AMERICA’S BEST IDEADearest Family and Friends
57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
May Highlights
10:10
How Are We Doing?
The principle behind 10:10 is that everybody - whether individuals, businesses or institutions - can tackle climate change by cutting their carbon emissions by 10% this year. 
We’re still enjoying being localvores (and were as careful to eat as much vegetarian and local food as possible when in Yellowstone including some very tasty bison), and are taking public transport more, and buying only second hand items.
Pleasingly our favourite food store, Bi-rite, just won the 2010 Outstanding Specialty Food Retailer Awards and was singled out in that travel staple, Conde Nast Traveler, as being excellent in its field.
May was a bit of a reality check: we took 16 flights between us across the US; showers aren’t getting shorter; Colman very kindly paid for me to attend a cooking masterclass and I came out of it buying all sorts of unnecessary kitchen gadgets and utensils that are now taking up valuable space.
In May we failed to consume less electricity and gas than last year – the red line denotes 10%, our target - and we're guessing it was having a visitor to stay for most of the month.
My mother-in-law Niamh sent me an interesting cutting about a book called How Bad are Bananas? which examines the carbon footprint of everything from eating tomatoes to volcanic eruptions, with some interesting findings.
Including that a reusable nappy is no better for the environment than a disposable – grrr – which I’m sure can’t be the case if you take landfill toxins into consideration. I was horrified to read that a recycled and lightweight plastic bag is better than a paper bag, because paper production is highly energy intensive and the bag has to be much heavier to hold items. Another reason to take reusable bags to the shops.
But relieved to hear that bananas are one of the best things to buy for a low-carbon diet because they are grown in natural sunlight rather than a hothouse, they keep well so can be transported by boats (apparently 1% as bad as flying) and there is little packaging as they provide their own. So we can buy them again with a clear conscience!
Interestingly, ironing is pretty energy intensive. I gave up ironing my sheets last year (my last vestige of civilized living, gone on the grounds of time). I’m relieved to find it is best not to iron at all.Having mentioned marital strife over one’s eco-commitments and practices in a previous blog entry, I’m pleased to see we’re not .
Changing entrenched habits is hard.
It must be admitted that during this busy month, my good intentions to research these often complex issues, and establish new behaviours, tended to fall by the wayside.However, here are three tips for summer:
- have an ethical barbecue
- play a short catchy tune as you go into the shower, when it's finished, that's you done
- chuck out the tumble dryer and line dry clothes - better for fabric and your electricity bill
And the terrible disaster that is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is a massive wake up call, we all need to bear some responsibility here. We have a voice, we can demand alternatives to polluting fossil fuels. Sign up to 1,000,000 Against Offshore Drilling. Reduce your dependence on oil and petrol. Bicycle more. Car pool. Take public transport. Use your vote wisely. Target your spending ethically and environmentally. Get involved with the day of action on 10:10:10!
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Yellowstone National Park
Visitor of the Month
For my mother’s 5th visit to San Francisco we thought we should do something special with her.So booked a week’s holiday in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
She was with us for a week prior to our departure, during which time we had the neighbours for dinner, she helped out hugely around the house, and she and Esme bonded beautifully.Yellowstone is the world’s first national park.
Established in 1872, it is famed for its wildlife and an extraordinary array of geothermal features.The National Park system is ‘America’s Best Idea’ (as suggested by Pulitzer prize-winning author, Wallace Stegner), because it is inherently democratic, open to all and ‘they reflect us at our best, not our worst.’
Defined as ‘with one or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats are of special scientific, educative and recreative interest or which contain a natural landscape of great beauty’. Yellowstone exemplifies this description.
Spirits were excited but apprehensive. The weather forecast was completely dire: snow, sleet, rain, hail, freezing temperatures, high winds.
Grand Teton National Park
It took two flights to arrive in Jackson to leaden skies and the dramatic sight of the snow-capped Grand Tetons, part of the Rocky Mountains.
Jackson Hole is a valley created by an active fault-block mountain front system.In layman’s terms this 55-mile long valley slipped down 30,000ft leaving the glaciated Teton Range soaring in a north-south line to its west.
Erosion and infill have reduced this differential to a still impressive 7,700ft.After lunch, and to a perpetual soundtrack of The Beatles we set forth north on our adventure.
We drove beside the Snake River, through bleak sage-brush plains with the odd clump of trees.
And beside the vast brooding Jackson Lake, glittering grey with thick ice, framed by conifers and the Tetons, seemingly straight from Narnia.
