Finding wildness however I can
Tis the eve before my last weekend trip down to San Francisco, and I realized I never reported on the trip over the Fourth of July weekend. That shall be quickly be amended. In general, I am very grateful that my pen job and jay chasing have been malleable enough to permit me several jaunts down to the Bay over the course of the summer.
Friday (hurrah for three-day weekends for people with normal jobs)
PunNinja and I took a bus to a county park, so that we could get into the foot of the foothills. Once we found a way off the main drag (I've never seen a three-lane highway of paved paths before, complete with fencing) it was rather nice. There were scrub jays, tons of western fence lizards, several hawks (both red-tailed and red-shouldered) and an nice overlook. We drifted to opposite sides of the overlook: I was taking pictures of the forested hills to the west, while PunNinja faced east snapping shots of the gleaming sprawl of silicon valley. Figures. I convinced him to take the long way back, which turned out to hold the best sightings- a gopher snake lazing right on the path and a family of quail. California Quaaaaaiil! With mum and dad with their head-bobs and four itty-bitty scampering chicks! And just as we were leaving the park, I gasped in delight at the sight of two Acorn Woodpeckers! They were hanging out in a larder tree, muttering as they touched up the rows of acorn-sized holes in the branches.
That night we were perhaps overly ambitious with the cooking, sauteing mushrooms in wine and stir-frying vegetables and tofu and rice. I forget why we decided to turn it into a big stew (saving the winy mushrooms for later), but we did and I threw some dumpling batter on top and it was hearty and delicious. Plus we made a cheesecake.
Saturday
We went to the theater to see UP. It was cute, classic Pixar. Besides their skill with animation, I heartily admire their comedic timing. The suspense building is pretty good too. Maybe it just comes with the power of frame-by-frame creation. Outside the theater there were warning signs for burrowing owls, so I just had to look through the fields. No owls, but plenty of burrows and California ground squirrels.
Later we packed stew and cheesecake and walked down the creek trail toward the bay. There were a lot of bikes and walkers heading in the same direction, off to see the town fireworks display. We didn't know exactly where the fireworks would be shot off from, but found a nice grassy, wind-whipped spot by the water that seemed appropriate. However, the crowd had dwindled to just the two of us. There was a certain level of uncertainty. Darkness fell, and we could see soundless displays all along the shoreline. We counted eleven different displays, but no sign of the local show. Twas puzzling... fireworks are not the easiest thing to hide. At 9:30 we started to head back; almost immediately the nearby sky was filled with blue and green light and my ears crackled. It was a delightfully satisfactory show.
Sunday
Science Museum Day! But first we went to the farmers market. Then we cooked crepes stuffed with berries and quark. Then we realized we wouldn't have time to do the science museum justice. So we headed up to San Francisco with no plans of what to do when we got there. Not my typical approach, but PunNinja's iPhone made it incredibly simple. Fie on you, iPhone, with your insipid usefulness. We met up with AlwaysRight at Golden Gate Park, who I haven't seen since graduation. Very pleasant wanderings about the gardens, and I met a very tolerant Great Egret. Afterward, PunNinja and I went on a quest to find the Golden Gate Bridge, which required extensive wandering. It seems access to the ocean views are limited because people like to put houses there. Ultimately we got a view of the bridge, then one-upped ourselves by locating stairs down to a beach. Complete with Black Oystercatchers and sand in my boots. Another fine day, ending with frying up tempura vegetables and being too tired to eat much of it.
Friday (hurrah for three-day weekends for people with normal jobs)
PunNinja and I took a bus to a county park, so that we could get into the foot of the foothills. Once we found a way off the main drag (I've never seen a three-lane highway of paved paths before, complete with fencing) it was rather nice. There were scrub jays, tons of western fence lizards, several hawks (both red-tailed and red-shouldered) and an nice overlook. We drifted to opposite sides of the overlook: I was taking pictures of the forested hills to the west, while PunNinja faced east snapping shots of the gleaming sprawl of silicon valley. Figures. I convinced him to take the long way back, which turned out to hold the best sightings- a gopher snake lazing right on the path and a family of quail. California Quaaaaaiil! With mum and dad with their head-bobs and four itty-bitty scampering chicks! And just as we were leaving the park, I gasped in delight at the sight of two Acorn Woodpeckers! They were hanging out in a larder tree, muttering as they touched up the rows of acorn-sized holes in the branches.
That night we were perhaps overly ambitious with the cooking, sauteing mushrooms in wine and stir-frying vegetables and tofu and rice. I forget why we decided to turn it into a big stew (saving the winy mushrooms for later), but we did and I threw some dumpling batter on top and it was hearty and delicious. Plus we made a cheesecake.
Saturday
We went to the theater to see UP. It was cute, classic Pixar. Besides their skill with animation, I heartily admire their comedic timing. The suspense building is pretty good too. Maybe it just comes with the power of frame-by-frame creation. Outside the theater there were warning signs for burrowing owls, so I just had to look through the fields. No owls, but plenty of burrows and California ground squirrels.
Later we packed stew and cheesecake and walked down the creek trail toward the bay. There were a lot of bikes and walkers heading in the same direction, off to see the town fireworks display. We didn't know exactly where the fireworks would be shot off from, but found a nice grassy, wind-whipped spot by the water that seemed appropriate. However, the crowd had dwindled to just the two of us. There was a certain level of uncertainty. Darkness fell, and we could see soundless displays all along the shoreline. We counted eleven different displays, but no sign of the local show. Twas puzzling... fireworks are not the easiest thing to hide. At 9:30 we started to head back; almost immediately the nearby sky was filled with blue and green light and my ears crackled. It was a delightfully satisfactory show.
Sunday
Science Museum Day! But first we went to the farmers market. Then we cooked crepes stuffed with berries and quark. Then we realized we wouldn't have time to do the science museum justice. So we headed up to San Francisco with no plans of what to do when we got there. Not my typical approach, but PunNinja's iPhone made it incredibly simple. Fie on you, iPhone, with your insipid usefulness. We met up with AlwaysRight at Golden Gate Park, who I haven't seen since graduation. Very pleasant wanderings about the gardens, and I met a very tolerant Great Egret. Afterward, PunNinja and I went on a quest to find the Golden Gate Bridge, which required extensive wandering. It seems access to the ocean views are limited because people like to put houses there. Ultimately we got a view of the bridge, then one-upped ourselves by locating stairs down to a beach. Complete with Black Oystercatchers and sand in my boots. Another fine day, ending with frying up tempura vegetables and being too tired to eat much of it.