2. The Once and Future Wetlands: Will Estuarine Tidal Wetlands Survive Climate Change? Sept 1
3. Claremont Canyon and Garber Park events in September
4. How do you get to your favorite trailheads? Can you get there without a car?
5. Feedback: Cats allergic to humans?
6. Come out to San Bruno Mountain Mission Blue Nursery Wednesday Aug 31 10 am
7. Coyote trapping within city limits? Shocking
8. Bigger than this news never gets - a SUPER supernova in a "nearby" galaxy, only 21 million light years away
9. Obama administration requires birth control for women as free preventive service
10. Receding hairlines and other signals of where economy is heading
11. Approaching the collapse - millions against Monsanto
12. Kek-kek-burrr...is the sound of success at Heron's Head Park
13. Sierra Club: SF rushing its America's Cup documents/Recreation-Open Space Element of SF Master Plan
14. California Native Nurseries Network Fall Meeting Sept 27
15. The siege of Leningrad - 900 days of solitude
16. At the lake - Mary Oliver
17. Miscellany - Chilean sea bass
1. "Sea to Sky to Sea connects the headwaters of the Sierra to the health of the San Francisco Bay, and supports California’s great rivers along the way.
The whole trip will involve 21 days of human-powered travel over 500 miles to help promote and fund the great work of NatureBridge, The Tuolumne River Trust, and the Bay Institute. They are looking for donations; go here http://www.nilehigh.com/Contribute%21.html
Here are some public events:
Modesto Happy Hour
Tuesday, August 30 · 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Camp 4 Wine Cafe
1508 10th Steet, Suite B
Modesto, California
Finale Celebration
Sunday, September 4 · 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Travis Marina
Sausalito, California
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2. California Native Plant Society meeting - free and open to the public
The Once and Future Wetlands: Will Estuarine Tidal Wetlands Survive Climate Change?
Speaker: Tom Parker
SEPTEMBER 1, THURSDAY at 7:30 PM
SF County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park
9th Avenue and Lincoln Way
The talk will focus on SF Bay-Delta tidal wetlands in the context of changes resulting from climate change. While there will be lots of changes, the talk will mostly focus on accelerated sea level rise and factors contributing to tidal wetlands either keeping up with sea level or falling behind.
Tom Parker, Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, Austin (Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and graduate degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Following three years as an assistant professor at Rider College, NJ, he was recruited to SF State in 1980 into the Department of Biology. Trained in the ecology of plants, currently he is concerned with the adverse impacts of climate change on tidal
wetlands and on the ecology and evolution of California chaparral plants. His work ranges across theoretical, empirical and applied aspects of ecology. Parker has
published 85 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, has co-edited three books, and has three current external research awards (CalFed; National Institute of Climate Change Research, Coastal Center, U.S. Dept of Energy; The Nature Conservancy). He is also one of the authors of the Flora of North America and Jepson Manual (2nd ed) treatments for Arctostaphylos (manzanitas). During his Presidency of the Pacifica Land Trust (an independent non-profit), he oversaw its acquisition of Pedro Point on the San Mateo Coast, a critical habitat for rare plants and animals. Currently, he is President of the California Botanical Society, which is preparing for its centennial celebration
Everyone is welcome to attend membership meetings in the Recreation Room of the San Francisco County Fair Building at 9th Avenue & Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park. The building is served by the #71 and #44 lines, is one block from the N-Judah car, and is two blocks from the #6, #43, and #66 bus lines.
(If you would like to attend dinner with Tom Parker at 5.30 at a nearby restaurant, please email Jake Sigg at this email address.)
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3. Claremont Canyon Conservancy
Saturday, September 3: We will continue making trail improvements in the upper part of Claremont Canyon at our September stewardship session on Saturday, September 3rd from 10 to 12. Thanks to Tom Klatt at UC and the Conservancy, the trails connecting the chert and Four Corners are now well marked. If you've not been up there recently, do check out the new signs! Our efforts are now on the trails themselves, clearing overgrowth and making them easier to navigate. We will meet at 10 AM at the gated parking area across from the chert, 1.5 miles up Claremont from the intersection of Ashby.
