le coquelicot

delicious melon smoothie

2011-09-15T13:36:00.000-04:00

Whenever I have melons, even though M. and I love them, there always seems to be quite a bit left over. So, I've gotten into the habit, whenever I cut into a melon, of placing a generous third of the melon (of whatever kind) into a ziplock bag in the freezer. Because melon is a soft fruit, I've never found it a problem to break the frozen melon apart, so it's easy. Chuck some in the freezer, some into a covered bowl in the fridge for breakfasts and snacking, and voila, no waste.

Then I discovered that nice ripe melon that is frozen makes a great element in smoothies. This is not revolutionary in any sense, but it's been a tasty, practical habit. I've been making peach-melon, strawberry-melon, avocado-melon smoothies all summer. Herewith, I share my secret. This recipe is not hard-and-fast at all. I often add yoghurt. Coconut milk yoghurt is especially nice. There is a passionfruit-mango flavor that, mixed with the ubiquitous banana and melon, makes for a nice "tropical" flavor.

Melon Smoothie (basic)

1 cup milk/unsweetened soymilk
1 ripe banana
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
large handful frozen melon (I used a mixture of Cantalope and Catawba, what I happened to have on hand)
1 tablespoon agave nectar

Blend thoroughly in blender. If you add another fruit, adjust liquid.

M. and I are in the middle of packing for our move October 1st. Stay tuned for posts about our recent wedding and other much-belated news.

fiddlehead foraging frolic!

2011-04-30T22:51:00.004-04:00

Early May is the time when I always think of the luxuriant fiddlehead patch behind my dear grandmother's last home in Center Sandwich. It was on Mother's Day weekend when I first came upon this patch while walking in the woods with my sister: a low, damp area a bit too dry to be called swampy, but decidedly squishy and messy on the shoes. Intrigued by the funny-looking curls popping up seemingly straight out of the ground, we brought my parents out to see. Little did I know these curlicues were edible, but I knew after my parents became excited about them, and harvested a bowl for dinner.
Fiddleheads, as the edible parts are known, are the infant fronds of the majestic Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), a large fern which grows from erect crowns in damp places and spreads by rhizomes to eventually form large stands, if conditions are right. The Ostrich Fern prefers dappled shade but because of its stature needs an area free from underbrush where its 3-4 ft fronds can grow unimpeded. It is a native of northern North America, and it is also grown in gardens as an ornamental, forming a beautiful backdrop for shade perennials. Ostrich Fern prefers acidic soil, a consideration if you want to plant it in your garden because you will likely need a soil amendment to help alter the soil pH.

Cindy's ferns: for looking only, not for picking!

Here in Ithaca, my aunt Cindy has a beautiful patch of Ostrich Ferns in the back of the backyard. It is shady, it is acidic, it is open, and the fiddleheads are popping up like a whole orchestra right now. Later, she and I will rip up the garlic mustard that always threatens to shade the fronds before they are big enough to fend for themselves (I've always thought it unfair that such an annoying weed has the names of two of my favorite food items). I think we both feel protective of that patch. She feels especially protective, of course, and so I am not allowed to harvest any of them. I have solemnly promised that I will not. However, they serve as a useful barometer. When I saw how fast those fiddleheads, which come up all crowded together at the head of the crown, were unfurling, I ran off to a few likely locations and made a small harvest. I'm not sure I can reveal where I found them, because the location might not be entirely legal, but I promise it was nobody's private garden. In any case, a traditional Yankee sense of secrecy seals my lips where forage locations are concerned.


unfurling frond sheds its brown coat

If you would like to search for fiddleheads yourself, keep in mind the growing conditions they prefer, as I describe above. You should also be careful to choose the right species of fern, as there are many other fern fronds unfurling at this time of year. They can look similar, but there are a few details that help the edible fiddleheads stand apart. Ostrich Fern fiddleheads are bright, clear green, and smooth. When they first emerge they are covered with a translucent chestnut-brown coat that easily flakes off. The fiddleheads of other fern species might have a brown coat, but the coat will be lighter in color and more closely clinging. A note: you should pick only as much as you will eat that day, as fiddleheads become bitter if frozen and are tastiest eaten on the day of picking.

While I was looking for fiddleheads, I also came across a small but healthy stand of ramps. My landscape colleague Jenna, of The Mushroom Forager, had generously given me a bunch of ramps earlier that day. Once I had smelled their sweet perfume and had seen their vividly green leaves, I had caught the bug. I wanted to search some out for myself. I can tell you, Ithacans, that if you take a walk along upper Fall Creek, you will almost certainly see some ramps. Please, please harvest them responsibly (a mantra repeated and practiced by Jenna and Ari). I have also since learned that ramps may be available to plant in your garden, though I do not know the success rate. Cindy found some for sale today and planted them near the Ostrich Ferns. Part of me is a little nervous that they may have been dug up from the wild for nursery sale.
With my ramp haul doubled, I had enough to use in making dinner that night (and of course, I was in the mood to cook with my goodies!). Here is a recipe for one of my favorite meals at this time of year (I know! I haven't posted a recipe in ages). This recipe takes a short amount of prep in terms of chopping and mixing, and once you start cooking it takes only half an hour to put it on the table.

