Coyote Bush, Fog

 

Coyote Bush, Oaks, Fog - Marin County  2020

Coyote Bush, Fog - Marin County  2020

Taken on a day following some recent rains. I hoped that there might be some fog in the San Geronimo Valley, and yes, there was.

Monday Kinglet Blogging

 

Kinglet (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Kinglet (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

No one could accuse kinglets of doing nothing. They never stop doing. Busyness is their trademark behavior. They are "unceasingly occupied," as Audubon described them.

--Jack Gedny, Marin IJ

Seen in October on our backyard fence using an Olympus E-M1II and a 14-150mm lens.

Spirit Rock, Fog

 

Spirit Rock, Fog - Marin County  2020

Spirit Rock, Fog, Hills - Marin County  2020

The Spirit Rock Meditation Center website features a photo of the actual Spirit Rock, but says nothing about the actual impressive rock outcropping found in the San Geronimo Valley. Serpentinite, I'd guess.

Two recent photos taken on two different days.

Vehicles

 

Vincent - Marin County  2020

Tacos Mendoza - Marin County  2020

iPhone photos.

Wind

 

Branches, Leaves, Ripples - Marin County  2020

Reeds, Ripples - Marin County  2020

Taken during a recent visit; the wind-chill factor was certainly in evidence. 

Colier Springs Trail

 

Pond, Leaves - Marin County  2020

Fern - Marin County  2020

A side trail heading away from Lake Lagunitas up to Colier Springs. Not used that much, it would seem.

Lake Lagunitas

 

Lake Lagunitas - Marin County  2020

View from the dam on an overcast day.

Reflections

 

Branches, Leaves, Reflections (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2020

Reflections of redwood trees on the opposite side of the lake.

Monday Deer and Phoebe Blogging

 

Deer, Phoebe (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

I first noticed phoebes in our neighborhood in 2009. Now they're all over, busy snagging insects in mid-flight. Top photo taken by an iPhone 7 Plus.

Below, a later one using an Olympus E-M1II and a 75-300mm zoom lens.

Phoebe on Post (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Bracken

 

Bracken (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2020

We've finally made our way up to Marin County's Water District, our first visits since last March. Lots of trails, but our main hike is around Lake Lagunitas.

Free Things

 

Free Things #11 (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Free Things #12 (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Wow. A lot of free things!

Fairfax Sightems

 

Slow (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Nandina (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

October photos, taken in the dim early morning hours.

Loma Alta View

 

Coyote Bush, Clouds (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2020

Skyline (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2020

I hiked up the fire road until I could get a shot of some coyote bush in the foreground with some lowering clouds overhead, and then the San Francisco skyline.

Buckeye

 

Buckeye - Marin County  2020

Native American tribes, including the Pomo, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts and seeds to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch. 

Native groups occasionally used the plant as a food supply; after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the seeds or nut meats for several days, they could be ground into a flour or meal similar to that made from acorns.

It is used as an ornamental plant for its striking leaf buds, lime green foliage, fragrant white flowers, red-brown foliage in mid to late summer, and architectural silver branches through fall. The tree also acts as a soil binder, which prevents erosion in hilly regions.

Madrone

 

Madrone - Marin County  2020

Another early morning hike on the Loma Alta fire road, this time under overcast skies.

A handheld shot taken at 1.3 seconds exposure . . . I was able to do this thanks to the Olympus E-M1II camera's amazing stabilization system.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows - Marin County  2020

Up at the top of Loma Alta, open to cattle grazing.

Oaks, Backlit

 

Oaks, Backlit - Marin County  2020

Up the Loma Alta fire road, smoke-filtered light coming through.

Mount Tamalpais, Smoke

 

Coyote Bush, Smoke, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2020

Fencepost, Smoke, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2020

I used an Olympus E-M1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm lens.

Loma Alta Fire Road

 

Loma Alta Fire Road - Marin County  2020

Coyote Bush - Marin County  2020

I've taken a couple of hikes up the Loma Alta fire road recently, the first with a view affected by wildfire smoke, the second under overcast skies.

