Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Francisco. Show all posts
September 18, 2013
Fog and Presidio
I took Poppy on an early morning walk through the very foggy Presidio. The combination of light and fog created the opportunity for some nice images.
June 14, 2013
May 23, 2013
Thursday
On this morning, we go, once again, to the Presidio for a morning walk. In thinking of my favorite places on Earth, I would add this grove of trees to the list. Come to think of it, nearly all of my favorite places are set in the woods. There is a wooded gully at Fair Hill in Maryland, on the Orange trail, that I would also include and a grove of giant trees growing amongst giant boulders in a small forest along The Golden Bay of the South Island of New Zealand. I get to see these places often, except New Zealand, but I promised myself I would go back there someday. These places are like old friends, I am humbled by them and they remind me of who I am.
On this morning, we go, once again, to the Presidio for a morning walk. In thinking of my favorite places on Earth, I would add this grove of trees to the list. Come to think of it, nearly all of my favorite places are set in the woods. There is a wooded gully at Fair Hill in Maryland, on the Orange trail, that I would also include and a grove of giant trees growing amongst giant boulders in a small forest along The Golden Bay of the South Island of New Zealand. I get to see these places often, except New Zealand, but I promised myself I would go back there someday. These places are like old friends, I am humbled by them and they remind me of who I am.
June 13, 2013
May 18, 2013
Saturday
We played tourists today in a different neighborhood of San Francisco - Bernal Heights. It feels more "neighborhoody" than any other neighborhood I have been to here. We made our way through the streets and shops and parks on a lovely, warm day. The park here is a huge, windswept hill covered in long grass with amazing views of the city. Almost every person has a dog with them. I could live here. What concerns me is the how brittle, baked and dry the hills are already. It is just mid-May but everything has already turned brown.
We played tourists today in a different neighborhood of San Francisco - Bernal Heights. It feels more "neighborhoody" than any other neighborhood I have been to here. We made our way through the streets and shops and parks on a lovely, warm day. The park here is a huge, windswept hill covered in long grass with amazing views of the city. Almost every person has a dog with them. I could live here. What concerns me is the how brittle, baked and dry the hills are already. It is just mid-May but everything has already turned brown.
May 17, 2013
Friday
I am reaching the end of my limit of the same dog walking route.
Why the same route every day?
The answer is a truth for me that can save me and enslave me - routine. Routine gets me doing without my brain interfering with excuses to not do. Routine is also a drill sergeant, forgetting that we have feelings and desires, this is life and we are supposed to enjoy it. The real place of harmony might be the discipline of balancing excuses and drill sergeants, doing and enjoying - finding that place where they turn to each other with love in their eyes, ready to get married. Today, I walked Poppy to a different park with different beautiful views of the city, it is good to get a new perspective.
I am reaching the end of my limit of the same dog walking route.
Why the same route every day?
The answer is a truth for me that can save me and enslave me - routine. Routine gets me doing without my brain interfering with excuses to not do. Routine is also a drill sergeant, forgetting that we have feelings and desires, this is life and we are supposed to enjoy it. The real place of harmony might be the discipline of balancing excuses and drill sergeants, doing and enjoying - finding that place where they turn to each other with love in their eyes, ready to get married. Today, I walked Poppy to a different park with different beautiful views of the city, it is good to get a new perspective.
June 12, 2013
May 12, 2013
Sunday
It's Mother's Day. We go, in the late afternoon, to Bernal Heights to catch the last warm-ish rays of the sun. The fierce wind blows Poppy's frisbee mid-throw, over the fence surrounding the radio tower. Paul climbs the tall fence to retrieve it (I should have gotten a picture of that). It is too bad I only had my iPhone camera with me.
It's Mother's Day. We go, in the late afternoon, to Bernal Heights to catch the last warm-ish rays of the sun. The fierce wind blows Poppy's frisbee mid-throw, over the fence surrounding the radio tower. Paul climbs the tall fence to retrieve it (I should have gotten a picture of that). It is too bad I only had my iPhone camera with me.
June 11, 2013
May 4, 2013
Saturday
We took Poppy to Ocean Beach. The fog blew in and the fog blew out, as we sat there, warmth and cold, back and forth. Previously hidden people became visible and things emerged from the fog, like a long drawn out surprise.
We took Poppy to Ocean Beach. The fog blew in and the fog blew out, as we sat there, warmth and cold, back and forth. Previously hidden people became visible and things emerged from the fog, like a long drawn out surprise.
