Ramble 19: Eager Beltliners

March 2, 2013 - the day eager-beavers for the Beltline gathered to walk the 22-acre parcel that will be a new public park or preserve  for Alameda. (Yes, there's a semantic different between the two: a "park" is gussied up, may have sports fields or other amenities, and requires more money and more maintenance while a "preserve" is more laissez-faire and maintains more of the natural flora and fauna of the place. Judging from two focus groups conducted in February, Alamedans, including Marge, want a "preserve".
Here's the group (you don't get to see Marge or Sergei here in full RGB color: Marge is camera-woman on this day as Sergei had to attend a different event). 

Quick summary:
Some years ago, super-sleuth and Alameda resident Jean Sweeney investigated the historical property documents and contracts associated with this land.  Stretching from Sherman in the east, Constitution in the west, Atlantic to the North, and the west end neighborhoods of Buena Vista/Pacific to the south, Jean found a way for the city to purchase the land for a tenth of Pacific Railroad's asking price: just under $1 million as opposed to $40 million. It now belongs to The People.
Thank you, Jean!

Apparently, the area served as both a passenger stop and the train switching yard. 
There are some areas of contamination - including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from fuel and maintaining machinery, etc - so some environmental clean up will be necessary.
The concrete slab in the picture to the right  represents what's left of what was once the passenger boarding area.

Spring has sprung in the trees (they look like acacia to Marge) about half way between Sherman and Constitution.

By this time the group had stretched out and, here, with the Food Bank to the right, a segment of the group gathers near the south corner.

Future sculpture garden?
In the picture on the left, debris remaining from another building shows signs of visits from graffiti artists.
Marge wonders: Instead of hauling away this debris and clogging up landfill, why not build on what already exists and maintain this area as a memorial sculpture garden that reminds visitors of our past?


Below, Alameda resident Zack/Matt (first he said his name was Zack, then amended that to Matt) sits atop the same concrete remains as shown in the photo above.
Now, dear reader, do you see the possibilities for a sculpture garden?
(Sergei suggest Marge edits this segment to include his view of things: "At least tell readers, Marge, that this crazy idea is yours and yours alone and that there's no such thinking going on in the upper echelons of city power where it matters. Most residents would be horrified if ARPD - and the city - allowed what they'd see as debris that could lead to litigation left on the property. That's good enough for you, Marge, but far too wild and woolly for the majority of Alameda's residents."
Thank you for your perspective, Sergei. You point out what is undoubtedly true. But (Marge sighs loudly)...one can dream, not so?

 

The good (er, goodish) old days
Wendell J. Stewart brought along his 1919 Ford Model T to assist anyone struggling to negotiate the uneven land ...and anyone who simply wanted a ride and a touch of nostalgia. 
Marge rode for a while and learned from Wendell that, in the U.S, the Ford Model T was the first vehicle that women were legally allowed to drive.
Bouncing around on the front seat, Marge noticed the lack of seatbelts...and that the doors - very cute, small and, at knee height, very short - provide little protection to a passenger - or a driver - who could hit a bump and pop right out of the vehicle and into the road!
According to Wendell the Ford Model T was known to flip easily. Moreover, it quickly overheats unless it goes fast to keep the engine cool. Hmmm...

Here, elegant Gretchen Lipow and Carol Gottstein pose for Marge. Wendell is just visible to the left.


Below shows the corner at Constitution and Atlantic with the city's senior housing facility in the background.
Marge does not know who is the little boy in the foreground. She hopes that, one day in the far future, someone will look at the picture and say something along the lines of, "Ohhh, isn't that you, Jason (or Benjamin, or Mark) as a youngster? And, my goodness, look how little things have changed since that day, back in early 2013, when the first group of eager-to-be-involved-in-the-new-Sweeney-Preserve took a walk on the Beltline?"
Amen!

Ramble 18: Signs of Spring

A few hot days and plants and animals think of spring.
Oxalis, oxalis everywhere. Here Sergei snapped it along Crown Beach looking toward Crab Cove.

