Science! Psuedo-science! Nature! Art! Nonsense!
April 7, 2023
nature, photography, plants bleeding heart, bluebell, dogwood, dutchman's britches, red elderberry, Spring, tulips Leave a comment
Spring springs eternal. Or around here, at least three times. This is peak number 2 of 2023 Spring.
Bleeding heart in bloom.
This is the flaming bush from the old testament (as far as I know anyway).
For more bluebells, see this posting.
Celandine poppy
Red elderberry
Dutchman’s britches
April 2, 2023
hiking, nature, plants bluebell, bluebells, flower, photography, river, romey, shenadoah river, shenandoah, Spring, video 1 Comment
It’s early for the peak. But the peak it is along the banks of the Shenandoah.
Romey looks like a bluebell too.
Moonshine does not look like a bluebell. Nor does he smell like one.
There are also other flowers available.
December 7, 2022
dogs, nature, plants, trees blandy farm, fall foliage, ginko, moonshine, trees Leave a comment
This is apparently the largest Ginko stand in North America, found at Blandy Experimenal Farm in Virginia. We went during peak color change with Moonshine.
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February 23, 2020
art, music, photography, plants Andy Akiho, art, art museum, baba, composers, concert, contemporary music, David Lang, dc, eighth blackbird, emily, emily shepardson, Fjóla Evans, gem, Holly Harrison, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Julius Eastman, Lisa Kaplan, national gallery, national gallery of art, Nina Shekhar, original music, Viet Cuong, washington dc Leave a comment
National Gallery of Art
What a place to see one of my all time favorite contemporary music groups. Eighth Blackbird played the National Gallery 2.16.20, and the show was free. As always, the group featured brand new music from living composers, including: Nina Shekhar, Fjóla Evans, Andy Akiho, Holly Harrison, David Lang, Viet Cuong, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Julius Eastman. This show included some ringers in for violin, flute, and clarinet.
Lisa Kaplan, fearless leader and director of eighth blackbird
My favorite set was the second, and my favorite piece was Viet Cuoug’s Electric Aroma (2017),
The most precious thing in the museum was Cora, of course.
Cora does contemporary
The setting (no pictures or recording during the show)
After the concert, there were a few minutes for art.
Then it was out and on the metro for cocktails and dinner at Baba.
Sundown on the mall
Smithsonian sculpture
Wholly Emily
Baba’s bar
November 29, 2019
nature, plants, travel, trees Arashiyama, bamboo, eli, japan, kyoto, nature, photography, travel 1 Comment
June 11, 2019
farm, flowers, plants garden, no weeds, vegetables, video Leave a comment
Here is update three on the garden. Most everything is up except the third corn plantation. The weed situation is entirely under control. My bet is after we return from two weeks at the beach, chaos will be happening. We shall see!
December 1, 2018
flowers, hiking, mountain, nature, photography, plants australia, blue mountains, day trip, gem, hiking, katoomba, nature, photography, sydney, train, video 2 Comments
A two hour train ride outside of Sydney, you can find the tourist hamlet of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. Tourists have been coming here since the turn of the century (1900). Katoomba itself reminds me of West Virginia in its old coal town turned bust turned tourist vibe. You can now find hipsters and artists in residence.
We took the train out in the morning and spent several hours walking from the train station to a trailhead, down the cliff face, and back up again.
Highlights on the mountain visit include the three sisters, the giant stairway (976 steps!), waterfalls, and the steepest railroad in Australia.
We started our morning at Sydney central
The two hour train ride is a little long. The tourist center by the train station is well worth a visit. That is where we finalized our plan.
8things cafe. Great food and super service
Cassiopia coffee (recommended)
We walked from the station to Echo point (2.3 km).
The Echo Point visitors center
This is where we first caught sight of the famed three sisters. Which we saw many times throughout the day.
Three sisters from Echo Point visitor center
Three sisters from the echo point trail
Three sisters from the trail
Three sisters from just above
Honeycomb cave (at the three sisters)
Three sisters from below on the Federal trail
Three sisters from Scenic World gondola
Here’s what happened in between. After honeycomb cave, we entered the giant stairway. Lots of stairs down (976 in fact). Amy did not do them all.
This is an alternative way to get down the stairs (not recommended by our attorney)
Not here
Here
Flowers and bromiliads
Amy
AMY
A tiny fiddlehead against the mountains
Down
Flowers on the mountain
Looking down 500 feet
The blue mountains
Amy contemplates
Cliff hangers
Amy takes the stairs with a monk
Cliff hangers and rare species
Eventually, we entered the rain forrest at the bottom of the cliff.
The giant stairway is well named. It has been there a while.
Rainforest ecology
Amy rounds the bend
Ferns and trail. The rainforest shift is striking
A very big tree indeed
Katoomba Creek falls
After the falls, we were back in what passes as civilization. Scenic world was first contemplated by coal miners. Just take the train thingy up.
And, why not? Try the cable car too.
We walked back from scenic world (another 2.5km). All told we may have hiked around 5 miles. We deserved a beer.
After a long day hiking, it was high time for a beer!
The 2 hour train ride back to Sydney was slightly too long.
November 27, 2018
art, flowers, nature, photography, plants, travel, who knows art, flower, flowers, gardens, little paradise lodge, nature, new zealand, photography, travel Leave a comment
Highway to Paradise
There are magic places in the world, created under intensity so focused that nature absorbs and reflects the power of the creator. The Little Paradise Art Lodge is one of those places.
Put together over 26 years by a Swiss artist who is both intense and incredibly human at the same time, the grounds are nothing short of remarkable.
We were not able to stay during this trip due to a birthday (paradox) conflict. But we will be back for sure. Even a short visit is highly recommended. We stayed for about an hour, enchanted the entire time.
You’ll be caught in the web little tourist
Enter the property
The lodge itself is hand built in such a quirky and delightful and natural way, it is hard to describe. Primitive, and yet so very planet earth.
Bedroom
Bathroom full of skipping rocks
Hand carved headboard
Living table
A couch fashioned from one piece of poplar
Though the lodge is a sight to see, the six acres of curated gardens are astonishing in their willy-nilly natural order.
We have always talked about a tree house like this
Lawnmower
The artist, touched
Fin
January 9, 2018
art, humor, nature, photography, plants, river, trees, who knows art, demolition derby, environment, humor, ice, leaf, matchbox, photography, time Leave a comment
Lovely fishing boat nestled against a tree on a cold winter day…
But wait! There’s a car on that boat.
That matchbox dude challenges the leaf to a demolition derby!
The leaf ponders…
-Next episode – the leaf decides.
December 4, 2017
animals, hiking, nature, photography, plants, river, trees, who knows blue sky, eagle's nest, eagles, environment, moon, nature, photography, river, shenandoah river, sunset, sycamore Leave a comment
On this day I knew the shot, the reason I brought my camera on the expedition. The day before there was a magnificent scene of the moon high over an eagles nest along the river. I wanted to capture it on “film.” This next day, I got that shot, but did not. Over the 24 hours the moon had moved more than I knew, and was beyond the nest when I arrived at the spot shown in the last photo here. That was good luck! I took photos of this and more, and as I headed home an eagle soared over me, and as I turned to watch, did 3 large 360’s over the *other* nest mounted along the river nearby. The eagle drew me back to a high perch above the nest and tree to take the first 2 photos here. It’s in there!
moon moving to super, eagle nest 90′ high
