Where does soil come from?

What does soil have to do with a nature blog? Well, without dirt there simply could be no land-based life on earth. Soil has been called "the bridge between life and the inanimate world" because it contains many essential elements needed by living things.

Soil is about 45% mineral matter (chemical elements) that comes from weathered and decomposed bedrock, 5% organic matter that comes from decayed plant and animal life (humus), 25% air, and 25% water.

Essential elements needed by life are released from minerals contained in rock and made available to the soil through processes of mechanical and chemical weathering.

These are the 15 essential elements required by all plants and animals (1):

- Hydrogen(H)
- Carbon (C)
- Nitrogen (N)
- Oxygen (O)
- Sodium (Na)
- Magnesium(Mg)
- Phosphorus(P)
- Sulfur(S)
- Chlorine (C)
- Potassium (K)
- Calcium (Ca)
- Manganese (Mn)
- Iron (Fe)
- Copper (Cu)
- Zinc (Zn)
- Selenium (Se).

These 8 elements (in order of abundance) make up 98% of the earths crust (2):

- Oxygen (O)
- Silicon (Si)
- Aluminum (Al)
- Iron (Fe)
- Calcium (Ca)
- Sodium (Na)
- Potassium (K)
- Magnesium (Mg)

All other elements amount to only 1.5% of the crust.

Water is an important mechanical weathering agent for rock. When water freezes its volume increases by 9%. Any water that seeps into the cracks of rock and freezes exerts tremendous pressure that wedges and splits the larger parent rock into smaller and smaller fragments.

Since these smaller fragments have a greater surface area than the original parent rock, that makes them more vulnerable to a second important weathering process, chemical weathering. And water is important here, too. Rain picks up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as it falls and thereby becomes weakly acidic (carbonic acid). The acidic rain gradually causes the chemical decomposition of most rock minerals into solution.

Water mixes with essential elements in the soil that were released from rock minerals by mechanical and chemical weathering. The enriched water solution is then absorbed by plants, which in turn introduce the essential elements into the food chain.

For example, calcium and phosphorous are essential elements for bone. Calcium is abundant in nature, but phosphorous is rare. As granite decomposes through mechanical and chemical weathering, so does the embedded mineral apatite, which contains the essential element phosphorous. Plants absorb the phosphorous when it is released into the soil, and they in turn are eaten by animals.

This is an vast oversimplification of a very complicated subject, and probably way more than anybody wants to know about soil. But the more I learn about our natural world, the more fascinating it becomes.

(1) Source:
http://www.usgs.gov/faq/faq.asp?id=248&category_id=29

(2) Source:
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/geology/crust_elements.html

Post

Bright yellow fungus

I saw this specimen on the side of Hicks Road a few days ago. But after searching through the Audubon book of mushrooms (at Barnes and Nobles), I still can't identify it. Hummmm.

Eight and a half miles today--the weekly long run.

[Photo: Bright yellow fungus, as yet unidentified. Click to enlarge.]

Why are plants green?

The short answer is because all plants contain chlorophyll, and chlorophyll reflects green light. Sunlight contains all the colors of the rainbow, including green. But green is the one color that chlorophyll can't absorb, so green is reflected back.

Chlorophyll is used in photosynthesis, the process that plants use to convert carbon dioxide into glucose (sugar), using energy from the sun.

Three miles.

London Planetree

The leaves and bark of the London Planetree are similar to that of the Planetree Maple. Both leaf types look like they could be Maples, but alas, their fruits are radically different. The fruit of the London Planetree has brown spheres dangling from long stalks, whereas the Planetree Maple takes the traditional winged helicopter approach for which Maples are known.

NOTE: The tree shown in photos 2 and 3 lives on the rim of the lake. Since I didn't get a shot of that whole tree, photo 1 shows some London Planetrees on a local sidestreet.

