{this moment}
A Friday ritual. A photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by Amanda Blake Soule and legions of lovely bloggers.
I hope you’ll be similarly inspired and leave a link with your own “moment.” I’d love to see it.
Here’s hoping you have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!
Photography by Susan Sachs Lipman
Posted in Butter and Egg, Field Trip, Snapshot
Tagged Children, County Fairs, Fair Food, Photography, Sonoma, Sonoma-Marin Fair, Summer, This Moment
I previously wrote about our wonderful, inspirational Italian Street Painting Festival, a tradition begun in 16th century Italy, with that era’s street painters, the madonnari. That festival has a whole section dedicated to the art of children (madonnarini?) — anyone old enough to hold a piece of chalk.
Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman
In 16th century Italy, itinerant street painters — madonnari — were known for the images they created in public squares, using bits of broken roof tiles, charcoal, and white chalk. Their payment was often in food. Their depictions were often religious, including the Madonna that earned them their name.
Fast forward to modern cities all over the world, where people gather at street festivals to pay homage to the street painter, who now largely uses commercial chalk, and depicts subjects ranging from fine art portraits to comic book characters, nature scenes to technology.
My family is very fortunate to have an annual street painting festival right nearby — San Rafael, CA’s Italian Street Painting Festival, which, fittingly, like some of the early festivals, takes place in front of a church — this one, Mission San Rafael Arcangel.
Stroll with us through the recent Italian Street Painting Festival, as we enjoy the extreme creativity and talent of artists young and old.
There’s still more to come! My next post will feature the street painting of children.
Buona festa di madonnari!
Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman
With the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer finals upon us from South Africa, World Cup fever is sky-high around the globe. One great upshot of this is that the World Cup is providing some opportunities for good camaraderie and fun, as many communities are opting to erect giant outdoor screens, so people can enjoy the games for free, often in kid-friendly settings.
In San Francisco, World Cup Soccer will be displayed outdoors at Civic Center Plaza. The city first screened World Cup Soccer outdoors in Dolores Park in 2006, and is offering 10 dates for viewings this year, from June 11-July 11. In addition to the soccer games screening live from South Africa, the event will feature food, games and children’s activities. Read more about San Francisco World Cup screenings.
In Seattle, games will be broadcast on a big screen in Nord Alley, near Pioneer Square, over a whopping 25 dates. Seattle’s International Sustainability Institute is sponsoring the free screenings, at which food will be sold. Nord Alley already has a history of soccer madness — Seattle Sounders fans gather there to celebrate before and after matches. Read more about Seattle World Cup screenings.
Portland, OR’s, Director Park, near Pioneer Courthouse Square, will be the site of two World Cup outdoor screenings, June 12 and July 11. Portland has also had successful outdoor soccer viewing events in the past. Read more about Portland World Cup screenings.
Houston is hosting outdoor viewings, courtesy of the Houston Dynamo team, for all USA and Mexico World Cup matches, as well as for the semifinals on July 6 & 7 and the final on July 11. Events will take at Discovery Green, downtown, and will feature lots of kid-friendly activities and entertainment. Read more about Houston World Cup screenings.
Chicago is hosting a festival and viewing June 12, sponsored by that city’s South African Consulate. Read more about Chicago World Cup screenings.
In New York City, head to Brooklyn for World Cup screenings June 12, 20 and 27, on Vanderbilt Avenue, between Dean Street and Park Place, as part of the second annual Summer Streets on Vanderbilt event. The street will be closed to traffic. In addition to World Cup soccer, people can take in musical entertainment, children’s games, contests, food, and fashion shows. Read more about New York World Cup screenings.
London will be host to multiple viewing events, throughout the month, including the Afro Cup Festival, which celebrates African music, art, culture and more, along with soccer/football viewing. Read more about London World Cup screenings.
Oslo puts most of the rest of the soccer-viewing world to shame: Every single World Cup match — more than 50 of them — will be screened outdoors at Kontraskjæret by Akershus Fortress. The arena opens two hours before the first match of the day, and entry is free. Read more about Oslo World Cup screenings.
Perth is also home to its share of screenings, which will take place new Northbridge Piazza, a great new public space in Northbridge, Perth’s entertainment district. 22 games are scheduled through the finals. Read more about Perth World Cup screenings.
If anyone has any tips on other outdoor screenings, let me know. Happy viewing!
