I was able to take the day to enjoy myself, the weather, and to engage in a mindful gratitude hike in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve in Oakland. It is also is my Grandma Herbe's birthday. She would have been 87. Her Grandmother was Amelia Sartori (born 1881 Ohio) and gives me my Italian ancestry. I learned today that in Italy, Yellow is the color women wear on March 8th, International Women's Day. My partner's classmate told him that women are given, wear, or carry Scotch Broom or Mimosa. I found some similar plant and thought of my grandmother and great-great-great grandmother. Scotch Broom and Mimosa are both in the Pea Family, Fabaceae.
One reason this day was chosen to celebrate the Global contributions of women, was as an Anniversary of worker's resistance. March 8, 1908 15,000 garment workers, many of whom were Italian Immigrants, began a three month strike against the unsafe - sweatshop conditions in which they were forced to work. The surname Sartori comes from Northern Italy and comes from 'sarto' = tailor. I give thanks to these women and children and the many others who have fought and continue to fight for a place in history, society, and the future.
I was met with wonder and beauty. It is amazing how getting up to an overlook can really help put some things in perspective. I walked the labyrinth while a woman chatted on the phone with her mother. It was hard to focus on my gratitude and ancestors, while listening to her complain about the problems of running her own business. I reached the middle and prayed. When I came out, she was gone and I never realized she had left. :)
A great way to cross reference the species of the flowering plants is to use a plant list provided by the 'Park'. Here is the one for Sibley.
