Halloween 2026

 As usual in October some photos of Halloween decor.

First is a picture I made in Santa Barbara (CA):  Headless Horseman. Actually he does have a head, just not where it normally is.

This Red Girl I found in a local Home Depot:

Here is very non-traditional way to attract homebuyers:

 

That may work as the bus stop. Not sure if these riders ever will get on any bus:

What a Witch!

Happy Halloween!

Ardea Herodias (Great Blue Heron)

 

 I pictured this magnificent bird recently in Berkeley Marina.  It absolutely was not afraid of people. I literally walk around him and make several shots with telephoto lens of my Pixel 9 Pro. 

I am not good at bird watching  and could not  name exactly what this creature is. But with help of  AI it is not a problem nowadays. Here what Gemini told me about this bird:

This is a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias).

Key Identifying Features:

• Size & Build: A large wading bird with a long, S-shaped neck, long legs, and a heavy, dagger-like yellow bill.

• Plumage: Predominantly slate-gray plumage overall, with subtle reddish-brown or chestnut highlights on the shoulders/thighs.

• Head Markings: White crown with a dark black stripe extending above the eye into slender head plumes at the back of the head.

Willys Jeep

 Eventually I met him. For a long time I wanted to meet the real Willys Jeep - a legendary 1/4-ton 4x4 light utility vehicle from WWII era. Two times I was close:

Frist time it was indeed Willys from WWII era but not a Jeep, just 

Willys Truck

Second time it was Jeep like car  from  WWII era but not Willys:

International Harvester

But look what  I found a week ago at the parking plaza of local Ace Hardware store.

Owner was not around and I did not have  much time to wait. So I made one more picture from the front...

.

 

And one more picture from behind.

Running the search through Gemini confirmed that car is: 

"a vintage Willys CJ-2A (or early CJ-3A) "Flatfender" Jeep, built roughly between 1945 and 1953.

It distinct features are:

• Flatfender Body Design: Flat front fenders and flat hood, characteristic of early civilian Willys Jeeps.

• Custom Modifications: It has been modified for off-roading or work duties, featuring a front-mounted winch, aftermarket white spoke wheels with aggressive off-road tires, and modified seats."

Search did not tell anything special about the owner of the car. License plate was the regular California plate. Owner probably was not public figure: just private enthusiast or community member who maintains and drives the vintage Willys.

But why so unusual color for the Jeep.  Actually there is historic precedent:

Ronald Reagan's 1962 Willys CJ-6: The most famous red Willys Jeep in California history belonged to former President Ronald Reagan. He drove it around his ranch, Rancho del Cielo, near Santa Barbara, California. His Jeep is now a preserved historic artifact in the National Historic Vehicle Register.

  

Victorian, Edwardian, and Modern

 

Here are Painted Ladies of San Francisco (all seven of them). Pictures like this sold as postcards, wall calendars, freezer magnets etc. They are symbol of San Francisco as much as Golden Gate Bridge, Colt Tower  or Ferry Building.    

But it would be  not fair to say that the  name: "Painted Ladies" applied only to these seven. There are many other houses from Victorian or Edwardian times which are  painted in bright, joyful colors. Like this house at the corner of Franklin  and California.

Or these two. They are a  more modest, but still beautiful. 

There are many thousands  houses which were built during Victorian or Edwardian eras (second half of nineteen  or beginning  of twentieth century). A lot of them were destroyed in 1906 by infamous earthquake and subsequent fire.  But some survived and/or were restored. As of now there are around forty eight thousand homes from that time. And name "Painted Lady" could be  applied to most of them.  But  were they aways known  under such a name? Absolutely not. Here is Haas–Lilienthal House   (2007 Franklin Street). It was originally built  in 1886 by merchant William Haas. It survived earthquake and stayed with Haas family for almost one hundred years. In 1972 Haas descendants donated this home to the public. 

I believe this house now looks  approximately the same way  it looked in 1886 (apart of the fact that there were no cars in front, maybe horse carriages). While house looks magnificent, its colors are very modest compare to Painted Ladies.   San Francisco houses got there bright paint covers in sixties and seventies. Until that most of them were panted in grey (right after end  of WWII   there was surplus of grey paint originally  used for navy ships). To ruminate this topic a little more I would like to present you this photo: 

On the left you see the house which could be qualified as Painted Lady (not brightest of them but close enough). On the right there is the house painted mostly in grey with small white touch.  That, probably, how most Victorian homes looked after WWII. And in the middle you can see well known Tetris House. It was renovated by professional artist  Xavi Panneton   in 2023 and it represents latest trend in house decoration of San Francisco. Most likely we will see more of that in the nearest future.

