We managed to sneak out twice this last week for sunrise. I took too many pics for one post, so I’ll break it down. I’ve got sunrise pics, birdie pics along with a bunch of duck butts. Today will just be the first sunrise morning. I took my Canon and Lastech used his phone. It’s fun to see the drastic differences in photos. The Canon grabbed the reds and oranges, while the phone accented the blues and more delicate hues. I love both.
For our Tuesday morning trek, we went down to China Basin to the pier right next to AT&T Park. We hadn’t gone there for photos before, so it was all new to us. We had driven past, but never had the opportunity to stop. Of course, we avoid that area during baseball season as it’s a traffic nightmare. It was beautiful that morning.
I’m going to mix the photos up, but I’ll mark mine and Lastech’s. You will see the difference though.
As for the rain, we have it. It’s very windy as well, so there are trees falling all over the place. There are power outages everywhere. I won’t complain. We need the rain too desperately.
China Basin, the home of AT&T Park by Rudha-anThe statue, by LastechMcCovey Cove by Rudha-anMcCovey Cove by LastechPelicans over the bay by Rudha-anThe bay by LastechPelicans by Rudha-anThe camera was NOT happy when I aimed it at the sun. It got even and gave me this. It’s a pigeon.Lastech’s photo of the pigeon came out much better.
Hello world. We survived the earthquake just fine here in San Francisco. The epicenter was rather close though as it was only about 40 miles NNE of us. While we did fine, many in Napa are now picking up the pieces. There was a tremendous amount of damage.
It’s that time of year. Personally, I like tourists. Most are pleasant and I’m even guilty of deliberately looking like one on occasion. Tourism helps keep my fair city going.
Lastech is wonderful and patient. The poor guy is used to me yelling I NEED A PICTURE! The last time I yelled, we were near Lombard Street. He patiently dropped me off and waited.
Yes, that’s a trail of cars coming down Lombard Street, but was the blooming hydrangeas that caught my eye. What isn’t visible is about 50 tourists with cameras milling around me.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
There’s a look on Titanescu’s face that sometimes brings to mind a tortured but not defeated soul. Perhaps a Russian writer after ten winters in a gulag, lasting twelve months each.
The enigma of cats, who do not judge but reflect: a throw back without absorption, and a convoluted intro to three shots I took at the Strybing arboretum. I really liked them, which is what I want to share…
Rippling leavesLand and sky with water in betweenGreen, blue and black
Another late Caturday edition, this time dedicated to a topic we’ve touched on before, emergency preparedness…
SFFD Mobile Command 1
Late, because we just returned from the annual San Francisco city-wide N.E.R.T. drill which took place this morning. A couple years ago, Rudha-an and I decided to try and create a family tradition by both getting certified as disaster workers and first responders. We did so by registering with the San Francisco Fire Department’s N.E.R.T. program, which they created in the ’90s following the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989.
Scarred helmet
The program’s acronym stands for Neighborhood Emergency Response Team, and is comprised of citizen volunteers who will act as auxiliaries to the Fire Department in case of a major emergency.
That’s about it for that tidbit of history. More recent events which took place in Boston (MA), West (TX) , and Leshan (China) prompted us to pay tribute to victims, both civilians and first responders.
A tribute and reminder
The San Francisco N.E.R.T. program includes training for animal rescue following disaster, appropriately called D.A.R.T. (Disaster Animal Rescue Team), which we both will likely undertake soon. Now, several of our blog’s friends have lived through or continue to deal with traumatic life experiences, and we would also like to dedicate this entry to them as well.
Long is the way, and hard…
The media talks about how to help children deal with the scary news of the past few days, and we think frankly that having them take disaster preparedness classes can be of great help. A young girl at today’s drill graduated from N.E.R.T. training when she was 7 years old and she is now in her teens.
For adults, busy though we all may be, it’s also a good thing to consider doing, especially jointly with a partner or spouse. The trainers, professional first responders, are survivors and generally speaking, great folks. Their spirit, humor and skills rub off and the whole experience is both fun and enriching.
Tools of the trade
Whatever tools help us claw our way through life are worth considering. So that others may sleep soundly. 18 hours a day…
From left to right: Tito, Titan, and Miss JennyFrom left to right: Midge (a very teeny dog), Dozer the tortoise, and Ginger the Golden Lab.
These are the two furballs and the tortoise from my inlaw’s home.
We have been busy preparing for an upcoming trip and neglected the blog for a few days, but I wanted to post something else about our city.
The one thing I really dislike about San Francisco is the traffic. It’s dense, aggressive and plenty rude. But then, since I chose to work nights, I get to enjoy it a lot more. I took these pictures at work with my phone, which explains the poor quality of some shots. But if you can get past that you might enjoy some of what I see every night.
A cruise ship docked at the next pier looks like a space shipThe Embarcadero in the fog
Now, the photo below shows Forbes Island with its mock-lighthouse (center left) and the silhouette of the WWII ship Jeremiah O’Brien in the distance on the right. Forbes Island is a restaurant, built by Forbes Kiddoo in Sausalito, which can only be accessed by boat.
Forbes and O’Brien
Looking towards the Bay bridge from the marina
Fisherman’s Wharf after dark
This next and last shot is disappointingly blurry but it has elements to it that I really liked, so there it is:
Counting down to Halloween on this gloomy Tuesday morning, let’s stroll through Autumn, Ray Bradbury’s country.
I hope you’ll enjoy these photos as I do, taken between the beaches of San Francisco, Golden Gate Park and the Shoreline at Mountain View, CA.
“That country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain.”
We don’t try to write about the passing of everyone. However, Scott McKenzie recorded one of the most famous songs of all about San Francisco. Written by John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas, it raced to the top of the charts in 1967. It it became symbolic of a city and a generation.
It is much saddness that we report the passing of Scott McKenzie in LA on 18th August, 2012. Scott had been very ill recently and passed away in his home after two weeks in hospital.
It has been our pleasure to maintain this web site over the past 15 years and this is the hardest update of them all. Farewell our much loved and wonderful friend.
Gary and Raylene Hartman
Our condolences to Scott’s family and friends. He will be missed.