Photo: Fans celebrating the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Audrey & Patrick Scales
Posted in Community, Field Trip
Tagged 2010 World Cup, Brooklyn, Chicago, FIFA World Cup, Houston, London, New York, Oslo, Outdoor Movies, Outdoors, Perth, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Soccer, Watch World Cup, World Cup, World Cup Outdoor Screening
Inspiration and beauty are all around. For many, Spring is a season of sun-dappled sidewalks and flea-market weekends. Of exploring shapes and colors which take their cues from nature, history, and the whimsy of a flowing line. It’s the season of looking around with fresh eyes.
Posted in Butter and Egg, Design, Field Trip, Nature, Seasons, To Market, Vintage
Tagged Alameda Flea Market, Color, Flea Markets, Flowers, Mill Valley, Nature, Photography, San Francisco, Shopping, Spring, Tulip Photography, Tulips
A new study from Great Britain bodes poorly for children and their outdoor lives. According to researchers at Hertfordshire University, while most children are open to outdoor play, their parents are not, and a lack of confidence is often the reason.
Parents are overly fearful, the survey said. They fear cars, injury, abduction, ending up on private property, children running away, and .. dirt. From the study:
There seems to be an obsession about cleanliness. Perhaps because children are in expensive clothes, mud seems to be abhorrent.
What happened to play clothes? Are children showpieces? It makes sense to use inexpensive or used clothing precisely for play, to be dirtied and stained. Play is the job of children! Dress them appropriately and let them explore.
Another issue? Lack of map-reading skills. Said senior lecturer Debbie Pearlman Hogue:
None of the mothers I spoke to could read a map.
This is downright pitiful. As a result of skewed priorities and an extreme lack of skills, a whole generation is being deprived of outdoor play and experiences which, in turn, is going to render each successive generation increasingly bereft of experiences and abilities until we all just stay huddled inside our homes.
Poul Christensen, chairman of Natural England, says:
Children are being denied the fundamental sense of independence and freedom in nature that their parents enjoyed.
Children now want more opportunities to play outdoors. Whether through pond dipping or tree climbing, nature-based activities can play an important role in the educational and social development of children.
England’s Royal Society for the Arts points to a “risk averse” culture in which “youngsters were being deprived of the freedom to develop, to manage and take risks – and, ultimately, to grow up.” Of course, this phenomenon is not unique to England – It’s prevalent in the U.S. and in much of the industrialized world.
How can we reverse this unhealthy trend? A few ideas:
Make outdoor play a public priority by designing parks and safe, green play spaces.
Make outdoor play a personal priority by getting outdoors as a family or joining a nature club.
Educate parents about legitimate and unfounded fears.
Learn to enjoy wild spaces and trails as much as mediated, organized playgrounds and parks.
Dress kids appropriately for play and weather.
Walk instead of driving when possible.
Make friends with your neighbors.
Learn to read a map and kindle a sense of adventure about going somewhere new.
This site explains map reading and also offers some exercises and games for beginning map readers.
As an aside, I’ve always loved maps and atlases. I appreciate knowing the “lay of the land”, getting the big picture. For that reason, I don’t rely on GPS devices in cars. They remind me of driving through a tunnel, being told only what I need to know. I’d rather be armed with information and perspective. I fear that devices like GPS, while helpful, also tend to do the work for you, and that their prominence will only render people less capable of navigating their own, not to mention other, neighborhoods.
If kids and adults merely go out their doors and explore, and engage in simple map use and games, like treasure hunts, they’ll find themselves empowered to use maps and they’ll have a lot of fun. Look for treasure hunt tips in a future post.
Kings Norton Park in Birmingham, England: benkid77, Map of Twickenham, England: Creative Commons
Posted in Community, Field Trip, Nature, Slow News, Sustainability, The Great Outdoors
Tagged Children, England, Free Play, Map Reading, Map Skills, Maps, Nature, Nature Activities, Nature Deficit Disorder, Nature Disconnect, Nearby Nature, Neighborhoods, Outdoor Play, Outdoors, Parenting, Sustainability, Treasure Hunt, Walking
On Saturday, some friends and I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, a 4-day event that is winding down today. We had great fun and saw lots of birds while hiking around the Las Gallinas Wildlife Ponds in San Rafael, CA, a nearby place I’d never visited before! There’s still time to join this and other bird counts. In fact, they’re part of an ongoing effort by the Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology to track, learn about, and assist bird populations. Here is complete information about bird counts and how you can get  involved. In the meantime, enjoy our walk with us.
