Don't Litter

This sign is in the Presidio on a garbage can, outside the former Archaeology lab, a building slated to be leveled with the completion of Doyle Drive. The Presidio, as an Army base, always permitted the public to enter. The public littered... The local suggestion for this strategy to prevent litterbugs from befouling an open army base was this: Shoulders should be training, not collecting trash! Good point. In fact, why is it anyone's job to pick up everyone else's litter? 

Soldiers Should be Training, San Francisco, 2011.

Polypody

O, Polypody fern...thou art persistent.

You poke through the cracks, emerald green.

Also living under the cypress where little else can. 

Your rootstock is in the earth below. You are paved over,

But vigorously, you surface. You find light. Or have your  spores

Ventured on their own into these cracks and sprung forth colonies anew?

You greet me as I emerge from the subway (finding light) and remind me nature is near.

Already ancient pteridophyte, you will survive us.

Polypodium californicum, Civic Center BART, 2011,

Mini Castle of Brick

This small replica of the Army Corps of Engineers logo stands at Fort Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco. I sometimes walk by it on the way to/from the bus stop at the Golden Gate Bridge. In addition to being charming and small, it is also apparently a salute (no pun intended) to the Army Corps of Engineers logo (see below). 

ACOE Insignia in Brick, San Francisco, 2011.

 They aren't exactly the same as eachother, but you have to appreciate the creative use of masonry. This may be one of those "only in San Francisco" things. Where else would someone go through the trouble? And where could it be honored enough to be preserved this long? I have heard that the Army Corps once occupied the building this stands in front of, but the Corps has been gone for at least a couple of decades -- I will try to find out from our historian when they left .

Upon googling "army corps engineers logo replica," I did come up with this -- a tombstone monument resembling the Corps logo dating back to Gettysburg (scroll down about 1/4 of the page to see it - or hit Ctrl-F and type 'unique monument').

Digging deeper, it seems the largest replica of the insignia is found at the entrance gateway to Point Park, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, a battlefield designed by the Corps. This large structure was built in 1905 and still stands today.

A brief history of the Army Corps of Engineers is here. 

I miss biking

The best way to get around any city, even the hilliest city in the country (reference needed) is by bicycle, hands down. 

Beachrunner, Fell St., 2011.

Let's go over the benefits.

• They permit you not to walk (unless on a hike or birding, I generally despise the walk option).
• They can be faster than cars.
• They are always faster than buses.
• If the buses happen to be running faster, they can be taken on buses.
• They go on roads.
• They go off roads. 
• Most of the time, the things that go wrong with them are easy to fix. 
• No emissions; a smooth and silent ride.
•  A grease chain ring tattoo on the inner right calf is sexy. 
• The built-in exercise they give you can make you feel good. 
• If you don't want to have the exercise benefit, just slow down and you won't: simple as that. Or vice versa.
• You can put bells and horns on them, and disc brakes. And a kickstand.
• A cyclist becomes part of a generally helpful and friendly community of other cyclists when on road or trail.
• ... and more and more. 

I miss biking because since Sept 2, my shoulder surgery date, I've been riding the bus or finding other ways to get to work. A bus trip takes me about 1:15 door-to-door, versus about 35 minutes. Bus riding has its own list of merits, but it also has a long list of faults. The good news is, I only have about a month left until I'm pedaling again.

Pictured is my city cruiser/bar bike.It was a dumpster dive-salvage bike that Ira helped me fix up.   I still owe him lots of beer for that.

Pavement Rising

An artist using asphalt as paint and streets as his canvas, an abstract artist with a day job and a conservation bent, has done some work in this city. Here is one such work: Park Presidio Pavement Rises as a Result of Global Warming.

Pavement High Tide, San Francisco, 2011.

On display now through 2033 at Park Presidio Blvd. and Lake Street, San Francisco. On loan from Dallas DPW.