Tule Fog, Night

The view out front of the house these days and nights of the Tule Fog. Eerily reminiscent of photographs of California wild fires at night. Oh, those sodium/ mercury vapor streetlights!

Backyard Tangled Wood

A backyard winter scene in Walnut Creek, California. With all the rain we've been having of late the conditions have been very favorable for the formation of Tule fog. Tule fog is a dense, thick, ground fog that forms in California's Central Valley during the winter months as opposed to the air borne summer fogs that blow in from the Pacific. Both, however, have the same effect, one more enjoyable than the other. In the summer, we generally welcome the fog because it means a warm spell- a span of 4 or 5 days of triple digit temperatures-will be ending. In the winter, it means your 45 degree day will feel more like 25. Like today. Brrrr, though the ivy seems to thrive in it, much to my chagrin. Ivy changes everything and grows everywhere if you don't keep it in check.

New Moon, January, 2011

What feels like the dead of winter, Bay Area style.

That little sliver of a thing that looks like a bit of dust in the lower center of the image is the first New Moon of 2011 setting over Acalanes Ridge in Walnut Creek, CA, on 7 January 2011. Some Tule fog from the Delta is blowing over the ridge in the lower right quadrant, making sure it feels colder than the 38 degrees or so it is.. It's been quite foggy and dreary in the 'hood the past few days and fairly cold by local standards.

Goodbye, Christmas 2010

January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany in the Western Christian tradition, is the date on which the Three Magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, visited the infant Jesus bearing their gifts of gold, frankinsence, and myrrh. It's also  the "Twelfth Day of Christmas" and thus signals the end of the Christmas season at which time the Christmas decorations come down and the trees get tossed in the street. See you next time, Gabriel!

The Virtual Christmas Fireplace

For those cold nights when your local air quality board says " No!" to burning anything in your fireplace,
an image to warm your heart and kindle memories of warm feet.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

Totality, Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse 2010

Clouds darted in front of the moon all evening long shortly after this shot was taken, I called it quits as there was no much hope of seeing the emergence from totality. I feel lucky getting the shots I did!

Nearing Totality-Solstice Lunar Eclipse 2010

The awful weather predicted for today moved south and we were spared. Not so lucky those in Southern CA. Still, we had cloud cover for a chunk of the celestial event of the season, but was lucky to get a few shots in.

Emergence From Totality, 2008

"Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun. "
John Lennon

Lunar Eclipse, 2008

This eclipse was in February, 2008. Hope to get lucky again on 12/21/2001 but our wet, overcast weather may spoil it.

Powell Street, December, 2010

At the cable car turn table near Market Street in San Francisco. This taken while on my way to BART following the SFAMA's Toys For Tots  toy drive. Part of an on-going series.