Tuesday, September 6: Fall stewardship in Garber Park begins as we focus our efforts on the hillside at the Evergreen Lane entrance, weeding the planting beds and eradicating the invasives on the hillside down to Fireplace Plaza. This will prepare that area for further restoration planting this winter after the rains begin. 10 AM til Noon. Meet at the Evergreen Lane entrance. Directions: The closest address is 136 Evergreen Lane. From Alvarado Road, take Slater Lane and turn right on Evergreen and go to the end of the street. For more information, contact Shelagh at GarberParkStewards@gmail.com or visit the blog at www.garberparkstewards.blogspot.com.
Saturday, September 17: The Claremont Canyon Conservancy and the Garber Park Stewards invite you to celebrate Oakland's Creek to Bay Day with us in Garber Park. We will continue our work along the riparian corridor of Harwood Creek by removing the invading weeds (Himalayan Blackberry, cape ivy and French broom) and encouraging the native riparian plants that provide important habitat and help stabilize the banks.
As part of our Creek to Bay Day activities, Lech Naumovich of Golden Hour Restoration Institute will conduct a Citizen Science Workshop. Emphasizing the importance of watersheds and waterways, this workshop will investigate the riparian corridor that transects Garber Park. We identify the unique plant and animal resources residing there.
Meet at 9 AM at the Evergreen Lane Entrance. (See above for directions.)
Questions?: info@claremontcanyon.org or GarberParkStewards@gmail.com.
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4.
Bay Area Open Space Council
Getting Outside with REI in September and October
How do you get to your favorite trailheads? Can you get there without a car?
There are hundreds of trailheads in the Bay Area's 1.2 million acres of protected lands that are easy to get to on foot, bike, bus, train, or ferry. Join us at REI stores this fall and get inspired by hikes from Sausalito to Stinson Beach through the magnificent Marin Headlands, to the spectacular summit of Mount Diablo from Walnut Creek, along the East Bay ridgeline from Richmond to Orinda, and along Sweeney Ridge above Pacifica. You’ll take in the sweeping vistas from the summit of Mission Peak in Fremont, and head out backpacking on the Ohlone Regional Trail. These are all Transit and Trails hikes and all easily findable, planable and shareable from your computer or iPhone.
Transit and Trails will be presenting for free at the following REI stores this fall:
Concord on September 7
Mountain View on September 15
Fremont on September 27
Corte Madera on September 28
San Francisco on October 5
Berkeley on October 11
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5. Feedback
Yan Hammer:
In response to 'Are cats ever allergic to humans?' :
I've definitely noticed that they do not like me when I smell of soap and perfume, and they are allergic to perfumed cat litter. This goes for dogs,too. #######################################
6. Come join us at San Bruno Mountain Watch's Mission Blue Nursery in Brisbane
Come out this Wednesday August 31st and help us out around the nursery 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
View Google map location of Mission Blue Native Plant Nursery
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7.
“I was stunned to hear about this and will take whatever action I can to ensure this policy is stopped.”
~ Mary Sue Maurer, City of Calabasas Mayor pro Tem
In our last Coyote Chronicles e-newsletter we told you about the City of Calabasas’ decision after public outcry to temporarily stop the cruel trapping and killing of coyotes. With our help, residents were able to show city officials that indiscriminate trapping is not an effective – or humane – approach to living with our wild neighbors.
Shockingly, the majority of City Council members had no idea that coyote trapping was even happening within city limits- and at taxpayer expense!
The City of Calabasas is not alone. All across the country, snares, leghold traps, guns, and poisons are being used to kill coyotes – often at taxpayer expense and with little or no public awareness of the carnage. Many non-target animals also fall victim and suffer from the traps and poisons – including dogs, cats, badgers, wolves, bobcats, and birds.
When communities like Calabasas, Arcadia, Lake Forest Park and Wheaton contact us seeking alternatives to killing, Project Coyote is there to offer assistance with resources and expertise.
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8. Susan Karasoff:
Jake,
Thanks for getting the word out on so many interesting subjects.
There is a new supernova, PTF11kly, visible from north America, near the M101 galaxy near handle of the big dipper constellation.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/26/night-sky-news-new-supernova-blast-brightening-fast/
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/128430288.html
Hope you have clear skies to see it,
Susan Karasoff Thanks so much, Susan. This is very, very exciting to those who have a glimmering of understanding about the huge and mysterious physical processes that produce supernovae. People make careers entirely out of studying them, and I would love to have an entire life devoted just to understanding them. I have been reading books and articles about the phenomenon for several decades, but each one reading seems to open new dimensions of this complex phenomenon.
