Spring Bouquets

Your Boulevardier noticed this lovely array of faux freesias with colorful ribbons outside Dried & Tied in Castro Village the other day. The arrangements did a lovely job of heralding the arrival of springtime.



Our springlike weather in Castro Valley is turning wintery again, for a short time. Tonight's rain is not unwelcome, as one has grown tired of watering here at Chez Boulevardier.

Apologies, as ever, for the dearth of posts. Family duties have called. A few walks have been made, and a few stories collected; finding time to share them becomes the challenge. Thank you for your patience.

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.

Tuesday Tiptoe Through the Town

Mon Petit Chou was kind enough to make the trip to the City of Lite this last Tuesday to do her reading while Your Boulevardier worked at his desk. A stopping point arrived at around 11:00 a.m., and a walk downtown and an early lunch was proposed and accepted. Your Boulevardier's standard route to Castro Village was taken, but new eyes were applied to the familiar scenes. One of the images that caught those new eyes was of this magnolia campbelii putting on a fabulous show against the wall of T-Kane Karate.



The early-springlike weather has encouraged many other trees around Castro Valley to blossom as well; rain is predicted for this weekend, and Your Boulevardier is curious whether the precipitation will interfere with pollination.

Lunch was found at Swiss Delices. Two different sandwiches (chicken curry, and mozzarella and tomato) were procured, and each was cut in half so both diners got a little variety. The sandwiches were excellent -- the bread particularly so -- and the shop's staff volunteered two small bites of pastry for dessert, which were gratefully accepted and enthusiastically consumed.

In all, it was a perfect day for a walk and a lovely time. As aforementioned, inclement weather is forecast, so Your Boulevardier encourages readers to enjoy the sunshine while you can.

Lengths and Breaths

Your Boulevardier is once again hosting the Subcompact Loaner this weekend, and the sun is shining, so this morning was a good one to get out for a long walk on Castro Valley Boulevard. The first stop on our journey was Valley Java, where Your Boulevardier feels safe tying up the SL for a brief moment. (His unease with doing so at busier, more exposed places is explained here.) Our arrival occurred before the church rush, so the shop was quiet, with only a few customers at the tables and soft jazz audible over the hubbub.

Your Boulevardier was tempted to take a peek at the hospital construction site, but opted instead to head east on the Boulevard. It was noted that the ARCO station at Wisteria Street is closed due to an Alcoholic Beverage Control violation. Interesting to note that they're not selling gas during this shutdown; could it be that the Patrón and Pabst brings in more money than the Petrol?



From there the Post Office was visited. Although the sign announced that dogs were not welcome, Your Boulevardier broke the rules and walked the Subcompact Loaner into the building to check his box. Then the Village was passed through; bowlers were already arriving for their morning observances.

Near Peet's, Your Boulevardier had a chance encounter with Paul, the husband of Soeur de Boulevardier. (If there is a colloquial French phrase for "brother-in-law," Your Boulevardier does not know it.) Paul asked if Your Boulevardier was "walking a mop" -- recall that the Subcompact Loaner is a small, white, hairy dog -- and other family news was shared. From there, Your Boulevardier ambulated through the shopping center behind the Wachovia branch that will become Castro Valley's Wells Fargo Bank this coming April. He confirmed that many of the storefronts in the center are vacant, though there is a dentist, a real estate agent, a title company, a hair salon, and a tutoring company in business.

The Boulevard was crossed at Yeandle Avenue -- Rudy's was passed without ducking in, since Your Boulevardier is trying to limit his intake of sweets -- and the under-construction path from Castro Valley Boulevard to the Castro Valley Library was explored. (The work seems to have been stalled by the recent rains.) A book was returned using the Library's nifty self-service electronic scanner, after which the creek was inspected from the footbridge. The streamflow is far calmer than it was just a few days ago, due to the recent dry spell. (Your Boulevardier finds our town's creeks thrilling when they're raging, but much more pleasant when they're just flowing peacefully.)




