September 2 is International Rock-Flipping Day. Mark your calendars.
How is it possible — I said to myself on Monday afternoon when I was putting together my post about flipping over rocks — that I don’t have a single good photo of the rocks in our woods? Even more unforgivable, I don’t have any photos of the creatures that live underneath them: no ant colonies, no salamanders, no caddis fly larvae from underneath the rocks in our creek. Nada. So I was very receptive when Fred Garber suggested in a comment that we pick a day for everybody to go outside — go as far as you have to — and flip over a rock (or two, or three). We could bring our cameras and take photos, film, sketch, paint, or write descriptions of whatever we find. It could be fun for the whole family!
I emailed Bev Wigney, the doyenne of invertebrate bloggers, and discovered that she shared my enthusiasm. But we thought we’d better act fast, for the benefit of folks here in the northern hemisphere, and go with September 2. Any later and things start dying off or going down below frost line.
Fred had suggested trying to get everyone to flip over a rock at the same moment, but that would end up being the middle of the night for some people, so let’s just stick to a calendar date. I would like to restrict it to rocks, though they wouldn’t have to be on dry land — they could be on the bottom of the sea if you have a way to get down there.
The point is simply to have fun, and hopefully learn something at the same time. We don’t want to over-determine what that something should be: those of a more scientific frame of mind might focus on i.d.s or ecological interactions, while those of an artistic or poetic bent could go in a different direction entirely. Pictures alone would suffice, of course. But whatever you do, please be sure to replace all rocks that you flip as soon as possible, so as not to disrupt the natives’ lives unduly. (Unless, that is, you plan on incorporating some of what you find into your next meal — crawdads? escargots? — which would also make a interesting subject for an International Rock-Flipping Day blog post, I’m thinking.)
We want to try and keep this as decentralized as possible. Everyone who blogs about it can link to everyone else at the bottom of their post, or in a subsequent post if they prefer. I’m willing to act as coordinator and send out a list of links that evening or the next morning, with all the HTML tags in place for people to copy and paste. Send your links to me as soon as you post: bontasaurus (at) yahoo (dot) com, with “Rock Flipping” in the subject line.
No blog? No problem. I’ve also set up a Flickr group, www.flickr.com/groups/rockflippingday, anticipating that bloggers and non-bloggers alike might want to share photos that way. We’re interested mainly in pictures of whatever you find under the rocks, but pictures of people flipping rocks are also permissible. The grand prize goes to anyone who can get a picture of a non-human critter, such as a bear or a raccoon, flipping a rock on September 2. (I don’t know what the grand prize will be yet, but trust me, it’ll be good.)
For those who would rather not bother with Flickr, Bev has volunteered to create a gallery within her Pbase photo site: simply send your images as email attachments to her, bev (at) magickcanoe (dot) com, again with “Rock Flipping” in the subject line.
I think that about covers it, but if other ideas occur to you, leave a comment and I’ll update this post if need be. If you like the idea, please help spread the word. And if anyone feels like designing a logo, be my guest.
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What a flippin’ wonderful idea! I’m in!
Cool. And thanks for making the obvious joke. We’re gonna have a great flippin’ time!
I’m in too
I will take this opportunity to take the family to Lehigh Gorge and flip a few rocks. I think my middle kiddlet, Bob, is now old enough to walk up to the falls by himself.
so many bad joke fragments pop into my mind, like turning over a mental rock to find all these squirming half-thoughts, none complete enough to share.
grand idea. i like it. my favorite rocks to flip are exposed by low tide, but i’ll try rocks in the garden or woods too.
[...] Earlier this week, Dave from Via Negativa contacted me regarding the idea of launching an International Rock-Flipping Day. This was in response to his earlier post We Rock, following which Fred Garber commented: How about an event where all of your readers turn over a rock at the same time on a certain date and take photos or write descriptions of what they see? If you don’t have a rock, you can look in the fridge in some forgotton bowl and see what is in there. [...]
I am exited. Now I have to find the right rock to flip. And I need to practice. My neighbor has a flower garden with concrete stepping stone. He is on vacation now. So if I sneak over there tonight and look under some stepping stone, I could get a few practice flips in before the big day.
