The source of urban myths...

Last Saturday, a neighbor was walking his dog in Glen Park at night
up near Silver Tree at the back end of the park when he was what he
was pretty sure was a mountain lion. The animal was light
yellow/brown and weight about the same as his dog, around 70 pounds.

Then just today another neighbor was walking his dog back past Silver
Tree, just a little ways past the boardwalk at 2 in the afternoon
when he saw a coyote in-between the two paths there.

He said the animal weighed around 40 pound, was grayish-brown with
pointed ears, a long snout and fox-like, with fur about an inch and a
half long.

Given these two sightings, I'm wondering if there is in fact
something living in the park? Park and Rec said mountain lions
generally feed on deer and so it wasn't likely that. But is a coyote
possible?

West Portal

Here is info on a neighborhood that I really enjoy. It is located on the other side of the hill dividing our half of the city from the other, seaside part.

West Portal is a principal shopping street for much of southwestern San Francisco, California, and is also considered a neighborhood itself. Named for the western terminus of the Muni tunnel beneath Twin Peaks that opened in 1918, the street (West Portal Avenue) and adjacent district is still dominated by the frequent trundlings of the three Muni Metro lines (K, L and M) that emerge from the subway to run in the street median. The ride in the subway from West Portal to downtown/Union Square is about fifteen minutes.


In addition to the streetcar tunnel, West Portal's landmarks include a large movie theater, a library, a school, churches (including the prominent West Portal Lutheran Church and School), many good restaurants (Fuji, Roti, El Toreador, Xiao Loong, Fresca, Fuji, Bursa, Spiazzo), bars (Portal's Tavern, Philosophers' Club), bookstores (West Portal Books , BookShop West Portal ([3], Waldenbooks), drugstores (Walgreens and Rite Aid), markets, coffeeshops (Starbucks, Pete's Cafe, Greenhouse), a bakery (West Portal Bakery), professional offices, a video rental store (Diamond Videos), and many beauty salons.

Despite the semi-recent appearances of larger chain stores, the many unique neighborhood shops give the area a distinctly smaller-city, "retro" charm. The West Portal Muni Metro Station is located at the entrance to the Muni tunnel at the northern end of West Portal Avenue.

Spring in Glen Park, SF

Spring is upon us. It was a glorious day today, warm with little wind. No fog to be seen (meaning that it is preparing to return as I write this). I cleaned up the backyard a little and thought I would show you a picture of part of the backyard as seen from my back porch. You can see a tall pear tree, an apple tree and in the back, a plum tree. There is also a peach tree and persimmon tree in the way back, by the hot tub.

Dolores Park

We spent a couple of hours at Dolores Park, which is near lots of interesting places, such as the Castro, the Dolores Mission, the Mission District. It has a fantastic view of the city skyline. Yesterday was the Cinco de Mayo festival, which was fine, just not amazing, really. My son likes this park alot because the play structure is very tall. On the upper part of this park is a section where lots of people come to sunbathe, although the window of opportunity is short due to fog and such.

Loft Bedroom

Here is a picture of part of the loft bedroom. It is my favorite room of the house. You access it either through the ladder in the living room or from the back porch and through the sliding glass door. Upstairs is where we sleep (Emanuel sleeps downstairs). We also have a satelite dish connected tv upstairs. It is a very quiet and comforting room, a space I really appreciate in this busy city.

It can be expensive here...

So, we love San Francisco, but it ain't cheap by US standards (but may be so for EU...)

Here is a little website info about basic food costs.

http://www.burbed.com/2006/12/25/heres-your-christmas-gift-20-
savings-on-groceries/

I am living here just fine on my teacher's salary (which is likely higher than in other parts of the US as well), so I am used to it.