a different kind of Work

Note to whoever opened the store for the day on December 1, 1820, "Solomon Rosevelt left 14 baskets of corn in the ear we put it in the west bin where Abraham Lebo's corn was"

A gill of rum  is 4 oz. and was part of the daily rations of the Continental Army, apparently that was also something you could buy at a general store in the 1820s as well.

Matthew Sax, one of my ancestors, moved west from Vermont to the New York shore of Lake Champlain looking for opportunity in the early 19th century. An ambitious man, he built the steamboat wharf and a general store at what became known as the Landing, or Saxe's Landing. A small community grew around it with a boarding house, inn, and various other businesses. The property remains in our family to this day, my mother being a direct descendent of Matthew, she has the  ledgers and daybooks from the Store dating back to the  1820's. Fascinating reading when you can decipher the penmanship of the day.

Alternately spelled Saxe, depending on who was spelling it.

at Work

Sitta canadensis   Red-breasted Nuthatch

Nuthatch-mid-14c., probably is so called from its habit of breaking open and eating nuts; from nut + second element related to hack (v.) and hatchet.

just a sip and back to Work

Whole mob of chickadees and nuthatches busy lowering the seed level in the feeders today.

sunshine and Shadow

Triangle, rectangle, trapezoid

paper as Paint

collage [kəˈlɑːʒ kɒ- (French) kɔlaʒ]

n

1. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) an art form in which compositions are made out of pieces of paper, cloth, photographs, and other miscellaneous objects, juxtaposed and pasted on a dry ground

2. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) a composition made in this way

3. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) any work, such as a piece of music, created by combining unrelated styles

[French, from coller to stick, from colle glue, from Greek kolla]

collagist  n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Art 9 2-D

what a Bargain!

A 60F day outside, a new camera lens to experiment with, and a treasure from a bargain bin. I just love amaryllis in the dead of winter when they can go outside in the sunshine on the deck and pose for their portrait.

sleepy eyed Goldeneyes

Canyon Lake is our local hangout for winter ducks. Migrants stop by and stay for the winter, wigeons, goldeneyes, mallards, gadwalls and  others are usually found doing duck things any time of day.

We have had unseasonalbly warm weather lately, so the ice cover on the lake is minimal and open water keeps them scattered. The local mallard crowd is so used to people you can just about walk up and pat them on their little feathered heads. Not so the travelers from farther north, these guys appeared to be snoozing, but I could see golden eyes peeking at me, and this was as close as I was going to get, thank you.

They really are lovely ducks on the water, and what the folks in northern NY where I grew up call "Whistlers". One fly by over your head and it is pretty obvious why.

random glance of Summer

Did he fly, or was he a bird's breakfast? Just wondering.

now you see him, now you Don't

Bucephala albeola    

Bufflehead pair in breeding plumage, they be divers!

a bit of blue Ribbon

Just a little bit of blue ribbon fancies up a Lady's dress clothes!

bark up a different Tree

Ma Nature clothes her children in fabrics of many textures, not just the leafy green dresses of summer.

Happy 2012!

click to enjoy the rainbow colors of Meleagris gallipavo

Step out into the sunshine of a New Year with all its colors and variations just waiting to show themselves. May yours be one of peace, good fortune and good health.

looking forward, looking Back

Heading East on I-90, looking back West in the mirror. Seems apropos for the last day of 2011, looking back to the Old Year passed, and into the New Year to come.

sunrise Cows

Curiosity is supposed to "kill the cat", but there isn't anything much more curious than a herd of cows. They were wondering why I stuck the camera out the window as I drove by on my way to school. Their backs were still snowy, so well insulated are the bovines that it hadn't even melted off even after several hours.

tigers and monkeys and Parrots

This has to be one of the coolest mailbox posts on the Planet! It is on a gravel road, among corn and soybean fields in a lovely corner of Cottonwood County, MN. 

I kid you not, the folks who live here also raise cattle and own a real, live GIRAFFE!

