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Footsteps of spring in bloom on Ring Mountain
Now is the time to hike into our Tiburon hills and explore serpentine flowers — being sure, of course, to keep your fair distance from fellow hikers and sightseers. Some of these evolutionary adaptive flowers are in bloom now. You’ll see footsteps of spring, or Sanicula arctopoides, sometimes called bear’s-foot sanicle. For the complete story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery.
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Virtual appointments prove useful amid coronavirus threat
I recently had my first office appointment over FaceTime. My client suggested it, and I thought, “What a great idea.” I had questions as to how effective using the technology would be for an appraisal. Would the colors of the dye or the woven cloth be as clear? What about the clarity and precision of the ink in a black-and-white painting? Will the material, without holding the ceramic property, have weight? As an appraiser, I have to determine the quality characteristics and value elements of...
By CYNTHIA SHAVER ·You must keep pesky rats at bay to keep a blooming garden
The green gage plum in my tiny garden’s back forty is in full bloom and alive with bees. One day there were so many I thought a swarm was coming through to lite somewhere nearby. Spring is here, and plums are some of the first to bloom. I’m still cleaning up the debris left by the horde of rats that have apparently been emerging from under the decks at night to eat all sorts of things they’ve ignored in winters past. The violets are attempting to bloom despite the fact that most have no...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
There’s much to enjoy at the San Francisco Botanical Garden
Take advantage of a warm clear day and drive across the bridge to Golden Gate Park’s San Francisco Botanical Garden for a relaxing day of sights, sounds and scents. Magnificent magnolias are in bloom through March. Whether they’re pink blossoms, white tulip-shaped or cup-and-saucer shaped, they’re a feast for the eyes. For the full story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Autumn is a prime time to plant citrus trees on Tiburon Peninsula
If you’ve been thinking of planting a citrus tree, now is a good time to figure out what kind of tree to plant. Fall into winter is the best time to plant, with the hope of capturing some of the winter rains to nurture your new tree. Because the Tiburon Peninsula rarely gets tree-killing frosts, you can expect to be harvesting fruit for many years. A lemon tree will bear all year long. Depending on your available space, you could plant a Lisbon, which can grow to 30 feet, or a variegated...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Herb native to California has more than 200 species
Phacelia is an herb native to California and is confined to the western part of the U.S. It is a genus that has more than 200 species in the order Boraginales. Clusters of phacelia flowers range in lovely colors from pinkish blue to various shades of lavender and purple. Most are annuals. In Marin, the most common and widespread is P. californica, found on gravelly slopes, rocky outcrops of ocean bluffs and sides of steep canyons. Watch for them in Tiburon, on Angel Island, on Mount Tamalpais...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Look for lupine, elephant seals at Chimney Rock in Point Reyes
The color of the lupine in green fields and grasslands at Chimney Rock seem to reflect the blue sky. Add orange poppies and yellow buttercups and you have an exquisite, colorful landscape. Hiking trails from the ridge offer spectacular views of Drakes Bay, the coast, elephant seals and birds. (Joan Linn Bekins photo / For The Ark) For the full story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery.
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Purple irises signal spring at Abbotts Lagoon in West Marin
If purple irises make you smile, head out to Abbotts Lagoon. Wild Iris douglasiana is in bloom all along the walking trail. The spring sunshine and the color purple will have you joyfully hopping along, like the small brown rabbits you may see on the way to the sand dunes. Sparrow birdsong is in the air, so bring binoculars and a bird book. Watch for osprey overhead. For the full story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery.
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
No shortage of activities on adventure to Australia, New Zealand
‘Australia and New Zealand are really far,” said my husband, Gary, “so if we’re going to go, let’s visit both countries in one trip.” So began my challenge to plan our vacation. In the evenings, I pored over guidebooks and quizzed well-traveled friends, becoming more and more overwhelmed about the logistics. For us, the best solution was to take a 14-day Holland America cruise from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, and add extra time in each country before and after for more...
By MARYBETH BOND SHEPPARD ·
Walking tours let travelers explore lesser-known corners
It’s a new year with new resolutions and travel plans. If you’re a walker and want to explore the lesser-known corners of rural Europe, where the scenery is stupendous, the pace of life slower, the hearths welcoming and local culinary specialties seductive, consider a self-guided walking trip. Last winter I researched walking routes in Croatia, the Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey. I settled on an itinerary along the French-Italian...
By MARYBETH BOND SHEPPARD ·
A variety of thoughts to start the new year
My husband and I recently spent an afternoon in San Francisco’s Japantown. I had not explored the low white buildings of Japan Center in a few years, and I found the main business I had come to explore, Asakichi, had moved from one building to another. This meant I passed by many of the retail shops and restaurants from one end to the other. For the full story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark newspaper on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW!
By CYNTHIA SHAVER ·Grab these gifts for the gardener on your list
Thanksgiving came early this year, and now it’s December and the holidays are upon us. That begs the question: What to get the favorite gardener on your list? Keen gardeners often like unusual plants, cultivars that aren’t found at just any nursery. Bayside Garden Center in Tiburon has many novel plants. A while back, I got an interesting variegated boxwood that has creamy white mixed with just a little green on the leaves. Bayside has beautiful offbeat poinsettias with bracts in mottled...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Intricate ikebana containers a first for this appraiser
I recently examined, researched, photographed and appraised a group of 17 Japanese bronze containers, crafted during the Meiji period for ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. I had never seen these variations before, and this is exactly why I love my work; there is always something new to discover. Read the complete story in this week's Ark. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
By CYNTHIA SHAVER ·Garden has evolved with two decades of care
In the past 16 years, my garden has changed a lot. The people who built the house and garden had the idea of a tropical rhododendron garden, sporting palms and banana trees, mixed with some beautiful classic stone walls and columns topped with concrete spheres — presenting several oxymorons, I’d say. The banana trees were at the top of the recirculating stream that runs through the garden and stopped working about 15 years ago, never to be fixed. There were Podocarpus trees that want to be 30...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Sod taking root on revamped McKegney Field
After several months of preparation, crews recently laid the sod on Tiburon’s McKegney Field as part of the field’s $2.04 million restoration. The sod is like the icing on a cake — and a lot of work went into the cake. First, crews scraped off the old dried-up grass and excavated down several feet. That was followed by several weeks of heavy equipment grading over and over again to get the field just right. A field needs to have a little pitch so it drains but not so much that players are...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