Apple, KitchenAid

 

Apple, KitchenAid - Marin County  2020

Nice looking apple! Tasted good, too.

An iPhone photo . . . I removed the appliance's electrical cord using Photoshop.

Not A Through Street

Not A Through Street - Marin County  2020

Not A Through Street - Marin County  2020

Walking though the streets of Fairfax in the dim predawn light.

November 3, 1964

 

Who among us can say, with any degree of certainty, exactly what they were doing on this date 56 years ago?

Well, maybe some can . . . and maybe there are some that weren't even born 56 years ago.

Anyway, as it so happens (as it was meant to happen) Mike has documentary evidence of what he was doing on November 3, 1964. Yes, as part of his PsyOps training, he was kneeling on the grass outside some barracks in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, getting a first-hand look at the capabilities of a psychological warfare unit. Wow!

So that was the big event of that day. Of somewhat lesser interest was the presidential election also taking place on November 3rd, won by LJB over Barry Goldwater. 

Below, the reverse of the "1st Psy War Bn" leaflet.

Monday Frog Blogging

Frog (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Grabbing onto some drip irrigation tubing. It considerately stayed put while I went into the house to fetch the camera (an Olympus E-M1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm lens.)

Limber Pine (1980 / 1973)

 

Limber Pine - San Gabriel Mountains  1980

Limber Pine Root - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

Stop a moment and listen to the whistle of the mountain wind it its short, stubby, thick needles. They are lifting their voices in a tale of their life that is all fierce endurance. The sort of winter wind that would get into the headlines of newspapers if it blew down below, blows here for days and weeks, raising the voices of the Pines to a high sustained keening note. Snows that would stop all traffic on our roads and streets weigh down its branches. But they do not break, for this a Limber Pine whose long boughs and twigs can bend and bend without snapping. A tree better adapted to endure timberline conditions does not exist. — Donald Culross Peattie

Both photos were taken while hiking with my brother up to the Mount Baden-Powell summit in Southern California. The root picture came first, in 1973; I used a Nikon F with Panatomic-X film. 

So I knew of these trees' existence when I hiked back up in 1980. I wanted to take some photos using larger 120 roll film, so for that trip I managed to carry up a large Mamiya RB67 medium format camera, used for the top photo.

Halloween

Halloween Display (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Taken during one of our early morning walks.

Tmax 400

 

Tmax 400 - Marin County  2020

Film used in my Toyo 4x5 camera. I came across the box when clearing out some drawers in my (former) darkroom. I eventually stopped using sheet film . . . collected too much dust!

Fairfax Sightems

 

Sunflowers (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Steps (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

More early morning sightems, taken last quarter with a Canon G5XII.

Glass Fire (Sonoma County)

 

Ibleto Meats (Glass Fire) - Sonoma County  2020

Grapevine, Smoke (Glass Fire) - Sonoma County  2020

The Glass Fire started Sept 27, burning in both Napa and Sonoma Counties. There was smoke in Marin County on Sept 28 as we drove up highway 101 for a pickup appointment; once in Sonoma County the visibility decreased dramatically. 

Photos taken with an iPhone at 9:15 AM.

Marin Hiking Sightems

 

Sunrise - Marin County  2020

Star Thistles - Marin County  2020

Top: Sunrise through the smoke and fog on the Roy's Redwoods trail.

Next: Star Thistle. The plant is an invasive pest in field crops, degrades native plant habitats and natural ecosystems, prevents the grazing of domestic animals in rangelands, and is a physical barrier to indigenous animal movement in wildlands. 

Monday Cat Blogging

 

Cat, Swimming Pool (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Neighbor's cat drinking from the community swimming pool.

Cat, Swimming Pool (Fairfax) - Marin County  2020

Bay Trees

 

Bay Trunk - Marin County  2020

Bay Leaves - Marin County  2020

Taken while walking on the fire road at the end of our street.