A narrow gauge steam train engine at Oybin, Saxony, Germany. June 2022. 📷 #MBApr A vintage black steam narrow-gage locomotive with the number 991760-0 on a railroad track with steam coming out, a conductor standing by, and forested hills in the background. There are also additional railroad tracks to the left. Steam comes out of its front.

Last December, in Berlin, we went to the Ritter Sport store and bought what seemed like every chocolate bar except Crispy Banana. I kind of regret that. 📷 #MBApr The image shows chocolate bars with tropical-themed packaging from the brand ‘Ritter Sport.’ The flavor ‘Crispy Banana’ is visible on a green package with a toucan, and ‘Mango Maracuja’ on an orange package.

I was way more interested in the sunspot. Used the reverse binoculars projection method to aid in blindness prevention 📷 #MBApr #PartialEclipse 😆 Projection of a partial solar eclipse on a white surface, with shadows around the edges.

The occasional donut or two may not be genuinely super-duper essential to my well-being but they’re soo good in the moment! 📷 #MBApr Two doughnuts on a striped plate; one is a glazed twist and the other is chocolate-coated and covered with shredded coconut.

Here’s a windy 2019 August day at Coyote Point, just south of San Francisco International Airport. Some activities: plane spotting, kitesurfing, and cosplay (two of these I was not expecting) 📷 #MBApr Three kitesurfing kites flying above choppy bay water with two airlines above on approach to SFO, with a city skyline and hills partially obscured by fog in the distance.

Death Valley National Park can seem incredibly (and perhaps dangerously) serene 📷 #MBApr A dirt road cutting through a desolate desert landscape with no vegetation, under a clear blue sky with a few thin but opaque clouds.

Last weekend, fresh foliage adorn our stalwart oaks of Northern California. The interior coast range’s Snow Mountain looms in the background. 📷 #MBApr

A vibrant landscape with a grassy hill dotted with oak trees in the foreground and a snow-capped mountain in the background under a blue sky.

A M4.8 earthquake northeast of Chico just happened. I didn’t feel it. But my Raspberry Shake REALLY felt it. #RaspberryShake #California #Earthquake The image displays earthquake data visualization consisting of a map on the left and seismic waveforms on the right. The map shows a 4.5 magnitude earthquake in Northern California, with a red dot marking the epicenter near Chico, and the station 82 km southwest of there.

Ever played with Guinness themed cards at Lassen National Park? Eight years ago, we did! 📷 #MBApr A concrete bench top view of a hand of playing cards being held over a deck of Guinness-themed goose playing cards. The hand revealed includes a mix of hearts, clubs, and diamonds, with a focus on a Jack of clubs and a six of clubs prominently displayed. One card has a goose saying “My goodness, my Guinness.” Another shows Saint James Gate, “Home of Guinness”, opening up to a gaggle of animals including a Tucan, pelican, and kangaroo. There is a green suited man wearing a monocle.

Pear flowers! This year our two Asian pear trees bloomed simultaneously. Good bet they cross pollinated 📷 #MBApr Close-up of white pear blossoms on a branch with a blurred green background. A bee is visible on one of the flowers.

Absolutely massive earthquake in Taiwan. Detected by my Raspberry Shake seismometer. It was fortunately 35 km deep. Hoping for the best. #RaspberryShake #Earthquake #Taiwan Earthquake data visualization: a map indicating a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan with an epicenter depth of 35 km and a seismic wave detected 10344 km away in California, USA. The image includes a waveform graph showing seismic activity.

I’m going to try participating in micro.blog’s April photo challenge. So each day in April I’ll post one photo based on a word given by micro.blog. I’ve skipped the last few challenges.

This big espresso toy at Eddie World in Beatty, Nevada, is ridiculously complex! #MBApr An ornate espresso machine made of copper and brass with decorative elements, labeled “Sabre Room,” on top of a brick counter with bottled drinks visible in the background.

Flying Swallows are tough to photograph. They are speedy! Here’s an assortment of Cliff Swallows #Birds #BirdPhotography A bird in flight against a clear blue sky background. A single bird in flight against a clear sky background. A bird flying against a clear blue sky.

A single bird flying in a clear blue sky.

I never appreciated how electric ovens do not exhaust heat like gas ovens. This new oven of ours (with induction cooktop) will be nice during the summer. For the induction, there’s been a learning curve. Mostly that heat is instant and boiling is FAST. Using a pressure cooker is crazy efficient.

My watch today basically told me to breathe. There was no good reason for the surge of adrenaline at the start of a Teams call. If it weren’t for a beta blocker, my HR would have easily climbed above 120 BPM and I’d been hosed the rest of the day above 90. I’m unusually tired though.The image shows a smartwatch alert for a high heart rate, indicating a heart rate above 110 BPM while the wearer was inactive for 10 minutes starting at 13:03. The graphical part of the display illustrates the heart rate fluctuations over a period of 10 minutes.

Death Valley Road Trip Part 7

This is the last post in this Death Valley photo log. After the short hike at Mosaic Canyon, it began to rain pretty decently, so we headed back to Furnace Creek.

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Death Valley Road Trip Part 6

This is a slightly shorter post today for just Mosaic Canyon.

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Death Valley Road Trip Part 5

Most of the second full day at Death Valley! 

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Death Valley Road Trip Part 4

Following the lake at Badwater, we went reversed course to the north.

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Death Valley Road Trip Part 3

Continuing from the Stove-Pipe Wells village, we went to an actual Stove-Pipe Well just to the north.

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