Visit from Jaja

Jaja came to visit this weekend and we had a blast!  We went to an incredible workshop at the Center for Art in Wood, in Old City where we created a "cabinet of curiosities" out of a cigar box and with great instruction and inspiration from the staff at the center.  We created a portrait for the front, and of course I chose to draw my cats.  Yes, I'm a cat lady.  I really like how it turned out:

 

They had great supplies for us to use, and the boxes already had elaborately patterned paper around the edges that we could use as a jump off for inspiration.  Apparently cigar stores just smash these boxes and throw them in the trash, so it's easy to get them if you're there at the right time.  Which I will obviously be doing now that I know how beautiful these boxes are without any decoration at all.

 

We also went to a work day at Farm 51, which is run by my friends Andrew and Neal.  We destroyed some raised beds and harvested broccoli, then had a bonfire and ate delicious home made coffee cake and cookies.  Their house next door is gorgeous and another constant source of inspiration:

 

 

 

An amazing and inspirational weekend and a great way to start the new year!

Leaf peeping weekend

This is the last weekend I have free from work until Thanksgiving, so M and I decided to head outdoors and enjoy the incredible fall weather. We managed to catch the end of a grass-fed beef competition at Wyebrook Farm in Honey Brook, PA, enjoy a housewarming party at a friends' farm in Southwest Philly (complete with marshmallow roasting!) and peep some leaves at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge near the Philadelphia airport.

* Heinz NWR *

 

 

 

 

 

* Heading out to the Farm *

 

* Our jack-o-lantern didn't make it to Halloween :( *

 

* Wyebrook Farm *

Oh There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays . . .

. . . baking a mince meat pie with Mom (crust recipe to come) . . .



. . . enjoying a sunlit room . . .



. . . knitting and watching the Parade and the Dog Show . . .



. . . having our own little dog show . . .



. . . receiving two dozen perfect brown eggs from Aunt E's chickens . . .



. . . and eating that meal that you know so well, with people you love (and looking forward to the leftovers). I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

The black swallowtail butterfly

Papilio polyxenes asterius Stoll.

may i be gay

like every lark
who lifts his life

from all the dark


who wings his why

beyond because
and sings an if

of day to yes



- e. e. cummings, 73 Poems, 43 (1963)

Look who's eating our carrots . . .

A black swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio polyxenes asterius Stoll!





We found him in the Children's Garden at Bartram's. Check out what he does when threatened (by squeezing gently with two fingers):



He pops out these two orange "horns" which are actually organs that emit a bad odor to birds and other predators (it smelled like sweet apples to me).

Now he lives in this nice little habitat so we can show him to the kids until he emerges from his chrysalis and we set him free. We actually had a monarch caterpillar for a few weeks but I didn't get a chance to document him and his transformation (we released him already).

Winter Tracks

Tracking

It begins with a blanket of freshly fallen snow.



A sparrow (Passer domesticus) flying above sees a dark spot on the ground. She lands on the ground to investigate and hops about distractedly, creating a weebly wobbly pattern in the snow (sparrows can be such silly birds).



Stopping quickly, a cottontail bunny (Sylvilagus floridanus) carefully sniffs the air. Is there a predator nearby?



Crouching low, the house cat (Felis catus) waits for the perfect moment to pounce. Her eyes narrow in anticipation but she is patient and sits very still. She can make herself appear as small and quiet as a stone.



A woman (Homo sapiens sapiens) ventures out of her warm living room to take a walk in the frozen morning air. She stoops low to see which animals have passed by her door that morning. The tracks she sees tell a story which she reads in the freshly fallen snow.



It began with a blanket of freshly fallen snow.