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Yellowstone: Geography
Yellowstone National Park is roughly in the shape of a square in the Northwest corner of the state of Wyoming, extending a few miles into Montana – we made certain to drive that way to tick that state off the list!
Yellowstone gives you altitude, lakes, canyons, mountains and rivers, much of it covered by forest. It sits above a ‘hotspot’ (another famous hotspot is Hawaii) where magma wells up from the centre of the earth 80 miles down, creating a chamber of molten rock below the surface, whose intense pressure mounts until a mighty explosion releases the super-charged magma and ash, leaving behind a huge caldera, or vast depression.
The last eruption was 640,000 years ago (estimated to be 1000 times bigger than Mt St Helens), the resulting caldera/depression covers about half of the park today (at 45x30miles one of the world’s largest) - this is the area within the dotted line on the map.Mysterious geothermal activity under Lake Yellowstone (formed after the last explosion) could presage an eruption soon. Scientists believe these happen every 600,000-800,000 years.
And this is why there are so many geothermal features here.There is a Figure 8 road formation through the park with five entrance roads feeding into it, and very few other roads.
We entered via the South Entrance from the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole, drove up to West Thumb on the lakeshore for our first sight of geysers, ending up at the Old Faithful area on our first night.
We stayed two nights here in the iconic and Historic Landmark Old Faithful Inn (1902/3), with a spectacular ‘log-and-limb’ lobby, a prime example of National Park Service Rustic style. From here we explored the extraordinary features of the Upper Geyser Basin.
Then headed north via Madison and the phenomenal moonscape of the Norris Geyser Basin to the wilds of Mammoth Hot Springs and its limestone deposits for another two nights, exploring the beautiful Lamar Valley and enjoying wonderful animal sightings. 
The privations of sharing an overheated bedroom with no ensuite bathroom here caused the only friction in our party.
And then returned south, taking in the unexpectedly impressive Grand Canyon and spending two nights at the Lake Hotel (where self-styled Grumpy Granny read the riot act to the staff over their shortcomings at dinner, with commendable results) on the shores of forested and icy Lake Yellowstone (the largest high altitude lake in North America whose temperatures never rise above 7ºC in high summer), before heading out of the South Entrance again via the Tetons.
Although the infrastructure is very well-developed, there is a remarkable degree of co-existence with the wildlife, and you do get a strong sense of wilderness for hundreds of miles in all directions.
Our fears about the weather proved (slightly) misplaced, thankfully. 
But we were reminded there are only three seasons in Yellowstone: July, August and winter (most of the hotels had only just opened for the season). 
Initial leaden skies were replaced by rain and sleet deluges on the second day, before strong sunshine miraculously broke through. 
The sun was seen on subsequent days to greater and lesser extent until snow took hold by the end of the week. 
Thick white clouds and some sunshine farewelled us through the Tetons on Day Seven.
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Yellowstone: Geothermal and Volcanic Features
Yellowstone’s hotspot has provided this national park with more geothermal features than anywhere else on earth (about 10,000) plus 300+ geysers (2/3 of all those found on the planet), and nearly 300 waterfalls.
These all have water in common, hot water in the geothermals case, and the manner in which the water surfaces and the resulting formation is down to local geology.
Hot SpringsHot Springs are formed when water percolates down through porous rock and then comes into contact with heat from a magma chamber, but can’t boil due to the pressure from above, so temperatures can reach extraordinary heights, before this super-heated water is forced up through cracks in the rock.
The water then boils and steams at the surface. 
We found Yellowstone to be extremely steamy (in the summer the steam is less visible apparently).
We loved the magnificent hot springs at Yellowstone, often colour-coded for easy heat identification. The hottest ones are clear blue, too hot for all but the sturdiest of (clear-pigmented) microbes to survive.
Such as the Black Pool at West Thumb.
As the water cools, you can get yellows, oranges and browns with green algae growing in the coolest sections.
And also at West Thumb, the farther pool has iron oxide rendering it a rich orange for a cool contrast.
And here, also at West Thumb, sulphur has coloured the pool rich olive green.
Silica-encrusted lips can create interesting shapes, here is Heart Spring.Larger pools can radiate colour towards the hot central blue core – here seen to most beautiful and spectacular effect at the famous Morning Glory Hot Spring in the Upper Geyser Basin, Old Faithful.
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Geysers
Geysers are formed like hot springs, but the hot water encounters a constriction on its way up the pipe, allowing a trickle only to surface, which then boils and bubbles water out of its mouth.
This allows a chain reaction as a pressure point permits the super-heated water to expand 15,000 times in a split-second, to become super-charged steam.