Ramps, rinsed and ready

Pasta Primavera with Ramps, Asparagus, & Bacon
To feed four generously.

2 big handfuls ramps (approx. 2.5 packed cups very roughly chopped ramps, or double the amount in the photo above)
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut into bite size pieces
8 strips thick-cut bacon (or desired amount, I include a little extra for noshing while cooking)
1 box mezzi rotini pasta (or other shape pasta of your choice)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Asiago or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil or vegetable oil

Other: large serving bowl

Put a large pot of water for pasta on to boil.
Ready a vegetable steamer insert in a medium saucepan with an inch of water, and put the asparagus in this pan on medium-high heat, covered, for 7 minutes.
Put a large pan (non-stick if possible) over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sauté ramps until wilted and stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Add a small pinch of salt and stir frequently. Set ramps aside on a plate.
When asparagus is done, drain immediately and set aside on plate with ramps.
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt butter in microwave or on stovetop. Using a fork, mix butter with breadcrumbs and add cheese. Spread on a cookie sheet and hold in readiness.
Cook bacon (can use same pan as for ramps) until crispy.
At this point, put buttered cheesy breadcrumbs into oven for 3 minutes (careful, they burn quickly!)
When pasta is cooked al dente (I like it a hair beyond al dente, really), quickly and thoroughly drain, then invert pasta into large serving bowl. Immediately add eggs and stir well, so eggs cook on the hot pasta. Add vegetables and crumble bacon into pasta. Stir well. Take breadcrumbs out of oven, and distribute over top of the pasta. Enjoy!

I recommend a cold Pinot grigio or light beer with this dish. I myself had Sam Adams Noble Pils, which is lemony and refreshing.

Now I want to try Jenna's recipe for ramp pesto! It sounds delicious!

spring in Italy

2011-04-18T15:20:00.002-04:00

It has been a busy past few weeks. Between going to Italy, perpetual wedding planning (when will it eeeennnnddd? Oh yeah... that's right...), and a studio project which has as its theme saving the world*, it has been hard to find the time to post a few words. I am only "finding time" right now because I am procrastinating, or in denial parlance, "taking a leisurely hour for lunch."
*only partly joking

So, in the midst of all this chicken-running-sans-head stress, a quiet moment of contemplation:

These anemones were blooming in and around the ruins of the Villa of Pollio Felix, in Sorrento. One of the most beautiful spots on earth. It also includes this lagoon of sapphire-blue water.

There is another way in, aside from the wooden staircase seen above.

I was in Italy with my professor from last semester Kathryn Gleason, and classmate Bryan Harrison, to present work from last semester's studio class to community leaders and other participants of the conference last fall who had returned for this mini-conference. It went pretty well, though some things didn't go exactly as planned. This studio project is going to have a longer life than I anticipated, as the professors involved see a publication in the future, for which I have been asked to do some writing. It's good to stay in touch with this project, not only because I want some of the improvements we designed to be built in Castellammare di Stabia, but also because I intend to go back to the place pictured above, someday. If anyone is going to the Sorrento area anytime soon, ask me for directions. It's hidden off the usual tourist path, but totally worth the trek.

eminent domain : evil or benign?

2011-04-11T16:36:00.003-04:00

I had a good conversational debate with a neighbor this morning on the issue of eminent domain. As I left the house and crossed the street, I noticed a new sign our neighbors across the street had posted. Tacked to a tree in their front yard, the sign read "We want a sidewalk and bike lanes. Place sidewalk here" with an arrow pointed down to the base of the tree (about 7 feet into their current property). The issue was therefore on my mind when I arrived at the bus stop at about the same time as the other neighbor.

A bit of context before I go into our debate: Hanshaw Road has an active sign culture. A fellow on the corner of Hanshaw and Warren changes his handpainted signs, which present political viewpoints and quotations, on a regular basis. He's fought for the right to post these signs on his property, when challenged by neighbors. Two houses down from me, the woman on the corner of Hanshaw and Blackstone frequently posts political signs and anti-fracking posters. Over the past few weeks, new, professionally produced signs have cropped up all along Hanshaw. Some read "We Want the Walk!" and others "Say No to Eminent Domain on Hanshaw." The residents along Hanshaw Road generally do not shy away from public discourse. The city's plan--to put in a sidewalk on the northern side of Hanshaw Road, and widen and pave the shoulders to make them negotiable for bicyclists--has created a rift between neighbors.

