Category Archives: Gardening

Morning Glory

Good morning!
River-side morning glory in Kalama, Washington.
-AidanAbroad

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WHAT Kind of Tongue?!

They say there’s one at the bottom of every garden. One at least, and a virtual gaggle in this one. Shot in the Botanical Gardens in Ft. Bragg, California.

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Beatitude and Beat in NorCal: Saratoga Springs Nishikigoi Pond

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California’s Saratoga Springs  used to be a stagecoach stop. That was way back in the 19th century day. Now it is a “retreat and conference center.” Yoga retreats, raves and weddings are part of the draw, but they also host Leather and S/m Club Runs. The 15 Association does the annual Boot Camp run every June. Leather Levi Weekend does a mixed ‘Twisted Summer Camp’ run in August, and this year, a new mens’ run called Gear Up premieres in late July.

All that hard play can be hard work, and the deeper it gets, the realer it becomes. From degradation to grace and back again, turning forever on itself like a mobius strip. Beat, Beat-Up, Beatitude: words to fly by from the jam-sweet lips of angel-headed hipsters.  Top or bottom, sometimes retreat is a good option. For those times, just outside the dungeon (aka The Heart Lodge) mildly hidden in the landscaping, a small magical nishikigoi (koi) pond waits. A rock ledge provides enough room for a semi-lotus, and a fine venue for adventures in ego dissolution. Flash of Orange. Take me…OM…country roads…splash sky water…gone.

Harry Hay Stairway!

The Eastsider LA reports that the Cove Avenue Stairway in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles may be renamed in honor of Harry Hay, who in 1951 formed the early gay rights group the Mattachine Society in a house he lived in at the top of the stairs. For the full article, click here.

A Place to hang your…what?

The Green Man sprouts wood in an urban setting. This phallic tree provides a good impromptu paddle hook. You never know when or where you might need such a thing. This tree grows outside Rocco’s Cafe on Folsom Street between 8th and 9th in San Francisco. Highly recommended. The cafe and the tree.

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A Sustainable Queer Planet? 14th Annual National Queer Arts Fest opens in SF

Philip Huang performs June 9 & 10 at Eros

We have made it this far. What next? How can we keep what we have created and protect it for the generations coming up? The theme of this year’s National Queer Arts Festival is A Sustainable Queer Planet. Presented by The Queer Cultural Center, the festival includes 22 venues and runs for a month. An array of performers, poets, writers, visual artists, musicians, comedians and dancers work through diverse notions of sustainability. Organizations, collaborations, friendships, political movements, publications, networks, connectivity, intentional communities, Queer families, and various ecological and economic interventions are all well represented in this month-long festival. High Holy Homo Days are upon us!

Watch this space for notices and commentaries on select individual programs. Philip Huang, pictured above, performs in Formerly Known As: Performances by Male and Trans Sex Workers. This two-day program, hosted by Kirk Read, takes place at The Center for Sex and Culture, and features a different line-up each night. It includes writers, performance artists, comedians and a slideshow of visual work. For a complete listing of festival offerings, visit The Queer Cultural Center’s site here.

Cherries…literally, for once.

In the Gay Highwaymen’s world, the word “cherry” is most commonly used metaphorically. So, for a change, here are some literal cherries. They were my dessert tonight…straight off the tree outside the vegetarian co-op house at Stanford.
-AidanAbroad

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From the Heart of the City Farmers Market

Berries and snap peas are in season! Great deals on fresh produce (and organic, sustainably-raised eggs for a fraction of grocery-store prices) at the Civic Center Farmers Market. U.N. Plaza, San Francisco. All day Sunday and Wednesday.
-AidanAbroad

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Pigs in N’awlins? Oink!

Home Sites: Sights seen in the Studio and the Kitchen

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Installations of objects, books and ephemera in a home office/studio. Phresh phallic cheese bread tastes as good as it looks…hot from the oven. Goes great with phallic zucchini. Slather with butter and enjoy!