Mission Bay Crabapples


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Mission Bay

On Tuesday D. and I did an errand in San Francisco, and then we strolled around the eerily deserted streets (due to so many observing Shelter In Place; and yes, we wore masks) of the Mission Bay neighborhood for a while, and I took a few pics.

The park at Mission Bay Commons.


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Flowering Crabapple


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Hakone Gardens Part 1

On Saturday D. and I paid a visit to Hakone Estate and Gardens, one of the oldest Japanese gardens in the Western Hemisphere.  Here is Part 1 of some of the pics I took while we were there (see Part 2 here).

Crabapples festoon branches outside the formal main gate.


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Flowering Crabapple


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Making Tule Rope The Ohlone Way

On Sunday D. and I went to a workshop at the National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso to learn how the Ohlone Indians utilized the abundant tule rushes (a type of giant sedge that grows around the shores of San Francisco Bay) to make rope the way they did when they lived in this area for thousands of years before ( Read more... )

Pioneer Park In Bloom

On Sunday D. and I went downtown to look at the flowering trees and other things in Pioneer Park, and I took these pics.

Flowering cherry (Prunus subhirtella).


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Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, Los AltosOn Sunday, D. and I investigated the Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in neighboring Los Altos. In the middle of town, Adobe Creek flows through a 5.9-acre preserve filled with a very small grove of coast redwoods and other vegetation. A boardwalk trail winds through the preserve, which includes picnic ( Read more... )

Villa Montalvo 2

On Sunday D. and I went back to Villa Montalvo to see what there was to see. Here's some of what we saw.

Here's a couple of pics D. took of some weird sculpture on the grounds.  It looks like a giant white dumbbell with portholes in it.


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