Sunrise 6:38: Good cloud show

There was a great mix of sun and clouds this morning from early pink glow to vibrant orange. The female Dawn Jogger, on an abbreviated route due to an early morning appointment, was never in just the right position to get a shot - too many buildings and trees. But as she headed for home behind the Stanford West community along the creek, while the colors were gone, she still was struck by the prettiness of the sky.
The paint it this was in Las Vegas...

Sunrise 6:37: This morning's activity

Part of the enjoyment of a dawn outing is coming upon new projects and then watching them development. Some, like the new Stanford practice golf course, seem only to inch along. There's been a lot of construction equipment in the field that runs adjacent to the driving range, connecting to Lake Lagunita, and this morning, some men were working on a pipe that had a motor hooked up to it. The female DJ's not sure about it's purpose - the male DJ told her to ask next time. Then on the far end of the lake near where the boat house used to be, the faculty house that sits right on the lake was getting a new fence.It was the first time the female DJ had noticed a platform on top of the roof. Good for stargazing...

Sunrise 6:37: Got the sun and the moon

"I've got the sun in the morning and the moon at night," went to the lyrics to an Irving Berlin song (from Annie Get Your Gun). The female Dawn Jogger had them both this morning. She snapped one shot of the sun coming up behind her and then was greeted by the moon descending when she got to the top of the hill. They appeared almost exactly East and West. "Cool," commented the runner ascending just behind her...

Sunrise 6:36: Sun meeting

It's the time of the year that the female Dawn Jogger is greeted by the sun as she ascends up the steps to the bank of Lake Lagunita. It's also a quiet time - the summer classes are over and the new year has started. Perfect for a catch up with Dawn Community member Judy. And reflections on life's changes...

Sunrisse 6:35: Getting ready for students

The female Dawn Jogger knows the only students on the Stanford campus currently are the football players preparing for the first game of the season this Saturday against her Bruins. (She will, of course, be in attendance.) So campus improvements - like the new bike spaces at White Plaza - have time for completion. She's curious to see the new stadium, which opened last year...

Sunrise 6:34: Harvest beyond the Farm

Last Sunday, the female Dawn Jogger and Cassie stumbled upon corn being grown on the the Stanford campus. Today, as they ambled up and around their neighborhood, she spotted a mini vineyard. Two rows of grapes ("Some abundant variety," thinks the male DJ after seeing the photos) had been planted on the between the street and the fence of a newly-constructed home. Later on their walk, the saw healthy looking apple tree readying itself for a fall harvest. Both her father and her Uncle Fred maintained good sized orchards and berry patches and other seasonal vegetables when she was a child. It's a great growing region...
Of course none of these sighting were are exciting as hearing Kruk, Kuip and Vida Blue banter prior to last night's Giants game. Read all about it.

Sunrise 6:33: Friendly face of the Dish

While Cassie the Australian Shepherd has grown to old for runs - and the male Dawn Jogger continues to work on getting his strength and gait back - it is still a rare Saturday morning that the female DJ doesn't feel some pangs of loneliness when doing the "long Dish route." This was the route that the three of them enjoyed from 1994 when Cassie was youngster through the restricted access and ban on dogs mandate in 2001 (or was it 2002?). Their Saturday outings took different routes until Cassie's 'retirement' from long jogs in 2005, at which point the DJs returned to the Dish. On her solo runs, the female DJ misses the male DJ's explanation of what the radio antennas might be measuring and the exuberance of a young Cassie racing up and back on a particularly long Dish mud puddle. She's saddened when important Dish encounters like the sighting of the bobcat aren't shared. There is one constant cheer up on her route - the smile and wave of a Stanford security patrolman named Scott. She hadn't seen him since the Dish reopened following the fire - there had been another officer on duty. So she was glad to see his friendly face this morning. He was good enough to pose for a photo...

Sunrise 6:32: Mystery Golden retriever

Every couple of months the female Dawn Jogger encounters a Golden retriever tied up (on a very long leash) in the front yard of Menlo Park home. It's a bit of a mystery - why the front yard and not the back? There's always a large bowl of water and food bowl as well as a number of toys - a couple of stuffed ducks this morning. Usually the Lab is on the lawn but this morning he was sound asleep on the sidewalk, looking up as she passed and took his picture. Maybe he's just a visitor and can't share space with whatever lives in the backyard...

Sunrise 6:31: Sun peaks over the course

The female Dawn Jogger expects this will be her regular view over the next week or so as long as there's no cloud cover. Before the practice golf course started being built, the Dawn Joggers would reliably be met with a pretty sunrise just after cross the San Francisquito Creek. The 10-foot elevated course blocks that view now. A new spot about 1/5 of a mile past the bridge will need to do. Much beyond that some ugly wires and the medical complex interferes. It's good to check the sunrise...

Sunrise 6:31: Tree down

The Dawn Joggers are heading up to UCSF today for a couple of appointments so the female DJ took a shortened course down Sand Hill Road and then back up by the creek.
This has been a windier than usual summer - especially for the part of the Peninsula - with some late afternoon gusts. One tree along the DJ's path did make it. Goal to today is to strengthen human limbs...

