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)

September 19, 2025

I recently finished reading "The Name of the Rose" by Italian author, Umberto Eco (1980; translated by Harcourt, Inc.). This historical murder mystery is set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327. William of Baskerville, a renowned Franciscan monk, and his apprentice, Adso of Melk, travel to the abbey, where a suspicious death has occurred. Together they work to solve the mystery over a seven-day period.

End-of-summer read

The story is filled with semiotics, biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory, so I had my dictionary and Wikipedia close at hand. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the herbalist's infirmary and medicinal garden (around page 71), and the whole notion of a labyrinth library full of mystery and symbolism (around page 231). I could not put the book down – perfect reading for our hot Bay Area heat spells!

September 22, 2025 🍂

Today is the first day of autumn, where the sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length. This is one of my favorite seasons of the year (although I can truthfully say that I love them all)! The crisp mornings, hot afternoons, and subtle color changes in nature all proclaim that fall is here.