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!

Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants

To continue this year's exploration into ethnobotany (or, "the study of how people use plants in different cultures, regions, and time periods"), our next book is Lāʻau Hawai‘i: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants, by Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott (Bishop Museum Honolulu, 1992). The book provides a detailed description of the Polynesian canoe and Hawaiian native plants that are most important for Hawaiian culture. Before its publication, such a a general text on the traditional cultural uses of plants did not exist. [Although Plants of Old Hawai'i, by educator Lois Lucas (Bess Press, Honolulu, 1982) provided us with a wonderful high-level introduction to canoe plants.]

Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott (1919-2010) earned her doctorate degree in algal taxonomy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1950. In 1972 she became a full professor in Stanford University’s biology department, and published her definitive book Marine Algae of California in 1976 with George J. Hollenberg (earning her the nickname of "First Lady of Limu"). She later taught Hawaiian ethnobotany at the University of Hawaii. She learned about traditional Hawaiian foods and the Hawaiian language from her mother. Dr. Abbott chose to emphasize the ethnobotany and cultural aspects of Hawaii's plants in this book, rather than focusing on the plants themselves.

The Preface and Introduction set the context for the book and how it came to be. Chapter 1 describes the first Hawaiians—their origins from the maritime Lapita people (later the Polynesians), the migration routes from Polynesia to the Hawaiian islands, and the plants they brought with them. Chapter 2 describes the evolution of Hawaiian culture and its relationship to the land and crops, using a framework of development periods—First Settlements and the Development Period, the Expansion Period, and the Historic Period. Chapter 3 describes the religious dimensions of Hawaiian agriculture, which included sustainable practices of caring for the land to ensure ongoing productivity.

Chapters 4 - 17 describe important canoe and native Hawaiian plants that provided sustenance and met every need of cultural life, including food, housing, transportation, ritual, healing, warfare, music, and leisure. Woven throughout the chapters is information about "Kapu", the ancient Hawaiian laws, rules, and taboos that governed all aspects of life, including social interactions, gender roles, religious practices, and food preparation. As an example of kapu, taro was a forbidden food for women and limu was forbidden for men (in this example, women became the cultural experts on seaweed as a food source and knew the names of Hawaii's limu species, while men did not). The Afterward describes changes in society and plant use after first contact with European culture in 1820. The backmatter includes an appendix of flowering plant and fern names, chapter notes, a bibliography of citations, and an index.

My husband and I are planning a trip to several of the Hawaiian islands in the next year or two, so I  especially appreciated reading about the migration from Polynesia to Hawaii, the developmental phases of Hawaiian culture, the impact on Hawaiian culture after first contact, and the renaissance of Hawaiian culture in the 1970s. I also appreciated learning more about canoe and native plants, the reliance on plants for all aspects of Hawaiian life (ethnobotany), the deep respect for the land; and the dedication to its stewardship. I was also interested to learn about making kapa, cordage, war regalia, and houses, from plants and other natural materials. The chapter on war regalia includes a photo showing the netting to which bundles of feathers were attached to construct the helmets and cloaks worn by Hawaiian nobility. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the people of Hawaii and Hawaiian ethnobotany.

Field Notes for August 2025

Welcome back to Field Notes!

August 1, 2025

All summer I've been marveling at the many faces of Clarkia (Clarkia amoena) in our native garden. According to Wikipedia, Clarkia is native to western North America and can be found in the coastal hills and mountains from British Columbia south to the San Francisco Bay Area. This is a wonderful self-seeding annual that attracts pollinators, and thrives in the Bay Area.

The many faces of Clarkia amoena

Clarkia is also known as Godetia and Farewell to Spring, but all species have been reclassified as Clarkia, in the Onagraceae (evening primrose) family. Note that the name "Godetia" was given to  honor Swiss botanist Charles-Henry Godet. "Clarkia" honors William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

August 3, 2025

My sister, Marianne, is visiting Southeast Alaska this month, and they are having a run of beautiful weather (temperatures have been warmer than the Bay Area some days)! Mom, brother Dave, and Marianne have been enjoying time together with Dad at the Pioneer Home, taking drives, and working on family business. Recently they had a delicious meal at the Salmon Bake, and then took a walk out at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. This brings back fond memories of my summer visit in 2024!