Great idea. Hopefully something is lurking under our rocks. I think I’ll wait until the big day to find out.
[...] August 23rd, 2007 One of my favorite bloggers, Dave Bonta over at Via Negativa, has proclaimed September 2 to be International Rock-Flipping Day. Want more information? Want to participate? Check out the details here. Posted by sheepdays Filed in Uncategorized [...]
suzanne – Great!
Keith – You know, I’m not sure I”ve ever been to the Lehigh Gorge. Sounds like a spectacular place, but a bit too far for someone from central PA to get to in one day and still have time to hike. Anyway, good plan.
Fred – I’ll bet you were one of those kids who just couldn’t wait until Christmas, weren’t you? Checking out the presents before they were wrapped…
Brett – Glad you’re on board. Damn, I think we already have enough people committed to this project to make it interesting, even if it doesn’t spread virally across the blogosphere (which would be cool too, of course). Will you tell your kids in advance, though? They might be like Fred, unable to contain themselves!
This has already created a blog post: my post today was orginally built around the image of turning over the rock of the mind, and looking at all the thoughts wriggling around under there. But the image turned out to be scaffolding; when I was done building I tore it down. Hopefully I’ll turn over other rocks by September 2nd :-)
Sounds great, Dave. I’ll be visiting friends in Connecticut that weekend, but I’ll do it if I remember. If it’s a beach stone, there may not be much under it. Will try to find something suitable. One could always stretch it to something more metaphorical, I suppose. Looking forward to what everyone finds.
I’ll flip, too.
Maybe by that time, we’ll have had a break in the heat. We’re getting a series of 100 degree days right now and not a drop of rain–I think everything’s gone deeeeeeeeep!
I will try to represent the UK with honour on the great day. Maybe ‘rock’ might be a bit of grand description for what I shall have to settle for. Large-ish domestic stone is more likely to do it.
I’m a life-long rock picker and flipper, so count me in. I’ll flip some rocks here in Kin.
(learned about your blog from Brett’s)
Alejandra
[...] Via Negativa » Blog Archive » International Rock-Flipping Day ‘September 2 is International Rock-Flipping Day. Mark your calendars.’ (tags: rocks bugs) [...]
Dave, do you allow cheating? I mean, could I do the flip sometime this weekend, take the photo and save it to upload on the official date? The reason is that I have to walk to a park to find a rock and I won’t have time to do this on The Rock-Flipping Day. I do have bowls full of lots of small stones I’ve saved from trips to various beaches but the only thing underneath them is more small stones.
I love the project.
What if there’s nobody macroscopic at home? I’m hoping for a nice rattlesnake, but you never know with rocks.
dale – I’m glad to hear that the project is inspiring good blog posts already! I even ended up smorgasblogging that one.
leslee – Metaphorical stretches are entirely up to the participants. The main purpose of having fairly strict rules, in my mind, is to keep the thing from becoming too unfocused and amorphous. But rules should always be treated merely as guidelines, I think – well, you know my politics. :) One way or another, I hope you can participate.
Nina – Congratulations on a very beautiful blog. You raise a good point; I don’t know how the heat will effect things. We’ve actually had a cooler-than-average summer here, with only two, shortish heat waves to date. (Guess we’re due for another one starting tomorrow.)
Dick – And I can’t think of anyone better than a former rock and roller to represent the UK.
ale – That’s awesome! I’ll be very interested to learn what dwells under rocks in central Africa.
Natalie – See my reply to Leslee. Do what you can. I really appreciate your enthusiasm.
Rebecca – My first answer would be, flip more rocks until you find something. But if you look under two dozen rocks and don’t find anything, that in itself would be worth blogging about, no?
Dave, I always opened my presents first. How did you know? I was always very carefull. By the way, I also like to take the chocolates out of those nice gift boxes, turn them over and poke my finger in the bottom to see what is inside. Of course , I would then carefully replace the ones that I did not want to eat. When cheese balls covered with nuts were at a buffet in our home I would inspect them before the party. Th best way to do that is to turn them over and eat some of the cheese from the bottom of the ball and then replace it on the table with hole facing down.
