The West Portal Arts fair is this weekend. It’s a lovely place to pick up unique gifts, or buy jewelry or art or craft pieces directly from the people who make them. I love the atmosphere, and the variety.
And HERE’s my report from 2010, with a slideshow of pictures.)
I think there are some people who come back year after year. I also heard there’s a rug weaver who takes commissions…
Wishing them good weather this year too!
ETA: I dropped in on the fair this evening, just before it closed. The rug weaver was there, Xenon Hippolito, Master Weaver. The rugs are Zapotec, and they’re beautiful. Some are in neutrals, like beiges and browns; others are in saturated reds and oranges.
Everyone I spoke to said today had been good, and that augurs well for the weekend. Hope the weather holds!
Where: Backyard/Basement at northwest corner of Sixth & Irving
Rain or shine, more than a dozen generous craftsmen will work to bring perfection back to your life, by gluing, clamping, sewing, soldering, re-wiring, hammering, sawing, cutting, cleaning, adjusting … whatever you bring us.
We’ll attempt to fix anything except electronics & relationships.
Last item in at 3pm.
Twice your money back if you’re not satisfied. (It’s Free!)
Questions, or to volunteer: Barbara: (415) 246 4748
I got this note from the NERT co-ordinator for the Clarendon area. This is a really worthwhile program, and those who attend these classes do a favor not only to themselves and their families, but also are able to help people around them if there’s an earthquake.
APRIL IS EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS MONTH
Early last month, many of us got a very literal wake up call at about 5:30 in the morning, when a slippage on the Hayward fault jolted us awake. This month, we commemorate the 106th anniversary of the far more devastating quake that hit San Francisco on April 18, 1906. It is a good time to reflect on the fact that we need to be prepared. One of the best ways we can make ourselves ready to help ourselves, our families, and our neighbors in the event of a major quake or other disaster is to take advantage of the free training offered by the San Francisco Fire Department’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team program.
This training is offered at various locations throughout the city. This May, for those living in Forest Knolls, the Fire Department will provide NERT training just a few block away at 5th and Irving. For more information, see the attached flyer or visit the NERT website at www.sfgov.org/sfnert. You also can call the NERT office at 415-970-2022 to sign up for training or to get more information.
Here’s the flyer. Clicking on the image will take you to a larger version you can print out.
If you’re like me, you may use Panorama Drive to cut across the hill to get to Tower Market or Safeway or just onto Portola. We need to bear in mind that it is actually a residential neighborhood. Apparently people have been speeding, and residents have been complaining.
So the police are acting. Here’s from Captain Feeney in the Park Station newsletter:
Speeders Beware! Radar trailers have been deployed on Roosevelt and on Panorama in Midtown Terrace. Where there are radar trailers there will sometimes be officers with radar guns to enforce the speed limits in these areas. Do not assume that the trailer is out there for decoration and for us to say we have done something about improving traffic safety. We cannot be everywhere all of the time but when we are, beware! We will take enforcement action. We have received several complaints about these and other locations throughout the Park District and I assure you that we will address each of them at one time or another. Please slow down and be considerate of those who live on the street you drive on. If you or your friends drive on Roosevelt or Panorama, slow down or risk becoming a statistic.
I discovered the African-American Shakespeare Company last year, when I saw its ad for Twelfth Night and went to see the play. It was innovative and colorful and included a wonderful singer, Leslie Ivy. I thoroughly enjoyed it and decided to keep an eye open for other plays from them.
So that’s how I ended up at Julius Caesar today, in the intimate little Buriel Clay theater at Webster x Fulton. It’s the second-last weekend of its run; there are only two more shows, 31 March 2012 at 8 p.m. and April 1 at 3 p.m. and I can’ make it next weekend. It had to be today. I’m so glad I went.
Director Peter Callender set this, one of Shakespeare’s most political plays, in a fictionalized West African country, as a parable about the continuing conflicts and unstable regimes in much of Africa. The costumes were army fatigues, mainly camouflage khaki, and the weapons weren’t swords, they were machetes (though sometimes in the battle-scenes, machine-gun fire could be heard off-stage). All the actors spoke with appropriate accents, which were a little difficult to follow until my ear tuned in after about 10-15 minutes.
It was also a story about human politics, with Cassius as the instigator, Brutus as the young idealist often wrong but never in doubt, and Casca as the cynical but practical conspirator. Six actors seamlessly played all the roles. They were entirely believable as comrades, as enemies, and most of all, as people who understood how their world worked.
