This week the chirping at night has been really loud in Claremont, California. And so, I set out one night to see if I might get to the bottom of this sonic riot. Snowy tree crickets were not on my mind.
I hypothesized tree frogs chirping at the full moon. I was wrong. It did indeed turn out to be a chorus of little Oecanthus fultoni (i.e., snowy tree crickets). These guys were making all that loud music. Small size, big sound.
Per Wikipedia, American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne once observed about the song of these creatures, “If moonlight could be heard, it would sound just like that.”
And, that is about all I have to say for this short post. So, good night and — if it is summer where you are — may the crickets sing you to sleep!
Well, what can I say? I am simply a sage kind of guy. And, I am not talking about being wise. No, I am talking about being a lover of sage plants (we have four different kinds in our yard, yay!). And, white sage is my point of focus today.
In our region of California, white sage plants — in particular — are suffering terrible abuse in response to the fashion trend of burning sage smudge incense and displaying sage bouquets. In places like the Etiwanda Preserve there have been poachers illegally harvesting pick-ups full of sage for sale to retailers. This results in horrible ecological damage. And, it is an affront to the Tongva and other local tribes in SoCal, for whom the plant is a member of the family.
North Etiwanda Preserve (if image does not display, click the title above to go to the web page) Photo: Doug Lippoldt, 2023 (C)
There is a wonderful short film on white sage and First Peoples that was released by the California Native Plant Society, accompanied by excerpts of wonderful traditional tunes. Filmed on location in our area, it is an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival and just 20 minutes long. This is a good one! I think it will speak to many of us. I know I found it to be very moving.
Check it out! It is free to watch via the link, here (YouTube) or below (via California Native Plant Association web site). And, please take care only to buy sustainable sage, or simply enjoy it in the wild as an observer! (And for my take on Yosemite from a few years ago, check out this post: https://www.q4tk.com/2015/05/25/yosemite-grandeur-even-on-soggy-days/)
Folks, I just saw It’s Quieter in the Twilight, a Documentary on Voyager 1 and 2. This is a most wonderful documentary on the epic voyage and unanticipated longevity of the two NASA Voyager spacecraft. They have been traveling through space since I was a kid, boldly going where no human craft has travelled. The documentary tells their story and that of the small, aging support team of 10 or 12 folks at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The Voyager team has managed to keep these craft operational since 1977. Several members of the team were part of the early Voyager project crews. Meanwhile, the craft have exited from the solar system and are transiting interstellar space. All the while they are sending back useful scientific data on the environment through which they are passing.
The documentary lets the team members tell the story in their own words. It reveals how they see their experience and their assessment of the project situation as of 2022-2023. The humanity of these dedicated folks really shines through. This is the story of an important part of space history and hopefully a few more years of the future as well!
A week after a string of storms, the melting snowpack on Mount Baldy is delivering a strong current on San Antonio Creek. Normally, the creek is a placid babbling brook. In some places you might easily step across it. But, not today. Fortunately, the fairly substantial San Antonio dam shields the communities below the mouth of the canyon from potential floods and muds.
As you might anticipate, the normally rather dry San Antonio Canyon looks comparatively lush this season. Drought has plagued the region in recent years. But, over geologic time, strong storm flows have not been so rare, apparently. The creek has carried a significant number of boulders down the slopes. They litter the canyon bottom. Some of the boulders have wonderful graining, with swirls of grey contrasting with creme colored whites. And, the light granite tones are contrasting with the rich emergent green of new grass in this rainy season.
As someone newly transplanted to the Claremont, California, area it is amazing to me to have ready access to such wild spaces. The scale of the Angeles National Forest is immense. It is a wonder to be enjoyed and protected for the generations who will follow.
Pictures worth a thousand words
Strong current in San Antonio Creek, Angeles National Forest, CaliforniaMelting snowpack from Mount Baldy is supercharging the creekRocky terrain along the bottom of San Antonio CanyonA most excellent boulder (check out the wonderful patterns in the grain)
London’s green side might surprise you. On a warm and sunny Spring day this week, I headed out across Greenwich Park. My mission was to acquire a pile of baked goods from Gail’s (most excellent!) bakery in Blackheath. What I found, in addition to the goodies, was a reconnection with nature and a feeling of renewal.
A hike from West Greenwich to Blackheath and back can be designed as a circuit, avoiding traffic and maximising the green vibe. When it comes to population, London is a high density city, with roughly 2.5 times the population per square kilometre of a city like Los Angeles or New York. But, careful land-use planning and protection of green space have paid off.
Most urban denizens in London don’t have to go far to find London’s green side. An ample supply of parks across the city, a green belt around it, and protection for notable trees combine to deliver open space as a counterpoint to the intense urbanisation in some areas.
Why not come along to enjoy the greenery with me? Follow my hike with this handy step-by-step slide show, linked below. (If you don’t see the slideshow, click hereto get back to the original page.)
A church visit becomes the Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike
This is the story of my Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike. The hike emerged spontaneously on a brilliant, gusty day in September 2020. It started out as a quest to chase up reports of a few surviving fragments of Lesnes Abbey. As I set out, a storm was brewing on the horizon. And so, with a bit of trepidation, I exited from Belvedere National Rail station in search of the church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in Erith, England.
The trail took me through Frank’s Park, which is a 17 hectare oasis of old woodland and a grass field (1 hectare = 2.47 acres). The local government acquired these lands through the generosity of an industrialist (Frank Beadle) in 1920. The church is just a few blocks further, across a highway pedestrian overpass. From St John’s, my hike morphed into a wonderful unplanned wander along the River Thames. I ventured past renewable power plants and through patches set aside for nature to have its way.
Connecting with St John the Baptist
I arrived at St John’s just prior to a mid-week service. The church warden nonetheless kindly took the time to show me the highlights. I had read that the church incorporated some materials from the destroyed Lesnes Abbey. Perhaps the locals brought some items in by cart back in the day (ca 1526AD), adding other bits after more recent excavations at the Abbey. In the bell tower at St John’s, the church warden pointed out several stone covers from Lesnes Abbey sarcophagi. In the vestry, there are two sections of tiles from the abbey floors.
The Normans initiated construction of the St John the Baptist church in the 1100s. And, some old French inscriptions are still visible. They built on the site of an older Saxon church. The new structure was expanded later in the middle ages and again in the 1800s. It incorporates some older materials including Roman tiles. Some observers hypothesise there may be additional materials from the abbey may be incorporated, as well. Sadly, most of the medieval stained glass windows at St John’s were blown out during WWII bombings. The churchyard is a jumble of destroyed and maintained graves in an ancient setting.
Having been spiritually renewed by my stop at the church, I headed out to the River Thames. Stepping up onto the river wall, one emerges onto a great open space of river and marshlands. It is wonderful to experience. So, I decided to carry on, making a dash on the path upstream. I aimed to beat the approaching storm. What I found was amazing. A cluster of renewable-energy installations and a nature reserve that attest to a great act on the part of policy makers.
A place to recharge my batteries
Like many folks trapped at home during the pandemic, I craved this exposure to open spaces and nature. It provided inspiration for an extended walk. As a threaded my way on an elevated path through disused docks, grain elevators and mudflats, a seal bobbed in the river along the riverbank. A shag flew past. The Rainham Marsh preserve of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) provided a big swath of green on the other side of the Thames, as did the London landfill.
But an impressive feat of engineering awaited me at Crossness. The first bit sighted is a huge dock where barges of shipping containers arrive with London’s trash. A crane winches them up and trucks carry them over to a generating plant that burns the contents cleanly (as far as I could tell) in order to provide electrical power. A bit further down is a massive waste water treatment facility that processes sewage equivalent in volume to 20 Olympic pools every hour. The composted sludge fuels a separate power plant. From what I could see, it also burned cleanly. Meanwhile, four massive wind turbines churn to produce further renewable power. Some of this wind energy serves to power the Ford diesel engine factory across the River Thames.
Crossness Nature Reserve
On the south side of the river, nestled between the power plants, is the Crossness nature reserve. The nature reserve includes an old pumping station from 1865. In the Victorian era struggle to eradicate cholera, this served to manage sewage and excess water in the marshes. Part of the reserve is highly protected, but other parts are open to hikers. Along the Thames just outside of the reserve, I think I saw a hen harrier (female) and shelducks. Inside, I saw moorhens, herons, little egrets, and others darting among the reeds along the margins of the ponds. There were some wonderful cob horses in the paddocks that the path crosses.
It must be a challenge to maintain the reserve in the face of pressures from the surrounding industry and suburbia. Reports indicate that they have struggled a bit with stolen materials, vandalism, and litter. My hat is off to Thames Water, the owner and manager of the reserve. A team of local volunteers supports their good work: The Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve provide extra TLC in maintaining, monitoring and protecting the wildlife habitat.
From Crossness Nature Reserve, it was just a short hop back to Belvedere National Rail Station. And, thus ended my Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike.
A hike from Belvedere National Rail station to Erith, on to Crossness with three types of renewable power generation (sludge, trash and wind), through the Crossness nature reserve, and back to the station.
