San Francisco is My Home

20
Mar

Exhibits at the Conservatory of Flowers

Author: kris, Category: Golden Gate Park, Kids, Museums, Nature

The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park has two exhibits going on right now. I saw both yesterday (ever your faithful correspondent, I go see pretty floral stuff in the middle of the workday so you don’t have to) and I can say with confidence that they are awesome.

First off is The Butterfly Zone. Now, I am not normally a girl who will cheerfully walk into a room full of giant flying insects, but somehow butterflies are different. I am still a little jumpy when they land on me, but my yen to be surrounded by pretty pretty colors overcomes — just barely — my aversion to things flying at my face. Butterfly Zone is an exhibit all about butterflies, as you might imagine, and includes tons of information on their lives and habits, none of which I paid any attention to. Instead, I sat on one of the benches and watched the many pretty little guys fluttering around the plants and flowers and occasionally coming to check out my shoulder blades and hair. This exhibit is good for kids, but very young kids will want to touch the butterflies, which is bad for them.

This exhibit runs through November 2. You can also check out their Night Safaris, where you get a different butterfly experience. Check the website for details.

Photo by Ron Lewis.

On the other side of the Conservatory (where you’ll find the secret passage to the Lounge), The Art of Penjing resides peacefully among the water plants. This ancient Chinese art consists of creating elaborate miniature landscapes of plants, wood and stone, with a few tiny houses and people in boats thrown in. (Incidentally, do you ever hear anyone talking about a modern Chinese art? Whenever you say “Chinese art,” you feel compelled to throw in an “ancient,” right? Weird.)

I love miniatures. I always have, since I was a little girl. I love elaborate dollhouses filled with sliver-sized spoons and knives no bigger than a freckle. I love books about tiny people or miniatures that come to life (The Indian in the Cupboard, Mistress Masham’s Repose, The Littles). And so I found these carefully constructed landscapes completely enthralling. The care that’s taken to choose the little plants that look like towering trees, the ones that look like pussy willows along the bank, and the tiny tiny blossoms blooming on hillsides — it’s unreal. Plus, there are itty bitty insects in there that were fluttering among the “trees” like birds. It was really enchanting. Top marks from me.

The Art of Penjing runs through April 27. Your Conservatory ticket will get you into both shows as well as the bulk of the Conservatory itself. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students, $1.50 for kids under 11 and free for kids under 4. Enjoy!

14
Mar

Star Gazing and the Zoo

Author: kris, Category: Celebrities, Landmarks, Nature

I’ve been feeling interested in celebrity sightings this week. Maybe it’s because my fellow is going to New York on business, and everyone has a story about how they ran into some celebrity they love and adore while they were in New York.

If you too are interested in fame-spotting, you might want to check out this list:

“San Francisco is home to a host of lovable local characters and celebrities, but if you want to spot famous faces with a wider appeal there’s no shortage of movie stars in this town. Whether you want to haunt a film set or stake out a celebrity-attracting eatery, this list will help you hunt down your favorite stars.”

Don’t worry, you’re not losing your daily dose of me me me. I wrote that list too.

In other news, I wound up going to the zoo yesterday rather than the photo archive. If ever you find yourself at loose ends on a weekday in this town, you really should check out the zoo. It’s calm and quiet during the week, so you can just sit and watch the animals in peace for a long time. And here it is, your moment of them (because moment of zen is trademarked, and I don’t want Viacom to sue me):

06
Mar

Falls in spring

Author: kris, Category: Nature, Outdoors

Some of you may notice I tend to wander off for a few days around the beginning of each month. Where do I go, and why? Could be anything, really. I’m not telling.

One place I might have been this month was off checking out one of our seasonal local waterfalls. I found this article in the Chron last month and have had it on my mental to-do list ever since. Though it is in the Chron, it mysteriously does not deal with child death, fatal MUNI accidents or the Mayor’s hair. Instead, it provides a list of great spring waterfalls to check out.

As we amble along through this unseasonable summer, I recommend taking advantage of it with a trip to a waterfall. Good for families, first dates and friendly gatherings, waterfalls lift your spirits in a way that letting the tap run for a few hours never seems to do. You think you’re going to get outside when the real summer comes. But that’s when the fog and rain hits. Do yourself a favor and step out your door now instead.

These falls are in Arizona, a bit farther afield. The picture is from here.

20
Feb

Swear not by the moon

Author: kris, Category: Nature, News

Keep your eyes peeled for a lunar eclipse tonight. Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, pah, a total lunar eclipse, big deal. I can see those anytime. Not so, dear friend. This will be the last total lunar eclipse available to us until 2010.

Also, who are you to be so cavalier about the movements of the cosmos? Shape up, kid.

It is, of course, possible that the weather, currently semi-crap, will be total crap by tonight, ruining the view of the big event. Still, it’s worth ducking your head outside to take a gander if you happen to think of it around 7 pm.

The next solar eclipse, if you are wondering, will take place in August.

15
Jan

Bird Walks

Author: kris, Category: Events, Kids, Nature, Outdoors

I’ve been slacking on my promise to include some kid-friendly activities, but here’s a good one for older kids: birding walks in the SF Botanical Gardens.

