Silver Lake herons in an alternate universe.
Another Silver Lake, another heron. Photo COPYRIGHT by the talented Michael S. Palmer. Michael took this in St Helens, WA. But I can see snow mountains like this (for a few weeks a year) in Silver Lake, and if they leave the Meadow alone, this could be slk soon, if dwp does what it PROMISED!
Because I usually hum along with the sing-song voices in my head, I don’t always pay attention to what the outside world is doing. For instance, I was delighted to find the signs about missing herons along the fence of slk one night, and went back to take pictures a couple of days later. It turns out I’m not the only blogger who noticed these. From CurbedLA:
Fresh drama in the battle over Silver Lake meadow! As noted, the decision to open the meadow around Silver Lake reservoir was decried by some residents who wanted to keep the area human-free and coyote-abundant. Now these flyers (pictured above) have appeared around the west side of the reservoir. What do herons have to do with the meadow opening? One member of the Committee to Save Silver Lake’s Reservoir (which supports opening the meadow), accuses “Save the Meadow” advocates of using the heron issue–it’s on next week’s agenda before the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Governing Board–as a way to stop the meadow opening. This is getting nasty. (sic)
Does anyone else think CurbedLA likes a little bit of nasty? I notice some of their commenters are racist, as in anti-white, like this one:
You are an asshole, and I wish you were standing in front of me so that I could smack you across your smug, white face.
Dakota’s post goes on to quote a letter from CSSLR to the slk Neighborhood Council.
…Two “Save the Meadow” advocates have encouraged their cohorts to attend the meeting and support the motion. They have also posted several “Missing: Great Blue Herons” signs on the fence near the old heron nests on WSLD. The rules to protect birds are that construction cannot take place within 300 feet of active nests, 500 feet from raptor nests… The Eucalyptus Grove is considerably further than that from the construction, which started before the heron nesting season began anyway.
Another Silver Lake, near St. Helens, WA! Photo COPYRIGHT by Michael S. Palmer.
I agree with the last part: it was the EMPTY reservoir that caused the herons to go missing.
But the CSSLR is obviously a site with an agenda, writing that a sign about herons (that dwp chased away) involves slk “cohorts” trying to stop their beloved park from opening. Frankly, I’m surprised that CurbedLA considers CSSLR reputable enough to quote. But it’s the title of Dakota’s post that is weird: Fake Heron Group Trying To Block Silver Lake Meadow Opening?
Huh? The heron sign is obviously innocent of the Meadow shenanigans. The photographer is J. M. Harrison, and it was posted, not surprisingly, at the street corners of Hawick and West Silverlake Drive. Doesn’t sound like propaganda to me. The pictures (two different photos on 2 signs) were obviously taken at least a year ago.
Yet another commenter noted:
Last night when I was walking around the reservoir I noticed that these Missing Great Blue Herons signs are still there but now have white notes pasted over them stating that this is misleading and propaganda. Made me smile and think of this thread… Nice job somebody!
I guess that’s why they were taken down just a couple days after I spotted them. Nice smear campaign, CSSLR, whoever you are.
But what happened to the photographer, J. M. Harrison? Is he or she as lost as the heron families? Alley, alley oops in free. I really hate to see a photographer sullied with homeowner politics.
The original heron sign, before it was defaced by slk bandits.
I looked for images of herons on Google, thinking hers might pop up with clues, but instead I found this OTHER Silver Lake Heron! Not our Silver Lake, however, nor our herons. But you know what, this could be us in a few years, if dwp gets up off its arse and gives us what it promised several years ago. There’s a 700 page report buried in the LADWP website, for your reading pleasure, and it includes plans to turn slk and Ivanhoe into wetlands!!
dwp, and your new prince of darkness, H. David Nahai, we have your promise in writing. Now, will you deliver, or are we going to have to come up there and get you? (That’s not a threat, is it?)
Donna Barstow
Griffith Park is the 2nd biggest park in the US, and I'm just the person to investigate it! I've lived here for over 25 years. I was part of the PROS Committee in Griffith Park Neighborhood Council and am on the Housing & Tenants Rights Committee in the Silver Lake NC. I'm in the LA Press Club, and you can find some of my articles in the LA Weekly and the Los Feliz Ledger. I'm a cartoonist for Parade Magazine, The New Yorker, LA Times, Slate, & most major media. Questions and contacts welcome.