Sunrise 6:30: Glow on the hillsides

It's more and more obvious every day. When the alarm goes off, the sun is not up and now the female Dawn Jogger regular leaves the house before the official time of sun up.
Knowing she would be off to the City early tomorrow morning, she decided to try the little different Dish route that would take up her the Piers Lane side - she liked the sun's light on her favorite oak on the hill crest - and then down through the golf course. It was pretty and tranquil with just the maintenance crews and rogue golfers playing a couple of holes. More new perspectives on land often seen but not crossed...

Sunrise 6:29: Everything oak

The symbol for Menlo Park is an oak. Many streets are oak something. The school is Oak Knoll. If you own a mature oak, you can't remove it without city permission. It's all very oak centric. The female Dawn Jogger noticed the light of her filtering through her oak at the end of her jog this morning. It's really a beautiful tree...

Sunrise 6:28: There's corn on the Farm

The female Dawn Jogger runs along Searville Rd on the Stanford campus three to four times a week. But it was only walking along the road this morning on an outing with Cassie that she noticed the corn field. It's probably some genetic experiment, as the field is adjacent to the Department of Plant Biology co-located in an attractive building with the Carnegie Department of Global Ecology. Cows, horses, crops - it's still kind of a farm...

Sunrise 6:27: Looming Dish

Sometimes the purpose of a morning jog is just to get it done. Such was the case on this warmer than usual (but not hot) morning. As the female Dawn Jogger was making her way up the "back side" of the Dish from Piers Lane, she spotted a new view of Big Dish set off by dead oak. Kind of arty, she thought...

Sunrise 6:26: Running past faith

The female Dawn Jogger likes to alter her route across the campus, particularly on sunny mornings soon after sunrise. The early rays hit Memorial Chapel and it exudes a golden glow. Plus she always notices something different (or is reminded of something). This morning it was the large frescoes of Love, Faith, Hope and Charity.
The female DJ choose Faith to photograph. Only last Sunday Father Mike said, "If you only memorize one Bible passage let it be this one: 'Now faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen.'" Good advice...

Sunrise 6:25: House - gone!

One of Menlo Park's oldest homes - a Dutch Colonial built in 1917 - is gone. The female Dawn Jogger saw the remains from across San Francisquito Creek this morning. She'd first seen the for sale sign (listed by $3.9 million) then the fence went up. She predicts come kind of monster replacement. Wondering if the troubled mortgage market will impact the tear down mania...

Sunrise 6:24: Sunrise on the Dish

The later sunrise and a bit earlier outing by the female Dawn Jogger combined for a view of the sun rising as she made her way up the Dish hill from Junipero Serra. It also give the surrounding hillside a orange glow. Yes, it's fun to get up early...

Sunrise 6:24: Sunny oaks

It was just last night at supper that the Dawn Joggers were discussing light, a popular topic with them. As fall nears, they'd noticed the slightly lower light hitting the liquid amber trees in their front yard. The later sunrise, almost a minute a day, affects the the morning light as well. The female DJ was struck how it hit the oaks the line the path between Lake Lagunita and the Stanford driving range. Being aware of light is a good thing...

Sunrise 6:23: Faith not fatalsim

The female Dawn Jogger continued to reflect on the words from Mike Spillane's moving homily at the 5:00 last night about "faith not fatalism." As they've faced the brain journey together, keeping faithful and not becoming fatalistic has not only been easy for the the DJs. Giving up, thinking "it's not worth it" beckon when the struggle is so hard. They know, in the words of another preacher, "to keep hope alive." They're grateful for yesterday's reminder from Mike. Whoever decided this young fir needed to be planted near Old Union may never see it reach its full height but had the faith to offer it for future generations...

Sunrise 6:22: Another new path

The female Dawn Jogger has long been curious where a gravel road that runs parallel to the Stanford golf course and the Alpine bike/walking trail leads. So today she and Cassie decided to find out. The answer - it doesn't go far but it does lead to a restroom (good to know where their located when doing a long run) set off from the course itself. She thought it might skirt around a cul de sac of houses but instead it reaches a dead end. Cassie enjoyed the many new smells, and spent considerable time under a pretty oak. Further explorations are planned, maybe starting from the Dish down to the course...

Sunrise 6:21: Plans can change

When the area around the Big Dish was fenced, trails were restricted, and dogs were banned in 2001, one of the stated reasons was to turn more of the land back to its natural state. But the message has always been mixed - cattle continue to graze on the Dish land. Now, post fire, the restored areas have been disturbed with the creation of large fire breaks. The female Dawn Jogger makes no judgment on these efforts; it was just the juxtaposition of the sign and plowed ground that caught her eye. She understands that plans change...

Sunrise 6:05: Life along the Willamette

The female Dawn Jogger woke up to an earlier sunrise in Portland this morning - about 15 minutes earlier than the Bay Area's. She'd been given a good jogging route by her hosts, taking her west a mile and a half or so down to the Willamette River, which runs through the middle of the city. There's an esplanade along both sides so she headed over the Hawthorne Street bridge and went north. Remnants of real river life remain, including draw bridges. Turning back and crossing the Steel Bridge, she returned south; the esplanade became at times a work of art. To head back up hill to her hosts, she wound through an industrial section that she surely thought her father must have visited in his days at Graham Paper Company. Then it was back through a leafy, older neighborhood with much fixing up happening. Portland is a very pleasant city in the summer time...

