Daily Shots

Last November I got a camera for my birthday and wrote about it here. Over the last year the camera has become a regular companion for me. On the weekends I tend to grab it before I leave the house most days. It's light, fits in my pocket, and takes the kind of photos that I always wished I could take. I'm a little in love with it.

And I want to share some of my photos with you. In an attempt to make sure I post a bit more, and to show off some of the beautiful things this camera can do, I'll be posting a picture everyday. We'll see how long this lasts but I love the idea. This will push me to post and push me to get outside to take even more pictures. Win-win, in my book.

So here is my first picture. It was taken with the Super Vivid setting on my camera so the colors are a tad more intense than they would be with other cameras. But this is much closer to what I was seeing that day. It was one of the more glorious days we've had. This was taken right outside the Iowa Arboretum in Boone County. You'll see more pictures from that trip. I took well over 60 in the arboretum alone.

Not So Killer Wasp

While the news is buzzing about the killer hornets in China, I thought I'd share my not-so-deadly wasp that I took pictures of three weeks or so ago. We have mud wasps that have decided to build a home right outside our door. This is the second nest they've tried to build there in the years we've lived in the house. We'll have to call someone to come and take care of it. I'd think about doing it myself, but...well...I'm not insane. Bees I like, wasps I do not.

So we often have wasps flying around the front of the house and one afternoon I found a very cooperative subject sitting on the window. It was one of our 100 plus days last month and I think it was trying to suck the cold air-conditioning through the window. I snapped pictures, I changed settings on the camera, and I took even more pictures. The one below is my favorite. I think the lighting works. I just love how much of this odd strangely beautiful creature you can see. And I love the big eyes. Of course I'd still kill one if it came indoors.

Poetry Friday

Apparently I forgot that I had a blog. Sorry about that. My world has been a bit busy lately. Hopefully it will slow down soon. But for today, a poem. I found this on one of the other blogs I read. I have to read more of this man's work. Half-poem, half zen koan, I read this and am at peace. Now to find some woods.

The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Barry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Foxy Lady

I've been an animal lover since I was a very small child. I love to be around pets and wild animals. I spent a good chunk of my childhood in zoos, at least when I wasn't reading about animals. Some days I think I like animals more than people. At least some days. And I love photos of animals.

One of the sites I follow on Facebook is Wild for Wildlife and Nature, which posts pictures numerous times a day. So many of the images are wonderful but I've noticed a trend recently that got me thinking. I've only saved a couple of images but a majority of them recently have been foxes. I'm drawn to the images of this shy elusive creature and I'm not sure why. Of course they are cute but so are many other animals. Why this creature?

A fox and a cat who've become inseparable friends

I've see them twice. The first was almost 15 years ago. I was waiting in my car at work to be let into the building. It was 5 in the morning. As I sat there, half drowsing I saw a blur through the windshield. I looked up to see a red fox darting across my path along a major road. I remember being thrilled. The second was just a couple months ago. Jeff and I were driving home when one came loping through the dark past us into the woods. Two fleeting glimpses in a lifetime of a magical animal.

So I read up a bit on the symbology of the fox. Foxes are crafty but aloof creatures. They are good at eluding people and predators. They are crafty at finding their way out of traps. Most of the totem pages say that they show the way through difficult confusing situations to places of simplicity. When I read that, a lightbulb came on. Work has been a difficult place recently. The politics are intense and often changable. And I'm not a good player. I find myself longing for a way to escape them, or at least navigate them. And suddenly I'm back to the fox.

 The man rescued the fox when it was a kit and raised it by hand.

Now I'm not a huge believer in totems or animals as symbols but it seems strange that I'm suddenly fascinated by foxes right now rather than before. I'm reading up on their calls (creepy sounding). I'm paying attention to their hunting habits and their family structure. I'm enraptured with them. I don't know if it has to do with my work politics or if I've just moved on to a new animal to learn about. Whatever it is, I couldn't help but share these pictures.

Processed Produce

I saw something this past week at the grocery store that made me weep for the next generation. I was in the produce section picking up carrots and celery and peppers when I walked by a section of apples. But not just any apples. Individually wrapped apples. I thought that was odd until I took a look at the wrapper. And it was a:

Bubble Gum Flavored Apple

I kid you not. This apple was apparently bubble gum flavored. I'm not sure how they make it flavored but I stood there, dumbfounded, and couldn't figure out if I wanted to run away screaming or break down weeping right there. I didn't buy one to find out how they flavored it. Heck I couldn't even bring myself to pick it up. I didn't want to be seen with it. It was terrible.