May 16, 2013
April 21, 2013
Sunday
We spend a few hours at the beach, warm, with shorts! Poppy chases ball into the water, jumping over the little bit of wave that makes it all the way out to here. It is refreshing to have warm weather, so rare. Summer is coming and this warm weather won't last, probably. In the evening we splurge a little and head to Giordano Brothers for a couple of sandwiches. It is still warm and no one wants to sit inside. I watch the Mission life go by.
We spend a few hours at the beach, warm, with shorts! Poppy chases ball into the water, jumping over the little bit of wave that makes it all the way out to here. It is refreshing to have warm weather, so rare. Summer is coming and this warm weather won't last, probably. In the evening we splurge a little and head to Giordano Brothers for a couple of sandwiches. It is still warm and no one wants to sit inside. I watch the Mission life go by.
May 15, 2013
April 20, 2013
Saturday
It is a beautifully warm day and the three of us walk out the front door, down a couple of handfuls of city streets to the Panhandle. We walk parallel to the park until we reach Golden Gate Park. We explore all the unknown trails, through meadows and tree groves, past ponds and sports complexes we have never seen or knew existed and yet, we were still in the city. At the park's edge, across the street from the ocean, we sit in the grass at Beach Chalet and share some fries and a burger before heading back home. It was a wonderful, eight mile city hike!
It is a beautifully warm day and the three of us walk out the front door, down a couple of handfuls of city streets to the Panhandle. We walk parallel to the park until we reach Golden Gate Park. We explore all the unknown trails, through meadows and tree groves, past ponds and sports complexes we have never seen or knew existed and yet, we were still in the city. At the park's edge, across the street from the ocean, we sit in the grass at Beach Chalet and share some fries and a burger before heading back home. It was a wonderful, eight mile city hike!
May 03, 2013
April 17, 2013
Wednesday
I walk through the park, looking for inspiration. It is the same park, same light, same, same, same. How many times can I admire the same curve of a tree? Well, as many times as it comes. But how many times do I need to take a picture of it? But the photograph does not always correctly portray the seeing. So, today I decide to let the camera do the admiration, so that I could, afterwards, do the seeing. My wish for the camera was not perfect, maybe not even good, but it was different and it allowed me the breathing room of admiring all the same things and introducing something new.
I walk through the park, looking for inspiration. It is the same park, same light, same, same, same. How many times can I admire the same curve of a tree? Well, as many times as it comes. But how many times do I need to take a picture of it? But the photograph does not always correctly portray the seeing. So, today I decide to let the camera do the admiration, so that I could, afterwards, do the seeing. My wish for the camera was not perfect, maybe not even good, but it was different and it allowed me the breathing room of admiring all the same things and introducing something new.
April 22, 2013
April 7, 2013
Sunday
Our little trio goes back to, guess where? The Presidio. But, determined to add some variety on this trip, Poppy and I take a different route for our walk while Paul hits golf balls. We walk along the now defunct road on the edge of the Presidio, wandering our way around diverging paths. I stop for many photographs most of which I deleted, except this image of wild strawberry blossoms. It makes me happy to know that strawberries are growing wild in such abundance. Poppy and I walked all the way to Baker Beach, a beach in San Francisco that I have never been to. Of course, the nice weather comes as soon as my Mom leaves. It continues to get nicer as the week goes on. I don't take photographs, I bury myself in my "work" which will end with something that I can show. But I lose myself in it and I wonder about that...
Our little trio goes back to, guess where? The Presidio. But, determined to add some variety on this trip, Poppy and I take a different route for our walk while Paul hits golf balls. We walk along the now defunct road on the edge of the Presidio, wandering our way around diverging paths. I stop for many photographs most of which I deleted, except this image of wild strawberry blossoms. It makes me happy to know that strawberries are growing wild in such abundance. Poppy and I walked all the way to Baker Beach, a beach in San Francisco that I have never been to. Of course, the nice weather comes as soon as my Mom leaves. It continues to get nicer as the week goes on. I don't take photographs, I bury myself in my "work" which will end with something that I can show. But I lose myself in it and I wonder about that...
April 18, 2013
April 6, 2013
Saturday
Today, my Mom and Beth leave for Hawaii. They meet my Dad at the airport, where he is connecting from Philadelphia, and they all get on the same plane headed for Honolulu. I am a bit exhausted but it never seems like enough time with family. I realize a lot of people don't feel that way, but the only times I have ever needed a "break" from family was just to get some normal, routine things done, like I need to now.