It felt like being backstage of the evening news… when you read about a coup or two factions in bloody conflict, is this how it starts? If you’ve ever wondered how relevant is Shakespeare, really, this is the play to watch.
[ETA: As a bonus, they have a small exhibition space next to the auditorium, with interesting displays rotating through. Today’s exhibit was about dark-skinned dolls.]
I went to the West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WTPCC) meeting last evening, at the beautiful Forest Hill clubhouse. The WTPCC is an association of associations; it has some 22 member organizations (including Forest Knolls).
COIT TOWER’S ON THE BALLOT
The Coit Tower initiative that I wrote about last time got enough signatures to go on the ballot, so you’ll be seeing it when you vote. It’s trying to push the SF Rec & Park to spend some of the visitors’ fees money to actually maintain the tower, which risks water-damage and cracks to its famous murals. WTPCC wants to write a supportive note on the ballot. It costs $200 + $2 per word. After a heated discussion about the exact wording, they decided to budget of $500 for it, and will sort out the wording later.
NATURAL AREAS PROGRAM DESTROYING TREES
Gus Guibert, Open Space committee, gave a hard-hitting presentation on what SFRPD’s Natural Areas Program (NAP) plans for Mount Davidson:
1600 trees to be felled, including clear-cutting a 3.86 area, with more tree losses expected to wind-throw;
suppression and removal of uncounted saplings under 15 feet in height;
closure of several trails.
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd said that with NAP’s budget merely $1.3 mn annually, this is an unfunded initiative. But the fact is, as I pointed out, that trees are already being killed.
(As an aside: On Mt Davidson, a number of trees have been “girdled.” If bark is removed all around the trunk of a tree, it starves to death. The San Francisco Forest Alliance (www.SFForest.net) has recently been organized to fight tree-felling, habitat destruction, use of toxic herbicides and waste of money better utilized elsewhere. I’ve joined that group. It’s trying to prevent further damage to Natural Areas including Mount Davidson.)
Separately, Sean Elsbernd discussed the America’s Cup, and also the planned new Parks Bond of $185 mn.
NERT TRAINING STARTING 15 March 2012
If anyone is interested in NERT (Emergency Response) training, it’s on offer at Aptos Middle School Thursday evenings starting March 15th and running through April 26th. It’s free, and kids (especially grade school age) are welcome with their parents. Click here for the flyer (It’s a PDF file).
JOURNALISTS HONORED
Patrick Monette-Shaw, who has been investigating Laguna Honda Hospital’s issues around its Patients Gift Fund, was awarded the James Madison Freedom of Information Award. WTPCC congratulated him. His advocacy pushed the City into a full audit of the Fund.
Mitch Bull, who publishes the Westside Observer, ran the articles. He pointed out that it’s the small neighborhood newspapers that actually have freedom of speech. (I agree. Westside Observer ran a story about Sutro Forest back in November 2009, when most papers were in lockstep favoring the Native Areas Program and tree-felling.)
(Other problems relating to Laguna Honda Hospital: Right now, it’s a loud whiny aircon system that’s eroded an estimated $50,000 each from the value of nearby homes in Midtown Terrace by rendering their yards unusable.)
I have to say I’m an admirer of neighborhood newspapers and newsletters that address day-to-day issues that impact our lives. Will blogs ever replace them? I don’t know, but I’m glad that these newspapers are available online as well. It makes their archives easy to access long after the last paper issue got tossed out.
I was out at Ocean Beach, recently, with one of our neighbors. It was a gray day, but fresh, and we walked down from the Beach Chalet to the Sutro Dunes “Natural” Area, and back.
She looked out at the beach. “The last time I was here,” she said, “we were making a big sign saying TAX THE 1%. It was amazing.” She waved in the direction of the sea. “They took pictures from the air. There were hundreds of us.”
Surprisingly, I hadn’t heard about the event, so she sent me a couple of the pictures. “I’m in the T of ‘the’,” she noted. The pictures are copyright, so I’m not publishing them here, but here’s a link. They’re pretty awesome. [ETA: They kindly gave permission, so here’s one picture. But do go to the link for more!)
There’s even a video on Youtube. They estimate that over a thousand people showed up. Looks about right from the pictures.
A GIFT SHOP AT BEACH CHALET, WITH COFFEE
At the Beach Chalet, we discovered something new: a gift shop that has coffee. And snacks like cookies and crackers and chips. It’s nice to have something handy to the beach. This is at ground level, perfect to drop in on after looking at the murals and the amazing carved balustrade of the staircase up to the restaurant.
