FMDCG

7:04 p.m. Taaanks bee too da gahdts...It's raining!

Raining good. Raining for a couple of days good. Gonna get cold after tonight, too, so the BA might see some snow on local mountaintops like Diablo, Hamilton, Tam. Been a while since we had a good soaking, and already the usua-yearly nasty traffic blahblah, small stream advisory meowmeow, road flooding yadayada is on the news. This year, however, it seems like the Santa Cruz Boardwalk is experiencing a bit of drama we haven't seen before. San Lorenzo River decided to change course and eat away at a sandy bank on which the Boardwalk stands, and has stood for like 105 years? NEXT, the Sierra gonna get pounded with 1-4 more feet expected.

Yee-Ha! Winter: meet Spring. Almost.

So anyway...Heard that multiple bands of strong, stormy weather might come ashore around 5 o'clock this evening. Wishing to feel some elements I cranked out a super sized load of laundry (btw...I hate my laundromat) and geared up for a walk-about when it hit: couple cotton layers, fleece, poncho, rain pants, wool cap, hiking boots, iPhone for pics.

Glad I got out.

First two shots are from down at Aquatic Park, one of my favorite places in SF. The rain had not yet begun in earnest, but it was still drizzly and moody.

8:12 p.m. WOW...it's really coming down, really pouring now! Love that sound. I found some good blustery weather while I was outside, but nothing like what just whipped through.

Mostly I just ambled about for three and an half hours: looking here, looking there, checking out the local flora and fauna, gazing out on the bay, feeling the storm move closer. After some time at the piers I remembered a place I had discovered just the other day (believe it or not after 14 years living in the area) and had vowed to soon explore: the Fort Mason District Community Garden. Spent around 45 minutes snooping about. Definitely gonna return. It was surprising, pretty, interesting, artsy, humorous, even in the pounding rain and gusting wind.

  

  

  

  

It is also BIG, surprisingly so, with plenty of pathways and structures and nooks and crannies and benches to set a spell. The garden was planted in the 1970's west of where it now sits (on the Great Meadow somewhere, I think), but was later moved to its current site when some old maps showed the location of an original Civil War-era army garden circa the 1860's.

So there you have it. The FMDCG. Cool, quirky place, full of veggies and flowers and the like, right by the hostel. A splash of color on a gray day. You should check it out if you're in the hood.

http://fortmasoncommunitygarden.com/index.html

9:27 p.m. Quieting down outside, the storm is moving southeast, but a pleasant pitter-patter of raindrops remains. It was a good one!

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What's the difference between an Irish wedding and an Irish wake?
One less drunk guy.

Have a Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Peter J. Palmer