Cooley Landing
Cooley Landing
On Sunday D. and I returned to Cooley Landing to see how far it's come in being developed from an abandoned property into a public park, and I took these pics.
Here we are, at Cooley Landing.
Treasure? There's a landfill underneath, full of lead, mercury and PCBs.
The north side, free of graffiti.
It's low tide today. The mud flats go on forever.
A willet patrols the mud looking for small crabs, worms, clams and other invertebrates to eat.
Northern shoveler ducks are also foraging in the mud.
A look to the Diablo Range across San Francisco Bay.
A gull flies overhead with what looks to be a sole in its beak.
Litter in the north side of the building.
Wilson!
The chain-link fence around the abandoned boat repair facility has no barbed wire atop it.
A big blue gum near the south jetty.
Floof.
Looking at the abandoned building's south side (it looked like this in March 2011, before restoration began).
A mussel in the low-tide mud.
Another willet looking for something to eat in the mud.
There is a lot of junk in the mud.
A Piper Archer plane goes overhead, taking off from Palo Alto Airport nearby.
A section of the Bay Trail passes along here, and there is art underfoot featuring native species.
Another look at the abandoned building.
You can see how much they treasure the place.
Gumplant glows in the afternoon sun.
Dried yarrow flower head.
Have I mentioned it's low tide?
Looking back at the abandoned boat works building from the tip of the south jetty.
More northern shovelers grazing for tiny invertebrates in the mud
Solar-powered lights near the parking area.
An American kestrel perches on a light. They prey on insects and other invertebrates, as well as small rodents, reptiles and birds.
Out in the pickleweed on the south side is an alkali sink, a small depression in which water evaporation produces high salt concentrations that support salt marsh vegetation. This one holds a small amount of rainfall, forming a vernal pool.
Oxalis.
Power lines stride across the salt marsh into adjacent Ravenswood Open Space Preserve.
Bubbles in a small pool in the pickleweed are evidence of microbial activity.
Similar bubbles occurred under a thick sheet of algae, which froze the bubbles when it dried out.
A bleached-out milk snail shell in the pickleweed.
A golf ball in the pickleweed.
Heading back toward the parking area, we see a fire hydrant appearing to molt.
So many rules. One could learn Spanish by studying the sign.
Another decorated section of the trail.
Next to the parking lot, a daisy stretches toward the sinking afternoon sun as we head for home.
.
On Sunday D. and I returned to Cooley Landing to see how far it's come in being developed from an abandoned property into a public park, and I took these pics.
Here we are, at Cooley Landing.
Treasure? There's a landfill underneath, full of lead, mercury and PCBs.
The north side, free of graffiti.
It's low tide today. The mud flats go on forever.
A willet patrols the mud looking for small crabs, worms, clams and other invertebrates to eat.
Northern shoveler ducks are also foraging in the mud.
A look to the Diablo Range across San Francisco Bay.
A gull flies overhead with what looks to be a sole in its beak.
Litter in the north side of the building.
Wilson!
The chain-link fence around the abandoned boat repair facility has no barbed wire atop it.
A big blue gum near the south jetty.
Floof.
Looking at the abandoned building's south side (it looked like this in March 2011, before restoration began).
A mussel in the low-tide mud.
Another willet looking for something to eat in the mud.
There is a lot of junk in the mud.
A Piper Archer plane goes overhead, taking off from Palo Alto Airport nearby.
A section of the Bay Trail passes along here, and there is art underfoot featuring native species.
Another look at the abandoned building.
You can see how much they treasure the place.
Gumplant glows in the afternoon sun.
Dried yarrow flower head.
Have I mentioned it's low tide?
Looking back at the abandoned boat works building from the tip of the south jetty.
More northern shovelers grazing for tiny invertebrates in the mud
Solar-powered lights near the parking area.
An American kestrel perches on a light. They prey on insects and other invertebrates, as well as small rodents, reptiles and birds.
Out in the pickleweed on the south side is an alkali sink, a small depression in which water evaporation produces high salt concentrations that support salt marsh vegetation. This one holds a small amount of rainfall, forming a vernal pool.
Oxalis.
Power lines stride across the salt marsh into adjacent Ravenswood Open Space Preserve.
Bubbles in a small pool in the pickleweed are evidence of microbial activity.
Similar bubbles occurred under a thick sheet of algae, which froze the bubbles when it dried out.
A bleached-out milk snail shell in the pickleweed.
A golf ball in the pickleweed.
Heading back toward the parking area, we see a fire hydrant appearing to molt.
So many rules. One could learn Spanish by studying the sign.
Another decorated section of the trail.
Next to the parking lot, a daisy stretches toward the sinking afternoon sun as we head for home.
.