sandy soil with a side of loam.

This is a good soil profile. I leave for Pinecrest in 2 hours. Yay.

Places: Lake Lagunitas

Last Friday, Joyce and I had dinner in Fairfax. It was nice to be out of the city and be reminded there are other places to live. Fairfax is this funny little town where older hippies still live, or rich kinda hippies move so they can pretend that they are old hippies that drive hybrids. As a result? Good food and lots of little stores selling amber necklaces. She took me up to the Lake Lagunitas Watershed-- I didn't even know there were lakes in Marin County. The lake and surrounded oak/pine areas were beautiful; I bet it's a fantastic place to hike. Made me want to move.

Nature meets Life: bees, bees, and dead trees

The neighborhood I grew up in was once a walnut orchard. We had seven trees in our yard and picking up walnuts was a very common chore for my sister and I. Like, all the time and especially after church on Sundays. Gradually, the trees died off, until all we had was one in the backyard and one in the frontyard on the corner where the school kids pass.

And that tree became a home to bees. The tree died, but because there were bees in it, the City didn't want to cut it down. Finally, they realized that, yes, bees are in trouble population-wise right now, but this hive is near a school path, is untended, and growing steadily in a dead tree (also a hazard).

So, the City cut it down. They had to kill the bees because the hive was inside, and while they were annihilating said hive, my dad moseyed outside and asked if he could have the honeycomb. He's a curious guy, wanted to check it out, and thought it was going to be a small piece of the tree. Nope. The city put the entire tree section by the garage.

A few hours later, my parents are out and I stop by after a Ptown site visit. Parking my car in the driveway, I was about to get out when I noticed a bee by my door. And then one on my windshield. And then flying allllll over. I looked around and saw this:

Closer look? here:

I was so confused. Why did my parents have a bee hive? Why was it sitting by the gate? Is this a new garden experiment? Crap, I'm moving my car!

Every bee that had been out foraging when the hive was destroyed, had returned home. They were zooming around the moved stump, wandering aimlessly in the vicinity of the ghost-tree. Scientifically, it was fascinating. In practice, it was a bit sad.

My dad eventually called the City to come and take care of the stump, and it vanished before you could blink an eye. The whole situation made me think about bees and urban populations, local gardens, and local propagation. Not everyone is okay with it, as shown by the destroying of the Hayes Valley Farm bee hives earlier this week. Honey bees. We totally take them for granted.

Literally the little things

Should you ever have a bad day or feel kindof down, I can only hope you are as lucky as I am and come home to something like this small note on a bag of beans:

My neighbor is from Russia and she is the best.

Yo. 31.

(Not pictured: Erin and Rachel)

31, hey how you doin'? Right?

Goooodness. Time flies. The year of the 30 came and went and now here I am, fully entrenched in those 30 somethings. Over the cusp, onto the slope. Did I just infer the ride is all downhill from here? Nahhhh, that was accidental. I'm sure there will be bumps.

I have always wanted to have a bookswap in my home and this birthday seemed the most perfect excuse to do so. Lovely ladies crowded into my apartment, and my bed was PILED with books. Good vibes, good people, good reads -- way too much fun! A good way to start the year, if I do say so myself.

Also, on the actual day, Mom, Dad, Sissy, and I went to lunch in downtown Pleasanton:

Wednesday night, Bill and I went to Flour+Water. That place has super good food and fun vibe, as long as you are prepared to make an evening of it and not go to a show after. We chatted and gabbed during our hour wait, and then chowed on awesome pizza and pasta and chocolate yummy dessert thing.

And that, was my birthday.

During the week: model mottles

Two things.

One- Jen and I were out at a field site on Wednesday (where they unfortunately found a body last Sunday... yeah, that's a different, more exciting and sad story), and we were conducting a wetland delineation. I dug a soil pit and found the above soil clump -- it was orange with mottling, which is basically the reduction of iron. This is what happens when water moves slowly through soil and is one of the features we use to identify wetland habitat. The color was so bright and dense!

Two- Look. At. My. Nails. A few days ago, I had a manicure to celebrate the end of rigorous field work, a treat if you will, and then realized I had to go and do a delineation. I shoveled. I had hands covered in mud and clay. Not a chip! Seriously, Sensi Nails in the Inner Sunset rules (and is only $28 for a manicure AND pedicure).