The Fascinating Story of Why U.S. Parks Are Full of Squirrels

The Fascinating Story of Why U.S. Parks Are Full of Squirrels.

Photography Classix: The Evolution of Alexander Rodchenko

When I began to look into the work of Alexander Rodchenko, I was interested to discover his transition from painting towards photography (mediated by work in collage and graphic art).

Fall, We’re Not Done Here Yet

In the face of snow flurries and Christmas trees flopped purposefully over the tops of cars: a souvenir of fall.

Absolutely Rhyton

Face of a Persian Rhyton (drinking vessel, sometimes ceremonial)

from the Sackler Gallery’s exhibit,  “Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran,” Washington, DC.

Ground Cherry Jam II: Nope, Didn’t Die This Time, Either

Using the last of the ground cherry harvest, I took one last shot at jam.  This one, I am pleased to say, turned out to be a winner.

Apples in a White Bag

We went apple picking, and so I have been generating some fine disasters out of apple-pertinent recipes.

Amateur Art Critic #3: Maurice de Vlaminck’s ‘Autumn Landscape’

I’ve been neglecting this blog a little lately; I’m taking a MOOC (Statistics One on Coursera) and it’s devouring big, savory chunks of my weekends.  Also, we recently went apple picking, and my attempts to slowly diminish the vast stock of apples in the fridge are also worrying at the metaphorical springbok carcass of my days.

We’re looking at a seasonal piece for this edition of Amateur Art Critic: Maurice de Vlaminck’s Autumn Landscape.

Found here.

Praying Mantis at Old Jail

I found this praying mantis on the stocks in front of our county’s (no longer in use) Old Jail.

Praying Mantises are strong proponents of a return to corporal punishment; here you can almost feel the contempt for our soft, decadent, modern judicial system coming through, the creature’s leisurely progress marking a contemptuous certainty that these stocks now are but a child’s plaything, built only to be clambered upon as Rome burns.

Snails on a Sidewalk

I don’t know where these snails were trying to go. Or why they were all together. You don’t expect snails to roam the countryside in packs. They probably dragged down a sheep after I left.

Ground Cherry Jam I: Today We Cook With Danger

Ground cherries are a humbling fruit, because they fall off the plant when they ripen, so you get to harvest them by scrabbling around on the ground like a peasant child clawing at coins thrown from a carriage by 17th century Parisian aristocrats.