Wow, you were devious! I remember one time my brothers and I took the entire bottom half-inch off a 9 x 13″ casserole dish full of uncut bar cookies by carefully upending it onto a cookie tray. Mom never noticed.
Great idea. We will lift german stones secrets.
[...] September 2 is International Rock-Flipping Day. Mark your calendars! Dave Bonta has the details. [...]
Would have been better in the spring here. Well, it’s be a bad year for rain.
What if you flip a rock and there’s a rattlesnake underneath? (Run like hell!)
I hadn’t thought about poisonous snakes. Geez, I hope no one sues us! Our eastern timber rattlesnakes aren’t very aggressive, but that probably wouldn’t be true of other species. Then there’s scorpions and spiders…
This was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but if there’s interest we could always have another one in April or so.
You can always celebrate International Dadaism Month on September 18. Just cry “DADA!” and you have fulfilled the obligations of the holiday.
I might see if i can induce my two-year-old niece to do that.
[...] Remember when you were a kid, and you’d flip over a rock just to enjoy being grossed out by all the many-legged photosensitive beasties suddenly scurrying out at you? Miss that skin-crawling thrill of discovery? You’re in luck! Via Negativa has declared September 2 International Rock-Flipping Day. [...]
[...] Sunday is the first annual International Rock-Flipping Day. The point is simply to have fun, and hopefully learn something at the same time. We don’t want to over-determine what that something should be: those of a more scientific frame of mind might focus on i.d.s or ecological interactions, while those of an artistic or poetic bent could go in a different direction entirely. Pictures alone would suffice, of course. But whatever you do, please be sure to replace all rocks that you flip as soon as possible, so as not to disrupt the natives’ lives unduly. [...]
Count me in!
[...] FLIPPED: Be prepared to flip and flash on September 2, declared as International Rock Flipping Day. Read Dave Bonta’s explanation of the event, and send you flippin’ blog posts to him (bontasaurus (at) yahoo (dot) com, with “Rock Flipping” in the subject line) and we’ll see what happens when we venture where the sun don’t shine. [...]
[...] Word about International Rock-Flipping Day has been spreading steadily across the internets, and it looks as if a fair amount of people will be taking to the woods and fields and shores to flip rocks this Sunday. [...]
My dear, late uncle Peter — my childhood mentor in things botanical and etymological (yes, words, not bugs) — introduced me to rock flipping a gazillion years ago. It’s how I first saw a salamander. Haven’t seen one since. I’ll have to participate in Peter’s memory !
paula — That’ll be terrific! I’ll really look forward to seeing what you come up with.
I created a quick web badge to accompany IRFD, if anyone is interested in using it. It is completely optional and complimentary.
[...] Don’t forget that tomorrow is International Rock-Flipping Day. Go to the link to find out more about it, then get out there and flip some rocks! (Be sure to replace them when you’re finished.) [...]
[...] Spread the word! Tomorrow is International Rock-Flipping Day, via Via Negativa: How is it possible — I said to myself on Monday afternoon when I was putting together my post about flipping over rocks — that I don’t have a single good photo of the rocks in our woods? Even more unforgivable, I don’t have any photos of the creatures that live underneath them: no ant colonies, no salamanders, no caddis fly larvae from underneath the rocks in our creek. Nada. So I was very receptive when Fred Garber suggested in a comment that we pick a day for everybody to go outside — go as far as you have to — and flip over a rock (or two, or three). We could bring our cameras and take photos, film, sketch, paint, or write descriptions of whatever we find. It could be fun for the whole family! [...]
Charging up the camera battery (and mine), going to get the oil changed in the car…and thinking about where I’ll find exciting rocks.
Stay tuned…
If anyone’s having trouble finding Jason’s terrific badges, they’re here and here (click on “all sizes” to get the code).
[...] Sunday, September 2 marks the first annual International Rock-Flipping Day. As its co-creator, Via Negative, describes: The point is simply to have fun, and hopefully learn something at the same time. We don’t want to over-determine what that something should be: those of a more scientific frame of mind might focus on i.d.s or ecological interactions, while those of an artistic or poetic bent could go in a different direction entirely. Pictures alone would suffice, of course. But whatever you do, please be sure to replace all rocks that you flip as soon as possible, so as not to disrupt the natives’ lives unduly. (Unless, that is, you plan on incorporating some of what you find into your next meal — crawdads? escargots? — which would also make a interesting subject for an International Rock-Flipping Day blog post, I’m thinking.) [...]
