Field Notes for September 2025

 Welcome back to Field Notes!

September 1, 2025

We're in the midst of a heat wave here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and coming to the end of the long Labor Day Weekend. While trying to stay cool on the patio, I have been reflecting on my four-plus decades of labor; celebrating retirement from the labor force; and spending time on end-of-summer activities. Life is good! 

End-of-summer puzzle with a seaside theme

September 3, 2025

My Aunt Char is heading for Juneau, Alaska to visit my Mom (her sister), Dad, and brother Dave. September is a wonderful time to visit Southeast Alaska – fewer tourists, beautiful sunsets, a crispness in the air, and outside walks and cozy inside activities. I'll miss her presence here in the Bay Area, but look forward to hearing all about their outings and adventures!

Alaska Airlines ready to fly

September 6, 2025

I was surprised to cut into a watermelon from Costco, and find beautiful yellow fruit (I hadn't read the label)! This got me be curious. According to Specialty Produce:

Yellow watermelons, botanically a part of the genus Citrullus, are a naturally occurring fruit belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. Yellow-fleshed watermelons pre-date red and pink-fleshed cultivars of the modern day and are one of the oldest types of watermelons, traced back to Africa.

Yellow watermelon from Costco

The fruit was delicious and the perfect snack on a hot summer day, and apparently has high nutritional value as well!

September 9, 2025

This is a new thing for the Bird Buddy feeder - birds lining up to take their turn! Here, a House Finch waits, while a Mourning Dove enjoys a quick snack.

Waiting for a table

September 12, 2025

Dye potential? While weeding, I accidentally pulled up the root of a California Poppy. I hand intended to pull up a spent stem, and found that the spent stem and new growth were attached to the same root. I further discovered that the root was bright orange, and similar in color to the plant's flower petals. I checked the internet for dye recipes, but AI Overview informed me that it found only recipes that use the petals, not the root. This sounds like a future dye project and experiment!

California Poppy plant with root (Eschscholzia californica)

California Poppy flower

September 15, 2025

Time to do some good and give back to the community! Economic uncertainty and soaring prices are hitting families hard, so what better project than to chip in at the Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, California? Food and produce that is donated or purchased in bulk at a discount, must be sorted and packaged for distribution. Gaymond, Mari, and I registered with a group that was sponsored by AARP.

Intrepid onion packers

The finished product - bags of red onions for home use

Our mission was to sort and distribute red onions (Allum cepa) from 25 pound bags, into smaller packages scaled for households. We had a great time, getting to know our table mates and comparing notes on retirement. The time flew by! Soon we were wrapping up our last bags of onions and cleaning up our work areas. Volunteering at the food bank was a great experience.

September 17, 2025

Alaska check-in time! Sounds like Mom and Aunt Char are enjoying time together and getting out and about. Here they have finished a great meal at The Hangar restaurant, with my brother Dave. This is a favorite place for food and drink, located on the wharf with views of the cruise ships anchored in the harbor. I miss them all!

Two sisters at The Hangar (photo by Dave)

Salesforce Rooftop Garden Tour

Spent a wonderful day at the Salesforce Rooftop Garden in San Francisco! Mari and I took BART to Embarcadero Station, and then walked the short distance to the Transit Center. From Salesforce Plaza at Street Level, we could look up to Salesforce Park on the fourth floor, and the gondola perched at its upper terminus. We didn't realize it at the time, but behind the white lacy metal screen below the trees is the third floor Bus Deck of the Transit Center (click on the photo to enlarge it and see more detail). The buildings towered over us and provided contrast with the forest of trees and plants on the fourth floor.

View of the gondola and trees in Salesforce Park (floor 4),
from Salesforce Plaza (Street Level)

Winding trail around Salesforce Park

We checked the gondola schedule, hoping to catch a ride up to the Rooftop Level. It didn't seem to be running, so we rode the elevator up instead and explored briefly. At 10:00 AM we joined the monthly walking tour at the Main Plaza (there is also a monthly birding walk and many other health, dance, and musical events). Our tour guide and botanical expert, Ingrid, introduced us to the history and development of the Transit Center and the botanical garden. The garden design celebrates the Mediterranean climate and incorporates plants from all of the earth's five Mediterranean climate zones – Mediterranean Europe, central Chile, South Africa, Western Australia, and the California coast.

Transbay Transit Center Concept - the big picture (click to enlarge) 

Ingrid describes the Wollemi pine at
Salesforce Park (Wollemia nobillis) 

We were surprised to learn that the plants and trees are rooted in only five feet of soil. The roots receive ample water and spread out to anchor themselves, without the need to send down deep tap roots to find water. The soil supports a Redwood grove and many other tall trees. 

View of one of the skylights that help illuminate the Transit Center floor below

Mari snaps a shot of a Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana)

The tree and plant collection is amazing. I was especially interested to see my first Wollemi pine specimen. It is one of those "fossil plants" from dinosaur days that was thought to be extinct, until a small grove was discovered near Sydney, Australia in 1994. I remember my Dad (a retired forester) sharing a newspaper article with me about the discovery. Another dinosaur plant (in terms of size) is the Gunnera, which is a tough plant with huge leaves that grows to an enormous size and then dies back during the dry season. (Note that its roots are high in tannins and used to create a black dye and to tan leather, hence the use of tinctoria in its scientific name).

Chilean Rhubarb (Gunnera tinctoria) 

Deep shade under the trees

After the tour we found a table in the shade, and ate our lunch with hiking buddy, Josephine, who joined us. It was fun to relax in such a beautiful environment, surrounded by trees and tall buildings, and catch up on all the news. After lunch, Mari and I sought out the gondola again. This time, we found it at the Street Level terminus below us, seemingly unattended with no intention of moving. We decided to pursue the gondola ride in another visit.

View of the gondola at Street Level
from the Park Level (floor 4)

Instead, we explored each floor of the Transit Center, marveling how beautiful and clean everything is, and filled with natural and diffused light. We studied a comprehensive poster showing all the bus, Muni, and train options available. I felt inspired to both learn the system and do more exploring using my Clipper Card; and to return to the garden to see its seasonal changes. This is a wonderful public garden and a destination worth exploring!

View of the Bus Deck Level (floor 3)

Fall Watch

We are definitely experiencing our "summer" weather now, despite what the calendar says. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area the traditional summer months of June, July, and August are typically fairly cool. We often have "June gloom", meaning cool, overcast, morning fog that burns off in early afternoon. The temperature may approach the high 70s F. during the day. but then cools as evening approaches. We actually experience summer weather in September and October, when it is hot, dry, and sometimes smoky.

Fall colors

Lately however, I've been feeling that crispness of fall around the edges, and seeing red and yellow leaves that also foretell seasonal change. These clues are very subtle compared to other climates, but they are evident if you watch for them. Fall is coming!