Persistence

 
At the end of the Pelham Bay 6 train line. . .











. . .high above a bustling Bronx street,

life's persistence never ceases to delight and amaze. . .

. . .each and every day.

In the Heart of Midtown...

. . .a different kind of pulse.

Wiggly Worm

Saw this little guy in Bryant Park, during one of my lunch time walks. . .

. . .not sure what brought him outside that day. 

When I was a little girl, I remember that when it rained the earth worms would come up out of the ground onto the sidewalk.

My teachers always cautioned us not to step on them, because they were beneficial. . .

. . .so I didn't, even though I still thought they were kind of icky.

It's been a long time since I've seen earth worms when it rains. . .

PoetryPeek: Haiku

by Stephen W. Leslie
(originally published in the International "Kusamakura" haiku competition, 2011)

~~~~~~~~

Her far away look

Tire swing on a nearby tree

The missing children

Thanks Stephen!

Gone Fishin'

This weekend, I participated  in one of the Lower East Side Ecology Center's (LESEC) "catch & release" fishing clinics. The LESEC is a local non-profit, providing programming to teach the public about environmental issues facing New York City.


The clinic was held at Pier 42, a recently opened green space along the East River. They sponsor programs and activities to help the public reconnect with the waterfront and show that it can be a valuable amenity and educational resource.

I was able to successfully bait my hook without goring myself
and practiced casting my line, which is not as easy as you think!

A fish was caught. . . (to eventually be released). . . but unfortunately not by me!

My "catch" of the day consisted of a bit of discarded cable that ended up in the river (seen dangling from my fishing rod, in the picture immediately above).

However, various marine life had taken up residence on it and made it their home. . .
. . .sort of like an artificial cable reef!

That's good enough for me!

Just Duckies!

Interior Design

Field of Favors

In her art installation "Favors", Queens based artist, Priscilla Stadler invited New Yorkers to challenge the stereotype that they are cold, rude and uncaring by asking them to do favors for friends, family and even strangers, or to observe and note others doing these things.

Then, she asked them to describe these "acts of kindness" in a single sentence and send them to her, which she later transcribed onto green paper spirals.


Finally, she suspended them, much like hanging vines, from the ceiling of a Long Island City  gallery (the Space Gallery).


She called this "The Field of Favors".

What I found particularly interesting about this project was the way it rendered the abstract,

     that is, those mechanisms which contribute to effective and resilient social systems

                        relationships. . .

                              their nature and quality. . .

                                        often defined by reciprocity and inter-dependency. . .

into a tangible and collective, community experience!

Leave it to the artists!

GuestPeek: Permie Peek-A-Boo

Out exploring the nature trails at Orchard Beach (Pelham Bay Park - Bronx, NY) last week. . .
 

. . .saw this little guy poking out his head a moment, before he retreated back inside his itty bitty hole.

An unexpected treat during an afternoon outing!

The Uncaged Birds

Fall Fireworks

 


I look forward to. . .

. . .the colorful display

. . .of these two trees

 . . .every year.

GuestPeek: Royal Rest Stop

Each fall, millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and the U.S, down to central Mexico.

My friend Susan snapped these images last weekend down in Cape May, NJ which happens to be one of the places they stop to rest and refuel, during this amazing 2000 mile journey.


However, human activity (e.g. pesticide use) and encroachment and destruction of their habitat and breeding sites (e.g illegal logging at monarch reserves) pose threats to their survival. You can read more about some of the research being undertaken regarding this annual migration via the Monarch Monitoring Project at BirdCapeMay.Org.

 
Thanks again Susan!

GuestPeek: Where a Tree Once Stood

In permaculture, the "edge" is a dynamic, unique place, often filled with great beauty.


However, where Earth meets Water, it can also be terrifying in it's power to reshape or reclaim.

These images (thanks Paula!) reflect the erosion occurring on the beach at Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina. 

For the past three years, my uncle Doug, has been documenting the long, but inexorable slide of the land back into the sea.




You can check out some of his footage here:

• Where a Tree Once Stood - this tree finally succumbed to the forces of Nature on the evening of September 1, 2010 in the wake of Hurricane Earl.

• Hunting Island State Park Beach Erosion Erosion Project (8/08 - 4/11) and Hunting Island State Park, Cabin Road: The Final Chapter - there were once 13 cabins for recreational use on Hunting Island.  However, with the sea's encroachment between 2008 and 2011 they have all had to be demolished, especially after access via Cabin Road, was washed out.

Operation Wendy's

This fence happens to border the drive-thru of a Wendy's restaurant.

These vines look like reconnaissance scouts.  Maybe they're planning a reclamation initiative!

Morning Visitor

I happened to look out the window this morning and saw these two odd shapes sticking out on either side of one of the bars on my fire escape. At first I thought it was a piece of plastic bag that had somehow blown and got stuck there.

A few minutes later, I looked again and saw that it was a dragon fly! It was sitting so still that I didn't think it was something alive.

I've never seen one in the city before, but it sure was a nice way to start the day!