Clear skies? Ha! Actually, I shouldn't complain too much. The sun came out yesterday; it helped to remind me what it looked like--it's yellow, and gives off a little heat in addition to light--amazing! Wish it would visit us more often. But the clouds reliably moved in again as the sky darkened.
I cobbled together a few sentences from these websites:
Located 21 million light years away, this is the closest Type 1a supernova seen in decades. a Type Ia supernova occurs when a white dwarf draws matter in from a companion star and dumps it on its surface until a runaway nuclear reaction ignites. While many such supernovae are discovered annually they tend to be much farther away at hundreds of millions or billions of light years away.
But now, having discovered this supernova so early after it has detonated, so close to Earth, has really excited the worldwide astronomical community – with many of them rushing to get a chance to observe it with the largest telescopes- including the Hubble Space Telescope too.
By catching the explosion so early on at so nearby, it may allow astronomers a rare opportunity to reveal details about the physical properties of the supernova.
Andy Howell, one of the leaders of the discovery team and astronomer at University of California at Santa Barbara said in a press release, “When you catch them this early, mixed in with the explosion you can actually see unburned bits from the star that exploded. We are finding new clues to solving the mystery of the origin of these supernovae that has perplexed us for 70 years. Despite looking at thousands of supernovae, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Supernova PTF 11kly brightens up from nothing in images taken with the 48-inch (1.2-m) Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory on the nights of August 22–24.
(JS: 21 million light years away--that is very close, astronomically speaking. But to see a star that far away. Do you have any conception of how far 21 million light years is? Of course you don't. The sun is 8 light minutes away, for comparison. Do the math: 300 kilometres a second, X 60 seconds in a minute, X 60 minutes in an hour, X 24 hours in a day, X 365 days in a year, X 21 million. Beyond human understanding. This is really exciting stuff.
BTW, the 1987 supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, a mere 160,000 light years away, was a golden opportunity for astronomers. But that was a Type II supernova, and the Type 1a is different, so this gives astronomers a very valuable opportunity to follow the course of both types, which begin differently and end differently.
Another boggler: Can you imagine an explosion that gets brighter days and weeks after the initial blast? This is big stuff.)
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9.
Thanks for supporting our "Million for a Billion" petition campaign on behalf of universal access to family planning and reproductive health services, but it's not just women overseas who need access to family planning.
In a recommendation with profound implications for the future of family planning in America, an Institute of Medicine panel recently recommended that health insurance companies in the U.S. be required to cover birth control for women as a free preventive service without any required copay. Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has now approved the recommendation and it will go in to effect next year as part of the new health care law.
Congressional opponents of family planning are already expressing their opposition to the new regulation, even though it will reduce health care costs and save lives. Adequately spacing pregnancies is critical for a mother’s health, and about 40 percent of all pregnancies in the United States today are unintended.
Thank President Obama and tell him that "contraception is prevention." Let him know that you support this regulation: it's good for women, good for families, and good for America. No woman should have to choose between paying for food and paying for family planning services.
Send message to President Obama by clicking here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
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A mea culpa regarding population :
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/08/16/i-population-problem-0
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10.
Alternative indicators
Behind the bald figures
Receding hairlines and other signals of where the economy is heading
Aug 27th 2011 | from The Economist print edition (excerpt)
A FEW weeks ago The Economist invited readers who enjoy our Big Mac index to help invent other quirky economic indicators. We received many suggestions for different products with which to calculate exchange rates at purchasing-power parity, ranging from Coca-Cola and bottled water to mobile-phone charges and taxi fares. But given recent financial jolts, we were more interested in ideas that might help to show where the economy is heading.
Many readers already have their pet indicator—sometimes literally. A vet claims that his business leads the economic cycle by as much as six months, because when times get tough pet owners are quick to cut back on vaccinations and non-essential surgery, such as neutering; they also delay getting a new dog. A reader from the pharmaceutical industry recommends tracking suppositories. “Financial worries and austerity changes in diet cause intestinal disorders,” he says, and sales of suppositoriesAnother reader suggests that stress also reduces libido, so a fall in condom sales may signal recession, whereas a rise could point to a virile recovery. More down-to-earth readers tipped packaging materials, such as wooden pallets, cartons and plastic stretch-wrap, as useful leading indicators. The snag with all these ideas is that the data are not widely and quickly available. That is why many readers favour anecdotal gauges, such as the ease of getting a taxi or finding a parking space.
