January 22, 2001

Went to the Bay Area for the weekend (Levine sisters birthday week, all three of us born between 1/17-25). Forgot what paradise was like. Mid-January and even commercial landscapes are are in bloom with salvia, ceanothus and magnolias.

Though I'm continually enamoured with the flaking bark of eucalyptus (never mind the inherent fire hazard of this genus), the big discovery this weekend was San Francisco's Potrero Hill Community Garden, a sweet plot of land with sweeping views of the city, easily located by a big wad of dirt outside the front gate.

Not sure if you can make out San Francisco in the distance here, but you can see a yellow-blooming brugmansia on the left, and enough verdant growth to leave you incredulous as to why you spend your winter months shoveling out from under snow.