Sunday was an 8-mile run, half a mile longer than last Sunday's run. The Jeff Galloway Marathon Training Program increases mileage every Sunday by one-half mile. Yesterday's longer run didn't feel more difficult than last week's, though I was still tired at the end.

[Photo: London Planetree (Platanus acerifolia) Click to enlarge. ]

Double-Crested Cormorant

The Double-crested Cormorant's diet consists mainly of fish, and to catch them it swims and dives underwater, sometimes to depths of several meters. (Much of the lake is shallow, especially around the shoreline. But it was a quarry before it became a public park in 1982 and there are two deep spots of 36' and 43'.) Remarkably, Cormorants can stay submerged for up to a minute (longer than I can). But their feathers aren't waterproof, so they air-dry their wings by holding them open or flapping them. The middle photo and the bottom movie show exactly that behavior.

Dozens of Cormorants used to perch together on a great Sycamore tree that once stood in the pond behind the Santa Clara Water Department building on Almaden Expressway. That tree isn't there anymore, but somewhere I have pictures of it from years past. I remember taking them because it looked pretty ominous seeing all those black birds perched together with their wings outspread and looking like they were ready to pounce on something.

[Top photo: Double-Crested Cormorant (black) (Phalacrocorax auritus), landing next to a Snowy Egret (white). Canadian Geese are in the forground. Click photo to enlarge.]

[Middle photo: Two Cormorants-one drying his wings. Click to enlarge.]

[Bottom movie: Cormorant flaps his wings violently to air-dry them.]





Taken today.

Western Pond Turtles

Note: today I modified the blog's name to include the word "Nature."

Seven turtles sunbathing in Almaden Lake.

(This shot could have used a more powerful zoom than 12X, but if you click the photo you can see them clearly enough. Luckily, being high on the crossing bridge provided a good vantage point. The camera is a 6-MP Canon S3IS with movie mode. It's a great camera but battery life is short. Fortunately, it takes AA's (four). I bring the camera with me on all bike rides, but it's a little heavy to carry while jogging any distance.)

These omnivorous reptiles feed on vegetation (algae, cattail roots, lily pods), crustaceans (invertebrates with exoskeletons like crayfish), pond animals (fishes, frogs), and insects. They'll eat carrion, too.

Females lay 5-13 eggs per clutch, once or twice per year. They usually build their nest within 100 yards from the water. Lifespan is around 30 years. (Not bad for eating carrion.)

Western Pond Turtles range from Baja California (Mexico) to Washington State (the west coast of the U.S.).

Today was a three mile jog.

[Photo: Western Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata) Click photo to enlarge.]

Black Crowned Night Heron

Hey, you're supposed to be nocturnal.

Anyhow, as you can tell from his shadow, I saw this guy at a little past noon today.

Black Crowned Nights are the most widely spread herons in the world. As such, their presence or absence is often used as an indicator of ecological health. Their conservation status is LC (Least Concern), so they have healthy populations.

They breed all over the US in the summer, then migrate to Mexico for the non-breeding winter months.

Their diet consists of fish, lizards, snakes, rodents, invertebrates, eggs. They grasp their prey and don't stab it with their bill. They nest in trees or cattails in groups. This fellow (or lady) was hanging out on a rock next to the crossing bridge.

Guess he's up for a late night snack.

[Photo: Black Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) Click photo to enlarge]

More about Almaden Lake

Almaden Lake is the only park in San Jose with a sandy beach and swim area. Fishing and paddle boating are among its other recreational uses.

The water is shallow at the shoreline, but it plunges to depths of 43 and 36 feet respectively in two spots. That's because it was formerly a quarry operation that began in the late 1940s, before it opened to the public as a park in 1982. A gravel berm separates the two holes, and occasionally you can see egrets standing on it fishing.

Almaden Lake Park is 65 acres and the surface area of the water is 25 acres.

Easy three mile run.

[Photo: Sandy beach. Click photo to enlarge.]