I've been on a "real" food kick lately. The processed cereals that I've been buying are starting to smell too chemically for me. I can't bring myself to eat the processed frozen meals for lunch. I shop mostly in produce with some dairy. I'm trying to start using the grains and beans I buy. It's not really a health conscious decision, it's more based on what sounds good. I like things made without chemicals. Fresh is starting to mean more to me.

And I guess I stupidly assumed that produce would always be real. That a tomato (particularly an organic tomato) was just a tomato. That grapes had no artificial flavors to make them more grapey. That celery was made up of just celery. And that apples would always taste like apples in all their wondrous variety. So this scares me. Are we trying this to make kids interested in fruit? Because the fruit that they're eating doesn't taste like fruit anymore. They won't grow to love apples. But they will crave bubble gum. And even more scary, I'm sure that there are parents out there that will buy them. We have no idea how they flavored these apples but a few parents will think "hey this is tasty and healthy" and buy them for their kids. And the kids will never get to know how tasty a real apple can be.

I've become cynical about food processors and marketers. The more packaging something has the less likely I am to buy it. This week I finally figure out why that is. Soon I'll be able to buy chocolate flavored grapes and artificial raspberry-flavored strawberries. And a little more naturalness will be gone. I weep for the next generation.

Stopping By the Woods...

...On a not so snowy evening.

I went out for a walk this afternoon. I've never had a regular exercise routine but I love to walk. It's something that I feel I could do for hours and still never get tired. I used to walk for an hour and still be just as refreshed as when I started. Most of the time I would walk fast, feeling my breath and heartbeat speed up. Nowdays I often go with a set of binoculars and a camera and most of the time I just stroll. I have a path not far from the house that is "far from the maddening crowd" and I headed that way. The moment you get away from the road the car noise drops to a minimum. It is peace incarnate.

I had a decent walk but my ankle still bothers me so I turned around after a half hour and headed for home. The route home is uphill and I was panting a little by the time I reached the top. I'm a bit out of shape lately. After I walked under the underpass, stopping to listen to the mourning doves that sound like monsters when echoed around the bridge, I headed up the last hill for home. But I didn't go in. Instead I headed straight for the creek. I sat down on the ravine edge, pulled my coat around me, and sat. It was relatively quiet. I could hear the birds and a distant squirrel chewing. Other than the occasional car (we live off a pretty busy street) all I could hear was the rushing of water and the wildlife.

It was the closest thing I've found to heaven. The air and ground were cold but after I got used to it, the temperature was just part of the moment. I sat and watched the woods get darker and darker. I could feel the moment when the temperature dropped as the sun went down. In one moment I went from snug to seeing my breath. But I still didn't go in. I just sat there, not really thinking, not really worrying, just sitting. It was meditation. It was bliss.

Cardinals Courting

I saw the cutest thing this morning. I was packing up my lunch to get ready for work when the cat started meowing at the open front door. I open the front door but leave the storm door shut so she can watch the birds. This morning she was trying to talk to the beautiful male cardinal that was sitting on the patio eating. I stopped for a moment and watched him. That's when I noticed the female cardinal in the yard.

Scruffy looking female cardinal

Now cardinals mate for life, which means that after courting they breed together each year until one or the other dies. They are not strictly monogamous in the winter but during the breeding season they are. And they always travel together. Normally the male comes down to eat while the females waits in the tree, keeping guard. Then they switch. This morning they were both on the ground. As I watched the male picked up a couple of seeds and then flitted over to the female and passed the food to her beak-to-beak. He then went back to the pile of seeds picked up more, and repeated the process. He was feeding her.

A cardinal at the feeder in winter

It looked like a tiny cardinal kiss when they ever so briefly touched beaks. I read up a bit on the behavior and just as I thought, those cardinals were courting. Mate-feeding normally takes place during courting and for much of the breeding season. It's actually a pretty common practice among courting cardinals, but I'd never seen it in person. As I watched, the male made about 6 trips back and forth from the seed to his mate. It was truly one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

I didn't even think to grab the camera this morning to take some shots (cut me some slack it was 6:30 in the morning), so I've stolen the image below from a Toronto newspaper. Sorry. The other shots are mine.

Shawn Smith

I was trying to explain the idea of pixelated video game graphics to one of my friend's young sons recently and he was simply not getting the idea. I told him about Galaga and Asteroids (the kinds of games I played when about his age) and he still didn't understand the idea of pixelation. That's when I realized, he's never had to look at things that way. Graphics today are so good that things simply don't appear pixelated. So many of the games these days are good enough to be movies. I'm constantly amazed at how good some games look. But part of me still misses the days of BurgerTime and Pitfall, where my character was normally a couple differently colored pixels joined together.

