Monday, September 28, 2009

sunday afternoon in the park with bill ~

mushroom2

Yesterday was the Cornwall Park Disc Golf tournament. Dad (aka Bill) decided to take part. He’s been playing every morning for a year ~ about two hours a day. He may not be the local pro yet, but at (almost) 73, he scored better than some of the younger dudes.

mushroom1

We grew up with our backyard leading into the park, so this was our natural playground. We’d play on the park swings, roam the hills, and bike like mad through the trails before there was even a hit of a mountain bike fad.

mushroom4

I remembered to bring my camera with me to take some shots of the tournament. But I have to admit, the “nature” in the park was enchanting ~ the tournament soon took a photographic back seat.

mushroom3

There were mushrooms and toadstools galore throughout our walk as the group dad was playing with circled about 10 holes. Most of these mushrooms were at least 7” in diameter and 6-7” tall. They were amazing.

cedar

The park is filled with the most amazing trees: cedar, fir, hemlock, maples, etc. They are some of the oldest and largest trees in Bellingham. One of the problems with the disc golf course in the park is that the trees are natural obstacles and get whapped by discs constantly. The bark gets damaged like the cedar in the photo above. This, supposedly, isn’t a big deal for the older trees, but is not good for younger ones. Personally, it is really a shame they can’t figure a better way to play around some of the trees.

golf1

Not sure which hold this was taken at, but it gives you an idea about the height of the trees.

chestnut

There’s a small row of chestnut trees at the southeast entrance to the park by the elementary school I went to 35 years ago. I use to collect the chestnuts on my way home from school ~ it was my “collection”. I’d glue each chestnut carefully to a sheet of paper ~ oh, how I loved my chestnut collections.

dragonfly

I couldn’t believe how close I was able to get to this dragonfly ~ such wonderful shape and color.

berries

The colors of fall were starting to show everywhere.

golf2

This is the last hole we watched before heading home. See the big pack the guy on the left was carrying ~ most of the guys what these filled with their discs. Poor guy wasn’t play so well, but he did have a lot of discs.

Dad told us where there was a patch of native cyclamen that we would pass on our way up the hills. The leaves were starting to break through the ground ~ another sign of impending fall. Soon the shuttlecock flowers will be gone for another season.

cyclmen

Friday, September 25, 2009

carpe diem ~

5

Synonym via MS Word ~

“make hay while the sun shines”

1

“Cook car” c. 1900, Barton, ND.

Making hay was a community endeavor during the turn of the century (and much later). When the threshing machine came to town, everyone pitched in to help. Even the ladies worked the cook car preparing hot meals for the men. Above, my great grandpa (John Johnson) is kneeling center, bottom ~ smoking a pipe. My great-great uncle, John Saude, is the man standing ~ first man at left with light colored long-sleeved shirt and suspenders.

2

Circuit camera photograph of men “making hay”

in Barton, ND c. 1900.

2a

Close up of circuit camera shot above.

Threshing in Barton, ND c. 1900.

2b

And a closer look at the right side of the photo above.

3

4

Carpe diem ~ seize the day ~ make hay

Today with the sniffles, I successfully rolled out of bed before 8 a.m. Drank a cup of coffee and played on the computer. Carpe diem!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

signs of summer ending ~

2

The season begins with the hopes and dreams

of a warm, bountiful summer and a plate full of burgers.

1

A sense of sadness and melancholy fills the hearts of everyone when the hamburgers are gone and the days become shorter. Time to close up the family cabin ending another season of summer.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

surface tension ~

6

Leaving my parents’ house this afternoon I was stopped dead in my tracks by these Katsura leaves. These pools of water were nervously balanced on the fallen leaves after last night’s rain. As the light came and went with the clouds passing over the sun, the pools changed like little looking glasses.

3

1

Perched atop this bubble of life was one tiny blade of grass.

2

My parents’ porch, like their yard, is a gardener’s wonderland. Collections of yard art from the traditional (Red Grass Designs, Rosebar [we’ll miss you Mary Taylor], Shirley Erickson) to the dada-ish work of Rich Art (aka Dick Tracy or Rich/Richard Tracy) that I purchased when I worked at the Whatcom Museum. Each corner has a surprise.

46

Above is a rock that Steve and I gave my parents for their 46th anniversary. Steve was into carving stones into plant markers for the garden. I drew this pattern out to represent multiple things ~ an “H” (for Hadley, my maiden name), the number “46” for their years of marriage, and a flowing motion to represent all the Asian inspired things they have in the yard and house. I think Steve did a great job using his Dremel and many hours.

8

On Friday, I made a new friend. I saw her flutter by the window and land outside just behind the TV. I quickly grabbed my camera to capture some images of this little lady goldfinch.

9

She continued her journey south after this last shot.

10

Enjoy the winter down south, my dear!

Friday, September 18, 2009

fragment ~

fragment

…week word….too literal?

Thursday, September 17, 2009

fibers & beyond ~

f&bposter

Click on the poster above to go right to the guild’s website for details about the sale.

Each year the Whatcom Weavers Guild puts together a wonderful event called Fibers & Beyond. This is a show and sale of members’ work and should NOT be missed!

For the last few years I’ve worked on the pr for the event and (with fingers crossed) we will have a small article in Entertainment News NW ~ a wonderful arts and entertainment full-color glossy magazine published in Bellingham, WA.

They let me write the article for the last couple of years, and we (guild members and community) are lucky to have a publication of this type around.

Here’s a taste from last year’s sale.

WWG_1_300dpi

WWG_6_300dpi WWG_2_300dpi

WWG_3_300dpi

CIMG0718

CIMG0715

CIMG0703

CIMG0702

CIMG0690

CIMG0673

CIMG0693

CIMG0683

CIMG0688

CIMG0731

CIMG0680

CIMG0727

CIMG0667

And of course we have security! Girl with gun ~ well, almost.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

inky…

2

Fun, yes, but very inky. I’ve had very colorful hands during the last week. I kind of went stamp cutting crazy. You saw the beginning of my linocut stage at the end of August ~ since then I’ve been cutting and stamping and doing some all around messy stuff with ink.

1

34

Now I have about 80 bookmarks all stamped up and tasseled with beaded handspun yarn. I’m afraid I can’t stop! This has mostly been a late night activity since they days have been very busy. Next I’m going to make a bunch of gift tags in themes (fiber arts, bugs, generic designs, and maybe birds).

6798

All of this stuff will be for sale at the next Whatcom Weavers Guild sale on October 16 and 17 in Bellingham. This is the 10th year for the sale and only the 4th for me. I hope I can make a bit of cash to fund the upcoming Judith MacKenzie McCuin workshop offered by NWHandspun Yarns ~ it will be another three-day brain bending fiber filled workshop.

Here are some gift tags in the works.

5

Below are some images I took at last Wednesday’s guild meeting. Guild member Sheri Ward came up with a great idea/challenge for members. She suggested that people find a mug and make a companion mug rug over the summer with the creations and mugs being donated this fall to one of the shelters in town that helps battered and homeless women. The mugs and rugs are to be given to women who are moving out of the shelter to their new homes. Thanks Sheri for such creating a “kind gesture” project for the guild.

mug1

mug3

mug2

10

Bookmark anyone?