friday wisdom

top knot

A new crop of scarves from Anthropologie.

And here's what you can do with them.

friday humor

More from Marc Johns here.

life in topanga

 Mystery bird.

Mystery bird flying away.

Update: mystery solved - Yellow rumped warbler. They like our winters but prefer cooler climes....JK

etsy shopping

For the love of concrete

CULINARIUM is a handcrafted gourmet kitchenware line, a small family owned business that strives to bring culinary art into everyones kitchen and home.

These one of a kind items are produced utilizing eco-friendly materials such as; concrete, recycled marble dust & rubber, cork & aluminum. The heart & soul of any house is the kitchen, and they enjoy bringing practical solutions to it.

 Concrete and felt coasters

 Salt and Spice Caddy

 Stacking Spice and Salt Cellars

 Natural Concrete Tray

Sage Green Concrete Salt Cellar

spring sweet paul

The Spring 2012 issue of the always delightful Sweet Paul magazine is out! Brew up a pot of tea and settle down for a lovely and inspiring read here.

spring has sprung

Spring - or Vernal Equinox - begins in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M. (EDT).

This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of flora and fauna.

The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” The spring and fall equinoxes are the only dates with equal daylight and dark as the Sun crosses the celestial equator. At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)

In spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt toward the Sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name. Snow, if a normal part of winter, begins to melt, and streams swell with runoff. Frosts, if a normal part of winter, become less severe. In climates that have no snow and rare frosts, the air and ground temperature increases more rapidly. Many flowering plants bloom this time of year, in a long succession sometimes beginning even if snow is still on the ground, continuing into early summer. In normally snowless areas "spring" may begin as early as February (Northern Hemisphere) heralded by the blooming of deciduous magnolias, cherries, and quince, or August (Southern Hemisphere) in the same way.

While spring is a result of the warmth caused by the turning of the Earth's axis, the weather in many parts of the world is overlain by events which appear very erratic taken on a year-to-year basis. The rainfall in spring (or any season) follows trends more related to longer cycles or events created by ocean currents and ocean temperatures. Good and well-researched examples are the El Niño effect and the Southern Oscillation Index.

Unstable weather may more often occur during spring, when warm air begins on occasions to invade from lower latitudes, while cold air is still pushing on occasions from the Polar regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year because of snowmelt, accelerated by warm rains. In the United States, Tornado Alley is most active this time of year, especially since the Rocky Mountains prevent the surging hot and cold air masses from spreading eastward and instead force them into direct conflict. Besides tornadoes, supercell thunderstorms can also produce dangerously large hail and very high winds, for which a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado warning is usually issued. Even more so than in winter, the jet streams play an important role in unstable and severe weather in the springtime in the Northern Hemisphere.

In recent decades season creep has been observed, which means that many phenological signs of spring are occurring earlier in many regions by a couple of days per decade.

Spring is seen as a time of growth, renewal, of new life (both plant and animal) being born. The term is also used more generally as a metaphor for the start of better times, as in the Prague Spring. Spring in the Southern Hemisphere is different in several significant ways to that of the Northern Hemisphere. This is because: there is no land bridge between Southern Hemisphere countries and the Antarctic zone capable of bringing in cold air without the temperature-mitigating effects of extensive tracts of water; the vastly greater amount of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere at all latitudes; at this time in Earth's geologic history the Earth has an orbit which brings it in closer to the Southern Hemisphere for its warmer seasons; there is a circumpolar flow of air (the roaring 40s and 50s) uninterrupted by large land masses; no equivalent jet streams; and the peculiarities of the reversing ocean currents in the Pacific.

via wikipedia and the old farmers almanac

on the eve of spring

Cherry blossoms bloom in Washington, D.C.

( Karen Bleier / AFP / Getty / March 19, 2012 )

The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC is seen as a back drop to the Cherry blossoms which have come full bloom due to the early warm weather along the East coast of the US. The blossoms are expected to reach their peak on Tuesday.

( Alex Wong / Getty Images / March 19, 2012 )

Cherry trees blossom by the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the cherry trees, which were originally a gift from Japan and were planted on the National Mall.

friday wisdom

life in topanga

Signs that say spring is around the corner.

We found a baby rattlesnake by the back door over the weekend. It piqued my curiosity about whether the venom of a baby rattler is truly more poisonous than an adult.

This is from Gardeners Anonymous:

I read everything I could by Sean Bush and went straight to Harry Green; one of the world’s leading authorities on snakes, and this is what I learned: 

When rattlesnakes are babies they are too small to eat what adult snakes eat. Adult’s diet consists mainly of mammals like rodents. Baby rattlesnakes eat mostly reptiles such as little lizards. 

The baby rattler’s venom contains more neurotoxins than the adult’s because reptiles react differently to adult rattlesnake venom. 

Neurotoxins are more dangerous than cytotoxins, which make up most of an adult rattlesnake’s venom.

Therefore, baby rattlesnake venom may be slightly more toxic than adult venom. However all snake experts agree that being bitten by an adult rattlesnake is far more dangerous than a bite from a baby rattlesnake because of the sheer quantity of venom that an adult snake can produce.

He quietly slithered away. Hopefully when he gets older he'll help control our gopher population.

friday wisdom

a couple of worthy causes for japan

Both are sponsored by the wonderful Tortoise General Store on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice.
Japan Relief

It is hard to believe that it has already been a year since the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit the Tohoku area of Japan in March 11, 2011. In memory of the victims and to illuminate what is still going on in Japan after a year, Tortoise General Store will have a joint fund raising event in our back patio!

We have asked Revive Japan to come back to have another Tea Bowl sale which was so popular last time! All the ceramics are hand made by local potters and donated for this event.

There will also be lots of baked goods, Mikiko's flower bouquets, etc. at this event.

March 11, 2012 (Sun) noon - 4pm @ TGS patio

100% of the profit will be donated. Cash only.
Any volunteers and donated baked goods are welcome!

Animal Rescue actions in Fukushima

We have been doing a lot of research to find the right destinations for our donation, and found heart-aching realities. There are still numerous numbers of animals striving to survive in the restricted area in Fukushima 20km from the Daiichi power plant.

Yes, it has already been a year since the humans were forced to evacuate from their homes and leave their pets and animals behind, but some animals were lucky enough to survive. The second generation animals were born who are afraid of humans (we can't blame them, they've never seen humans before). Professional animal rescue groups need to get into the 20km zone to rescue these animals, but the Japanese government is restricting them.

The Hachiko Coalition is one of the organizations that is continuing to take rescue actions. You can help by signing this petition, or generously donating the funds so that they can use it right away for sending few of their crew for a rescue attempt this Thursday 3/8 (which is our Wednesday) by clicking Chipin , or you can also donate through TGS here.

Even if you can't make it to our event, there are other ways to help and learn about Japan!
"Shinsai" to benefit Japanese Theater community
"Moving Forward" exhibition at Fowler Museum UCLA
Go see "Pray for Japan" documentary film

Tortoise General Store
1208 abbot kinney blvd
venice, ca 90291
tel/fax 310-314-8448

tortoise
1342 1/2 abbot kinney blvd.
venice, ca 90291
tel/fax 310-396-7335

friday wisdom