by Geoffrey Coffey | Apr 20, 2005 | Locals Only
Passover comes this Sunday, a rite from the Biblical story of Exodus, wherein the enslaved Israelites win their freedom from Pharaoh. It seems a fitting context for a discussion of The Acres, an indentured ecosystem on the wildland-urban interface. These substantial...
by Geoffrey Coffey | Mar 16, 2005 | Locals Only
Often charming, occasionally gritty, surely up-and-coming — witness the real estate renaissance of Bernal Heights, S.F.’s neo-boho neighborhood where once-dilapidated homes now zoom at the speed of commerce beyond the million dollar threshold. Yet a...
by Geoffrey Coffey | Feb 19, 2005 | Locals Only
The trappings of prosperity pursued by contemporary city dwellers emphasize the appeal of “living large,” hinting that the ends of financial aggrandizement will justify any means. But here in the Bay Area, we also enjoy a wealth of nearby natural resources...
by Geoffrey Coffey | Jan 19, 2005 | Locals Only
“I just hiked to the top of Cedar Mountain Ridge,” wrote Pete Veilleux, proprietor of East Bay Wilds landscaping, “and found some very cool plants including a bigberry manzanita 40 feet tall!” Incredulity rippled through the native plant coven....
by Geoffrey Coffey | Dec 15, 2004 | Locals Only
The well-groomed greenery of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park demonstrates the power of mankind to transform an uncultivated landscape into a recreational playground. Once a windswept wildland, these former sand dunes and occasional oak groves were staked out in...
by Geoffrey Coffey | Nov 17, 2004 | Locals Only
November rain sings a song of connectivity. It completes the natural cycle, raising the rivers and recharging the aquifers, pouring from the air to the earth and back to the ocean whence it came. We find an extraordinary example of its ramifications in western Marin...
