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Mountains.103

Something of a love letter to the Sonoma County landscapes that feel more like home to me than most other parts of this beautiful world where I’ve lived or visited. All from a walk in early January. Probably most easily seen in “view full site” mode, if you’re on a phone or tablet, since the gallery below carries quite a few photos.

Posted by  |  July 1, 2026 | Categories: California, SF Bay Area, Sonoma & Napa, United States | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Lake Living.93

I believe this little lake was once a quarry. As seen during a morning bike ride in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. We’ve shown you another view of this lake once before.

Posted by  |  June 30, 2026 | Categories: Netherlands, Utrecht (Province &/or City) | Tags: | Leave a comment

Small Wonders.293

In the park area around the top of the Mt Dajti Cable cars near Tirana was this peacock showing off. During some of my LA-based years, I heard from friends who lived on the PV peninsula that the feral peacocks up there would now and then scratch up a shiny expensive sports car, because when they saw their reflection in the shiny surface, their attack – the – rival instincts were activated.

Posted by  |  June 29, 2026 | Categories: Albania, The Balkans | Tags: , | Leave a comment

City Views.283

Tirana: parliament building to the right, main mosque to the left. Steve pondered what the contrast between the two might indicate. Amongst images in the gallery below is the monument to Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Posted by  |  June 28, 2026 | Categories: Albania, The Balkans | Tags: | Leave a comment

County Views.183

San Mateo County, back in January.

Posted by  |  June 28, 2026 | Categories: California, SF Bay Area, United States | Leave a comment

Urban Entrances.183

Yesterday evening, biking home from the office via Vondelpark. Even on hot days, there are reasons to stop and enjoy the views 🙂

Posted by  |  June 27, 2026 | Categories: Netherlands, North Holland & Amsterdam | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Ah, Royalty.83

We’re back to Tsar Samuel’s Fortress, at the top of a lovely hill overlooking Ohrid City. The passage of time is evident in the nature of this building, and in the fact that it’s nearly two months since I first showed you this lovely location and well over a month since I returned to my regular work life in A’dam. The photos we showed in that prior post came from our first visit, when the fortress was closed. As you’ll see, on the day we could go in, the weather was a good deal moodier :-).

Posted by  |  June 27, 2026 | Categories: Macedonia R.N., The Balkans | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Longest Beach.73

Posted by  |  June 26, 2026 | Categories: Bangladesh | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Longest Beach.72

Posted by  |  June 26, 2026 | Categories: Bangladesh | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Ah, Royalty.82

That’s a bust of the last emperor of Germany, with the house here in NL where he lived his last decades in exile in the background. Various photos and trinkets from the interior, including if you choose to look closely a photo taken the year before WWI started, at someone royal’s wedding in Berlin, at which most crowned heads and other non-crowned heads of state and / or government from European states which would soon be losing a generation of lives and a great deal of money in that war, were all at the same dinner table in apparent ease and peace. Since I happened to be there a few weeks after US tax dollars began flooding out of the accounts for more war and destruction again instead of education and healthcare, this struck me, somehow, as another example of simple lessons of history that seem never to settle in the brains of our voting publics or those they choose to elect. There’s also a fascinating little toilet cupboard of sorts, probably installed so as to avoid a bigger remodel or something?

Posted by  |  June 25, 2026 | Categories: Netherlands, Utrecht (Province &/or City) | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Lake Living.92

Above, the side-canyon neighborhood of Trpejca where we spent 10 days. Below, a bunch of other shots from the shores of Lake Ohrid.

Posted by  |  June 24, 2026 | Categories: Macedonia R.N., The Balkans | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Small Wonders.292

Posted by  |  June 23, 2026 | Categories: Albania, The Balkans | Tags: | 1 Comment

City Views.282

All from in and around Skanderberg square in the center of Tirana. Amazing that it’s already a month ago that we finished those lovely two weeks in the Balkans.

Posted by  |  June 22, 2026 | Categories: Albania, The Balkans | Tags: | Leave a comment

County Views.182

Ah, I do miss those rolling hills of Sonoma County…and the local produce 🙂

Posted by  |  June 21, 2026 | Categories: California, SF Bay Area, Sonoma & Napa, United States | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

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Urban Entrances.182

Posted by  |  June 21, 2026 | Categories: Macedonia R.N., The Balkans | Tags: | Leave a comment