A Bank of Trees

Several days ago, Your Boulevardier noticed an unusual group of trees next to the Chase Bank on Castro Valley Boulevard. He snapped this photo, which is not very good; a close inspection (click the photo for a better view) shows that 14 small tree trunks all blend into the same petite canopy of foliage. It's eccentric landscaping, and he was surprised to see it by a staid bank building. He's giving it the coveted "garden art" tag, even though he doubts it's an intentional act of topiary.


P.S. Your Boulevardier got caught in today's brief hailstorm during his afternoon walk today. It was not unwelcome or unpleasant, but it was certainly unexpected.

We're Counting On Boulders

On a recent visit to the new Castro Valley Library, Your Boulevardier noticed that one of the boulders near the footbridge has an identifying number.



Truth is, when the boulders were delivered many weeks ago, it was noticed (but not posted, alas) that all of the stones were marked with numbers. Your Boulevardier was tempted to make a remark about tagging, but let it go. Now, it is guessed, those numbers were used by the landscape architect to direct heavy equipment the placement of the boulders.

No Exotic Bugs at Chez Boulevardier

Your Boulevardier noted earlier a pleasant encounter with a representative of the Pest Detection & Eradication division of the Alameda County Community Development Agency's Agriculture / Weights and Measures Department. (Now there's a mouthful.)

Yesterday a small pink slip was found under the doormat at Chez Boulevardier. The traps have been removed, and "no exotic insect pests were found at this time."

While Your Boulevardier is generally a fan of the exotic, he realizes that exotic insect pests do not merit for his favor. He is glad that none were found, and appreciates the professionalism and enthusiasm of the county worker who set the traps.

Boulevard & Vine

How could it be that Your Boulevardier has walked the City of Lite for so long and never noticed the fantastic vine on the side of the B.A. Morrison building? Be sure to click the photo for a larger view.



The building was for many years a feed store. One believes that live chicks -- once the foundation of the Castro Valley economy -- were still sold there when Your Boulevardier was a youth. Given today's boomlet in backyard poultry among the eat-local set, that could perhaps be a going concern again.

On a related note: Mr. Morrison is to be commended for maintaining the building to such high standards. (Check the photos on the company website, linked above.) It definitely earns the coveted "favorite buildings" tag. He's also commended for letting such a rambunctious vine run rampant!

Eyes on the Prize

On his morning walk yesterday, Your Boulevardier noticed this pair of odd little trees on the north side of Castro Village Bowl.



With a little bit of imagination, one can picture the building as a gigantic creature and the two poofs of yellow and green foliage as eyes.

Everything's Coming Up Fungus

This lone mushroom was spotted in an otherwise-perfect Castro Valley lawn this morning.



The grounds of Chez Boulevardier were not sprouting mushrooms, but the weed seeds lurking just below the soil's surface took off within hours, it seems, of the end of Tuesday's deluge. Your Boulevardier is determined to get them out of the ground before they get large this year. (As he has been every year ...)

As Autumn Arrives

Your Boulevardier made an after-dinner circuit of downtown Castro Valley this evening, walking first to the Chabot Cinema to view a truly bizarre movie, All About Steve, and then completing a few errands.

The warm evening air and the fingernail moon were, it seems, enticing to others as well. For a weeknight, the town was buzzing with people. Starbucks, Yogofina, and the Ice Creamery all had crowds; packs of teenagers wandered the streets (clumps of boys in their big shirts and cockeyed hats, trying to look hard, trailed by equally sized clumps of girls in tanks and flipflops, texting as they walked). Bicyclists practiced tricks in the parking lot by Blockbuster, while car buffs admired each others' vehicles near Safeway.

Among his errands: Your Boulevardier took a few cuttings (for rooting, even though this is the wrong time of year to do so) from the lantana in front of Chateau Fiebig. The building itself may be an architectural monstrosity, but the colors of the flowers in front of it are wonderful.

Bugging Out in Castro Valley

Some days, Your Boulevardier goes out looking for items. And some days, the items come to Your Boulevardier.

The latter happened today. An 8:30 a.m. knock at the door revealed a uniformed man from the Alameda County Community Development Agency Agriculture/Weights and Measures Department. The friendly, talkative fellow asked to hang three traps on trees on the grounds of Chez Boulevardier. The traps are meant to capture Mediterranean Fruit Flies, Oriental Fruit Flies, and Melon Fruit Flies, according to the sheet the fellow left behind, though he also spoke about the Light Brown Apple Moth.

The young man would have talked for hours about his insect prey if Your Boulevardier would have let him. His enthusiasm for his work, and his generally friendly demeanor, were charming.

The traps will be checked regularly over the next few weeks. It's unclear whether Your Boulevardier will learn about the results of the trapping, but if he does he will post the information here.

Purple Haze

Along with various palm trees, the jacaranda is, in the mind of Your Boulevardier, the signature tree of Southern California. Its clouds of purple flowers provide a layer of gentle color over the southland's lovelier byways. The tree, it seems, can thrive in Castro Valley, too; this example was spotted yesterday on Redwood Road, south of Highway 580.

