Welcome back to Field Notes!
November 1, 2025
It's time for my annual activity of making a fall arrangement, using plant material collected from our yard. I especially like to use grasses, dried leaves, seed pods, and dead branches or sticks. This one has a little bit of color, because of the liquid amber leaves.
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| Fall arrangement from our yard |
November 3, 2025
Meet Bobo the Husky! Our family adopted this five year old husky, and our lives have been upended ever since. We're still getting to know each other. He's pretty rambunctious and opinionated, like all huskies. One of his passions is food, and another is neighborhood squirrels and cats. I'm looking forward to taking Bobo on Over-the-Hill Gang hikes eventually, but that day is a ways off!
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| Bobo the Husky |
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Bobo has a squirrel in his sites!
(click photo to enlarge) |
November 6, 2025
Mari and I joined the Over-the-Hills-Gang hike to Carquinez Straits Regional Shoreline this week (our hiking buddy, Gaymond, is in South Korea). This was a new hike for us, situated between the town of Crockett and the hillsides overlooking Martinez, and across Carquinez Strait from Benicia. It is also very close to the Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline to the East, which we visited back in March (see the Field Notes for March 2025 entry for March 15). The railroad tracks run along the shore in this area for periodic trainspotting.
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Heading out from the Port Costa Staging Area
(photo by Mari) |
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| View of Benicia across Carquinez Strait |
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| Shoreline along Carquinez Strait |
Anthony Fisher was our fearless group leader, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for nature as well as delicious cookies at the half-way point (Oreos this time)!
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| Hiking along the wide walking and bike path through the hills |
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| California Buckeye tree with a bumper crop |
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| A couple of caves on the hillside |
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| A train comes into view by the shore |
After the hike, Mari and I went in pursuit of lunch. We first tried The Warehouse Cafe in nearby Port Casa, but they were closed. We ended up at Crockett Cocina in Crockett, CA. Our delicious lunch plates and good conversation were the perfect ending for a wonderful hike!
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| Intrepid hikers overlooking Carquinez Straits (photo by Mari) |
November 8, 2025
While on the Over-the-Hills-Gang hike to Carquinez Straits Regional Shoreline this week, we got to see several interesting mushrooms. Hike leader Anthony Fisher is a an expert at spotting mushrooms and lichens on these hikes, and frequently dashes into the forest to take a look at a specimen that the rest of us didn't even notice. Thanks to our periodic fall rains here in the Bay Area, local mushrooms have ideal growing conditions. Following are several interesting specimens.
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| A few mushrooms along Carquinez Strait |
Here's what I learned:
- Top row: Dead Man's Foot (Pisolithus arhizus) – someone placed a circle of stones around the one on the left. Native American and Australian tribal artists use this as a dye source for rich browns, golds, and oranges, on protein fibers (it is not always successful on cellulose fibers).
- Middle row, left: unknown (possibly Bolete spp.), which is covered with white mold.
- Middle row, right: Blue Staining Bolete (examples include Gyroporus cyanescens, Boletus sensibilis, and Rubroboletus pulcherrimus). When the mushroom is bruised or cut, it "bleeds" blue. This indicates the oxidation of certain chemicals in the mushroom's flesh after it has been injured. Most species are highly toxic and should not be eaten.
- Bottom row, left: Blue Staining Bolete mushroom on its side. Enlarge the photo to see several blue streaks that indicate bruising or cutting.
- Bottom row, right: Blue Staining Bolete stipe (the stems are bleeding blue). My quick research indicates that the blue is not a dye source. But it does make me reflect on how indigo dye oxidizes from green to blue, thanks to fermentation. More research is needed!
November 10, 2025
While seeking lunch at The Warehouse Cafe in Port Casa, we had a chance to explore the small former port at the end of Canyon Lake Drive. According to Wikipedia, Port Costa was established in 1879 as a railroad ferry landing for the transcontinental railroad. It quickly grew into the busiest port on the West Coast, primarily exporting wheat. The town's boom, driven by its role as a grain shipping hub, lasted until after World War I and attracted thousands of sailors, stevedores, and railroad workers.
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| Theatre of Dreams |
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| Bull Valley Roadhouse with its distinctive gold bull over the door |
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| Burlington Hotel |
The vintage buildings are so charming (I love that Victorian era architecture). The entrance to the Crystal Garden shop looked very appealing, but it too was closed. I got the impression that most of the action in Port Costa happens on the weekend!
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| Entrance to the Crystal Garden (photo by Mari) |
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| Crystal Garden |
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| View of Carquinez Strait and Benicia from Port Costa |
Fires frequently swept through warehouses, destroying grain as well as buildings. According to signage, the current warehouse was built in 1886 by G. W. McNear as the first fireproof building in Contra Costa County, and was used to store wheat, hay, and potatoes. The building still stands and now houses The Warehouse Cafe. To learn more about the appealing port, see History of Port Costa.