Which explodes through the vent, shooting water and steam high into the air.Most geothermal features are connected to others.
Thus, Cistern Spring in the Norris Basin drains completely after Steamboat Geyser (the world’s tallest active geyser which can reach 300ft) erupts.
Here, Steamboat is belching and fizzing away; the yellow vent in front is coloured by sulphur.
Old Faithful is the most famous of geysers for its eponymous regularity – it erupts every 65-90 minutes. 
The hotel has a clock with the next estimated eruption time on it.Here it is steaming nicely before an eruption.
It is found in the Upper Geyser Basin where most of the world’s active geysers are found.
A unique place; look across the valley and see steam plumes rising everywhere, frequently a random geyser erupts.
Old Faithful is one of five in the area whose eruptions are predictable.
We saw it erupt 5 times in total, twice from a distance – here it is erupting in the pouring rain, white steam contrasting nicely with pewter skies.
Although not the tallest geyser, it averages 145ft, which is pretty impressive, and lasts about 5 minutes.Mum and I waited for half an hour in the sleet for the Daisy Geyser to erupt.
Funnily enough we were the only hardy souls braving the chilly conditions.
She didn’t disappoint.
An example of the fountain-style geyser where water shoots from a pool, her 75ft plume is at an angle.
But our favourite geyser in the area was Riverside, which we waited patiently half-an-hour for, and as its name suggests, was across the Firehole River. 
It erupts after its pool froths and overflows, and then shoots a huge column of water arcing over the river.
The other kind of geyser is the cone-type geyser, where a jet of water is emitted from a cone or nozzle.
An example of which is the Grotto Geyser which erupted spectacularly and loudly for ages.
And Castle Geyser whose huge cone is thousands of years old.
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Mud Pots
Also known as paint pots as these can be highly coloured.
These form when there is less hot water and hydrogen sulphide gas is present. Sulphuric acid dissolves rock into mud.The resultant bubbling and belching pools are good value and provide both an olfactory as well as visual sensation.
In Yellowstone the best are found at Fountain Paint Pots which are thick with dissolved geyserite which is naturally white but iron oxides tint the mud pink, orange and red.
West Thumb has a quintessentially mud-coloured pot.Extremophiles
Most of the kaleidoscope of colours found around the hot springs is caused by thermophiles (heat-loving organisms) who thrive in temperatures up to 105ºC.Some micro-organisms even thrive in acidic or poisonous conditions.
All are being studied as a new third kingdom of life.
Spectacular displays involving orange, yellow and green – in descending order of heat tolerance – are manifest in West Thumb and Midway Basins.
Here to wonderful effect at Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone’s largest hot spring at 370ft in diameter.
The natural deep blue water in the centre shifts to turquoise green towards the edge where yellow-coloured organisms grow, giving way to orange-coloured bacteria that form dense microbial mats. 
A 3-inch square section holds more micro-organisms than there are people on earth. Top
Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone has a few areas that are so extraordinary, they're worth highlighting.
Norris Geyser Basin is the oldest and hottest thermal area in the park as it intersects with two major faults allowing more heat to escape from the hotspot. Earthquakes occur here frequently; arsenic and mercury are found in its soils and hot springs.
In awe, you stand above Porcelain Basin to admire its spectacular opaque grey geyserite (siliceous sinter) moonscape within which are numerous spouting geysers, milky-coloured hot springs and opalescent pools, hissing fumaroles (vents where the water has boiled away before it reaches the surface), acid-bleached rocks, and Crackling Lake, so-called for the constant popping of springs on its southern shore.
Boardwalks carry you safely over the acidic surreal landscape.
This enables you to get close to the microbial mats – here this green organism thrives in water of pH2-3 and temperatures of 68-96ºF.Skeletons of lodgepole pines dot the landscape, killed by silica which penetrates the trees and hardens their bases.
Norris has the tallest geyser in Steamboat, and the most acidic known - Echinus.
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Mammoth Hot Springs
Characterised by a beautiful cascading series of terraces, created by hot springs bubbling up through and dissolving limestone, originally deposited by a prehistoric inland ocean.This is then re-deposited as travertine, a chalky white rock.
As the terraces are built up at an annual rate of 2 feet, the shapes change constantly.
Into wonderful scalloped-shaped rings and pillowy surfaces – some call it a cave turned inside out – and killing vegetation in the water’s path.
Again, thermophile activity is manifest, especially sulphur-dependent bacteria.
There’s also a fine specimen of an extinct hot spring – Liberty Cap - whose image has graced many a poster.I took Esme on my back to the top of the formation – we set out in glorious sunshine, and descended in a snowstorm. It felt such an achievement, akin to climbing Everest, such are our cosseted lifestyles!
