you could have watched the full series of Lord of the Rings." 

The full Director's Cut of the Lord of the Rings.

Photographers: Melrose Avenue #81

Photographer (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2023

Photographer (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2023

Photos taken with the small and discreet Canon G5XII. 

Looks like I'll have to work on my down-on-the-sidewalk photo stance.

Somewhat related to earlier 2015 photos.

Personal Training

Personal Training - Los Angeles  2023

Early morning - back in the Bagel Broker parking lot, site of earlier photos.

We Were Driving to Los Angeles . . .

Harris Ranch - Fresno County  2023

Rest Stop Lunch Spot - Fresno County  2023

. . . driving down to visit my sister Pat last September. We hit our regular highway 5 spots: Harris Ranch for the restrooms and crackers and cheese at an anonymous rest stop.

Then back on the road, traveling up the Grapevine, through the San Fernando Valley, finally coming to a stop at the red light at Hollywood and Highland before continuing on to Pat's house.

Hollywood and Highland - Los Angeles  2023

Fern / Tree Stumps - 1973

Fern - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

Tree Stumps - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

Some more in my 50 Year series. These were taken during a backpack that left the trailhead and went down from there to a hidden creek in the semi-arid San Gabriel Mountains. I used a Nikon F SLR with Panatomic-X film.

Monday Cat and Dog Blogging

Cat (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Dog (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Nice looking animals seen on our morning walks. When I first saw the cat, I wished that I had a camera with a zoom lens with me . . . then I realized that in fact I had a camera with a zoom lens dangling around my neck. Photos taken with a Nikon Z5 and a 24-200mm zoom lens.

Fennel, Fog

Fennel, Fog - Marin County  2023

Fennel, Fog - Marin County  2023

Seen near the water tanks located on the fire road that starts at the end of our street. 

Playing Field

Playing Field, Clouds (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Soccer, Clouds (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Top photo taken in the morning . . . nobody there. Bottom one taken in the afternoon while a rousing soccer game was taking place.

Classical Recital

Church Organ (San Anselmo) - Marin County  2023

Church Pew, Window (San Anselmo) - Marin County  2023

Last August I attended a classical music concert at the First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo. The musicians were Odin Mitaine on violin, and my neighbor Shofen Lee on piano. I've posted the program below.

I quite enjoyed all the pieces! The Mozart was perhaps the most approachable, followed by the Prokofiev and Debussy pieces. I'm still working on my Brahms appreciation, to be honest. 

The musicianship was impeccable, with myself quite taken by Shofen's legato, a thing of beauty, reminding me of a mountain stream.

Coast Camp - Hike Out

Ferns, Pine Branches - Point Reyes  2023

Buckeye Blossoms - Point Reyes  2023

Last year I carried a Nikon Z5 with a 24-200mm zoom on the backpack in and out, but that combo is pretty unwieldy, to be honest. This year I carried the zoom lens in the pack and used a 40mm (prime) lens for the actual hikes in and out. Photos above taken with that lens. Much smaller and lighter!

Fog, Eucalyptus

Dry Grass, Eucalyptus, Fog - Point Reyes  2023

Eucalyptus, Ocean , Fog Bank - Point Reyes  2023

Nikon Z5 photos.

Camp Sightems

Morning Coffee, Fog, Eucalyptus - Point Reyes  2023

Big Agnes Tent - Point Reyes  2023

Of the items shown, the most recent purchase was the Big Agnes tent in 2018.

The REI coffee cup I've had forever, since the 1970's I'd guess.

Below: the tent without the tent fly.

Big Agnes Tent - Point Reyes  2023

Monday Flicker / Scrub Jay Blogging

Flicker - Point Reyes  2023

Scrub Jay - Point Reyes  2023

The flicker ID had to wait until I got home and could enlarge the photo. The scrub jay looks a little plump, kind of.

By the way, I had a flicker sighting last year in Ely.

Pt. Reyes Beach - Afternoon

Coast Camp Beach, Surf - Point Reyes  2023

Coast Camp Beach, Surf - Point Reyes  2023

Photos taken around 5:30 PM, sunlight breaking through in the distance.

Coast Camp, Site #2 / Fritos & Beer

Self Portrait, Coast Camp, Eucalyptus - Point Reyes  2023

I took this using an iPhone 12 propped up on the metal food storage box using some rocks. 

Then, of course, the obligatory lunch featuring Fritos and beer!

Fritos & Beer, Nikon, Eucalyptus - Point Reyes  2023

Pierce Ranch, Fog - 2

Fence, Ranch Buildings, Fog - Point Reyes  2023

Hat, Fence - Point Reyes  2023

After I'd enjoyed the fog long enough, I got in the car and drove back to the Coast Camp trailhead.

Pierce Ranch, Fog - 1

Ranch Building, Cypress, Fog - Point Reyes  2023

Road, Cypresses, Fog - Point Reyes  2023

My Coast Camp backpack usually involves a morning visit to Pierce Ranch. Can be very foggy, which I like.

Photos taken with an iPhone 12 Max Pro.

Barn, Point Reyes Station

Barn (Point Reyes Station) - Marin County  2023

Last July: my annual Point Reyes backpack: first, a stop in Point Reyes Station at the Bovine Bakery for a morning bun and coffee. (Right after the quick photo op shown above.)

Blackberries, Dry Grass

Blackberries, Dry Grass - Marin County  2023

A regular stop of mine. Taken while driving out to Point Reyes for my July Coast Camp backpack.

Monday Dove Blogging

Mourning Dove (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2023

Seen while I was hiking on the Roy's Redwoods Trail. It let me get pretty close before flying off. 

Earlier on the blog: White-Winged Doves.

Fence, Fog

Fence, Redwoods, Fog (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2023

Another in an ongoing fence series taken on the Roy's Redwoods loop trail.

Dodge Challenger Scatpack

Dodge (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Tire Chain (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

"The better model to buy when comparing a Scat Pack vs. Hellcat is a matter of taste. The Hellcat is faster and more luxuriously equipped but has a significantly higher price than the Scat Pack. Both models are brutal muscle cars that are guaranteed to thrill."

The car is parked on one of the streets in the condos nearby. We thought it was interesting how it's been given extra security by having a bicycle cable going around one tire, then locked to a telephone pole.

Dodge Scatpack (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Roy's Redwoods Trail Sightems

Barbed Wire, Lupin (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2023

Poison Oak (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2023

Photos taken with a Nikon Z5.