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11.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/
Organic Bytes #291: Approaching the Collapse and Millions Against Monsanto
Approaching the Collapse: Don't Panic, Go Organic by Ronnie Cummins
"So-called 'business as usual' is neither sustainable, nor even possible, for much longer. Out-of-control energy corporations, Wall Street, the Pentagon, agribusiness/biotech corporations, and indentured politicians have driven us to the brink. They tell us: don't worry; trust the experts, things will soon return to 'normal.' But reality and common sense tell a different story.
"Extreme weather, crop failures, commodities speculation, land grabs, escalating prices, soil degradation, depleted aquifers, routine contamination, food-related disease, and mass hunger represent the 'new norm' for food and farming. The global agricultural system, with the exception of the rapidly growing organic sector, rests upon a shaky foundation. Patented seeds, genetically engineered crops, expensive and destructive chemical and energy-intensive inputs, factory farms, monoculture production, eroding soils, unsustainable water use, taxpayer subsidies, and long-distance hauling and distribution, including massive imports that amount to 15% of the U.S. food supply amount to a recipe for disaster..."
Read more
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12. Kek-Kek-Burrr...is the Sound of Success at Heron's Head Park
Bird watchers, park visitors, and LEJ staff are beside themselves since hearing of this amazing news of the endangered California Clapper Rail. A single male, first spotted at Heron's Head Park in July, has successfully mated and began breeding in the park . And to everyone's surprise, the two chicks in tow, have been spotted in the past several weeks with its parents. Since then our local media caught wind of the exciting news, noting that this bird species hasn't been seen breeding in San Francisco for decades (read the San Francisco Chronicle story).
The sightings and sounds of this success could not have been possible without a community-wide effort. The Port of San Francisco, LEJ youth, staff, and volunteers helped transform a brownfield (Pier 98) into the thriving park it is today. Since 2000, countless volunteers have engaged with LEJ to help maintain HHP by removing invasive species and debris, planting CA native plants, and educating our youth and community about the importance of these habitats to special species such as the Clapper Rail. The thousands of school children visiting the park each year, alone impacts this habitat through service-learning experiences, supporting a healthy ecosystem for birds to breed. Seeing these Clapper Rails begin their family in the park is evidence of this success and we hope to see more Clapper Rail families establish in the years to come.
Healthy habitats and thriving ecosystems depend on you as a community member and your contributions. Support LEJ and support these ongoing efforts.
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13. From the Sierra Club Yodeler
SF rushing its America’s Cup documents
As San Francisco hurries to prepare for the America’s Cup, coming to San Francisco Bay in 2012 and 2013, is it taking due care in its environmental planning?
The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations are working to make the event as green and sustainable as possible (see May-June Yodeler, page 12). Two planning documents will play an important role.
Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
The comment deadline for the DEIR is Aug. 25. Reviewers from the environmental community and the city’s neighborhoods have found serious omissions in the draft:
* impacts on the 2,000 swimmers and rowers who use Aquatic Park;
* lack of specificity and understatement of how race events affect particular neighborhoods and the Bay;
* displacement of regular park users;
* damage to park resources at the Marina Green, Crissy Field, and other sites in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in both San Francisco and Marin.
Local GGNRA units serve 16 million visitors annually. The National Park Service raised major issues in the “scoping” portion of the process, but the DEIR does not address these concerns about helicopter noise disturbing wildlife, impacts on visitor safety, and impacts on cultural and natural resources. The Final EIR is legally required to address them.
During the races Pier 27 is to be converted to an America’s Cup Village. Plans call for temporarily shutting down Pier 27′s shoreside power, which allows visiting cruise ships to draw electricity from the grid rather than to burn fuel while in port. Funding for the power facility came from several public agencies, but we are being asked to sacrifice its benefit to our air quality for an uncertain period (particularly if the Cup returns in future years).
Serious financial questions remain. Will Muni get the dollars to provide extra transit service for race visitors without hurting service for regular riders? Will the event authority raise enough money to pay for necessary mitigations?
