Mt Tamalpais, Home Depot Parking Lot

Mount Tamalpais, Home Depot Parking Lot - Marin County  2025

December 29th, 2025. iPhone photo. I think we were there to return something. Too far in the past to remember.

November Ferns

Ferns - Lake Lagunitas  2025

Ferns - Lake Lagunitas  2025

"Bracken . . . Genus of large, coarse ferns." From the iPhone identification.

November Oaks

Oak, Fog (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2025

Oaks, Fog (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2025

Taken near the Sky Oaks entry station going to Lake Lagunitas. 

November Rain - 2

Rain, Leaves - Marin County  2025

Steps, Leaves - Marin County  2025

Might have been taken in two different places. Top one definitely in the schoolgrounds up the street.

November Rain - 1

Pine Needles, Puddle (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Puddle, Olive Tree Trunks (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

We had a goodly amount of rain in the October-December 2025 quarter. Yay! Reservoirs are now full!

They added some extra asphalt to diminish the puddle in the bottom photo. Haven't seen yet if it worked.

Monday Salmon Blogging

Coho Salmon, Lagunitas Creek - Marin County  2025

Black and white salmon are Coho salmon. (Didn't know that!) The fish enter the creek in Tomales Bay, then swim upstream to spawn.

We visited the salmon viewing area last November with Hanna and Nolan. Lagunitas Creek was quite picturesque that day!

Lagunitas Creek - Marin County  2025

Winter Branches

Winter Branches (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Interesting branches up the street. They've been featured on the blog before.

[Update: iPhone confirms that the plants are willows, as we suspected. Recent photo below.]

Willows (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

F150 / Mustang (Fairfax)

F150 (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Mustang (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Nice lookin' vehicles! Seen during our walks.

Oak and Maple Trees

Oak Tree, Sunrise - Marin County  2025

California Maple - Marin County  2025

Two iPhone photos. I'll sometimes use the iPhone even when I'm carrying a "real" camera in order to let the phone's software manage the dynamic range of the scene.

Trees, Fog

Oak, Fog - Marin County  2025

Branches, Leaves, Fog - Marin County  2025

Early morning photos taken with a Sony RX100, top in December, bottom one in November.

Moon, Clouds

Moon, Clouds - Marin County  2025

An iPhone photo from last October.

Ferns / Buckeye

Ferns (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Buckeye (Fairfax) - Marin County  2025

Ferns growing next to the creek in back as seen from the footbridge. They've been pretty beaten down by the recent wind and rain storms. Buckeye seen on one of our morning walks.

Monday Egret Blogging

Egret, American River - Sacramento Valley  2025

It was raining as we approached the American River to find this egret looking annoyed. 

Oak Branches / Madrone Berries

Oak Branches - Marin County  2025

Madrone Berries - Marin County  2025

Top photo taken with a Sony RX100, bottom one with an Olympus E-M1II.

Sacramento Sightems - 2

Hotel View - Sacramento  2025

State Capitol Building - Sacramento  2025

The capitol complex was a short walk from our hotel. We were a little too early to see the capitol Christmas tree lit up. They were setting it up though.

Setting Up Xmas Tree - Sacramento  2025

Sacramento Sightems - 1

Casa Lola - Sacramento  2025

Streetcar - Sacramento  2025

Casa Lola photo taken while walking back to our hotel after a restaurant meal.

Sacramento Alleys

Alley, Dumpster - Sacramento  2025

Alley, Dumpsters, Reflections - Sacramento  2025

Sacramento alley sightems. Latest in a long list of alley photos.

Sacramento Morning Rain

Love, Reflections - Sacramento  2025

Pressure Spraying, Rain - Sacramento  2025

Quick rainy early morning walk around our hotel

American River - 2

Autumn Foliage - Sacramento Valley  2025

Oak Branches - Sacramento Valley  2025

"Effie Yeaw Nature Center is a nature center inside Ancil Hoffman Park in the city of Carmichael, California. The Effie Yeaw Nature Center is part of the American River Parkway." - Wikipedia

Our hike started from the nature center and went down to the river, then looping back through the rain.

Monday Heron Blogging

Heron,  American River - Sacramento Valley  2025

Rain-obscured impressionistic photo taken on the banks of the American River.

American River - 1

Maple Leaves, American River - Sacramento Valley  2025

Rocks, Reflections, American River - Sacramento Valley  2025

Raining . . . footing was a little bit tricky. Hali kept seeing salmon jumping across the river, too far away for a photo.

Top photo taken with a Sony RX100 . . . makes a nice print! Bottom one taken with an iPhone 13 Pro Max using the wide angle option.

Sacramento Murals

Mural, Peruvian Restaurant - Sacramento  2025

Street Mural - Sacramento  2025

We experienced a botched Uber ride to the restaurant, but it turned out to be close enough that we could walk back to our hotel.

Railroad Museum - 3 (Cab Forward Articulated)

Cab Forward Rods and Drivers - Sacramento  2025

Cab Forward Articulated - Sacramento  2025

"Southern Pacific 4294 is a AC-12 class 4-8-8-2 cab-forward–type steam locomotive that was owned and operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). It was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) in March 1944 and was used hauling Southern Pacific Railroad's (SP) trains over the Sierra Nevada, often working on Donner Pass in California. Today it is preserved at the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento, California." --Wikipedia

The locomotive is so large that I had to use the iPhone's wide-angle option to get a (stretched) photo of the whole engine. A Sony RX100 was used for the top photo.

In 1958 my father and I were visiting Southern Pacific's Taylor Yard in Los Angeles when I came across some cab-forwards decaying on the tracks. So I have a 67-year old photo of the soon to be scrapped number 4149.

Southern Pacific Number 4149 Locomotive - Los Angeles  1958

Railroad Museum - 2

Baldwin Locomotive No 13 - Sacramento  2025

Silver State - Sacramento  2025

Many of the exhibits present the various pieces of railroad equipment as works of art. 

There was a nice historical perspective exhibit concerning the role of Chinese emigrants in the building of the railroad through the Sierra Nevada.

Railroad Museum - 1

Museum Exterior - Sacramento  2025

Pioneer Square - Sacramento  2025

A visit to the Sacramento Railroad Museum! Wow . . . high on our priority list. The GPS got us there without any problem . . . and, a parking spot was easy enough to find. Wow!

Davis Sightems

Building Art - Davis  2025

California Republic - Davis  2025

We just meandered around the central section of Davis, admiring the interesting and diverse food scene.