Tuesday I needed to be in Downtown Berkeley before dinner time. I thought to go hiking in another city park (I still want to do Mortar Rock Park!), but had a late start (yet again) getting out for my walk. So, after I treated myself to lunch, I headed over to Live Oak Park to read. Despite it being closer to a residential area and playground, it's actually a rather quiet place to just sit on a bench, read, had a snack or watch some fat squirrels acting like cats in the trees... I meandered about and found this really cool mural under a bridge there on the far side of the park..
Sojourner Truth.. "Ain't I a Woman?"
After a morning of what felt to me would be another comedy of errors.. missed meetings and opportunities, (everything pretty much worked out eventually!) I decided I wanted to try finding Live Oak Park again.
Rather than trying to retrace steps I only vaguely remembered from a month or so back.. up Vine.. turn on Arch.. no wait. hmm. Google maps had Live Oak Park straight up Shattuck, no need to wander from Peet's as a starting point, as I did last week when I got lost and ended up giving up and just meandering to the Rose Garden.
OK, so up Shattuck! Here we are.. beautiful trees, rough stone, aged wrought iron bits, the sounds of water as the creek makes it's way under the footbridges and street overpass, funked up graffiti.. all around you the sounds of kids playing in the distance (there's a center nearby, not to mention the park's in a residential area)a wide open area to sit and enjoy the sounds of birds, flowering shrubs and possibly a quiet tree to read under, (which I wish I had done).
stairs up to the picnic area
footbridge
a bee sat still long enough to let me include it in the shot..
I didn't take that many but you can see the rest HERE
I will include this last shot of a grouping of trees I told my dad it looked like a family of some kind could have made a treehouse out of if they were so inclined (assuming they were of the tree climbing raccoon or bear variety):