And some  more photos which show that street art could be applied even to  dull utilitarian modern building...  

... or  to the means of transportation.

Waymo Ride

 

Eventually I made my fist Waymo ride. Waymo robotic taxi  now operates in ten cities in USA including San Francisco. But in my  home town on East Bay it is not available yet.  To give the ride some sense we decided to visit De Young museum by public transit: ride on BART to San Francisco downtown and from there  take Waymo to Golden Gate Park.

Trip from corner of Market and 4-th street to De Young  (<4 miles) cost us $26. Taxi trip would be probably more but Lift or Uber should be less.

I ordered ride by Waymo Android app. It instructed us how to walk to to the place where robocar will pick us up. It was taxi  stand at the corner  of 4-th street. We waited about 10 minutes. When car arrived we came to car door and pop up app button asked me to push the button to unlock the car. After that handle moved out of the door, I opened the door  and we entered the car. For movement to start all passengers must buckle  up seatbelts.

The ride was fun. This Waymo can drive I would tell you. The only complain is the last part of the ride in the park. Due high traffic of pedestrians  and bicycles it was too slow. 

We would be better of to leave the car and just walk to the museum  but I had no idea how to convey our wish  to Waymo. So we patiently waited till car stopped near museum entry and let us  out.

Wild Turkey

 In a 1784 letter, Benjamin Franklin criticized the Bald Eagle as a national symbol, calling it a bird of "bad moral character" that is "lazy" and "cowardly" for stealing food from other birds. He favored the Wild Turkey, which he deemed a "more respectable bird," a "true original native of America," and a "bird of courage".

Here you see turkey walking next to the parking lot of Concord (CA) John Muir hospital. (Shot with Pixel 9 Pro telephoto lens). Indeed isn't it a time to change national symbol?

One more photo (profile view).

And here is the clip  (the same time and place).

Great Egret

 This picture I shot near Markham Arboretum in Concord, CA with Pixel 9 pro telephoto lens on March of 2026.

Roadside Picnic

 

I made this shot  two days ago (Google Pixel 6  Pro telephoto lens).

The End of 2025

 I wish everybody Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Here is the photo of  this year winter  light  installation in our home window :

And here is the video (in case you want to see some dynamic).

In addition two more snapshots I did recently. First one is from local Home Depot branch:

And second one is on some  front yard not far from our house:

 

Autumn Colors Mix

 Here are several  photos made recently in Markham Arboretum in Concord (CA). All photos shot with Pentax KP camera and DA Limited 35mm  lens.

The tree above is Peruvian peppertree also known as California Pepper Tree. It is native to South America but as you can see it prospers in Northern California  as well. 

According to  Google lens this is Banksia ericifolla - plant naive  to Australia. 

Angel's Trumpet & Cactus Fruits

 

I made picture below on neighboring street. I never saw such  flowers before.

Google lens helped me to identify the plant. It happened to be Angel's Trumpet or Brugmansia (that how  genus to which this plant belongs named according to corresponding Wikipedia article). It is native to South America but as you can see it grows in northern California quite well. Still you can seldom see it around. The reason is that this plant is poisonous. One can get poisoned just by simply trimming it. So not many people want to risk planting Angel's Trumpet. What kind of precaution this home owner uses  would be nice to know.   

Fall is in full swing now. Couple of photos below are of cactus bearing fresh fruits.  Looks nice!

 

Halloween 2025

 It is time to post again about Halloween decorations. Here is how our house window looks today.

This year my installation is mostly the same as it was previous year. I just did some minor update: added LED filaments  to edges of the Bat. And I changed background of the Ghost on the left. It is now transparent (not solid as it was  last year.)

Here are some more photos I have made in our neighborhood. Very likely most installations elements are  purchased ready. Still to blend it  into the yard  and arrange in to groups requires a lot of creativity.

Giant skeleton breaking out of the garden soil.

     Very sweet little company.

Theme utilizing the spider net is very common.

This Beast just waits for the Beauty.