Hawkwatch season concluded two weeks ago at Golden Gate Raptor Observatory so my Mondays are again open to other interpretations. The rain and cold have made it that much easier to stay inside, but fresh off of this latest 16 week-run of hawkwatching, looking up to identify whatever winged creature is in the air is that much more hard-wired. On a drive to Livermore for a gig last week, I was excited to catch sight of a pair of Golden Eagles flying along the Dublin Hills; the next day, we drove to Santa Cruz to attend a show and I reflexively counted the raptors along Highway 1, periodically exclaiming “that’s the 12th Redtail! Look, another Kite!” amid oohing and aahhing about the fabulous light shining upon the Pacific Coast.
We’d managed to leave San Francisco amid a break in the storms. The pavement was still wet, the light over the ocean silvery pink and the birds of prey were putting on a show. Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures, Northern Harriers and American Kestrels appeared to be enjoying the break in the weather as much as we were.* I’ve traveled this road since childhood and the view of the landscape and the birds never gets old.
Our destination that day though was the Resource Center for Nonviolence, where a friend of Kwame’s from his early days making music in San Francisco was playing a benefit show for Food Not Bombs. A protest singer and anarchist, David Rovics is no stranger to controversy across the political spectrum. Evidently, some folks were trying to shut down the west coast tour that brought him to Santa Cruz. Nonetheless, the scene at RCNV was convivial and inspiring. David sang moving songs of social movements and rebellion, injustice (‘Say Their Names’) and justice won (‘Iceland, 2008’ ), none of it, escapist fair. I was moved, unsettled…and glad to be reminded just how powerful a tool song can be to inform, education and inspire.
I was also glad to be reminded of the amazing work of Food Not Bombs, the all-volunteer, global movement that has been feeding free vegetarian meals to those in need using food that would otherwise be discarded for more than 40 years. Keith McHenry, one of the original Food Not Bombs co-founders who heads up the Santa Cruz chapter, reported that the following day would be Day #1000 in a row that FNB had served free vegan meals to the Santa Cruz community during the pandemic. They originally thought they'd offer the service for two weeks, the initial length of the March 2020 shutdown, when all the indoor meal programs were halted. But they just kept going through the pandemic, the fires, storms and all else. You can read his account of what that feat took, and takes, HERE and/or donate HERE (you might also like to pick up some groovy Food Not Bombs potholders like I did).
* My from-the-driver’s-seat-hawk-count along Highway 1 between Pacifica and the Santa Cruz city limits: RTHA: 30; RSHW: 5; WTKI: 2; NOHA: 1; PEFA: 1; AMKE: 3; TUVU: 24+.
Glad to read about Food Not Bombs. We have a Filipino restaurant out here that creates meals for the needy in the community with the help of donations from their patrons and in partnership with other restaurants.
Always amazed to realized how many people are working behind the scenes to get people fed (and how many people need it). There's a Food Not Bombs in the greater East Bay; our - Alameda's - main service organization is the Food Bank.