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| A Gathering of Clouds |
Rainy days have thrown me off my usual schedule of urban hikes, but I finally caught up with two neglected routes yesterday and today.
The bad news yesterday was finding a familiar yucca plant near Hawk Hill that appeared to have been killed by the recent strong winds. (A large pot of oaks in my own yard also got knocked over, but the oaks survived.) I've been gathering a few of the yucca's fallen fruits each time I've hiked past it, then tossing the fruits into a south-facing patch of weeds farther along my route.
The good news today was finding San Francisco wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum) blooming on the edge of the Oak Woodland in Golden Gate Park.
Tomorrow or the next day I'm planning to drive up to Mt. Tam (doesn't look like very good cycling weather) to hopefully collect some pollen from a hazel or two. I just noticed the female flowers on my backyard hazel are open and ready for business.
Coco the cat has been doing well. We never had to take her to the vet for the first seven years she started hanging around our place, but we've run up more than $12,000 in vet bills in just the last year, mostly on a recent emergency care visit where they kept her for two nights. (When you walk in the door, you hear the chime of a cash register going "ka-ching!") We've been giving Coco subcutaneous fluids every other night at home (and will soon switch to once a week), and we also bought her some prescription cat food which she refuses to eat. I figure with whatever time she has left, she ought to be able to eat her favorite foods, and I'm always relieved when she doesn't flinch as I jab her with the needle for the fluids.
Unrelated to Coco's appearance in our lives I also went "flexitarian" around the same time, so it's been about seven years since I switched to a plant-based diet (partly after learning that my favorite cold-cuts were likely carcinogenic). They say more than half the people my age are taking four or more prescription drugs, but so far I'm not taking any, and I plans to eats me spinach and keep it that way.
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| The yucca that toppled in the recent strong winds. |
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| The yucca fruits. |
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| One of Today's Roadside Attractions |
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| San Francisco Wallflower in Golden Gate Park |
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| Coco McFuzzy |
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| Salad of spinach, butter lettuce, sliced apple, cherry tomato, corn, green and kalamata olives, and Violife feta. |
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