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[FOUND!] LOST Black Dog – Nina – on Crestmont (with photo)

[Edited to Add: She’s been found! Here’s the note from her people:

“We are happy to report Nina has been found, and is safe at home. She made her way to the SF Zoo, and the wonderful staff got in touch with us. Thank you for all of your support and help! Hanna and Nick” ]

Please keep a look out for the black dog Nina who got lost last night. She ran off from Crestmont Drive, Forest Knolls, San Francisco 94131 on New Year’s 2014.

Here’s another picture of her.

“She was spooked by the fireworks and ran off. Please help her come home. She has a blue collar with a Marin County dog license and an oversized leather teardrop tag. Nina is a 7 year old small/medium sized black dog with brown stockings and salt & pepper toes on her hind legs.

[FOUND] LOST DOG: Crestmont Drive – Medium size Black Dog

Edited to add: The DOG IS HOME!

I got this comment on the ‘pets’ page, but am posting it here for better circulation. If I get a photo, I’ll post it here too. And if Nina comes home, please let me know!

Our dog, Nina, was last seen at 1am on New Years Eve in Forest Knolls on the hillside above Crestmont Drive.

She was spooked by the fireworks and ran off. Please help her come home.

She has a blue collar with a Marin County dog license and an oversized leather teardrop tag.

Nina is a 7 year old small/medium sized black dog with brown stockings and salt & pepper toes on her hind legs. She has two brown spots above her eyes and a white spot on her chest. There is some graying around her snout. We’re working on getting her photo posted here as well.

Save Off-Leash Dog Walking In The GGNRA!

I was sent this note by two of our neighbors. Though I don’t personally have a dog, I believe that dogs and their walkers make areas safer for *everyone* to use.

Why? It’s because dog-walkers are around. In all weathers, every day of the year, dogs need their walks. Who else uses the parks? Joggers do, but they usually go by running, often with their music on. So do hikers and trekkers and parents with their kids – but they usually select nice weather and convenient times. Dog walkers are the eyes and ears of our parks.

Paws in our parks means eyes in our parks.

So I’m pleased that our neighborhood is dog-friendly, and I’m happy to post this – for the dog-walkers, and for people like me who benefit from their presence. I’ve made some minor edits and corrected the deadline date.

SAVE OFF-LEASH DOG WALKING IN THE GGNRA!

What’s the Deal?

This past September, the GGNRA released a revised version of its Dog Management Plan in the form of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, or SEIS. This document proposes eliminating 90% of off-leash dog access, and severely restricting all dog walking in 21 existing GGNRA sites in Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo counties, as well as in all future sites managed by the GGNRA.

Why Should I care?

If the GGNRA implements their preferred alternatives, Marin will lose off-leash access to the Oakwood Valley Trail, Muir Beach and almost all other GGNRA trails. The only off-leash opportunity in Marin would be Rodeo Beach, the one beach that is only reachable by car by any and all users. And most trails within the GGNRA in Marin would no longer allow any use by people with their dogs, leashed or unleashed. People and their dogs would go from having access to an already tiny 1 % of the GGNRA down to a mere .1 %, effectively removing an entire user group from the GGNRA.

Several years ago, when the plan was first unveiled, public comment ran 3-1 against the GGNRA’s preferred alternatives. But the GGNRA apparently isn’t listening. They’ve re-heated the same plan, with even more restrictions in many locations. And they are requiring new comments for the “new” plan. Even if you commented a couple of years ago, you need to do it again.

What can I do about it?

Comments close on 18 Feb 2014 at 11 p.m. [Webmaster; It’s been extended from January 11th, 2014]. You must submit substantive comments that directly address aspects of the SEIS. No form letters or petitions will be accepted or counted. The GGNRA is making it difficult for a reason. Comments mailed in the old fashioned way always carry more weight. We’ve tried to make it easy for you: key points/phrases to include in your comments are listed below. You may also comment on the NPS website, by clicking on the “Comment on Document” button. Here’s the link: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=303&projectID=11759&documentID=55416

HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT POINTS TO MAKE IN YOUR COMMENTS

