Season's Greetings!!

the tiny turnaround...

The sun set during my rush hour commute on Dec. 15 at 4:52 PM.  It was the first day of the turnaround, where the sun finally began setting later even as the sunrise continued to do the same, only at a faster pace. (Hence the still shrinking days). 

Now with the Solstice just past, we are surely heading towards the light. Hopefully with the holidays upon us, we can momentarily skip the daily commute and celebrate the season.

Best wishes and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Brenda

Bottoming Out!

November 30, 2014

Sunset 4:51 PM. San Francisco

Tonight is the earliest that the sun will set this year (for this latitude, at least). It will continue to set at 4:51 PM for the next 12 days before it once again opens up the day and begins to set later. All of this before the Winter Solstice. How can this be, you may ask. Ah, well :) The daylight continues to shrink because the sun is still rising later each day- eventually culminating on the shortest day a few weeks from now.

I love this graceful and uneven approach to the Solstice and hope you enjoy this little factoid as much as I do.

Whereforartthou?

October 4. Sunset 6:49 PM. Oakland, CA. 

photo: Tom Djll

The sun set during the load in and sound checks for the 17th Annual Music for People and Thingamajigs Festival- held this year at the Temescal ArtCenter. Congratulations and many thanks to everyone. It was a fun evening.

Goodnight Bill

Sunset 6:53 PM. October 2, 2014

5 years gone. We miss you Bill.

Happy Autumnal Equilux 2014!

Sunrise 7:01AM. Sunset 7:00 PM
September 27, 2014. San Francisco, CA

TADA!

At least for this latitude—Everyone further to the North, it’s coming your way!

This is the place where the iceman used to enter the house to make his deliveries. It’s a quiet zone that doesn’t change much from morning to evening and so it seemed an appropriate choice for this day of equilibrium.    

Tipping away from the light...

Sunset 7:08 PM. San Francisco
Sept. 22, 2014

I decided to head down to the mailbox at sunset because there is a nice view of the ocean from that corner and I thought it would be nice to actually see the horizon at sunset for a change. Just as I opened the mail slot, a woman and her young son approached the corner and asked me why I was ringing the bells. The little boy wanted to ring them and we chatted for a bit. “Do you want them back?” Ah. Since I had just run out of the house to mail the letters, I hadn’t thought to bring anything with me except the 2 special bells I chose for the occasion, and I had to reclaim them. Good reminder to always carry extra bells…

Late bird...

August 26, 2014. Sunset 7:49 PM. San Francisco

Slipping into the meditation garden for a quick goodbye to the day.

god morgen from Skomvær

Sunrise 4:45 AM. August 18, 2014. Skomvær Island

Greetings from Rachel Trapp, rising early during her residency in the Lofoten Archipelago in Norway. It looks too cold for summer…

watching and waiting

August 2. Sunset 8:11 PM Minneapolis Airport.

An a oddly serene moment enroute to San Francisco.

A noisy farewell

August 1, 2014. Sunset 8:13 PM. NYC.

Sharing a nice meal with Pauline Oliveros, Ione and Bun Ching Lam after saying goodbye to our wonderful friend and colleague, Jenneth Webster. Jenneth ran the Lincoln Center Out of Doors for decades and there was a memorial for her earlier this evening at the Lincoln Center. We miss her. So here’s a noisy send off from a momentarily dyslexic me- (all I captured was a brief snippet of the sound in the restaurant) --

Two for the Road

Two offerings this month:

July 16, 2014, ? ?

The audio was from sunset on July 16- exact time and place unknown- as it happened while I was onboard an airplane. My best guess is that it was around 9:00 and over Ohio somewhere. It was a spur of the moment documentation, and I just opened my iPad and played a little piece on the Tibetan Bowls app. I could barely hear the bells above the plane noise, but I think it turned out OK.

July 25, 2014. 8:19PM

I figured that first one was kind of cheating somehow and so I am also including a view of ColossalMedia’s mural of the winning photo by High School student Steven Paul.  It’s on Broadway just by the Williamsburg Bridge. It’s my favorite mural that’s been on that building so far.

A joyful noise!