American Coot

[Photo: American Coot (Fulica americana) Click photo to enlarge.]










[Movie 1: American Coot swimming.]


[Movie 2: American Coot call.]


Coots are commonplace at Almaden Lake, as are Canadian Geese and ducks. Coots are water birds and they often hang out with ducks, but they're not ducks. Coots are actually more closely related to cranes. Also unlike ducks, they don't have webbed feet. Instead, they have lobes on the sides of each toe. Aside from their dark appearance, you'll recognize them by their high-pitched quack (Movie 2--the 6 higher-pitched calls) and how they shift their head back and forth when swimming (Movie 1). Though they're exposed to a lot of people too, they seem more timid than the ducks and Canadian Geese; maybe their smaller size makes them shy.

They live year-round our west and their conservation status is LC (least concern).

Today was an early morning 7.6 mile run (round trip) to a point beyond the crossing bridge at Camden.

A week ago today I began following the Jeff Galloway marathon training method (see link below). In a nutshell, you run 3-miles (or 30-minutes) on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by a long run on Sunday. Mileage is increased in half-mile increments, but only on the Sunday run. His method also incorporates 3:1 or 4:1 periodic walk breaks in each run, which lowers the chance of injury. To me, that's a major advantage over more aggressive schedules. Though I didn't walk today, I will as the mileage increases. Cross-training on off days is allowed.

From Mark Bittman's New York Times blog (link below), I also adopted this eating regime: On run days I have a bowl of oatmeal one hour before the run, then have oatmeal again, plus a can of salmon, within 30-minutes of finishing. Oatmeal provides carbohydrates and a little protein, and salmon provides needed protein along with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. I do feel more energized during the run and more quickly recharged after it with this regime.

Jeff Galloway:

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html

Mark Bittman:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/running-low-on-protein/

Coulter Pine

Top: This Coulter Pine sits on the east bank of the Guadalupe River, between the Coleman Rd. overpass and the dam, two-hundred yards north of Almaden Lake.

Second: Its bark














Third: I couldn't reach this female cone, but it's even larger than the one below pictured with my hand.









Fourth: I'm not kidding: these mature female cones are GIGANTIC. According to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees, the Coulter Pine "...has the heaviest cone of all pines in the world, often weighing 4-5 pounds."



Bottom: Pollen-bearing male cones. (Yes, there are boy and girl cones. Who knew?)








Pine trees are conifers (cone-bearing) that inhabit mainly the northern hemisphere, especially the region known as the Boreal Forest (Alaska, Canada, Russia, Norway, etc). Pines do not loose their needles seasonally, so they are able to photosynthesize even when light levels are low and temperatures cool. And the needle's dark green color contains a lot of chlorophyl, which increases sunlight absorption needed for photosynthesis. The needle shape has a small surface area. It evolved that way to resist cold and to minimize transpiration (water evaporation). Conifers dominate the Boreal region because this type of leaf--a needle is a leaf type--grows better than the leaves of deciduous (leaf-shedding) trees in that cold climate.

Coulter Pines grow mainly in the coastal regions of western Alaska and Canada, and of Southern California and Baja Mexico. In California they range as far north as San Francisco. Coulter Pine needles come three in a bundle; I measured my specimens at just under nine inches long.

[Photo: Coulter Pine, aka "Bigcone Pine" or "Pitch Pine" (Pinus Coulteri) Click photo to enlarge]

Man with Chocolate Lab

This two and a half year old Chocolate Laborador Retriever is in high spirits today because he's playing fetch in the lake with his master. At other times, though, he has the calmer disposition that Labs are generally known for, like being great around kids.

Labradors are the most popular breed in the US and around the world*. There are three main types: Black Labrador, Yellow Labrador (the most common), and Chocolate Labrador.

Oddly, they originated from Newfoundland, not Labrador. Newfoundland is an island in the Atlantic off the coast of northeastern Canada, and Labrador is on the mainland adjacent to it. Together, they form the Canadian province of "Newfoundland and Labrador."

