Skating Through Life

As Jethro Tull says, we're "skating away on the thin ice of the New Day."

Happy New Year, everyone, and here's hoping we'll glide smoothly through 2010!

Bloom: The Elephant Bed

"Bloom: The Elephant Bed" is an art installation by John Grade at our new art museum, The Lightcatcher. It's difficult to capture the utter serenity of this piece in a picture alone. These paper sculptures hang in an enclosed room, and seem to emanate a calm presence. I'd like to spend an hour just sitting on the floor alone with them, basking in their peace. Here is the artist's statement:

"Floating inches below the surface of the sea are tiny microorganisms called coccolithophores. Individually, they are too small to see, but grouped together they form such large masses that they can be seen from satellites blanketing hundreds of miles of ocean, coloring the water a bright turquoise. Unlike any other type of phytoplankton, each coccolithophore surrounds itself with a microscopic plating made of limestone (calcite).

"When a coccolithophore dies (they have a life span of a few weeks), this outer shell slowly sinks to the ocean floor. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, these shells accumulated and formed a sedimentary layer that can be seen today as the white cliffs of Dover along England's southern coast. Geologists named this exposed accumulation of calcium made from the casings of coccolithophores, the 'Elephant bed.'

"Over the past decade there has been controversy over the role of coccolithophores as they relate to the health of the world's oceans and global warming. They thrive in areas of the sea that are otherwise largely lifeless, primarily in sub-polar regions. Generally, when coccolithophores inhabit an area, they dominate and supplant other forms of phytoplankton. In the past two years, coccolithophores have begun to cover large areas of the Bering Sea. This surprises some scientists because the Bering Sea is usually a very nutrient-rich body of water. In the long-term, coccolithophores appear to be a positive force in the reduction of greenhouse gasses. With the formation of each calcium shell, a small bit of carbon is removed from the environment to become part of the shell that will eventually sink harmlessly to the ocean floor. But an immediate concern arises when a coccolithophore takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere (for sustenance) because it is simultaneously releasing a small portion of it into the sea. This can cause the upper layers of the ocean to become warmer and stagnant-- essentially creating a 'dead zone' in the ocean suitable only for sustaining more coccolithophores. Over the past ten years, coccolithophores have been a growing presence in the world's oceans as they cyclically bloom in greater numbers.

"One of my goals with the installation of Bloom is to employ scale so that we can tangibly encase ourselves within a form inspired by the shell of a coccolithophore. I am also interested in impermanence, at directing our attention to what is compelling within a state of decay or disintegration. The sculptures that are gradually lowered into the pool of ink will collapse, sink and flake apart slowly while the remaining sculptures will dissolve almost instantly when we walk them out of the museum and directly into the bay at the close of the exhibition."

Goldenlit Grasses

Goldenlit grasses

warm in the afternoon.

The quick winter sun passes

and much too soon

they'll be silverlit grasses

in the light of the moon.

Skyviewing Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi

The crows are too far away

to hear their conversation.

Are they discussing the blue sky

or where to find lunch?

I think they're an old couple

who need no words to communicate.

They sit

the sun soaks their black feathers

and they say nothing

and everything

loving each other.

Old City Hall

Lizziviggi took the girls to the children's museum at the Lightcatcher building and snapped this shot of the old City Hall building. Once the municipal center of the city, it was replaced by a larger, more modern building closer to downtown. The Whatcom Museum moved into the building in 1941 and has occupied it since. The museum is now housed in three buildings: The old City Hall, the Syre Education Center seen just to the right of the City Hall building, and the new Lightcatcher building in the foreground.

The Red Box

A British Red Box stands as a reminder of the pre-digital age in a Fairhaven green.

Is this a Sir Giles Gilbert Scott original or a knock-off? It looks aged enough to be an original, but I'm no expert.

Celebrate Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Twirling Christmas Princesses

Christmas princesses a-twirl

Christmas dreams will unfurl

Tonight, in the warm beds

Of many boys and girls.

