The other night I woke at 3am. I had slept enough and was just relaxing for a bit before I would get up to start working.
To my surprise, Jill says in a completely clear and seemingly awake way, “You can’t control what others do, but you can control what you do”. I replied, “Right on!”. I was hoping to have an extended conversation with her sleep philosopher. Alas, I was grateful for a solitary pearl because you can’t control what others do. 
Date________ Sunrise_ Sunset_ Length of Day_ Solar noon
Jun 21, 2011_ 5:48 AM_ 8:35 PM_ 14h 46m 53s_ 1:12 PM
Jun 22, 2011_ 5:48 AM_ 8:35 PM_ 14h 46m 51s_ 1:12 PM
Jun 23, 2011_ 5:49 AM_ 8:35 PM_ 14h 46m 46s_ 1:12 PM
from http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunrise.html
for San Francisco, CA.
This is the longest day of the year, and the sunrise was beautiful in Santa Cruz. The moon was hanging high in the sky, there was a pink hue everywhere and the temperature was around 60F. The birds were active and it was a nice start to the summer solstice.
Today the North Pole is pointed most directly toward the sun. It would be the warmest day of the year, but the oceans require a month and a half of lag time between the longest day and the warmest day (NASA). However, it is going to reach 89F today. With all the micro-climates around here, I’m sure the range will be 85F to 95F along the 10 mile stretch between where I live in the Santa Cruz mountains and UC Santa Cruz.
This marks the beginning of summer, which is synonymous with backpacking in the California wilderness. This spring I replaced my nearly twenty year old tent and backpack. My threshold was finding both a tent and backpack that weigh less than 5 pounds total. The Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 person ultra light free standing tent weighs just over 2 lbs with the rainfly and all, while the Osprey Exos 58 weighs just under 3 lbs. It was the quickest way to shed some major weight.
I engineered a mechanism on the backpack which allows my fly rod to fall down about 16 inches when I lift the backpack and slide up when I put the pack on the ground. This will keep it from catching on overhead branches. The wilderness backpacking trips are really just excuses to do high Sierra fly fishing for trout.
My oil painting has been sorely neglected for the past few years. Sometime in December 2010, I started a painting which was going to be my interpretation of Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over The Rhone. I put some blue on the top part of the canvas and then it stalled.
Today, I pulled out two blue oils that I probably bought 6 months ago, but never tested. Combining both the oil paints with mineral spirits, I used a fan brush to wash the whole canvas. The paints have a really deep, lush feel. With the weather reaching the mid-80′s now, the wash may dry in just a few days.
The new painting looks just like water. I had a dream last night of this painting. The vision was of a huge wave. It doesn’t get more idiomatic than to paint the surfer’s dream wave while in Santa Cruz, CA.
Perhaps I should start several paintings together. This first one may have begun a bit too dark. It also fits into my genre of painting series, such as the sunset series or the red grass series. This could be the beginning of the wave series.
Update 1: June 16.
The wave series could have 3 geometrically proportionate frames. There could be three paintings of sizes 12″ x 36″, 10″ x 30″ and 8″ x 24. They could be hung with the smallest at eye level and each successive larger one hung at a higher point. It would be interesting to tie them together with the progression of a wave building, turning into a perfect barrel and then crashing into the intertidal region. The progression of the wave would be to the left, absolutely not a right; no tribute to the goofy footed. It may be apropos to include The Pleasure Point Night Fighters insignia somewhere in the largest painting.
Taking stock, it looks like I only have 2: 26″ stretchers and 2: 48″ stretchers. My raw silk, organic hemp and linen canvases are all too small in at least one dimension. The canvases are all from Haight St. in San Francisco, collected sometime in the middle Naughts, perhaps 2004. The new series could all have the same canvas material. Looks as though stops at Hart’s fabric store on Seabright Ave and Lenz Fine Arts Supply on River St are due.
Update 2: June 22.
At Hart’s I found an organic cotton fabric which was very smooth. I was a little worried that the Gesso would soak right through, but with a light first application it worked splendidly. With this success I’m going to go back to Hart’s and buy another yard and the other stretching bars. Hopefully I can be patient enough to put the proper number of coats on that will allow it to be completely smooth. Sometimes with thick canvas I can lose patience while sanding and Gesso-ing.
