Winter afternoon at salesforce Park

Yesterday I had one of those hours that makes you just happy to be alive. I decided to do a spin around Salesforce Park at lunchtime - I hadn’t been there for a couple months, and thought it would be interesting to see the park in winter mode. As I came out of the elevator, there was an enchanting clarinet, oboe and bassoon woodwind trio, playing beautifully. After listening for a while, I started my loop. It being winter, there wasn’t much color in the park, other than a few beautiful proteas in the South African garden, but it was interesting to see the hornbeams doing their segue from green to yellow, and the California buckeyes, Chinese elms and river birches in their spare winter forms. On my way out, I passed a curious two-year-old running down the middle of the bus fountain - Inspecting the holes that had been jets of water a few seconds before. It cracked me up - she was there with her (very brave) mother, not realizing that the jets could come back at any minute. Photos and vidéos below.

European hornbeam with fall color

European hornbeam with fall color

California buckeye

California buckeye

Chinese elm (Chilean wine palm in the distance to the right)

Chinese elm (Chilean wine palm in the distance to the right)

river birches

river birches

protea in the South African garden

protea in the South African garden

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This two-year-old had just seen the bus fountain in action, spurting up from below, and was checking out the holes where the jets of water had just come from.