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| Mt. Tamalpais from Grandview Park |
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| Toasty Temps on Mt. Tamalpais |
Stepping out onto our back stoop this morning, I was surprised by a clear and sunny view, and air so fresh and cool that it pulled me out of the house. I grabbed the FZ80 and took a quick nature-stroll over to Grandview Park.
A red-tailed hawk perched from its lookout on a chert outcrop (there was almost no wind for soaring), and along with the usual juncos and sparrows calling back and forth at the top of the park, a woodpecker whistled sharply from one of the cypress trees. The sandy trail below the trees was wet in places where fog-drip still fell from the saturated branches despite the fog itself having pulled all the way back to beach. Coast buckwheat was taking center stage among the summer wildflowers, hosting numerous honeybees and bumblebees.
A little later in the morning my wife and I walked past the park again and spotted our first ground squirrel there. It actually moved so fast we couldn't be certain what it was before it disappeared into a burrow. I'm not sure I could set up a trail cam there without it being stolen, but I'll check it out. I have never seen a ground squirrel in San Francisco before.
Passing the park, we continued down the Hidden Garden Steps to Irving Street and almost to the beach where we checked out
Black Bird Bookstore and had lunch at
Beach'N SF, both of which were excellent. I especially liked the large photographic prints on the wall at Black Bird, and both the chicken sandwich and mac 'n cheese (and chocolate chip cookie) at Beach'N SF.
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| Red Trumpet Vine, Ortega Street |
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| Layer Cake |
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| Bees & Buckwheat |
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