At the airport, I park and help them in with their bags, due to my mother's healing wrist from her carpal tunnel surgery. She is nervous, not about the flying, but about getting to the gate on time. I get them their boarding passes and get their luggage checked in and walk them to the security line and my Mom feels better, there is still plenty of time. We all hug and say goodbye. They take their place in the security line and my Mom and I look at each other one last time. I can see on her face, because I know her so well, she wears the look of a difficult emotion, but to a stranger it might look like wonderment.
I turn my head and walk away, not looking back, but almost instantly tears spring from my eyes and I blink furiously. I do not make eye contact with anyone as I walk through the airport and tears stream down my face. I do not wipe them away because I imagine that attracts more attention then a transparent tear. But an airport is an acceptable place to see someone cry, right? It always feels this hard, every time, after all these years it is never even a tiny bit easier to say goodbye.
Later in the day, we go to the driving range where Paul hits golf balls and Poppy and I walk, our new routine. I take my time on the same path I took my Mom and Beth on the day they arrived in San Francisco. We wander off the main trail onto windy paths through the dense eucalyptus forest and it feels good to almost be lost in the woods.
At the airport, I park and help them in with their bags, due to my mother's healing wrist from her carpal tunnel surgery. She is nervous, not about the flying, but about getting to the gate on time. I get them their boarding passes and get their luggage checked in and walk them to the security line and my Mom feels better, there is still plenty of time. We all hug and say goodbye. They take their place in the security line and my Mom and I look at each other one last time. I can see on her face, because I know her so well, she wears the look of a difficult emotion, but to a stranger it might look like wonderment.
I turn my head and walk away, not looking back, but almost instantly tears spring from my eyes and I blink furiously. I do not make eye contact with anyone as I walk through the airport and tears stream down my face. I do not wipe them away because I imagine that attracts more attention then a transparent tear. But an airport is an acceptable place to see someone cry, right? It always feels this hard, every time, after all these years it is never even a tiny bit easier to say goodbye.
Later in the day, we go to the driving range where Paul hits golf balls and Poppy and I walk, our new routine. I take my time on the same path I took my Mom and Beth on the day they arrived in San Francisco. We wander off the main trail onto windy paths through the dense eucalyptus forest and it feels good to almost be lost in the woods.
April 15, 2013
April 4, 2013
Thursday
They promised rain today and they delivered. Mom, Beth and I went down to the Ferry Building where we participated in another free city walk on the history of the Ferry Building. My poor mother looked like she was barely going to make it, since she is still not feeling well. There were a few markets out front and all the usual stores inside. I nearly wet my pants when we left the parking garage, $36 for parking! Next time, like usual, I will take the bus. In the evening I made sole with lemon butter sauce and we had a nice salad made from the Miner's Lettuce we collected the day before. Delicious.
They promised rain today and they delivered. Mom, Beth and I went down to the Ferry Building where we participated in another free city walk on the history of the Ferry Building. My poor mother looked like she was barely going to make it, since she is still not feeling well. There were a few markets out front and all the usual stores inside. I nearly wet my pants when we left the parking garage, $36 for parking! Next time, like usual, I will take the bus. In the evening I made sole with lemon butter sauce and we had a nice salad made from the Miner's Lettuce we collected the day before. Delicious.
April 04, 2013
April 2, 2013
Tuesday
I awake early for the hurried cleaning of the house, shower and then rush to the airport for the early flight containing my mom and family friend, Beth. Of course, Beth is more than a family friend, but I don't know how to relate the relationship to others, she is like a godmother, although not mine, but my brother and sister twins. My poor mother is recovering from a very nasty stomach virus from Sunday night and wrist surgery on Monday, just the day before. She is a trooper and puts highly productive, hard-working, un-complaining people to shame. She doesn't really get sick. After retrieving them from the airport, unpacking a bit at the house, we head off to the Presidio, my favorite new spot in the city. My Mom and Beth walk and stop quite a bit to admire the plants along the way - wild nasturtiums, miner's lettuce and many others I don't know. They are both avid gardeners so they are out of their element, in their element, or, loving every moment of nature so different from the East Coast. It is a reminder to appreciate and to see things differently. We walk quite a bit, further than I have ventured, and return to the house. We slup delicious Pho at My Father's Kitchen and exhausted, they turn to sleep before it is even dark outside.