We immediately spotted lots of birds in the nearby trees, such as Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Red-Winged Blackbirds, House Wrens, and these Finches, both male (top) and female.
The large ponds were teeming with bird life, both on water and in the trees. It was amazing what I could see in the trees with binoculars. It was as if a hidden world opened up. There were birds everywhere — white glints of gulls, herons, and egrets. Â (I admit I’m not sure what kinds. My friends, and their kids, were all much better classifiers than me.) Flocks of Canada Geese flew by and we did our best to count/guess how many there were.
In the water were Avocets, and these graceful Black-Necked Stilts.
Plenty of ducks and geese swam by and called noisily to one another. Ducks we spotted included the poetically named Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, and, of course, the lovely emerald-headed Mallard.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Red-winged Blackbird. It took me a moment to register the bright orange-red color on the tops of their wings. These seem in repose, watching a duck.
We found a great stand of trees, hosting lots of bird life. (Quickly moving bird life, that seemed to sense when you were closing in with a camera, before flying away.) We were able to identify Robins and these Western Bluebirds.
I quietly followed this Great Egret for a while. I liked the way he mozeyed down the trail, taking his time (Slow Egret?), before sticking his neck out.
This tree was full of noisy, cheery blackbirds.
You can listen to a group of blackbirds, seemingly signaling spring.
The tally for the Bird Count got entered online. As of mid-day Monday, there had been 46,912 checklists submitted, 553 species observed, and 4,531,433 individual birds counted. In a little over an hour, we contributed 170 birds in 24 species to the list in order to help the Bird Count get a snapshot of bird activity over a busy, migrating weekend in February.
As for me, the activity really whet my appetite to do more bird watching and counting. Who knows? One day I might be able to identify those white birds in the trees.
Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman
You might like these other citizen science projects.
Posted in Deck Garden, Field Trip, Nature, Porch Swing, The Great Outdoors
Tagged Audubon Society, Bird Photos, Birding, Birds, Black-Necked Stilt, Blackbird Song, Citizen Science, Egret, Finch, Great Backyard Bird Count, Las Gallinas, Mallard, Marin, Marin Birds, Nature, Nature Activities, Photography, Red-Winged Blackbird, Western Bluebird
I am very excited about the Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology‘s upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count. It takes place Friday-Monday, February 12-15, all over North America. Anyone can participate, even if you only have 15 minutes and are completely new to birding.
Here’s how it works: You can pick a spot to go watch birds (a backyard, a park, a trail, a marsh, or anywhere you think birds might be) or you can join an organized event. You can download a very thorough check list of birds that are likely to be seen in your area. You record the birds that you see and then go home and either send in your checklist or enter the names and numbers in online.
There are lots more tips about counting and recording birds, tricky identifications, binoculars, and much more on BirdSource’s Great Backyard Bird Count page. The site also features recordings of bird sounds and more activities for kids.
The All About Birds site has beautiful photos and information that can help you identify birds. These are the top 10 birds that were reported during the count last year.
So, why count birds in the first place, and why now? The Cornell Ornithology Lab, the Audubon Society and others use the information from the annual February count to track the health of various bird species over time and, in some cases, take steps to protect them. Mid-February has proven a good time to count, as it occurs just before the major Spring migrations. If you find you like counting, you can actually help year-round on various projects.
Last year 11,558,638 individual birds were reported by more than 100,000 people. This year you could be part of the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Photos: Painted Bunting and Green Honeycreeper by Doug Janson, Flame Colored Tanager by Jerry Oldenettel, Blue Jay: Creative Commons, Northern Spotted Owl by Susan Sachs Lipman
Posted in Deck Garden, Field Trip, Nature, Porch Swing, The Great Outdoors
Tagged Audubon Society, Bird Photos, Birding, Birds, Blue Jay, Bunting, Great Backyard Bird Count, Honeycreeper, Nature, Nature Activities, Owl, Photography, Tanager
Groundhog Day, February 2, has basically everything going for it that I love in a holiday — It marks a point in a season; it’s full of folk lore and wisdom, superstition, ceremony, civic charm, mystery, agrarian history, and weather — and it was featured in perhaps my all-time favorite movie of the same name, which itself is a study in acceptance and inner calm while being outright hilarious in nearly every frame.
Altogether now: It’s Ground-Hog Day!
