Park reflections

The Panhandle isn't supposed to have a reflecting pool, but today between rain showers, the puddles at Panhandle central offered a way to view the tall trees looking down instead of up. A long standing maintenance problem, the poor drainage in the vicinity of the playground would finally be addressed if our proposal is selected for implementation. Stay tuned for news soon -- and tune in to the Dec 2 meeting of the Rec and Park Commission.

November Work Day wrap up

At yesterday's Panhandle work day, regular volunteers joined with students and parents from SF Day School to take care of our neighborhood park. 

I was happy to have many volunteers, because the weather was awesome and it was our last work day of the year. We had an enormous pile of compost soil to spread out in the redwoods at the southeast corner of the park.  It was definitely not manure, and smelled like fresh ground cypress. This project in the redwoods followed up last month's work day, when we cut back the young redwood shoots growing thickly from the burls of the large redwood trunks. By spreading nourishing soil in this area, we were giving the redwoods the nourishment they might not otherwise get from the sandy soil found throughout the park. 

Shoveling is hard work, but we enjoyed working in the shade of the trees, and getting some fresh air and exercise to begin the weekend. 

Other work that we got to do was removal of mud and weeds from  the crossover path connecting Lyon St, and some trash pickup behind the McKinley Monument. I heard that several socks were found. 

We found conclusively that fifth graders are big enough to maneuver a wheelbarrow across the lawn. Thanks everyone! 

Last work day of 2010 this weekend...

Panhandle Work Day: Saturday, Nov. 13

For all of you who enjoy rolling up your sleeves and getting to work raking, shoveling, and digging, note that the second Saturday of November is fast approaching. The Panhandle Park Stewards will be out in the Panhandle for our monthly work day this Saturday, Nov. 13, starting at 9 am and going until 11 or 11:30 am. Since we're taking off for the month of December, this is our last work day of the year.

Meet up with us at the Bulletin Board (near the playground), where we'll discuss the days projects, gather tools and proceed to our worksite, which is likely in the east end of the park this month. Wear sturdy shoes and if you want, bring your own gloves, though gloves are typically available. The current five day forecast is for Saturday to be sunny and warm.

PPS named SF's Outstanding Park Volunteer Group!

We've just learned that we have been named "Outstanding Park Volunteer Group" by the Neighborhood Empowerment Network! Thank you to those who nominated us and supported us in gaining this recognition. This award recognizes our successful, hands-on efforts to improve the Panhandle through showing up for work days, meeting with city officials, writing proposals, and sending in 311 reports. It also gives us a chance to get the word out to even more people in the community about ways we can come together and enhance our park.

A special event to celebrate the 2010 NEN awards is coming up in just one week: Weds, Nov. 17, at 6 pm, in the North Light Court of City Hall. Find more details and sign up for free tickets here. And here's a look at last year's awards, to give you a feeling for what an exciting and wide-ranging, only in San Francisco, event it will be!


NEN Awards 2009 from NENtv on Vimeo.

Sunday morning rain

This morning's heavy rain created some huge puddles in the Panhandle this morning, like this one connecting Lyon Street.