Mom and Marianne at Mendenhall Glacier
(photo from Marianne)

August 6, 2025 🎂

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! We celebrated remotely last year, while I was in Alaska. This year we are observing a Week of Celebration! Today we celebrated at Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar, with a delicious dinner, a beautiful sunset, and moon rise over the harbor. Chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream awaited at home.

 

Moon over the harbor by Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar

August 9, 2025

Naked ladies always start blooming around my husband's birthday. They are native to the Cape Province of South Africa, but have naturalized in Northern California and elsewhere. Strappy green leaves appear in spring and then die back. The flowers appear from the bulb with no foliage in late summer. These bulbs were a gift from gardening buddy, Pam Konigsberg. They have grown in the same spot for years, and have never become invasive.

Naked ladies ready to bloom (Amaryllis belladonna)

A group of Warriner Lytle Buckwheat is planted in the street-side easement. The low growing shrub has finely textured needle-like leaves and globe-shaped clusters of tiny flowers that appear in late summer. This is a California native and quite lovely. Here the buckwheat has surrounded a grass clump.

Warriner Lytle Buckwheat (Erigonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle')

Several groups of California Goldenrod have shot up in a sunny section of the yard. The yellow flower spikes grow to five feet tall, and spread from common rootstock, so can become invasive. California Goldenrod likes to be wet in winter/spring and dry in the summer when it blooms. Goldenrod is a dye plant, so I may harvest and dry the flower spikes for a future dye project (although I'm enjoying the flowers in the garden, so I may wait until next year)!

California goldenrod (Solidago velutina ssp. Californica)

August 12, 2025 - Jökulhlaup Alert

Mom and Marianne have been hiking at Eagle Beach! As you may know, Eagle Beach State Recreation Area and Eagle River are some of our favorite hiking areas in Juneau (located near the Boy Scout Trail hike, another favorite). Eagle Beach is a great place for sweeping views, easy terrain, and lots of interesting birds, sea creatures, and plants to investigate.

Mom at Eagle Beach
(photo by Marianne)

Mom and Marianne (the Chilkat Range is in the background)
(photo by Marianne)

In other news, there is a Flood Warning for the Mendenhall Lake and River, due to a Suicide Basin release of water and ice (called a jökulhlaup). To learn more, see the Juneau Glacial Flood Dashboard. This is a good time to stay away from Mendenhall Glacier!

August 15, 2025 - Be Brave Day 

For this week's hike, Mari, Gaymond and I decided to go to Huckleberry Botanical Regional Preserve, instead of joining the Over-the-Hills Gang hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. We had just hiked at Redwood in June, so we decided to go rogue and visit its nearby neighbor instead. The Huckleberry Botanical Preserve is tucked between Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve and Redwood; and is also a good choice for summer hikes, with its shady forest, green understory, and cooling breezes. Gaymond's grandson, Jayden, has already started back to school, so we missed his inquisitive mind and lively conversation!

Huckleberry Trail winds along the canyon

Mount Diablo in the distance, beyond the chapparal (photo by Mari)

We followed the self-guided, 1.7 mile Huckleberry Interpretive Loop Trail (both the Upper and Lower sections). The 21 Interpretive Panels are so informative about the plants and ecosystem of this unique canyon. We learned that the native plant community is found nowhere else in the East Bay and represents a relic plant group similar to plants that originated in the southern coast of California, when its climate was more moist and tempered by the cool coastal fog. The unusual geology of the Preserve also contributes to the plant community (the nutrient-poor soil was once an ocean bottom that has been compressed, pushed up, and folded).

Manzanita trees and shrubs

Fallen limb from a California Bay tree,
with new sprouts in the background  

Mari surprised us with our favorite lemon and ginger cookies from Trader Joes, so we took our usual cookie break at the half-way point. We sat on the bench at Panel 11, surrounded by Canyon Live Oak, Manzanita, and Coast Huckleberry, and enjoyed our snack and companionship.

We returned to the car via the Lower Huckleberry Loop through the bay forest. This portion of the trail has quite a few switch backs and steep elevation changes, both up and down, so it was quite arduous for our 55+ year old bodies. We were grateful to end the hike at TGI Oni Sushi in Montclair District, for restorative Bento Boxes and interesting conversation!

