Black Oaks of Back Ranch Meadows

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photo by Donald Kinney

On weekends hundreds of mountain-bikers descend on Back Ranch Meadows at my beloved China Camp. The best strategy for not getting run over is to stay out of their way.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Better yet, I like to visit on a weekdays, when the majority of the speed-demons are safely back at work. Quiet enough to hear a bird chirp. Peaceful enough to imagine the Miwok Indians who once lived here, who might have enjoyed the spreading branches of this same Black Oak, albeit a bit smaller a century or more ago.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

from Mt. Tamalpais -- looking West

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photo by Donald Kinney

In school I got in trouble more than once for detaching myself from the current situation by staring out the classroom windows towards an interesting, or even plain vanilla sky.



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photo by Donald Kinney

So here I am, a half century later, still staring out into the sky and being absorbed by clouds, or even no clouds at all. The sky holds secrets. I try to listen carefully.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

morning on Tam, and not another human in sight

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photo by Donald Kinney

Hey, don't get me wrong--I like people--oodles and bunches, but there are times--here and there, when I can most certainly do without. Yes, you guessed right--I never married.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And to think that I can spend these quiet times by myself--all alone, in perfect harmony with my surroundings, well, it is pure and unadulterated bliss. Welcome to MY world.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

the grand view -- plus a few traces of humans

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photo by Donald Kinney

That, my friends, is the "Whoop-de-Whoop" bridge in the background. Apparently great numbers of autos and trucks need to get back and forth between San Rafael and Richmond--I wouldn't be able to tell you why.



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photo by Donald Kinney

That is just steam belching forth from Chevron Refinery, but it was a different story on August 6, 2012 when a cloud of noxious gas and smoke (see below) sent thousands to East Bay hospitals.


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photo by Donald Kinney


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sunrise -- a three bean salad

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photo by Donald Kinney

1 (16-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can cut green beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can cut golden wax beans, drained



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photo by Donald Kinney

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1/2 cup vegetable oil (((Paula Deen's recipe, by the way)))
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Greek seasoning (((and/or a few racial slurs about Greeks)))



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photo by Donald Kinney

In a medium bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.
In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, and Greek seasoning. Pour over bean mixture; cover and chill 4 hours, (((cussing occasionally))).


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

Rodeo Beach -- getting there is half the fun

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photo by Donald Kinney

A more organized photographer would consult tide and weather charts and maybe even pack a dry pair of socks, but most of the time I prefer to just arrive casually at my beloved Rodeo Beach with no formal expectations.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And besides, getting there is half the fun... Two routes will take me there...
1) Conzelman Road hugs the coast from the Golden Gate Bridge, up and over Hawk Hill, then and out to Pt. Bonita Lighthouse. From there, I just follow my nose to Rodeo Beach.
2) The old one-way dark and dank tunnel, a military remnant (above), crosses deeply under Highway-101 and Slacker Ridge. From there, I just follow my nose to Rodeo Beach.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

a big and colorful mess

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photo by Donald Kinney

As I like to say; "I swam in colors", but more accurately I was chief cook and bottle-washer for a number of years at an obscure paint factory--a rather microscopic company in size, but big on color. (We made a textile printing ink called Versatex) Oh lord, could I ever make a colorful mess.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Spectators with a front row seat. Swimming in subtle colors of a new day.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

my little feathered friends at Loch Lomond Harbor

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photo by Donald Kinney

I should know them all by name by now, we've become such good friends.



cartoon misappropriated from Gary Larson, the Far Side

As you might know, Daffy and Donald keep busy doing-nothing-all-day.



Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

Lagunitas Creek -- flowing with rapid abandon

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photo by Donald Kinney

Still no rain, but our Marin Municipal Water District knows how to follow the rules to-the-letter-of-the-law, and the requirements are----this time of year the normally gentle and bucolic creek needs to be flowing at a rapid rate.



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photo by Donald Kinney

It is all in aid of the endangered Coho Salmon, and due to the many coastal improvements-of-man, the Lagunitas is one of the last remaining places where these fish can still spawn.

But the fact remains----after spending 2 years at sea, the Coho Salmon won't begin their return to their birthplace until after a large, gushing, and torrential rain--which we would be having right now if our weather held to normal patterns. It might be a while before we see rain.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I managed to snap this Coho Salmon (above) December 2011.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

and still no rain in sight

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photo by Donald Kinney

We've had a few pretty bad years of drought in the 40+ years I've lived here, and our current dry skies are nothing more than disappointing. As good of a source as any--the Farmer's Almanac predicts a wet February.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The usually submerged bridge on the "old road" (above, on right) is what locals use to visually keep track of the water level. Seeger Dam, built in the mid-1960's created what you DON'T see here--a big lake, as a back-up to the other 6 reservoirs in the Marin Municipal Water District system.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Watermarks on the new roadway rocks show the normal level of the lake.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book   

twists and turns of a curvaceous lake

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photo by Donald Kinney

I'll give you all the details tomorrow--but the lake at Nicasio is shrinking.



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photo by Donald Kinney

She is still a moody and curvaceous body of water--just a whole lot less.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book

Sunrise, a recurring theme

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photo by Donald Kinney

A recent yellow sunrise; tall and wide. Ducks and birds; few and distant...



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photo by Donald Kinney

Red sunrise; skinny and wide from a week ago, with all the usual suspects.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book

San Francisco, on strings and wires

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photo by Donald Kinney

For the moon, it was a high-wire peek-a-boo act on Tuesday morning...



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photo by Donald Kinney

And as for Circle-TV, they've been keeping a low-profile recently...


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book

early morning walk-around above Northbeach

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photo by Donald Kinney

San Francisco, under the right conditions, can be as colorful as candy. But...



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photo by Donald Kinney

ask any local paint store for a gallon of "San Francisco" and they'll probably know the color well--its a mixture of many rather muted and drab tones.


Photographing Marin County - the exhibit and book