a photo a day - photos by Donald Kinney

February 06, 2009

Sonoma Mission

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photo by Donald Kinney

In Sonoma a two-dollar ticket will provide entry to not only the old mission, but the military barracks, and General Vallejo's opulent home as well.

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photo by Donald Kinney

The Mission's plan included the standard tactic of indoctrinating the heathen indians with a healthy dose of the fear of God.

Sonoma also served as a Mexican military outpost designed to squash any expansion attempts by the Russian settlers in Fort Ross. Expansion fears were unwarranted, and in the short number of years that Fort Ross operated, the Russian settlers and the people of Sonoma became great friends.

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photo by Donald Kinney

ANNOUNCEMENT:
I've added a new set of California Missions (so far: Sonoma, Dolores S.F., San Juan Bautista, and San Rafael) to what I call my "big" site over at:
www.photoarrow.com/big/20/20californiamissions.html

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CLICK for what I call my BIG site.

Your comments are invited and welcome.

February 05, 2009

Goddess in Bolinas

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photo by Donald Kinney

Just as the tiny hidden-away berg of Bolinas has a Community Bulletin-Board, it also has a Community Goddess and altar. I could be wrong, but I think the Goddess is supposed to watch over the ebb and flow of life and spirituality in the secretive coastal town...

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photo by Donald Kinney

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Your comments are invited and welcome.

February 04, 2009

strictly downtown

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photo by Donald Kinney

It was quite a while ago, but I remember when San Francisco visitors, even the bums, wore suits...

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photo by Donald Kinney

I've always thought of San Francisco as a city with a message... My own interpretation of the message is "to hell with everybody else", but maybe that's just my dark side showing...

February 03, 2009

Vaillancourt Fountain

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photo by Donald Kinney

When Vaillancourt Fountain was first unveiled in 1971 most everyone thought the design was a monstrosity -- just another piece of ugly and expensive urban blight.

But the good news is there is a cure for anybody's bad attitude about the fountain. A cure? All it takes is a brief personal encounter amongst the splashing and gushing waters... All pre-conceptions will vanish -- the experience may range from highly humorous to deeply spiritual... You sort of have to go with the flow...

photo: Wikipedia

Yep, above, that's Armand Vaillancourt... His approach is to combine art with nature... His fountain is a trip... Don't trip and fall in...

I have two other Vaillancourt Fountain photos today over on the DailyDuo.

February 02, 2009

Marvelous Marin County

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photo by Donald Kinney

Some day, when you're wondering what in the heck Marin County is all about, just remember that Marin County is the place the Golden Gate Bridge takes people. There must be a reason... Must be some sort of secret or something...

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photo by Donald Kinney

Now, don't base your judgement of Marin County on the upperscale waterside hamlet of Sausalito, but it's a popular place to bring your sweetheart and a pocket full of cash or plastic...

You can buy a blast-from-the-past at the Mark Ruben gallery. But beware of Mr. Ruben -- he just might turn you upside down and shake out any loose coins in your pocket if you don't buy something...

But there is one gallery in Sausalito that will make your trip worth while... The photo gallery of Rodney Lough, right in the center of town. He's got some beautiful and large photos of nature and wilderness -- really stunning work -- the guy is really good. No foolin'...

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Your comments are invited and welcome.

February 01, 2009

that "homey" feeling

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photo by Donald Kinney

That's the San Rafael to Richmond Bridge in the foreground. The Oakland to San Francisco Bridge -- what we call the "Bay Bridge" -- is beyond...

Oh, I think both bridges have official names, but nobody ever uses them... And hey, no problem if you reverse the names -- Oakland to S.F. Bridge with S.F. to Oakland Bridge -- everybody is going to know what you're talking about...

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photo by Donald Kinney

It's rather pleasurable to experience that "cozy" and "homey" feeling while walking through the San Francisco neighborhoods... This is a quiet street in Noe Valley.

January 31, 2009

art at our feet

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photo by Donald Kinney

You can go ahead and quote me on this -- art is at our feet...

January 30, 2009

City Hall in Davies Hall window

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photo by Donald Kinney

Sometimes a guy can find the most beautiful things just by walking down the street...

January 29, 2009

name your poison

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photo by Donald Kinney

I think it's kind of interesting all the things l i g h t does to things...

January 28, 2009

Chinatown sights and smells

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photo by Donald Kinney

You never quite know what you're going to see around the next corner in Chinatown, but usually you can smell it coming...

January 27, 2009

Chinatown Bank

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photo by Donald Kinney

As a little boy I can remember my parents explaining that Chinese buildings had the ends of their eaves turned-up in spiraly curves to ward off evil spirits -- to give the evil spirits a more difficult path to follow...