The St. John's Water Dog, ancestor of the Labrador Retriever, was used in Newfoundland for pulling fishing nets to shore. When the English subsequently started importing the dogs they referred to them by their region of origin in Newfoundland, known as "the Labrador" region. Hence the name confusion.

Labs are famous for their happy dispositions and intelligence. Being highly trainable, Labs are widely used as detection dogs, search-and-rescue, military and police, and as seeing-eye dogs. And they are great swimmers due to their webbed toes and somewhat waterproof coat. This particular guy is a pet, not a worker. But at my last company, Lisa, a co-worker, trained Labs as search-and-rescue and cadaver dogs in her off-time. She would occasionally bring the pups in to work for socialization purposes, where they would (usually) lounge quietly under her desk.

Three mile early morning jog.

[Photos: taken near the North Shoreline Picnic Area of Almaden Lake today. Click to enlarge.]

* As measured by AKC registration.

Wed

California Sycamore Tree

Judging from the number people in the park this morning, the unemployment rate in Silicon Valley must still be sky-high. (It's actually around 12%.) But, what better way to spend precious down-time than exercising and enjoying nature?

As mentioned in the August 3rd post, Mexican drug smugglers are growing marijuana in California. Even the park rangers are concerned about going off-trail and stumbling upon a marijuana encampment. Now, according to an article published today (below), the problem takes on larger proportions. The Mexican drug cartel is also to blame for starting the August 8th La Brea Fire in the Los Padres National Forest.

Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090818/us_nm/us_wildfire_marijuana).

Three mile jog today.

[Photo: California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) Click to enlarge.]

Eucapyptus Trees

These photos were taken at Almaden Lake today.

[Top photo: Bluegum Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). Click to enlarge.]






[Bottom photo: Red iron-bark Eucalyptus(Eucalyptus sideroxylon). Click to enlarge.]

California Fan Palm Tree

This particular tree is located on the northern end of Almaden Lake, just down a bit from the Peppertree stand. There are several other Fan Palms growing nearby, and I see them all over the place in San Jose.

Today I began the Jeff Galloway training plan with a six mile "long run" to the red pedestrian bridge at Camden and back.

[Photos: California Fan Palm Tree (Washingtonia filifera) In the top picture you can see "the cube" on top of Mt. Umunhum (upper left). It was the early warning radar building at the old Almaden Air Force Station that operated from 1956-1980. The building sits at about 3,486 feet elevation. Almaden Lake is at about 190 feet elevation. Click to enlarge.]

Valley Oak Tree

According to the National Audubon Society Field Guide To Trees, this tree also goes by the names "Valley White Oak" and "California White Oak."

Valley Oak is the largest western deciduous (leaf-shedding) tree in the US, and its acorns are an important food source for wildlife.

Acorns were an important staple food (up to 50% of their diet) for the native Ohlone (Costanoan) Indians that lived in the area from around 600 AD until the mid-1800's. That's when Spanish missionaries and an influx of Europeans contributed to their decline. Pre-Ohlone Indian populations lived in the Bay Area dating back to 4000 BC.

The Tamien light rail station was so-named (I'm guessing) after the Tamien dialect of the Ohlones. There were eight separate Ohlone subgroups, each speaking a distinct dialect. The Tamien subgroup lived in the Santa Clara Valley along the Guadalupe River.

[Photos: Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)]

California Peppertree

The peppery-tasting fruit of this exotic tree introduced from Peru is eaten by robins, mockingbirds and cedar waxwings. Its shallow roots are known to crack sidewalks. There's a stand of about a dozen trees on the northern edge of Almaden Lake next to Winfield. This one has the most knarled trunk and is the shortest of the bunch. Handling the plant may cause skin irritation.

[Photo: California Peppertree, Schinus molle. Click to enlarge.]