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Grand Canyon
This was really stunning, unexpectedly so.
Formed when hard rhyolite rock meets softer rhyolite rock and the Yellowstone River, the canyon boasts two waterfalls.
The Upper Falls drops 109ft, the Lower 308ft; the best viewpoint of the latter is from Artist Point.
From here we took a walk along the South Rim overlooking the Lower Falls and the canyon, for wonderful views.
The wonderful colours are caused by ancient hydrothermal activity chemically altering the rhyolite canyon rocks, enhanced by weathering.Top
Miscellaneous Features
En route to the northern section of the park you pass acid-bleached Roaring Mountain, covered with howling fumaroles and the carcasses of lodgepole pines.
Soils here contain the highest known levels of mercury in a natural area.
We had a splendid morning at Sheepeater Cliff, a near-perfect example of columnar basalt formations.
It was glorious weather. We strolled beside the Gardner River, stepping over fallen trunks, and picnicking beneath the pines.
The pass over the mountains taking you down to Mammoth is known as the Golden Gate named for the colour of its golden walls.There's also a strange boulder field called The Hoodoos.
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Yellowstone: Fauna
The second notable feature of Yellowstone is the abundance of wildlife; it has been dubbed America’s Serengeti. And there were moments, notably when we visited the Lamar Valley in the NE corner of the park, when we could see why.
At one turnout, we parked while a herd of bison and their babies grazed and munched their way around us, much to Esme’s delight.
At another we saw several Pronghorn Antelope Antilocapra Americana on the slope below us.
Here's Esme holding a pronghorn antler at the visitor's centre.
Mum and I went for a dramatic walk along the Yellowstone River which involved a steep cliff down to the canyon one side, and sage-brush undulating away to the Lamar Valley on the other. The snow started to fall so we turned back to rejoin Colman and Esme, who had had a delightful time together playing in the long grasses and scrubby bushes, singing songs as the snow fell.
And came upon a solitary Bighorn Sheep Ovis Canadensis grazing under trees.
And I shall ever regret that my camera battery ran down so was unable to capture the dramatic scenery of the glacial valley, brilliantly lit by sunshine one minute, in a whirling snowstorm the next, with bison grazing along its Lamar River.
Bison Bison bison, North America’s largest land mammal, were our favourite (read, Esme’s favourite). Obligingly we saw them every day.
Esme pronounced one morning that she wanted to see bison today: Mama bison, Baby bison, Daddy bison and Granny bison! Mum was very touched…
On one occasion a small herd of mothers and babies trotted down the main road, cars paying obeisance.
Esme was very entertained by the pictures of animal poo in our Yellowstone guide, and by seeing dung all over the shop.
It is very moving to see bison in the wild, to picture how it must have been prior to the white man, and to remember on Endangered Species Day how close they had come to extinction through our reckless slaughter. 
Xanterra, who run all the lodging concessions in Yellowstone, place a cute stuffed animal in your room on arrival. If you purchase it, a donation is made to a conservation Fund. 
Luckily, it was a bison in our room at our first stop, the Old Faithful Inn, and Bismarck the Bison (thanks Mum!) joined our family party.At subsequent hotels we were careful to get into the room prior to Esme to hide the cuddly toys. One is enough!
In fact, there are about 60 species of mammals in Yellowstone. Most commonly sighted after bison, were the elk
(aka red deer in Europe where an elk is a moose) – this one was seen on our first day at West ThumbBut it took us a while to realise they were elk, thinking them to be Mule Deer, because of the white rump, before we realised that the bighorn sheep, the pronghorn antelope and the elk all have white rumps.
So now we’re not sure if we did see any ‘mulies’; these two elk were snapped at Mammoth Hot Springs, where they wander freely through the village.Esme and I were told off for getting too close.
We were actually looking for the Uinta Ground Squirrels Urocitellus armatus who cutely popped up out of burrows, twinkled at us, ran across the cropped turf, and disappeared into the ground again.
We saw other smaller critters too, including the feisty and fearlessYellow-bellied Marmot Marmota flaviventris sighted running all over Sheepeater’s Cliffs, and also on a walk Colman and I did through the snow on our last day near Yellowstone Lake, where they catcalled us from their burrow near the Natural Bridge rock formation close to Bridge Bay.
That silent and solitary walk also provided us with many sightings of animal tracks through the snow.
Are these bear?
And these elk/mule deer? Or even moose, which unfortunately we didn’t see.