Mention where you walk, how long you ‘ve walked there, and what impact this will have on you as a dog guardian and as a citizen.
The SEIS lacks scientific data. Instead, it makes assumptions and assertions with absolutely no peer reviewed site-specific studies as required by law. Without these studies and corresponding data, there is no legitimate or legal foundation for these policy changes.
The plan doesn’t differentiate between impacts caused by humans or other animals. It just assumes all the negative impacts are caused by dogs.
If the GGNRA further limits dog walking as recreation, what few surrounding parks and trails that do allow off-leash will become overcrowded and overburdened. We need more access, not less.
A well-exercised dog is a well-behaved dog. The SFSPCA and Marin Humane Society, as well countless other dog behaviorists are opposed to GGNRA’s preferred alternatives.
There is no federally designated critical habitat in the GGNRA. Yet they cite possible impacts on critical habitat as a reason to ban dogs or restrict access to dog owners.
The GGNRA is an urban park, not a wilderness area. It’s critical recreational open space for a densely populated urban area. By severely reducing off leash dog walking, the GGNRA is in violation of its enabling legislation that allows different user groups -it specifically mentions off-leash dog walkers -to recreate.
Oppose the GGNRA’s preferred alternative and tell them you support the NO ACTION alternative.
Tell the GGNRA to enforce the existing (and adequate) rules to manage dogs.

For more info, visit saveoffleash.com

Send comments to: Frank Dean, General Superintendent Golden Gate National Recreation Area Fort Mason Building 201 San Francisco, CA 94123-002

SPREAD THE WORD! TOGETHER WE CAN KEEP THE GGNRA DOG FRIENDLY!

Season’s Greetings, and Happy New 2014!

Season’s Greetings to everyone who’s reading this, and a Happy New Year in 2014!

This website and blog is just over four years and 300 posts old. It was partly meant to give Forest Knolls a web presence; partly to give it a public voice.

I’ve found that writing about this neighborhood really makes me appreciate it. Please feel free to join in – send photographs, make comments, write about things you’d like to share. Onward to Year Five!

Don’t Leave Your Garage Door Opener Outside

Sometimes, we need to leave our cars outside for convenience. If you’re doing that – bring your garage door opener inside. Thieves are breaking into cars, and snagging openers. As someone pointed out, a thief, can check the car’s registration papers to get the probable address. And then they’re into the garage and maybe the house.

I thought our neighborhood was pretty safe, but it happened on Devonshire yesterday. Here’s what a neighbor posted on our Yahoo Group:

Our car was unlocked last night, mistakenly, and someone opened it, got the garage remote and opened our garage door during the night. Apparently nothing was stolen except for the remote, but it’s scary and creepy. The same thing happened a few weeks ago, when the car was parked on a different street, and the remote was found a block away.

Let’s all keep a neighborhood watch –

PLEASE REPORT SUSPICIOUS PEOPLE and ACTIONS TO POLICE
Non-Emergency Situations – 415-553-0123

Lock your house and your cars.
Keep the holidays safe and happy.

Thanks to the original poster for the heads up and the warning.

The House Collapse

Just over on the other side of the hill, someone was getting a house renovated. They were lifting the whole house to strengthen the foundations so they could build higher. On Monday night, it collapsed and slid 50 feet downhill.

According to the SF Chronicle news report, the owner had wanted to demolish the dilapidated 1400-square foot rental and build a 4200-square foot house instead. He couldn’t get Planning Commission permission for that since it would reduce rental housing stock; instead he went with a major “remodel.” Neighbors fought the plan for 6 years, saying the larger house would be out of keeping with the neighborhood. But in the end, the Planning Commission approved it 5-2.

Looks like the house is totaled and the owner (Port Commissioner Melvin Murphy) will need to demolish and rebuild after all!

The good news: No one was hurt. Although another building apparently had to be evacuated, I think it was found to be safe and everyone was let back in. When I went by to take this photograph, they were allowing traffic through on Graystone Terrace, the narrow winding road below the structure.

It did make me think, though, about building on steep hillsides, and collateral risk. Hope whoever finally builds San Francisco Overlook is a lot more careful.

Another Sad Owl Death in Glen Park

Another year, another dead owl in Glen Canyon Park. Last year, almost to the day, I wrote about a dead Great Horned Owl. This time, it’s a barn owl. It may have been poisoned by eating rats that had been poisoned with a rodenticide. Barn owls are wonderful at keeping rodents down, since they eat almost nothing but mice and rats – but when the rodents have been poisoned, the owls die.

The poor owl has been sent to WildCare for a necropsy (that’s an autopsy for animals), so we can find out for sure. It costs $300 to perform this analysis, and so neighbors are asking for contributions to WildCare (which is a wonderful non-profit that takes in rescued wild animals and birds) to cover their costs.

Anyone willing to contribute can do so by mail, online or phone, please reference “Barn Owl Patient #1754″.

