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Summer Bounty

6/30/2013

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Organic nectarines, strawberries, boysenberries, raspberries, shavings of dark chocolate, touch of apricot jam, set on a lemon/orange pastry cream and a delicate crust.
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Blenheim Apricots from Marie's Carmel Valley garden. Sweet and a little tart, firm with just enough softness, juicy... just the way apricots should be!
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Solstice Gathering June 21, 2013

6/30/2013

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Marie reading a poem by Maya Angelou. Mary Cunov holding candle.
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Listening.
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Solstice Being.
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Flycatchers fledged - June 23, 2013

6/28/2013

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Two days before fledging...
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Contemplating first flight into the world... Are we ready to support its needs?
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Baby Flycatchers, June 19th, 2013

6/19/2013

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First day to see the wings forming...and so quickly! Took the picture at about 9:00 p.m. One thing you can't see with this photograph was the gentle movement of their bodies from their beating hearts. Earlier today I was going to get a photograph but the mother was coming to fed them. At that time, the feathers were not this well defined. They may fledge by Saturday...
And for another kind of bird....check out the solar airplane at this website. it has successfully made it across the United States. You can listen to their interview on the Diane Rehm show here. Their messages....to inspire people and help them believe in the power of their dreams...Their goal is also to create a revolution in the minds of people showing how renewable energy can become a reality in people's daily lives.
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Baby Flycatchers getting bigger!

6/18/2013

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June 17, 2013
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June 18, 2013
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Alligator Lizard and baby flycatchers

6/15/2013

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Alligator lizard crawling out from under the backyard stone patio.
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I stop to watch a lizard.

The lizard stops to watch me.

As I crouch

he too, bends.

Deathly still,

thousand year eye

locked in vision.


Vision of this monstrous being

in trance of absolute wonder

by minute, fine detail

of reptilian armor.

Every scale in beautiful, perfect succession

His skin sings -

sings of enigmatic creation.

Delicate patterns drawn down

to the last point

of each keenly sensitive toe;

clean to the end of his tail.

A glove of most precise fit.


His beady eye still

still eyes me.


He steals away from my vision’s 

stage of demand

Back to quiescent darkness;

darkness of which my white soul

whispers for crystalline, pungent soil.

From whence this lizard rose.

© Paola Berthoin, 2004


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Four Baby Flycatchers Sleeping and Getting Bigger!
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Second Flycatcher Brood

6/12/2013

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No bigger than my finger nail and a day later baby flycatchers are already showing signs of darkening feathers taking shape. Barely audible peeps, instinctual waiting for food. Mother and father out, hard at work finding food in my garden. Good reason to keep it wild and natural. No need to clean things up. This is where they find what they need for their fragile young.

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Chasing Ice now available

6/8/2013

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You can now see Chasing Ice, the incredible documentary of the melting ice fields in the Arctic. Click here to go to  itunes and download the film. I saw the film a few weeks ago. It left me feeling in total awe for James Balog and his dedication to his art and passion for wanting to share what is happening to the ice fields in the Arctic  because of our current living practices.

Another person who is completely dedicated to using his creativity to share about fracking and the consequences of such practices of extracting natural gas is Josh Fox. I recently saw his film Gasland II when he was here in Monterey. Another must see film. 

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World Oceans Day  June 8

6/8/2013

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World Oceans Day _ The health of the oceans begins at our doorsteps, our gardens and our dinner tables. We have the power to make choices that support the health of the oceans that support us in so many ways. Learn more about World Oceans Day here.


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Looking Towards Point Lobos
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"Ocean Offering" created on the beach shown in the above photo. Found glass as I was forming the sand ball. © Paola Berthoin
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World Environment Day - June 5

6/5/2013

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Shape-shifting © Paola Berthoin
This year's focus for World Environment Day is food waste and the tagline is Think. Eat. Save. 

Recently, I've been asking myself again what is the best way to respond to the environmental changes we are experiencing. I happened to come across a new book the other day by Mary Pipher titled: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture.

A few comments from the book jacket:
"With stories of local, mature activism, the Green Boat takes you through disturbing feelings about the future to a sense of hope. It's the book I've been waiting for, intelligently addressing the emotional issues involved without the guilt or blame."   --Thomas Moore, author Care of the Soul


Mary Pipher has been our wise and steadfast guide through the worlds of adolescence, aging, and how families can teach humane values in a culture where everything is for sale. Now she's tackling the hardest question--how we can get past denial to reverse the human-caused climate change that jeopardizes the habitability of the world. As we'd expect, she does it thoughtfully, passionately and ultimately with hope."
                                                               --Paul Loeb, author of Soul of a Citizen
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    Author
    Paola Berthoin is the designer/creator/publisher of  Passion for Place: Community Reflections on the Carmel River Watershed. Her focus is inspiring and educating people about the natural world through the arts. She is available to design your book, create (illustrate and write) interpretive materials for your watershed community, consult for healthy gardens, paint a commissioned painting of your favorite place in the Carmel River Watershed and beyond!


    When we allow wildness, our own spirit, to flourish within, we can also respect and allow nature’s spirit, the wild outside, to exist.
             - Paola Fiorelle Berthoin
                                                                                                                                                               

    Blog photographs, land art, and text © Paola Berthoin, unless otherwise noted. 
    All Rights Reserved.

    Picture
    Photograph © Marie Butcher

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