The Comeback... Congratulations Team Oracle USA! 2013 America's Cup Winners!

"When I'm all grown up, come what may, I'll build a boat to carry me away."

~Guy Gavriel, Tigana 



The weather couldn't have been more lovely! Well, it was really windy, but the temperature was perfect for an early autumn day! The timing couldn't have been better! Alan and I drove across the bay at the last minute, on a whim really, and it all came together when we found the perfect place, a dock on the San Francisco Bay, near Chrissy Field, to watch history be made as team Oracle USA came back from trailing behind Emirates Team New Zealand 8-1, to win the 2013 America's Cup regatta race!



Our vacation doesn't begin officially until next Monday, but after the fun of yesterday, it's difficult to not think of it as already here! A beautiful day! A little time, sitting on a dock of the most beautiful bay in the world, and time with Alan... what more can a girl ask for?

:)

"A passage under sail brings out in the course of days whatever there may of the sea love and sea sense in an individual whose soul is not indissolubly wedded to the pedestrian shore."

~Joseph Conrad

2013 America's Cup Race, San Francisco


Mood: Lighthearted!

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: Public Art

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

-Scott Adams

My pal, and Round Robin teammate, Karen, has chosen one of my ideas, submitted to the challenge pool during our last suggestion round, "Public Art." I love Public Art, and chase it around the Bay Area as much as possible. It's nice when there is a big project being shown in one place, such as the Cool Globes that are being shown along the Chrissy Field promenade. Out of all the globes I saw at the exhibit, this one ended up being my favorite. "Food For Thought" by artist, Nicholas Kashian. The "Cool Globes" project was brought about to bring awareness to Global Warming, by reminding us of how we can work together to help ourselves as we help the planet.

The project began in Chicago, in 2007, and after it's overwhelming success, it continued on to San Diego, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and after that it will be debuting in London in 2009! Each city brings it's own unique message to the globes, as regional artists select themes to represent the areas the globes are being shown in. This project will be around through October 12th, so I kinda think I will be out with the camera again before it closes. There are a lot of powerful messages that go with the globes, like the one Bill Clinton made in his Global Warming Initiative...

"Global Warming Inititive"

"It no longer makes sense for us to debate whether or not the Earth is warming at an alarming rate, and it doesn't make sense for us to sit back and wait for others to act. The fate of the planet that our children and grandchildren will inherit is in our hands, and it is our responsibility to do something about the crisis."

-Bill Clinton ( Global Warming Initiative)

Cool Globes "Hot Ideas For A Cool Planet"

Along the Chrissy Field Promenade

"Support Organic Products" By Vicky Tesmer

"Chicago's Green Roofs" By Mason Dixon

It's an amazing project, every city in America should really do more to raise awareness to the various challenges we face. Art can be a powerful medium for change, especially when we get children involved. I saw a lot of families that day, stopping to read the messages together. I wish there were more art programs being offered in public schools, but here it is, 2008, and sometimes I think we haven't learned a damn thing!

Here are some additional examples of Bay Area Public Art, that I have particularly enjoyed...

"Crouching Spider" By Louise Bourgeois (S.F. Embarcadero)

The Hawk For Peace By Alexander Calder (Berkeley Art Museum)

"The Dreamer" by Pepe Ozan (Golden Gate Park 2007)

"Capriccio" By Carol Sutterlund (Santa Rosa, California)

"Red Quake" By Peter Forakis (Santa Rosa, California)

Follow the art. Just click on the links below to see the Public Art the other Robins found for this challenge. And remember there is still time to play, just visit the official Round Robin blog for all the details.

Linking List

Karen... Outpost Mavarin (Posted)

Carly... Ellipsis (Posted)

Momma... Sandcastle Momma (Posted!)

T.J. ...T.J.'s Photo Blog (Posted!)

Annie... Pictures of Craziness and Me and My Phone

Wammy... The Ellis Family Cincinnati (Posted!)

Vicki... Maraca (Posted!)

Molly... Return of the White Robin

Pamela... The Dust Will Wait (Posted!)

Swampy... Anecdotes, Antidotes and Anodes

Sahvvy... Instantaneous Exsistence

Em Dy... Captured Beat (Posted!)

Jama Hameed... Sweet Memories (Posted!)

Jennifer Robin... Robin's Woods (Posted!)

Teena... It's all about me! (Posted!)

Gattina... Keyhole Pictures (Posted!)