TIL that there are keys for canvases. When a canvas is not completely taught, it will sag against the stretchers and collect extra paint. This can happen if it gets too wet from mineral spirits, Gesso or just oil paint. So there are small wedges of wood that can be inserted into the corners of the frame. These keys can then be hammered further in the separate the corners, thus providing more stretch. Simply brilliant, hahaha.
Ten years ago, I had decided to move to NYC to become a bike messenger. It was a goal that never came to fruition. Instead of becoming a bike messenger, I sequenced the mouse genome. An even trade? Not sure.
You see, a month before I moved, I blew out my knee biking up a steep hill. It took 7 months for that to heal. During which time I couldn’t even pedal one rotation without agony. Eventually it healed with some Taekwondo training.
This morning I was reminiscing about biking through Manhattan, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Watching Alleycat races and finding fun vids on the Youtube like this one. Dog Paw may have it all figured out.
On a barefoot walk in the redwoods of UC Santa Cruz upper campus, I decided to do a bit of hiking off trail. That’s when there appeared a very interesting structure being built in a fairy ring of redwoods. After a short climb up the trees, it was very nice to lie on the hammock like webbing and gaze at the tree tops a hundred feet above. Here is a vid of the 2.5 levels.
“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
— Bob Marley
Last night there were two baby birds which had fallen out of their nest at my house. These Empidonax, or flycatchers were huddled together on the ground next to the house in a low area. With a severe rain storm bearing down on Santa Cruz, these two were in the wrong place. They never would have survived on the ground.
I gathered them into a box with a couple of old socks and let them overnight in the house. These birds were the cutest things I’ve ever seen. When I opened the box this morning they looked up and started to chirp. Each was barely the size of a ping pong ball, yet had these disproportionately large beaks.
This morning the nest had also fallen to the ground. So I attached an Earth Balance spread container with a screw to the inconspicuous shelf where the nest was originally built. The nest was placed in the container with the two young Empidonax.
The parents were seen earlier this morning, but haven’t yet been observed visiting the young in their new abode. If the parents do not return to the young birds by night fall, I will probably bring them back inside for warmth. Then in the morning I can take them to the Santa Cruz County Native Animal Rescue.
Due to the strong rain, the original spot where the birds were found has become inundated. It has been rough weather for an introduction to the Santa Cruz mountains. They too were not expecting to see any more rain this season.
Update 1: June 4.
I quietly looked around the corner and listened. The baby was chirping away. The mother flew to the lemon tree, then the redwood and finally up to the baby Empidonax. The mother flew away and the father flew up right after. The family is back together.
Update 2: June 22.
A couple of nights ago I put a mirror up to the nest to see if the young Empidonax survived. The nest was clear of the young birds, so I image that they fledged. However, I think I saw another 3 eggs in the Earth Balance container. Buyah!
For the person who invented pizza:
Did she turn to her co-conspirator,
raise her hand to her cheek and whisper,
“What if they find out it is
bread, tomatoes and vegetables?”
I believe this moment has come.
Semifreddi’s sourdough seeded baguette
sliced between the top and bottom,
lightly toast the halves,
add sliced Canadian Kumato tomatoes,
very thinly sliced organic red onion,
freshly hydrated hummus
(Like the embellishment?
A chef should flourish
when an ingredient
does not pass muster.),
red chili pepper flakes,
ground pepper,
olive oil…
Yummmmmm!
This morning I started coming down with a cold. It began with a pain in my chest, a sore throat, then went to my head and nose. Now, in the evening, I’m ready for bed at 7 pm. I drank some juice, ate some soup and just need to lie down. Is there something eloquent to say about catching a cold? Is there a philosophy out there on how it makes us better people to travel through adversity? Eh, it just sucks.
I knew something was up last night. I went for a run out the ridge with Mags. I almost quit after 5 miles. I can’t remember the last time I ran less than 6 miles. It was a very different run. I was pausing nearly every half mile. In the end I sprinted the last mile to reach 6. But it was really hard. I was expecting to do 12 miles. So almost not making 6 was messing with my head. Anyhow, it just sucked.