April 1, 2013
Monday
There is no fooling today, as I work with obsessive focus to finish my new website before my mother and Beth come. I do take a break to drive Paul to work and walk Poppy at Crissy Field while the rain clouds break up into sunshine. Tomorrow our guests will be here!
April 02, 2013
March 30, 2013
Saturday
It wasn't until I was taking Poppy for her evening walk that I started to think about the interview that morning. John, a man starting an artist's blog, interviewed me to post as the featured artist for the month of April. It sounds like a serious blog, in that, its not like many blogs, maybe like this one, where we just throw stuff out there on the wall of the internet. So, I started going over the interview, worried I sounded patronizing or arrogant when really I was just a little nervous. But there is not much I can do about what people think anyway, so I probably shouldn't worry. I did primp a little before the interview, which is very unlike me, but I realized no one was going to be able to to tell from an online recording, maybe with a video camera, but not his. Minutes after the interview I was out the door on a run with Poppy. As soon as I showered, Paul and went to Shanghai Dumpling King where we stuffed ourselves with Chinese dumplings, green onion pancake, vegetarian goose and peashoots. It was on our way back home, where Paul wandered through the streets of San Francisco, weaving his way on a very roundabout but enjoyable drive, that I took this photograph, from Lower Pacific Heights/Laurel Heights.
It wasn't until I was taking Poppy for her evening walk that I started to think about the interview that morning. John, a man starting an artist's blog, interviewed me to post as the featured artist for the month of April. It sounds like a serious blog, in that, its not like many blogs, maybe like this one, where we just throw stuff out there on the wall of the internet. So, I started going over the interview, worried I sounded patronizing or arrogant when really I was just a little nervous. But there is not much I can do about what people think anyway, so I probably shouldn't worry. I did primp a little before the interview, which is very unlike me, but I realized no one was going to be able to to tell from an online recording, maybe with a video camera, but not his. Minutes after the interview I was out the door on a run with Poppy. As soon as I showered, Paul and went to Shanghai Dumpling King where we stuffed ourselves with Chinese dumplings, green onion pancake, vegetarian goose and peashoots. It was on our way back home, where Paul wandered through the streets of San Francisco, weaving his way on a very roundabout but enjoyable drive, that I took this photograph, from Lower Pacific Heights/Laurel Heights.
March 31, 2013
March 29, 2013
Friday
As we arrived at the driving range I thought, this is one of those beautiful days where only fools go to work. Immediately after, I realized that I would be one of those fools, because even though I was going to be outside at the Presidio for the next hour enjoying the warm spring day, I would spend the rest of the day indoors taking care of what needs to be taken care of, just like all those "fools". It is nice having a dog that requires exercise because it forces you outside rain or shine and how many days would I miss such weather if I didn't have a dog? I took the day off from jogging because of a pain in the top of my left foot. Unfortunately, the nice weather did not last and by the time I had to take Poppy for her evening walk, it was cold and breezy once again.
March 29, 2013
March 28, 2013
Thursday
I awoke in the morning hours long before the sun rises by the sound of the toilet running. It was loud, as it is when you first pour water into any empty container. That's when I knew that the seal in the tank was letting the water leak out and when it was empty, it would start to fill with water again. Mystery solved, I guess that's a relief? Not really, just another thing to add to my To Do list. I got up and turned the water to the toilet off.
Sometime later, Poppy got up and started pacing around the house, her toenails clicking on the hardwood floors. When you are trying to sleep, every noise seems to be amplified and her toenail noise sounded unnaturally loud. I got up and let her out in the backyard, but this only satisfied her for a short time. What I'm trying to say is, I didn't sleep very well, this is only the beginning. When I did finally get up for the day, it was 9:30 and although I felt I finally got rest, it came with a huge price tag. Guilt. Guilt for sleeping so late and then, the self loathing, a common theme for me.
I go for a jog and let all that go. I remember to be appreciative. I welcome this, like a friend I haven't seen in a long time. Then I start in on my unproductive day, that's how I judge it, but really, I am pretty focused. Other than getting sidetracked with doing research on the history of police matrons in the United States and what New Jersey shore towns had wooden roller coasters in the 1930s, I am on task, things just take time, more time than I ever seem to be able to wrap my mind around. In the evening, Poppy and I walk to Anza Plaza park, where I photograph some of the views and she plays with new dogs, but I am not thrilled with any of the images I get, they are just snapshots, boring. But I catch a few on our walk that I like better, the long shadows on the sidewalk, just a few blocks from our house. It amazes me, that I walk all the way to another neighborhood in hopes of a nice photograph and the one I like best is only three blocks from my house.
