The Life in My Years

An anthology of life

My San Francisco is a series of posts that describes my own personal relationship with The City.  My San Francisco pieces might be photo essays; they might be life stories or they could be commentaries.  They might be a combination of some or all three.  My impressions won’t necessarily be paeans to San Francisco; it’s …

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There should be some winter images in the offing but today I’m celebrating winter solstice with more images taken at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on a very hot Saturday in June. 

It’s chilly today. Let me qualify that, it’s in the low 50’s, which for me is chilly. I realize that I’ll get no sympathy from those who are bundling up to go out in the snow. When I took a trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden it was an unseasonably hot day. The Giants …

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Part of our first day in Montreal was spent strolling up and down the aisles of Marche Jean Talon, a public market located in the city’s Little Italy district. Window shopping; I can take it or leave it. That is unless we’re at a farmer’s market. Then I’m all in, as I was when we …

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When you enter the gates of the San Francisco Botanical Garden you exit the urban turbulence of the city. It’s acres of quiet paths, manicured lawns and gardens with over 9000 different plants from around the world. It’s Eden in the city; Eden that is without a naked couple discussing the pros and cons of …

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Every September the crack of the bat and pop of ball on leather are replaced by the hawking of chili and the admiring murmurs of car aficionados; it’s the annual Chili Cook Off and Car Show.

Friday Fotos took a week off and is feeling very refreshed. This week FF decided to dig into the archives to come up with a medley of images from the past. Green Apple Books In the heart of San Francisco’s bustling, eclectic Clement Street on the city’s western end is Green Apple Books, a venerable, …

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The little village, aware of its charm dresses up for the part with vibrant bouquets of flowers splashing the town with color. 

For me The Passion Garden was the highlight of our visit.

The overabundance of rain this winter and spring has created a deluge of color in the yard. When the flowers are in bloom as they are this spring Cora likes to say that they’re happy. The bougainvilla at the corner of the garage seems to be almost giddy with joy. Instead of taking in the …

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I really want to love hockey. On occasion I LIKE hockey; usually in the fall at the beginning of a long season or at the very end in the spring when the playoffs are in swing. In midwinter of this winter sport I just can’t get interested. My friend Scott absolutely loves the sport to …

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Cover photo: A tree reflects through debris and points of sunlight in a park puddle. Here in Northern California we’ve been having some prodigious rainstorms. According to the weather guy on TV (who is quickly becoming one of my least favorite people not living in Washington DC) we’ve been hydrologically pulverized by an atmospheric river …

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Mendocino is one of a string of quaint little seaside towns that dot California’s North Coast. Located a couple hours’ drive north of San Francisco, Mendocino was first settled by people from America’s northwest and as a result has something of a New England feel to it. During the 19th century timber was king in …

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duck soup; noun something that is easy to do or accomplish: Fixing the car will be duck soup for anyone with the right tool Duck Soup – A 1933 film starring the Marx Brothers in which Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale. An hour and 8 minutes of nonstop puns.  If you’re familiar with the …

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A stark place where the monuments, in varying doleful shades of gray, some in disrepair showing, the age of more than a century, contrast with the fresh green hues of vegetation.

Its the time of year when some areas of the nation are blanketed in white. But here in the San Francisco Bay Area its the time for winter rains to brighten the landscape. The hills have been getting regular showers and the landscapes wardrobe is going from stark brown to bright green. So this week’s …

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  Canon EOS 60D  ISO 125 1/8 sec.  F36  135mm What looks like a waterfall is actually a flow of water from the crater of the now dormant Excelsior geyser at the Midway Geyser Basin, a place which Rudyard Kipling once described as “Hell’s Half Acre.” The crater measures out at 276 x 328 feet …

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Tricolored Heron taken at Lake Martin Louisiana Canon EOS 60D ISO 200 1/500 sec. f/7.1 280mm This photo was taken during breeding season as denoted by the bill. Normally yellow the Tricolored Heron’s bill turns blue during the breeding season. The tricolored heron hunts in shallow swamps, lagoons and bayous for fish, amphibians, insects, and crustaceans.

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