Monday Spotted Towhee Blogging

Spotted Towhee (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Spotted Towhee (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2026

Very vocal! Lots of them this season.

Selling Photographs

 

Marin Open Studios Exhibit (San Rafael) - Marin County  2026

In May I participated in the Marin Open Studios weekends. I had a goodly amount of space for my setup: frames, bins and notecards. Two weekends in May (four days). Sold a few things, but nothing major.

In June I returned to set up my booth in the Fairfax Festival. Only one weekend, but sales were considerably higher! (Live music and beer probably helped.)

My booth:

Booth (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Note two framed photos in the image above: one the left a large framed photo of Convict Lake, and in the back a large framed photo of  Owens Valley. Both were sold! Wow!

BTW, my current booth is way more sophisticated than my first Fairfax Festival appearance in 2008:

Mike, Fairfax Festival - Marin County  2008

Toyota RAV4

2026 Toyota RAV4 (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

2026 Toyota RAV4 (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

A new 2026 RAV4 recently appeared in our neighborhood. Nice looking! Although my 2025 model is also nice.

2025 Toyota RAV4 - Mariposa County  2026

Grass, Hills, Clouds

Grass, Hills, Clouds (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Grass, Hill, Clouds (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Morning walk iPhone pix. Bottom one used the wide-angle option.

Ferns / Moon

Ferns (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Moon, Redwoods (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Ferns seen just below a local foot bridge in the back - iPhone.

Redwoods and moon seen on a morning walk - Sony RX100.

Monday Pigeon Blogging

Pigeon (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Pigeon (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

"The band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) is a pigeon native to the Americas, and one of the largest pigeons in this region. It is largely gray, but with a thin white collar on the nape and a purple-gray breast.

"The genus Patagioenas is the most closely related living genus to the extinct passenger pigeon, and as a species of this genus, the band-tailed pigeon has been investigated for the potential use in efforts to bring back the passenger pigeon species."

Morning walk sightems.

Monday Cat Blogging

Della - San Francisco  2026

Cat in Window (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Cat on Fence (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Della has appeared before on the blog . . . the bottom two cats were seen during our morning walks here in Fairfax.

Local Trees (March)

Buckeye (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Oak Branches (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Both photos taken on our daily morning walk, both taken with a Sony RX100.

Trucks

Chevrolet ZR2 (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

GMC Denali - Marin County  2026

Nice-lookin trucks!

"The Chevrolet ZR2 is a specialized, factory-built off-road package available on Chevy trucks. Designed for serious trail driving and overlanding, it features advanced suspension, rugged tires, heavy-duty skid plates, and unique styling."

"The GMC Denali represents the pinnacle of luxury and technology for GMC's lineup, serving as an upscale alternative to traditional luxury brands."

Fairfax Sightems

Agaves, Oranges (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Enough (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

So, sightems not seen on our regular walks!

Not sure what "Enough" refers to. Could be political I guess.

Monday Dog Blogging

Sienna (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

This is Sienna from across the street . . . Karla's extremely friendly dog.

Dodge SRT

Front: Dodge SRT, Rain (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Side: Dodge SRT, Rain (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Google AI overview:

Dodge SRT (Street and Racing Technology) represents the high-performance division of Dodge, featuring top-tier models like the Challenger, Charger, and Durango SRT Hellcat. Known for supercharged 6.2L HEMI engines, these vehicles produce 700+ horsepower, offering extreme speed and, in the Durango's case, high towing capacity.

Rainwater / Sun on Trees

Rainwater Pipe (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Sun on Trees (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Top taken with an iPhone, bottom with a Sony RX100.

Around the House Sightems

Indoor Palm (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Steam, Outdoor Fence (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

iPhone pix.

Black Locust Trees

Blossoms, Black Locust (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

"Black locust is native to parts of the US including the Southern Appalachian and Ozark Mountains. It has been planted in all of the Lower 48 states but has been noted as invasive in as wide ranging ecosystems as pine barren, sand prairie, and black oak savannah communities, in as varied climates as the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, West Coast, and Texas. Black locust grows best in full sun and well drained soils. Where invasive, black locust forms dense clonal forests which shade out competitors and alter nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus cycling."

There are some Black Locust trees up the street next to the creek. Ever since I got the tree ID I've been wondering how they got there.

Monday Spotted Towhee Blogging

Spotted Towhee (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Making its very distinctive call. There's been a lot of them around recently, but usually they're hidden in the background foliage. This one was right out there! Photo taken with a Sony RX100.

An earlier post showing one taken in Point Reyes in 2013: Monday Spotted Towhee Blogging.

Local Flowers

Azaleas (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Freesias (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Top: an up-the-street neighbor's azaleas, with some ferns.

Bottom: Hali's freesias in our side yard.

Cataract Surgery

Cataract Eye Drops (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Mike, Kaiser Cafe Entrance - Marin County  2026

I had cataract surgery last December, right eye at the beginning of the month, left eye at the end. First operation with anesthesia, the second without, for fun. It was interesting! Surgery without anesthesia allows you to be aware of everything that's going on in the room, plus all the small talk between the staff. For example, "what's the best Chinese restaurant in Novato?" was one of the topics. ("That one near the car dealership" was the answer.)

Vision is noticeably better, but getting correct glasses for my astigmatism took quite some time. Luckily I was able to use some (quite old) prescription reading glasses which somehow did the trick until the new glasses were delivered.

In the aftermath there was a serious "flare" problem looking at headlights, particularly in the left eye. The doctor attributed the flaring to some scar tissue left over from the operation . . . he zapped the tissue away using a laser. Whoa. I still have a "floater" in the left eye's vision due to the laser treatment. Supposed to go away eventually.

Monday Horse Blogging

Horse & Rider (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Truck, Horse Trailer (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Up the street . . . riders preparing to venture forth into the Loma Alta Open Space district. Hali used to park her trailer in the same spot, then ride off on Tuffy.

Oak Branches

Oak Branches (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Oak branches seen up at the end of the street. Impressive result using a Sony RX100.