Friend and San Bruno Mountain guide David Schooley had an art show pow wow in downtown San Francisco by North Beach, Chinatown and the Transamerica Pyramid. I don’t get out to that part of town much, especially at night – there’s a lotta neat history tucked in them alleyways and beneath the colossal high rises. Plus its always fun to meet new friends, share tales, eat snack food for dinner, and chat about the challenges in land conservation.

One of the folks there talked about the shell mounds of the native peoples in the east bay, by the cities of Berkeley and Emeryville. The story teller’s name was Chris Walker, and he is a film maker also. I watched a short animation about this project he was working on with a lady named Corinna Gould from the Confederated Village of Lisjan. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYWCqFOxhh8. They want to commemorate, remember, and unite people by turning a shell mound that is a parking lot back into something that will connect people to local nature again. The city government seems to be in favor of the idea. Maybe some cool landscape architects, innovative planners, kick ass contractors, and a whole bunch of native villagers will collaborate and make it happen.

At the art show, after the speakers had finished, people were sharing and blabbing about antelope and fog. Those are two of my most favorite creatures! Then I went home and painted a goofy mythic picture. Here is the explanation for the painting presented above – for people who are more analytical in nature, and like everything laid out in a logical fashion, not ?? nut ball weird artsy fartsy style. LOL.

If you have not yet been to San Bruno Mountain, GO!!! The wild flowers are going crazy!!! Whole slopes of checkered fritillaries, and trails paved with footsteps of spring. Check out the San Bruno Mountain Watch organization website for guided hikes and restoration efforts, or just put on your hiking shoes, grab some water and sun protection, and GO!!! You might have the latest apps to learn the names of flowers, they seem to work pretty well. Me, I’m on the old timers side. Here is my go-to when I greet somebody on the mountain I never met before, and don’t know who they are: