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Showing posts from June, 2007

Gastronome, restaurant, mirabelle, et ratatouille

May 24, 2007: Clotilde Dusoulier, blogger and author of Chocolate and Zucchini fame, gave a book talk at Cody's on 4th Street, Berkeley. I attended, purchased a copy of Chocolate and Zucchini, and waited in line for Clotilde's autograph. (I have prepared several dishes from the book.) May 29, 2007: I photographed French-inspired eateries (restaurants, bistros, boites, cafes, and rotisseries; accents are missing ).   Shattuck at Channing Shattuck at Bancroft (Louisiana was part of France between 1699 and 1764 and again between 1803 and 1804.)   Shattuck at Addison   Hearst at Shattuck   Shattuck at Virginia   Shattuck between Cedar and Vine   Shattuck, across from The French Hotel There is also Gregoire's on Cedar; the numerous Crepes A Go Go; and a French language school, Alliance Francaise, near Ashby BART.    SW Fulton at Dwight June 27, 2007: An article about seasonal produce at farmers' markets ran in the Chronicle . I was inspired

Local dog is missing

Water wise in June and year round

June is National Rivers Month. In celebration, the theme of this week's The Mini Page is rivers. In addition to a connect the dots heron drawing, the Oakland Tribun e provided river terminology and information on the uses and conditions of our rivers. This post is my contribution to National Rivers Month. I illustrate some of the terminology featured in The Mini Page. Also, at a more intimate scale - the apartment or the house, the yard or the garden - EBMUD has some tips to conserve water this summer. This past winter is being described as "one of the driest" in the 84 years of the agency's operation. EBMUD Tips - Check for leaks - Inspect your sprinkler system (residential users are encourarged "to water just three days a week, never on consecutive days and always at night or early in the morning) and irrigation controller (does it need new batteries) - Consider EBMUD rebates like the Landscape Rebate Program - Plant waterwise gardens (EBMUD suggests P

Summer's day in Cleveland

Image: Chester Commons Park I flew on a red-eye to Cleveland earlier this week. By the time I arrived at the hotel at 7 a.m., the air was already muggy. I knew the day would become more inclement. I had checked the weather forecast before leaving the Bay Area. It was my first visit to Cleveland and, courtesy of a friend, I had a short list of places I wanted to see in the downtown. I also discovered places along my walk. Image: Chester Commons Park fountain (not in use) The first of these, the Chester Commons Park (also known as Ralph J. Perk Plaza), is across from the my hotel. The airy, continuous canopy was enticing, even if the street level design was not. However, the park was heavily used as an afternoon respite (it was empty in the morning and I did not visit it in the evening or at night). People sat, stood, laid down. People were there alone or, gathered in small and large groups. Image: Eastman Reading Garden fountain   Another park t

Off the road: Enmanji Temple

The Enmanji Buddhist Temple is located off Old Gravenstein Highway (Route 116) in Petaluma, CA. This summer I will be travelling to several cities, looking for places off the road and documenting examples of citizen nature making (read Plant ecology thrives in the middle of the street and Designed with ecological intent ). The approach through the garden The south face of the temple A dedication marker

Counting birds and butterflies

A bench tile in Bradner Gardens Park, Mt. Baker neighborhood, Seattle The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is doing it, Nature in the City is doing it, and a Mount Diablo group is doing it: counting birds and butterflies. 45 butterfly species were recorded in this year's Mount Diablo and environs count, part of the annual North American Butterfly Association count. Entomologist and co-coordinator Rich Kelson told the Chronicle that "we are not seeing a huge decrease in diversity but we are seeing a decrease in abundance. And it's much harder to find the variety. You have to climb all over the place" (June 14, Bay Area section). Across the Bay in San Francisco County, 14 species and 314 individuals were recorded. The SF urban nature organization , Nature in the City, sent the following information to its list serve (June 12): 1) Western Tiger Swallowtail ( Papillio rutulus ) - 22 2) Anise Swallowtail ( Papillio zelicaon ) - 11 3) Pipevine Swallowtail ( Battus phil

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and other urban fictions

Source: Powell's Books During the spring and summer of 2003, in preparation for a trip to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket, I specifically began reading place fictions before my trips. It is a pleasurable habit. (I've even written a place literature index.) I think literature, especially fiction, is a great way to learn about people and places - cities, neighborhoods, ecologies, and ways of living. I include a library link at the end of each post. Library Thing holds a catalogue of some of my books about cities and neighborhoods. I have been desperately searching for a used copy of Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh . I have checked the shelves of my favorite Berkeley used book shops. If push comes to shove, the University Press Books has new copies. If I don't find it here, maybe I will find a used copy during my visit to Pittsburgh this summer. Here's my latest short stack of books , listed here in no particular order: The Ric

Landscape architects are among "the new tastemakers"

I subscribe to House & Garden magazine using my frequent flight miles. I started receiving issues this spring. My favorite feature is in the June issue; a special titled "The New Tastemakers." Four landscape architects and one architect (who makes landscapes) are among almost 30 tastemakers! The landscape tastemakers are: (1) Steven Koch (Koch Landscape Architecture) received an ASLA award for a project located along the Columbia River Gorge. The approach of Koch LA is described as a synthesis of "the natural and social science of landscape architecture with the desire to enhance and activate people's daily lives through the design of functional and interactive environments." ( Read House & Garden ) (2) Katie Winter, an architect by training, designed a "play area" for the Church of Immaculate Conception in the Bronx. Katie told House & Garden that "play areas should be educational spaces." ( Read House & Garden )

Plant ecology thrives in the middle of the street

‘Plant ecology thrives in the middle of the street’ (from an interview with Robin Grossinger) Cayote bush On a recent overcast morning, I met landscape ecologist Robin Grossinger at the Fulton and Russell traffic circle to talk about the installation of the coastal meadow project. In his professional life, Robin develops restoration and management plans for large, regional scale natural systems. When I asked Robin if the traffic circle project had affected his environmental outlook, he replied that he was pleasantly surprised to observe successful successional processes in such an urban context – the intersection of two urban streets (albeit neighborhood streets). He described the processes that continue to occur in the traffic circle as “ecologically fascinating.” In their oft-cited study of the benefits of ecological (i.e. “sensitive natural landscapes”) restoration, Irene Miles et al. (1998) found that the greatest benefits of ecological volunteerism are self satisfactions l

"They closed?! Oh wow!"

Eddie Bauer closed before I moved to Berkeley but the empy store windows still bear the company's name. The Gap closed last fall and is being replaced with a Walgreens. The latest chain store closure in Berkeley is the Barnes & Noble on Shattuck at Bancroft. I biked there this morning hoping to find Alafair Burke's latest detective novel (the independent shops in my neighborhood do not have her books in stock). In March, Jen of the Walking Berkeley blog, posted on the store's "imminent closure," but I must admit, I was doubtful. It seemed more likely that one of our independent booksellers would close (as Cody's on Telegraph did) than the giant chain. Anyway, I was surprised to find the store's windows covered in brown paper. I went across the street to one of my favorite local book shops, Pegasus , and purchased a different book, using my trade credit and earning frequent reader points. After completing several other errands, I returned