EJVig and I wish all our wonderful friends near and far a very merry Christmas.

Ornamentation

The tree was decorated with ornaments

The lens was ornamented with greasy little fingerprints

The combination created this warm, fuzzy photo.

A Morning at the Lettered Streets Coffeehouse

I sit under the backwards espresso sign
sipping my coffee
perusing a travel book about Turkey.
The borrowed pages
smell like paprika.
Droplets gather on the steamy window
and travel down in groups.
The women behind me talk
about their trip to Africa.
The glowing sign faintly buzzes
and I leave half my coffee undrunk.
It is winter
there are no flowers on the table
and I will never go to Turkey.

Am I Blue?

This pretty glass flower always catches my eye when I head down the stairs to my workout at the Y.

Old Town and Mount Baker

This another Port Townsend shot taken from the ferry as it pulls away from the dock. The Water Street Hotel where I stayed is the red brick building to the left of Mount Baker. It was built in 1889 by a local pharmacist but fell into disrepair. The building was restored and currently houses a hotel, brewery and art gallery.

The hotel has an old world feel with 10-12 foot ceilings, a central atrium that rises from the second story to the third, and shared bathrooms for several of the rooms. On the street side of the building with nearly floor to ceiling windows, my room offered an excellent vantage point for watching the comings and goings of Water Street.

Reflecting on the Past

Earlier in the month I left my car on Whidbey Island and traveled to Port Townsend on the Keystone Ferry. After spending the night at the Water Street Hotel in the historic downtown district, I grabbed a cup of coffee and set out for a day of urban hiking. The night before I had explored downtown thoroughly looking for dinner, so I climbed the stairs to the residential district for a day of looking at historical homes.

For those who have never been to Port Townsend, the downtown area is at sea level and the residential area is built on top of a bluff overlooking downtown, providing for an almost perfect separation of residential and commercial areas. The only exception is upper downtown, a two block area of businesses that includes the East Jefferson Fire and Rescue Station 1-6 which houses Old No. 3, a 1941 Howard Cooper 1000 gallon pumper.

Skywatch Friday: Silver Linings

Every cloud has a silver lining.
Lots of clouds
Lots of linings!
These decorate the sky
over the blue waters of Puget Sound.

Click here for more silver linings!

Alaska Ferry

Can you picture yourself
Stepping on a boat
And riding it to the edge of the world
Where winter darkness unfurls?
You'd disembark in starlight
Day cloaked in December shadows
And take your breakfast with the moon
Months away from the sun's spring bloom.

Black and White and Fed All Over

I stumbled across this old picture when I was looking for something else, and thought I'd pull it out and share it. Technically this picture was taken in Blaine, not Bellingham. EJVig and I lived there for a couple years. It's about 25 miles north of Bellingham, and right on the Canadian/US border. I'll have to take some pictures up there soon. But for now, there's this one-- our four cats dining on the checkerboard floor of our Blaine kitchen. From left is: Calliope, CJ, CoCo Puff, and Jo Jo. Calliope is no longer with us, and I miss her every day. She was my very first kitty, and even though she hated most other people, she loved me totally. Aw, I miss my bitchy kitty!

White Pine with Buddhas

Three Buddha statues contemplate a Japanese White Pine at the Garden Spot Nursery, my favorite place for Christmas tree shopping.

Mountain Time

One more from Leavenworth, Washington-- the city clock tower with the Cascade Mountains looming behind it.

Santa Claus

Old Saint Nick watches the children in amusement at a store in Leavenworth, Washington.

Leavenworth, Washington

EJVig took our daughters on the train to Leavenworth, Wash., for a little getaway. He snapped this picture yesterday. Leavenworth is a charming little pseudo-Bavarian town at the base of the Cascade mountains. It's always a popular tourist destination, but especially so at Christmastime. I'm glad they had fun, and even more glad they're back home, safe and sound!

