love ∞

love ∞ big

bernal hill is my favorite place in the city, especially when it is green. very soon it will start turning brown/tan—its summer coat. but right now the grass seems unusually lush after our many days of rain and then bursts of sun. today the hill was dreamy. (these photos do not capture it.)

i walked by julia's old house before walking up on the grassy bernal hill. julia was the eccentric french lady i used to go grocery shopping with. she died in april six years ago. her house looks the same. i remember her peeking out of her upstairs kitchen window when i rang the doorbell, yelling down to me that she'd be right there (descending in a cloud of perfume—she must have lost some of her sense of smell) or waving goodbye from the window when i left. i thought the house would have been spiffed up. it'a a very plain house, but with a sweet, sloping, overgrown garden and an amazing view of the bay. funny that all the houses on her block are plain and a bit downtrodden. they're probably worth so much just for their view/location. i think there must be a lot of people on that block who have lived there a long time. julia certainly appreciated her home. she spent what i gathered to be her happiest years there with her second husband. he died 15 years into their marriage, but she stayed on there, enjoying herself and her view and her dog(s) for many more years.

up on bernal hill, there were the usual people walking their dogs. and then there were a few little groups of people, almost hidden, sitting amidst the grass. one couple was putting down their blanket, but it was billowing, so they were sitting, letting the red and white pattern billow over their heads and against them. today reminded me of that most fabulous hillside picnicking scene in room with a view. lazy and warm and soft and springy (though lacking that passionate kiss).