Unfortunately, it’s not noticeable at all from outside or even as you enter. It’s only because we were wandering around looking at the exhibits in this little museum that we spotted it.
“It would have been great to have this around that day,” she said. “After the Tax-the-1% event, we went looking for coffee. We had to walk quite a ways to find it.”
If you’re interested to know what the city is doing with bike lanes, pedestrian traffic and such, they’re holding some public meetings to discuss their plans. The first “Green Connections” meeting is on Feb 15th. Here’s what the email I got said:
Join us for the Green Connections kick-off event to help improve the paths to the City’s parks!
When & Where:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2012
5:30 to 7:30 PM
@ the LGBTCommunity Center, Rainbow Room
1800 Market Street, San Francisco.
Green Connections will increase pedestrian and bicycle access to parks, open space and the waterfront, by re-envisioning City streets and paths as ‘green connectors’that can be built over time.In the first year of the project, the focus will be to map a citywide network. The second year will build on this framework to design green connections in the following six neighborhoods: Bayview-Hunters Point, Chinatown, Potrero Hill, Tenderloin, Visitacion Valley and Western Addition.
Get involved! We will host many public events to engage communities in developing Green Connections. Visit the project web site below for project information, events and meetings. Also, sign up for the Green Connections mailing list to keep receiving future e-mail announcements.
Another day, another visit to a lovely building. This time, it was the Forest Hill clubhouse to attend a meeting of the West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WTPCC). This is a group of some twenty neighborhood organizations, including Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, The Woods, and Mt Sutro Woods Home Owners Association.
Here’s my take on it — and things you might want to act on.
SF RPD PROPOSES A $185 mn BOND
San Francisco Rec and Parks had a bond issue back in 2008 and want to come back for more. Though Dawn Kamalanathan made an excellent presentation, with pictures of kids and playgrounds, I got a sense of skepticism from the room.
The first set of questions related to the funding: If SFRPD borrows $185 mn from the public, it will have to pay interest and then pay it back… with taxpayer funds. Where, people wanted to know, are the repayments coming from?
The second issue was that SFRPD has spent money on extensive capital improvements, but it doesn’t have the operating budget to maintain them – or indeed, anything else. One example was JP Murphy Playground, where they renovated and improved the clubhouse, and then laid off the director and closed it down. Someone else quoted a park in her area, where improvements were made and all the gardeners laid off or retired and weren’t replaced.
A third set of concerns – where I also spoke – was about the Natural Areas Program and how funding it is leading to tree felling, habitat destruction and a growing use of Tier I and Tier II pesticides. Is this a good idea to fund?
Later, someone pessimistically told me that bond measures always pass because they’re paid for by home-owners but voted for by renters – and renters are the majority in San Francisco. I dunno. I was a little puzzled at the tone of the whole thing. It was not exactly, We really need to do these specific things, and so we need the money. It was more like, We really want to raise some money, and so you tell us how you want us to spend it. Odd.
SAN FRANCISCO OVERLOOK
The steep hillside above the planned development
As readers of this site will know, the old Crestmont project slated for the dead end steep slope on Crestmont Drive has been revived in a new guise: San Francisco Overlook. (My article on the original project is here.) An Environmental Impact Report has been submitted to City Hall, and it’s under review.
The WTPCC wrote a letter in support of the Mount Sutro Woods Homeowners Association, which is spearheading the resistance to this dangerous project. (The picture here is the steep slope just above the planned development.)
COIT TOWER PRESERVATION GROUP
Jon Golinger made a presentation explaining that though the San Francisco Rec and Parks Dept (SFRPD) is making maybe $500 thousand a year from Coit Tower, it’s not maintaining the place at all. Lights are broken, signs are outdated and warped, and worst of all, there’s water damage on the historic murals. Meanwhile, SFRPD wants to change the concessionaire and rent out the space for private events.
The group is trying to get enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot to force SFRPD to spend some of the money it makes off Coit Tower in maintaining and improving it. If anyone would like to collect signatures for them before Feb 4th, please email me at fk94131@yahoo.com, I have a signature sheet. Their website is at ProtectCoitTower.org
REDISTRICTING SAN FRANCISCO
Every ten years, San Francisco’s districts are redrawn, based on population. This year, the growth in population in District 6, because of all the new building there, means all the lines have to be redrawn. Here’s the preliminary draft of the proposed new districts.