The Great Belvedere Renewable-Power Circular Hike in pictures
On Abbey Road (literally) Lesnes Abbey and neighbouring Abbey Woods provide a welcome breath of fresh air and greenery. Modern-day London denizens suffering from lock-down fatigue can head out on Abbey Road to seek out such pleasures. But, the roots … Continue reading →
Ever since we moved to Europe in 1992, I have loved the blackbirds (cousins of the American robin). They are jet black with golden bills and are quite dignified. At the end of the day they usually sit on the top branch of a tree or TV antenna or roof crest and sing their hearts out. Their song is perhaps a little forlorn, coming as a solo as the dusk settles. But, it is also warm and true. This is the very short story of an especially loud blackbird.
Le merle noir
In our first apartment, just outside of Paris, I loved to sit on our little balcony on the building’s inner courtyard and enjoy the evening calm. This was generally accompanied by the song of the resident blackbird (le merle noir). The French composer Olivier Messiaen wrote a chamber music piece for flute and piano based on this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwDmDTjrBNA).
London chanter
Now we are resident in London’s Royal Borough of Greenwich. Here, two days ago at the end of a walk, I was heading back home. Coming through a very tiny park of trees known as Catherine Grove, I spied a loud blackbird hidden in amongst the branches.
He was there across the street singing with all the power and style that he could muster. Though filled with enthusiasm, he hadn’t figured out that the best effect is to do so from on high. He’ll learn.
In the meantime, I was grateful for this contribution from nature to helping the neighbourhood manage the stress of these crazy days. — at Greenwich, April 2020.
Ah, summer in England. The political turbulence of recent months, or rather years, has added to the stress of daily life here in London. Your intrepid blogger has been unable to nurture Q4TK recently, as had been the case in the past. But, this is certainly not due to inactivity on the part of your webmaster. Quite the opposite! The turmoil in the international trading system has pushed his working hours up into new heights. Yet, as the pressure builds, he has found solace in nature. That is, he has had the opportunity to head out into England’s “green & pleasant land”, as William Blake called it in the poem Jerusalem.
The rain and fertility of this place provide welcome opportunities for nature to break through in its struggle with human economic development. Summertime walks in the countryside or a city garden in turn offer us a chance to reconnect with the natural world. Even urban denizens such as Dr D! And, being open to such moments can have a calming effect. They can deliver an opportunity to restore and re-centre one’s soul. When your blogger takes time to appreciate the lambs on “England’s pleasant pastures seen”, well it reminds him of the privilege it is to be here.
Even in this space and time, there are blessings to be found all around us in summertime England. Your Q4TK webmaster has added this little gallery with this in mind. His goal is to share with you a few such moments from his summer in England. (If you subscribe to my email feed, you will need to click the column title above to display the gallery.)
[flagallery gid=32 name=’England in Summertime’ skin=amron]
Thank goodness for lavender and white-tailed bumblebees. As the UK drifts toward Brexit with a strange sort of national complacency, and the social divisions and lack of strategic approach become increasingly evident and glaring, the lavender and white-tailed bumblebees in my backyard provide me with solace.
Lavender and a white-tailed bumblebee in my garden
Each summer we have a lavender patch in our garden. And, from time to time I take a few minutes to stop and meditate nearby, enjoying the herbaceous atmosphere and watching the bees at work. I admire their industry and collaboration. Bees do seem to proceed joyfully in this labour. They simply love lavender. Here in the UK, I have grown to eagerly await the annual return of the white-tailed bumble bees. They are giant and awkward and focused in their efforts.
… and Brexit
This year, my lavender and white-tailed bumblebee meditations have helped me keep centred in the face of the national political craziness. As the tone of the Brexit discussions becomes darker, leading pundits are speaking of national humiliation (e.g., Gideon Rachman in the FT, 10 July 2017) and “calamity” (e.g, Martin Wolf in the FT, 13 July 2017).
While I do think that remaining in the EU is the best option economically and socially, the fact that Brexit is advancing should not yet lead to despair. It is too soon to give up on efforts to limit the damage. But, time is pressing. With just 20 months to go before Brexit (March 2019), avoiding the worst will require a strategic approach and urgent action. Where do the Brits want the UK to be in 2 years?
There are marginally costly Brexit scenarios like staying in the European Economic Area (single market) and there are costly cliff-edge, car-crash scenarios of a hard Brexit with no deal with the EU. Let us not wring our hands and watch the car crash unfold before us. Advocacy and action are required now.
But, meanwhile, the lavender and bees are here to keep things Zen for me. After another crazy week, I am hanging out in the garden and staying centred. And, thank goodness, if we do go over the cliff edge, then I know they will be here to help take out the sting.
Fine British white-tailed bumblebees at work in my garden
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