Sunrise 7:33: Trick or treat ready

There's a pretty good looking witch on the Dawn Joggers front door and the porch has two strings of lights - skeletons and ghosts. Last night - just prior to the Bay Area's good shake - the male DJ finished carving two of the three pumpkins that will greet the Trick or Treaters. John and Julie will be on hand to help hand out the candy. And in the long standing tradition started by Booka, each and every visitor will be recorded n the annual Halloween count. Meanwhile the DJs head up to UCSF first thing this morning for bi-weekly appointments...

Sunrise 7:32: Glow in the dark Judy

Truth be told, it wasn't really quite as dark as it looks in the photo when the female Dawn Jogger met Dawn Community member Judy near Lake Lagunita this morning. But there wasn't enough available light for Silvio to get a photo and the flash centered on the closest object. Did make for a kind of fun ready-for-Halloween, glow-in-the-dark-Judy.
Understand the delayed return to standard time has screwed up computers, PDAs etc...

Sunrise 7:22: Headed back west

It was pitch black when the female Dawn Jogger left New York's upper East Side and headed out to Kennedy for her flight home. By the time she got through security, the sun's rays were appearing on the horizon (photographed through a understandably gritty window from the Red Carpet room - planes were lined up on the other side). The NYC experience continued on her way home; her seat companion was a young hedge fund manager on his way to Taipei to finish a deal. Tired bones tonight...

Sunrise 7:21: Bliss 'round the reservoir

Was all of Manhattan out just after sunrise this morning. After 24 hours of rain, it seemed so to the female Dawn Jogger. Dogs frolicking everywhere. Massive official run in progress that bordered on approaching thunder the footsteps were so loud. And the skyline at its prettiest in the sunlight. The female DJ would have been disappointed if she had gotten one glorious reservoir run in. Now off to St. Bartholomew's...

Sunrise 7:20: Soggy morning in the park

The rain was steady but as the female Dawn Jogger's companion for most of her run observed, "it's not the rain, it's the temperature." Warm - probably close to 70 making for what only can be described as "damp damp." As for the companion, he just couldn't make it up the hills like the female DJ could but would always catch her again on the flat. Off to lunch with mini LPP...

Sunrise 7:19: Lots going on in the park

The female Dawn Jogger crossed the street for her well after dawn jaunt around Central Park this morning heading up along the Great Lawn to the Reservoir and then back down the west side of the park. Some kind of police action was going on with each car being stopped. And there was much preparation going along for a Pumpkin Festival on Saturday (weather outlook isn't so good). Pix to come when missing gizmo is purchased...

Sunrise 7:27: Heading east

The female Dawn Jogger was up well before sunrise - in fact here plane headed for JFK took off exactly and hour and half before dawn. The almost full moon was bright in the cloudless sky and the sun glowed a deep red across a wide horizon. A different perspective in the air. Excited to be here and see that the Park is still turning colors...

Sunrise 7:26: From dawn 'til dusk

Yes, one of those days when early morning wake up turns into late night ending. But there was a sort of "first blush" walk. After an early arrival at UCSF for the male DJ's MRI and check-in with Chang and company, the female DJ walked around Golden Gate Park, remembering her childhood and the Reid families affinity to the park (the Conservatory of Flowers somehow seemed less forbidding from a child's eyes). Then a lunch rendezvous with Reid family descendants. OK, it was a full day, Dave R, and now off to NYC tomorrow...

Sunrise 7:25: Ghost riders

For years, the female Dawn Jogger has seen a group of cyclists heading west on Sand Hill Drive on Tuesday mornings. She's usually across the street and heading east on the "new path" before making the right hand turn onto campus. It's a big group of cyclists - 30 or more - and they, like the female DJ, are steady members of the dawn patrol. Today, she caught them just before she crossed Sand Hill. It made for a ghostly image in keeping with the season...

Sunrise 7:24: Movie people

"The movie people are here today" was frequently heard when the Dawn Joggers lived in South Pasadena. Their general neighborhood as well as specific homes were used for both TV shows and film. The female DJ recalls the "biggest event" was when the stars of Miami Vice showed up - her son and friends were at the perfect age to soak in the star power. This morning she shared the Stanford campus with "movie people," trailers, generators, lights, catering - the feel of a big production. And maybe it was but it lacked the glamor of Southern California - they were there to shoot a film for the alumni association. One man on had for the production shared his expression of the predawn with the female DJ...

