Nearby Nature

Montclair’s Natural Christmas Tree

Our favorite Christmas Tree is at the intersection of Shepherd Canyon Road and Skyline Boulevard, bar none.  It’s a grand old evergreen that greets you all the time, but grabs your attention under certain conditions.

Last week, Mother Nature decided that it was time to decorate this Christmas Tree without uprooting it.  We’re fortunate that local photographer Bennett Hall captured and shared this ephemeral beauty.

Keeping this peaceful image in mind, we’re now heading to the Paramount for the music.  The Oakland East Bay Symphony’s holiday concert is one of those crazy, crammed, family-friendly occasions.

You can’t consume the holiday spirit in one gulp, but we wanted to share a sip or two here.  Cheers!

Little Ants Appear In Droves

These crawlers are strange, appearing suddenly and in droves.  They show up only once or twice a year, whether you’re ready for them or not.  Our ants visited last night, crawling all around the inside and outside of the kitchen garbage can – and not wandering far afield.

These creatures should have known better than to emerge in my domicile.

Bring out the carcinogens!  Somehow all those green aspirations go out the window when the icky ants appear – and that equally disgusting, poisonous spray helps me obliterate ’em instantly.

After the first rains this fall, some Montclarions were blessed with an onslaught of termites.  I thought the ants were triggered by rain as well, but maybe there are other factors.  These guys might get cold and seek out cozier spots on wintery days.

Any knowledgeable Montclarions out there?

Snow Day In East Bay Hills

We love our snow days here in the East Bay hills!  Today the snow even stuck around, due to cold temperatures.  Too curious to sit still, we headed uphill to see the white stuff.

There was snow on many rooftops below 1,000 feet, and bushes and hillsides remains sprinkled as well.  Once we rounded the bend to Skyline Boulevard, the evidence of wintertime was everywhere.

Evidence #1: Well, you can see the snow underfoot, which wasn’t deep but definitely widespread.  I should have dressed up for the occasion with real winter boots, but you get the picture looking down.  It felt great to hear and feel the crunch for a while today.

Evidence #2: Huckleberry Regional Preserve was showing off its winterized, holiday look as well.  We don’t see the snow-covered grasses very often, as snapped here.   So many of the trees and shrubs were covered, and not melting in the shadows either.

Evidence #3: Folks gathered up on Skyline, to record the day for posterity.  It was funny to watch everyone stop cold, almost taken aback by the great Eastern vista.  No one had seen this much snow, this late in the day.

Evidence #4: Unlike most snows, this one ventured lower in altitude last night.  While we normally get thrilled by a snow-topped Mt. Diablo, the range views were even better.  From Skyline, we gazed out at the East Bay Himalayan Range today – what a rarity!

Rainy, With A Chance Of Blooming

The last couple dark, gray and rainy days were a little depressing, as we head into the winter season.  However, we managed to look up and see the November blooms – and realized all is not lost this time of year.  There’s a profusion of colors everywhere.

Purple Flower

Anything with jewel-like purple is an attention getter, and hundreds of princess flowers are blooming now.  Apparently these beauties hail from Brazil, typically thriving in tropic and subtropic spots.  Somehow they survive in this bad weather, though.

Pink White Flower

There’s nothing like a flashy flowers that says springtime, such as these pink and white numbers.  Light blue flowers provide the nice backdrop.  The hills seem ready for their Sunset Magazine photo-op, right this minute.

Red Flower

We also see plenty of pineapple sage, a late bloomer that lives in northern climates.  It’s strange seeing bees buzzing around the flowers, even in this misty weather.  At some point, we’ll have to pull a couple flowers and try to brew tea.

So look up from the fog, and feel a little better.

Fire Anniversary Today, To Life!

We are reaching another Oakland Hills fire anniversary today, October 20th.  While our culture likes to mark the passing of decades, it has been 18 years since the last major fire.  And that lucky number equals life, which returned quickly to the decimated hills.

Eighteen Years

What happened in 1991?

The Oakland Hills fire wreaked total havoc, with 25 deaths and 150 injuries.  This wildfire quickly burned across 5.25 miles and 1,520 acres, destroying 2,843 houses and 433 apartments as well as damaging another 193 houses.  In financial terms, the fire produced over $1.5 billion worth of losses.

Shortly thereafter, Oakland Fire Captain Donald Parker declared, “the magnitude and scope of what is simply referred to as the ‘Tunnel Fire’ is far beyond the experience of any living American firefighter. Only those who fought the Chicago Fire last century or battled the Great Fire in San Francisco would be able to identify with this conflagration and firestorm.”

Where’s the evidence?

Since then, the tell-tale signs of destruction have pretty much vanished unless you notice the “newer” section of homes in the hills.  Vegetation has grown in quickly, although everyone living in the Wildfire Prevention District must adhere to regulations to protect their homes.

Even so, we need to keep history alive because many current hills residents moved here after the raging fire.  Let’s hope our community response to the next big one, whenever it happens, lessens that destructive force.  Here’s to 18 years – and counting.

More info:  How many Oakland fires – Hills fire history – Fire captain report – Oakland fire booklet – Oakland CORE – Oakland Wildfire Prevention District