Intrepid hikers (photo by Gaymond)

August 16, 2025

We always see interesting plants, trees, fungus, birds, and other wildlife while on hikes in the East Bay Regional Parks. Huckleberry Botanical Regional Preserve is no exception. The Coast Huckleberry berries were ripe, or on their way to being ripe; as were the berries from a second variety (V. ovatum var. saporoslum). We liked them both!

Coast Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
(photo by Gaymond)

Following are a few snapshots of plants; clockwise from the top left corner: (1) Pacific Madrone (Arbutus Menziesii) - native to the western coastal area of North America and California, with beautiful, red, shreddy bark. (2) Pacific Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) - native to the Pacific Northwest and California; "leaves of three, let it be". (3) Coastal Wood Fern (Dryopteris arguta) - native perennial; notice the spores on the underside of the leaves. (4) Jim Brush (Ceanothus sorediatus) - native/endemic to California. (5) Possibly, California Spikenard (Aralia californica) - native to California, with greenish-white flowers in large ball shaped clusters, and small dark purple or black berries with 3-5 seeds (we saw both).

August 18, 2025

My sister Marianne's family—a son, daughter, and grandkids—have joined the family in Juneau  (missing are a second son and daughter). What a fun opportunity for family members to be together! New activities include exploring and playing at Overstreet Park and taking the tram up Mount Reports. Photos indicate the weather is beautiful and warm!

Playing on a Tlingit war canoe at Overstreet Park
(photo by Marianne)

Harper and Sarah on the Mount Roberts Tram
(photo by Marianne)

Uncle Luc on the Mount Roberts tram
(photo by Marianne)

Ferocious bear cub in the forest
(photo by Marianne)

August 20, 2025 🎂

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Aunt Char! She is so much fun to be with, enjoys puzzles and books, and is wise, kind, and adventurous. We have visited many gardens and garden shows, traveled in Alaska, and enjoyed family gatherings together. She loves her kids and a growing brood of grandkids. She has written her memoirs, gone white water rafting, and has recently gone hot air ballooning! 

Intrepid balloonists (photo from Jen)

What a view! (photo by Jen)

August 28, 2025

Mari and I met up with the Over-the-Hills Gang hike at the Marina Bay in Richmond for the latest group hike (Gaymond was travelling). Marina Bay is located in the Richmond Inner Harbor, the former location of the World War II-era Kaiser Shipyards. The area has been transformed to now include Marina Bay Park, Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, a Yacht Club, the Rosie the Riveter Memorial (National Park Service), and a residential community. Across Harbor Channel is the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park (NPS).

View of the East Bay shoreline from Marina Bay Park 

Pelicans assembling in formation

Meeker Slough is close by, and a popular spot for birds and birders to gather. We saw pelicans, herons, ducks geese, and many shore birds. The San Francisco Bay Trail runs through the area, all the way to Point Isabella and the Point Isabella Dog Park. The view across San Francisco Bay takes in the San Francisco skyline, Sutro Tower, the Bay Bridge, the Emeryville skyline, Oakland shipyard, and the hills behind Cerritos, Albany, Berkeley and Oakland.

View of San Francisco skyline from the shore

Meeker Slough

Cookie Break at Meeker Slough bridge

Anthony Fisher led our bay-side hike, and provided information about flora and fauna and delicious lemon and ginger cookies at the half-way point. These hikes are so much fun—the pace is perfect for the 55+ crowd and the company is excellent. Check the website to learn more about upcoming events offered by the East Bay Regional Park District.

Intrepid hikers at Rosie the Riveter Memorial (photo by Mari)

August 30, 2025

While at Marina Bay in Richmond, we saw so many interesting native and exotic plants, and local and migrating birds.

Matillija Poppy (Romneya coulteri, naive to California), against a back drop of Red Conebush (Leucadendron salignum, native to South Africa) 

Following are a few snapshots of some of the wildlife we encountered, clockwise from the top: (1) Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos); (2) Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias occidentalis); (3) Hornet's nest (deserted); (4) Black Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax); (5) Black lab enjoying its yacht (Canis lupus familiaris); and (6) Canadian goose (Branta canadensis).