Sunrise 7:23: Pesky women

Yes, the female Dawn Jogger is still trying to adjust to Sunday morning services and somehow "first blush" doesn't really think what she did on an afternoon walk qualifies for this space. So she's decided she'll, at least for the time being, keep these musing AM centric even when they don't actually qualify for "running at dawn."
Today the DJs heard the Rev. Frannie Hall-Kieschnick preach about what she called "pesky women," in particular, the Luke passage about the persistent woman seeking justice and the judge who was not a just man. Frannie recalled a t-shirt, "Well-behaved woman don't make history." As 70s or 80s that sounds, it still resonates. Later two "pesky women" pondered prayer...

Sunrise 7:21: Dish goes green

The female Dawn Jogger had first spotted the green on her Dish run last Thursday, but it needed daylight for it to really show off. The grass is most abundant in the areas that there plowed just after the fire last summer. But grass is also popping through on the charred areas. What the young boy was doing by the side of the trail, she wasn't sure, but he was do it diligently. His red cap and striped shirt were stylistically perfect...

Sunrise 7:21: In Menlo Park?

The female Dawn Jogger bets that most local folks would not be able to say where this building is located in Menlo Park. Or, for that matter, that such a structure existed within the town boundaries. The Allied Arts-based workshop - with a single light on inside - showed off its weathered appearance just before dawn. That and all the ghosts and goblins displayed in front yards made for a spooky run...

Sunrise 7:20: Dish at dawn

The female Dawn Jogger felt like stretching her legs a bit this morning so did the "Wednesday Dish run" on Thursday. Good morning for it. The clouds were velvety and layered, producing different hues as the sun's rays made their appearance on the horizon. And unlike last Saturday, the green pop up grass had made its appearance. Now that she's up and over the Dish before the actual sunrise, she's remembering to pause and look back up the hill on the way down. Sometimes that means a pretty picture...

Sunrise 7:19: SF neighborhood (very wet) walk

The Dawn Joggers head up to the Osher Center and UCSF Zion early this morning. While the male DJ works with Heidi on physical therapy, the female DJ plans a walk around the Western Addition, including Alamo Square.

Evening postscript: some things get wet and take awhile. There were rain showers on and off as the DJs made their way to to the city today. So the female DJ felt that any precipitation that came her way would be minor as she headed out on a 3-mile loop starting from Divisdero and Bush. She guessed wrong - and so did the tourists who came to Alamo Square to photograph the famous scene of the row of Victorian houses in the foreground and the Transamerica Pyramid in the distance. To say she got drenched is an understatement...

Sunrise 7:18: Judy Tuesdays

Most Tuesday are "Judy Tuesdays" for the female Dawn Jogger. With weekly regularity, she meets fellow dawn community member Judy at Lake Lagunita and they jog back to Menlo together, catching up on the events of their lives. It's been a particularly welcome ritual since she's been solo. Today they shared a sunrise looking across the corrals...

Sunrise 7:17: Chasing the sunrise

While it was pitch dark when the female Dawn Jogger set out this morning on her Stanford campus Monday route, the first hint of light showed the promise of a good dawn display.Subtle shades of pink were with her as she moved across the campus west to east. By the time she was over near the shopping center, the sky had really lit up. Quite a delightful way to greet the day...

Sunrise 7:16: Foggy fall walk

The Dawn Joggers and Cassie set out for a little walk around the neighborhood on a damp foggy morning. In a column last week the great outdoors writer Tom Stienstra talked about the leaves changing color in the Eastern Sierras, an earlier than usual sign of fall that he speculated was due to the low spring/summer rainfall. The color seems early in Menlo Park, too. The female DJ's mother was a huge fan of the liquid amber trees that line their neighborhood and that put on a particularly colorful display. They usually peak around Thanksgiving have already started turning this year, and some other varieties are already at their peak. Conditions to be watched between now and late November...

Sunrise 7:15: A bit of green after the rain

The female Dawn Jogger was back at this morning on her usual "long Dish" Saturday morning route - starting earlier than usual and hoping to see the season's first green "pop ups," the blades of grass that sprout once they rains begin. She thought the chances were good after the couple of rain storms that have come through the Bay Area over the past 10 days. But the only green she saw was some shimmering moss on an old fence post. Kind of arty, she thought...

Sunrise 7:15: A little rain is good for the plants

The female Dawn Jogger has been under the weather the past couple of days. She thought it wise to lay low yesterday and even wiser this morning when the DJs awoke to pouring rain. Soon after first light, she stepped out the bedroom door to inspect the progress on their re-landscaped backyard. A crew had worked long and hard yesterday and its nearing completion. The rain welcomed the plants and trees to their new home...