My last bit of rant today is going to fall on my soup. I made a ton of black bean soup this weekend. I forgot to add black trumpet mushrooms! Potatoes may have helped thicken it up. Furthermore, how can I make a soup without jalapeño peppers?! It’s not bad soup. It just doesn’t burn your face off. Its name is Shark Bite Soup. After having many bowls in one day, the dream produced was me pushing away a great white shark that wanted to gnaw on my belly. All and all, it just sucks.
So if you will excuse me, I’m going to go back to becoming sick… You know, yeah… Things will be OK. It’s just a cold. Peace.
This spring I spent a bit of time collecting seeds from fruits which were very tasty. The first fruit was an amazing heirloom tomato. It was huge, juicy and delicious. After extracting a dozen seeds, they were allowed to dry on a paper napkin for two weeks. The egg holding portion of an egg carton filled with soil would serve as the seeding bed. These beds were placed in several recyclable plastic trays to catch water. With a couple of seeds planted an inch deep in each well, soil packed and watered: it would be about 9 days until they broke through the surface.
Once these new seedlings had breached the soil surface, their summer setting needed to be planned. Living on top of a mountain there were plenty of animals to consider before planting. Deer are plentiful here and have even walked up on my porch to eat my entire ripe blueberry harvest. Gophers are everywhere and will eat the roots of just about anything you put in the ground. Even fruit trees are planted in a wire mesh cage to prevent their roots from ending up as an afternoon gopher snack. Basically we plant vegetables in raised beds, constructed as open top wooden boxes. So it wasn’t a stretch to put a couple of troughs on the porch and hope for the best.
Having enough space to accommodate more plants, I planted red bell pepper seeds and most germinated. I also germinated thai chili seeds which were three years old. As a natural pesticide I planted some small, dried up garlic cloves at the borders of the trough. Sauteed garlic flowers will just be amazing.
A couple of weeks ago I was transferring dried black beans to a jar. From a klutz move, many of the beans fell to the counter and floor. The ones which fell on the floor I decided to plant in a 2.5′ square raised bed. I just hand-tilled the dirt and worked the beans an inch or two deep. I then poured five gallons of water into the raised bed and covered it with bird exclusion wire. Now there are 20 black bean plants sprouting.
My blueberry bush is about six years old. This year it has produced more blueberries than ever. There has been a steady increase in the yield of this one bush. Now it is up to a full pint. It is definitely a worthwhile plant to include in your garden as a good step toward permaculture.
I left some kumquats lie around for a bit too long. So, they ended up as seeding fodder. I was able to harvest more than a dozen seeds which ranged in size from 2-5mm in thickness. I planted them in order of their size to see if there was a cutoff where size mattered. Unfortunately none have germinated. Citrus plants require quite a bit of patience. My orange and lemon trees have been very slow growers. Furthermore, they have nearly perished from many freezing nights in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Next on my list to plant are Camellia red kidney beans. These are the standard for red beans and rice, New Orleans style. Frankly speaking, there are no other red beans that come close. I just placed an online order for 5 pounds of these beans. Once they arrive a handful are going into the ground. I’d also like to plant a plot of green onions, carrots and celery. This would round out my soup making needs.
I have a couple of experiments running with two onions and a celery plant. Half of an unused onioin with an intact core decided to shoot up a great sprout. I threw it in the ground to see what would happen. Along this same thread, I wondered if I cut the outer 80% from a large red onion, if the inner core would sprout and grow a new onion. Is it possible to grow onions from the core of onions? We’ll see. Still further along this thread, is it possible to grow a celery plant from its central core? I placed the innermost leftover bit of celery in a glass of water. I may have cut too much of the roots away, but we’ll also see how that one turns out.
Some of my other recent adventures in horticulture have included: growing white pines from seeds collected from high Sierra Mountain pine cones, rooting a willow branch from San Francisco which has sprouted again for a third year, and potting a red raspberry plant which over winters and produces year after year.
I’ve recently discovered the wonders of potash. Liquid seaweed acts to suppress many plant maladies such as leaf curl on my peach tree, mold on the egg cartons of seedlings and perhaps even deter some insects. It even acts as a fertilizer. Lastly it makes your porch smell in a rather pleasant way like the beach.