Skywatch Friday: Sunrise Over Sunnyland

Cold and crisp, the sun rises over the Sunnyland Neighborhood. Lots of frost, but still no snow!

Click here for more sunrises, sunsets, and everything in between.

Ladybug, Ladybird, Ladybeetle... A bug by any other name is just as cute

Ladybird, ladybird,
Fly away home
Your house is on fire,
And your children all gone.

All except one,
and that's little Ann
And she has crept under
The warming pan.

--Anonymous

What is it about old nursery rhymes always being dark and depressing? Thank goodness for the Pixar generation! Never mind the classics, I like some sweet with my bitter.

Garth Stein at the Chuckanut Radio Hour

Garth Stein, author of the best-selling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain, was a guest on our local radio program, "The Chuckanut Radio Hour." It's a shame the picture is rather dark and blurry, but I wasn't able to use a flash since the show is recorded live and therefore must be quiet.

"The Chuckanut Radio Hour" is recorded in front of a live audience and then broadcast on local radio station KMRE 102.3 (it's broadcast from our American Museum of Radio and Electricity, which I shamefully have not done any posts of yet. I'll try to remedy that shortly.). You can also listen online here. It's an old-fashioned radio hour, with live music, author interviews, poetry, essays, and a short comedy serial called "The Bellingham Bean," which follows the lives of a group of people running a coffee shop.

Garth Stein's latest novel is written from the point of view of a dog. The writers of "The Bellingham Bean" ran with that theme. Here, he gamely voices Elmo, the fictional Bellingham Bean's hamster. He's in the middle, with the rest of the Bellingham Bean players on either side. Normally, the authors on the show just do an interview and a reading, so it was particularly fun to see him do this. He was a very convincing hamster. ("Hamsters," by the way, are what we residents of Bellingham call ourselves. Just in case you were wondering.)

The Chuckanut Radio Hour is on every Saturday at 6 PM PST and Sunday at 9 PM PST. Their website doesn't look updated, but you can get podcasts of their first year here. If you want to hear this show, it will be broadcast December 12 & 13. Again, if you're not local, you can still "tune in" online here-- just remember we're PST.

Bellingham Bay from Sehome Hill

A view of Bellingham Bay, and part of Bellingham, from the Sehome Hill Arboretum.

Heliconia Growing

This glass art installation, called "Heliconia Growing," can be found inside local bookstore Village Books. It is by Bellingham artist Christopher Morrison. Heliconia is a genus of flowering tropical plant-- the type of which doesn't grow in this area, so it's nice to have a cool-climate sculpture instead!

Minis at the Market

Even mini cars
can create
big dreams.

Lighted Boat Parade

Boats decorated for Christmas march across Bellingham Bay in the annual Lighted Boat Parade.

Skywatch Friday: Fiery Sky

A fiery sky rolled over the land.
The icy hail it thundered down
gave lie to the promise
of the burning clouds.

Click here to see other skies of fire and ice.

Looking For a Good Home...

Waiting bravely in line
Knowing they'll know
which family is the right one--
It's when their faces light up
like little Christmas trees.

Shooting into the Sun

They tell you
"never shoot into the sun"
A Very Important Rule of Thumb
They don't come from
Washington.
I haven't seen the sun
in a long, wintry month
And I'm shooting into it.

Waiting for Breakfast

The City Daily Photo theme day for December 1st is "Waiting." Oh, there were so many pictures to choose from-- who knew the hidden theme of waiting underlies so many of my pictures?

Anyway, I chose this charming little threesome and their pet turtle, waiting patiently for their breakfast. Apparently they're not satisfied with plastic bananas. If my memory's correct, shortly after I took this picture my daughter served them cheerios, which were supposed to be donuts. Of course, they could just be waiting for someone to clean their house... or maybe for better furniture. Luckily, their patience was rewarded, and both things have happened since I took this shot back in July.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants