4/3/10 - Fryman Canyon, Studio City, CA
Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Costal Cleanup Day 2009 - Balboa Park LA River site
I recently realized I never said anything about Coastal Cleanup day back in September!
LA River cleanups in the Balboa Park area are super easy to reach by public transportation. I caught the Red Line to North Hollywood and then got off one Orange Line stop too early (Woodley instead of Balboa) and just ended up walking to the next stop near the cleanup site. Although I was somewhat annoyed with myself, I did enjoy the walk someplace that I had never walked before.
walking over the LA River on Victory....
Although I've walked from the Balboa Orange Line station to the LA River a few times, I had never realized the street was lined with pecan trees!
Growing up in Texas we'd go to the park and pick pecans in the fall. Then we'd go home and used the hefty nut crackers and have a supply of pecans for the next year.
The Cleanup site was well marked this year, which was exciting. Last year there was a little issue at this same cleanup spot and the people with the supplies were on the opposite of the street from when the rest of the people were for the clean up. It was a little weird and confusing though because the first thing I saw was a giant truck and people bar-b-queing
I'm not sure if this is where the money went from the Friends of the Los Angeles River cleanup a few months ago or what, but there were way more accommodations at this clean up than any of the others I've attended at this same site. There were lines of tents, more junk food than normal as well as tools! Some were more suited for different areas (like the rakes and brooms), but the shovels and hoes were much appreciated.
instead of wandering east where we had just cleaned a couple of months ago, we wandered east under the bridge over Balboa to the other side of the street.
The large number of kids at this clean up when compared to some previous ones was encouraging
A peek into my bag. As usual most of the stuff was plastic - bags, straws, wrappers, random broken items. The hoe allowed us to more easily get at some thing that were otherwise unreachable during some other clean ups.
At one point my boyfriend and I were digging away and a large group of kids, maybe around 10, came stomping through the plants declaring that there was no more trash! Oh no! I wish I had more time to educate them outside of saying "there is a lot more if you look closely!" I think my boyfriend and I spent about 20 minutes just in this area and we only left before we needed more water.
unreachable plastic hanging from the trees
Progress made with the aid of the shovels! A group of people were working on this for a while and they had trouble leaving this behind unfinished. I told them there are other cleanup events here throughout the years, so I hope they get a chance to come back and make progress before it's covered again...
Another example of the work people did with the shovels and hoes! I happened to take a picture of this same bin when we went to a Friends of the LA River clean up earlier in the summer.
More people working until the last minute! This clean up was also weird in that the people sponsoring it had much of the 'stuff' they brought cleaned up and put away before noon, when the clean up ended. In the past it seemed like things didn't end so abruptly at noon.
A portion of the trash when we finished up at noon. Some of the trash had already been hauled away!
LA River cleanups in the Balboa Park area are super easy to reach by public transportation. I caught the Red Line to North Hollywood and then got off one Orange Line stop too early (Woodley instead of Balboa) and just ended up walking to the next stop near the cleanup site. Although I was somewhat annoyed with myself, I did enjoy the walk someplace that I had never walked before.
walking over the LA River on Victory....
Although I've walked from the Balboa Orange Line station to the LA River a few times, I had never realized the street was lined with pecan trees!
Growing up in Texas we'd go to the park and pick pecans in the fall. Then we'd go home and used the hefty nut crackers and have a supply of pecans for the next year.
The Cleanup site was well marked this year, which was exciting. Last year there was a little issue at this same cleanup spot and the people with the supplies were on the opposite of the street from when the rest of the people were for the clean up. It was a little weird and confusing though because the first thing I saw was a giant truck and people bar-b-queing
I'm not sure if this is where the money went from the Friends of the Los Angeles River cleanup a few months ago or what, but there were way more accommodations at this clean up than any of the others I've attended at this same site. There were lines of tents, more junk food than normal as well as tools! Some were more suited for different areas (like the rakes and brooms), but the shovels and hoes were much appreciated.
instead of wandering east where we had just cleaned a couple of months ago, we wandered east under the bridge over Balboa to the other side of the street.
The large number of kids at this clean up when compared to some previous ones was encouraging
A peek into my bag. As usual most of the stuff was plastic - bags, straws, wrappers, random broken items. The hoe allowed us to more easily get at some thing that were otherwise unreachable during some other clean ups.
At one point my boyfriend and I were digging away and a large group of kids, maybe around 10, came stomping through the plants declaring that there was no more trash! Oh no! I wish I had more time to educate them outside of saying "there is a lot more if you look closely!" I think my boyfriend and I spent about 20 minutes just in this area and we only left before we needed more water.
unreachable plastic hanging from the trees
Progress made with the aid of the shovels! A group of people were working on this for a while and they had trouble leaving this behind unfinished. I told them there are other cleanup events here throughout the years, so I hope they get a chance to come back and make progress before it's covered again...
Another example of the work people did with the shovels and hoes! I happened to take a picture of this same bin when we went to a Friends of the LA River clean up earlier in the summer.
More people working until the last minute! This clean up was also weird in that the people sponsoring it had much of the 'stuff' they brought cleaned up and put away before noon, when the clean up ended. In the past it seemed like things didn't end so abruptly at noon.
