Fuzzy impression from the high Berkeley hills. . . . . it rolls in most every day, often crossing over the 'inland water'. As Mark Twain famously said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco!" Not always, of course, but the marine air patterns affect the immediate coast directly. We're looking straight West. That's the Bay Bridge and Yerba Buena Island in the upper right, and San Francisco beyond. The tall aerial rises above Twin Peaks, and the pointy Transamerica spire is seen upper right.
Tags: FDsflickrtoys SF sanfrancisco berkeley bay SFBay bridges fog framed frostedglass CA summer marktwain 2014
. . . looking east from the Berkeley hills on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Coastal California, indeed, the entire state, has many climates and environmental zones. A fairly low mountain range runs north-south just east of the East Bay cities. West of that, the weather and growing zone is governed by the ocean fogs that move inland on, usually, a daily basis. East of that range the land gets little moisture, except during the 'rainy winter' months of November-March. This land is located east of the Coastal Range. Indeed, this is how 'original' California looked, before the invasion of Euro-Americans following the discovery of gold in 1849. California Live Oak trees grow adjacent to the natural watercourses. Elsewhere, the land supports dry-growth plants reflecting a desert environment. Those of us who know it, appreciate this view, which, in early spring, explodes with native wildflowers, especially the orange California poppy.
Comments, observations, corrections welcome.
My son prepared this wonderful meal for our 4th of July in California--tuna from the Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley, another fabulous and fascinating food emporium. What a feast! Thank you, Jason!
We had a big salad with lots of unusual ingredients to accompany the sushi.
Tags: berkeley oakland sushi chef homemade food japanese tuna avacado festive party meal dinner fish fresh marine table tablesetting napkins california bayarea tokyofish jason
Downtown Oakland, CA.
The lake and environs are a managed parkland greatly enjoyed by the local population, many of whom walk around the lake every day--three miles. It is also America's FIRST wildlife refuge, 1870. Read more at the link.
A memory of my trip last summer.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Merritt
Tags: Oakland water lake Merritt lakemerritt wildliferefuge recreation citycenter tidal birds sailboat urban California downtown highrise westcoast jewel
The jewel in the city. A natural tidal slough, the lake has been under continuous, if often slow, "improvement" since the mid-nineteenth century. I lived and worked nearby for almost two decades. (no post-editing)
From Wikipedia:
"Dr. Samuel Merritt, a mayor of Oakland who owned property at the shore's edge, was keen to get the body of water cleaned up so that it could become a source of civic pride. In 1868, he proposed and funded a dam between the slough and the bay by which the flow of water could be controlled, allowing the water level inland to rise higher and become less saline, turning it into a lake. Sewage was to be redirected elsewhere by two new city projects, although these weren't completed until 1875. The resulting body of water was called variously "Lake Peralta", "Merritt's Lake" and later "Lake Merritt."
Tags: lake water city urban slough tidal oakland California park CityofOakland trail highrise architecture skyline lakemerritt lakeperalta Bay Area bluesky waterscape urbanlake