According the the tentative plan proposed by the Redistricting committee, Forest Knolls, Miraloma Park, Mount Sutro Woods, and Galewood Circle, The Woods and Twin Peaks Improvement Association would all move to District 8.
The concern for WTPCC is that such an arrangement would mean that the concerns of the homeowners of the current District 7 would be over-ridden by the quite different concerns of the voters on the other side of Twin Peaks. They have made a different proposal. In the map below, everything within the blue boundary would be D7. (The colors denote the various Neighborhood Organizations.)
I think it’s a pretty good option, but I’m concerned that Mount Sutro goes into an entirely different district. Rising as it does above our neighborhood, everything that happens there (at least on this side) affects us. If the trees are felled and there are landslides when their roots die, our neighborhood is where they’ll land. If they start using pesticides as the Natural Areas Program does regularly on Twin Peaks, it’s our area it’ll wash into. If the tree-felling destroys the windbreak, guess which neighborhood gets the wind?
A few days ago, I visited McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park. Everyone knows this handsome old building.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
I was there on a mission, looking for information under San Francisco’s Sunshine Act.
(Pardon me while I digress. There are many things I love about San Francisco, most of which any casual visitor could appreciate (and do, when I take guests on the usual rounds of our city). But for someone who lives here, the Sunshine Ordinance is right up there with the views and the diversity. Its implies that ordinary people can ask for information from the city for any reason and no reason, because it’s their right. I love the way that democracy here is built of small elements right at ground level. A community meeting here, a piece of local legislation there. I burbled about it two years ago in Admiring America and from time to time, I still burble.)
Anyway. I was looking for information on SF Rec & Parks Department’s pesticide use. Olive Gong, SFRPD’s own Lady Sunshine, is responsible for answering these Sunshine requests. She emailed me to suggest I come in to look at the records, rather than her trying to send them to me. When I saw the binders, I understood why. It made a lot more sense for me to go through them, rather than her trying to copy what must have been maybe 5-10 lbs of paper…
McLaren looks down at the pesticide binders...
She was most gracious. She set me up in a corner of the conference room (which would be available for a couple of hours) and popped in from time to time to check if I needed anything. I didn’t … I just needed not to be distracted from my work by the sheer awesomeness of the place.
McLaren Lodge is handsome on the outside, and it’s gorgeous on the inside. It used to be John McLaren’s residence. The conference room is paneled in what looks like leather: understated, elegant, warm. The view outside is Golden Gate Park. It’s a good tribute to the man who made the park.
And the mission I was on? I was trying to find out more about pesticide use, particularly by the Natural Areas Program. For anyone who’s interested, the preliminary report of what I found is at the Save Sutro Forest website.
The decorations are up everywhere… wreaths and lights and Santas and menorahs.
Down in West Portal, my favorite’s the Manor Coffee shop, which does wonderfully homely over-the-top seasonal decor every year. It’s got everything this year – star-shaped lights and Snoopy and a Nutcracker, and even a Santa breaking through the ceiling.
Of course Union Square is all brightly lit, and as usual there are puppies and kittens up for adoption in the Macy’s windows, causing a traffic jam as people stop to squeal over the cuteness . Tiffany has a carousel theme, and Neiman Marcus the huge tree in the front atrium.
But the one I liked best was simple and ethereal in the upper windows of Bulgari – floating candles.
Over in the Westfield shopping center, it’s looking a lot like Christmas, too. It’s busy and bright, and pleasant to wander through. They have an interesting light show around 6 p.m. every evening this season: colored lights and pictures are projected into the dome. The images of toys and candy are for kids, but what fascinated me was the precision and the alignment.
Before the actual show starts, they project colors into the dome, making it look like stained glass. But the compartments are actually the inner sculpting, and the lights sort of color them in. It would be so easy to get this wrong – but they don’t.
This came from the San Francisco Police Department’s Park Station newsletter… and I thought it was too good not to share.
It happened on the 900 block of Cole St. (Carl Ave.)
Officer Ferraz and posse responded on a call of a man with a gun, wherein a passerby called 911 to report a robbery in progress. The officers found a masked gunman standing behind a liquor store’s counter. The gunman refused to put down his pistol and the officers overpowered and disarmed him.
They then discovered that the gun was a replica, that the gunman was an actor, and that the filming crew recording the scene from across the street had not applied for a permit from the San Francisco Film Commission.
