Fences

 

Fenceposts - Marin County  2020

Dried Grass, Fenceposts - Marin County  2020

August 16. One of the places that I regularly visit for fence photos.

Maple Leaves

Maple Leaves, Rain - Marin County  2020

Maple Leaves - Marin County  2020

August 16, 2020. Raindrops from the storm the night before collected on rapidly turning maple leaves.

Storm Clouds

 

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.

Monday Cow Blogging

 

Cow - Marin County  2020

Taken at my favorite cow-viewing site. A dark, overcast sky; there had been some rain overnight.

Flamingos / Maple Tree, Shed - Berkeley

 

Flamingos - Berkeley  2020

Maple Tree, Shed - Berkeley  2020

Per Margaret, that maple tree needs to be planted in the ground.

Berkeley Flowers

 

Flowers - Berkeley  2020

Fig Leaves - Berkeley  2020

Photos taken during a visit to Margaret's place in August.

Fennel, Graffiti / Golden Bear Storage

 

Fennel, Graffiti - Berkeley  2020

Golden Bear Storage - Berkeley  2020

Golden Bear is ever watching.

Berkeley Doors

Blue Door - Berkeley  2020

Bibliopolis - Berkeley  2020

More in my "Door" series.

Asphalt Company

 

Railroad Tracks, Asphalt Company - Berkeley  2020

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.

Berkeley B&W

 

Plant, Shadows - Berkeley  2020

Chainlink Gate - Berkeley  2020

iPhone photos, taken on 5th Street in Berkeley.

Monday Dog Blogging

 

Dog - Berkeley  2020

Dog relaxing outside Vivarium, the East Bay reptile store.

Berkeley Flowers

Flowers - Berkeley  2020

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.

M & G

 

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!

Costco

 

Costco Return - Marin County  2020

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.

San Rafael Sightems

 

Road Construction (San Rafael) - Marin County 2020

Theresa and Johnny's (San Rafael) - Marin County  2020

Photos taken while making necessary visits to San Rafael.

Neighborhood Plants

 

Agave - Marin County  2020

Artichoke Thistle - Marin County  2020

So, at times our walks take us past the playing field, where a little side path leads to a cul-de-sac street with some interesting plants as seen here.

School

 

Learning is in the Process - Marin County  2020

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.)

Monday Deer Blogging

 

Deer, Gate (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

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,"

Deer, Cat - New Mexico 2020 (Photo K Beeley)

Marquard's, 1999

 

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.

Point Lobos - 1999

Grass, Ocean - Point Lobos  1999

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.

Oroville

Alley (Oroville) - Butte County  1997

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.

Lake Oroville - Butte County  1997

Dirt Road, Humboldt County

 

Dirt Road - Humboldt County  1996

Scene near Ferndale in Humboldt County. I think. A 35mm photo.

Colusa County

 

Oaks - Colusa County  1994

Oak Trees - Colusa County  1994

There are some campgrounds in Colusa County up in the hills west of highway 5 that I used to use. In the olden times. Interesting landscape.

Colusa County

 

Grass, Fences -  Colusa County  1994

Grass, Oaks, Clouds - Colusa County  1994

I was using a Toyo-Field 4x5 camera with a roll film adapter (as opposed to regular 4x5 film holders.) I found that 120 roll film was much better at preventing dust on the negative.

Monday Goldfinch Blogging

Goldfinch - Marin County  2020

I was returning from a hike when I spotted this little bird on the Russian sage in the front yard. Luckily I was carrying my Olympus E-M1II with a 14-150mm telephoto zoom lens.

Fairfax Sightems

 

Buckeye, Wires (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Fennel, Fence (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Taken on our morning walks.

Free Things

Free Things #7 - Marin County  2020

Free Things #8 - Marin County  2020

Interesting stuff. Photos taken with a Canon G5XII.

San Rafael Sightems

Alley - San Rafael  2020

Alley - San Rafael  2020

 

Carrying the iPhone around San Rafael in the midst of various chores.