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Recreation and Open Space Element (ROSE) of the city’s General Plan
Decision-point near for San Francisco open space–Your comments needed to save the ROSE
How much open space does San Francisco need? How should our parklands be used? The revision to the Recreation and Open Space Element (ROSE) of the city’s General Plan, to remain in effect for at least 20 years, will truly determine the future of San Francisco’s open spaces (see July-August Yodeler, page 3).
The currently proposed draft revision of the ROSE is deeply deficient. At the urging of Sierra Club members and other park advocates, our astute Planning Commissioners have extended their consideration of the flawed proposal. The commission is now expected to take action on the ROSE on Oct. 20 rather than Aug. 4.
We now must urge the commissioners not to take action until they get it right.
How much open space?
The new ROSE draft lacks any target for quantity of open space. It talks about prioritizing open space acquisition for “high-needs” neighborhoods, but its only criterion for sufficiency of open space is walking distance from one’s residence.
The new draft could even reduce open space by allowing the building of more cultural institutions in parks.
The ROSE needs more specific and enforceable policies for adding open space to serve new development, especially in low-income neighborhoods, where residents have fewer options. The ROSE should take into account the Housing Element’s projections of residential growth.
No substitutes
City “support” of private facilities such as Club One or 24-Hour Fitness is offered as a way to meet the public’s need for active recreation. Even if that trade-off were acceptable, recreation and fitness are not the only function of parks and open spaces. People need places to enjoy the out-of-doors in a peaceful, attractive green space.
The draft suggests that beautified streets will compensate for the lack of places to recreate. Greening of our streets is valuable, but does not take the place of adequate open space.
Activated, high-performing space?
In the draft, “activation” appears to be the goal for every space, especially through concessions and public-private partnerships. Economic performance seems to be a high priority for park uses.
Not all open space should be “activated”. While the efficient use of open space is laudable, the draft neglects the values of respite, quiet contemplation, undisturbed wildlife viewing, and nature itself.
Bringing in cash
Philanthropic support and even corporate sponsorship are appropriate revenue sources, but donations should not be allowed to buy advertising or decision-making authority. While a few food vendors may enhance park enjoyment, clear restrictions need to be placed on zip-lines, restaurants, Segway rentals, etc. Public-private partnerships must not become code for commercialization.
The ROSE deserves a peer-review process with experts in open-space planning and in protection of natural resources in parks and open spaces.
While the draft includes some good sustainable-development practices, it should be strengthened with regard to low-impact stormwater management and accepted “greening” standards such as LEED and Bay-Friendly Landscaping.
Other concerns
Preservation and restoration of natural ecosystems and biological diversity is one of the most important functions of our open-space system. The ROSE should recognize this as a separate objective. The draft throws it in with sustainable development.
The Preamble to the draft refers to the 100-year “Open Space Framework” and “Action Plan”. These have not been approved through any due process and should not be cited as if with some official status. Also, the “Vision” map on pages ii and iii is deceptive in that the large amount of green ink used to indicate planned and potential “green connectors” could be misinterpreted as more open-space acreage than is actually being contemplated.
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14.
The California Native Nursery Network invites you to our biannual meeting. The meeting will be held at Hedgerow Farms on the theme of Integrated Pest Management. The California Native Nursery Network aims to provide native plant growers, restoration practitioners, and students throughout the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area region with educational resources and technical support in native plant propagation for ecological restoration.
Please join us to network, share knowledge and gain new ideas for your growing needs.
California Native Nurseries Network
Fall 2011 General Meeting
Hedgerow Farms, Winters, CA
September 27th, 2011
9:00am-3:00pm
The meeting will feature a panel of four speakers on IPM and specific pest management practices followed by a tour of the Hedgerow Farms. http://hedgerowfarms.com/aboutng.html
The agenda for the meeting will be posted later.
Lunch is available for ten dollars per person. Please let us know
A) if you are planning to attend,
B) if you'd like to purchase lunch on site and
C) if yes to lunch would you prefer an carnivorous, vegetarian or vegan repast.