I wonder what the film-makers are going to do with that cinema verite footage…
ETA 2: Apparently there was no cinema verite footage because the camera crew got scared when the police arrived, and stopped filming. Also, there was no permit needed because they were filming on private property…
It was around 9.20 at night, Forest Hill station. We’d been downtown, caught the train back. It was a quiet night; most people were probably celebrating or recovering from Thanksgiving.
As we headed for the elevator, we were stopped by a tearful young woman who appeared to be in her early 20s. “Please, stop,” she said, “I don’t know what’s happening! He’s going through all my stuff! I’m just trying to go home! Please stay with me!” We stopped and looked, and there, next to the pillar, a man was indeed ferreting through her flower-embroidered cloth bag which lay on the floor. He was taking everything out and going through it.
What was going on, we asked. He didn’t have to tell us, he said. But he spoke to the woman, and as far as we could gather from what he said, someone told him she had gone into the bathroom after he had left it, and stolen some insulin he had left on the counter.
KING SECURITY UNIFORM
I looked at him again. He was wearing the uniform of King Security. I didn’t get his badge number, but I did ask him for his ID. He told me to go away. I said I had every right to ask for his ID. He said he had ID, but he didn’t show it to me. After a few minutes, he stopped trying to search the woman’s bag, and left.
We stayed with her until the next train came. Then we went up to ask about the aggressive security guard, who apparently did not know you cannot search someone’s belongings without their consent.
“I don’t know who he is,” said the station agent. “He came in on a transfer. He’s nothing to do with Station security.
I emailed King Security to let them know. And when I went to Yelp, it turned out that the only two reviews were one-star reviews about King Security guards behaving badly.
One of the wonderful things about our neighborhood, the counterbalance to the forested Mount Sutro on one side, is the view-platform of Twin Peaks on the other.
The other day, someone called me. “You have to go up to see the view,” he said. “The air is clear and the clouds are dramatic.” So I went.
Here’s what it looked like. The view was sharp and the clouds were indeed dramatic. And the scene was enlivened by a small aircraft buzzing around, trailing a large red banner. I couldn’t read it as it waved through the sky like a giant flag. But I liked the effect against the backdrop of the clouds and I took a few shots with my pocket camera.
Later, when I downloaded the pictures, I figured out what it said: The all new Camry is here.
But even without the airplane and the banner, the view was amazing.
Just another gorgeous day in gorgeous San Francisco, to remind us that some of the most scenic places in the city are only minutes from our doorstep.
Xena is all-black, smooth coat, about 25 lb., pointy ears. She was last seen at the edge of Safeway Park in Diamond Heights. She’s very, very shy and won’t come near you, so please just call [ETA: Removed phone number, no longer needed.]
(Information and photograph provided by Avrum Shepard of the West of Twin Peaks Council.)
Please keep a lookout for this dog, especially if you’re walking your dogs anywhere near here.
Glen Canyon Park — both the canyon itself and the flat “Safeway Park” above it and adjacent to the Diamond Heights Safeway parking lot — is many things to many folk. Kids play on the grass and the play structure, there’s a ball-field, I’ve seen police cadets training by running around the paved trail of the Safeway Park. It’s a gopher haven — and a de facto dog play area where off-leash dogs run around and socialize and chase each other in circles.
It’s also part of the territory of a pair of coyotes. I’d posted about an encounter I saw between a dog and the coyotes recently. (This picture is from that event.)
DOG CHASED OFF
Yesterday’s encounter didn’t go so well. I wasn’t there, but heard about it from someone who was. Around 10 in the morning, two dogs being walked in the park spotted the coyotes. The “dogs chased after the coyotes — who then turned around and chased back. The dogs ran off and away.” Spectators helped hunt for the dogs; one was found, but the other is still missing as of this post. [ETA: Found!] Quoting from a message we received from Avrum Shepard of the West of Twin Peaks Council:
Xena is all-black, smooth coat, about 25 lb., pointy ears. She was last seen at the edge of Safeway Park in Diamond Heights. She’s very, very shy and won’t come near you, so please just call … [ETA: Phone number removed, not needed now].
I really hope Xena gets back unscathed and in good shape. [Edited to Add: She was found the following morning, around 3 a.m., according to Avrum.]
KEEPING YOUR DOG SAFE
Coyotes don’t have much interest in people, unless someone is feeding them — and that, thankfully, doesn’t appear to be happening in San Francisco. I actually saw a coyote one night in the park. It was hunting gophers. I was taking a walk. I caught it in the beam of my flashlight, and yelled. I needn’t have bothered yelling; the moment I flashed my light on it, it was gone.