This sounds like the kind of thing I might have dragged my feet through as a kid, whining and wishing to be back with my Nintendo, but the guide is an old hand at peaking kids’ interest and the gardens are actually filled with some pretty exciting things: ospreys carrying fish in their talons through the air, and all that “red in tooth and claw” stuff.

The walks are held on the first Saturday of each month. Meet in Strybing Auditorium at 10:00 am. Walks last a couple of hours and are free, but will be canceled if it rains. As an added bonus, you can hang around for a picnic lunch in the gardens afterwards, since this is one of the most beautiful and visually interesting spots in Golden Gate Park.

This photo was taken by Mike Baird and obtained from Wikipedia. 

28
Nov

A day in the Park

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks, Museums, Nature

Today is one of those perfect days when all the city’s microclimates agree with one another and it is sunny everywhere. My dad and I had lunch at the cafe attached to the De Young Museum, which has a nice outdoor patio facing a small lawn dotted with sculptures and toddlers running circles around their parents. (Lest you get a screeching, Disneyland vibe from it, let me clarify that there were only a few kids, all adorable and none screaming, and the general vibe is very calm.) The food is way better than what you’d find at an average museum cafeteria, and you can buy beer, wine and champagne along with standard sodas and hot drinks.

Afterwards, stroll across the street and wander through the Botanical Gardens, which are full of Zen-ish little nooks and crannies decorated with benches and brooks.

22
Nov

Alternatives to Black Friday

Author: kris, Category: Nature

I know many people get fired up for the post-Thanksgiving bargains to be found everywhere on the ridiculously-named Black Friday (it sounds like a 17th century massacre in Ireland to me). But for those few of us who cannot stomach a store full of fellow consumers at 6:00 a.m., I offer this advice: go outside.

Yes, it’s November, but we all know that means nothing in the Bay Area. Wrap up a little and head over to the kid’s train at Tilden Park, or the beaches anywhere (many have re-opened after the spill, although today’s high tides may increase oil globs found on the sand so watch what your dog eats out there), or any of your local parks. Go see the Buffalo enclosure at Golden Gate Park, wander through the enormous trash-turned-art at the Albany Knob, or hike up the hill at Buena Vista and enjoy the view. You might miss some sales, but the real bargain is getting to be outdoors on a beautiful day in a place that’s almost deserted because everyone is off buying half-priced sheets and teapots.

I myself will be at the beach with my family, so…if you do go shopping and you see a half-priced teapot, seriously, pick one up for me, will you? Mine broke.

13
Nov

More on the oil spill

Author: kris, Category: Nature, News

One of the Chron website’s top headlines this morning reads “Cargo vessel may have strayed from its course before striking bridge and gashing its side, records show.”

May have strayed from its course?

I was worried it was too soon, but I guess if the Chronicle can be funny about the oil spill then I can too. And so I present to you five possible ways to make lemonade from the newly-oiled San Francisco Bay:

1. Declare it a swimmin’ hole for the Tin Man.

2.  Turn ferry building into refinery, Coit Tower into giant gas station. Rake in profits.

3. Use natural disaster as an excuse to admonish other political leaders in an attempt to appear helpful and concerned, fooling no one.

4.  Three words: dead bird soup!

5. Do nothing. Oil is the new water.

12
Nov

Oil spill in the Bay

Author: kris, Category: Nature, News

On Wednesday, an oil tanker ran into the Bay Bridge and sprang a leak, releasing an estimated 58,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. (The Coast Guard initially, bafflingly, estimated this as 140 gallons.)

This disaster reads like something Aaron Sorkin might write. The Mayor is out of town, so we’re under the control of an acting mayor. The city’s offer of personnel to help with cleanup was essentially ignored by the (apparently criminally incompetent) Coast Guard. Birds are dying off left and right, the oil is becoming thinner on the water and harder to scoop, and because of its hazardous nature the scores of volunteers showing up are not permitted to help. All we need is a screwball comedy premise involving Sam Seaborn and a call girl and we’ve got ourselves a fine episode of The West Wing.

Here’s an image of the oil spill, courtesy of Kurt Rogers from the SF Chronicle:

25
Oct

Pelicans

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks, Nature

I love Ocean Beach, but when you want more private, contemplative beach experience it’s all about China Beach. Located next to the stately Seacliff mansions, the beach is a tiny patch of sand and rock facing the Golden Gate Bridge and foggy hills of Marin.

I had lunch at China Beach with my dad today, taking advantage of the recent heatwave to get some facetime with the ocean. Naturally, this meant that the heatwave cooled off today, but it was still totally acceptable weather for an SF beach: cool, breezy, with patches of sun and roaming fog banks. We sat in our deck chairs and ate deli sandwiches and watched the container ships gliding back and forth.
“I was so disappointed when I first got to the city and saw the Golden Gate bridge,” my dad said. “I thought it would be golden.” We both contemplated the reddish bridge for a while, munching our sandwiches.

“They could at least paint it more of an orangey-red,” I said finally. “Then again, that would be a pretty massive rebranding project.”

“Pelicans,” my dad agreed. And then we watched some pelicans for a while.