November - a Little of This, a Little of That

Plants, animals, projects and vistas.  This post has a little of each.

Plants:

Living wall 2.0 - My how these plants have grown!
(See the May 26 post for the before photos.)

Close up of the blooming succulent on the far left above

First blooms from an orchid Erick rescued

Added pansies to keep the mini-fuchsia on my balcony company

The jade bush in bloom

Just planted a new agave in the front garden

The "mystery bulbs" turned out to be Paperwhite narcissus

Fall color Oakland, California style:

Maples add some color

Seen on a recent walk

In a neighbor's yard

Yes, all of the above are visible here in November.  As a transplant from back East, I'm still trying to get used to the climate difference.

Animals:

 x

Ziggy (top) & Sunny doing what they do best

Collection of frog statues at the B&B where Erick stayed in DC

Flamingos at the National Zoo in DC (Erick's photo)
These are sure to remind Malinoski family members of our dear Gramma.

Projects:

Completed bathroom cabinet redo.

Color scheme before refinishing

Cabinet with ebony wood stain and bright-white melamine paint to match the tile colors

Door refinishing - progress.  The special size screen / storm door came in. Now the inside door can be removed so I can strip, sand and refinish the outside of it.

Special order storm / screen door - some assembly required.
Door that it will protect is on the left.

Storm door after Erick installed it.

 Vistas:

Rainy day sunrise over the canyon

November dawn, mist in the valleys

Full moon over Mt. Diablo

Mist in the valleys, disappearing Mt. Diablo

A hint of green on the hills after the start of the rainy season

Morning fog on the bay side

The bay disappears in the mist

Clouds enhance the bay side sunsets

Same sunset a bit later

Tide Pooling in November

On November 6, Erick spotted a great opportunity to visit the tide pools at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve on Half Moon Bay (nearest town, Moss Beach).  The weather was pleasant and the tide tables indicated a -.8 ft. low tide at 4:00 PM PST.  So, we jumped in the car and made the drive, arriving at ~3:30 PM. That gave us an hour and a half to explore the tide pools before the park closed at 5.

To start with the "big picture," here are some long shot photos of the Fitzgerald Reserve:

Looking down the beach

Tide pools

Sunset approaches

Now for the tide pools - starfish, anemones, seaweed, and sea urchin colonies:

Starfish, small Anemones, Seaweed

Starfish walking

Pink seaweed & Anemone

Anemone with Sea Urchin Shell

Partially closed Anemone

Open Anemone

Rock with young Anemones

Close up of young Anemones- closed

Sea Urchins

A closer look at a colony

Erick's photo of Sea Urchins in the holes they dig in the sandstone

Sea Urchin holes in the sandstone

Can you find Erick's fingers (no, that's not a scallop shell)
as he was taking this photo with his smartphone?

After the tide pools, we walked back along the cliff and through the grove:

Erick reflects on the tide coming in

Waning light in the grove

After exploring the tide pools we were ready for dinner.

Barbara's Fish Trap - great clam chowder in Half Moon Bay

The ceiling at Barbara's Fish Trap