Mr. Johnson died a few years ago, but he was certainly a salty and unique old character, and probably just as crusty as his oysters...   Years ago, when my parents were visiting, I took them on an outing to Johnson's Oyster Farms.   When Mr. Johnson figured out that my mother had no intention of buying any oysters, he tried his best to sell her a crab, but when he couldn't interest her in the crab either, he decided to at least try to scare her with it...   And he did, repeatedly, until he succeeded in sending my mother scurrying...

Aside from the nearby and ever-popular gun club, the sleepy little town of Birds Landing, in the Montezuma Hills, is a pretty quiet place.   Everything has stayed pretty much the same over the years, except that some damn fool painted over the beautiful weathered-wood siding of Mel's Tavern with some god-awful shade of blue, completely wrecking it's rustic character.

There is not a better way to start a bright and crisp day than from the top of Twin Peaks.

A while back this curious giant bow-and-arrow planted itself in a the ground at San Francisco's Embarcadero.

Salt Point is located about 40 miles south of Point Arena.   I would testify to the notion that this area is probably one of the most remote areas of the pacific coast.   The amazing feature here is the wierd and artistic shapes of eroding sandstone and conglomerate.   You'll actually find this type of sandstone all along the pacific coast, and one of the most famous places for this is Weston Beach at Point Lobos State Reserve, just south of Carmel.   The beach is named after a photographic ledgend and my all-time hero; Edward Weston.

Water is amazing...   That's about all I can say...

Little waterfall on a minor tributary of the Lagunitas Creek.

There is an unwritten rule that San Francisco residents never, never venture into the area of Fisherman's Wharf unless called to serve as tour-guide for visitors...   Yet the boats and salty air are real, and yes, fishermen still call the area home...

You'll find this old barn just up the road from the exceptionally quiet town of Birds Landing, in the Montezuma Hills at the base of the Sacramento Delta.

You'll find this impressive redwood trunk just beyond the far end of the meadow at Roy's Redwoods, Marin County, California.   See you there...

Vintage bay shrimp drying oven at China Camp, on San Pablo Bay, near San Rafael.

Poppy close-ups are fun because they often turn into little abstract works of art...

In another week or two, this creek at Roy's Redwoods will be reduced to a mere trickle...

Windmills, Montezuma Hills.
I've got to tell you that I was pissed when these silly things started popping up about 20 years ago up on my beloved Montezuma Hills.   Oh well...   Give them another 20 years and this whole 60 square miles of hilly beauty will almost certainly be replaced with thousands of ticky-tacky houses.   But for right now, few people know of this area, located at the base of the Sacramento Delta between Fairfield and Rio Vista.

Somewhere hidden, and almost impossible to find, and rarely stumbled upon, and rarely appreciated...
A quiet and gentle forest...

No, it's not the beginning of nuclear war, thank gods...

As far as it goes...  Lands end, Chimney Rock, Point Reyes

This is the busy little Dutra Company quarry, located at a now almost flat spot on San Pedro Point where a mighty hill full of valuable agregate once stood.   Eventually, in a few more years, this area will be thick with multi-million dollar homes.

Sunrise, Point San Pedro...

leaf in stream...
more leaves taking a plunge over at:   http://www.photoarrow.com/lc/leaves01loop.html

This picturesque boat has been netting bay shrimp at China Camp for many years.

A fine redwood at Roy's Redwoods.

Iris leaf deisgns are cool and soothing, yet dramatic, unusual, and exceedingly artistic...   all at the same time...

I've noticed that in Chinatown, they have a "hands on" approach to their food.

This time of year, folks flock to Chimney Rock at Pt. Reyes to observe the great display of wildflowers.
This is the trail.   It was a nice day...
I'll show you some of the wildflower photos later...

China Camp is a historic Chineese shrimping village on the shores of San Pablo Bay, just north of San Francisco.
To quote the plaque:
WA JEN HA LIO
One of the earliest and most productive Chineese fishing villages in California.   China Camp was in operation by 1870.   The Chineese immigrants and their descendants introcuced the use of commercial netting to catch bay shrimp off Point San Pedro.   The shrimp were then dried and exported to Chineese throughout the world.   China Camp represents the last surviving Chineese shrimp fishing village in California.
[California registered historical landmark #924]