Phone: Contact WildCare’s Stewardship Manager, Jan Armstrong, 415-453-1000, ext. 13,

Online: wildcarebayarea.org (there’s a link on the website to donate money by credit card)

By Check: Send it directly to WildCare, 76 Albert Park Lane, San Rafael, 94901.

This is relevant not just to Glen Canyon, but to all neighborhoods, including ours. We’ve seen barn owls here. Rodenticides kill not just mice and rats, but animals up the food chain: owls, dogs, cats, coyotes, hawks.

There’s an initiative to limit the use of some of the most destructive and dangerous ones: see WildCare’s Rodenticide Diagnostics & Advocacy Program . If you have additional questions about rodenticides, you may contact Wildlife Solutions Manager, Kelle Kacmarcik who is coordinating this effort. You may reach her at 415-456-7283, ext. 23.

Please help save our owls and other animals and birds!

Awesome Holiday Decorations at Greenview (Midtown Terrace)

Every year, the neighbors at Greenview in Midtown Terrace put up holiday decorations. The sheer exuberance of the decorations is so wonderfully festive and cheerful, each year around this time I start thinking about it and wondering when it’ll go up. On my shopping runs, I start to detour via Dellbrook to check it out. And then, magically, one evening it’s there! It stays up through Christmas, certainly, and maybe through New Year. (I’m not sure.)

They’re up now.

It begins with a string of colored lights across the street, creating an entrance. And then nearly every house has bright lighting, on both sides of the street.

And at the bottom of the cul-de-sac, there’s a wonderful display of lights draped over berry bushes, and a tableau that includes a menorah, duly lit by number of days, a dreidl, and a Nativity scene.

There there are a couple of elves, the north pole, and Santa and his reindeer. And a snowman. And a sign saying, “Happy Holidays”

Here’s what it looked like in earlier years: 2009 and 2010, 2011, 2012 And of course, it’s much brighter and more awesome in real life… these little picture just can’t capture the scene and the ambiance.

Once again, thanks, Greenview neighbors!

UCSF Fitness Center – Open House Dec 4-13, 2013

UCSF’s Campus Life Services asked me to help publicize their Fitness Center deal.

They’re offering a free month for anyone who joins before Dec 13, 2013. All the details are at this link: UCSF Campus Life Services.

Lost Cat: ‘Sky Kitty’

Jennifer, a former neighbor asked me to post this. Her cat, who currently lives in Forest Knolls, is missing. If you see him, please email her at jenadibi@att.net

Here’s her message:

I am no longer a member of the Forest Knoll group as we moved out of state. However, my cat has been staying on Warren Drive with a friend until I can come back and transport him to his new home. Would you be able to post this message to the listserve for me?

He has been missing since Thursday morning, November 21st. He lives on Warren Drive near Oak Park and responds to the name Sky Kitty. Has anyone seen him?

Please keep a lookout for Sky Kitty, and email Jennifer if you see him.

Halloween 2013 Thanks!

I missed Halloween this year because I was away. So I was really glad to see a note from Laura Bloch (who organized the Forest Knolls Halloween Loop) together with some pictures from Eleanor Marquez (reproduced here with permission from both).

Thank you to all the folks who handed out treats AND all the kids who went trick-or-treating. It’s terrific to have a neighborhood event like this!
Next year we’ll promote the event more so we get even more participating households and more participating kids. Kevin on Warren gave me some great ideas. (Thanks, Kevin.)
These wonderful photos are courtesy of Eleanor Marquez. Thank you, Eleanor, for being our official photographer!

Our neighbors, Brooke and Jack on Oak Park responded:

Thanks for putting on this great neighborhood event! Please let us know how else we can help out. It was great to see all the kids in their costumes and hear then say that we had one of the scariest houses 😉

Thanks, Laura Bloch, Eleanor, and Walter for this event. Even though I missed it, I’m so glad Forest Knolls had a wonderful Halloween!

Ooh, Shiny! Reflections on an Aston Martin

I was at West Portal this evening, walking back to my car when I saw people pausing on the sidewalk to take Smartphone pictures of something before moving on. As I came abreast, I saw what it was. A shiny new car.

How shiny? As shiny as a tin can when you remove the label. As shiny as a polished table knife. As shiny as a chrome-plated bumper, only this was the whole car.

Not metallic paint shiny, actually reflective. Like this.

It was quite spectacular, and I have to admit, somewhat unexpected in staid West Portal. Then again, a few cars down from it was a Tesla.

Maybe not so staid after all!