Mammal of the Holiday
This undoubtedly goes to the two Grizzly Bears Ursus arctos horribilis (America’s second largest carnivore after polar bears), we saw in two different places.
It was my ambition to see a bear – black or grizzly, that didn’t matter – and we were rewarded when we descended into Mammoth Hot Springs just past the Golden Gate to see cars crowding beside the road and people with HUGE telescopes eagerly clambering over the crash barrier. A sure sign of a sighting of something!
Luckily Esme was asleep in the car, and as the rain began to fall, we squinted through binoculars down into the valley below to see a Mother Grizzly with four baby cubs, feeding on a carcass, chasing off scavenging crows. Even in the gloomy light, and at that distance, it was a spectacular sight.We saw the same mother and cubs two days later on our way back through, in better light but from further away. Incredible.
On our last full day, Colman wanted a morning of walking by himself, so we dropped him at a marked trail, and set off for our own adventures.
Mum, Esme and I did a lovely walk on a promontory near Fishing Bridge which took us out into the frozen Lake Yellowstone, through deep snowdrifts and amongst Lodgepole Pine trees covered in scaly bark and velvety lichen.
We then drove along the deserted road towards the Eastern Entrance, climbing up under slate-grey skies to find a turnout with a few cars parked, their occupants gazing up across the road at a grizzly, happily rooting and gazing about. Result!
We met up with Colman after lunch, who had not done his walk as planned, ironically enough; the trail notices proclaiming ‘Danger! Do not walk unaccompanied! Bears!’ too often for his liking…Top
Flora
Trees cover 80% of Yellowstone, and the Lodgepole Pine Pinus contorta makes up 80% of the forests. It is ideally suited to the shallow acidic soils, and its cones release seeds when heated by fire.
The huge fires suffered by Yellowstone in 1988, when a third of the park burned, have left their mark: huge swathes of fresh green bushy young pines cover the hillsides; uniquely the lodgepole prefers sunlight and branches shaded under a forest canopy wither and shed.
So the older trees are tall, spindly and bare up to the crown.We also learned to identify Douglas-fir whose cones have little feathery extensions.
Recent fires are a very visible presence in the park. Large tracts of blackened trees could be seen all around Lake Yellowstone, dramatically set off by the recent snowfalls.
Flowers were blooming or on the verge of doing so – we were reminded that spring is much later here. To our amazement, we saw some hardy specimens surviving in the geyser basins, close to the scalding hot sulphurous water.**********************
We felt so lucky to have been to Yellowstone and experienced all these natural wonders. 
We four made a good team; Esme had some 2yo ‘moments’ (or meltdowns depending on your level of political correctness) but luckily not on the journey home when our flight was delayed 4 hours and we got home at 1am, she was an absolute angel all day.Happy Days!
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Big Sur
Memorial Day WeekendThis falls on the last weekend of May and we set off on the Friday night for the stunning curving coastline just south of SF, known to car-advert enthusiasts the world over – Big Sur.
We arrived at the Riverside Campground just in time for dusk.
And rendezvoused successfully with Rob, Jecca, Billy and Luca, with whom we’ve camped with this weekend three years running.
Mum had booked a comfy redwood cabin so we had the benefit of hot showers and a mini-fridge – priority occupancy given to Esme’s milk and the beer!
Saturday dawned bright and clear. The weather was simply perfect all weekend.After a gourmet breakfast, we set off for the Andrew Molera State Park just up the road, on the coast.
The trail to the beach adventurously involved fording a stream as soon as we left the car park.
Given all the rain we’ve had this spring, it was pretty high, and the riverbed was composed of large pebbles. Impressively, Mum was first into the water, wading through the fast-flowing current ahead of Rob and Luca.The path then wended through waist-high spring-flowering meadows, complete with bright thistles and exotic grasses.
Before emerging onto a picture-perfect curved beach of fine pale yellow sand, giving onto cobalt seas.
The beach was decorated with (somewhat ramshackle) log shelters crafted from driftwood.
Rob and his trusty team set to work on half-demolishing and reassembling the one nearest to us.
This engineering effort was followed by the construction of a complex underground cave system, resembling a high-tech USS Enterprise bridge with a central well connecting to four spokes, and each to one another. 
Before Colman, in his element to be engaged in major male-bonding earthworks, caused irreparable subsidence.
The wind got up after lunch, and we set off up the beach, to find the only way out was to ford the stream again, now wider and deeper at its mouth.Mum was escorted across by a gallant young(ish) fellow who kept up an amusing line of flirtatious patter throughout. Esme was the only one who escaped wet feet, by virtue of being in the backpack.