Your neighbors may have wandering cats and barking dogs, but our grandkids have a giraffe for a neighbor.

here be Dragons

Christmas dragons from the creative brain of Daughter #1

Back after spending Christmas with Daughters #1, #2, #3, Son-in-law #1, Son-in-law #2, grandchildren #1 and #2 in Minnesota. A good time had by all! Hope yours was warm and friendly and memory filled, too.
 We are hard on the heels of 2012, hard to believe New Year's has come so fast.

the Easter Bunny

Greeting the Sun at the Winter Solstice, wearing his best Winter fur coat.

"Solstice Sun, Shining Bright!
Shortest Day & Longest Night.
Solstice Wish of Hope & Cheer:
Peace on Earth, throughout the Year!"

by Selena Fox

a grandfather Tree

Ma Nature sure knows how to build a cottonwood tree!

prairie sunrise December

Sunrise on the short grass prairie, Audubon Christmas Bird Count, looking for the sharp-tailed grouse. They, of course, chose to be in the cottonwood trees eating the buds, instead of being picturesque in the grass. Then again, the grass and alfalfa was picturesque on its own.

tiny little Pots

Little bitty baubles for tiny poinsettias in mini 2"pots.

Wouldn't a bright red poinsettia baby be a screamer in a flashy purple pot or an acid green one!

Audubon CBC/Rapid City, SD

The Early Bird

 Morning Watchman

We weren't the only ones walking along the Creek

 Tangerine Toes!

a break from santa claus Things...

CARWASH!

dear Santa,

These were NOT on my Christmas list!

klutzy move + hopping off stage = spend Christmas vacation from school gimping around.

whatsit?

Photoshop Quiz

late afternoon, December

St. Joseph Street,  Rapid City, South Dakota

moonset at Sunrise

12/11/11       7:15 am     44N  103W

• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon – December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

from www.farmersalmanac.com

a fishy looking Christmas

Jose

Uncooperative Guppies

While they were decorating our classroom (which is now quite gaudy and spectacular with lights), the guys decided Jose and the Guppies needed to be decorated up as well. Window clings not only cling to windows, but they also cling to aquariums. Love those 9th graders.

we have Company

This little critter is currently residing among the leaves and flowers of the Christmas cactus on the mantel in the living room. She has been seen on an orchid in the dining room and on the light in Rachel's bedroom ceiling. We don't know how long she has been visiting or how she is traveling (unless she has a Doppelganger). She is most welcome to stay.

the journey of Odysseus

Do you remember any cats in the Odyssey?

9th grade English curriculum requires reading and analysis of Homer's The Odyssey, which we have been doing these past two weeks. The students were asked to write about their thinking as they read the story of Odysseus. Here are some of the lessons learned along the way which Odysseus's men should have learned.

I love they way the kids think.

hello, Amaryllis

As soon as the morning sun came in the south window, Amaryllis showed her face for the first time this season.

why would you do This?

at the stop sign Thursday morning

Of all the vanity plate cleverness you could choose, why would you want to advertise that you are annoying and probably obnoxious, to boot????

two fer Tuesday

The way this pair had composed themselves to soak up the last warming rays of the afternoon sun caught my eye. Mallards are common winter residents here, accidental fine art sculptures some days, noisy panhandlers on others.

a fine Fisherman

 

He blends in well with the blue sky and the winter gray branches. Kingfishers are notoriously hard to get a good photo of, they are very alert to potential predators (read that photographers) and skitter away in a heartbeat. A crowd of mallards was no protection for the fishy tidbit he had his eye on, he dove right into the middle of the mob, and came up with 
dinner. 
If you want a really good kingfisher, go to Dina's blog (http://dinaswildlifeadventures.blogspot.com) on Nov. 19. Now, there is a kingfisher like I wish I could capture!

morning and evening on Moon Meadows

Morning

 

Evening

sleek Sleepers

Could you take a snooze in an icy cold creek with the water up to your belly feathers?