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| History of the warehouse |
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Inside the eclectic and fireproof warehouse
(photo by Mari) |
November 14, 2025
After recent fall rains, mushrooms have been popping up all over our yard, especially under the oak tree. The Boletus spp. is especially prominent. The gills are a lovely shade of yellowy-green. I'm wondering if they'd yield a dye.
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| Possibly Porcini or Penny Bun (Boletus edulis) |
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| Would the yellowy-green gills produce a dye? |
November 16, 2025
Bobo the Husky has been with us for about three and a half weeks now. He enjoys watching over the garden, food, long walks, dogs and people, belly rubs, and being part of the action. We've had a few mishaps in the garden, so we're striving to "dog proof" the yard (sometimes, it is more important to adapt than stick to the original plan)!
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| Bobo mischief |
November 19, 2025
With cooler weather, we're pulling out some of our favorite fall recipes. Roast vegetables and chicken and dumplings are perfect for hearty meals the temperature drops and the storm clouds roll in.
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| Roast vegetables - healthy and tasty |
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| Chicken and dumplings - fall comfort food |
November 22, 2025
For this week's Over-the-Hills Gang hike, we met at Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline located on San Leandro Bay and close to Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro (near the Oakland International Airport). Mari, Gaymond and I carpooled, and met the group at the Observation Tower (lots of parking and restrooms). As you know, I love a good shoreline hike. This was my first time at the park, and it is a treasure!
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The Observation Tower provides an elevated view of the wetlands
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| View of Alameda Island, the Bay Bridge, and San Francisco |
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| The backside of Oakland Airport in the distance |
In 1998, the wetlands were restored, and today the thriving ecosystem attracts local and migrating birds. This is a prime spot for birders of all experience levels, and many on our hike came armed with scopes, binoculars, and cameras. Several trails run along the shoreline, with great views of San Francisco and Sutro Tower, and access to picnic areas, fishing spots, and a kayak/canoe launch. It pays to get familiar with the map, so you an access the staging area that meets your birding or recreational needs. We stopped at one of the picnic tables for our half-way cookie break.
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| Wide paths and bridges provide access to prime bird watching |
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| Bird watching |
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| Scopes really boost viewing power |
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| Lemon and ginger cookie break at the halfway point |
Mari, Gaymond, and I ended the hike at Dragon Rouge Bistro in Alameda for s delicious Vietnamese lunch. Check the East Bay Regional Park District website to learn more about upcoming events. Bring a friend or come solo, and join a wonderful group of 55+ hikers.
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| Intrepid hikers, and fledgling birders (photo by Gaymond) |
November 26, 2025
The Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline park is a great place for bird watching. The wetlands are a fly zone for migrating birds, and attract local birds as well. On our recent hike, we saw ducks, grebes, stilts, herons, egrets, Canadian geese, gulls, and more.
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| MLK Jr. Shoreline park attracts many birds |
Scopes and binoculars definitely help bring the birds closer for observation. Gaymond took a picture of a group of stilts, using his cell phone camera and a scope. Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus here in California) have really long legs, similar to the long legs of flamingos! The photo makes it much easier to see the details.
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| Scope + cell phone camera photography in the field |
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| A group of stilts in the wetlands (photo by Gaymond) |
On the last leg of our walk, a tall Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) took a good long look at our group from the meadow.
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| Great blue heron observing humans in their natural habitat |
November 29, 2025
I followed my new landscape maintenance schedule this month. November is the time for more fall cleanup and planting to take advantage of seasonal rains. Thank goodness for our landscape maintenance team. They did a thorough fall clean up and planted some new plants for us. Fall is one of my favorite times to work in the garden, but between Bobo the Husky, Thanksgiving, and other projects, we haven't had much time.
☑ Weed the garden paths and beds (ongoing task). Continue removing spent annuals (or wait until their seeds have been distributed, and then remove them).
☑ Clean up leaves and berries or drupes from the patios and paths (ongoing task). Cut back spreading perennials and ground covers. Also trim perennials in the front planter, such as the Bush Monkey Flower; and the gooseberry bushes in the upper and lower yards. Note: our landscape maintenance team handled this during their fall cleanup.
☑ Prune camellia and pittosporum shrubs to let light into the understory. Cut back invasive ivy from the street. Note: our arborist took care of the shrubs at the same time the team trimmed the oak tree in October.
☐ Close up the main patio—remove cobwebs, wipe down the patio furniture, protect the cushions, clean up the brick surfaces, wash windows, and toss anything that is old, damaged, or no longer needed. Clean and put away the Weber grill. Note: haven't done this yet. We had been sitting out on the patio a week or so before Thanksgiving, before the cold weather rolled in. Now that we've finished with Thanksgiving festivities, we can take care of this!
☐ Collect dried plant material for a Thanksgiving arrangement. Note: this didn't happen. Between Thanksgiving cooking and prep, and walking and training Bobo the Husky, something had to go! Our table still looked welcoming.