However, coyotes are very aware of dogs, which are from the same animal family. (They’re canis latrans, dogs are canis lupus familiaris.) Dogs are potential rivals, potential enemies, even potential friends (though it’s probably not a good idea to permit or encourage such friendships).
What this means is, Glen Park shouldn’t be treated as an off-leash area, even in the day time. The easiest way to keep a dog safe is to keep it leashed; it won’t be tempted to chase after the coyote pair even if it spots them, and a coyote is not going to chase a dog that’s up close to a person.
Rec and Park have put notices everywhere, saying there are coyotes around. They’ve put big notices saying it’s not meant to be an off-leash area for dogs. I can see why people ignore the signs. Dogs need a place to play, and this is convenient and friendly. It’s a delight to watch them romp, and one of the reasons I like to walk there.
But it’s not a good idea. If it goes on, it’s only a matter of time before it ends badly for the dogs or the coyotes or both.
Lest anyone think that all I do here is grumble about bicycle riders who don’t stay safe… especially in the fog — I’d like to talk about one I saw this evening.
The sunny afternoon turned to a gray foggy evening. The mist was already wrapping itself around the hillside and trees. And there was this cyclist, working his way up the steep Twin Peaks Boulevard.
Wearing a yellow safety vest and a light-colored helmet.
With front and rear lights.
Staying to the side of the road, and clearly conscious of traffic.
From a grateful motorist: Thank you thank you thank you. May the wind be ever at your back.
Some time ago, we’d posted about the renovations at the Midtown Terrace Playground. Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization sent round a flyer with details of what’s going on there — a latchkey program for 5-11 year-olds, and a daycamp — as well as hours and contact details. Here it is:
As usual, clicking on it twice will give a larger image. (We checked Terry Trejo’s email address in the Parks website, and it’s stated as Teresa.Kuchinsky.Trejo@sfgov.org — so if the one above doesn’t work, try this. Or call her!)
(FKNO is at http://www.forestknolls.org, not forestknolls.com — a cheap realty website, nor www.forestknolls.info — which is the site you’re on now. Note the different extensions: org, com, and info.)
Out for a walk around 7 p.m. this foggy evening, I heard someone urgently calling his dog. I looked round, and saw a coyote bounding uphill above the trail. Another coyote lay low in the bushes, observing the situation below.
The dog followed along the trail after the coyote, happy tail and curious nose; it was in an investigative and playful mood. Fortunately, it obeyed the summons and rather reluctantly returned to its people, who promptly leashed it. The coyote watched it leave.
The people with the dog stood on the steps a little, watching the coyotes, then left. A jogger came up the trail; I stopped him and told him about the pair of coyotes. He nodded, turned around and went back the way he’d come.
I also retraced my path to avoid disturbing them, and found a place where I could watch them from the road above. It felt amazing — here I was, in the middle of a city, watching coyotes in the same way as I’ve watched the Deccan Dhole in a sanctuary in India, or a hyena in the Masai Mara. The coyote hung around the path for a while, sniffing and marking, probably to reclaim its turf from the dog. (Coyotes really notice dogs; they recognize them and react to them.)
Suddenly, it bounded from the path into the brush, and I knew someone must be coming. Sure enough, a jogger ran past on the same trail. Not sure whether he noticed them or not, but he kept going, and nothing happened. (He was dogless.)
I was surprised the coyotes were out so early and stayed so visible. Before this, I’d only ever seen them late at night, and people have reported seeing them early in the morning. (I posted about that, with guidelines for Coyote Caution.)
COYOTE CAUTIONS
I guess what this means is — if you’re taking your dog into coyote terrain (which is pretty much all the Natural Areas around here, as well as Golden Gate Park) — it makes sense to keep it leashed, even if it’s not early morning or late at night. This dog was sensible and obedient and returned when called. Some dogs would want to engage with the coyote, which could end badly for one or both.
Janet Kessler, who is the Jane Goodall of San Francisco’s coyotes, has recommendations for dog-walkers in coyote territory:
IF COYOTES FASCINATE YOU…
If you’re interested in coyotes, I highly recommend Janet Kessler’s brilliant blog, Coyote Yipps. Scroll down for some neat video; I loved the one of the coyote hunting some underground critter — a gopher? It has a surprise ending.
The West Portal Arts fair is this weekend. It’s a lovely place to pick up unique gifts, or buy jewelry or art or craft pieces directly from the people who make them. I love the atmosphere, and the variety.
FOREST KNOLLS NEIGHBORHOOD 