by Michael Rothmann, Committee Chair
mike.rothmann@thd.org
For this article, I’d like to take a second to sit on my editorial porch, to look around and write a
quick homage to all the beauty of our neighbor hood. We’ve all heard it. North Beach is undergoing a renaissance. Capped by the Italian Festa and the North Beach Festival, our streets and parks have been packed and full of life. Restaurants and parklets are full. The tourists are back, and the cruise ships sail in and out, bringing people who ooh and aah at our gorgeous city. It feels as if our community has become truly vibrant, and the weather has lately felt even more perfect than normal. The air has been fresh and cool, and it seemed like June Gloom was limited only to weekdays this year. The marine layer has continued to keep increasingly hot days at bay while thinning out enough for some rare warm summer nights.
© Michael Rothmann
It may be a distant memory now amidst sunny days, but the torrential rains of last winter and the two winters prior have been blessings for California after a long period of drought. For the last three years, seasonal rainfall has hovered around historical averages, and the intermittent and consistent soakings have made the land feel verdant. We are monitoring our new tree plantings and continuing to work with Friends of the Urban Forest to ensure their care and maintenance, but most are thriving and are blooming under the favorable conditions.
On top of THD’s own work, a walk around the neighborhood displays the amazing efforts of local
gardeners who continue to beautify our walkways with hanging bougainvillea, aromatic Brugmansia (angel trumpets), and many other plants flourishing in our Mediterranean climate. The scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, and overflowing planters display every possible kind of succulent with their weird and architecturally spiky flowers. Even the sea lions seem to be attracted to our fair city and have increased their numbers this year, packing the floating docks at Pier 39 until heading en mass to the Channel Islands at the end of June for the mating season.
At the time of this writing, California sits on the precipice of what could be the worst heat wave of the summer, and fire season has already begun. Amidst stressful times, the natural beauty of the bay can serve as a healing refuge. In the months ahead, I, with the Parks and Trees committee, will continue to be vigilant to make our city a greener and more livable environment, but here’s a quick pause in the struggle to remind everyone to listen to the birds, to jump in and feel the freshness of the bay, to eat some ripe cherries or some street plums, and, occasionally, to go the more steep and scenic way around the neighborhood to smell the flowers. Just like a beautiful sunset coming from the smoke of a wildfire, it’s important always to be mindful of the plight of others and the challenges in the rest of the world, but just for a second, let’s toast our beautiful bubble.
Enjoy the summer, everyone.
Michael