In the spirit of that type of nostalgia, I wanted to share Shawn Smith, my artist du jour. Shawn uses wood (often plywood) which is cut up into small mostly uniform pieces. Those are then hand dyed and arranged into sculpture created a real-life pixelated image. Shawn says in his artist statement that he's interested in the intersection between nature and the digital world, how we view the world through the pixels of our TVs and don't realize that we're only seeing a depiction.

I found Shawn through Neatorama and have become fascinated with both his art and the statements his art seems to make. Like the one below with the vulture eating the typewriter. Here are pixelated creatures (new technology and nature) destroying an old technology.

Shawn's artwork has been displayed in museums across the country and he has certainly found an audience with his "re-things", the name he gives to his reconstructed creatures. The idea of using pixels to create sculptures fascinated me. I'm always interested in any artist using an unusual medium and this certainly qualifies. See more of Shawn's work at the website above. Inventive art using nature as the subject. I'm in heaven.

Bug Art

I had mentioned before how my mother collects interesting insects. It's a hobby that can lead to some beautiful wall decorations along with some creepy ones. The bird eating spider is a bit much. The walking stick insect is beautiful. I had mentioned before about Michelle Stitzlein's found art insects thinking that those would be right up her alley. But today while looking at Drawn.ca, I found another amazing example of insect art that I might have to look into getting for her.

Mike Libby takes the actual specimens of insects and inserts mechanical parts to create his art. His beetles have propellers and gears. His grasshoppers receive springs. And everything is unbelievably beautiful. Libby describes it as the ultimate mix of science fiction and science. He says that so many science fiction pieces depict insects as robotic and that now scientist are studying insect behavior to learn more about mechanical movement. This is a beautiful blend of nature and machinery. I was enchanted by his work. So many beautiful insects. I have included one picture as a tease but you really need to head over to his site, Insect Lab Studios to see the rest. Gorgeous. And perhaps I have a new idea of a present for mom.

Earth Day

I originally had a bit of a rant that I was planning to write for today. I get frustrated with the idea that we only celebrate the Earth one day. And normally we do it in ways that are not particularly environmentally friendly. But the office is letting me where jeans (not sure how that impacts the Earth) so I'm in a great mood. And just can't work up any rightous anger to do my rant. Lucky you!

Instead I want to share some of my favorite Earth pictures. I love photography and some of the ones I have received recently are incredible.

A friend of mine sent me this image of snow rollers this morning. What's a snow roller you ask. When the snow is right and the wind is right, it rolls itself into a ball. Now if nature could only learn to stack them and add coal for eyes.

Taken by Tim Tevebaugh in Idaho last month. See the rest of the pictures here.

While I'm on the subject of ice and snow, isn't this dock just amazing? I love the feet look that it has.

One of the guys at work sent me this stunning image of Mt. Fuji in Japan. I love that people think to send me interesting or beautiful photos they find.


And it wouldn't be complete without some animal/wildlife images. I love this little otter stopping by to say hello.

And last but not least, this mantis that reminds me that this is a celebration. And that I should be thankful that at least one day out of the year people stop and think about what we're doing to the planet. Happy Earth Day all!

Tetramorium Caespitum

My original plan was to talk about going out for drinks with the girls last night and then an incredibly fun game of Hide and Seek our guild played. Perhaps a later post, at least for the Hide and Seek. I had even written part of it in my head this morning. But of course life is what happens while you're making other plans.

Spring has sprung here in Iowa. I can tell in two ways. First happened last week or so. The red-wing blackbirds came back to the state. Robins winter here now so they are not a good indicator of spring.

The other happened this morning....Ants. Pavement Ants to be precise. Each year in the spring and once in the fall we deal with three or four days of ant infestation. The whole complex suffers the same fate. So I woke up this morning to find that there were ants wandering through my kitchen and enjoying the cat's food. Now I'm normally a live and let live person. I have a pact with the resident spiders. They stay on the ceiling and I don't let the cat eat them. Once they come down to my level, they're fair game. But the ants drive me crazy. I know they don't really hurt anything and they just come for the cat food. But...well I'm not letting them live. I've been known to stand in the kitchen with a paper towel just waiting for them to appear so I can smoosh them. I become a serial killer of ants.

So I spent this morning vacuuming and scrubbing. I cleaned up the major infestation and now will have to deal with the stragglers. I know that I should have a professional company come in but I've seen their prices. Plus I don't like the idea of hazardous chemicals being sprayed in my kitchen. Call me old fashion that way. Most websites say that they they are tough to prevent even with the professional spraying. Ants are just fast adaptors. I laid down some cinnamon at the spot they were getting in and I'll pick up some baited traps on the way home. We've gotten good at treating them.