We explored the headland for superb views across the beach and beyond to the wrinkled green-baize-like coastal range of Big Sur.And then headed upstream back through campsite, meadow and woods to the car park.
Back at the campsite, we reconvened by our firepit, reheated our pre-cooked hearty bean stew, plied the adults with wine and scoffed a peach pie.
And finished off with s’mores, the American camping essential created with passion and eaten with gusto: marshmallows roasted then pressed between two graham crackers with a layer of chocolate.Billy and Luca had a fine old time, melted marshmallows oozing from their mouths.
We all slept so well.
Sunday
Another perfect day. 
We drove to the stunning Pfeiffer Beach, framed by high rocky promontories and an arch rock. We made our base high in the sand dunes, in a (mostly futile) attempt to avoid the ever-increasing wind.
A shallow stream flows along the length of the beach before turning into the sea at the point.
Or make that flowed. The enterprising engineers in our party spent all of five minutes relaxing before throwing themselves into an increasingly ambitious dam and diversion project. 
Initially they dammed the stream, creating interconnected pools and channels, before deciding to cut a direct canal to the sea through the beach.
Colman and Luca were as men possessed, with able support from Rob and Billy. 
In the heat of the day, they laboured, barely pausing for lunch, scooping out sand and encouraging a trickle then flood to escape to the ocean.
Quite genuinely I have not seen Colman so excited since he became a father. 
Grinning from ear to ear, brimming with enthusiasm and achievement, he was hopping up and down, insisting on posing beside his magnum opus from every conceivable angle.Meanwhile, Mum and Jecca discussed the parlous state of education in the UK and US; Jecca and I then explored round the corner to find windier but almost deserted pristine coastline spying seals.
The wind forced our retreat, and we drove further south for the Partington Cove Creek walk involving a steep descent along a dirt road through a verdant canyon.Then the trail narrowed, pushing through jungly vegetation, across a bridge through a 120-foot tunnel cut through the cliffs to the deep-sided east cove, where we saw an otter, swimming on his back, eating kelp in the dazzling blue surf.
I was baffled as to why anybody would go to the trouble to blast out a tunnel to reach a small rocky headland; 
apparently done in the 1880s for timber and used successfully during Prohibition.Back through the tunnel you turn left after the bridge to reach the small boulder-strewn west cove, where the creek waterfalled into the ocean, sealions played in the swell, and the waves crashed onto rocks.
Here we clambered, balanced, splashed and sat, gazing into silver-streaked waters; the sun starting to sink.
The journey home brought extraordinary vistas of flat golden seas, richly-hued hillsides and the turkey vultures, floating far below near the water’s edge, trying to pick off baby seal pups.
The Lawsons hosted dinner that night. We played ‘I went to Big Sur and I brought…’, even Esme joining in until it collapsed into giggles after Luca brought a ‘poopy butt’ and Mum repeated it with clear English diction.
And polished off more wine.And slept extremely well again, especially Mum in her swanky abode.
On Monday we packed up early, and took in a walk in the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park away from the coast, along the Valley View Trail through woods of redwoods,
conifers, oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods, maples, alders and willows high up onto the hills above the treeline to a viewpoint.
We could see the sea in the far distance, or rather a big wall of fog blanketing the coast, while the sun beat down on us.Esme and Colman alarmed Mum by playing the pinching game with a sheer drop below.
We descended to a fork in the path; we turned back to the car and bade the Lawsons a fond farewell.Thanks again for a super weekend!
And thanks also to Mum for coming to see us, and being so terrific. It was very moving saying goodbye – who knows when we shall meet again?
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DLG
Amy and Akhil are getting married in August – the wedding of the year! Amy’s bridal shower/bachelorette was held on a very sunny Saturday, kicking off with drinks and a delicious Nuevo Peruvian luncheon, at La Mar restaurant, right on the Embarcadero, overlooking the water.
It was the first time I’d been to an American bridal shower – luckily that morning Mum said, “a shower, doesn’t that mean you have to bring a gift?” So now Amy is the lucky recipient of a vintage 1970s necklace.
But that meant I was a little late so missed Amy’s grand entrance – she was so happy to be with all her girlfriends, many of whom had flown across the country to be here, as had much of her female family.
Amy made a very wonderful speech about how she is so blessed to be marrying her soulmate, but also how much she loves and needs her girlfriends, her tribe, throughout her life, through its many ages and stages. Not a dry eye in the house!
The DLG all looked fabulous. Everybody in bright summer colours.
Amy B flew in from San Diego, Laura and Rachel came up from Santa Cruz. 
