Earth Hour: Turn off your lights 8-9pm Tonight

Just thought I would get a plug in for Earth Hour tonight.

http://www6.earthhourus.org/

The city of Chicago is participating as well as many major cities across the world. So just take one hour and shut off your lights from 8-9pm. Light a candle. Play a guitar. Read a book. Talk to your family! Whatever!

Stuff

Here is some of our stuff. I'm not a big fan of "stuff," but I still want it! I love bringing things back from vacations and sometimes making things. This first picture has a shrine Maggie made on the left, a rock that looks like it has a bear print that I found in Oklahoma, two bear fetishes we bought at Dave's Rock Shop here in Evanston, Some more rocks found in the southwest, two crosses I made, a deer antler I found along the Cimarron, a small southwestern pot, a Frida box, an iron something or other that says "ER" on it, and a small mammal skull that I haven't quite figured out yet.
I found this Audubon print of Canvasbacks at the Junior League here in Evanston.
This fish fossil was given to me by my Father in law. The little Bison was my Grandmother Gresham's.
I wish we could say we found this skull, but we bought it at this huge, amazing shop in Santa Fe called Jackalope.
And this painting I got for my birthday is by my friend Rob Compton.
And my ultimate collection of "stuff" are my Tolkien books. Here are just a few.

Day 20

America Can Change

"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country, a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope " the audacity to hope " for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

Wilmette Harbor

Spent some time at Wilmette Harbor this morning. It was fun watching the Goldeneyes getting into spring even though it was cold! Saw Redheads, a Ring-necked Duck, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Common, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, one White-winged Scoter, Mallards, Canada Geese, Belted Kingfisher, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrow, Ring-billed Gulls and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

Goldeneyes getting into spring
Beautiful male Red-breasted Merganser


White-winged Scoter eating
More Common Goldeneyes

Greater Scaup eating a meal
Here's the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette as seen across the harbor. It truly is beautiful and very accessible, so make sure you stop by if you have a chance.

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
- Sir Arthur Eddington

Machias Seal Island

Check out these pictures of migrating birds that stop to rest on Machias Seal Island off the Maine coast. Amazing!

Chet Gresham, Pitcher, Brooklyn Yankees

So I decided to officially put my name on this blog. Not sure why I hadn't. Some since of modesty I guess. Not that it matters at all. So anyway, afterward I googled my name to see if this blog came up and I found out that I am a pitcher for the Brooklyn Yankees!! When I clicked on it I figured there was some real baseball player on some Yankees' farm team with my name, but I'm guessing no. I really have no idea what this is, but it doesn't look like I am that good, and I haven't been born yet, but still it's good to be noticed.

Bobby Broom Trio

Maggie and I went to see the Bobby Broom Trio at Pete Miller's last night. I had read about Broom (guitarist) and was looking forward to seeing him. And I wasn't disappointed. He has played with greats like, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Art Blakey and the list goes on and on. I like Jazz a lot, but I'm not a student of it. I wish I could articulate why it was so good, but I can't. It just was! When he wanted to be fast and flawless he was, but when he wanted to give it a little more improvised feel he did that as well. It seemed like he could do anything he wanted. I'm usually more a fan of the brass instruments like sax and trumpet, but guitar has to be right up there. He is also in the Deep Blue Organ Trio which I can't wait to see play. They have a Hammond B3 Organ player and I love that sound.

Day 4

Seedlings Day 3

On Sunday night I planted some cabbage, brussels sprouts and broccoli. I didn't expect to see the seeds sprout so quickly, but today I saw a few little flecks of green!