Strawberries in the backyard

Since Urv mentioned that he loves strawberries too along with cherries, I thought I'd share some of my latest photos. These are the ones growing in the backyard on two little plants (or are they called shrubs? I dunno), which are less than six inches tall because the leaves are heavier than the stems and they are growing sideways more than vertical. The whole plant actually fits within one square foot.

I will take photos of the plant and share as well. Until then here are some shots of the tiny fruits. :)


The fruit is born from tiny white flowers.


Which eventually grows into tiny yellowish green fruit like this.


That grows into bigger fruit turning a shade of light pink when fully grown.


And before you know it, the pink turns into bright red! (Btw, those tiny blank ants love to eat the leaves of strawberry plants)


This is what it'd look like when you've just picked it off the plant. :D


Here's what the plant looks like (top view).


A typical strawberry farm looks like this. This one is located in Brentwood, CA.



More strawberry photos taken by me.

My favorite photos - Bing Cherries

Finally got a chance to visit the cherry farms this year during the season in May.

These are some of my favorite photos. :)


Five cherries in a row.


Still together, even on ground - these cherries. :)


A bucket full of cherries.


It's things like these that make me go "WOW..." @ Mother Nature!

Photos taken at Dias Farm in Brentwood, CA

Defenestration Building

If you're driving around in San Francisco you might come across this odd looking abandoned building with furniture hanging out of its open windows and walls. It is located at the intersection of Howard St and Sixth St. It's called the defenestration building. It was created in 1997 by Brain Goggin and a team of artists (read below for more info).




Eastern side of the building



Northern side of the building



Here I quote the passage from http://www.defenestration.org/press.html

DEFENESTRATION
1997-present

(Site-specific installation on the corner of 6th and Howard St. in San Francisco)

This multi-disciplinary sculptural mural involves seemingly animated furniture; tables, chairs, lamps, grandfather clocks, a refrigerator, and couches, their bodies bent like centipedes, fastened to the walls and window-sills, their insect-like legs seeming to grasp the surfaces. Against society's expectations, these everyday objects flood out of windows like escapees, out onto available ledges, up and down the walls, onto the fire escapes and off the roof. "DEFENESTRATION" was created with the help of over 100 volunteers.

The concept of "DEFENESTRATION", a word literally meaning "to throw out of a window," is embodied by the both the site and staging of this installation. Located at the corner of Sixth and Howard Streets in San Francisco in an abandoned four-story tenement building, the site is part of a neighborhood that historically has faced economic challenge and has often endured the stigma of skid row status. Reflecting the harsh experience of many members of the community, the furniture is also of the streets, cast-off and unappreciated. The simple, unpretentious beauty and humanity of these downtrodden objects is reawakened through the action of the piece. The act of "throwing out" becomes an uplifting gesture of release, inviting reflection on the spirit of the people we live with, the objects we encounter, and the places in which we live.

More defenestration photos

Flickr defenestration photos

Location of the building:

View Larger Map

Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts - a must visit place if you're visiting San Francisco. It was built more than some 90 years.

The aura of the place is very attractive. It's fun to just sit and relax on one of those benches on the side of the lagoon. It's serene.


While walking around the lagoon you almost always can encounter some birds around. The ducks, sea-gulls and pigeons are quite common ones.


These swans have almost made a permanent home at this place.


When I visited the place last year, I actually took time to see the artwork in more details as the company I was with had quite a lot of insight to share with me. That made it a fabulous visit. For example, these ones I found out were actually women and not men like I had first understood them to be. :P ok ok fine, I just thought that no shirt meant they were men, but sadly enough, when it comes to understanding art, the general principles don't always work. It turns out they are women and this you can tell from the way their bodies are sculpted in that stone.


More artwork on these extra large pillars around the main dome.

Tiny sloped hills covered with lawn surround the walk way around the lake.


The lagoon and surrounding pillars.


I think this would be one of the first places I'd shoot when I buy my first wide angle camera lens for better quality photos than this.


The palace at night. The lighting makes it look just out of the world. You gotta look at it in person to feel it.


And by the way, it is one of those special places in San Francisco where newly weds go to get their professional photos taken with beautiful studio-like backgrounds such as this one.


Click here for more photos of Palace of Fine Arts.

The Bay Bridge

The San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge is a double-decker bridge - you drive at the lower level to go towards the East into Oakland and on top if you're coming West towards San Francisco. This is also Interstate-80 (aka I-80), which goes cross-country, all the way up to New Jersey!

The bridge has two spans that are connected at the Treasure island.

This is the same bridge that got damanged during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.

The Bay Bridge on a bright clear day.

The bridge and Treasure island (on left) on a cloudy day.

Art work on the Embarcadero and the bridge and Treasure island in the background.

Driving on the upper level of the bridge. San Francisco skyline is seen on the right hand side.

The Western span (between San Francisco and Treasure island) of the bridge has higher towers than the Eastern span.

San Francisco skyline at sunset from the bridge.

The bridge at night.

Cupid's Span

The Cupid's Span is located in Rincon Park in San Francisco on the Embarcadero.

While strolling Northwards towards the Port of San Francisco and the Ferry building on the Embarcadero, we can see the tall SF skyscrappers on the left and bay bridge to the right.

The sidewalk at the Embarcadero.

The Bay Bridge

The Ferry Building on the far right and the skyscrapers.

The sign

Cupid's Span

Yet another view of Cupid's Span with the Ferry Building in background.

The top of the arrow


The sculpture symbolizes the place where Tony Bennett "left his heart".

More photos of Cupid's Span

San Gregorio State Beach, CA

The beautiful San Gregorio state beach is located off of California's Pacific coast hwy 1 at the hwy 84 intersection near the town of San Gregorio, about 10 miles South from Half Moon Bay. The place has picnic tables and is perfect location to spend the day at!

A person sits on the edge of a cliff



Fishing on the Beach



A couple stands at the edge of the hill overlooking the Pacific ocean



A couple watches sunset



The trail on the hill and the bridge (highway 1) over the San Gregorio Creek



Kids play in the creek water that flows into the ocean

Sunset

More San Gregorio Photos

Peach-picking in Brentwood, CA

By the time we decided to go cherry-picking in East Bay (that's the eastern side of land of the San Francisco bay) this year, it was aleady too late for cherry-picking but we were fortunate enough to find a few farms that allowed us to pick fruits like peaches, plums, and nectarines that have longer season than cherries. Cherry-picking is the most famous activity in summer in Brentwood, CA. People travel from far away to come and pick the fruits while eating them as they browse through the farms on a hot summer day.

Driving from hwy 580 onto North Vasco road, the hills are literally covered with windmills.

Some of the fruit is still raw waiting for the heat to ripen it as the season progresses.

A peach I picked and ate. It was very sweet. :)

This farm has rows and rows of trees like these.

Some peaces were too ripe and fell off on the ground from the tree. Too bad they never make it to a basket and in someone's tummy.

The stall where you pay for the fruits you picked. You don't pay for the ones you already ate, those are free. :D


For more photos of peach-picking in Brentwood, click here.

To find other farms that grow the fruits you like and allow fruit-picking in and around Brentwood, click here.