Sunrise 6:18: Summer harvest

The Dawn Joggers have been getting lots of yellow wax beans, lemon cucumbers, and tomatoes from the male DJ's dotcom garden. Local organic gardeners also get their produce to Webb Ranch and Sigona's Market - both close by. That's meant lots of fresh tastes thanks to the culinary skills of the male DJ (including French inspired tomato dishes). Looks the others in the neighborhood are having a good harvest (in this summer that has either been hot or cold). Heading up to Portland...

Sunrise 6:18: Climate best by government test

"Climate best by government test" is written on an archway to downtown Redwood City that the female Dawn Jogger thinks is still there. She clearly remembers it from her childhood. Her father didn't need the government test - he knew (and often proclaimed) that you needed to be south of San Carlos to be clear of the wind and north of Los Altos to beat the heat. That translates to Redwood City, Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, Woodside and Portola Valley (although the latter can be warmer than Menlo on a summer day). One reason for this 'perfect mid-Peninsula weather' is the fog that comes in overnight but burns off my 10:00 am or so. Its demarcation showed clearly on the Dish this morning - the hills behind Los Altos, just south of the Dish, were in sunlight. The color of the clouds and bright sky were prettier than the photo shows...

Sunrise 6:18: Last of the campers

Some days are like this. The female Dawn Joggers started this post early this morning. Returns to it in the evening. The point of this sign snapped in the housing adjacent to Lake Lagunita? Soon the many campers and students and Revenue Generators will be leaving the Stanford campus. Summer comes to an end, even though it's just August...

Sunrise 6:17: Goner from the git go

The female Dawn Jogger knew that this Dutch Colonial on Bay Laurel in Menlo Park was a goner from the moment the sales sign went up a couple of months ago. There's a constant in MP real estate: old house on good piece of property = tear down. This house, built in 1917 according to the records and owned by the same family for 83 years (according to the real estate ad), sits on about 3/4 or an acre next to San Francisquito Creek. It was listed for $3,999,000 and one online source said it sold for the same amount. Menlo's crazed real estate was the subject of a front page article in yesterday's New York Times entitled "The Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich." Now the watch begins for its replacement...

Sunrise 6:16: Ken or Jerry should have lived here

For many years, the Dawn Joggers and Cassie ran by a storybook-like property on Stanford Ave. in Menlo Park on their Tues/Thurs. route. Cassie and the female DJ went by it on their walk around the neighborhood today. The property is made up of a number small irregularly shaped buildings connected by multi-colored tile, including what looks like a little water tower. The female DJ thinks she heard the home were first constructed in the 20s and have been added on to Winchester Mystery house like ever since. Between WWI and WWI many cabins were built in a three block radius in this area of Menlo, including the one Ken Kesey lived in before moving to La Honda. Also just a block away was the Chateau on Santa Cruz Avenue (is it still there, Michael R.?) where Jerry Garcia and early members of the Dead lived in the mid-60s. Kind of fun to think of who lived in the storybook houses when the entire neighborhood was known as "little Bohemia" and all night block parties took place...

Sunrise 6:14: Healthier Dish to come?

The female Dawn Jogger was back to her Saturday dish run, the second time since it reopened on July 21. (Her Wednesday route takes her by very little evidence of burn.) An article in yesterday's Palo Alto Weekly underscored what had been her assumption - that there will be little lasting damage in the 200 acres that burned. And that it looks worse than it is, especially the oak trees with their now brown leaves. In the Weekly article Stanford biologist Alan Launer said: "Fires are not necessarily bad. A lot of nutrients were freed up by the burn, and it probably wasn't hot enough to damage the seed bank deep in the soil, so we should see a good pulse of growth once it rains."
The female DJ looks forward to spring's regrowth...

Sunrise 6:14: Heart or face?

The female Dawn Jogger noticed three golfers were doing a good job of hitting this eucalyptus tree (rather than the green) this morning as she ran along the perimeter of the course. She wondered was had caused the large burl that didn't look at all like eucalyptus bark and now had ivy growing out of it. Whether a heart or face, it was certainly proving a good target...

Sunrise 6:13: Can it be saved?

After a marvelous restoration, the Allied Arts, Menlo Park's maybe too secret treasure of adobe buildings filled with artisan shops, is once again in jeopardy. The issue is finding a new tenant to run the restaurant. Battles continue with neighbors over operating hours, among other issues Without the restaurant, the shops don't get enough traffic. If Kepler's can be saved, it would seem locals can band together to save the Allied Arts. The female Dawn Jogger can imagine life in Menlo without it...

Sunrise 6:12: Gloomy Dish morning

It was a vintage mid-summer Peninsula morning. The overcast had spread inland from the coast, think enough to be a bit gloomy. The Dish appeared to be "talking it over" with the female Dawn Jogger's favorite oak tree. It's not necessarily a disappointment to have a routine, uneventful morning...