Bay Area murals are such a treat. This one first made me smile a month ago and I was happy to see it again today, one whole week after the Cali primary.

There were so many. I suspect the fog keeps everything moist enough for them. The sea and sky directly behind could've been pulled from this JMW Turner painting, the mood as well.

They sat like that for a while, at least until closing time.

Sculpture by Karen Cusolito.

Tree pictured in the middle stopped me in my bicycle tracks. Wild colors and bark expressions. I think it's an American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). It's a serene park today, but not so long ago humans waged a war here... against invasive plants:

Late one December night in 2012, near the Oregon-California border, I found the finest company one could hope for on a train. The recording starts in the adjacent car, passes through the squeaky vestibule and lands in the viewing car, the place to be.

Notice the avalanche paths leading into the lake's 'mouth'. That would be something to witness!

From summer 2013 on the Yukon River, downriver from Rampart, Alaska.  It's close to midnight and it won't get any darker. The river is about one kilometre in width here and the current has barely picked up since leaving the Yukon Flats. For what this river lacks in whitewater it makes up for in landscapes so stunning they make you forget the simple task of operating a canoe. We nearly flipped.

First two images are of Leah, the 8" refractor installed in 1883 . The third is Rachel, a 20" refractor installed in 1915. Last is Nellie, the newer 36" reflector. This place is a treasure in the Bay Area. Open nights on Fridays and Saturdays are the best. The volunteers who handle the telescopes are passionate about astronomy and their enthusiasm is contagious. Thanks to them I've peered into the Pleiades and seen Io, Europa and Ganymede and their shadows transit while Jupiter was in opposition. I've also been there when humidity was too high for stargazing, so I just gazed at the telescopes.

Spotted this Northern Flicker (Colaptes Auratus) grazing the backyard. I usually hear them hammering at trees and telephone poles, but once I saw one making a much louder sound against a metal cap at the top of a pole.  Metalhead bird.

We were seated on the side of the road overlooking Strohn Lake and Bear Glacier. She walked right up to us and eventually settled under the car for a snooze. We waited for her to resume her merry way before resuming ours. Not sure what kind of grouse. I don't think it's a ptarmigan because I read they have feathered feet. My wild guess based on a quick search would be the sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus). Is she a runaway extra from the movie Insomnia?

hit 'read more' for a hint....

location: landing in Tsawwassen

It's a flood year (2013). Now and again I hear the plop of a piece of overhanging bank falling into the river. As for the ice chunk, I'm not sure if it formed in the winter or floated there during the spring melt.

For a structure so tall (90 feet) it blends in remarkably well. I got very close before perceiving it.