Fledgling’s Progress

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A couple days after my most recent post (“Hatchling’s progress”), I took another photo:
Hatchlings4_local-nomad.net
They definitely had more feathers, but looked mostly like sleepy balls of brown fuzz here. As always, they have been quite silent. I expected them to be cheeping up a storm by now.

Just today, I took another photo:
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Whoa! Eyes open! They’ve definitely got wing feathers now, although probably not fully fledged yet. But getting there. And it’s getting pretty crowded! I’m hoping that one or more of them isn’t going to get pushed out before they are ready to fly. I expect it’s a common occurance. I hear that when that happens, it’s best to keep hands off. No, not because of the human smell on the bird, but because the parent birds will often feed the one that fell out of the nest where it landed. Besides, if one falls out, I doubt there would be room for it up there. As always, they remain quiet.

This post is part of the thread: Elkhorn birds – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Who Took Down Stockton?

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Who Took Down Stockton is a gripping, 30-min. documentary film on what drove the City of Stockton to bankruptcy. With implications for everyone, especially homeowners and those who work for cash-strapped U.S. city governments and municipal services. From the Center for Investigative Reporting.


See also:

* US seeks record prison terms for ex-UBS bankers over muni bid-rigging (Reuters)
* The scam wall street learned from the Mafia (Rolling Stone, 2012)

Hatchlings’ Progress

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FlycatcherHatchlings_Local-nomad.net
A couple days later (see my previous report, “Spring has Sprung,” below), the hatchlings are growing a bit of fuzz; they’re growing quickly, but their eyes still seem closed. They are also developing the little tubelike structures on their wings that will turn into real feathers.

By the way, I noticed that there is what looks like human hair woven into the lining of the nest (you can see it better on the previous post). So I’m wondering — hey, is that MY hair? I’m imagining they could’ve picked it up from the broom that is also on the back porch.

This post is part of the thread: Elkhorn birds – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Spring has sprung

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It’s a busy season for the birds around here. Lots of nest-building. Two Pacific Slope Flycatchers (I think of them as Fiona and Fritz) have built a little nest on top of our back porch light. Only one of them sits on the nest (or maybe they take turns). We’ve been tip-toeing around them, because the moment the “sitter” makes eye-contact, it freaks. It flits off to the pine tree on the other side of the yard, and doesn’t return until we leave.

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Looking up from human eye-level, the nest looks a bit scruffy, wedged up between the light and the porch wall. M., who is taller than me, reported that the insides of the nest were lined with soft, downy stuff.

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A few days later, when Fiona and Fritz were off somewhere else, I held my camera up high and pointed it down; I saw something.

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Yes, they have little yellow-beaked hatchlings now! I counted four, although you can only see three here. And from this view, the nest looks kind of pretty.

I’m always kind of touched by the care that birds put into making their nests, especially in the way that they carefully line the interior (while the exterior may look messy). I wonder if humans got the idea for weaving bowls from birds’ nests?

This post is part of the thread: Elkhorn birds – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Work and Creative Space for Local Artists

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As an artist, I’m always interested in cooperative studios and live/work spaces for artists, and there are some good ones in the Monterey Bay Area. Here are three:

About Open Ground Studios:
“The Mission of Open Ground Studios is to provide a dedicated, inspiring and sustainable visual arts workspace for a community of creative adults. A place where early to mid-career artists can work, gather, learn and teach in a well-equipped, safe, cooperative and supportive environment.

Denese Sanders, the founder of Open Ground Studios, is a visual artist whose fine art revolves around drawing, printmaking and book arts. In 2003 she relocated to the Monterey Peninsula from Minnesota where she owned and operated Below the Surface Printmakers Atelier; a professional printmaking studio specializing in intaglio, relief and planar techniques. She teaches studio art classes at MPC in drawing, printmaking, book arts, and design. Since living in Monterey, Sanders has worked in program management, design, studio creation and community building as an independent consultant and with Arts Habitat. Sanders holds a Masters of Fine Art Degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.”

About YAC:
“YAC is a nonprofit, after school art studio and mentorship program for high school and college artists – brilliant and struggling, confident and fringe, multi-ethnic, multi-tempered, and over 40% financially challenged. They learn art, job, and life skills, and gain a healthy dose of self-esteem and gratitude along the way. YACsters learn to believe in themselves, take creative risk, and give back. 100% graduate from high school. 95% of YACsters go on to university, college, and art college – many on scholarships.

YAC is an incubator for some of our community’s future creatives, whether they end up in the arts, education, business, or science. YAC provides supplies, studio space, art training, exhibition and commission opportunities, individual mentoring, and a community unlike any other. We’re open 4 hours a day, 6 days a week, year round.”

About the Tannery Arts Center:
The Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz provides, not only low-cost live-work loft space for artists, performers, and writers, but also multiple gallery and classroom spaces, a print shop, a dance studio, performing arts center, coffee house, and local literary arts magazine.

“The Tannery Arts Center is dedicated to providing an affordable, accessible and sustainable home for Santa Cruz County artists and arts, cultural, education and heritage organizations so that all offerings on this historically significant campus may be enjoyed by residents, visitors and the general public.”