I consider it just one of the hazards of living so close to a creek. I love having that creek access and the open natural areas. I love that the hummingbirds come in the summer and the deer wander into the complex year round. I love that I can step out onto my patio and watch a raccoon wander by. I guess I'll just have to live with the ants. They are only occasional visitors.

Memorials

One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to find data and pictures of different cities. I love to imagine living in different places throughout the country. Google's street view maps are one of my favorite new toys. I just checked out CNN Money's new list for top 25 places for affordable houses. This was a list of cities that had very nice homes for a very cheap price. Des Moines was on the list so I had to go there. And one of the other cities listed was Bella Vista, Arkansas.

I had never heard of this city but I'm always interested in looking at cities south of me so I pulled up the city-data information on the place. City-data offers demographic, climate, education, and attraction data for locations. It also offers pictures. And that is where I saw this structure.

I've always said that I want to be turned into a firework when I die. A company will turn your cremated remains into a firework that can be shot up in a private ceremony. I love the idea of going out with a bang, but this is truly a memorial.
Now for anyone who knows me, you know that religion plays a very small role in my life. I don't attend church, don't practice any organized religion, and don't even really believe, but this is different. I wouldn't have it as a chapel. I would just have it as a resting place where people could go to soak up the beauty of nature. The memorial, dedicated to Mildred B. Cooper (a prominent citizen of the area), seems to me more about communion with nature and the beauty of nature then communing with any higher power. It is a place for introspection among some of the prettiest surroundings I can think of. It is a place that I would spend some time.

I am going to have to make a trip south. Bella Vista is a tiny town (the area only has 16,000) but I will go down just to see this structure. Of all the memorials I have ever seen this is the most beautiful. And the most fitting with what I would want.

Specimens

My mother collects insects. I'm not sure where she picked up the hobby, but we have always had some sort of specimen lying around the house. We kids have started bringing home interesting ones that we find, like a beautiful intact praying mantis. She had bought a number of different ones including some incredibly creepy ones. The first time you see a hairy Goliath Bird-Eating Spider, you realize why so many people are afraid of arachnids.
But she doesn't just collect the creepy ones. She has some beautiful butterflies that she has collected throughout the years. Moths and butterflies of every shape and color imaginable. They always remind me of the sheer beauty of nature. Many of them are framed and hung on the walls. Nature as art. So when I found this artist on Roadside Scholar, I thought of my mother.

I'll have to check prices and see about purchasing one of these incredible and incredibly large butterflies for her. The artist is Michelle Stitzlein and she creates her beautiful bugs using objects that she finds. Those wings are mostly made with piano keys. (that should give you some idea of the scale of these pieces)

I love found art (art made from found materials) and these just speak to me. I'll have to look into them for my mother. Just gorgeous. Michelle has a number of other found art sculptures on her website. The teapot is a little more up my alley.

Biophilia

I'm reading The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. In the book Weiner, an NPR journalist, travels around the world looking for the happiest places. One of the places he starts his journey at is in Switzerland. He is trying to figure out why the Swiss are so happy when he stumbles upon a word that sums up beautifully one of the things that makes me the happiest: biophilia. 

Have you ever gone walking in the woods? It doesn't matter what mood you have when you enter the woods. If you allow yourself to just be part of the woods you will walk out happier. There is a strange sense of peace we get when you are surrounded by nature. I never realized that there was a word for this feeling. The official definition is "the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life". Biophilia was coined by Edward O. Wilson in 1984. Perhaps this could explain why deeply urban dwellers seem to be less happy. There is simply less contact with the natural world. 

This is something I had noticed on my own many times. We took a cruise in October which was wonderful. But I noticed that I was starting to get irritable by the third day. We had been off the boat but Key West was mostly city, and Cozumel was mostly rushed. By Belize, Jeff and I were both frustrated and snapping. Then this little fellow came into my life. 

We were up walking on the deck when we found him. He appeared young and injured and I watched him for over three hours unsure of what to do to help. Mostly I wanted to protect him from people coming over and disturbing him. My hope is that with rest he would be strong again. I sketched him from afar and watched him. And my soul was soothed. The crew captured him (at the request of some other cruisers) and hopefully helped him off the boat to a rehabilitation clinic. That is my only hope. I cried as he was taken away assuming they would kill him. Now I don't know. I have no idea what species he is. If anyone knows, please leave a comment with it. All I know is that spending some time watching and protecting him, made me feel like myself again. I had missed that contact with nature.