Mission Peak guide post

Following up from yesterday's post, this is the guide post on top of Mission Peak in Fremont, California, USA.

Top: looking north across the bay towards San Francisco.

Bottom (left to right): me, Siva, John. (Same year, different hike.)

Today was another rest day. [Photo: click to enlarge.]

View over Silicon Valley from Mission Peak

Mission Peak is a popular Silicon Valley day hike. In 2004, I hiked up with friends John and Ed from Force Computers. At 2517' the view was spectacular. We could see Fremont, San Jose and tall buildings in downtown San Francisco, some 50 miles away. Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Umunhum, and other local peaks were also in plain sight. It was truely a WOW! experience for me.

Mission Peak is located in Fremont, California, about 20-miles north of Almaden Lake. It's a very popular hiking venue that can be ascended from the Stanford Rd. parking lot in 70-minutes if you're in shape. The trail from the parking lot climbs 2200' in three miles, so it's a fairly steep walk (about 8-degrees on average), though no hiking gear is required. At the top there's a guidepost with viewports aimed at all the local sights (see tomorrow's post). Its Google Earth GPS coordinates are: 37 30' 45.26" N, 21 52' 51.71" W.

Walking up is a pretty good workout, and the first time I did it I was kinda proud of myself. But the second trip brought me back to reality as I watched an older woman jog all the way up to the summit. To add insult to injury, as we chatted she casually mentioned that she does it several times a week. So much for macho.

From this vantage point you can also see the outlines of several salt evaporation ponds at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The satellite view shows the salt ponds and Mission peak (upper-right corner): www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4877

The ambitious South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project will restore several of those ponds back to their original status as mudflats and tidal marshes long before man arrived. Since the bay is contaminated with mercury, some of which originates from the Almaden Quicksilver Mines, you shouldn't eat the fish. See the July 13, 2009 post, "SolarBees and methylmercury."

Force Computers was located in Fremont until Motorola bought (and extinguished) it.

[Photo: click to enlarge. I took this shot on the return trip, downhill from the peak.]

Map: http://www.ebparks.org/node/1095
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Peak

Today was a rest day.

Mallard Duck

This female was so preoccupied preening herself (no comment) that I was lucky to eventually get this still profile. The males are more attractive with a green head, white colar and brown chest. (A photo will appear soon.)

The birds at Almaden Lake are almost fearless of people, and you can get pretty close before spooking them. This one let me approach, but if you get within an arms length or two, that's too close for comfort-they're not stupid.

It was hot today so it was three miles on the treadmill.

[Photo: Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) Click to enlarge.]

California Sycamore Tree

These stately trees are located on Almaden Expressway in front of the Santa Clara Valley Water District building, not far from Almaden Lake.

The bark of sycamore trees flakes off in patches, giving them an attractive white-brown appearance. These specimens look mostly white here, but if you enlarge the photo you can see numerous light-brown patches.

Three sycamore types are native to the U.S. A percolation pond is about 100-yards away- behind the SCVWD building, which is good because they like moist soils. I wonder if this one was burned by lightning. [Photo: California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) Click to enlarge.]

Summer swimming

Today was a rest day, so I drove to the lake to take pictures in the favorable low afternoon sun. There were a lot of people there for 5:30pm, possibly because it was warmer than usual. As you can see, the kids were having a blast in the water.

[Movie: Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) and swimmers]

Treadmill duty

An invigorating three miles on the True treadmill. Speed 12, 2-degree incline, 35 minutes burned 400 calories.

Shift over

Canadian geese (Branta canadensis) punch out after another day on lake patrol.
[Click photo to enlarge.]

Armed pot growers: a new hiking danger?

Yesterday was a rest day so I decided to take a drive up Mt Umunhum to enjoy the spectacular view of San Jose. I've been up there numerous times before on my bike, but not yet this year.

