I haven’t seen a whale from San Francisco lately.
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Posts Tagged ‘grey’
The Grey Whales of San Francisco’s Baker Beach – Another Great Capture from Nature’s Lantern
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013A Brief History of Foxes in Golden Gate Park – Looks Like They’re Not Around Anymore
Monday, April 1st, 2013Here are some recent reports of fox encounters in San Francisco:
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. But then poison got a few of them (and one got hit by a car on Crossover Drive, I think).
And native gray foxes are probably up there in the Presidio still, but I can’t point you to photos to show that. Oh well.
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.”
Here are some of the red foxes I’ve photographed in GGP over the years:
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.
Who You Going to Call? Drabbusters! – Dogpatch, San Francisco, USA
Friday, August 31st, 2012
Can Your Aging Mercedes Leave a Trail of Blue Smoke a Hundred Yards Long? Well, THIS One Can!
Wednesday, June 27th, 2012Old Mercedes diesels* might be really slow, and they might emit more particulates than a fleet of new cars, and they might get converted to run on french fry grease, but…
The most cartoonish cloud of smoke coming from a car exhaust I’ve ever seen:
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…they will never die.
And here’s the thing – old diesels are exempt from California’s annual smog check program.
That’s a giant loophole big enough that you could drive a big old honking Mercedes Benz diesel through.
Hurray!
“I’ve only been a Benz owner for less than a year now. However, I’m beginning to think that stamping out smoke on these 616s is like trying to rid your yard comletely of dandelions – it’s a fool’s errand.
I’ve had my IP rebuilt, rolled in a new timing chain, and had the valve seals replaced all within the last 6 months. Injectors are also new and the valves were adjusted when the seals were replaced. Fuel filters and fuel lines are also new and all fluids are fresh. The only differences between mine and yours are that I have lower compression and I use perhaps a 1/2 quart of oil in 2,000 miles.
Despite this, I still have some smoke. There’s a hint of whitish smoke on cold idle at start up and a bit of black smoke when I get on the throttle or climb steep hills.
I have another set of injectors that I had rebuilt and will install them in due course. I’ll also rebuild the vacuum pump as a preventative measure. But after that, this game of “whack a mole” has to end.
There is one good thing to come from all this work, however. My engine sounds silky smooth. No knocking, no nailing, and no hicccups. The only underhood sounds you hear are the clickity click of fuel injectors popping and the combustion inside the engine. So long as this continues to be the case and my oil consumption doesn’t increase, I should consider everything else to be inconsequential.”
*Pray that this particular old Mercedes is a diesel. ‘Cause otherwise this rig prolly needs to get oil added on a daily basis…
Mondrian House, Western Addition
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
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.
Honda vs. Honda: Driver Flips Her Civic Next to a Shadow Motorcycle on Oak Near Divisadero – November 27th, 2011
Sunday, November 27th, 2011[UPDATE: Andrea Koskey has more deets on this collision, as does RedditSF - it has a shot from just afterwards. ]
The driver of this car was taking Oak to get back to the Peninsula this afternoon but she ended up flipping her Honda Civic just before Divisadero.
See?
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So as traffic backed up for miles along Oak, the SFPD began its investigation:
The Honda Shadow:
San Francisco’s “Comeback Neighborhood of the Year” is the host of this scene, betwixt abandoned sidewalk sofas and the LaunderLand:
Now I’ll tell you, we were supposed to get a freeway to link up the terminuseses of 101 and 280 with the Golden Gate Bridge, but what we got instead was Fell and Oak with three or four one-way lanes each way timed for 35 MPH. But these days, for various reasons, the Fell/Oak twins don’t play the substitute freeway role as well.
Recently, this intersection at Divis. has become a bottleneck owing to the inefficient* left arrow phase for southbound traffic on Divisadero to allow drivers to get on eastbound Oak. I’m not sure, but this configuration might have confused or upset the Civic driver, who was driving “all squirrelly” near Broderick shortly before this accident.
LBCOT
*Hey, how about a big fat “NO LEFT TURN” sign for southbound drivers on Divisadero? This intersection wasn’t made “for the neighbors,” so there’s no reason for the people who live in this area to have more of a say than those poor, wretched souls who live way out there in the West Bay, you know, the Sunset and the Richmond. This new left turn phase, like the one at Octavia for inbound Market Street drivers, appears to be a sop for DivCo / NoPA / EaPA locals…
Just in Time for the Holidays: Bike Lane-Themed Packing Tape! Bike Lane-Themed Packing Tape!
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011Via the Niana Blog from Carl and Cole, here’s what you need:
“Whether you are a biker or not, it’s perfect for sealing your holiday cartons, boxes, or anything! People will be pleasantly surprised before they even open their packages.
2.5 inch x110 yards or 65mm x 100m. Wider than the regular 2 inch tapes (so that you don’t have to tape several times to ensure the carton opening is covered completely.)
I even used the bike lane tape on my checked luggage, and my suitcase totally stood out in the luggage conveyor at the airport. Not only my suitcase won’t be picked up by others by mistake any more, it also earned plenty of eyeballs 
”
OK then.
White Prius, Grey Prius, Black Prius: Those Ubiquitous Hybrids on the Streets of San Francisco
Friday, October 14th, 2011And you know what was across the street? Another three Priuseses in a row.
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And the “v” model is coming soon – it’s a station wagon, so that will add a little variety to the mix…
What’s This – Nobody Wants to Advertise on the Sides of MUNI Buses These Days?
Thursday, September 15th, 2011Never have I seen a MUNI bus without it being covered with ads taking up as much space as possible.
Anyway, here’s what a nude bus looks like.
Kind of classy non?
My second sighting in the past two days:
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Mmmm….
