Do it yourself docent

I like this site about the artist Joseph Cornell and the Thoreau quote they find applicable to his work: "the question is not what you look at, but what you see."

http://americanart.si.edu/education/cappy/13acornellbio.html

Also, here, for a short film, Faces in the Flower (S?) that I found compelling although I wasn't sure why beyond the lovely children's faces...

http://invisiblecinema.typepad.com/

but like Cornell, assembled meaningful nothings, found objects, so many of these good odd things that I respond to are like the best poems - they let me in but keep their mysteries even after my examinations.

Xander in the garden

Xander, our rescued (abandoned in the snow!) Russian Tortoise bonks against the glass of his tank until someone takes him for an outing. Here he is, his usual disgruntled expression, exploring part of the garden. One thing owning a tortoise teaches you is to care for something that does not love you back.
I like him, however, and his commitment to being aloof and crotchety no matter what. Consistency has its virtues.

shadow people

Ooh, sounds so spooky, shadow people. Brought along the camera on a dusk turned dark walk - trying to capture some of the magic of that time of evening. After I was trying in vain to capture our shadows, the husband points that I had the flash on - which would, of course, eliminate the shadows...duh. So many pictures later (including one where I am trying to get a slimmer shadow, so sad, and one where it was vaguely pornographic, blame the husband's whimsical sense of humor) this is the result, cheater cheater, a tad enhanced on the Ofoto sight otherwise it would be a blah. I do like the road shadow and lawn shadow effect - yes?

Meanwhile some mysterious creature is rumoured to be running amok through the neighborhood. Described as not a coyote, much larger, with scary eyes, and also described as "terrifying creature" by a gal in a car the previous evening (hello, where are your meds?) so of course, we look. No Mungo the Monster, just rabbits and a very silly woman trying standing in the road trying to capture shadows. (Would that not be cool if Mungo turned up as a background fleeting image? I'd be so thrilled).

Why not jam fish?

Growing up on Long Island Sound I saw a lot of jellyfish, usually in that shock of recognition that something NOT GOOD is coming near you in the water. There was a big Man-'O-War scare at the beach we went to when I was young, they closed down the beaches for awhile and it was the scariest thing, the alienness of them...so of course, I remain fascinated and my interest is, interestingly enough, matched by my husband (it's those similar quirks that have given this marriage wheels).

Don't want to swim with these guys but oh, how beautiful they are.

Joke: What do whales eat for lunch?

Answer: Peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches.

Coney Island's Mermaid Parade

Having wanted to go to this for a few years now, we nearly missed it hanging around at the New York Aquarium. The crowd insanely deep as people were coming off the beach to watch, my youngest complaining his view was teeny and he mainly was stuck by "smelly armpits" which I guess is the deal if you are a nine year old in a crowd of mostly adults. As I was kvetching about this and that on the drive back, the exhausted, most patient husband pointed out - well, it's something you've wanted to do and now you've done it. Yup. Of course, now I am thinking how the parade would be vastly enhanced by mermaid librarians pushing book carts decked out like fish or seahorses or something, yes? Mermaids read? Don't be a chowderhead, read? It could work.

Mermaid Parade, Saturday, June 21

Tasha Tudor

I received Tasha Tudor's book, Take Joy, as a Christmas gift from my favorite Sunday School teacher ever many years ago. To this day it remains a favorite as does the quote in the front of the book.

I salute you. I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not got. But there is much, very much, that while I cannot give it, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instance. Take peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy! Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty . . . that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage then to claim it, that is all! . . . And so I greet you, with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
"Letter to a Friend" by Fra Giovanni, 1513

So it is sad news that Tasha Tudor has passed on on June 18th at the age of 92. A prolific illustrator and writer, she led a wonderful, individual life.

http://www.tashatudor.legacy.com/LMW/HomePage.aspx

the quiet after

Evening sky after a torrent of rain...

One mo' thing

We are still recovering from this past week of Godzilla BBQ Birthday Bash, prom, and various school and ccd related events - which is probably evident from these sporadic posts. I am now blogging the way I think, horrors, in little scrappy bits tucked here and there. However, promised link to fun buttons provided below.

'zilla buttons

These are some of the great buttons we handed out at the Godzilla BBQ as people came in the door - children and adults alike. A great hit (the scavenging teens who circled back 'round midnight liked them, too). A link to the terrific crafters "Manhandled" found on the also terrific Etsy site should you want to nab some 'zilla buttons of your own.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11255162

Father's Day

The daughter's plan, a surprise jaunt to Muscoot Farm, http://www.muscootfarm.org/ , baby sheep (love sheep, they are misunderstood), the smell of hay and dirt. A farmer's market today, possibly the world's best pesto discovered http://www.buddhapesto.com/

a car ride full of memory chatter, places we've been, things we love - green, Vermont, coast, New England, sweet tea, North Carolina, when we did this and that, a happy Father sated from gifties and treats and a morning of scrambled eggs and good intentions, an afternoon of hot sun and a very licky calf who gently nibbled on his hand.

Saturday walk by the water

still air, still water, it's a wonder the boats had anything to lift their sails.

the egret is practicing being still as well.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy

The little guy is nine. Nine! I am astonished at the passing of time. It is as if I am on a train sitting still as scenes whirl by the window.

Do they serve cocktails on this train?

I hope so.

A little Faith...

Photo of one of our dogs, a little terror of a terrier mix sometimes but when bad, would we throw him out in the woods to be attacked by coyote or fox? To starve? To be terrified and lonely, to wonder why his human clan ditched him? I hardly think so, but somone did just that to a wee dog found by my daughter and a friend, a small Chihuahua mix with a leg so broken it will have to be amputated. She brought it to a vet who estimated this little dog had been in the wild for at least three weeks or more, and they directed us to a no-kill shelter. The dog is about ten, a plucky female with a sweet nature, she is now being called "Faith". She'll need it - there are hundreds of animals in the shelter. We absolutely cannot take on another pet so I gave them a donation towards her care. Not the same as giving her a home, I know. We left with very sad hearts. If anyone is interested in a wonderful little survivor, please let me know. And - if you can, donate something towards your local animal shelter.