Playing Hooky at Washed Ashore and the Marine Mammal Center

My creative self and I played hooky last week.  In the middle of the work week.  Gasp!  You'd think after ten plus years of being in business for myself - I'd have done this before - but no, I haven't - not until now.  But the promise of a 75 degree day along the coast - coupled with my desire to see an art exhibit at the The Marine Mammal Center before the exhibit closed a few days later - beckoned - and I answered that call by packing up my inhibitions, my camera, and heading up North.

As I drove up the I 280, still closer to home than my destination - I felt the strong pull of the office.  What if a client calls or emails?  What if I need something from the office to respond?  Should I really be doing this in the middle of the week?  Worry...worry.  Despite assurances to myself that this is what smart phones are for - and reasoning it's only a few hours, not the whole day - it still felt wrong.  Uncomfortable.  

But the further I got from the office, and the closer to my destination - the more I began to feel the pull of what lay ahead.  Like a magnet - I started feeling the draw and excitement of my destination.  Excitement and anticipation about seeing something new, being outside, exploring creatively and taking pictures, began to replace my doubts and concerns.  (While some of you reading this might think - what's the big deal? I do this all the time.  Well then, that's great for you!  For me though, this kind of "permission" is new, and a baby step forward on the path to living a fully invested life.  Integrating my creative and coaching selves - trusting that all of those dots will connect.)  

The "Washed Ashore:  Plastics, Sea Life and Art exhibit I wanted to see is sponsored by The Artula Institute  - "a non profit dedicated to providing opportunities to express and teach environmental issues through the arts".  Led by it's artistic director, Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the exhibit consists of eighteen (not all of them were at the MMC this day) large scale ocean objects made from debris collected from the ocean.  Some of the art objects are animals or fish, like Henry the fish above, others represent other aspects of the ocean - like the Pacific Plastic Patch - and what it must be like for creatures to "swim" through that mess.  

The objects are large - to represent how much garbage is out there in our oceans - and the negative impact of this on our environment.  As conscious as I'd like to think my husband and I are:  using reusable bags for grocery and other shopping; klean kanteens for filtered tap water; recycling; composting; and bringing our own containers for leftovers when dining out; in the face of this exhibit - it doesn't feel like it's enough.

While I highly recommend seeing this exhibit for yourself, or at least visiting the Washed Ashore  website to learn more, you can see from these pictures what ends up in the ocean.  Plastic bottles of all types (water, shampoo, oil...), and lots of them.  Bottle caps, tooth brushes, flip flops, kid's toys, fish nets, beer bottles, wine bottles, hard liquor bottles and lots of different car and boat parts too. 

  

After a while of taking it all in - it gets to you.  How can we "intelligent" beings allow this to happen?  How can we trash our own home - as if it doesn't matter?  It does.  It will.  I shudder to think of the trash making it's way over to our coast from the Japan Tsunami. I know that mother nature is resilient - but in the face of an ever growing human population - she needs our help.  We need to do our part.  

If I had a picture of a soap box - I'd insert it here.  This will have to do.

If you live in the Bay Area, and haven't checked it out yet, the Marine Mammal Center is a terrific place.  I came a visitor, and left a member.  They do all they can to help injured and ill marine life and to educate.  The facility is impressive.  I believe they went through a major renovation in 2009 - solar panels and all.  While a visit is free, and donations welcomed, for an annual membership of $25, you can become a part of this organization.  If low on cash but flush with time, you can join their volunteer base too.

This little guy or gal wasn't looking so good - I hope they are doing O.K. 

 

Done with the exhibit, it was time to go back to work.  But the Marine Mammal Center happens to be around the corner from Rodeo Beach, a beach that I used to take my buddy Rob's dogs too.  A place I love and hadn't been to in quite some time.  It would be a crime to be so close not to dip a toe in the water, no?  Heck - I was already gone two hours, what would another 30 minutes "cost" me?  So what if I'm here without any dogs?  It didn't take much more convincing than that.

This little gal was having a super time pushing an environmentally friendly rock around the beach.....into the surf....back out again...enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

The cost of making this short pit stop before heading back to the office to answer the day's calls and emails?

Priceless.

As was the reminder that we can do better.  One way I plan to do this is to stop using the grocery store's plastic bags when buying in bulk (grains, nuts, oatmeal, etc.)  Instead, I'll bring our own reusable containers which the store can weigh and mark accordingly to avoid paying the extra cost of their weight at the point of sale.

Baby Steps.

A Blissful Day in Half Moon Bay

This post is dedicated to Steve Jobs.  To having the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  To trusting that all of those dots will connect at some point in the future, and to the creative inspiration and progeny he leaves behind.  Thank you Steve.
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I spent a blissful day in Half Moon Bay about a week ago learning how to take better pictures on a photography "tour" offered by Susan Rosner and Fotomentours.  As her website says - "Fotomentours supports amateur photographers to build a library of beautiful original images."  I would add that the tours are a great way to slowly develop your photography skills in the company of interesting, like "hobbied" people.  Plus - Susan's knowledgeable, easy going style matches the "practical application" way I personally like to grow and learn.

First stop on the tour was Moss Beach Ranch - a full service equine boarding and training facility - and every little girl's (and this big one's) dream. 

I have yet to come across a stable that doesn't have a few resident cats - and I was happily snapping away at the first ones I saw - when the ranch owner's gentle reminder of "we have plenty of horses to take pictures of too"  floated through the air and brought me back to the true purpose at hand.