We Have Speed Humps and Speed Cushions

I’ve written here about neighbor Beverly Mack’s long battle to get traffic calming on Warren Drive. Then, finally, there were emails from SFMTA that they had approved two speed humps for Oak Park Drive, and two speed cushions for Warren Drive. Recently, someone let me know they’d actually been installed. And here they are. (Thanks, Beverly! It’s taken 5 years, but it’s done!)

OAK PARK DRIVE

Oak Park has two speed humps – like a gentle speed bump, on the stretch of road below the hillside. I drove over them, and I found them quite benign, they didn’t jerk my car.

WARREN DRIVE

Warren has speed cushions – like speed bumps, but with gaps so that a bus (or fire-truck) can avoid going over it.

While I was taking pictures, the 36 Teresita bus came by.

It needs to cross the double-yellow line to get past the speed cushion without going over it, but seemed to have no problem navigating it.

On the other hand, while I was waiting on Oak Park to turn left onto Warren, a car came by pretty fast on Warren Drive – from the direction on the speed cushions. So I think they’re a good thing, but maybe they haven’t slowed things down all that much. I’d still be careful on Warren.

Inner Sunset Halloween – We’re Invited

Barbara Oleksiw, the marvelous organizer who puts on all kinds of interesting events at the Northwest corner of Irving and 6th, is of course doing Halloween – not once but twice over. She asked me to run this.

We’re all invited. It looks like you could do the Forest Knolls Halloween loop as well as this, if you want.

There’s a pumpkin promenade the evening before:

Pumpkin Promenade with Punch! The Night *BEFORE* Halloween, Wednesday, Oct. 30th, 7 ~ 9pm

Hoping to make this an annual event, we are *this year* offering a creative display along Irving St., near Sixth Avenue, of carved pumpkins, starting at 7p. We invite YOU to lend us your carved pumpkins (just for the evening). Or, drop them off earlier, and pick them up later. We’ll have plenty of tea-lights, too.

All adults & kids will be offered warm drinks…and perhaps some cookies will appear.

Questions answered by Barbara: 415/2.46.47.48

And then there’s a Halloween party on Halloween itself:

An Old-Fashioned Halloween for pre-teens -Thursday, Oct. 31st 5 ~ 9pm

Spooks, Ghosts, Games & Treats (of course)
SPECIAL: Tricks for Kids to Play on Adults
All Adults Welcome when Accompanied by a Kid!

Photographs for Families with Babies, too!
• absolutely no admission charge • free, free, free •
NW Corner of Irving & 6th, Inner Sunset

Questions/Volunteer: Barbara 415 / 2.46.47.48

Halloween Loop in Forest Knolls

Halloween’s coming, and for the third year, our neighbor Laura Bloch is co-ordinating a Halloween loop via the Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization (FKNO). (See the map below.)

This is a way for kids to enjoy a fruitful and safe trick-or-treating event. Everyone who wants to participate will display a pumpkin. (FKNO can provide pumpkins courtesy Clancy’s Pumpkin Patch.)

fk halloween 2013 sm — Click on this to go to a larger – and more legible – version of the flyer. (If you keep clicking, it eventually takes you to a much larger one.)

Join a UC Berkeley Study to Improve MUNI

I was away for a few days, and came back to this letter in my email:

May I extend the invitation below to your neighborhood? I am a Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley, and we are working on an innovative, smartphone-based research study to improve Muni. We are going to start next week, and it involves a free Muni pass for anybody who participates! I would greatly appreciate it if you could help us get the word out about this study, and perhaps via a mailing list you maintain or the blog?

Thank you very much!

Andre Carrel, Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, Berkeley

I don’t know how many spots they have, or how long it will take to fill up – but here it is:
Subject: Free Muni pass for a month!

Dear San Francisco Resident,

Would you like to receive a free Muni pass and help improve transportation in San Francisco?

The University of California, Berkeley invites you to participate in the San Francisco Travel Quality Study. This is an innovative, smartphone-based study in which you can give direct feedback to improve Muni. Whether you are a driver who is tired of traffic, parking hassles, and $4 gas, or a Muni rider who would like to tell us about your experiences, we want to hear from you! For more information, and to apply, please visit:http://sftravelstudy.berkeley.edu

Help improve your city, reduce congestion, and help the environment.

Hurry! Limited slots are available and will fill quickly.

Please forward this opportunity to anyone you know who might be interested in participating.

