PC in SF

Ladies Womyn's room editor

Birds of San Francisco

Like the previously shown sandpiper (and least tern, sort of), sea birds are a fairly common sight in the Bay Area, or birds that take advantage of the water, like this flock of ... swallows? (I'm guessing.) But here's someone you don't expect to see dumpster diving in Oakland Chinatown:
A black-crowned night heron.

Parts is parts

Hey, it's a car bra! *snicker*

Food for brain and belly

San Francisco is a feast. A visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art offered these images:
That's a catwalk on the 5th floor. There are cutouts in the walls whose size is deceptive, too. They seem not so very big until you put a person in them:

(Can't take photos in the galleries themselves, or I'd add a few images from there. We did get a kick out of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, a life-size porcelain sculpture by Jeff Koons.)

The city also offers dining options galore, especially of the Asian persuasion. I didn't get any pictures of Friday night's lamb kebab, but here's Saturday's sukiyaki and udon bowls:

Followed by the indulgence of Tucker's world-famous ice cream:
And then there's Sunday dim sum, this time at Legendary Palace in Oakland. Notable to some as the scene of the shooting of a Chinese bookie shortly after it opened a few years ago. Notable to us for its extremely affordable but yummy spread. And classic kitschy decor.

Particular favorites: Pork bunsAnd sesame balls. Also interesting were these shaggy shrimp bundles:

Comet chasing

The former Navy base on Alameda would be an ideal place to catch the sunset, but for one little hitch:In the decades that civilians were barred from this well-paved expanse of shoreline, the least tern decided that tarmac is perfect nesting material. The endangered bird was undisturbed by humans and unruffled by the jets taking off just yards away.

Now the Navy base is closed, and for a while you could get out to the point for some fabulous views of the city and bay, but now you'll have to content yourself with photos through the chain link fence.

(It's interesting to me that in English the sign says, "This bird is endangered and protected by federal law" while the Spanish only says "This little bird is in danger of becoming extinct.")

So anyway, the beach farther down proved OK for sunset viewing, too:We had lots of company, too, in the form of sea birds, mostly gulls, but also sandpipers and flocks of swallows. Not many people, though; it was quite chilly.

We were there hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet McNaught, which was about to pass between the Earth and sun and thus was supposed to be visible just after sunset about where the sun went down. We waited and waited and had just about decided we wouldn't be able to see it after all (and I wasted a bunch of battery power taking photos of little birds) when at last it materialized.It's possible you can't even see it in this photo, but really, it's there! The photo gallery on the comet page above has some great images. I have to learn how to use this camera better for stuff like that.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco

The flowers are out ... ... and it's clear sailing. (50 degrees warmer than Denver, but with a stiff breeze and dampness that warrant a hat, scarf and gloves while crossing the bay.)

Ice, ice, baby

Sure enough!

The guys in those de-icing rigs are so of the future, like on that ice planet in "Star Wars." The one with the snow-camels. I'm also reminded of the human forklift thingy that Sigourney Weaver maneuvers in "Aliens."
(While I was looking for the forklift photo, I came across a guy who made a darn good replica for a Halloween costume. How delightfully geeky is that?)

Yet more snow

Yes, another week, another storm. It looks like the airport is handling it ok this time around, though I suspect there may be delays while they de-ice the plane. It's about zero degrees out. Brrr!

Climb ev'ry mountain ... or not

I considered trying to get the dogs to pose on top of the snow pile, but that just seemed like a recipe for disaster, what with the linked leashes and high spirits and all.

My limbs and noggin remain intact.

Hitting the pavement

At last! Three weeks after the first of three storms, the city finally gets around to removing the roller-coaster of solid ice in front of the school at the end of my block. The roller-coaster that I've had to ride every day. But the majority of the side streets and even some of the bigger ones are still a god-awful mess. Seriously, it's like going out four-wheeling in a boulder field, all 6-inch-thick ice punctuated by ridges, furrows and potholes. Everyone without four-wheel drive has wrecked their suspension, and I'm sure there's been any number of fender benders caused by wheels catching a rut and just sending cars sliding into each other, even if they're going slow. (I worry about hitting parked cars this way.)

I'll have to get photos tomorrow of the snow mountains that resulted from this exercise. They carted away some of it, but left the rest. Maybe it will melt by spring.

The image at right is animated. If you don't see the animation, click on it!

The driven snow

A drive into the mountains can start well enough.

But when they say "high wind warning," it's best to pay attention. And snow can be a real hazard even when it's not falling fresh from a cloud.
Ah, the joys of Colorado.

My sugar, my spice

After more than a week of snow delay, Fed-Ex finally delivers a very special Christmas present:

	Though I wasn't sure for a while I could get the package open. Multiple layers of cardboard had been glued together, and then wrapped in countless layers of (free) postal tape, then more cardboard, then good tape. Oh, and of course, styrofoam peanuts inside, garbage bags and more tape. It took me a long time, working carefully with a box-cutter. What emerged was something I've been so looking forward to!
	Isn't it perfect? I'm so excited and pleased to finally have a place to put my spices that is not all crowded and jumbled and cuss-worthy. And it was made by my most talented and thoughtful sweetheart.