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Posts Tagged ‘botanical’
Photo: California Quail of Golden Gate Park Out on a Date
Friday, March 29th, 2013Your Moment of Zen: The Stunningly Blue Bamboo of Golden Gate Park
Friday, October 12th, 2012You can get bamboo in blue these days.
See?
Blue Himalayan Bamboo, Himilayacalamu S Hookerianus in Golden Gate Park*
What will they think of next?
*They charge admission to get into the area where this bamboo is. They didn’t used to. Remember to VOTE NO on Prop B come November 2012!
This Giant Public Notice Outside of Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park Means What, Exactly?
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012I think it means they want to build a new greenhouse and some offices, but they don’t want to put in the concomitant parking spaces.
I think.
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I haven’t kept track of things there since they put up the paywall. (Do they still charge $7 per capita and pay the workers minimum wage? Something like that.)
Some people want to be alone with their plants at what used to be a free public garden, so that’s fine.
Oh well.
The Taciturn Raptors of Golden Gate Park
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012Poor little critter.
This hawk wasn’t looking so chipper, so I told somebody at Strybing Arboretum about it and he called the “raptor rescue” people.
And then they put this animal in a box to get it to “raptor rehab,” someplace in San Mateo County.
I’m srsly, that’s what they called it.
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Poor little critter.
OMG, the Rare California Valley Quail of Golden Gate Park are Still Around in 2012, as This Photo From David Cruz Shows
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012See?
Via Natures Lantern - click to expand
Now myself, I haven’t seen quail since 2009, but I’ve not really had a chance since I’m boycotting the Strybing Arboretum these days owing to the toll booths they installed based upon impossibly optimistic attendance projections.
But anyway, it’s nice to see that these critters are still around in 2012…
Corvid vs. Raptor High Above the Now-Moribund Strybing Arboretum (San Francisco Botanical Garden) in Golden Gate Park
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012This shot of a crow hassling a red tailed hawk was taken before the boycott of San Francisco Botanical Garden, before the arrival of the paywall manned by minimum-wage workers.
Circling too close to the crow’s nest, Children’s Garden, near MLK Drive:
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They said they’d kill the fee if it didn’t work out. It didn’t work out but I don’t think that they’ll ever kill the fee. Oh well.
On some days, the fees generated by the paywall don’t even cover the cost of paying the non-union workers minimum wage to collect the fees.
Of course our Rec and Park considers the paywall a “great success.” Oh well.
San Francisco Fox Roundup 2011: There are Fewer Adorable Red and Gray Foxes in Town, But They’re Out There
Thursday, December 8th, 2011I think they are, out there in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio and other less urban parts of town. I thought I could point you to some photos of sightings this year, but I came up empty. (I found of lot of paintings (like this one at our Legion of Honor Museum) and other works of art and honeys and Halloween costumes and the like.)
However, all these relatively recent shots are new to me
2010 at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park
Another one in GGP
2010 in the Parkside near the Zoo
2009 at Strybing Arboretum in GGP
It was a lot easier to spot foxes back in the Aughts, back in the first decade of the 2000′s. Poison got a few red foxes in Golden Gate Park (and one got hit by a car on Crossover Drive, I think) and the native gray foxes are probably up there in the Presidio still, but I can’t point you to photos to show that. Oh well.
This was the San Francisco Fox Roundup for 2009. Enjoy:
After a period of time of no sightings of foxes in Golden Gate Park, it seems that they might be coming back, especially in the western end. They probably are able to travel back and forth to the Presidio and Land’s End fairly easily.
Here’s a report from Joyce W., who saw a Fantastic Mr. (or Mrs. Fox) back in 2009:
“It was about 4:00 pm and the fox was within 15 feet of JFK BLVD at the far West end.
It was intently watching a gopher hole on a wide open patch of mowed lawn.
Two cars stopped and watched in silence which didn’t seem to bother the fox.
It wasn’t until a jogger came by that the creature dashed into the woods.
I am 90% sure it was a Red Fox and not our local Grey Fox. Very striking colour combination with the red, black and white.
How did these creatures end up in the park? Amazing.
I regret that my cell phone was tucked away. I was mesmerized by the vision before my eyes and didn’t want to divert my gaze for a second.
I watched it be absolutely still for at least three minutes.”
So there you have it. Coyotes are a similar size, but they run with their tails down and they’re not red the way cute cute red foxes are. So let’s call this a reliable report of a red fox in the west end of GGP at the tail end of 2009. Elusive, aren’t they? (Not at all like San Francisco’s raccoons and parrots.)
Here are photos of some east end foxes, from back in the day:
Foxes certainly don’t mind living in and around cities. Near Lincoln Boulevard in the Inner Sunset. Until we get some new photos, these old ones will have to do. Click to expand:
The last fox I photographed in Golden Gate Park. A wispy blur:
From about 175 feet away in Strybing Arboretum. She’ll see you before you see her:
A kit (or pup or cub) with its mom:
Keep a look out, they’re out there somewhere.
Send in your reports or post them to Twitter, as Thrusty did.
Impressions, Strybing: There’s a Riot of Color Going On in Golden Gate Park These Days, For Those Who Break the Boycott
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011This is what you can see inside Strybing Arboretum this time of year:
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And outside, what you’ll see are a bunch of tourists debating the merits of paying $28 or whatever to enter the gates. Usually, they walk off dejectedly.
Oh well.
Take a Look at Strybing Arboretum (aka San Francisco Botanical Garden) After the Admissions Boycott
Thursday, June 16th, 2011Why does our Strybing Arboretum (aka San Francisco Botanical Garden) need to become “world-class?”
Nobody’s ever explained that one to me. But that’s the rationale for charging admission these days (after six decades of free admission.)
Now, why isn’t our Strybing Arboretum called Strybing Arboretum anymore?
So it can become “world-class.” (Apparently, naming an arboretum after the woman who gave the money to start things up is considered provincial Back East. Plus Founder Helene Strybing made the mistake of becoming old and dying so nobody gives a ROMEO ALPHA about her anymore.)
Anyway, they started charging admission so the place turned into a ghost town, a “museum of plants and trees.”
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Oh well.
They said if things didn’t work out, they’d stop charging admission.
They said.
Check Out the New Ticket Booths for Strybing Arboretum – Would You Want to Work in This Box for $11 Per Hour?
Friday, June 10th, 2011Here are your deets for the new ticket booths at the San Francisco Botanical Garden:
And here’s your bill:
And here’s what they look like. Yes, there’s a bathroom in there:
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Myself, I haven’t been back into Strybing (except to poke my head in to see how few people are there) since they started charging admission.
Maybe I’ll visit again when they stop charging…
But these booths need hawkers, you know, just like the strip clubs in North Beach. Why don’t you sign up?
You’ll need sales skills of course. Check out the job posting below.
BTW, your pay as a “Garden Ambassador” will be $9.92 below minimum wage (aka nothing) and your commission will be zero (0) percent. (Can you imagine what hawkers would do on slow days if they got paid a commish of one dollar per entry ticket? OMG,
“Description
Greet visitors at the North Gate of the Botanical Garden and encourage them to visit this outstanding garden. Many visitors approach the admissions kiosk and don’t know about the amazing garden that lies just beyond the gates.
Skills
- Public Speaking, Sales
Requirements
Willingness to approach the public. Ability to communicate effectively and persuasively. Sincere desire to share basic knowledge about the Garden. Genuine love and appreciation for the SF Botanical Garden.”
