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I recently heard the phrases
ここ最近 ("somewhat lately"/"these recent days") and
ここ二日ぐらい（"these past 2 days or so").
I had never heard ここ used in this way before, and I was wondering if anyone knew of other phrases or examples which use ここ to mark time in this way.
It is actually a common usage of 「ここ」. Off the top of my head, we say the following quite often.
・「ここのところ」(informally,「ここんとこ」) = "these days", "recently", etc.
・「ここしばらく」 ＝ "for some time now", "for some time to come", etc.
・「ここ一番{いちばん}」 ＝ "at the critical moment”
・「ここ（ぞ）という時{とき}」 = "at a (good) chance", "at an important moment", etc.
Off the top of my head, there's ここのところ or its casual version ここんとこ, which means essentially the same as 最近. That's two place words making a time expression(!)
Goo Dictionary gives this time-related meaning as ここ's third definition, and mentions that it doesn't necessarily refer to the recent past, but can also refer to the near future - essentially any period of time that's adjacent to the present. The phrase it uses an example is ここ数年, which can refer to "the last few years" or "the next few years" depending on context.
