West Side Story

alcatraztickets.com

Flickr

As previously mentioned, those who like to sleep in past sunrise might prefer that their bedrooms face west. Those who like a well lit cocktail hour will like their public rooms on the west side of their home. Photographically inclined late sleepers will appreciate the afternoon/evening golden hour.

Properties with western exposures get long hours of afternoon sun, and the sunset light flooding the home (assuming it's not foggy, of course). South and west exposures will allow you to grow tomatoes, basil and other heat loving plants, though depending on your location you may need to provide some wind protection.  If you are deep in the fog zone, cherry tomatoes might be a better bet, or chard or peas.

Kim Cooper

Many west facing homes (or restaurants)  in places like Stinson Beach have glass wind shields on their terraces, to allow the light but cut the cold northwest wind.


Even in the fog zone, a green house, or even just your west facing window, will often get enough light to keep you and your plants happy.

and there is nothing like a nap on a west facing couch.

Summer's Eve

"That beautiful season the Summer! Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

weather.com

weathernetwork.com

Wishing you all a carefree Solstice,

however you like to celebrate it,

and if you've always wanted to check out Bernal Heights, tomorrow might be the day.

Morning has broken, Eastern Exposure

Good morning sunshine!

SFGate

Classy Mommy

Ah, the beautiful morning light from the east. Night is over and day has come; no need for an alarm clock if you have an east facing window in your bedroom. An east facing kitchen flooded with light can really make life sweeter. 

CBS San Francisco

Eastern exposures get morning sunlight all year long. The east side of our coastal hills are often in the lee of our NW winds, so are calmer and warmer, sometimes by as much as 25 degrees (Fahrenheit).

On a more micro level, eastern parts of the garden tend to stay moist, as they are protected by the home from the northwest winds and long afternoon sun.  Indoor plants are also affected by the light regime.  As of course, are we.

If you are an early riser you will be able to enjoy the lovely light that comes early.  Being an early girl myself,  the view of the sunrise (woot woot! break in the fog!) this morning has me feeling pretty perky.

SFBayImages

On the other hand, if you like to sleep in, you might prefer another exposure, perhaps property on the west side of a hill. If the property is blessed with multiple exposures (a plus!) sleepy heads should look for bedrooms on other sides of the house. Or invest in some blackout curtains.

Southern Living

and here I thought all these years that Cat Stevens wrote that song.

Now Face North

thatgirlisfunny.com

As we all know from life and from fables, here in the northern hemisphere, north is the direction of cold and dark. Here by the golden gate our prevailing winds, especially in the spring, are from the northwest. Brrrrr. (Storm winds come from the south, but that's another story for another post.)

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

In San Francisco it is fairly easy to line yourself up with Ocean Beach on your left and say "OK, now I'm facing north." In Marin one's sense of north and south can be confused by the fact that the coast veers west, so the ocean is not necessarily to your left when you are facing north, it could be behind you. 

shieldteam.net

If your property faces north, particularly if its located on the north side of a hill, your hours in the sunshine will be significantly fewer (especially in winter) than those of your neighbors on the other side of the hill.  So we see redwoods (who like it cool and damp) on the north side of the hill, while more heat and drought tolerant oaks and scrub grow on the south.

Norway Green Roofs

If you have a home on a north facing slope, you'll want to be extra mindful of gutter cleaning, keeping vegetation away from the structure and keeping your roof in good repair to keep your house dry and free of mold and dry rot. Otherwise you may end up with an unintentional green roof, which will slowly rot and eventually leak. Intentional green roofs  include extra support and a membrane to protect the structure from moisture. You'll also want to be sure your north facing home home is insulated and sealed tight against those cold north winds.

san-francisco-california.onetravelsource.com

Having said all that, many of our most iconic views are to the north and northwest, and northern light is lovely and consistant. There are plenty of really wonderful places to live on northern slopes, you just want to be aware of the reality of the climate effects, especially if you are looking at property in the summer, but are planning on living there all year round. Additionally, if you are very forward thinking, and want to install your own little wind turbine, some NW exposure is a good thing. 

Our crazy weather, in a nutshell

Though all bets are off with weather these days, here's my attempt to summarize what's "normal" here. This weeks rain was just weird.

Spring Winds, Summer Fog, Fall warmth, Winter rains, that's the basic pattern, with 3 day islands of perfect beach weather sporadically interspersed. In general, the closer to the coast you are, the cooler and breezier and/or foggier your life will be. The good news is, if you really want sun, you can live in Marin or the Mission or Potrero Hill, and you can still be close to your friends like me who really like the fog and its cycles, or at least don't mind them as much.

The lines of hills block the wind and fog, but they move through gaps in the ridges, at accelerated rates. Also, the fog wall has a lip, that will flow over the tops of the ridges to varying degrees. So if you, the sun lover, live in Noe Valley, for example, you would be happy on the east side of the valley, and your foggy friend would thrive in the fog spillage on the west side, just below Twin Peaks. Where the topography is sharply oriented relative to the wind, you could be two or 3 houses down from your friend and live in different weather universes much of the time. Where I lived in Sausalito, up the hill in Hurricane Gulch (pay attention to a name like that...) I would walk down the street in a down jacket and have to shed it in a block or two.      

The ultimate fog/wind gap is, of course, the Golden Gate. Huge rivers of fog/wind flow through it at speed, so the east bay communities straight across the bay from the gate are cooler then those to the north and south. The northern parts of the city, and the southern parts of Marin are cooler as well. Heading north through the widening Marin peninsula, Mt. Tam rises to block the coastal weather, and it gets warmer and warmer.

Of course, if its REALLY foggy, you'll have to go far, far away from the coast to be warm. Many sensible people make plans to be in the mountains, or anywhere but the bay area coast in Fog-ust. Or you could just make some soup and popcorn, and be glad you don't have to put as much sunscreen on.

"Stand in the place where you are, now face north"

OK, now that I've got the tree rant out of my system (for now), this weird November in June weather has me turning to the crux of what I think is most important about property location; the interaction between weather and topography, ie the slope (steepness of terrain) and aspect (orientation - North, South, East, West) of a property relative to our marine influenced Mediterranean climate.

GOES.NOAA.GOV

I will admit, numerous other factors; schools, architecture, walk-ability, density, crime levels, and access to open space and transit, do powerfully affect livability and property values. (Lots of links on the right for more local detail on these subjects.)

My feeling though, is that slope/aspect/climate interactions ultimately trump these (if not actually determining them in the first place) in terms of daily quality of life. Plant life and vernacular architecture all over the world reflect the diversity of these interactions.  Thus I shall begin a series of posts about our many local micro-climates and how they got that way, as soon as I can untangle all the interlocking parts enough to figure out where to start.

http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/classes/m356/Pastlinks_F2004.html

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

Happy November in June!

    

Oops, no tree resolution after all...

Larry says he's not buying the house next door,
 so all that was just gossip and innuendo...

More on tree trouble

Here's the follow up to recent San Francisco tree trouble that got more or less resolved with a whole lot of ($40,000,000) dollars.

There are also tree tribulations in Marin, though yards are typically much larger.  Also in Australia, and elsewhere around the world, wherever there are trees and people.

Of course, the trees are not the problem. We are the problem. So if we think ahead to match mature tree size to location, we allow for long term magnificence.

Yew tree planted at St. Bartholomew's Church more than 1500 years ago

Nolo Press has some FAQ's if you find yourself with legal questions about your tree dilemmas. and of course, all this is good to think about when you are contemplating buying or selling property.