The rest of the walk to Chez Boulevardier was without incident or observation worthy of reporting. It was a fine morning for a walk, though; the air is clean and smells fresh, the sidewalks and crosswalks are passable (no major flooding or mud traps were encountered) and the sun shone brightly. A fine close to the month of January.

Twilight Walks

The rains continue to drench Castro Valley, but on two successive late afternoons Your Boulevardier has been able to get out and walk the town. On Monday night he ventured onto Castro Valley Boulevard, first passing through residential neighborhoods as area residents rolled their trash carts to the curb. This evening he braved the post-work grocery store rush at the Lucky supermarket. It's a wonderful time to walk, as the town transitions from the workday world to the home and hearth. Lights glow in windows, but shades are not yet drawn; neighbors are chatting as they haul groceries or check mail; yes, people are eager to get home, but the pace seems gentler, more restful, than at mid-day.

A walker sees that a certain amount of post-storm detritus litters the sidewalks and clogs the gutters. But from what little he saw, Your Boulevardier believes that the town has come through the weeklong-plus deluge in good shape.

There are exceptions, of course. The interchange construction at Redwood Road and I-580 is shut down -- and flooded, on the east side. (A FOB who works for the firm doing the project says that, currently, just 1% of the company’s heavy equipment is in active use statewide.) Just up the road, the demolition of the Center Street offramp from I-580 has paused as well, due perhaps to the creation of a sizeable temporary lakelet next to the freeway.

Your Boulevardier has not checked on how the rains are affecting the other big construction project in town, the building of a new Eden Hospital. However, he was impressed by the seven-phase construction plan recently posted on the hospital’s website by civil engineer Jeff Moore of the Castro Valley-based firm Greenwood & Moore. Reading it is recommended.

And frankly, Your Boulevardier was surprised -- and very pleased -- to read that a local firm is so intimately involved in the hospital project. And he is surprised that Sutter Health has not made a bigger deal out of the fact. Your Boulevardier has walked past the Greenwood & Moore offices on Castro Valley Boulevard hundreds of times and never knew what went on up there. Now the veil is lifted, however slightly. (Not that the firm is mysterious; rather, Your Boulevardier does not have need of civil engineering in his daily life, and has precious little knowledge of what a civil engineer does.)

Continuing our survey of storm effects, Your Boulevardier has not traveled to Lake Chabot to see the precipitation’s impact on the town’s main waterway. If readers have reports, please consider adding them to the comments. (One can do so anonymously.)

But back to the rain’s effects on local business establishments. The enterprises Your Boulevardier visited did not have telltale buckets catching roof leaks. Restaurants seemed fairly busy; bowlers and barflies were practicing their arts; hot coffee was being dispensed with caffeinated vigor; young people danced and kicked and chopped while their parents waited, sometimes impatiently, for after-school classes to finish. Pete’s Hardware seemed to do a brisk business in tarps, galoshes, and other rain-related retail items. Perhaps the hair-and-nail salons were a bit slow, but they always seem to have empty chairs when Your Boulevardier peeks through their windows.

Skies are forecast to be cloudy but dry for a couple of days, with a chance of rain returning on Friday. (Your Boulevardier will again be hosting the Subcompact Loaner this coming weekend, so walking weather is hoped for.) One should not put away the slicker just yet, but we should all attempt to enjoy the respite from the damp while we can. Perhaps another evening walk is called for.

The Nesting Instinct

With New Year's Eve falling on a Thursday, it's likely that many Castro Valleyans -- at least those with means -- have blown the burg and are settled in elsewhere for what amounts to a four-day weekend. Others are staying close to home, of course. Some of us -- Your Boulevardier falls into this third category -- find ourselves flitting about like overwintering birds between leafless trees, rather than settling into one spot for an extended period. While cozying into a nest may be appealing, circumstances prevent it.



The inviting small bird nest seen here is in one of the Chinese Pistache trees on the Castro Valley Boulevard side of the Safeway parking lot. For now it is vacant, but one can imagine that with the return of warmer weather -- and some leaf cover -- it will be reoccupied by some LBB. (Confused? See the third definition.) The aerie is much smaller than the photo seems to indicate; nothing is in the picture to provide viewers with a sense of scale. For the record, it's no more than 2 inches wide. That's the Sunflower restaurant in the background.