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photo by Donald Kinney

What always strikes me when I walk through Chinatown is the tremendous amount of vegetables the Chinese consume. And they usually buy their produce fresh each day.

If they stop-by the fish market they can take home something that came out of the waters just off the coast and is still flopping around in the last moments of death... Sorry, I don't have a fish photo this time because the lady told me "no pictures, o.k.?"... Well I've been warned before. They really don't want you taking photos of their fish market. One day the shortest Chinamen that I've ever encountered told me in the most booming voice, NO PICTURES in Mandarin. Now, I don't speak Mandarin, but I understood exactly what he was saying...

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photo by Donald Kinney

Often I feel like I'm the only "white" person when I explore the sidewalks of Chinatown... It must be similar to what a person of color or a different national-origin must feel when he is immersed in a pool of people not of his own ethnicity... It kind of a strange feeling... I really can't explain it very well...

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Your comments are invited and welcome.

January 26, 2009

Lilly Pad, Lilly Lake, Mt. Tam.

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photo by Donald Kinney

I was going to save these for Valentine's Day, but here you go...

If you ever were to do some exploring on the Bolinas-to-Fairfax Road on the northern flank of Mount Tamalpais here in Marin County, you would find -- amongst redwoods, fir, laurel, and madrone -- a little land-locked lake with no outlet, except for the porosity of the soil. And you won't find any sign, and I've never seen it on any map. One time I asked a friend what the name of that little lake with all the lilly pads in it and horsetails on it's banks was, and they said: "Well, Don, I think they must call it Lilly Lake". --And so it will be... --Amen...

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photo by Donald Kinney

You won't find many frogs this time of year in Lilly Lake, but in other seasons this is their paradise. If you are very stealthy you can approach them fairly close, but as soon as the detect the presence of an intruder one gives a "danger-chirp" and they all hop back in the water and wait for you to go away...

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photo by Donald Kinney

The Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road will remain closed from Alpine Dam to Ridgecrest Boulevard for yet another month while they are building retaining walls in various locations to keep the road from slipping off the side of the mountain.

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January 25, 2009

mossy tree, Mt. Tamalpais

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photo by Donald Kinney

With the little bit of rain and drizzle we've been getting here in Marin County the past several days, the vegetation that enjoys this type of weather, such as ferns and moss, has perked up and is standing tall.

Even seldom seen newts are out and about... They're slow movers, about six inches in length, with caucasion-flesh colored skin. My knowledge is limited, but I believe this particular variety is an endangered species.

If I had been just a bit faster in setting up my camera I would have been able to snap a newt ambulating v e r y s l o w l y between these two trees. Oh, I guess I could have retrieved the creature and placed him back inside the area of the photo, but I really don't think the mysterious little guy needed some uncouth human messing with his or her enjoyment of a perfect day in the soggy forest.

SPECIAL EDITION
First, make sure your sound isn't turned way up, then
mouse-over keys for animal sounds --
or click on key to repeat 3 times...
Keys are draggable to the right side to create key combinations.

I made this with Flash6 two or three years ago.

CLICK to visit my Daily-Duo.
CLICK to visit KittyBLOG -- the daily doings of my cat.
CLICK for what I call my BIG site.

Your comments are invited and welcome.

January 24, 2009

raining, pouring, snoring

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photo by Donald Kinney

((( Now, this splash isn't exactly rain, but I think I hear Peter, Paul and Mary in there somewhere )))

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring
Bumped his head and he went to bed
and he couldn't get up in the morning
Rain rain, go away, come again some other day.

(Spoken)
"Hey! I got an idea ... we could all play hide and go seek inside,
now everybody hide and I'll be it!"

Star light, star bright,
first star I see tonight,
wish I may, wish I might,
have the wish I wish tonight.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring
Bumped his head and he went to bed
and he couldn't get up in the morning
Rain rain, go away, come again some other day.

Five, Ten, Fifteen, Twenty.
Twenty-five, Thirty, Thirty-Five, Forty.

Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home.
Your house is on fire, and your children,
they will burn, They will burn.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring
Bumped his head and he went to bed
and he couldn't get up in the morning
Rain rain, go away, come again some other day.

Forty-Five, Fifty, Fifty-five, Sixty.
Sixty-five Seventy, Seventy-five eighty.

I won't be my father's Jack,
no, I won't be my mother's Jill,
I'll be a fiddler's wife and fiddle when I will.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring
Bumped his head and he went to bed
and he couldn't get up in the morning
Rain rain, go away, come again some other day.

Eighty-Five, Ninety, Ninety-five, a Hundred.

(Spoken) Anyone 'round my base is it! Ready or not, here I come!

(Spoken) Olie Olie In Free!

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CLICK to visit my Daily-Duo.
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Your comments are invited and welcome.