And of course - he was right!  In fact - of the 850 pics I shot this day - about 350 were at the stable alone.  These are just a few of my favorites. 

Per Susan's instructions, we had just set up our cameras to take photos of horses moving in the ring, when this beauty was brought in.  The first thing he/she? did was throw themselves to the ground for a long and hearty role. I was lucky to capture this shot as the horse was standing up.  Their beauty, strength and power was memorizing - it felt like such a joyous and carefree moment for them -as it was for me.

 

I was lucky to be in the right place / right time when Derby rested his head briefly on his brother Firecracker's back. Seeing the two "snuggling" together is what drew me in for a closer look in the first place.

 Spending time with these magnificent beings - I can truly appreciate their therapeutic impact. 

One final parting shot on the way out to our next stop on the tour.  I'd like to think this horse is checking out the action in the distant ring.  Then again, he might be napping, or, gracefully ignoring the paparazzi.

Our second stop was the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve .  Before heading to the tide pools, we climbed to the bluffs above to capture images of this magical and misty gray world.

After finishing up there, we made out way to the tide pools - down to the left.

    Just past the the harbor seals....

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Concentrating hard on taking pictures of the pools, I almost got drenched by a wave of water rushing in.  They can be sneaky that way.  As it turns out - the waves made for better images than the pools. 

Our fourth and almost last stop was Romeo Pier.  A locals beach.  You won't find many tourists here.

A family of four walked along the beach.  One ran ahead to catch up with their dog  The round blob on the right is a radar,  and was apparently used to help track the satellite that recently came back to earth.

Our final stop was the harbor were our cars were parked, but by then, my concentration was shot, so I won't inflict any pictures on you from there.  But I'll end this post by sharing that all the way on the drive back home, I couldn't help but look at the world through the eyes of a photographer.  Oh that's great light.  Look at the color of that car, that tree, that house. Is that a rainbow?  Should I stop and take a picture?  

All the way home....and into the backyard, where I took a few parting shots of the sunset.

All the way home....I was a photographer......at last.

Going Vegan - Making Seitan

Spring radishes from the garden

We are on our way to eating a more vegan life style.  After two years of not eating hoofed animals - with just a few exceptions - we finally let go of eating our feathered friends earlier this year.  I wasn't sure how we were going to let the poultry go - it being such an integral part of our "clean eating" lifestyle - until my husband and I did a 3 week vegan food cleanse with Julie Vance at Yoga Niche .  The cleanse was amazing.  After three weeks of enjoying delicious non animal foods and recipes, losing six stubborn pounds, and with more energy and clarity than I've ever had before  - I knew there was no going back.

From May on - it's been a mostly vegan diet - with the occasional seafood sprinkled throughout.  After cooking with meat for so long, it definitely takes an investment of time, energy, focus and money* to consciously create a new way of eating that is varied, yummy, and well balanced nutritionally too. 

*another advantage to going vegan is the money you save by not buying meat and dairy products.  I have to verify the numbers, but I think we're saving $100 to $200 a month on groceries. 

beans from our yard steamed and tossed with lemon (from my dad's yard) zest and juice

Luckily, I like to cook, and love trying new recipes, especially when I create and have the time to plan, shop, and prepare.  On-line research led me to a few vegan cookbooks recommended by vegan strength trainers, and I ordered some of those, along with Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet.  I could easily have ended the upfront financial investment there, but having had such a great experience on the cleanse, I signed up for Julie's 6 Month Nutrition Program - with the goal of ensuring a mindful transition into this new way of eating - while honoring my values of learning and partnering.

So far, so great!  I'm in the second month of the "tailored" program.  And I LOVE it.  I meet with Julie every two weeks, and have "homework" in-between our meetings.  Each in-between period has me focusing on a new aspect of nutrition.  For example, the first two weeks - I focused on greens and was mindful of incorporating more greens into our diet.  The next two weeks it was all about grains - and along with eating quinoa and brown rice, I tried out new recipes I found using whole grain teff and spelt.

MAKING SEITAN

This period's focus is protein. And I have decided to make seitan (say - tahn) - a high protein, low fat product derived from the protein portion of wheat.  (Luckily, as far as I can tell, we have no issues with gluten in our household.  So bring it! )  Now, if you are in a pinch, you can buy already made seitan - often "flavored" as chicken or beef - and throw that into a dish.  But in the spirit of eating less processed foods, and since the basic recipe looked so darn easy to make, I decided to give it a go.

kneaded and ready to be simmered

It was ridiculously easy.  I made it on Sunday while I made a lentil salad for dinner that night.  Just mix vital wheat gluten flour with some liquids,  knead, and simmer.  I made a basic seitan with not a whole lot of herbs or flavoring in it.  (Apparently you can season and flavor it to "taste" like chicken, or beef, or Italian sausage - basically whatever you and your taste buds can imagine.) You can also bake it and prepare it in ways other than simmering.  So many options! 

Using my homemade seitan, I made a seitan, mushroom, spinach dish out of Veganomicon on Tuesday night.  Wow.  I don't know if it was the seitan, the extra garlic and spices, the white wine, or the scraping of the brown bits I did "off recipe" - but this dish was delicious!

I see lots of exploration and fun ahead as I try out new ways of making and using this great source of protein.  And since it's lunch time, and I've gotten a little hungry writing this post, I'm off to enjoy this dish again - this time over a bowl of warm nut like tasting spelt.  Yum!