Sighting this nest the other day served as a reminder that now is a good time for bird aficionados to check trees for nests. Big nests high in deciduous trees are easy to spot in winter, and smaller nests near eye level can be mentally tagged for future checking when spring returns.

However readers are spending the first few days of 2010 -- whether nesting or flying about -- Your Boulevardier wishes you a happy new year.

Post-Holiday Blues ... and Reds

On his walk today Your Boulevardier noticed several broken windows on Castro Valley Boulevard. Specifically, a window at Crush Comics was boarded up, and a window and two glass doors at Direct Sales were secured with plywood or tape and awaiting repair. It's a shame to think that holiday revels in Castro Valley got so out of hand that vandalism was the result, but it so appears. Do readers have any more information about these happenings?

By way of contrast, nature was having none of the human-caused havoc. The morning skies were clear and cold, and the few remaining leaves and berries on deciduous plants were calling for attention, as evidenced by these fruits appearing on a shrub on Redwood Road.



The clear winter weather just begs for long, objective-free walking, in the opinion of Yours Truly. It (the weather, that is) is not supposed to last; off-and-on rain is predicted for the rest of the week. Your Boulevardier has professional work to catch up on, and so, in a way, he hopes the inclement weather comes; it will force him to stay at his desk and complete the projects before the New Year arrives.

Fall is Flushed Away

Your Boulevardier snapped this photo of autumn leaves a few days ago -- before the big storms came in and swept away all reminders of fall, and told us in Castro Valley, in no uncertain terms, that winter is here.


Sure, the calendar may say that we still have a handful of days until the change officially hits. But the bare trees, overcast skies, and bitter cold -- especially in the mornings -- makes it clear that the deepest, darkest season is upon us.

Other reminders can be seen all over town. The reds, golds, and greens of the holiday have supplanted summer's yellows, oranges, and blues in shop windows. Furry Ugg Boots are footwear of choice, preferred over flip-flops and sneakers. Decorative lights along rooflines twinkle -- or don't, in the case of the LED variety that are now arrayed on Chez Boulevardier. Warming soups and coffee drinks have replaced cooling salads, smoothies, fro-yo and ice cream as the foods of choice.

Speaking of warm beverages, the Chabot Cinema will mark the season with an 11:30 p.m. showing of the Frank Capra classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," this Friday, December 18. Your Boulevardier hopes to be there, though he is not sure that the offer -- free hot chocolate with a large popcorn -- is good combination. Still, the $5 admission can't be beat.

Red Friday

Your Boulevardier was up early on Friday morning for a yoga class, and later in the day walked the City of Lite. Things were generally quiet on both occasions, perhaps to the displeasure of retailers. There was no waiting to see Santa in Castro Village at around 1:00 p.m., but the line for coffee at Peet's practically stretched out the door.

Although the Man in Red was under-occupied, the Trees in Red -- these spotted in the parking lot behind Round Table Pizza on Redwood Road -- were busy working their magic.



An hour or two later in the day, a pocket storm blew through bringing high winds, torrential rain, and thunder, all followed by a double rainbow. Quite the weather episode.

And The Heavens Opened

Your Boulevardier went for a long walk this morning, and was caught mostly unprepared for the light rain that fell. He did capture this scene, which -- if one were religiously inclined -- would likely be quite inspiring. It's hard to see in this photo, but the rainbow terminates right at the three crosses of Neighborhood Church.



Upon returning home he checked the rain gauge at Chez Boulevardier. After Tuesday's deluge, the rainfall total -- that is, from Tuesday evening through today -- was just 0.07".

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 ...)

Anita Bit of Sunshine

Your Boulevardier sallied forth in the late morning to take advantage of the dry weather. Insects were swarming, but creeks had dropped. No major destruction was found, but the walk was admittedly short. The new bocce courts on San Miguel Avenue seem to have drained well -- better, in fact, than the walkways around them.