Sunrise 7:13: Dish drenching

The female Dawn Jogger knew the elements were in place. The rain storm appeared to be tapering off when she left the house, just a few drizzles remaining. But just as she was going up the Junipero Serra side of the Dish, a squall came in and the rain came down. But there was no wind and it wasn't cold. Just a pleasant morning with fresh rain smells...

Sunrise 7:12: Looking backwards

The female Dawn Jogger had understood that in sports, like life in general, while it's not wise to look too far forward (e.g. the opponent after the one you're playing this weekend), it's also not productive to look backward. But that's apparently what Stanford wants its alums, who will be gathering this weekend for various class reunions, to do. The Cardinal win over USC last weekend was one for the ages, but there is another game this weekend - and last time the female DJ looked Stanford was the underdog. In a another look backward, it was a year ago today that the male DJ feel ill at work and had a CT scan in the emergency room that revealed "a mass in the brain." And so began their brain journey...

Sunrise 7:11: Spooky lights

It was foggy out when the female Dawn Jogger set out in the dark for her morning route across the Stanford campus. The meant the golf course grounds keepers looked ghostly on the greens and the lights along the way gave off an eerie orange glow. Quite fitting for the Halloween season. No signs of celebrations were left on campus after the great victory over the Trojans Saturday night...

Sunrise 7:10: Milestone walk

As the Dawn Joggers continue to adjust to morning church, they shared something that hadn't in months and months - a walk, along with Cassie the Australian Shepherd, the warm afternoon sun. The mile loop around the neighborhood was a stretch for the male DJ but he'd been talking about tackling it for the last couple of days. The pace was slow but steady - and sometimes the female DJ and Cassie would get a bit ahead. All the better to spot things - such as a tree packed with ripe apples - that you don't see at a faster pace. Unfortunately the "magic" neon green pollen from a fir tree was not as easily photographed...

Sunrise 7:09: Crystal blue Dish morning

The San Francisco Peninsula has had its share of wind the past week. So it didn't surprise the female Dawn Jogger that the skies were Bruin blue - at least as defined by the darker basketball uniforms. The lower position of the sun in the sky made for some good light and pretty shadows on one of her favorite oak sculptures. It was also hosting a posse for ground squirrel. Two other blues hues - UCLA (powder blue football unis) and Notre Dame - square off in football late this afternoon...

Sunrise 7:08: Halloween displays redux

Like the front yard of the house with the skeleton, the female Dawn Jogger spotted on Monday, this Menlo Park yard was filled to the brim with Halloween decor, none of which was lighted at predawn this morning (understandably). The female DJ thinks this will be the weekend where the displays will really go up. She and the male DJ plan to make their way to Webb Ranch for their annual pumpkin purchase. Maybe they'll try a walk around the neighborhood, too...

Sunrise 7:07: Cloud ribbon

A magnificent ribbon of clouds, distinct in width but stretching from the eastern to western horizon, accompanied the female Dawn Jogger up and down the Dish this morning, changing colors. It was an excellent way to begin the day...

Sunrise 7:06: Angels on the journey

It was off to UCSF appointments early this morning, curtailing exercise activities for both Dawn Joggers (which the male DJ made up for with another rigorous workout with physical therapist Heidi). One enduring aspect of facing a life threatening illness is group of angels encountered along the way. The male DJ thought of the radiation therapy technicians as "his angels," thanks to their kindness. There have been others, including Occidental classmate Stuart Rosenberg, who's been a conscientious blog reader - and commentator - as well as thoughtful friend. Today Stuart joined the DJs for lunch at what has become "the spot" on their Osher Center/Mt Zion visit days. The King of Falafel has been serving up good food for 36 years under the helm of new DJ "angel" Nawal Kharsa and her husband. The male DJ gives his own account...

Sunrise 7:05: Lots of water, no ducks

The pipe flushing that the female Dawn Jogger first saw signs announcing last Tuesday continues - and the lake continues to get larger and larger ponds of water. DJ community member Judy and the female DJ both agreed it was more water than they'd seen in the lake for quite some time. The past winter had been a practically disappointing one water wise, meaning no spring ducklings. Where they ducks are currently is a bit of a mystery. They're around, hanging out at the Menlo Park civic center pond and at Sharon. Guess they just don't think it's worth a trip...

Sunrise 7:05: Let the spookiness begin

Each year Halloween seems to get bigger and bigger, particularly in the home decorating department. One household on Bay Laurel in Menlo Park had obviously spent a very busy weekend as the entire front yard was chock-a-block with all sorts of ghouls, goblins, spider webs and eerie figures. The female Dawn Jogger particularly liked the was the the skeleton was silhouetted against the sky. Each dawn jog will uncover more amusing displays. The DJs' witch is waiting to come down from her perch in the garage...