I’ve seen plenty of American Coots in a number of watery locations, but Clear Lake is the only place I can seem to get anywhere near them. There always seems to be something comical to me about these small birds; maybe it’s just that I’ve come to associate them with the expression “a funny old coot” — what my Merriam-Webster […]
The weather at Clear Lake has been interesting this week — not the total washout that we feared, although Tuesday was mostly rainy. The worst of the storm seems to have passed, but with a few threatening clouds lingering we’ll have to wait and see what the next couple of days brings. In the meantime, the views here in Nice, […]
Last Monday, March 20, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere celebrated the first day of spring, also known as the vernal equinox — even though it may not feel a whole lot like spring, depending on where you are! The vernal equinox also marks the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. The first event of this annual celebration […]
I have frequently admired the blue-green iridescence of the male Mallards’ heads, so it was a nice surprise yesterday to get a glimpse of royal purple on these relatively drab females. I was sitting in my car in Lucerne, on the shore of Clear Lake, when a small group of Mallards settled down very nearby. I think we were all […]
Most of the prints in my “Korea albums” are in color and date from the 1980s and perhaps early 1990s; but there are a handful of vintage black-and-white photos that really add to the depth and poignancy of this collection. Still, they provide more questions than answers. The single color photograph in this week’s collection depicts the original album owner’s […]
As I wandered through the village of Mendocino earlier this month I found quite a few sculptures on the grounds outside the Mendocino Art Center, but others can be found randomly around town. One of the most prominent is the former Masonic Temple, built between 1866 and 1872. Its builder, Erik Albertson, topped it off with a sculpture that is […]
Do you know the difference between a Victory ship and a Liberty ship? I didn’t, even though I’ve actually visited a Liberty ship — the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, currently docked at Pier 35 in San Francisco. Victory ships were larger than their Liberty ship predecessors and were powered by steam turbines for faster speed, as opposed to the earlier steam […]
During our recent stay in Mendocino, I actually walked into town twice from our rental house on the east side of Highway 1. Of course there’s loads of amazing ocean views to take in along the Mendocino Headlands; but if you stroll along any of the village streets you’ll soon find all sorts of quirky touches and beautiful historic structures. […]
Memory Monday is on a break today. I’ll see you again next week! In the meantime, here are a couple of re-scans of vintage commercial slides dating back to the 1950s. I’m still trying to figure out if I ever shared the re-scanned (i.e., improved) versions of these images, which I originally shared back in March and April 2018.