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River otter in Fountaingrove Lake

I was surprised to see a river otter swimming in Fountaingrove Lake on January 24, 2022 at 8:15AM. The lake, more a city reservoir, as beautiful as it is for what it is, doesn’t seem a really robust, flowing, naturalistic water system given it’s placement in the middle of a golf course. I know it is fed from the east by Piner Creek which discharges to Santa Rosa Creek which in turn joins the…

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California ladybug crawling on a Pride of Madera leaf.

Not sprung yet… According to calendars and the threshold we've set, spring doesn't begin until March 20. However, nature, as is typical, proceeds as its own pace as we seek to make it fit our arbitrary measures.

All that rain

It rained…a lot. Not as much as in a big, multi-day storm a couple of Februarys ago, but a pretty good hit. My rain gauge registered a good 7 inches over a few days. (Of course, it’s only the 15th, so the month can still find a good robustness.)

According to press reports, most Bay Area cities are at 100% of average annual rainfall for the rain year that starts measuring on October 1 and doesn’t…

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Not rolling stones do gather moss

When we moved in to our current place 2 years ago (in March!); I added a few moderate-sized boulders to the yard—they are a lovely hardscape addition to our more “natural” yard landscape, but I really delight in the moss that grow on them. In fact, when I was at the, um, rock yard, to pick them out, I was particularly focused on the amount of existing (at that time of the year very dry) moss…

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This rose was blooming last week between storms. Roses are a lovely forerunner of seasonality!

Although not a botany lesson, I love the use of imagery in the Bette Midler song*. Not pertinent to our area where nothing is beneath any snows, but…:

When the night has been too lonely And the road has been too long. And you think that love is only For the lucky and the strong. Just remember in the winter Far beneath the bitter snows Lies the seed that with the sun’s love In the spring becomes the rose.

*Yes, as far as I am concerned it’s her song…and her movie…but kudos to the song writer, Amanda McBroom.

And remember! Valentine’s Day is a good reminder to start fertilizing your roses! (Because OF COURSE you’ve already pruned them…) I have found great success with these options. (With the stakes, you can poke them in and forget them for several months.)

Rosy Winter’s Day This rose was blooming last week between storms. Roses are a lovely forerunner of seasonality! Although not a botany lesson, I love the use of imagery in the Bette Midler song*.

Celebrating another stable orbit

As we move into the new year on the Gregorian calendar, it’s interesting to note a couple of achievements in space exploration that recently took place.

(Incidentally, the Lunar New Year is the beginning of a year whose months are coordinated by the cycles of the moon. Chinese New Year 2019 begins on February 5—it’s the year of the Pig.)

first photo of Ultima Thule

In a first, just at the close…

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Short Mindful, Benefits

A couple of recent studies about mindfulness meditation suggest “even a very small ‘dose’ can have beneficial effects in individuals with very little or no practice.” Meaning that even people who don’t meditate regularly can benefit from even one short session of mindfulness meditation.

The suggestion is not that short, irregular meditation is preferable but that any meditation can be a benefit.…

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Two bees…one flower… I found myself mesmerized by these two different types of bees sharing one flower—a European honey bee and a native species—each having its foraging needs met without disturbing or beeing (get it…) disturbed by the other.

None of these flowers were growing where they were “supposed” to be growing. They were all “volunteers,” having popped up as “weeds”…and yet…

Misfit Flowers None of these flowers were growing where they were "supposed" to be growing. They were all "volunteers," having popped up as "weeds"...and yet...

In 1998, I was honored to have written this article that appeared in the Bay Area Reporter. Today, I was equally honored that they published my reflections on the 20th anniversary.

If you had asked me when I wrote the “No obits” article in the Bay Area Reporter in 1998, I’m not sure I would have been able to say I would be around on its 20th anniversary, which is Monday, August 13. I had only just found out about my own HIV infection four months before the article was published.

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