Tasty Bells Sunset Snack

5:18PM Oakland, CA

Soon after beginning the dailybell2008 project, my Godson Kazimir was born, and we have spent as many Fridays together as possible since then. He now has a baby sister who is just about the same age as Kazimir was when he first started to join us for the bell ringing. (In his case, it was a more oral than aural experience).

Now as his sister carries on the oral bell tradition, Kazimir has become more interested in the videotaping than the bell ringing while Krys and I comfortably observe the passing of the day together. (FYI: That's the new and improved mosh pit in the background).

Berkeley Garden Sunset

1/15/12 PM


This place may look familiar from among the last round of daily videos in 2008. Time has not passed unnoticed however. The prayer flags have come and gone and come again. The garden is more wild and varied. The tree is taller, as is Jenny's nephew who is now in the middle of Kindergarten. Welcome back!

First Weekly Post of 2012

Sunrise/Sunset
January 7, 2012




I began this project in 2008 at the beginning of a Leap Year. Since we are here again at another Leap Year, I wanted to do something special to commemorate the anniversary as well as the occasion of our realignment of Earth time with Universal time. It’s amazing how short a period it takes for us to become out of whack, requiring an additional entire day to adjust our tidy and slightly lagging timekeeping methods with the actual planetary movement.

Anyway, I continue to observe and invite others to join the sunrise and sunset each day. I still like ringing the bells and carry a few in my purse and lug a big one around in the back of my car. It’s become a part of my life and a few children I know who have grown up with the tradition think nothing of it when the sunsets to come over and ring the bell in my car or to grab a bell in the house and ring along.

Believe it or not, some people have actually said they missed the updates and little bits of documentation they received as part of the first year. So to both commemorate the beginning of year 5 and to share glimpses of my observances, I am going to document one of the sunrises or sunsets each week this year and post them to the blog. If you have any media or comments you would like to post, please post what you can directly and send whatever you can’t to me, and I will do it for you.

Happy 2012!

Happy 2012!

MIDNIGHT- January 1, 2012
Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy new year from Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA. This is the beginning of another leap year! It's also the beginning of the 5th year of daily sunrise and sunset observances that begin with dailybell2008. Please join us in spreading and sharing the awareness of these 2 brief moments that connects 100% of us everyday.

Happy New Year!

Ringing in 2011 (and the start of the 4th year of the dailybell project)

Final Sunset 2010

May each of the sunrises and sunsets in this New Year find you in a good place!

Winter Solstice 2010

Seed Swap and Bell Ringing at the Dearborn Garden
What a lovely garden. Congratulations and good luck as we now move into the light

A little chilly but homemade food, drinks and good company warmed up the evening. Thanks to Liz Keim, Sam Sharkey and the Exploratorium and to Bill Basquin, Johunna Grayson, Greta Snider and the members and friends of the Dearborn Community Garden.

Happy Solstice Everyone!!!! And thanks for the seeds.

Winter Solstice Seed Swap and Bell Ring

SAVE YOUR SEEDS!

Sunset is at 4:54PM

The annual Solstice Seed Swap and Sunset Bell Ringing is just around the corner. dailybell will be joining artists and urban gardeners Bill Basquin, Johunna Grayson, Greta Snider.
When: 3:00 - 7:00 pm. Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Where: Dearborn Garden, at the corner of Dearborn and Bird Streets, very near to the Women's Building; SF, CA.
What: Bring seeds or plants to share. Bells.
Who: you and others who love to garden, compost, and protect the genetic commons through seed saving and sharing.
Who else: young people are welcome; dogs are NOT
Please label your seeds with as much information as you can provide:
• Location and date of collection.
• Species and variety. Color of bloom (when applicable).
• Adaptability to particular microclimates (which one are you in?).
• Cultivation preferences of the plant (does it like to have cool feet and a warm top?) if you know them.
Supported by Liz Keim and The Exploratorium.

Ring Round The World

OK. Let's do it.

On September 23, 2010, the date of the Harvest Moon, we will create a Ring Round the World by following the sunrise or sunset as it travels around the globe for 24 hours and by ringing bells at that moment. We could begin tracking the sunrise as it rises over the International Date Line and follow it from there.

As the 3rd year of the dailybell gets underway, I thought this would be a good time to plant some seeds for what could happen. The idea of tracking the sunrise and sunset as it travels around the globe, even for just one day, is such a joyous notion.

I am not quite sure how this works yet, but I've started a google group and you can go there and join.

Happy 2010!

At the beginning of 2009, I decided to keep the large cast iron bell in the back of my hatchback. I figured I would most likely be with my car at the end of the day and that it would be really nice to have the big bell handy. Since I was already at home for many of the sunsets, I rang the bell regularly in my neighborhood. Over the course of the year, some of my neighbors have joined me consistently. The fact that most of them are under 10 years old and need to be accompanied across the street by an adult should be mentioned.

I look forward to embarking on year 3 and have yet to decide how I would like to participate in it’s evolution. The daily practice is great and I would also like to instigate and document more events this time around. It would be great to have more people join the project and to know about their various activities.

The big picture?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a ring around the world- a constant trail of bells following the sun as it crosses the horizon across the globe? Oh…!
Reality check
This is a picture one of my young and loyal bell ringers slipped under my door the other day. I was so excited because I thought he had drawn himself striking these two little round school bells that he often likes to play. When I thanked him for the drawing and told him how much I liked it, especially the part with him playing the bells, he told me they weren’t bells. They were the spots of light he was casting with his new flashlight that I gave him for Christmas. AAH bells, flashlights- what’s the difference…