A portion of the trash when we finished up at noon. Some of the trash had already been hauled away!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Book Review - Corvus: A Life with Birds
Corvus: A Life with Birds by Esther Woolfson is a beautifully and lovingly written memoir. After receiving a few doves, Woolfson and her family soon take in a variety of wanted, unwanted and fallen baby birds including a cockatiel, rook, magpie, starling and crow to become members of the family. Woolfson understands both the costs and benefits of keeping some of these wild birds at home, but takes the time to understand and love these birds as best she can, especially the Corvids. The book itself is a mixture of her personal stories mixed in with natural history of the birds species. She researches the way they are portrayed in culture compared to their nature and personal quirks. She pulls you into her world, describing the sometimes minute details of the birds and their behavior, putting a smile on your face or tears in your eyes at the appropriate moment to make you feel something a bit more for some of the few wild animal we still interact with regularly when outside.
I must admit that I have a fascination with birds, so this book was especially relatable and touching to me. I grew up with a parrot at home, who is the closet thing I'll ever have to an older sibling, so I understood some of the relationships being described of man and bird. I also know a couple people who have had crows before and seem to gush with the same sort of love that Woolfson does. Although this book doesn't have such an intense "green" leaning, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in birds, understanding the relationship between man and other animals, nature or if you need a little bit of light reading between some of those more intense environmental books.
birds, Solvang, CA 2007
I must admit that I have a fascination with birds, so this book was especially relatable and touching to me. I grew up with a parrot at home, who is the closet thing I'll ever have to an older sibling, so I understood some of the relationships being described of man and bird. I also know a couple people who have had crows before and seem to gush with the same sort of love that Woolfson does. Although this book doesn't have such an intense "green" leaning, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in birds, understanding the relationship between man and other animals, nature or if you need a little bit of light reading between some of those more intense environmental books.
birds, Solvang, CA 2007
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
1 Year Car-Free
I've been so busy the past week that I forgot to mention it was my 1 year anniversary of being car-free! For the most part, the year was what I expected. I saved more money that I thought I would (although my work increased the reimbursement for not driving to work as well). I've discovered countless small businesses in my neighborhood near home and work that I simply wasn't looking for in the past. I can now confidently rack up bike mileage in the double digits in a day without feeling like I was about to die. I've found beautiful little gardens and places to bike. I've still been able to make sure the recycling program continues at work (one of the last errands I did weekly with my car!) It's been good for the most part.
I had some difficulties until I learned what I needed to do to plan my transportation. My boyfriend was extremely helpful at times in filling in the holes with public transportation service gaps, getting places that are more difficult to reach without public transportation and helping carry larger things. I actually haven't driven at all since my car accident where my car and I parted ways. Granted I know my car-free transition was already most of the way there compared to some others - next month will be 4 years since I started riding the train to work, but taking that last step is scary in some ways. I had already flirted with the idea of getting rid of my car, but I still didn't know how to handle my pets, the recycling at work, my recycling at home and other thing. I managed to work around them all and purchased a new bike to help me out with getting to some of those places on my own (I still dream of biking to the Burbank airport at some point, only I doubt they have long term bicycle parking!) and only had 2 flats along the way :)
at a unknown intersection in the West Hills/Canoga Park area, 7/24/09
I had some difficulties until I learned what I needed to do to plan my transportation. My boyfriend was extremely helpful at times in filling in the holes with public transportation service gaps, getting places that are more difficult to reach without public transportation and helping carry larger things. I actually haven't driven at all since my car accident where my car and I parted ways. Granted I know my car-free transition was already most of the way there compared to some others - next month will be 4 years since I started riding the train to work, but taking that last step is scary in some ways. I had already flirted with the idea of getting rid of my car, but I still didn't know how to handle my pets, the recycling at work, my recycling at home and other thing. I managed to work around them all and purchased a new bike to help me out with getting to some of those places on my own (I still dream of biking to the Burbank airport at some point, only I doubt they have long term bicycle parking!) and only had 2 flats along the way :)
at a unknown intersection in the West Hills/Canoga Park area, 7/24/09
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
the beginning
For the past 8 years I've lived in Southern California. The first 4 in the Inland Empire, 3 of those without a car. The last 4 in the San Fernando Valley with a car, but used minimally in the last 3 years after trading my car for the LA Metro Rail System. Recently, liberated of car ownership. I grew up in Texas where there wasn't much to walk to, but there was a great deal of space and large mammals on farms all around. Living in an urban area and walking around as part of your transportation allows you to notice different things, like that the only animals I really see outside are birds. There are squirrels and lizards and the occasional opossum, mouse, rat or coyote, but most species of animals I see are birds. There are the expected pigeons, doves and crows. There are also seagulls, finches, various hawks, hummingbirds, kingfishers, weird little birds with black mohawks and random flocks of parrots and who knows what else.
Hence the name, flapflap and the address of dribpalf.blogspot.com (flapbird, backward).
As for the blog, I'll probably focus on more of the environmentally friendly decisions I make and life as I am living it. I hope to gather a lot of the information I've picked up and observed about some of these things over the years into one place. I hope to motivate myself to do some of the projects I've been thinking about for a while. I hope it is useful to someone else and if nothing else, I hope the pictures are enjoyable some of the time.
Hence the name, flapflap and the address of dribpalf.blogspot.com (flapbird, backward).
As for the blog, I'll probably focus on more of the environmentally friendly decisions I make and life as I am living it. I hope to gather a lot of the information I've picked up and observed about some of these things over the years into one place. I hope to motivate myself to do some of the projects I've been thinking about for a while. I hope it is useful to someone else and if nothing else, I hope the pictures are enjoyable some of the time.
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