Three bits of action went on near the intersection of Castro Valley Boulevard and Anita Avenue. A car had hit one of the stoplights, and a one-person crew (perhaps that's a nonsense phrase) from Alameda County was dealing with the damage. A few minutes later, an ambulance, fire truck, and two CHP cruisers were summoned to the Boulevard entrance to the Blockbuster/Wells Fargo parking lot; it appeared to Your Boulevardier, but cannot be confirmed, as if, perhaps, heaven forbid, a pedestrian had been struck by a motorist. (No, Your Boulevardier does not get paid by the comma.) A few minutes after that, a large group of well-dressed folks emerged from the Chabot Cinema; they had attended a sales meeting for their company. "We got free popcorn," one friendly attendee told Your Boulevardier.

Short, Sharp Earthquake

Just before 8:30 P.M. Your Boulevardier felt a very short, startlingly sharp earthquake here at Chez Boulevardier.

Between the quake, the torrential rains, and the vicious winds earlier today, it's beginning to feel a bit apocalyptic out there.

ADDENDUM: the rain gauge at Chez Boulevardier read 3.25 inches tonight.

Timing is Everything

Your Boulevardier notes with dismay that once again a large, windy, wet storm is arriving on trash day in his neighborhood in Castro Valley. Prepare for garbage cans (sorry, carts) to be blown over -- or for trash, especially papers, to be blown from trucks -- and for wet, sticky garbage to clog our streets and gutters. Sigh.

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.

Weekend Rainfall Totals

The rain gauge at Chez Boulevardier showed 0.51 inches of rain over the weekend -- a pretty substantial amount. Fortunately for the organizers of the Fall Festival, most of it seemed to fall at night.

Your Boulevardier was not able to attend the festival but would enjoy comments from those who did.

Boom Town

Your Boulevardier sat on his back deck for a while this morning, watching the thunderstorm over the hills east of Castro Valley. The storm is great free entertainment, though one suspects it makes the organizers of the Fall Festival a little nervous.

Addendum: The Subcompact Loaner is my houseguest this weekend, and on our morning walk we saw a white opossum. A bit of Googling reveals that "An albino variation is not an uncommon sight" in opossums.

Still, between the weird weather and the unusual wildlife encounter, it's feeling like a strange day already.

Crazy Weather Today

Your Boulevardier makes his observations today from his office window, rather than from the streets of the City of Lite.

It's a little past 4:00 p.m. An hour ago we had rain as heavy as can be remembered, accompanied by heavy winds that drove the rain at acute angles. Now we have bright daylight. The sun is heating the wet roofs of the houses around Chez Boulevardier so quickly that the water on them is vaporizing. It looks like a volcano or steambath out the window.

More rain is predicted for the next few days.

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.

The Trusty BoulevarDog is Back!

The Trusty BoulevarDog, accompanied by Your Boulevardier, walked all the way to Castro Valley Boulevard and back today, a distance of about 2 miles. A stop at the Post Office was made, and a social call was paid to the Boulevard Pet Hospital. She did pause for a breather in the sun at Starbucks while Your Boulevardier checked email on the wireless Internet connection.

Those who were out today know that we are in a spate of unusual weather. By the appearance of things, today should have been cold: the sun was low, the skies were blue and clear, and the trees were barren. But, in fact, a warm wind gusted from the east, making the air quite temperate. Your Boulevardier began the walk wearing a light jacket and long-sleeved shirt, and shed a layer by the stroll's end. A blue-grey Volkswagen Beetle cruised the Boulevard with its convertible top down. Roofers working on the Citibank building took advantage of the dryness. And perhaps most emblematic of the day, a couple was encountered on the walk: she wearing a light-blue parka, he a t-shirt and short pants.

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.)

Another Rain Gauge Post

Your Boulevardier is not straying far from Chez Boulevardier these days, due to the declining health of Madame Boulevardier. However, he would like to post that the rain gauge here in the Baywood District of Castro Valley was emptied of .71" earlier this week, and again of .82" today. More rain is said to be on the way.

Also, due to changes in the software application used to create this digital journal, a large number of past posts created by Your Boulevardier are now credited to F.S., the kind person who provides technical support for this endeavor. We both apologize for the confusion.