As I parked at the padlocked gate (as high up as you can drive--about 2328' elevation), I noticed two park rangers walking back toward their vehicles from Bald Mountain. When they arrived at the tiny parking area where I was, I struck up a conversation about the trail to Lexington Reservoir and how realistic it would be for me to mountain bike to it from here. (I fear mountain lions.) To my surprise, they acknowledged that there are indeed lions around, but the greater danger would be surprising a marijuana grower up there, not lions. In 2005, a Fish and Game Warden was shot, and a marijuana grower killed, in a marijuana raid on Mt. Um. In 2006, about 47,000 plants were destroyed in Santa Clara county, and double that were destroyed the year before. With each plant worth about $4,000 and Mexican drug cartel involvement suspected, it's not surprising that guns are involved.

It's disturbing picture. But, like the ranger said, great white sharks are out there but you still swim in the ocean. Why? Because the overall risk is small compared to the benefit. So, I like hiking and biking in the Sierra Azul Open Preserve and I will continue to do so, mountain lions and pot-farmers notwithstanding. I will, however, heed the rangers' wise parting advice: (a) hike with others; (b) stay on the trails.

For more information check out this article: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/07/high-sierras.

[Photo: The building on Mt. Umunhum once had an early warning radar dish rotating on top of it before Almaden Air Force Station closed in 1980. Click to enlarge.]

Dusk at Almaden Lake

These Eucalyptus trees are "x-rayed" by the setting sun to reveal their skeletons.

[Photo was taken just before sunset at about 7:50pm, hence the red overtones. Click to enlarge.]

View from Santa Clara Water District building

Again there were a lot of people at the lake for a working day. Most were middle-aged and beyond, so I'm guessing that many were laid off from the Great Republican Recession. Three miles. [Photo was taken last Monday at 7:30pm behind the Santa Clara Water Department building on Almaden Expressway. I go there late in the evening when the sun is low, though 7:30 was still a bit too early for the best light. Those are Canadian Geese in the sky. Click to enlarge.]

Beach bathing at Almaden Lake

Kids bathing on Almaden Lake beach today at around noon. Taken from the east side of the lake with my 6MP Canon S3 Powershot camera with 12x zoom. In the foreground is one of the four SolarBees floating in the water today. It was another lazy three mile jog. [Photo was taken at around noon. Notice how lackluster the light is directly overhead. Click photo to enlarge.]

Cyclers gather for local bike ride

Bikers assemble in the Almaden Lake parking lot the morning of July 27th. [Click photo to enlarge.]

Mt Umunhum summit could open soon to bikes

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved $4M for the cleanup of the old Almaden Air Force Station sitting atop Mt. Umunhum.

The site, contaminated with asbestos and lead paint from its days as a cold war early warning radar station between 1958-1980, remains closed to the public. Its landmark radar building ("the cube") on top would probably be removed during the cleanup, along with some of the other 88 buildings. The mission of the site was to scan the skies for Soviet bombers. The next step is for the Senate to take up the bill in September. If it passes, future bike rides up the 3486' peak are all but certain. I've biked up to the second gate, which is as far up as you can legally go today. (Google Earth reports the second gate to be at 2864' elevation, 37-09-13.58N latitude and 121-53-31.36W longitude. At those coordinates you can see the white paint on the road that warns bikers not to pass that point.) The photo was taken from the pond behind the Santa Clara Water Department building adjacent to Almaden Lake. Click on the photo to see other antenna that lease space from the owner of adjacent land, Scott McQueen. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Campbell, gets a lot of credit for making progress on this issue. (Today was a rest day.) Source articles:

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_12902020?nclick_check=1

http://www.lofgrenforcongress.com/node/196

Cool six

[Photo: Snow goose Chen caerulescens]

Six miles today, from home to the second red bridge at Camden, and back. I noticed 4 SolarBees in the water today. Temp was about 65F.

From yesterday's post, a bowl of oatmeal one hour before worked well. Turns out oatmeal is the perfect breakfast food because it has the right amount of carbs and protein.

