Climate change haiku, crows, and the Garden opens Sat. March 1st

by aleks
The U86 Event Planning Group is putting final touches on the 2014 program which will be landing in your inboxes soon: cont. ed. lectures, field trips, Japanese films - those attractions are only open to SJG volunteers and their guests, so inquire within if interested in becoming a guest (the list of oferrings will be posted on Calendar page as well as on the front page, under GARDEN VOLUNTEERS, in the right side column)….

I'll be updating the blog calendar page for all 2014 events in the coming days, but here is Seattle Parks Department event calendar  for Japanese Garden, OPEN TO EVERYONE:

• Saturday, March 1st, 11am-3pm
First Viewing with Shinto blessing. Formal opening of Garden for the season; includes photo-reception of Spring 2013 photography.

• Monday, May 26, Noon-4pm
Children's Day.  Fun performances and activities for all ages!

• Sunday, July 6, Noon-4pm
Tanabata. Celebrate the Japanese star festival at the garden.

• Friday, July 25th, 5:30-8:30pm
5th Annual Garden Party. Enjoy sake and sushi while you support the Garden at this kimono-friendly fundraising event.

• Sunday, August 10,  2-5pm
Wandering & Wondering. Unexpected and enchanting performers take over the Garden [butoh dancing - the same group will also perform earlier, July 10,  Noon-3pm at Kubota gardens; the dance group is lead by one of our guides, Joan Laage]

• Saturday, August 23, 7-10pm
Moon viewing. Experience the Garden illuminated by hundreds of lanterns, under the full moon.

• Monday, September 15, 11am-3pm
Respect for Elders Day.  Seniors over 65 enjoy free admission today!

• Sunday, October 12, 11am-3pm
Maple Viewing. Experience the Garden ablaze with fall color.

• Sunday, November 30
Closing Day.  Final day the Garden is open for the 2014 season.

• • • • •

• Extra 1): poster Monzie's terrific find of 19 haiku verses and accompanying water colors  by Greg C. Johnson, a Northwest oceanographer at NOAA, where they interpret reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Below is one of his illustrated haiku, and the rest is at this link at Sustainable Northwest….

• • • • • 

• Extra 2.): A couple of weeks ago I caught Grand Illusion Cinema's screening of a delightful, meditative film-poem 'Tokyo Waka' - about the city of Tokyo, its people and its thousands of crows. Here is the trailer + link where you can order the documentary (it had a very limited screening) below the trailer:

Here is  link to StyloFilms, where you can order the documentary.

• • • • •

• Extra 3.) After 'Tokyo Waka' I got so seriously crow-fascinated, that I watched 1 hr PBS nature documentary (lots of it filmed in Seattle) titled 'A murder of crows' - the film credits UW research on crows to Pentagon, I wonder why. Anyway, welcome to our new overlords - and maybe it's for the better as the crows utilize TWO languages (one for public and one for private communication), recognize human faces,  form life long relationships,  raise their young in extended families + pass the wisdom they gain to the next generations, all of which seems way smarter than many humans walking about the planet.  Here is a trailer +  a link to the entire movie below the trailer:

You can see the entire film online at the PBS link here…

In the meantime, don't be a badarse to crows: they'll remember your sorry face for over 2 years and there is a youtube clip showing crows solving 8-step puzzle,  so I think they'll find you all right if needed.

Edited on 2/13/14  - Lynnda found and put in comments the link to clip showing crows solving 8-step puzzle - apparently it went viral, and here is a link to a 3:20 clip on youtube:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOw8MVjJIaI