If you know of any other cooperative artists’ work spaces in the Monterey Bay area, please let me know, and I’ll post the information on LocalNomad.

To Friends & Colleagues on LinkedIn: Regarding Endorsements

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SmMorningWeb_Local_Nomad

Have you noticed, lately, that the click-on skill endorsements in LinkedIn are getting a little out of hand? It’s great to know that friends, co-workers, and colleagues have taken the time to click an endorsement for me. Initially, it seemed a good idea. Hey, I’ve clicked on endorsements too. But lately I’ve received them from people who obviously don’t know my work. Even worse, I’ve gotten requests for endorsements from complete strangers.

I feel that the click-on endorsements are quickly undermining the purpose of LinkedIn. What employer would take such endorsements seriously when they are traded so cheaply? As Geraldine Mongold wrote in the Project Management Community, “It’s like “recommendation lite. If you want to recommend somebody, take the time to write one.” The headline on Todd Wasserman’s recent article (Mashable.com) claims “LinkedIn’s Endorsements Have Become Meaningless,” while Suzanne Lucas (Moneywatch, CBS) explains why such endorsements are “Worthless.”

So, let’s get out of this sticky mess. If you know my work (my writing, editing, teaching, research, etc.), and would like to endorse me, a brief, focused recommendation—three to five sentences—would be much more meaningful, and certainly more appreciated. Context is everything.

See also:
* How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation
* If LinkedIn Endorsements Were Honest
* The Truth About LinkedIn Endorsements

This post is part of the thread: LinkedIn – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Free Fruit and a Local Repair Cafe

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Elizabeth Good, from the local Sharing Economy group has posted some news for fruit aficionados, especially on the Santa Cruz end of Monterey Bay:

~Fruit picking! It’s citrus season apparently. ;-) The Fruit Tree Project has an event: Sunday, April 21st meeting at 3pm at the west entrance to Neary Lagoon (on the West side by Bay and California). From there they will split into two groups to pick lemons and oranges. One group will be on bicycles, so bring a bike if you have one. More information at http://www.fruitcruz….. (thanks Lisa for this info).

Also:

A local repair cafe event, sponsored by The Grey Bears. May 4th, 10 a.m-1pm at Grey Bears:

Bring your broken household items to the Repair Cafe at Grey Bears and work with our Fix it volunteer coaches, your neighbors, friends and others to keep your favorite things working.

The next Grey Bears Repair Cafe is Saturday, May 4, 2013, 10am – 1pm

For more information, please read the FAQs below, email repair@greybears.org, or call 831-479-1055.

1) What exactly is the Repair Café?
The Grey Bears Repair Café is a volunteer-driven program patterned after the Repair Café movement that started and now flourishes in the Netherlands. The aim of the Repair Café movement is to reduce the amount of stuff that ends up in the waste stream by helping you fix items that you might otherwise throw away.

2) What kinds of things should I bring?
Sewing repairs, small household items like lamps, kitchen appliances and vacuum cleaners, as well as small furniture and mechanical goods like weed-wackers and lawnmowers. We have a very low success rate fixing CD players and DVD players, and we’re not able to tackle microwave ovens. Nor do we have a safe set up to do welding projects. Due to the anticipated demand, please bring only one item per person. Find out more on their webpage, HERE.

Aimee Suzara at CSUMB

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Filipina writer, performer, and educator Aimee Suzara will appear at CSUMB’s World Theater on Thursday, April 17, at 7:30 pm. CSUMB is located in Seaside, CA, at World Theater & Sixth St. Her program will be “A History of the Body,” a multidisciplinary piece about colonization and the body, fusing dance, theater, poetry and visual art. I hope to see you there!

Suzaracsumb

Livingroom Revolution

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I’ve joined a local Sharing Economy group, and will be posting more often on local events that promote sharing and giving (see also my recent posts on Crop Mobster).

LRRcoverAZ

Author Cecile Andrews will be having a book talk at Bookshop Santa Cruz, Wed., April 17, at 7 pm. 1520 Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz.

“From President Obama’s re-election to things like Shareable.net and Meetups, we’re seeing a transformation in how our society gets things to change,” Cecile says. “The old ways don’t work any more. They’re costing us too much, not just in dollars but in our future, our children’s future, and the survivability of the planet.”

What needs to happen? “It all starts with local,” Cecile says. “And local starts with small groups, meeting in places like people’s living rooms, cafes, meeting rooms and auditoriums.

“That’s why I wrote Living Room Revolution,” she said. “I see, speak to and talk with lots of groups who really want to have an impact, want to see change. But they don’t necessarily know how to take their energy, vision and commitment to the next level.

“Living Room Revolution is all about helping them move forward. It’s meant to be a step-by-step guide for creating and leading the most powerful force our society has ever known — the small group of committed people.” (– excerpted from Cecile Andrews’ website).

Come listen to the talk, buy her book, and meet some special guests–other community leaders in the local sharing movement to network with! Make sure also to bring a notebook or your smartphone to take notes about some of her great local ideas that aren’t in the book.

More information can be found on the Bookshop Santa Cruz Website.