There and back

Getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend in California. Highlights: a sunset walk in Oakland's Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve; frolicking dogs on the shoreline near the Golden Gate Bridge; a meander in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. And, of course, a walk down to "the ranch," our old family property outside Confidence (pictured above). 

Little red barn

Oh, the colors, the blue sky: what a boost to the spirit on this gray and drizzly New York day.

At ease

For the past week, I've been with family in the Sierra Nevada. I've been completely off the grid -- with limited phone and Internet access -- but will return to New York imminently. Until then, staring at some lovely detailed shots I took, like this closeup of a knob on the easel my great-grandfather used and passed on to my grandmother.

Catch o' the day

I was browsing old issues of Sunset Magazine on Google Books, and I happened upon a story about  fishing on Santa Catalina Island in the publication's January 1901 edition. In "Rod, Reel and Gaff in Southern California," Charles F. Holder writes: "If the adventures of the tuna fishermen could be told it would make a volume of thrilling incidents." Would that he had recounted some of these incidents, rather than discussing the merits of rod and reel versus a hand-line! Nonetheless, the pictures are fantastic; the lady and her large tuna are a particular favorite. (My family, it should be noted, would likely argue that the only good fishing is fly fishing, and that the best place to do it is on a quiet little stretch of the Tuolumne.)