Travels, Tales and Thoughts

Humming Birds Summer 2011

2011-12-09T16:51:00.001-08:00

This was my first try at my new 70-300mm lens free hand. A learning curve

with time and a tripod these should be better.

These were humming birds from Angle Island, San Francisco Bay.

Somethings from Around and About

2011-11-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

Fireworks July 4 2011

2011-07-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Beach

2011-07-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

A little BW moment

Blackberries

Pounding surf

The City by the Bay

cliff face worn by time

Ice plant

Point Bonita working lighthouse

Everyone's favorite Poison Oak

Seals in the sun

Swiss Cheese seaweed

Tennessee Valley

Little Yosemite

2011-06-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

Yosemite National Parks Week in the Valley

2011-04-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

Valley deer

Another surveyors marker found while hiking

The mist at the end of the falls

stones through the water

Trees are persistant and grow on the cliff face

Table Mountain

2011-04-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

Funnel Clouds over Tracy Sunday Evening

2011-03-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

A little bit of Tanzania Safari

2011-03-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

A few shots from Tarangire National Park Tanzania

Also Known as the Elephant Park

They are my favorite

Elephants are red from the soil

Crown Crane

Masaai Boma on the planes

Mother and Baby

Birds going for a ride on your local Twiga

Uvas Canyon Waterfalls

2011-02-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

Uvas Canyon in Santa Clara County

This was my Black and White day although I shot some color out of my 330 pictures 35 were color.

I don't know but I see three faces in here in the middle a skull like face looking forward then to the left the open mouth of some underworld creature then just under it the creature is a woman's face on her side

Black Trail full of signs of Spring

2011-02-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

With Spring on the way our first Mt. Diablo hike took us to Black Trail. With the current storm warnings for this week I hope all the buds and new leaves will be able to stand up to the coming storms which may bring snow to the top of Mt. Diablo.

It was amazing to see how many leaves broke through each bud.

The hills were a mix of spring green and winter bare branches

the spider is busy all year

The smell of Spring filled the air

The Valley floor had a slight haze but still showed signs of spring

Even the gravel mind has some beauty

Every time I see this water tower all I can think of is the Tin Man

Bright colors and blue skys were the order of the day

How can I pass up some black and white?

Shinny new leaves

Red berries for breakfast.

The only Egale of the day good thing I looked up as he silently flew by

From old dead wood comes new life

The end of the Trail a good start for the year.

Some Local Tracy Hawks

2010-11-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

An amazing group of Hawks some golden eagles and a few vultures hanging in a Tracy farm field

Those Mystery Eyes

2010-11-21T22:03:00.000-08:00

There are eyes watching

They keep staring

at least we ended the day in peacful flight

Sunrise Cranes

2010-11-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

It was a cold morning

But worth the views

even rainbows showed up

there were thousands of cranes in the morning sky

getting ready to take off

Mt Diablo in the morning

Moonset

A little light breakfast after a morning flight

Halloween with the Sandhill Cranes

2010-10-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

My Halloween cranes

Abstract sunset with cranes

Fantastic Sunset

the sun and the cranes

a lazy dragonfly

Mt Diablo and the migrating cranes

Birthday Hike October 16,2010

2010-10-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

It was a bear of a hike and all I have here is one funny little vid clip of Eddie talking about the hike. My hats off to Patrick, Eddie and Glenn who did this wild and exhausting hike with me.

We munched on Salami and Sourdough bread on the way up and at the top.

Here is a comment on the hike by Eddie

I must admit at the top I caught a ride up the last .4 of a mile Ah it was so nice :)

So out of our 6 hour 11.2 mile hike I did 6 hours but only 10.8 miles :)

Cataract Falls

2010-10-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Monte Bello Some Odds and Ends

2010-10-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Del Valle Arroyo Road Trail

2010-08-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Del Valle Deer Jaw Trail

2010-08-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Del Valle Deer Jaw Trail was alive with the color Red. The poison oak was alive with color. It seemed as if it were Late September rather than the middle of August.

Pt Rayes National

2010-08-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ano Nuevo State Park

2010-07-17T19:54:00.001-07:00

House for Sale Cheap fix 'er upper

Even though it was cool with fog I still got a little sun burn

Amazing colors

Elephant Seals

Trails of sand worms in color and BW

Seal Skulls

The remains of the old lighthouse station

China Wall

2010-07-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a moderately warm day and China Wall was hot but a gentle breeze kept it hot but not baking

Nature set this one up with the leaves I just got the shot

Can you see our little friends on the rocks this was a squirrel day, they were everywhere!

Just caught these birds on branches swinging in the wind.

Phoenix Lake

2010-07-05T00:04:00.001-07:00

Volvon Trail

2010-07-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

Muir Woods

2010-07-04T23:50:00.001-07:00

2010-07-04T23:37:00.001-07:00

The Fourth of July in Tracy 2010

Joaquin Miller Park

2010-03-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

Since I have an over active imagination I thought I might start out with my Elmo tree :)

Joaquin Miller Park was our destination today. It was green and lush and at times very quiet then the sound of mountain bikers and hikes would over take us reminding us we were in the only redwood grove in California that is completely surrounded by a city.

The California Poppy was starting to bloom.

Left over blooms from last season.

Both Glenn and I was drawn to the water on the plants and the grasses.

This little flower is straining to get to the water drop on the leaf.