Daytime drinking does have its consequences. I found myself at home by 4-5pm all slurry and grumpy, before strapping on the false eyelashes, a low cut top and evening make up, and headed over to Sylvia’s to reconvene.
Laura had arranged a group booking at restaurant-dance club AsiaSF with a Farewell to Freedom package, involving a round of shots for everyone. 
The venue specialises in bachelorette parties, and never have I smelt so much oestrogen in the air. Scantily clad sexy Asian ladies paraded all night – and that was just the (male) entertainment. 
Veils, sashes, badges, hats, matching outfits, high heels, glitter, strappy dresses, all were a-quiver to the latest Eurotrash Autotune Lightweight Paint-by-Numbers Female-vocalised Pop. 
Amy was on cracking form, really living it up to the max, throwing shapes, impulsively hugging and kissing us all, wearing an excellent T-shirt, and Amy B’s lovingly hand-crafted recycled veil.Jason and I thought we did well to last until 10.30!
I love the DLG and am so glad I’m a member.
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Derby Day
Former downstairs neighbours, Patrick and Catherine, have hosted an annual party for the Kentucky Derby for yonks, although hadn’t in the last couple of years in the transition out of San Francisco to their lovely new home in San Anselmo.So we were thrilled to get the invite to their party for 2010 and the 136th Kentucky Derby.
This is a 2km flat race for 3 yr old thoroughbreds.
We dressed up in Southern Belle finery, and headed over the bridge with Kim who had co-hosted the Derby parties with Patrick over the years.
A glorious sunny day, the Wine Group were out in force and on form including Arne and a very blooming Cati.
A fine array of hats were on display. Tables groaned with food.
Excellent bands played bluegrass and folk in the garden all afternoon.
Esme loved dancing to the tunes, hanging out with Morgan and me.
There was a sweepstake, in which we drew 3 horses.
And Colman went in on a syndicate with Dave where you ‘bought’ a horse at auction; if your horse won or was placed, a complex mathematical algorithm meant you received a healthy return on your investment. 
The race itself was very exciting, although one didn’t have a clue what was happening due to the volume of shouting at the TV, but when the dust settled, we realised Super Saver had won – Colman’s syndicate! 
And we had a place from the sweepstake. Nobly, winnings were donated to the Bay Area Young Survivors.
Thanks, Patrick, Catherine and Caroline for hosting such an excellent afternoon.
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Birthdays and Celebrations
Steve’s Birthday Party
Kristan and I had arranged a get together so that our mothers could meet up again, and this nicely coincided with Steve’s special day.We went to Alex and Fin’s joint 3 year party at Nicole’s in the morning.
Then drove up Mt Diablo in the East Bay for an outing, superb views in all directions, even on a hazy day such as this.Before getting to Kristan and Steve’s. We had met most of the other guests at Steve’s birthday last year, and it was good to catch up.
They had set up a pot luck feast in the back yard/garage.Along with Steve’s drum kit.
Gabriela was sunny and sweet all afternoon.
Esme balked at whacking the piñata; we were impressed with the gusto that the other kids deployed – Soren loved it!
Happy Birthday Steve!South Bay Magic
The previous weekend we had attended Saumya’s 7th birthday party down in the South Bay. 
She had requested a magic show, and the magician was superb.I was the most enthusiastic member of the audience! Esme was utterly transfixed throughout.
A scorching afternoon, the kids all delighted in playing with water bombs.
Shital and Dev arranged for caterers to provide dosas – yummo.
San Francisco Classical Voice
Social gatherings this month also included a recital and sit-down dinner at Gordon Getty’s Pacific Heights mansion, in aid of www.sfcv.org - the website dedicated to promoting classical music in the Bay Area, of which Colman is a board member. We persuaded Morgan to join us.
We had been last year so knew the form: dressed up to the nines (Colman had bought a vintage 1950s tuxedo), valet parking, drinks and (very nice) canapés, in the silk-swathed, curtain-ruched, Impressionist-painting and Chinese porcelain-filled drawing room; followed by a violin recital by Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg in the music room; then sit down full course dinner. As the day before the UK election, politics was the hot topic and I was impressed by how strongly Nick Clegg had reached the US radar.
At the end of dinner, speeches were made praising the donors, the organisers and Gordon Getty himself for hosting. He unexpectedly burst into “Summertime” which was a treat!
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Us
Esme enjoys her playdates, especially with Marcus and Stella, she’s chatting up a storm, loves school, is getting very opinionated about pet subjects, and is (mostly) a delight.