In an early morning ceremony today, groundhog Punxatawney Phil rose from his heated burrow at Gobbler’s Knob, PA, and signaled to his handlers that the shadow he saw foretold six more weeks of winter. According to this excellent Groundhog Day almanac, Phil sees his shadow 6-7 times more than he doesn’t. The last time he didn’t see a shadow was in 2007. In 2008, the crowd booed the prospect of a continuing winter.
According to the Groundhog Day site and others, German settlers arrived in the 1700s in the area of Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh, which had been previously settled by the Delaware Native Americans. The Germans celebrated Candlemas Day, originally a Medieval Catholic holiday to mark the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. The holiday also has roots in Celtic-Gaelic and Pagan cultures, where it is celebrated as St. Brigid’s Day and Imbolc, and is a time of festival, feasting, parades, and weather prediction, as well as candles and even bonfires to mark the sun’s return.
According to Wikipedia, the origin of the word “Imbolc” is “in the belly”, and among agrarian people, Imbolc was associated with the onset of lactation of ewes, which would soon give birth to lambs in the spring.
The German settlers of Pennsylvania put candles in their windows and believed that if the weather was fair on Candlemas Day, then the second half of winter would be stormy and cold. (This has always been counter-intuitive to me, but I am not agrarian nor Medieval Christian, nor even from a wintry climate.) The shadow of the sun on February 2nd? Six more weeks of winter.
** Breaking news. This site explains that cloudy weather is actually more mild than clear and cold. It makes sense, then, that the shadow would portend six more weeks of winter. A lifelong mystery is solved.
I found English and Scottish sayings, to this effect:
The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bride,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.
— Scottish saying
(Note the serpent instead of the groundhog.)
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
— English saying
Punxatawney’s first Groundhog Day celebration was in 1886, and though other towns, particularly in the eastern U.S., have Groundhog Day ceremonies, none is nearly as famous as Punxataney’s. Some of this may lie with the groundhog’s official name, “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary”. Still more popularity, and tourists, have come as a result of the movie Groundhog Day. The first official Groundhog Day prediction in Punxatawney? No shadow – early Spring.
This site has more information about the groundhog itself and about the filming of the movie.
If you are a Groundhog Day movie obsessive like me, you will enjoy this site that breaks down exactly how long Bill Murray’s character, Phil the Weatherman, experiences Groundhog Day in Gobbler’s Knob.
Shadow or no, here’s wishing you a happy remainder of the winter, a ceremony or two, a dash of lore and wonder, and a fruitful spring.
Photos: Aaron Silvers, Creative Commons
Posted in Field Trip, Holidays, Odes, Seasons
Tagged Agrarian Holidays, Bill Murray, Candlemas, German, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day Movie, Imbolc, Pennsylvania, Punxatawney, Punxatawney Phil, Solstice, Spring, St. Brigid's Day, Weather, Winter
I just got wind of the late winter return of several Coho salmon to their habitat in Marin County’s Lagunitas watershed. This is particularly wonderful news because this had been a year of especially low sightings of this beautiful, endangered salmon.
This weekend is the last one of the season in which to take a Creekwalk to see the salmon, led by a trained naturalist. My family and I have done this 2-hour walk and it is terrific. You walk beautiful streams and learn a great deal about salmon, their habits and habitat.
There are two tours daily, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, January 30 and 31.
Creekwalks begin from the San Geronimo Valley Community Center, 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. There is a small suggested donation. Plenty more information is available on the SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Waterwork Network) Creekwalk page.
Even with a low count, the salmon season has had its share of excitement. SPAWN has a great naturalist blog, which goes into vivid detail about salmon sightings and other activities in the creeks and on the trails.
This is a great explanation from Alaska fisherman Mark Glassmaker about how salmon spawn. U.S. Fish & Wildlife offers a no-frills page that has a lot of good information about salmon life cycle and spawning habits, as well as some information on various species and their rates of extinction.
Whether or not you take advantage of a Creekwalk this weekend, you can certainly celebrate the return of the Coho and what it says about the health and renewal of our ecosystem.
Photos: Public Domain, Susan Sachs Lipman
Posted in Field Trip, Nature, Seasons, Sustainability, The Great Outdoors, Vanishing Breed
Tagged Coho, Coho Salmon, Creekwalks, Ecosystem, Fish, Lagunitas, Marin, Migration, Nature, Nature Activities, Salmon, Salmon Spawning, SPAWN, Sustainability, Winter