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15. The siege of Leningrad
900 days of solitude
Aug 27th 2011 | from The Economist print edition
Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-44. By Anna Reid. WARTIME commemorations come round so often that the 70th anniversary of the siege of Leningrad may seem unremarkable. More attention is paid nowadays to the battles for Moscow and Stalingrad. Yet the collapse of the Soviet Union has made available a trove of new material. In the first full-length book on the siege since 1969, Anna Reid (a former Economist journalist) uses these records to compelling effect to tell this horrific and occasionally inspiring story.
There is no doubting its epic scale. Launched on September 8th 1941, the siege was the deadliest in history. It famously lasted for almost 900 days and killed some 750,000 civilians (almost one in three of the pre-war population) and about the same number of soldiers. The eventual expulsion of German forces has left an image of determined Soviet citizens holding out against frenzied Nazi attacks in freezing conditions. Dmitri Shostakovich’s bombastic “Leningrad” symphony, broadcast towards enemy lines in August 1942, has cemented this impression. Yet it is misleading, in two respects.
The first concerns the question of why the Germans never took the city. The answer, Ms Reid suggests, is that they did not really try. Soon after the siege began, the military focus switched to Moscow and then moved south. The Germans dropped fewer bombs on Leningrad than on London, and never offered terms for surrender. They did not want the responsibility of feeding 2.5m people. It was easier to let Leningrad’s inhabitants starve.
The second is that the terrible suffering of Leningrad owed as much to Soviet errors as to Nazi aggression. This goes beyond Stalin’s wilful refusal to prepare for an invasion, despite countless warnings. Ms Reid lists a string of catastrophic blunders: the delayed evacuation of Tallinn, which led to the worst-ever Soviet naval disaster, with 65 ships sunk; the deaths of thousands of young conscripts in the “People’s Levy”, who were thrown into the front-line with no training; the failure to evacuate Leningrad until too late; the criminal negligence in not stockpiling food.
The crunch came when Leningrad’s last land link was cut in early September. But the real pain began that winter, one of the coldest on record. This period, up to March 1942, forms the heart of the book. Famine set in early, as the daily individual ration fell to 125 grams or less of “bread” (often bulked out with sawdust or wallpaper paste). The personal diaries quoted by Ms Reid, many written by middle-class academics, artists, doctors and their families, offer a relentless drumroll of deaths, often attributed to “dystrophy”, not starvation. Entire families were wiped out. Dogs, cats and rats went too. A 12-year-old girl poignantly notes in her diary, “only Tanya is left”. Cannibalism was widespread, first of the dead and then of the living.
After this gruesome tale the easing of the siege comes as an anticlimax. Rail links were fitfully restored as the German army was pushed back. The “ice road” across Lake Ladoga let some supplies in and people out. By the winter of 1943 the end was in sight, though it took another year to lift the siege entirely.
Yet for all the celebrations of Stalin’s victory over Hitler, the aftermath was almost as grim. Harsh Soviet rule continued to cost lives. Stalin retained a deep suspicion of Leningrad, making life miserable for the city’s residents. It is an irony that Russia’s rulers today hail from St Petersburg, and they sometimes want to rehabilitate Stalin. Were Vladimir Putin ever to read this book, he would surely desist.
(JS: Not mentioned here is that Joseph Stalin discreetly got rid of all the heroes of the Leningrad siege. They were too heroic, and he didn't want heroes greater than himself. A bitter truth.)
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16.
At the Lake
A fish leaps
like a black pin --
then -- when the starlight
strikes its side --
like a silver pin.
In an instant
the fish's spine
alters the fierce line of rising
and it curls a little --
the head, like scalloped tin,
plunges back,
and it's gone.
This is, I think,
what holiness is:
the natural world,
where every moment is full
of the passion to keep moving.
Inside every mind
there's a hermit's cave
full of light,
full of snow,
full of concentration.
I've knelt there,
and so have you,
hanging on
to what you love,
to what is lovely.
The lake's
shining sheets
don't make a ripple now,
and the stars
are going off to their blue sleep,
but the words are in place --
and the fish leaps, and leaps again
from the black plush of the poem,
that breathless space.
~ Mary Oliver ~
(White Pine)
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17 Miscellany
The Chilean sea bass is listed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium on its Seafood Watch list and pocket guides as a fish to avoid due to overfishing and high levels of mercury.
Daily reminder--Vote for SaveNature.org: www.50statesforgood.com