2 Comments
Joan M. Harrison
Hello, Donna,
I’ve just discovered your site, thank you for your observations about nature in our community!
I appreciate your thoughtful remarks about the herons and the artwork. Public art has its own life…sometimes that includes a sticker or two. They just become part of the documentation of the piece…
However,when I found out that others had been “blamed”, for the work, I attended the Silverlake Neighborhood Council Meeting (May 2008) to set the record straight.
I also answered questions posed by the Los Feliz Register about the work.
I figured that these statements would be enough…yet now I find that the installation has still been erroneously linked to non-related issues.
So here is a copy of the statement I posted on the “fake heron” thread. Hope this puts all of this sad nonsense to rest.
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(curbed la “fake heron” thread)
Hello, Everyone,
July 3, 2008…I rarely visit blogs, but after reading the current Los Feliz Ledger, I decided to try to find where the herons have been spotted nesting in May and June as I still haven’t seen them in the eucalyptus grove along West Silverlake Drive. After reading a few Cubed LA boards, I’d like to clarify a few things.
I’m Joan M. Harrison, the local artist who created and hung two “Missing Heron” art pieces along the edges of the nesting site on West Silverlake Drive. As I said at the May SLNC meeting; it was simply an art installation. It was my personal expression of sadness as I stood in front of the empty nesting site in 2008. The text didn’t assign blame to anyone or any event or situation. The text simply stated that the herons were gone from their traditional nesting site.
What I was not permitted to say at the meeting, due to time constraints, was that my intention in creating the artwork was to provide fellow walkers with a contemplative moment as they read the text, looked at the pictures of the birds in nests and then looked up at the empty nests. I’ve learned to appreciate the power and beauty of the present moment, as life does, indeed, constantly change.
Today, as I visit CurbedLA, (other boards) I find that the artwork is still being erroneously politicized and linked to non-related issues. Everyone, please take a deep breath, or two or three. When I made the artwork, I didn’t know that the Friends of the Animals committee existed, nor did I know the committee members. I am not part of any “Conspiracy”, or a member of “Save the Meadow” I am no one’s “cohort” etc.
I’m an independent artist. This is quite an example of how an art piece always has a life of its own. Each viewer brings her/his own p.o.v. to the experience.
But unfortunately, this time a few vocal viewers brought many erronious assumptions and accusations to the mix. Ouch!
I attended the May SLNC meeting when I found out (the day before the meeting) that others were being “blamed” for creating and hanging my artwork. (I signed the pieces along the edge of the photo…) People who had nothing to do with the creation or installation of the artwork had received hateful e-mails and had been ridiculed online. Ouch again!
Another minor point…during the SLNC May meeting, I was merely confused by the “Robert’s Rules of Order” technicalities of the evening. I am staunchly in favor of Herons in the eucalyptus grove. I wish they would nest in my backyard! I am delighted that they are reported to have been seen flying and nesting in May and June. Although I drive along West Silverlake Drive every day, I haven’t yet seen them. Reports have been a bit vague as to exactly where they have been seen nesting. Please share specific info (gently, please!) if they are nesting somewhere else as I would love to take pictures of them this year! Meanwhile, I will continue to look. Blessings to all, Joan
Comment #34, left at 07/04/08
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I purposely kept the text neutral, so that viewers would have their own experiences and thoughts. If anyone had asked me when I made the work, however, I would have told them that the draining of the lake was probably, in my opinion, the tipping factor against the herons’ return. I’ve also noticed more human presence near the Eucalyptus Grove during 2008.
(Crews laying irrigation lines, increased security patrols…often they have, and continue to park at the northern edge of the eucalyptus grove… patrolling, taking breaks? Also, there were many crew members, 2 trucks and equipment by the dock/driveway south of the Eucalyptus grove prior and during the inital draining of the lake.
None of this has anything to do with the meadow or the running path!
Anyway, all is well. Again, thank you for your thoughtful website. Now that I’ve found it, I’ll often return.
Regards, Joan
Donna Barstow
Hi, Joan,
Thanks so much for your detailed and interesting background and story here! I decided to make a separate post for it, and bumped it up to the main page. (Home.)
Please do keep in touch! Donna