Friday, October 28, 2016

Blue Marble

Rain and wind has been roiling in from the West - this blessed change in the season means much needed refreshment for our garden and the possibility of plastic washing in from the North Pacific Gyre. Although it was late in the day, we realized it was time to head to Kehoe Beach.

We have had a busy Fall with a wonderful trip East. Along with visiting Richard's daughter Amelia in Brooklyn and Judith meeting with old friends from college in Tarrytown, a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was tops on our NYC list. The opportunity to see up close and in person the Fayum portraits what we had only seen in photographs we hoped would help us understand how the artists 1st - 3rd century AD accomplished the startlingly realistic portraits. It was revelation to see the originals and marvel at the skill and imagine the patience required to accomplish these paintings. 




This week the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library that hosts 450+billion webpages, brainchild of Brewster Kahle, celebrated its 20th anniversary with grand celebration. D.J.Spooky dazzled the crowd with a mega-mix of visuals and sounds.

In the sanctuary while waiting for  the program to begin we struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to us who "out of the blue" gifted us each a blue marble. Wallace J. Nichols started this "This global, slow motion art project that is passing a blue marble through every hand on Earth as a simple symbol of peace, gratitude and health."








First find of the day- a plastic turtle headed ashore- instead of eggs this plastic turtle was accompanied by a wave of nurdles. Hummmm- reminds that along with his Blue Marble project Nichols supports sea turtle conservation organizations that work to protect sea turtle hatchlings.

We better take this plastic hatchling home to our collection where it can serve as our spokesperson for the deleterious effects of plastic on sea turtle populations. 







And thinking blue - at dusk Richard's head dazzling with dew.