I awoke in the morning hours long before the sun rises by the sound of the toilet running. It was loud, as it is when you first pour water into any empty container. That's when I knew that the seal in the tank was letting the water leak out and when it was empty, it would start to fill with water again. Mystery solved, I guess that's a relief? Not really, just another thing to add to my To Do list. I got up and turned the water to the toilet off.
Sometime later, Poppy got up and started pacing around the house, her toenails clicking on the hardwood floors. When you are trying to sleep, every noise seems to be amplified and her toenail noise sounded unnaturally loud. I got up and let her out in the backyard, but this only satisfied her for a short time. What I'm trying to say is, I didn't sleep very well, this is only the beginning. When I did finally get up for the day, it was 9:30 and although I felt I finally got rest, it came with a huge price tag. Guilt. Guilt for sleeping so late and then, the self loathing, a common theme for me.
I go for a jog and let all that go. I remember to be appreciative. I welcome this, like a friend I haven't seen in a long time. Then I start in on my unproductive day, that's how I judge it, but really, I am pretty focused. Other than getting sidetracked with doing research on the history of police matrons in the United States and what New Jersey shore towns had wooden roller coasters in the 1930s, I am on task, things just take time, more time than I ever seem to be able to wrap my mind around. In the evening, Poppy and I walk to Anza Plaza park, where I photograph some of the views and she plays with new dogs, but I am not thrilled with any of the images I get, they are just snapshots, boring. But I catch a few on our walk that I like better, the long shadows on the sidewalk, just a few blocks from our house. It amazes me, that I walk all the way to another neighborhood in hopes of a nice photograph and the one I like best is only three blocks from my house.
March 28, 2013
March 27, 2013
Wednesday
I am dragging all day, dreaming of taking a nap, instead, I lots of tea. It is balmy out. I have the mysterious ache that has plagued me since childhood, today it is in my right low back, hip, knee and ankle. I haven't felt it in a long, long time, maybe a year or two. It doesn't stay too long. Concentration and I are not One and the day trickles on and I with it, but not in command. In the late afternoon, my mystery ache reappears, but not the same strength as earlier and I limp a bit as I take Poppy on her evening walk through the Panhandle. At some point it disappears and I don't even notice. The fog is rolling in like the gods breathing warm breath on a cold day. The magnolia trees are blooming and the nearby air is heavy with their sweet scent. I make a point of smelling all the low hanging blooms whenever we walk by. The white ones are more fragrant. I photograph the pink magnolias as the homeless campers watch me. I hear them commenting on my actions, but then most of them get up, walk in my direction and keep going past me, and where they go I do not notice. Today I add in the cherry trees (maybe not cherry, but some other flowering tree) as well, who are small yet striking, how could I leave them out?
March 27, 2013
March 25, 2013
Monday
I jog with Poppy in the Presidio, for the first time, while Paul hits golf balls at the driving range. I discover the most wonderful grove of trees where it is cold, but beautiful and quiet. I notice an abundance of Miner's Lettuce on the forest floor and I wish I could harvest some for a salad. I pass through the parking lot of the golf course three times, once at the end of my jog, once to walk back to the grove of trees with my camera and once to go back to the car and I pass the same old man sitting in a golf cart with a leather fedora, thick wool coat and large sunglasses. He looks like he could be in the mob. I say hello and smile the first time. The third time I pass him he says, "I'm still here. Waiting. The least you could do is have dinner with me." There is something creepy about how he says it. How do you respond being polite but also acknowledging the creepy factor? I fake laugh and keep walking. Later, I take Poppy to the vet for her shots and as we are walking back a landscaping crew is cutting back the bushes and plants in the center divider along Divisadero St. One of the crew, a black man in an orange vest, calls out to me and I look up at him, he says, "I can walk your dog for you next time." Come on snappy comeback, come on, but nothing comes and all I say is, "I like getting the exercise." Oh well, at least it is honest. I walk Poppy to the dog play area at the park and as we approach the top of the hill I see large birds flying around. There are two ravens chasing two small hawks out of the area. I stand there for several minutes watching this, it is unbelievable, I thought the hawks would win every time. I was wrong.
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