[...] Today is International Rock Flipping Day. You should go out and flip over a rock then photograph or sketch or otherwise describe what you find underneath it. Then you need to make a post about it. There is also a Flickr site you can go to and upload your photo. Read more about it here, and then get out there and flip some rocks. (And depending on what you find, you may want to replace the rocks.) [...]
I got a post up already. What flippin fun!
I’ll have to out later and do a few more, it’s really raining at the moment. Just wanted to get one flipped for now.
[...] Well, I had a go at International Rock Flipping Day, flipping over various convenient rocks and bits of paving in the garden. I had a bit of a bad photography day—haven’t quite got the feel for my new camera, maybe—so the only picture worth sharing is this big fat leopard slug: [...]
[...] It’s here! International Rock-Flipping Day has arrived! But before you go out there to flip a rock, or two, or several, I highly recommend dropping by Via Negativa for some additional thoughts from Dave concerning methodology, precautions, etc… [...]
[...] Today is International Rock-Flipping Day! I’m looking forward to seeing all the great photos people take of things and creatures found under rocks. I also know that there are a lot of smart folks out there who know considerable and wonderful things about bugs and other under-rock denizens. I thought I’d try to tailor my participation in IRFD to my own particular area of interest: Catholic saints and the protections they offer. [...]
[...] Sep 2nd, 2007 by Pam Okay, I didn’t realize there were some rules for international rock flipping day until I started this post, but I did spend part of my day flipping rocks where my older brother and I used to spend hours when we were kids, in LaFayette, NY.  I wasn’t disappointed. There were tons of fossils! What, you were expecting me to go out and try to find insects under rocks. Well, I did that, too, but it wasn’t too exciting. Okay, I didn’t really”flip” rocks, I peeled rocks back in layers to find the fossils. [...]
[...] I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. Today was International Rock Flipping Day, and I have nothing to show for myself. Granted, had I tried to flip any of the tombstones I saw in the Old Burying Ground in Harvard Square this afternoon, I would have probably gotten arrested. But this morning, while walking Reggie along a quiet, shady trail that follows a woodsy right-of-way in suburban Newton, Massachusetts, I couldn’t find any properly flippable rocks. I flipped several small stones, but nobody was home underneath. And all the larger rocks I encountered were either huge, unmoving boulders or mid-size landscaping stones in people’s gardens…and even I with my bad, bad blogging self don’t feel comfortable flipping rocks in someone else’s backyard. [...]
Dave, I’ve posted my entry on the Blaug, a day late but anyway. I guess I should go and post it to the Flickr site now.
[...] After returning home from our trip to Nova Scotia, I made a little tour of the yard, checking out the vegetable garden and insect activity, but also carefully turned a few rocks in honour of International Rock-Flipping Day. This is my report: [...]
Dave,
How strict are ya on the Sept. 2 part of it all. Assuming that you are, I look forward to the next.
Thanks for all your great work and creativity.
Shai, you can blog about rock-flipping any time you want! But International Rock-Flipping Day comes but once a year. (And we haven’t quite decided whether that will be September 2, or the first Sunday of September.)
[...] Official IRFD declaration [...]
Finally got around to posting the video from my IRF Day efforts.
Thank you for reminding people to replace the rock. In a recent post, I showed some of the damage done to glade habitats south of St. Louis by those who flipped rocks and failed to return them to their original position. In some cases it may not be so important, but it could be critical in others.
Best regards — Ted
As Ted suggested please, please return rocks back to the position you found them *after* removing any snakes, salamanders, etc that are under them. You can use a stick to prod any snakes out from under the rock. If you’re not sure how to identify it, use a stick anyway just to be safe to gently move it. Set whatever you moved somewhere near the rock and it will go back under it most of the time. Don’t try to turn rocks over with snake hooks or sticks, that does not work and it will slip off and smash things. Use your hands.