Eat to fuel exercise

[Photo: California Gull Larus californicus]


Being late in the day, I was concerned about having enough juice in me to sustain a good workout. So I ate two tangerines 30-minutes beforehand, thinking that it would give me a "sugar boost." It did seem to help, but was it really enough fuel, and was it the right kind?

Well, according to Leslie Bonci, sports nutritionist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, it wasn't. Ideally, you should have a fist-sized amount of food about one hour before exercise. It should be a carbohydrate snack, with protein, in the range of 150-200 calories. Something like a granola bar, or half a peanut butter sandwich, will do. Trail mix will do, too. You should also drink about 20-oz of liquid an hour beforehand. And if you're workout will last more than an hour, you also need to eat while exercising at a rate of 30-60 grams per hour.

For a quick recovery, eat again within 15-minutes of finishing. The same snack will do. The longer you wait to eat, the longer recovery will take.

This information will be useful for my next 6-mile run, maybe tomorrow.

Source article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/eating-to-fuel-exercise/?em

How to become a natural resource steward

It was too hot to jog at 5PM, so treadmill duty again. Two tangerines taken 30-minutes beforehand provided more than enough fuel for a hearty workout. The sign in the photo explains the title.

Garlic Festival 2009, Gilroy, California, USA

Today was a rest day, so we went to the Garlic Festival in Gilroy.

(1) Though it was sunny and comfortable, if you did overheat, the Rain Room will cool you down.

(2) Cooking, courtesy of the FDNY.

(3) This handsome couple snagged some free garlic ice cream at the booth. Yummie. The festival's link appears below.

[Click on photos to enlarge.] http://www.mercurynews.com/lifestyle/ci_12893988?nclick_check=1.

.

Three miler

It was around 75F at 5:00PM today. There were six fishermen on the north end of the lake--two under the Coleman bridge. Lots of people on bikes, but only one other jogger, and he looked older than me. The bod was draggin' today, so tomorrow might be a stroll with the camera.

[Picture: The distant building is Almaden Lake Village apartments (1045 Coleman Rd, San Jose). Their going rate for a 1016' 2-bedroom/2-bath ranges from $1700-$1750/month today. Foxchase Apartments (1070 Foxchase Dr., San Jose) has lower rates, better parking, and they were totally remodeled this year. And Foxchase is more convenient to shopping and highways 85 and 87--a big time saver.]

Treadmill Day

After a lazy nap today I was raring to do thirty minutes on the treadmill. No run because it takes longer and we had to go out. Two-degree incline and speed 11.

Three miler

It was already cool at 5:35PM, so I did a pass at the lake. That handful of raisins I ate 30-minutes before helped a lot, so it was a pretty strong run.

Speaking of raisins, here's a good article on eating to fuel exercise: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/eating-to-fuel-exercise/?em
.

Shady Foxchase

It was another hot afternoon, so I plannned to use the gym again today. But someone left the doors wide open with the AC off, so it was hot in there, too. Miffed, I decided to jog up and down Foxchase Drive, and I'm glad I did: it turned out to be a nice variety day, and a visual treat to boot.

Foxchase Drive is shaded by about 20 big oak trees on either side of the street. The sidewalks are therefore mostly shaded, with only a narrow strip of sun shining down the middle. This was wisely planned, I'm sure, when the apartments were built in the mid '70's. The original thought was probably to keep the tenants cool in the summer. If so, it worked. The trees, numerous and mature now, provide more shade than most any other street I know. And with the cool breeze today, it felt cooler running outside in the breeze than inside with the AC.

The shaded sidewalks, doppled with sunlight and set against the bright green grass, offered some eye candy. Simple pleasures are still the best.

Almaden Snow Geese

Heat, and lack of sleep, makes this a rest day. In lieu of words, this shot was taken a few days ago at Almaden Lake.

[Photo: Snow geese (Chen caerulescens) Click to enlarge.]