More Tenacity of Life

It's the first full day of spring, and on warm days like those we've been having, Your Boulevardier misses the star jasmine that was formerly a feature of the landscaping -- such as it was -- at the Castro Valley Post Office. Earlier this year the plants were all removed and water-efficient landscaping was installed.

The removal of the shrubbery around the base of the flagpole has exposed the back of the sign rooted in the planter. The backs of the signs clearly show their reuse, and the bits of jasmine wood that the landscapers could not extract from the pole show just how determined that plant was to succeed in its environment. (Click the photo for a better view.)

The Tenacity of Life

In this season of weeds, plants find some remarkable, unexpected places to take root. Your Boulevardier spotted these shoots under the eaves in the strip mall which houses Peet's Coffee in Castro Valley on Redwood Road. (The pictured vegetation grows close to the Payless Shoe Store.)



The seeds for these two different varieties of plant, it would seem, were carried to this unlikely spot by birds who have built nests under the eaves. It's not certain how the seeds received water to germinate, but clearly they did. Now the young plants are reaching for light and producing blossoms.

It's a wonderful image of spring, rebirth, and the tenacity of life on our fragile earth.

Wisteria Season is On

Your Boulevardier noticed many fine wisteria vines in bloom on his walk earlier this morning. He did not walk Wisteria Street, but found large, attractive clumps of lavender flowers on Stanton Avenue and Somerset Avenue. This cluster is on the fence behind Lee's Nails, on Castro Valley Boulevard between Bank of the West and RyNck Auto Repair.



Also at bloom this time of year: potato vines, which look wonderful and give off a powerfully lovely scent.

Such are the things one sees, and smells, when one gets out of the car and walks our streets.

Budding Spring

Your Boulevardier walked to the Hayward Japanese Garden (which, one believes, is technically in Castro Valley) this morning. The garden was transformed in an instant late last year, when the giant pine tree that dominated it was toppled in a storm.

It's a surprisingly different place now without the massive tree -- Your Boulevardier used to call it "The World's Largest Bonsai" -- but the garden is still an island of serenity in a sometimes-chaotic world. And because the neighboring senior center is at present closed for renovations, parking is easy and plentiful (should one not care to walk to the garden).

At this time of year the tightly pruned maples are starting to leaf out. The colors and shapes are dramatic and different than any other time of the year. While the good weather is with us, Your Boulevardier recommends a visit. (Alas, our canine amis are not welcome, which at present, sadly, is not an issue for Your Boulevardier.)

If one can't go, a lovely collection of photographs by one James Phillips can be found here.

Whac-a-Pole

The bright yellow posts between Pet Food Express and Chipotle are built to be hit by cars and trucks that do not quite make the turn into the adjacent driveway. They seem to have done their job once again. Your Boulevardier noticed that the canary columns were all akimbo this afternoon, the asphalt at their bases cracking and lifting. Closer inspection showed that the poles, rooted in and filled with concrete, are set in position to protect the pipes hidden in the shrubbery behind them (and visible near the leftmost pillar in the picture; remember, readers, that you can click on any photo for a larger view). The sacrificial stakes served this purpose ably, and now resemble a Roman Numeral IX. Better nine than eighty-six.

More Fall Color

The Trusty BoulevarDog seemed eager for a longer walk this morning, and Your Boulevardier was more than happy to oblige. Rudy's was visited, along with the bank and the post office and Peet's. The sun was out, the air was crisp and cool, and our town was quiet and peaceful. Two photos of fall color were captured; the first depicts an ornamental pear near the CHP Office, and the second shows some Japanese Maples and a birch tree along the odd little chunk of Lake Chabot Road south of I-580. (Apologies that Your Boulevardier does not have time at this moment to search out links for the specific trees.)

The Color of Autumn

One of the gripes one hears from transplants to California -- and to the state's coastal areas, in particular -- is that they miss the seasons. (The flipside of that argument comes from Mere de Boulevardier, who swore when she left the midwest over half a century ago that she would never gaze upon snow again -- and, it is believed, has made good on that promise.)

It is admitted that there are no websites to announce the peak moment at which fall color will appear in Castro Valley, but appear it does nonetheless. And, on the day before Thanksgiving, the leaves and sidewalks along Castro Valley Boulevard were quite lovely. The trees pictured below, by the way, are Chinese Pistaches (please forgive the "Texas Superstar" link, but Your Boulevardier liked the photos). Other trees that provide splendid autumn displays in the mild-winter Bay Area include liquidambar and ginkgo biloba. (Spelling fixed; a tip of the beret to The Pedant.)



Readers are invited to call out other impressive autumn leaves around town in the comments.

Castro Valley Camouflage

Remodeling has been underway for some time on a house on San Miguel Avenue, not far from Castro Valley Boulevard. Normally a long, complicated construction project such as this would include an unwelcome feature: an unsightly honeypot parked in the front yard. The people doing this project have, kindly, chosen to disguise the portable facility, and have done so quite cleverly. Indeed, Your Boulevardier didn't realize what was going on until he had a closer look.