friday flickrs

cloud blanket this morning (bigger)

flickrs
get in here
sweet
--

tea flowers

good news

smoke

bits

after thinking about his new love for some time and not remembering the color of her eyes, looking at new york:

and then he saw a strange white cloud moving across the now golden face of the city's cliffs in the sunset. it changed shape and form as it flew about the towers like a whimsical ghost. he realized what it was—pigeons, millions of pigeons, in a cloud electrified by reflection. they wheeled across the skyline like particles of smoke in Brownian motion, caught brilliantly in a dark chamber by a clear stroke of light reverberating between a sky and floor of yellow brass. next to the bodies of the buildings they were like mites, or snow, or confetti, or dust...and yet they were one single flight, rising like a plume in the wind. Peter Lake knew from this that the city would take care, for it was a magical gate through which those who entered passed in innocent longing, taking every hope, showing touching courage—and for good reason. the city would take care. there was no choice but to trust the architect's dream that was spread before him as compact as an engine, solid and sure, shimmering over the glinting ice. he lay back, resigned until he saw her again not to know the color of her eyes.

and then he was suddenly overwhelmed. it was as if a thousand bolts of lightening had converged to lift him. all he could see was blue, electric blue, wet shining warm blue, blue with no end, everywhere, blue that glowed made him cry out, blue, blue, her eyes were blue.

such pretty words. this passage gave me the chills (but you may have to read the whole wonderful chapter to have that reaction). from winter's tale by Mark Helprin. the book is so good!

friday flickrs +

fika with my cousin karin
and this exhibit at sf center for the book

friday flickrs
texture (and a funny look)
80 yells at floretta (i like their names)
floretta and 80
beautiful snow and light and trees

the grand GG

the golden gate bridge is much taller when you walk across it than when you drive across.

today was my first walk across in eleven years of living here! so many times i've watched crowds of shorts-wearing tourists brace themselves against sharp, wet winds blowing into their pinched faces as they walk across and i sit inside a golden gate transit bus or a toasty car. and so often there is no view at all for all the fog. but today was a perfect day for a GG stroll, as you can see.

all hearts day

that's what it's called in swedish. happy valentine's day to you.

♥ this hot pink voracious painting by my friend oona. a good one to be devoured by today.

♥ that 3191 is back on.

♥ these lovers (or friends)

book review: fruitless fall

wanted to recommend fruitless fall by rowan jacobsen to you all. the book is about the honey bee and colony collapse disorder (CCD), which is a serious threat to the honey bee (and therefor to life as we know it). while the topic is frightening and depressing, jacobsen managed to completely engage me in his book. almost every page is filled with fascinating information about bees and pollination and how bees are essential to us for so many reasons. even the more scientific info is really accessible.

i recommend reading this book in conjunction with the omnivore's dilemma, because CCD is almost certainly caused by the effects of industrial agriculture. for me it reiterates the urgent need to transform our broken agricultural system. in fruitless fall, jacobsen examines the myriad of factors that have been considered in trying to figure out why CCD is happening. in the end, CCD is mostly likely due to a combination of factors including:

*pesticide, herbicide and fungicide use (and the complete lack of studies on how various pesiticides, etc. react/combine with each other to become potentially exponentially more harmful) (pesticide use is probably the most influential factor. did you know pesticide safety is determined by test results reported BY THE PESTICIDE MAKERS!)
*the transport of hives (trucked cross country and flown between countries)
*bees forced to feed on monocrops (like almonds)
*habitat loss (lack of competition with wild bees, lack of varied nutrient sources)
*use of corn syrup to feed bees
*climate change
*development of wild and farm land (blocks flower scents)
*noise
*possibly even the structure of traditional bee boxes.

jacobsen goes into detail about how all of the above affects the honey bee, and i think you will be surprised by a lot of what you learn about these factors and how they interrelate.

so good! now i want to read some books he recommends, including the forgotten pollinators.

let me know what you think/thought of the book!

bee links
pollinator partnership
bee spotter

cross-posted at sew green

community garden start

i'm very excited to hopefully be starting a little community garden in the backyard. (just gotta clear it with the neighbors who share the yard.)

today jen and mati and i attended a free urban composting class at the awesome Garden for the Environment. what a great little place. SF has so much cool stuff going on.

then we went to Flora Grubb for some inspiration (though not a lot of purchasing—expensive). but look at those colors! you can view that succulent wall bigger in my new community garden set. ;-)

we're starting with compost and beds, but we also hear chickens clucking in our future...
here's a short article and video about chicken owners in the bay area.

flowers and diamonds

top: lithuanian folk embroidery (which reminds me of swedish embroidery) from an old selvedge issue.
bottom: from the neighborhood. i like the diamonds on the house.

how cute is this retrovore logo?! am going to have to have a listen to the podcasts too.

fresh

top: from an old selvedge issue: christina kim
bottom: from the backyard

i'm glad it's a new month and new week. it's so pretty out here today.