Sincerely,

Andre Carrel, Ph.D. student, UC Berkeley

On a different, slightly-related, topic: Did you know that Muni buses are watching you? Among the notes on the side of the vehicle is this one: “WARNING”/ YOUR PICTURE AND VOICE/ MAY BE RECORDED ON THIS VEHICLE

Nearing Halloween

My evening walks are getting deliciously Halloween-flavored.

What better phase of the moon for an eerie picture than a waxing crescent?

(I found out quite late that if the moon is ‘D’ shaped, it’s waxing, and if it’s ‘C’-shaped, it’s waning. The mnemonic is ‘Dogs advance, Cats retreat.’ But it only works in the Northern hemisphere; Down Under, it’s the other way.)

Here’s the moon and Venus, taken a night or two later. [Edited to Add: Looking closely at this picture again, I can just see the Old Moon in the New Moon’s arms – the earthshine on the non-illuminated part of the moon. The Wikipedia says it’s light reflected from earth onto the moon.]

I was on Tank Hill recently, where I always take photographs even though very few actually come out. This time, though, with a little brightening of the image and upping the contrast, I got these Halloween trees.

Last night, I didn’t encounter a single dog-walker – but, appropriately, there were two cats. Here’s one:

And here’s the other – don’t miss the Halloween eyes. (Okay, it’s normal eyeshine, but it looked cool!)

And some neighbors have started putting up their Halloween decorations, like this happy family of jack o’ lanterns. Looking forward to seeing more decorations as we get closer to the date!

halloween pumpkins 1

Cal Academy of Sciences – 94131 Free Days Fri-Sun

On the California Academy of Sciences Facebook page:

Do you live in zip codes 94110, 94114, 94117, 94127, 94131, or 94132? We invite you to come to the Academy – for free! – this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. San Francisco Neighborhood Free Days are generously sponsored by Target.

Forest Knolls is of course in 94131, and if you aren’t a member of Cal Academy, this is a great offer. They do these free days from time to time. It’s limited to six kids per adult, and both photo ID and proof of residency are required. (A driving license will do both.)

(We wrote about Cal Academy free days in more detail back in April 2013.)

This time, the free days for our neighborhood coincide with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in Golden Gate Park, so traffic will be heavy and parking tough. The next neighborhood free day will be in Feb 28 – March 2, 2014.

If you’re planning to go, here’s the relevant page on their website.

This Tree…

This tree is near West Portal, and I pass it probably twenty times a week. I’ve admired it for years. It dominates the street; there’s no other tree of that size or beauty near there.

A few years ago, I was writing a piece on Memorable Trees, and wanted to add this one. But around that time, the owners had it pruned. It was very well done, not butchered, but still the tree looked shorn, like a child after the kind of haircut you get them when you don’t want to have to struggle with it too often.

For a tree, unlike a kid’s hair, it takes quite a time to come all the way back. In the last year or so, I’ve been noticing it again, and I thought I’d better get photographs before it’s time for another pruning.

To the owners of the tree, should they encounter this post – Thank you!

Thanks for caring for it. It’s a grace to the whole community.

Continuing Saga of Trashcans and Raccoons

I’d gone for a walk toward Tank Hill, the other evening, when I saw a shape scurrying across the road. Raccoon! And sure enough, it was Garbage Night, and there was the overturned trashcan. As I approached, I made out its tail, sticking out of the trashcan, and then, as it heard me, it came out and tried to decide whether to stay or run.

The light was poor, and the picture worse, but here you are. (It scampered off before I could get anything better.)

I’ve been wondering what’s happened – raccoons never used to up-end trashcans like this. They’ve been on a learning curve, it seems. Apparently, that’s what urban wild-life does – it becomes smarter. Here’s an article from Wired Science: How City Living Is Reshaping the Brains and Behavior of Urban Animals

Article from Wired Science: How City Living is Changing Animals’ Brains

THREE TRASHCAN SOLUTIONS

Meanwhile, our latest solution seems to be holding up – two crossed bungees, snagged outside the lid hinges on one side, and on either side of the main lip of the trashcan lid on the other. Like in this picture.

Walking around the neighborhood on garbage nights, we’ve seen other solutions.

One neighbor drilled a hole in the lid, and attached a strap with a bolt and washer. They then snagged the strap to the bar below.

But the solution that looked simple and ingenious was the one that tied up the trashcans with a bow, like shoe-laces in a larger size. Because it’s rope, not bungee, it doesn’t stretch, so presumably it’s difficult for the raccoons to pry off.

Wonder when they’ll learn to untie shoe-laces…