Last seasons blooms still holding on.

A lone Lady Bug on the trail.

This bridge just called out John Muir.

Spider webs are always a challenge but worth the shot when it works!

Fungal Fancies

2010-03-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

From our very misty hike at Pleasanton Ridge came some spectacular views of Fog as you can see from my previous post.

But now we get into the area of fungus. It loves most places to grow and blossoms on dead trees. This day there were some fine examples.

It looks delicate and inviting

This just struck me as Platapus Fungus just has that ducky look to it.

This one almost creates an illusion of movement

The browns mixed with green give these fungi an appearance of seashells

Pleasanton Ridge Trail

2010-02-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hiking with friends Cheri and Glenn was fantastic. We started in the fog but as the morning whent on we were treated to emerald green view of the surrounding hillsides.

Coyote Point Trail Rainy day

2010-02-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

We managed to get in a quick 2.5 hour hike before the rain came down to hard. It was good to get back here and amazing how lush and green this region was.

The following pictures show that spring is here even though we are still in winter. Nature has her own time clock.

Of course what would a picture day be witout a little mold. (Mold on feces)

Do you see the face in the rock or do I need to see a shrink?

The Birth of a California Buckeye Tree. We ran into a whole section of new Buckeyes growing. It looked like the rangers had spread out the buckeyes to start a new grove

Around The Hills of Tracy

2010-02-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

With the heavy rains we've been having the hills around Tracy are lush with color.

The day was a mixture of sun and clouds with a little fog to top off the day.

At the end of Schulte Rd Sunset begins and the day comes alive with Red.

Cataract Falls Mt. Tam

2010-01-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

We were last here two years ago. California was struggling with the 3rd year of draught and the falls were not as beautiful as today.
I was struck by the beauty of some of the dead foliage and the contrast of bright green with black and white water with black and green.
This first tree sticking out of the water at the base of the falls was a tribute to the staying power or our California trees.
I loved this hike but my knees are screaming! I hate trails with steps and this one was loaded with many steps at irregular heights and depths.

The reflections in the water were eye catching even in the early morning mist and fog.

This is were the end water of the falls met the water of the reservoir. The foam from the force of the water formed these interesting patterns.

The water was abundant today and the sound of the falls was loud and crisp. At times almost mesmerizing. I confess at one point at the upper falls I laid back and slipped off to a little snooze.

I loved the green of the falls but found myself very attrached to the shooting some in black and white.

Thanks Glenn and Happy Birthday.

The Macro World

2010-01-09T22:06:00.001-08:00

A little fun with my 100mm Macro lens

Escaping From the Fog: Uvas Canyon

2010-01-09T18:44:00.001-08:00

Today's hike took us to Uvas Canyon and gave us some relief from the fog. The trails wind around for miles and they gave us some great views of the seasons first waterfalls. In the coming weeks things should get really wet and wild at the falls as our winter rain season takes off.

Some were little tiny falls but given time I am sure these will get bigger and more white water will start to flow.

Even the finest of water formed little falls

Because the bay area is warmer than the falls area of Mt. Diablo the Lady Bugs were already in "bloom" a mesmerizing site!

Depending on the feeder site some of the falls had more speed and intensity than others.

Clusters of leaves were driven down stream by the falls.

Not to short change the rest of nature I could not resist taking some shots of ferns and of course a little happy fungus in the form of Mushrooms and tree fungus. It can be very beautiful!

These little mushrooms looked like little umbrellas on a beautiful green lawn.

Looks like tiny lights in the garden.

I wish I knew my mushrooms! Let me know if you have the answer! Are these in the Morel Family?

This tree fungus looked like little fans

It was great to see some other varieties of pine cones.

I really like this one it looks like a mushroom family

This last shroom and friend just caught my eye.

The New Year Arrived with the Fog

2010-01-03T19:17:00.000-08:00

The Red berries against the green leaves looked like a little Christmas

It is amazing that spiders will weave their webs on top of the fallen leaves

The trail was foggy and misting with rain most of the six mile

All day there was an ethereal look to the hike

Again the red berries with a little spider web to top them off

It was wonderful to see so much water on the mountain. I hope this year we will break out of the draught.

Manzanita was present in all it's glory. The rain made the already impressive bark come to life

Again the fog hides the falls

Mt. Diablo is just an amazing place for its geological beauty

The water cascading down the mountain made a calming subdued sound in the fog

The amount of trees and grasses that were plastered down from the last storm was almost unreal. It also made the trail tricky at times.

The trees peep hole was a pleasant surprise as well as this upside down pine cone in the trunk of a tree.

Fungus was every where now that there is moisture all around. I did refrain from showing the mildewed scat that we found on the trail. Maybe next time I'll post it :)

The fog began to lift as we were ending out hike

As we started our hike I was surprised to see a little grove of flowers in the daffodil family! don't they know it is January?

Our old friend the California Buckeye is rushed alone this stream that only two months ago was bone dry.

Rotary at Stockton Thunder

2009-11-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

Our Rotary Team At the Hockey Game

Hello Tracy Rotary miss you all. :)

Juniper to the Summit

2009-11-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today I tried my new Flip Video HD video camera. I would give this a D- but a learning experience. Panned to fast causing the viewer to become a little dizzy :( I am so sorry. Enjoy my first attempt. Look for future Flip Videos with better technique.