I Love Bikes… and Europe
Love, love, love… and the scheming to move to Scandinavia continues (even if only in my mind).
Via: Traveling Greener
Friday Photo: Downpour
A humid night in New Orleans, the air thick and sluggish, practically begging to crack open. And it does, sending me to stand under a dripping awning, watching the cars fly by, spraying water every which way. I wait for the tropical deluge to pass, clothes soaking, hair stuck to my face, watching the water level rise in the street. The hard asphalt softens and the rain continues.
A Reason to Love Fall
$5 worth of farmers market chantrelles. Consumed all in one sitting.
Parking Space Turned Cafe
Park(ing) Day is this Friday — props to those who will be converting parking spaces into mini urban parks — so I figured a mention of this super cool looking pop up cafe in New York was fitting, pulled from this week’s installment of Foodie Underground:
Sponsored by two neighboring eateries – Bombay and Fika – and the New York City Department of Transportation, the pop up cafe is composed of a wooden platform that houses 14 tables and 50 chairs. An attempt at solving the problem of cramped sidewalks which don’t leave much room for outdoor seating, the pop up cafe is part foodie attraction and part public space improvement. In fact, Bombay and Fika don’t offer table service, and anyone who wants to take advantage of the space is allowed to take a seat.
Taking the place of several parking spaces, the outdoor seating doesn’t conflict with the sidewalk traffic, and it’s a project that the DOT is more than happy to support. “Every time we put down just an orange barrel, people just materialize out of nowhere,” said Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to Streetsblog. “If you build it, they will sit.”
Image: DNA Info
Friday Photo: Swedish Autumn
This time of year equals serious Sweden cravings. Fresh, brisk air, cool afternoon walks, morning fika with warm coffee and baked goods, a pair of rainboots by the door, a weekend to pick chantrelles out in the country… the list goes on. So to kill (or feed, I can’t decide which) my homesickness, today’s Friday Photo gets a whole album. Njut!
Drop Everything and Become a Conservation Photographer?
Photo courtesy Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP
That’s what the iLCP makes me want to do… they’re in the Great Bear Rainforest right now doing a Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition, where they’re documenting an incredible place that could be severely affected by potential gas pipelines. In other words, they’re fighting oil industry interests. An important cause at a crucial time. After spending ten days in the Gulf last month, this is even more poignant for me than it ever has been.
And they’re doing it all with photos. When we see a place, we connect to it. We are hopefully driven to protect it.
Founder Cristina Mittermeier wrote an excellent piece this week that’s a great reminder of why we need to connect the dots:
What is the big deal in sacrificing the livelihoods, traditions and sustenance of entire indigenous communities, when the rest of us will not accept paying the full ecological and social price at the pump?
Read the whole post here.
Seed Bombs + Vending Machines = Easy Guerilla Gardening
Vintage gumball machines distribute seed bombs, ready to be thrown into abandoned urban spaces in need of a little greenery the world round. Love this concept.
Friday Photo: Blue Lake
Spent three days of unconnected bliss out in Indian Heaven Wilderness last weekend, camping by the aptly named Blue Lake. There’s a reason that Henry David Thoreau said, “In wilderness is the preservation of the world.” In the backcountry things are still and simple. Just what the overly multi-tasked brain needs.
Friday Photo: Dirty Shell
Still trying to decompress after returning home from the Gulf…
Last Saturday I found myself on Ship Island, one of the barrier islands of Mississippi that makes up Gulf Islands National Seashore. Beautiful white beaches lined by bright green grass and topped off with bright blue sky. And covered in tar balls and dirty shells. This is the new reality, and as I move forward and work on processing everything that the last ten days entailed, this image is going to be forever etched in my mind.
blog.annabrones.com 