Hurrah 2026!

· Maine Event

Happy New Year. Today was a great day. It was foggy and misty in the morning, rainy while we headed to the East Bay, drizzly while we had a fabulous lunch with family. (We even had a phone call from East Coast family!) Then it stopped raining, and we had a nice espresso and a nice walk with our dear friends. And then back to the city in light rain, on and off. We managed to squeeze in a couple more short walks between rain showers or during light drizzle. Very joyful way to start.

Here is Mamdani's inauguration speech (PBS YouTube). Warning: It's hopeful. He is unapologetically democratic socialist! Hurrah! Go NYC!!

And air quality is back under 50 aqi, hurrah! Yay for rain! It took a day or so, but it won.

It's like walking in a cloud. Misty foggy way to wake up.
Weekend walk on Thursday will def throw you off.
These boxes are showing up all over the city, where the sidewalks are wide - some have gardens on top, some are open, and some have lids. They hide people's trash, recycling, and compost bins. I remember the first place I lived in North Beach, the garbage pickup was on a steep alley, and they had keys to the building because you couldn't put them out and still drive down it. Totally amazing what nonsystems and heroic people it takes to live in a city.
Steep hills
Probably named for the city in Tennessee. Its name, derived from a Creek word meaning "rock coming to a point," refers to the iconic Lookout Mountain.
Steep hills
Rain!
Puddles!
language...
Fall and Spring are happening at the same time.
Steep hills
Fog has enveloped the city.

Have a great day and think about how your actions can change the world - little ones and big ones. Together we can do this.

Here is a poem for you.

Sending oodles of love,

Tawnia

p.s. I agreed with myself to read 25 books in 2025 and am currently reading number 25. I want to encourage you all to pick up a book and read. It is so much better than bingeing on news and other electronic attention grabbers.

Bird List - 30 species today

Canada Goose
Bufflehead
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Ring-billed Gull
Western Gull
California Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Black Phoebe
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bewick's Wren
European Starling
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
Golden-crowned Sparrow
California Towhee
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Here are my 25 books read for 2025 for a total of 5,483 pages (bold means I'd recommend them)

  1. Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley
  2. Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
  3. Twelve Trees by Daniel Lewis
  4. A Soil Owner's Manual by Jon Sitka
  5. Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta
  6. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  7. Grow your own Mediterranean garden in the city by Vergers du Monde
  8. Permaculture Gardening for the Absolute Beginner by Josie Beckman
  9. Land, Guns, Caste, Woman by Gita Ramaswamy
  10. Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Peter Krpotkin
  11. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
  12. Killing Stella by Marlen Haushofer
  13. Nancy Wake: The White Mouse (autobiography)
  14. A Nation of Farmers by Sharon Astyk and Aaron Newton
  15. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
  16. Grounded by Anna Carlile
  17. The Paradox of Preservation by Laura Alice Watt
  18. Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
  19. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackey
  20. Independence Days by Sharon Astyk
  21. Saving the planet without the Bullsh*t by Assaad Razzouk
  22. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
  23. The Ha-Ha by Jennifer Dawson
  24. Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
  25. Midaq Alley by Naguid Mahfouz