20 or More Every Day

     Next to the Larchmont Library here in Norfolk is a temporary memorial that aims to bring attention to the high rate of suicide among American vets. It is estimated that 20 or more take their own lives every day. That's 140 each week, 7280 each year. This number is likely an indication of inadequate treatment for PTSD and traumatic brain injury. The memorial was created by Mission 22, a group which aims to increase awareness of the crisis.

Winter Walk-Off 2018

      Since 2011 I have held my Winter Walk-Off, and though I don't blog like I once did (real life taking away from on-line life), I still wanted to continue with this meme. This has been a mixed winter here. We had extreme cold, kissing the single digits, in January with a good amount of snow. We have also had temperatures in the 70's, and the forecast for Wednesday of this week is calling for 80. The only real constant this winter has been the wet, everything is soggy, including my attitude. So I take advantage of what dry days we have, and try to spend them outside; it is good for the soul. I hope you will do the same thing.

     As always, the rules are simple, the rules are flexible:

     On your own two feet, leave the house, and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home (if you want to drive to your walk destination that's OK too). Your post does not have to be about gardening or a travelogue (though I do like both), unless you want it to be. Maybe instead you will find some unusual patterns, interesting shadows, signs of spring, a favorite restaurant or shop, questionable landscaping, or local eyesores. Whatever, just keep your eyes and mind open, be creative, and have fun, but don't show anything from your own garden.

     Post your own Winter Walk-Off on your blog, and link it back to this post. Also, please leave me a link and comment here when your post is up. If you have recently written something similar, you are welcome to recycle.

     I will keep the challenge open until midnight on March 19th, the last day of winter (or summer for those of you below the equator, who are welcome to join in).

     Normally everyone who participates has a chance to win one of two prizes. Last year, one of the winners graciously declined the prize, so instead I donated $25 to her state's chapter of the Nature Conservancy, an organization I believe in. They have done great work here in coastal Virginia. For 2018 I am going to randomly draw one name from all the participants, and I will donate $50 to their state's chapter of the Nature Conservancy. If for some reason they live somewhere without a chapter, I will find a similarly worthy organization. The winner's name will be announced in my wrap-up.

     I hope these guidelines are simple enough to sway you to join in, because the more the merrier.

*****

     For my on walk-off, I actually walked this year, instead of participating on my bike. I am now armed with a $600 knee brace (or should that be legged?), which has made getting around much less painful. I headed to Sarah Constant Beach Park in Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood. Ocean View is sort of a misnomer, as it actually faces the Chesapeake Bay. I suppose if you crooked your head to the right, and it was a very clear day, you could indeed glimpse the Atlantic. Regardless, Ocean View is one of Norfolk's most colorful neighborhoods. It was once home to shingle-clad vacation cottages, a famous amusement park, and affordable hotels, all a pleasant trolley ride from downtown. Times change as they are wont to do, and Ocean View fell on hard times. Today it is making a comeback with new houses, condos, restaurants, and retail, while still keeping its color.

     One casualty of all this development are many of the area's live oaks (Quercus virginiana). When I was a child we would regularly travel from our home in Richmond to the Eastern Shore, and before the interstate was finished we had to take Ocean View Ave. to get through Norfolk. We didn't have live oaks in Richmond, and there were very few on the Eastern Shore. Even as a kid I marveled at their massive trunks, and at the way those in Ocean View all grew facing away from the shore and its north winds. Those old cottages were built up to the edge of the dunes on long skinny lots, with live oaks growing between the house and Ocean View Ave. With many of the cottages gone, and lots split up or consolidated, the oaks have not fared well. However, there is still a nice grove of them at Sarah Constant Beach Park.

     This is a harsh environment for anything to grow, but Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) actually does better here in the sandy soil, than it would in something richer.

     No problem for our native yucca (Yucca filamentosa) either.

     The Ocean View Fishing Pier is very popular in-season. I enjoy having beverages there, watching the sunset, and spotting for dolphins when the weather is warm. Good people watching too.

     Right next to the pier is another Ocean View institution, the Thirsty Camel. January was hard on the palmettos (Sabal palmetto) next door. With rare exceptions, and despite no lack of trying, I think these palms are just really expensive annuals here.

     Thanks for walking with me. I hope I will be able to look over your shoulder when you take your own Winter Walk-Off.

NEON District

     Earlier in the month on a gray wet day I participated in planting a rain garden in the NEON District of Norfolk. NEON has little to do with electrified gasses, rather it stands for New Energy of Norfolk, and the powers-that-be have designated this area as the city's arts district. As clunky as the name is, I do applaud the city for promoting the arts, especially in a part of town where the nearby downtown economic boom has been slow to catch hold. A little support, and a little prodding from the city, and now there are galleries, theater spaces, a comedy club, restaurants, and a vacant lot called The Plot which has become a community gathering place. On the day we were there, we planted several pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens), and a couple of grasses. Throughout the district plants have been tucked here and there, mostly through the efforts of volunteer groups, like the Master Gardeners.

     Along an otherwise boring chain-link fence, a colorful garden had been sown, or maybe sewn.

     Many of the walls in the NEON Distract are painted with murals and sanctioned graffiti. My favorite is by artist, Christopher Revels, whose normal medium is sidewalk chalk, which he uses to draw his Walking Houses. Revels' houses are always drawn on stilts above water, an appropriate image for a city second only to New Orleans under threat due to sea level rise. These images speak to me personally. Since I was a teen, a recurring theme in many of my dreams has been water and waves washing under stilted beach houses, taking carefree beach-goers out to sea, only to return them on the next wave unharmed, back on the beach.

          Thankfully downtown Norfolk is a much different place then the ghost town it was when I first lived here 40 years ago, but it would not have happened without a great deal of push and effort. Gritty has always come naturally here, but edgy and hip has taken work.

Women's March on Norfolk

     I spent most of yesterday on the couch, my eyes glazed over from the inauguration spectacle. It left me with a feeling of despair for this country and its future, especially after hearing that carnage of an address. Today I feel better. I rode my bike downtown to take part in a Sister March of the Women's March on Washington. The turnout was like no other I have ever seen in Norfolk, and the best part about it was the absolute diversity that made up the crowd. I left with a renewed pride in my country, and with a sliver of hope for it's future.

     I ran into many people I know, including Jessica and her sons.

     This dad brought his small son and daughter to the March. I got the impression that the mother in the family was not there; perhaps she had to work.

     I love that this woman wore our normally staid state flag around her shoulders. The flag includes our state motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis, on it, and her sign translated it for the non-Latin speakers in the crowd.

     You can see my complete photo set on Flickr.

Addendum 1/22/2017 - Before I published this post, I knew that it would likely offend some of the people who regularly read my blog. In fact, one of you took the time to tell me so, and have since unsubscribed. I will not apologize. However, I will let you know my intent is never to offend. Hopefully, if what you see does bother you, then you will move past it, only to return another time; most of what you will find is not overtly political. I blog for many reasons, but primarily it is an extension of my voice, and a personal undertaking. In this current age of divisiveness, we need to remember that everyone is entitled to their political opinions if given respectfully, and these opinions are only part of what makes a person. In the past year I have I needed to remind myself of this in the face of family and friends who disagree with me politically. Doing so makes it easier to continue with love and respect. Peace!