And Colman and I celebrated our Fifth Wedding Anniversary. He bought me beautiful 1970s Danish rosewood platters and salad bowl and spoons.
I am arranging for trees to be planted here in San Francisco and also in Prussia Cove where we got married.He took me to dinner at Michelin-starred Italian/French cuisine Quince in North Beach, Mum babysat. We salivated and savoured the 5-course Spring Tasting Menu – absolutely delicious.
My highlights were the suckling pig with onion fondue and roasted cherries, plus the soft shell crab, and the chocolate pave dessert.
Thank you my darling for looking after me so well!
Massive Attack
Colman gets treated well too. I took him as a surprise to see Massive Attack at the Warfield with Adam and Jen, to make up for missing them at the Big Chill this summer.
They were superb! The opening act was Martina Topley-Bird who has sang with them and Tricky over the years, and was a very cool and down to earth solo performer.
The main event showcased their new album, Heligoland, plus many tracks from Mezzanine as well as Safe from Harm and Unfinished Sympathy and, most pleasingly, featured Horace Andy plus an excellent light show, verging from the political to the radical to romantic, and was bang up to date referencing extraordinary rendition flight numbers, transcripts of missile attacks, and the Gulf oil spill.
We’ve always loved Massive, and the previous time I’d seen them (15 years ago in Australia) they weren’t that great. So it was brilliant to see this excellent show.
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Bird of the MonthYellowstone
While we saw some familiar faces elsewhere this month, including 20 different species (like this very greedy crow who was after our picnic) without actively going birding in Big Sur, it was our trip to Yellowstone which provided the most excitement.
In total there were 41 species sighted (out of a potential 311 recorded species of birds, 148 of these nest), of which 7 were Life Birds ie first time seen by me.I decided upon a Bird of the Day.
Our first day in Yellowstone was pretty spectacular with three new Life Birds.
At one point in the Grand Tetons we had to wait in a queue to get through some roadworks and I glanced out of the window to see a Pinksided Junco Junco Hyemalis. The Dark-eyed Junco has six subspecies in N.America and this version was my 4th, having seen the Gray-headed in the Grand Canyon.
Our first stop proper in the park was at West Thumb, where the lake’s thick ice gave way to open water along the shore due to the run off from scalding geysers, and here I spied the crisply patterned Barrow’s Goldeneye Busephala islandica for the first time.
At Old Faithful the following day, I saw two dirty white swans flying straight and long against a steel sky.
A quintessential Yellowstone sighting of the North America’s largest bird, the Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinators - seen for the first time.
Before dinner and before Old Faithful blew again, I went for a half an hour birding just outside the hotel car park.
And my patience was rewarded with two Life Birds: Swainson’s Thrush Catharus ustulatus hopping in some cropped grass, intently searching for insects;
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and the Cassin’s Finch Carpodacus cassinii whose bright topknot signalled his identity.The next day didn’t garner any new Life Birds, the Bird of the Day was the American Magpie, but I loved seeing three species of swallow swooping, diving and soaring over the Black Sand Basin.
On the Saturday, as we returned from the stunning Lamar Valley, we stopped beside a huddle of cars and scopes overlooking a wide valley and lake. Squinting through my binoculars, I saw a solitary magnificent Sandhill Crane Grus Canadensis, (first seen 15 months ago in the wetlands of the Sacramento Delta) and assumed this was the draw.
But no, they were waiting for a predator to approach the carcass of an elk beside the lake.On Sunday we started southwards again on the second half of the trip, stopping off at Mammoth Hot Springs in the bright glowing sunshine where I took this picture of a Mountain Bluebird.
We were later dive-bombed at our picnic lunch at Sheepeater Cliffs by a very bold Gray Jay Perisoreus Canadensis who then perched in the branches affixing us with a beady eye. Life Bird No.7.
On the snowy Monday, the walk with Mum and Esme through the woods rewarded us with the sight of a White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus, sitting at the end of a spit in the frozen lake, a bird more often found in tropical climes rather than frozen wilderness.
The more perceptive amongst you will have noted the reference to 7 Life Birds but descriptions of only 6.On Day One, West Thumb came up trumps with new Life Bird, Bird of the Day, Bird of the Holiday, America’s National Bird and symbol and my Bird of the Month: the Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus, who flew low over the lakeshore.
An ambition realised!
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Mural of the Month
Stencils of the Month
As seen in West Thumb, Yellowstone - a bear and a mule deer!
Bumper Sticker of the Month
If I Knew Grandchildren Would Be So Much Fun I’d Have Had Them First
Legalize Hemp, It’s Only Natural
