Fall Colors: Hiking Pulgas Ridge - San Francisco Bay Area field trip

Thanksgiving doesn't get much better than a hike into the Mid-Penninsula Regional Open Space (http://www.openspace.org ). 

And what could be tastier than the sight of local fungi, toyon berries and local oak acorn cups?

Fall Colors and Pie Town - Julian, San Diego County

Cousin Martha took me on a field trip to look out for fall colors and the perfect pie. 

We found both in and around Julian, nestled in the Cuyamaca Mountains, an hour or so from San Diego. Julian is both an agricultural center (think apples) and home to six (or more?) businesses that focus on producing the perfect pie. It also turned out to be a great spot to stop in for a delicious classic deli lunch - imagine your back in the 1960's, when butter was still queen - after which we headed back down the road for a hike and a chance to take in colorful deciduous trees and a meadow of autumn-red California Buckwheat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian,_California

CA Buckwheat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriogonum_fasciculatum

Halloween with Cousin Martha - Flowering Pumpkins

Carving Pumpkins

and

Flowering Pumpkins

Smaller Pumpkin Ingredients

Glue

Yard Debris: CA Pepperberry and Bits of Succulents

Large Pumpkin:

Scooped Out

Filled with Gravel

Then filled with agave pup (a small succulent compmplete with root, found in my Cousin's yard), bits of succulents and CA pepper berries

Added water to the large pumpkin as some succulents may root

Ancient Raindrops

Fossil Raindrops in Mudstone

Tonopah, Nevada
~16 million years old

Slow Travel San Francisco: Piazzoni Murals

I visit the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park every couple of months.

Mostly, I go to see just one exhibit, and focus on that.

I always, however, stop in to see the Piazzoni Murals: The Land and The Sea on the first floor. You don't need to buy a ticket to the museum to see them.

These are portions from two of the ten  panels, from 1931, originally displayed in the San Francisco Public Library. They are associated with the Beaux-Art style.

Pumpkins - Special Delivery from New York

Country Squash from Rosie

Who lives high in Manhattan

Does she miss California?

Finest Pumpkins and Art in the West - Half Moon Bay CA, Oct 7 - 10, Oct 15-16

The Pumpkin Festival starts up in Half Moon Bay this coming weekend - October 7. I have a lot of fond memories that go back to the 1970's of visiting this annual event. And it doesn't get much more beautiful than the San Mateo County coastline.

Town's Schedule for 2016 http://pumpkinfest.miramarevents.com/schedule-of-events.html

History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_Moon_Bay_Art_and_Pumpkin_Festival