Jack Frost

There's a little frosty painter
Who soon will come around
To put a silver edging on
The grasses on the ground,
Upon the window pane he'll paint
A fairy landscape, strange and quaint,
And some cold morning you'll awake
To find he's frosted Mother's cake.

A certain seasonal visitor has been making the rounds this week in Berkeley -- Jack Frost! I suppose it's closer to the truth to say that Mr. Frost is a winter visitor in many parts of the world, but that it's rare for him to show up in our town. But just yesterday Duncan saw three inches of snow piled atop a car that drove down from the top of the Berkeley Hills, and when I visited one of my neighbors this morning her children were breaking half-inch sheets of ice off the top of puddles.

Little Shops Make a Big Difference

One of the nicest surprises I had in Italy was to find so many similarities between the shops in the ancient towns we visited and the shops along Fourth Street in Berkeley, where Castle in the Air is. Of course, we don't have the luxury of being right down the street from the Pantheon like Natalizia's shop in Rome, pictured here. But philosophically and socially there is a lot to compare.

The Italian shops tended to be clustered together in warrens, shopping districts that were destinations in and of themselves. These parts of town had played host to merchants and buyers for centuries -- if the streets could talk, what stories they'd tell!

In a post like this about visiting shops in foreign countries, on a weblog that I use to promote my online store, it might sound odd for me to tout the virtues of shopping locally. But it's something that I sincerely believe in, and the afternoons spent in the little shops in Italy really drove it home for me. What struck me more than anything else was how vital the shops were to creating a sense of community in their neighborhoods, in their towns. Fourth Street is like that for those of us who work down here in Berkeley, and for our regular customers. After spending my childhood watching Fourth Street grow, and following years of running my store, getting lunch at the take-out place next door, buying treats for my dog across the street, and seeing all the other workers and customers day in and day out, Fourth Street is as much my home as anywhere else. I know it's that way for so many people in so many little districts around the world, and I believe it's something we all should cherish and support when we do our shopping.

Hooligans

Summer means summer camp, and my younger daughter keeps coming back from her day camp hikes in the Berkeley hills with wild turkey feathers she finds on the trail. Of course, kids aren't the only little creatures having summertime adventures. The turkeys themselves have waddled down from the woods at the top of the hills and are wreaking havoc on the UC campus and in the streets and gardens all over Berkeley and the neighboring towns. They're a bit like our local raccoons, who run in packs and aren't afraid of people, animals, or cars. In fact, the turkeys like to climb up on top of cars and leave scratches and little souvenirs on the hoods. For a university town, Berkeley comes up a bit short in the hooligan department, so the turkeys are filling a need by stirring up all kinds of trouble and I love it!

This painting is one of mine from when I co-taught an illustration class on Edward Lear's Owl and the Pussycat with Caron Dunn. Seems these fellows can play both sides of the law.

Between Home and Here

Even though I've lived in Berkeley nearly all my life, I'm still always amazed at the flowers I find on walks between home and Fourth Street.

The Four Seasons in Berkeley

One of the best things about living in Berkeley is that it really is an inclusive city, and not just among people. Mother Nature is into equality too, and doesn't discriminate on the basis of season. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn can all co-exist, sometimes within mere feet of one another!

Castle in the Air's own Mr. Marsh (who manages our publishing company and shipping department, among other things) sent us this video showing how this is true on the block where he lives in Berkeley.