Lovely potted plants blossoming for spring.

Nothing like an empty swing under a glorious tree to evoke the memories of childhood.

Ramble 17: Duck, duck, goose!

Visiting friends in a condo complex on the West Side, Marge and Sergei found this duck sitting comfortably in a water sculpture. It was quite content to pose for Sergei - as long as, it seemed, he showed off her 'better side'.

Last summer (2012) Marge discovered a wounded goose in Washington Park. She noticed the bird sitting in the grass near the baseball outfield fence as she rambled along Central Ave.
The goose was alone - not usual for a goose - and it seemed distressed - panting the way geese pant when thirsty, looking around in alarm, and, most significantly, not moving.
Marge got water in a paper cup from Spritzers coffee shop and, trying to avoid frightening the goose, she pushed the cup through the fence and set it in the grass. Then she continued her ramble.
A week later the bird was still there - and that is really was injured. Marge and Sergei decided the right thing to do was to call the animal shelter. (Point of order: turns out one calls animal control not the animal shelter).
A very responsible animal controller arrived shortly thereafter, survey the situation, agreed the animal was injured and explained that she would leave the bird in the field.
"We tend not to take injured wildlife unless they're close to death. This one, while it is injured - looks like she has broken her leg -  is in pretty good shape."
Marge and Sergei kept an eye on the goose through the rest of the summer and, indeed, she was in pretty good shape.

Then last week, more than six months after the first sighting, they noticed the goose is still there, still occupying the same corner of the same baseball field. And she's still injured although now other geese keep her company.
The injured bird appears to leave the field as, many-a-time during Marge's rambles, the bird is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it joins it feathered friends on Crown Beach for a little beach combing?
The pictures below convey a sense of the 'life style' that has developed. Note how the mobile geese stand sentry over the immobile goose.

Apparently, this animal can cover a lot of ground and feed herself adequately using this grazing posture.
Ain't nature wonderful?

Ramble 16: Of monkeys and (wo)men..

Pushing middle-age, Marge was ever so pleased to discover, finally, the trick to eating bananas. Moreover, she's tickled that she learned this trick after years of banana dissatisfaction struggling to break into the fruit from the stem-side.
The traditional way of breaking into a banana is to puncture the stem-side of the fruit then peel it back. But, this is so awkward when all one wants on the ride home from the grocery store is a quick banana snack (all that goodness:  vitamin B6 and vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and manganese; yum!).
The fruit often ends up squished or, if one tends not to walk around with a pocketknife ready to lop off the occasional banana stem, one has to resort to biting through the skin to start the peel; doesn't that chalky taste impair one's banana pleasure?
When Marge met Holly she notice Holly holding and eating her banana upside-down.
"Well, that's a logical way of peeling and eating a banana! Where did you learn that?"
"This is the way monkeys eat bananas. I figured, who better to demonstrate the correct way to eat a banana than a monkey. After all, when did you last see a monkey carrying around a pocketknife? Since 'monkey see, monkey do', I tried it. " Holly laughed, "It's easy to break into that end of the fruit and peel it. The stem acts as a natural handle. You don't get all that gooey banana left on your fingers either."
And there you have it.
Here it is illustrated.

Even Sergei, who doesn't much like bananas, concedes this is a miracle of simplicity and elegance.
Then he said, "That reminds me, Marge, How do monkeys get down the stairs?
"Don't know, Sergei. How?"
They slide down the banana-ster!"
Then he started on a roll of banana-and-monkey-isms.
"Hey, Marge, what kind of a key opens a banana?
A monkey
and
Why did the monkey like the banana?
Because it had appeal!
and
What do you call a monkey with a banana in each ear?
Anything you want, it can't hear you!
and
What did the monkey say when he cut off his tail?
It won't be long now.
and
Where should a monkey go when he loses his tail?
To a retailer!
and
Why don't monkeys play cards in the jungle?
There are too many cheetahs there!
and
How do you catch a monkey?
Climb a tree and act like a banana!
That Sergei. Once you start him up he just keeps chugging!