-OndineMonet
"Food For Thought"
Chrissy Field Promenade
San Francisco, California
August, 2008
Afternoon

Good Days

"The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word."

-Mata Hari

Lots of quiet movement. This butterfly was hovering for, what seemed like a long time, but in actuality was probably only about 10 seconds. I noticed it was almost running in place, which made me smile, because it kind of felt like I was watching her doing her aerobics for the day. LOL. I smiled because I know how good it feels to get a good long workout in, whether it be from a bike ride, or a jog or whatever. My body just feels sexy and invigorated when I am finished. It is a definite mood enhancer. :)



Yesterday, I took a long ride along Chrissy Field and around the Presideo. About 5 miles total. Ahhh... that's the stuff. Afterward I did some photography around the city and along the coast. It was really warm, so my knee was doing really well, and my mind was clear, so I think I did really good with my photography. It's amazing what a little bit of exercise will do for the body and the mind. Anyway, movement was catching my eye yesterday. Butterflies, birds, the wind in the trees. It was a good day, in the middle of a stressful week.



-OndineMonet
"Dancing"
Conservatory of Flowers
San Francisco, California
Golden Gate Park
August, 2008
Afternoon

Hey, What's That?

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

-Marcel Proust

Isn't that cool? Earlier this week, Alan and I decided to take a walk along the beach at Chrissy Field. We hadn't been to that pathway in many years, so it seemed like it would be a lot of fun. It's so strange, we go to Fort Point to have lunch all the time, but just never seem to visit the lovely grass area of Chrissy Field. Anyway, as we walked up around the corner from the Warming Hut, we saw the unusual rock formations at the edge of the bay. I haven't found out much information about it on the Internet, but I am going back next week, and I will try to stop in at the information center, and try to get some information at that time. Whatever it is, be it public art, or a monument to the effects of global warming on the bay, or something some mysterious person decided to do, I think it's great. We sat for about 30 minutes the other day, just discussing the different formations and enjoying the fabulous autumn weather. It was a nearly perfect day, and it was a lot of fun to make a new discovery. Have you figured out yet, that I am hopelessly in love with San Francisco?

Shaping The Bay: The Changing Bay Area Landscape

"Geologic forces have been shaping the San Francisco Bay Area landscape for 4 million years. The block of rock between the San Andreas and the Hayward faults, under the bay itself, is slowly sinking, and the mountains on both sides of the bay are being uplifted. Climate change and human activity here have further altered the bay. The filling of the wetlands has shrunk the bay's size, and human caused silting, has made it shallower. Only in narrows such as the Golden Gate, does tidal flow maintain deep channels."

Isn't that great?!

Bay sea creatures.

The view back toward the city.


-OndineMonet
"Forms"
The Beach At Chrissy Field
San Francisco, California
October 2, 2007
Late Afternoon

I Think Phil Is Right :)

"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn."

-Henry David Thoreau

More pictures of what I saw in San Francisco last Thursday. While I was there, I paid a visit to Ft. Point and Chrissy Field, where there is usually a nice variety of birds to enjoy watching. It was really cold however, so there just wasn't as many different types as I would have liked to have seen that day, but there was a nice group of sparrows happily searching for food. I am thrilled with each new bird species that I can add to my library. This little guy was a new one for me, it is called a, "White-crowned Sparrow." According to my, National Audubon Society Field Bird Guide, this type of sparrow is one of the most studied birds of the western United States. I had a good time watching him look for food, and enjoying his soft little chirp.

White-Crowned Sparrow

There are little glimpses of spring everywhere. I know it is a little early to be looking for blossoms on the trees, but to my delight, I am seeing deep pink blossoms here and there, so I think Punxutawney Phil's prediction might be right, I think we will be seeing signs of spring early this year, which is fine by me. I am looking forward to the flowers this year. I have some seed packets on my desk right now, just waiting for a warm day for planting. I have Cosmos, 4 O' Clocks, Sunflowers, Mini Carnations, which will hopefully bring me some butterflies and bees through the summer and autumn. Tee Hee. I am already looking forward to autumn. :)

So tell me, what are you looking forward to this year? A special holiday or birthday? The flowers blooming in spring? Summer at the beach? Share if you want to, in the comment thread for this entry. :)

-OndineMonet
"White-crowned Sparrow"
Chrissy Field
San Francisco, California
February 1, 2007
Afternoon