The pictures for this calendar were taken from the same spot atop the summit of Buena Vista Park in San Francisco, California, every day for 365 days from September 5, 2016 to September 4, 2017 -- which turned out unintentionally and ironically, to be Labor Day. Almost all the pictures were taken between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

I blame everything on Pilot, my now 14 year old dog, for the entire matter. We are at the Buena Vista summit every morning about 9am. The project began after we watched visitors for years at the summit stop at that very spot, then take a picture of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge framed left and right by two pine trees with the Marin Headlands in the background.

Not having a smartphone I started with a Panasonic DMC-ZS3. It eventually failed and was replaced with a Canon SX600 HS. Hardly pro cameras. Once, my camera battery died on me. I enlisted the help of Karen Snell and dog Devereaux, who allowed me to use her iphone to take the daily picture. On another occasion, I stepped to the spot to take the pictures, reached into my vest pocket for the camera and realized I had forgotten to bring it. Ted O'Connell and dog Kip came along and took the pictures for me.

At first it was fun, then became a chore. Others of the summit community became aware of the project so I became locked in. No excuses. As the months went by the effort became a community project as much as a personal one. Anticipation began to build on the final outcome and was inspirational to keep going. Finally on September 4th, the last pictures were taken including one of Pilot and me standing in the "tourist spot," by Elise Williams and dog Pip (see the picture of September 5, 2017. I'm carrying Pilot because his hips were disabled six months prior and he can no longer stand or sit.).

With the picture taking concluded I had already decided to present them in a calendar form, figured I could leisurely organize and process the images and find a graphic designer to finalize everything within a few months, … maybe. I was wrong.

Karen Snell decided to have a party at her wonderful house on Buena Vista heights to celebrate the projects conclusion. Suddenly there was a deadline to have something to show which represented cause for the celebration. Oh boy. Panic. "What do I do now?" I turned to my son Jesse.

In six days Jesse was able to design the calendar, create a web site to display at least the months August and September of 2016, and have prints made of those two months of daily pictures to display at the celebration. It was perfect for the occasion, and quite a congenial occasion it was, attended by a lively and lovely group of Buena Vista Park regulars.

I'd like to thank all the above already mentioned -- Karen, Ted, Elise, and all the regulars at the summit and their dogs for their support and caring for us, to include the gardeners at Buena Vista Park who would delay sprinklers and such to accommodate us. Of course, a special thanks to Karen for her support, energy and inspiration, and to my son Jesse, who stepped into the breach and bailed me out, and, most of all, to Pilot. Without him I would never have been there in the first place.

Finally, the pictures are all unprocessed, straight out of the camera, not even slight rotation to improve presentation. Maybe someday...

-- Dexter Garnier & Pilot the Cosmic dog, November 22, 2017