Monday Cat Blogging

Della on Cat Tree - San Francisco  2025

Della on Blanket - San Francisco  2025

New arrival at the Sasaki residence . . . Mike and Hali had the privilege of cat sitting Della for two recent weekends!

Still a kitten!

Della, Mike - San Francisco  2025

West Portal Stores

Bakery - San Francisco  2025

Movies - San Francisco  2025

We were in San Francisco for two separate weekends in June (cat/house sitting)! We visited the West Portal commercial district a few times for restaurants and take-out food. I got a good morning bun at the bakery!

Open Studios

Open Studios (Mike's Setup) - Marin County  2025

Two weekends in May. Attendance was somewhat sparse . . . sold some prints and cards, so I possibly made back the entry fees. (I didn't bother to check the figures.)

The black and white photo at the left has been featured on the blog previously . . . taken in Glacier National Park.

Of particular interest to me: the artist opposite my exhibit, Cathy Tran, was livestreaming on Instagram while she was creating a new work. Wow! That's ingenious! (Check out her website.)

Cathy Tran - Marin County  2025

Sausalito Reflections

Boats, Reflections (Sausalito) - Marin County  2025

Boats, Reflections (Sausalito) - Marin County  2025

Two photos from last quarter (getting towards the end of this quarter!) I was using an Olympus E-M1II, with a 14-150mm zoom lens.

San Francisco Sightems

Evening Buildings - San Francisco  2025

Smile$ - San Francisco  2025

Two more April iPhone photos.

San Francisco Sightems

Motorcycle, Orange Building - San Francisco  2025

Street Repair - San Francisco  2025

From last April, taken after a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Berkeley Plants

Plant - Berkeley  2025

Plants - Berkeley  2025

From a recent visit to Berkeley. Succulents and some other interesting items.

Monday Cat Blogging

Cloudy - Berkeley  2025

Cloudy first showed up on the blog in 2017, with many appearances thereafter.  At first encountered strictly outdoors, but recently, inside Jim and Margaret's house. 

For various reasons I found myself alone inside their house last January, when someone started banging on the screen door. Yep, it was Cloudy. Cloudy definitely wanted something, probably food, but didn't get anything from me.

Clouds, Playing Field

Clouds, Playing Field - Marin County  2025

Certainly looks like a morning photo to me . . . but the photo data says 4:12 PM! Huh. 

Sausalito

Plants, Bay, Clouds (Sausalito) - Marin County  2025

San Francisco Skyline (Sausalito) - Marin County  2025

Two photos from the Jan-Mar 2025 quarter. 

The plant is a "Pride of Madeira."

"E. candicans is cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available throughout the world as an ornamental plant for traditional and drought-tolerant, water-conserving gardens. It is particularly suitable for coastal planting."

-Wikipedia

Winter Trees

Toyon Berries Oak - Marin County  2025

Bay Blossoms, Madrone Grove - Marin County  2025

January and February photos. Top one taken with a Nikon Z7II, bottom one with a Sony RX100.

Oak Branches

Oak Branches - Marin County  2025

Oak Branches - Marin County  2025

Winter photos taken with a Sony RX100.

Branches, Clouds (March)

 

Branches, Clouds - Marin County  2025

Branches, Clouds - Marin County  2025

A second "Branches, Clouds (March)" post. The entire tree shown below:

Branches, Clouds, Condo Units - Marin County  2025

Winter Tree

Winter Tree (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Winter Tree (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

This tree has been featured on the blog before, as an "Autumn Tree." Top photo taken in January, bottom one in March.

Monday Blackbird and Curlew Blogging, Bunny (Point Reyes)

Red Winged Blackbird - Point Reyes  2025

Long-Billed Curlews - Point Reyes  2025

Blackbird seen in the Giacomini Wetlands, the curlews at Limantour Beach.

Below, for extra credit, a bunny and some lupin.

Bunny - Point Reyes  2025

Lupin (Limantour Marsh) - Point Reyes

Lupin - Point Reyes  2025

Lupin, Marsh - Point Reyes  2025

The main reason for my visit. I knew the Limantour area might have quantities of lupin blooms in May, so I was pleasantly surprised to see how many there were.

Limantour Beach - Point Reyes

Beach, Surf - Point Reyes  2025

Some nice-looking waves, but nothing spectacular. Past visits here have produced similar abstractions.

Bishop Pines - Point Reyes

Bishop Pines - Point Reyes  2025

"Pinus muricata, the bishop pine, is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly in California, including several offshore Channel Islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico. Stands of Bishop Pine are also found in Point Reyes National Seashore, in Marin County north of San Francisco, always on the west side of the San Andreas Fault that runs through the park. It is always on or near the coast."

-Wikipedia

After my wetlands visit I drove the short distance to Bovine Bakery, got my morning bun, then over to the Limantour Beach parking lot. The walk to the beach passes by a stand of Bishop Pines, the underneath part very dark and tangled.

Pond, Marsh - Point Reyes

Wetlands Pond, Ducks - Point Reyes  2025

Limantour Marsh - Point Reyes  2025

Morning water features. 

Giacomini Wetlands - Point Reyes

Grass near Barn - Point Reyes  2025

Wetlands Looking North - Point Reyes  2025

Two more Nikon Z7II photos taken as I walked around the barn.

Poppies, Barn - Point Reyes

Poppies - Point Reyes  2025

Barn - Point Reyes  2025

Early morning poppies, pushed up against the side of the barn, weren't open when I arrived. I used a Nikon Z7II. 

I had to resort to the iPhone's wide-angle option to get the entire side of the barn in the photo.

Monday Goldfinch Blogging

Goldfinch - Point Reyes  2025

Strictly speaking, the photo was taken not exactly within the official boundary of Point Reyes, but in the wetlands adjacent to the small town of Point Reyes Station. 

"Widespread and very common, although possibly has declined recently in some areas."

So, although described as "very common" this is the first Mike sighting of a goldfinch. To be sure, earlier blog posts have featured the Lesser Goldfinch.

And for extra credit, below, a photo of a Song Sparrow taken in the same location.

Song Sparrow - Point Reyes  2025

Grass, Barn - Point Reyes

Grass, Barn - Point Reyes  2025

I paid a visit recently to the Limantour Beach area of Point Reyes. But before driving over there I stopped by the Giacomini Wetlands adjacent to the town of Point Reyes Station.

San Francisco Sightems

Blue Residence - San Francisco  2025

Pizza - San Francisco  2025

Cropping and perspective Photoshop control for the top iPhone photo. Taken while walking to my lunch date with Marilyn in the Avenues.

Mt. Tamalpais, Lake Reflections

Mt. Tamalpais, Sunrise (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2025

Branches, Reflections (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2025

Two photos from last February.

Lake Lagunitas - Branches, Reflections, Fog

Branches, Reflections (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2025

Branches, Fog (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2025

Top photo taken in March using an Olympus E-M1II, bottom one in February using a Nikon Z7II.