When You're In Need of a Fairy Godmother

Everyone needs a Fairy Godmother at times in their life. If you could write down your very own wish, what would it be?

Historic Ironwork

From St. Michael's Church Charleston South Carolina, Altar Rail.

This is what I have planned for 2013...

Fall Leaves

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the crispness of the air, wearing a sweater and walking through the piles of gold, red and yellow leaves.  I delay raking leaves all fall, (not because I'm lazy)  because I enjoy the rich colors.  This print is from a painting by Mary Emily Eaton (1873-1961) a famous English botanical artist whose works are in the permanent collection of the National Geographic Society, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Time for a Summer Holiday

The Golden Plover and Ruddy Turnstone are on the beach.  Why aren't I?  It's mid-July already and I haven't planned my summer vacation.  Fewer people are planning vacations this year.  A rough job market often creates a fear that we might not be missed from the office and really aren't that  important (and so we're replaceable). But for some of us, it's just that we may have lost the ability to relax and get away from our daily routines.

The Old Book Smell

The Old Book Smell

Lignin, the stuff that prevents trees from turning into the weeping kinds, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin.  When made into paper and stored for years it breaks down and smells good.  Which is how divine providence has arranged for second-hand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us.

From Perfumes:  The Guide    

Palm Trees for April

Global warming: three weeks ago I was wearing shorts and flip-flops and then the temperature dropped so low that I was back to the dreaded old winter coat and mittens. I am posting these palm trees as a reminder of the warmer weather that will be here....just not yet.