Ramble 15: Boaters' Eden

The live-aboard boaters' veggie garden at Ballena Bay Yacht Club is voted one of Marge's favorite spots in Alameda.
While on her rambles she seldom runs into any of the gardeners cultivating their patch of dirt, the community garden (seen here as Sergei captured this large - artificial - sunflower during the brief warm days of early spring in February) exudes care and calm enjoyment.
The garden fits in among patches of concrete (Marge guesses that, in the past, this deck had something to do with hosting the tennis players from the still-used courts next door.
From this angle in the photo, most of the community garden spaces are in the background.
Right now there are signs of early cultivation among the kale, parsley, and other winter crops. Amazingly, a few roses blossom (seen here in the middle ground). Jonquils and narcissus and
During the summer, live-aboard boaters grow tomatoes, squash, all sorts of herbs, flowers, whatever strikes their fancy.
There's also a spot to sit in the sun or in the shade under the trees and listen to birds, bees, and the sounds of boats.

If you're thinking of going -  here's a photo looking west towards the community garden. Walk towards Ballena Island and you'll find it.

Ramble 14: Jacksmelt, jacksmelt... everywhere

This picture captures a handful of the many happy fisherpeople (a woman's wearing the red hat) pulling jacksmelt out of the promontory near Crab Cove in mid-February.
Marge talked to them (as well as got their permission for Sergei to photograph their catches) and learned jacksmelt have habits similar to sardines in that they "run" in large schools for a couple of days then disappear. Fisherpeople bring coolers, buckets, and any other containers to hold their catch and hook as many as they can until its over.
One thing about jacksmelt: they are sleek and pretty. While still alive yellow patches glow on both sides of their heads - near the gills.
"Sergei, don't you get a sense of what it's like inside the roiling school while this is going on? Imagine the sunlight playing over hundreds - thousands? - of glistening silver fish bodies with flashes of golden yellow everywhere."
"I'm not much of a swimmer, Marge, so I'd wait until they're in the cooler until I appreciate 'em. Imagine the  taste when they come out of the pan and are served up for dinner tonight!"

Two views of dinner.



Meanwhile, on the other side of the promontory, shorebirds enjoyed a bit of hunt and peck for lunch.

Ramble 13: EBRPD's expanded storage

Ever the busy-body, Marge persuaded Sergei to investigate what might be going on with EBRPD and Neptune Pointe. On Jan 31st, Marge saw three very large, bright orange trucks driving one after the other from EBRPD's "ship shaped" building on the point to Central.
The activity going on there on this day, Feb 1st, includes another truck.

Luckily, the work crew of three was taking a tea-break and were polite as Marge approached them, apologized for interrupting, and asked them to explain.
Turns out the long and narrow zone on the bay side of EBRPD's property - in front of the proposed Neptune Pointe - will be an expanded storage area for EBRPD to stash their mobile aquarium when its not in use. (The work crew called it a "fish tank" but "aquarium" sounds more...educational...doesn't it?)

This picture - right - with the fence gives a good view of both the EBRPD's planned storage area and a view (right of the fence ) between the trees in the distance towards Crown Beach (the public restrooms for the beach and picnic areas are located there).
For both photos, Marge positioned herself with her back to the small bay - part of Ballena Bay? -  around the corner to what she and Sergei call "Sunny Cove". (They agree that a fitting name to refer in public to the debris pile behind Paden School - and mentioned in earlier posts - is "Coconut Grove." In private, though, they refer to it as Poopy Point - due to the...sewerage... on the coconut and bottles Marge insisted on bringing home.)
Here's a picture of that bay at low tide.

BTW, yesterday, Jan 31st, was the day EBRPD faced the City of Alameda in court for the first time regarding the 3 acres parcel the City sold off to a developer right under EBRPD's nose - despite the Park's long term interest in purchasing the acreage for the park district. 

We're busy trying to learn the outcome of this phase of the suit. More soon....