Field Notes for August 2026

Welcome back to Field Notes!

August 1, 2026

Bobo Chronicles: Outing to Dracena Quarry Park. Bobo the Husky loves to explore new places. Mari gave me a tip about nearby Dracena Quarry Park. Rick, Bobo, and I visited this neighborhood park, which is nestled in a small canyon under a stand of redwood trees. We enjoyed a stroll in the deep shade, and a drink of cool water on one of the park benches. Small parks are one of the many things that I enjoy about living in the East Bay. Thanks, Mari!

Taking a breather under the redwoods

August 3, 2026

Look at This Slime Mold! My brother Dave sent me a picture of this glorious lemon-yellow slime mold. He was walking on North Douglas Island, near Juneau, Alaska, and checking out the beaver ponds. I haven't identified it. Could it be a Fuligo species? If so, Wikipedia provides this information:

Fuligo is a widespread genus of plasmodial slime mold in the family Physaraceae. These organisms are protozoans rather than fungi, but for historical reasons are sometimes treated as part of mycology.

Possibly, Fuligo septica, (also known as the dog vomit slime mold or scrambled egg slime). Fascinating!

Lemon-yellow slime mold - species unknown (photo by Dave Harris)

August 6, 2026

Happy Birthday to Rick! My wonderful husband just turned another year older. I think he is aghast at this bigger number, but he is just as hilarious, interesting, capable and cute as ever!

 

Contemplating the meaning of life

August 9, 2026

Field Trip to the Ferry Building.  Mari, Gaymond and I skipped the Over-the-Hills Gang hike this week and went rouge! It was such a beautiful day that we decided to take the ferry from Jack London Square to the Ferry Building instead. It's always great to get out on the water. We had some great views of the Port of Oakland, the container cranes, the underside of the Bay Bridge, and a whole variety of ships and crafts out on the water. Once we docked, we explored the Ferry Building and the Farmer's Market, and scoped out eateries for lunch.

Marine area along the Embarcadero

Farmer's Market outside the Ferry Building

We walked along the Embarcadero for a ways and explored some of the piers. There has been a lot of development since I last visited the area. I almost had a feeling that I was walking along some of the waterways in Europe!

Exploring the piers along the Embarcadero

Picture postcard on the waterfront (photo by Mari)

We returned to the Ferry Building and made our purchases at the Farmer's Market and Ferry Terminal, and ate outside in the sun (dim sum and empanadas). I picked up some empanadas to take home for the guys and Bobo the Husky, and we took the 1:05 ferry home. What a wonderful experience!

Intrepid explorers along the Embarcadero (photo by Gaymond)

August 11, 2026

Visit to Far West Fungi in the Ferry Building. While at the Ferry Building, I made a point of stopping in at Far West Fungi. They have an amazing selection of seasonal fresh mushrooms, bulk dehydrated mushrooms, and smaller packages of dried mushrooms. They also sell fun fungi-related merchandise, such as mugs, dish towels, and mushroom-growing kits.

I purchased packages of dehydrated Wood Ear, Porcini, and Morel mushrooms for some future cooking projects. Stay tuned!

Far West Fungi at the Ferry Building (#34)

Dehydrated mushrooms for sale

Fresh Wood Ear mushrooms on sale

August 15, 2026

Summer Read. I've been working through my summer reading list, and just finished "Garden of Lamentations" by Deborah Crombie (William Morrow, 2017). This is the seventeenth novel in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series set in London. In this one, a crime takes place in one of its gated neighborhood gardens. Crombie  provides "A Short History of London Squares" in the back matter, which is all about the "network of enclosed garden squares winding through the city (of London) like interconnected necklaces of green".  Illustrator Laura Maestro provides the endpaper map for the story, which is charming and adds dimension to the mystery. Together they make the story all the more engaging (see both the book and map here)!

August 19, 2026

Happy Birthday to Aunt Char! My wonderful aunt is turning (a bigger number) and we plan to celebrate at her open house tomorrow. I really enjoyed spending time with her and my mom in Juneau, Alaska this year (in both winter and summer), and love going places with her here in the Bay Area (or wherever we travel). I'm grateful that she lives nearby and has such a wonderful outlook on life. My cousins will be here for the birthday bash (Jen from Idaho and Chris from Arizona), so that will be the icing on the cake!

Two sisters in the garden of life (summer 2026)