Monday, Monday

Photo via Limilee.

Into the Green

Goodbye white, hello green. Green - there are hints of it surfacing in the muddy brown landscape. The tips of the daffodils coming up, the moss that is mixed in with dead grass in the shady spots of the lawn, are the first touches. An explosion is on the way and I personally can't wait to for it to be wall to wall green outside.

Photo via Gardenista. 

A Weed to Love

in the past while sitting waiting for the train I would look at the milk weed and other miscellaneous plant life growing around the tracks and think, this place needs a good weeding.

My desire to tidy up the train tracks is probably a by product of growing up in a post Highway Beautification Act world. I'm certainly happy that Ladybird Johnson decided our road ways should be beautiful and have stretches of manicured plants and greenery along them.

I'm also happy that a walking tour at Duke Farms enlightened me to the beauty of the milkweed. Milkweed, I learned is the sole food of the Monarch caterpillar. Monarchs lay their eggs only on milkweed and the plant sustains and houses the caterpillar until they finally metamorphsize into lovely orange and black butterflies. Turns out this odd looking plant is not just a "weed" but a food source and habitat. Now, I now longer feel the urge to to see the train tracks all nice and tidy.

How I viewed it before:

How I see it now:

Rebirth

It occurs to me that we should really celebrate the new year in April when everything is new again. Love have there are signs of new life everywhere.


Crib by XO in My room.

Nesting Instincts

There's something so wild and wacky about a grown man building oversized nests for a living. Not bad work if you can get. Not a bad addition to your yard if you can afford it. I have to say I think I would enjoy hanging out in one of artists Jayson Fann's nests. They are really beautiful and look like they would be a wonderful place to escape from a crazy day.

Happiness is...

Wow, just looking at his photo makes me happy. Happiness is...Dolphins.

Photo via Organic Green Roots. This facebook page has lots of images to make any nature lover happy.

Vulpes Vulpes

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary
some in the wrong direction
Practice resurrection

Wendell Berry

Some of the nicest sights this winter are the glimpses I catch of our little red fox (Vulpes vulpes). I say our fox because it seems we've always had one in our back woods. This is actually our new fox. There was another older fox who had caught the mange. He was suffering and so sad looking. I know he died because one of the neighbors said another neighbor's dog dragged a dead fox into their yard.

Our new fox is very handsome and struts confidently through the back yards giving the squirrels a run for their money. He caught one recently in our yard.

I felt badly because I had just thrown out some bread for the birds and two of the squirrels were feeding on it. Next thing I knew there was just one squirrel and I spotted the fox at a distance with a squirrel in his mouth. I was sad to lose one of our mischievous squirrels even if they did eat a hole in our screen door to steal peanuts that were in a basket in our kitchen. Nature is beautiful and sad at the same time.

But I'm happy to have a spry and healthy fox about. When I see him I sometimes think of the old fox and imagine he has sprung all shiny and new like a phoenix from all of our foxes past. That thought makes me happy.

Top photo from here.
Bottom photo our fox. (Need to get closer next time)

And the Oscar Goes To ...

I think I beat my own Oscars record this year having managed to watch only one nominated film before the show aired. To make my accomplishment even more amazing, I did not see any of the films nominated for best picture or the acting categories. I have plenty of catching up to do when it comes to cinema these days.

Jane Campion's Bright Star, the one film I saw with a shot at an Oscar, was up for best costume design. My one film, it turns out, did not take home a statue. I didn't see any of the competing films, so I can't say whether it deserved to win or not. The costumes were beautiful but understated like much of the film. What I can say is, I think the film deserved an Oscar for the most beautiful scenery. Hmm, maybe that falls under set design. But the fields of flowers and the orchards from the film did not make me think of movie sets. It just seemed like gorgeously recorded nature. I'm sure cinematic magic was employed, but I'd like to think I could find myself walking in one of those flower filled fields.

Now I'm waiting for all the bulbs I planted in the fall to come up and am inspired to plant more. Who knows someday I could have my own field of flowers.