June 21, 2014. Sunset 8:34 Chapel of the Chimes. Oakland, CA

Even though the Solstice has passed, the sun continues to set a bit later, reaching its apex (at this latitude anyway) on 6/26/14. Then the sun will continue to set at 8:36 for another week before reversing direction and joining the sunrise to shrink our daily dose of sunlight. Here is a snippet of this year’s Solstice celebration from the Garden of Memory at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, CA. A hundred bells, the Cardew Choir and the general din of 1000’s of people greeting the summer—

Thank you Rose for the amazing bell.

FYI The NY Times published an article challenging our association of light with all things good- including the relationship between the amount of sunlight and mood.

Memorial Day Sunrise

May 26, 2014. Sunrise 5:52 AMSan Francisco, CA

A quiet audio observance for Memorial Day.

Have a blessed and peaceful holiday.

(This was my co-observer this morning)

Garageland

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sunset 7:43 PM. Daly City, CA

Exciting news for all skywatchers

I thought I'd use this evening’s sunset update as an opportunity to alert/remind everyone of an exciting planetary event that will occur overnight this Monday into Tuesday: a total lunar eclipse - the first of a series four consecutive total eclipses – 

This series, called a tetrad, will occur over the next 2 years and will be visible from North America. Because the eclipse turns the moon red, it has been called a Blood Moon. 

It also coincides nicely with Passover and Tax day.

FYI

Biblical references to the Blood Moon  

FYI

Total eclipse times- various cities:

East coast 3AM (4/15/14)

West Coast Midnight tonight

St. Patrick and the Equilux

Sunrise 7/19 AM Sunset 7:18 PM
March 17, 2014
San Francisco 



For the sunrise I usually face east for a more direct view of the change in light. However, knowing that I was going to document both the sunrise and sunset, I decided to face the Pacific Ocean in the morning. And there was the moon! Hanging over the sea, on it’s way down.

So here is a nice view from the middle of the street on the day of the nearest balance of light and darkness as we approach the Equinox. To find out which day the Equilux occurs at your latitude- click here and enter your location.

Do you see the flare at sunset? Can that be the “green flash”? I have only seen it through a camera lens. Has anyone ever seen it with his or her bare eyes?

On the move into the light- Happy Spring!

Saving it for what?

Sunsets: March 8, 2014: Sunset 6:09 PM
March 9, 2014: Sunset 7:10 PM
San Francisco

One view. 2 days.

I hate when this happens. 

Welcome to Daylight Savings time. Again.

In loving memory-- Sheila Kaplan Davis 1954-2014

March 4, 2014 

Sunrise 6:38 AM. San Francisco

My grandmother lived above her grandmother’s store when they were both raising their children. Her mother and my mother would get on the phone after dinner and keep each other company the rest of the evening until one of them fell asleep. Sheila and I were born within 3 months of one another (she was younger as she would want everyone to know). We got into a lot of trouble together in High School and then saw one another sporadically over the years. I always felt close to Sheila and took our special connection for granted.

I found out last night that she passed away after a long illness I knew nothing about.

It was with great sadness and regret that I observed the sunrise this morning and dedicate this moment to my friend’s memory. Goodbye Sheila. This world is a poorer place without you in it.

Sunrise on the Horse!

January 31, 2014
Sunrise 7:15 AM. San Francisco

I wondered if we could actually hear the moment when the sun crosses the horizon.

(In this recording it happens during the passing of the streetcar at 7:15 AM)

Happy New Year of the Wood Horse!

the back way to JFK

January 8, 2014. 
Sunset 4:45 PM. Brooklyn, NY

Riding to the airport on all the little back streets in Brooklyn during rush hour. The driver was amazing. I had no idea where we were but he just whirled and twirled his way along. The tiny buzz of the various radio voices inside the car and the hum and thunks of the tires on the roadway were so inviting that I decided to record it along with the sunset. The photo was really an afterthought.

Happy 2014!

Twirling around in the middle of the street scanning for the sounds of midnight as we tick over into the new year. Warmest wishes for your health, happiness and heart's desire!

This marks the beginning of the 7th year for the daily bell. wooo.