City Compost Awesomeness

Reason to love San Francisco number 14,397.

This is picked up and taken away from the curb outside my apartment building.

Then twice a year I take a big bucket to the Great Compost Giveaway.

And take it home to use it in my little city garden.

How wonderful is that!?

Peony Sighting in Cole Valley!

Yes! It IS possible to grow them here. No need to move to Sonoma or Oregon.

Permeable Sidewalks and Yards

The Watershed Company

As a follow up to last weeks hand wringing over illegal paving of yards and lack of permeability, I wanted to pass on that Plant SF has quite a few projects going to remedy the situation. Check those before and after photos! San Francisco Department of Public Works site also has lots of info. While it takes a bit of neighborhood organizing (which is also great for crime prevention), a permit, and a little jackhammering, you can bet it will improve the quality of life in your neighborhood. and your real estate values. Happy Friday!

Streetsblog

Baby It's Cold Outside

Why Winter is a Great Time to Look at Property Part 2


Yes yes, I know this is nothing compared to so many snow covered "real winter" places. My favorite Christmas card came from beloveds at Denali National Park in Alaska who say that the "only lights they see right now are the aurora borealis kind."  Sounds so magical, but brrrrr! Good thing they are snow people.

Still, within our own range of expected temperatures, it is cold right now, so naturally my thoughts turn to microclimate. Let us review what makes a home location colder or warmer within the range we expect here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We all know this intuitively somewhat, but I love to spell it out because I am a microclimate real estate nerd.

Wikipedia

Elevation: Cold air sinks. Besides being blocked from the sun by the surrounding hills, bottoms of valleys are where the cold air sits, and they are the first to frost. Large buildings can also act as hills creating canyon light and weather regimes.

Aspect: the direction the land faces determines how much light/heat it gets throughout the day, depending on the time of year.

Proximity to large bodies of water:  The ocean and San Francisco Bay have a moderating effect on the temperature. Closer to them it does not get as hot or as cold as it does farther away.

If you seek a frosty location for say, peony growing, a valley blocked from the immediate maritime influence might suit you. In that case you'll ideally want to be on the south facing slope, in a solid house with a thrifty furnace. Wherever you choose to live, there will be microclimate variables. If you want to grow things, you'll factor in the climate needs for your priority plants. If you're not a plant person, you'll still want to contemplate your personal warmth and light and wind (or lack thereof) preferences.

NBC Bay Area Weather

So again I say, it's a great time of year to be sussing out locations. No need to intellectualize it, your body will understand individual microclimates just fine.

The Power of Plants

At the risk of restating the obvious, today I am marveling, again, at the power of plants to enhance our lives, heal us, feed us, and improve our feeling of safety. Not to mention enable us to breathe.

Christian Science Monitor

Plants can transform neighborhoods, and increase your property value. We speak of "leafy neighborhoods", usually meaning more peaceful, and often upscale parts of town. Some even say plants will even help defend against zombies, so thank a plant today!

Comfortable Low Energy ARchitecture

Hikeability, Marin and SF

A friend involved with trails planning at the Presidio Trust recently took me on some new connector trails in the Presidio. Wonderful to explore some new access routes to places I have been circling around for years.

Presidio Trail

We are so blessed here with great places to walk/hike. Here's a great place to start if you want to hike in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  Also, the Presidio Trust, and San Francisco City Parks  (Golden Gate Park, McClaren Park etc) have many lovely trails, not to mention gardens for your walking pleasure.

Strybing Arboretum

In Marin we have the wonderful Point Reyes National Seashore, and Marin County Parks and Open Space,
Marin Municiple Water District  as well as Samuel P.Taylor, China Camp and Mt Tamalpais State Parks. For Marin I highly recommend the Tom Harrison maps, during my vegetation mapping days I found them the most accurate and easy to use, and they cover all the parks/wildlands in a given area. They are available at many park visitor centers, and online at Toms site. Alas, due to budget restrictions, the State Parks are subject to closures, so check the website for specific parks before you head out.

Tom Harrison Topo Map

What does this have to do with real estate?  Property near hiking trails is of high value, because people love to breath the fresh air and absorb the soul solace that nature provides. Contact with nature is good for our health and attention spans, and we are truly blessed here with so many parks and wildlands so close to our world class city. Many thanks are due to the persevering people who made sure these lands were protected. and that's a matter for later post...