Project Puffin!

Road Kill

Don't you think all of our streets could use this reminder?

Photography: Naturally

When Olivia began bird watching at five years old, it was at close range at our feeders, but as her interest in birding grew, it became important for her to not only see birds in their natural habitat, but to document what she saw. This year Olivia had the chance to test drive her new Tamron zoom lens on Eastern Egg Rock as part of her visit to Project Puffin. Here are some of her shots--demonstrating how the zoom capacity allowed her to get up close and personal with birds which might have otherwise been scared off.
As humans encroach on more and more natural habitat, Project Puffin, a seabird restoration project in Maine started by ornithologist Dr. Stephen Kress, demonstrates the steps people can take to help birds find suitable habitat for nesting and may be the key to preventing extinction for species like Roseate Terns. If you would like to support Project Puffin, please consider bidding on the original painting Olivia donated to them.

The Cost of Green Lawns

What's with the lawns, people? Scotts is developing a genetically modified bluegrass for golf courses, and we all know it's a matter of time before it makes its way to homes across America. Not regulated by the agriculture department or the EPA, we all can write the next line of this story--- INVASIVE SPECIES! Like kudzoo's march through the South, we'll then be scrambling to contain the grass at considerable cost financially and environmentally.
Our obsession with a green lawn borders on insanity. Pesticide use for grass is off the charts, especially on Long Island, where run-off and aquifers are of scant concern in light of the lure of a lawn. Then teams of fossil-fuel burning lawn mowers and leaf blowers plow through our neighborhoods, all for a crop that feeds no one, not even birds, which is then watered with a precious resource: drinkable water.
So here's my proposal-- Charge a HUGE tax on pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Encourage people to appreciate natural looking lawns, to plant native plants to feed animals, or to cultivate crops to feed people.

Bay Shore Site Visit

Net Zero residence doesn't need to be synonymous with discomfort. This project is both efficient and comfortable. In fact, take a close look at the meter. Despite a cool interior temperature inside of 74 degrees in 95 degree weather, this meter reads 2 KW thanks to the 11KW solar array on site. The craftsmanship of construction done by Telemark is top quality, quite a feat considering the complexity of the design and decor. By using a variety of textures and design elements, this new house has a warm flow to it, feeling almost as if it's always been there.

Julia and Avis

Looking for a good summer read? I've been enjoying the letters between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto, compiled in As Always, Julia. It is fascinating to see how their transatlantic friendship grows thanks to the quality of their writing and the depth of their intellect. Filled with references to the McCarthy trials of the 1950's, the process of creating Child's materpiece of a cookbook, and even where to find the right kind of onion, the book provides an insight into the era and into a friendship. It makes me miss letter writing-- for who will compile a series of emails in the same way?
Child's newfound popularity is no surprise to those who have read her memoir, My Life in France. The book is a passionate recount of her evolution from OSS member to supreme foodie. In our world of increasing electronica, the physical sensations inherent in cooking are clearly a draw. And yet it is Julia's irrepressible nature that catpivates us all. She grabs life with both hands, takes on challenges with gusto, and surrounds herself with people who do the same.

July 4th: Power Off!

Most of us spend 4th of July outside with loved ones, enjoying an ear of corn on the cob and a slice of watermelon to celebrate our freedoms. Meanwhile inside our homes sit humming cable boxes, always at the ready. Last week, the NYT cited cable boxes as our nation's number one energy drain: not refrigerators, not lights, but cable boxes, which often sit unused for great percentages of the day. My cable company gave me three boxes as part of my package, and I can say there are two that sit there in the 'off' position for days on end, simply functioning as clocks. The Times reports that even in the off position, these boxes still pull tremendous amounts of energy. True, they could have been made to be more efficient by cable companies, much like their European counterparts, but no, US companies didn't think to do that, assuming the American consumer wouldn't tolerate waiting for their box to boot up as their computer does. Instead, the boxes suck energy, driving us to consume more resources for no real reason. Why does it require government regulation to get companies to do the right thing? If and when the government says, hey, wait a minute cable folks, we did away with antenna broadcast airwaves, at LEAST make these boxes energy efficient, the corporations will cry, oh no we hate big government, we can regulate ourselves, and now we'll have to charge more to our customers to redesign and replace these boxes which now need to be tossed in the landfill. What, the cable company didn't know there was an energy crisis? Must have been watching the Casey Anthony trial that day.
Anyway, for my patriotic duty, I have put my cable boxes on power strips and off they go-- freedom from consumption.

Ray's Boxes

For those of you following this blog regularly, you are well aware of artist Ray Johnson's use of the postal system as part of his art performance. The act of mailing art and having it arrive on the doorstep of a lucky recipient was the key to his NY Correspondence School. And it wasn't just artwork that was often sent. Boxes filled with odds and ends from junk drawers, postcards, tennis balls, bric-a-brack were sent to special friends-- somewhat like receiving a Joseph Cornell piece in a cardboard box. Last week at Esopus in NYC, collagist Bob Warner shared with the viewing public the three boxes he had received from Ray before Ray's death in 1995. By unpacking, and then repacking the boxes, Warner resurrected Ray's ability to turn even the simplest, everyday act into a full-blown performance art piece.
photo by Louise Millmann, film by Nicholas Maravell