From the category archives:

Neighborhoods

Spotted: Mailbox or sculpture?

by Linda Hubbard Gulker on March 8, 2010

in Drive by photography, Neighborhoods

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There are instances when the only conclusion is “there must be a story here.” Such is the case of this mailbox posing as a bronze sculpture (or is it visa versa?) spotted on Creek Drive in Menlo Park. Unique mailboxes are not uncommon in Menlo – we’ve spotted a cow and a taste for modernism. But this latest find is currently the undisputed winner of the most distinctive. Side note: an internet search on bronze statue mailboxes returns a slew of examples. Who knew?

Menlo gets a (brief) weather break

by Linda Hubbard Gulker on March 3, 2010

in Environment, Neighborhoods, Weather

Post image for Menlo gets a (brief) weather break

Call it changeable in Menlo Park today with white puffy clouds (here framed by a stately West Menlo oak) appearing between AM and PM rain showers. The morning precipitation burst brought .4″, bringing the year- to-date to 16.7″ compared to 13.35″ last year according to InMenlo rainfall watcher Bill Russ. In his update, Bill added, “Over the years my totals have run less than the SF Airport recording and higher than what’s recorded in San Jose, both of which are reported in the media daily. This year I am running ahead of the Airport.”

Photo by Chris Gulker

Gray skies bring a glow to Menlo Oaks

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Gray skies brought intermittent showers today, including a quarter-inch of rain in the hour just after dawn, according to InMenlo weatherman Bill Russ. That brings the year-to-date total to 16.2″ which compares to 12.7″ at the same time last year. The soft light made this tangle of oak limbs on the eponymous Menlo Oaks Drive [...]

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Sarah Granger – Skater, writer, speaker, entreprenuer, mom

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If you’re feeling blurry-eyed from staying up to watch the Olympic figure skating events, you’re not alone. Former competitive figure skater Sarah Granger, who’s covering the competition for BlogHer, is in the same boat. “It’s so frustrating,” she says. “especially because I’m on the West Coast. ”
The time Granger spends on the ice today is [...]

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Menlo residents wave the flag for Valentines

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Menlo Park residents are fond of displaying fun, seasonal flags, and Valentine’s Day is clearly on their radar.
For cynics who think Valentine’s Day is “just another Hallmark holiday,” a quick look at the history reveals that the blame (or thanks!) goes a lot further back with early Christians, a captive French Duke, and the English [...]

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A wall that’s both functional and elegant

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Michael Lambert lives in the house he grew up in on San Mateo Drive (at Middle Avenue). He wanted to construct a tall wall on the side and front of the house to screen a future bedroom addition. But he faced the dilemma for many homeowners on corner lots: The approximately 600 square feet of [...]

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Cafe Zoe – a place to eat, sip, listen and talk

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Kathleen Daly was good at ignoring the ad offering a small cafe for sale – she did so for months. But when she drove over to take a look, the decision to buy was instant. Cafe Zoe came to life in June 2008 and the new owner set to work on revised hours and menu [...]

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Vote is in – best front yard topiary!

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If you happen to be cruising by foot or vehicle past this Oak Dell neighborhood front yard, it’s hard to miss the topiary showcased in the front yard. But it takes a little investigation to uncover exactly what it is. InMenlo has the scoop, thanks to residents Carol and Darren: “The topiary is a horse. [...]

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Menlo seniors cook up tribute to Dr. King

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Senior center chef Oswald Thompson prepares a batch of filets for the Martin Luther King commemorative fish fry at the Menlo Senior Center today.
The event, which featured a tribute to Dr. King by Belle Haven poet Jym Marks, was quite well attended. Center director Avideh Yaghmai-Samardar and her troops were seen to be “hands on” [...]

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It’s yoga that feeds Lisa Haley

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Once upon a time Lisa Haley, proprietor of Be Yoga, a studio located in Menlo Park’s Willows neighborhood, was on the path to get a PhD from Stanford. She took a summer off and ended up following her passion, yoga.
“I look back and think that I really loved yoga – and yoga loved me,” she [...]

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Menlo sun rises on a spanking new decade

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Walkers and joggers in West Menlo were greeted by this scenic moment, a hopefully good augur for the new year and the new decade. Temperatures were in the 40s, expected to rise to the low 60s by this afternoon. Rain is forecast to move into the area tomorrow and Thursday.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…

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From the staff at InMenlo, a warm wish to all for very happy holidays.
The lights in the photo adorn the tree at the corner of Oak Avenue and Oak Knoll Lane – a Redwood that is among the tallest, if not the tallest lit tree in Menlo.
A neighborhood tradition, the tree has been lit annually [...]

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Lots to see on a countdown-to-Christmas Sunday

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More decorations are appearing on the streets of Menlo with residents working around the inclement weather (rain squalls with occasional glimpses of the sun). Scott and Lynn were spotted unloading their Noble Fir Christmas tree, purchased from the Nativity lot, which is only open through today. Scott was employing the tried and true “dust the [...]

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Three wise men on the move

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To delight of neighborhood children, the three wise men – part of a Nativity scene at 455 Cotton St. – are once again inching their way to Bethlehem. Explains homeowner Bill Russ: “I probably began this Nativity scene about 20 years ago. For awhile I put it on the roof of the house, where it [...]

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More sparkle on Santa Cruz Ave.

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Menlo’s recently-installed holiday lights added sparkle to a very chilly evening yesterday. The forecast going forward is warmer, if wetter, going into the weekend.

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Frosty!

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Intrepid early-morning trekkers noted frost on the ground and even ice on puddles as they made their way around Menlo early this morning. Garden thermometers were mostly recording temperatures in the very low thirties.

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Spotted: Turkey day flag

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The morning light illuminated this turkey flag in a leafy stretch on Oak Avenue. Similar flags can be seen on a number of local homes, replacing previous Halloween-themed banners. We’re not sure how the whole flag thing got started, but many homes in Menlo have been flying seasonal colors for a couple years now.
There’s just [...]

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Jumping the gun on holiday cheer

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These permanently-installed holiday lights in the tall redwood and cedar trees at Oak Avenue at Oak Knoll Lane appear to be lit early this year (before Thanksgiving) , but are just catching the rays of the late afternoon sun.
The tree, a minor holiday icon, has been lit for more than 30 years by a succession [...]

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Halloween parades – and pumpkins – all over town

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The University Park neighborhood was in full Halloween mode, closing a block of Stanford Ave and covering (at least part of) it in straw. Morning featured a pumpkin carving with results judged on wide-ranging merit. The parade got underway around 3:00, after one final group shot of the kids and their very creative costumes (thanks [...]

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Food supreme this Halloween

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Food items are, evidently, the hot ticket this Halloween, as evidenced at Oak Knoll School this morning. Besides a strip of bacon, a pound of Peet’s coffee and a root beer and fries there was a box of baking soda, several bananas and even a chef to chase them all back to the kitchen.
Camera-toting parents [...]

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Scary times in Menlo

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Slowly, the ghosts and jack-o-lanterns and creepy giant spiders have been making their way back into view in local yards from wherever it is such creatures spend their days off from Halloween. Some of these displays have become all but traditions, like this illuminated pumpkin lamp post on Oak Knoll Lane. Kicking off 48 hours [...]

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Chickens come home to roost in Menlo

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If you believe Sunset and the New Yorker, having chickens is a growing trend in suburban neighborhoods. That’s nothing new to Menlo Park; a “herd” of chickens has long been part of the backyard scene at a home near the San Mateo Drive bike bridge.
More recent arrivals are three laying hens that have come home [...]

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