Day 98 snap shots

June 27, 2020. Sunset 8:35 (again).
San Francisco, CA.

The bird was waiting in the tree when I brought the bell outside and stayed the whole time. I think she likes the bell. Our next-door neighbor and her young son hung out their window with some little bells. Sounds like a party a few doors down.
Day 98 Sheltering in place from one end of the street to the other. – BH

Day 97 Same time. Same place.

June 26, 2020. Sunset 8:35 (again).
San Francisco, CA.

Same time. Same place. Good company.
Day 97 Sheltering in place from one end of the street to the other. – BH

Day 96 6ft of separation ensemble

June 25, 2020. Sunset 8:35 (again).
San Francisco, CA.

I never know when I open the garage door who, if anyone, will be standing there waiting to end the day with us. This evening Elisabeth Beaird, Richard Marriott and Thea Farhadian were there with those lovely Chinese gongs and Gankogui cowbell. I am hoping that since the Solstice, when our nearest neighbors joined us at sunset, that they might enjoy the occasional evening percussion ensemble a bit more than before when it just appeared out of the blue. Maybe they would even like to join us sometime…
Day 96 Sheltering in place from one end of the street to the other. – BH

Day 95 sad little birthday balloons

June 24, 2020. Sunset 8:35 (again).
San Francisco, CA.

We've lost our first minute of daylight since the Solstice. At the rate of 20 seconds each day for the next 3 days, this is the slowest loss of light we will experience for the rest of the year. About the time of 3 or 4 breaths.
Listen
Day 95 Sheltering in place from one end of the street to the other. – BH

Day 94 is anybody home?

June 23, 2020. Sunset 8:35 (again).
San Francisco, CA.

From the sound of light, constant traffic, I wonder how many people are still sheltering in place. There is definitely more coming and going since the recent “limited” reopening. It had been so still out here– no distant hum of cars - just space.

We are still being cautious about being with other people and not engaging in any “outdoor dining, indoor retail, or other small public activities”. Those options still seem a bit risky to us.
Day 94 Sheltering in place from one end of the street to the other. – BH

Day 93 the final stretch

June 22, 2020. Sunset 8:35 (again).
San Francisco, CA.

Same amount of daylight as the Solstice- only it’s all been shifted one minute later.
Day 93 Sheltering in place from one end of the street to the other. – BH

sun events: 6/20-21 lulu & the solstice

June 20 and 21, 2020. Sunset 8:34 PM.
Berkeley, CA.
On my porch
-Wendy Reid
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Two sunsets for the Solstice: June 20th was the actual Solstice this year (Leap Day inserted that extra day in there). June 21st is the traditional celebration for the Garden of Memory ordinarily held at the Chapel of the Chimes. Everyone was invited to ring and sing in place this year, connecting through our collective memory and present virtual community observation.

Day 92 Garden of Memory Solstice

June 21, 2020. Sunset 8:35.
San Francisco, CA.

Our sunset observation this evening was part of the annual Garden of Memory Solstice event. Started by Sarah Cahill in 1995, the event ordinarily takes place from 5:00 – 9:00 in the extensive warren of rooms in Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. It features 100’s of simultaneous performances for the audience to discover as they wander from room to room. It’s an extraordinary experience that many of us in the Bay Area look forward to every year. Because the event could not be presented on site at the Chapel of the Chimes this year, New Music Bay Area has put together some previously unseen video footage from Garden of Memory 2006 and 2008.


At home this evening, as usual, we dragged the big bell down to the sidewalk a few minutes before sunset. While waiting to begin ringing the bell, Sarah Cahill and I spoke on her radio show, Revolutions per Minute on 91.7 KALW to coordinate a (very) socially distanced communal observation of the sunset. While it’s not possible to recreate the exuberance and amazing sound of 100’s of bells ringing in close proximity, I hope that everyone who participated this evening was able to feel a connection—it was very powerful for me-- recalling past years while imagining so many disparate and distant places merging in time today.


From my end-- I heard Sarah’s radio broadcast playing through my phone on the hood of my car- so we could hear Willie Wynant performing Roscoe Mitchell’s Bell for New Orleans AND the delicate tingsha bell from the radio AND the big bell on the sidewalk AND my neighbors ringing the little bells from the street and a few windows AND I was imagining the bells spread across the Bay and all of us together for a moment.