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Doors of Rome

2011-04-09T18:37:00.002-04:00

home again

2011-03-21T14:07:00.006-04:00

Spring break, n: school holiday or vacation occurring roughly during the middle of a spring academic term. In other words: the eye of the storm.

It is very sweet to be home. *sigh*

Yesterday I went to the Boston Flower Show with a good friend and fellow plant-lover, Emily. The Philadelphia Flower Show is heavy on spectacle and competitions, with less emphasis on inspiration and things real home gardeners can do. The Boston Flower Show has plenty of the latter two items. The theme was similarly not highfalutin': Container Gardening. How practical for the city dweller! I find this type of flower show more endearing and approachable. Though I don't think I am the type to join a Garden Club, as I shun competition when it regards things I truly love,* I respect garden clubs and think they are quite wonderful in an idealized small-town neighborly sort of way.

Unfortunately, flower shows have hideous lighting which makes for bad photos. But here is a sample:

Delphiniums, juniper, pine, and white tulips, among other plants, in the Garden of the Treehouse

midterm week

2011-03-14T20:27:00.000-04:00

On a bit of a hiatus this week, as the midterm crunch has descended. I will return next week with more photos. Meanwhile, look at this:

A yellow lady slipper orchid, at the Philadelphia flower show. I'd never seen this species grown in a pot before. I love its graceful leaves.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2011

2011-03-08T21:39:00.001-05:00

Let the kitsch-fest begin! A replica of one arch of the Eiffel Tower, at shrunken scale, looms ahead as you enter the show, surrounded by pink blooming cherry trees and tulips.

I am a sucker for flower shows. I love the combination of theatrical kitsch and delicate plants. I love the marvel of forcing all those plants on time, and then keeping them going indoors for two weeks (not to mention transporting them). Yes, it is probably a huge energy suck. Yes, not all of the plants make it to good homes afterwards. But it is a heaping dose of spring at a time of year when it seems to many as if spring is still far away (at least for Ithacans).
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spring tease

2011-03-07T21:49:00.011-05:00

It really is terribly ironic: I drove south to Philadelphia hoping to find more springlike weather, and I found that in spades. What happens in Ithaca while I am gone? It snows, also in spades (shovel-fulls, to be precise). A foot and a half of heavy snow. Ugh. I should post a snow photo, to contrast with the spring-flower-filled photos below, but I don't want to give the snow any more publicity. Snow now completely covers the windows of my basement room, blocking out all but a thin, blue light. I want to flee again.

I am way too tired this evening to post anything more exciting, but I'll give you some eye candy.

They just look like they're singing, don't they? Since I recently posted some (comparatively thin and sad-looking) crocus photos, here is something different (not yet blooming in Ithaca, not for another month).

Winter aconite. I always forget the name of this flower, for some reason. Very sweet, with its little ruff of leaves.

photo credit: Kelly Shipman

Kelly snapped a photo of me taking a photo of the winter aconite. A characteristic pose, for me.

Souvenirs from the flower show, now decorating the bulletin board above my desk. I do not yet have a garden of my own (tragedy), so the seeds are for my parents. Other bulletin board accessories include a photo with friends from Senior Ball circa 2004, and the label of a mineral water from the town in Italy where I am returning at the beginning of April.
It was a wonderful weekend, all in all, and despite the snowy welcoming, I do feel invigorated, or I will right after I... zzzzz... snor... zzzz... wha... oh yes, hi. On Saturday, Kelly, Alice, and I roamed around Mt. Airy (me in cotton blouse and light jacket!), making highly satisfactory visits to the Trolley Car Diner (most impressive beer selection of any diner I've ever seen, wow), a yarn store, and a used-book shop, chronologically. I picked up some spicy red sock yarn and a lovely hardcover edition of The Annotated Alice in Wonderland, to replace my battered and coverless paperback version.
Last night in Philly it rained, hard, and the sound of the rain on the windows of Kelly's apartment made me feel cozy as we talked late into the night over mugs of tea. I am lucky to have such beautiful, intelligent friends and relations!

blue memory

2011-03-02T19:52:00.000-05:00

*Sigh* No current flowers today, as it is much more wintry outside, with a stiff wind all day. Back to the memory files. This Campanula was growing wild along a rail-turned-trail in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the Bois de Boulogne, last summer. Mike and I had a wonderful picnic later that day, while watching a coot family build their nest.

here they come!

2011-03-01T18:54:00.003-05:00

Finally, the moment you've been waiting for: photos of flowers that I actually photographed today, outdoors, in Ithaca, NY. Sure, those little crocuses look a bit anemic, but they're doing the best they can!

Okay, okay, a bit of a caveat: there is a little hill on Tower Road (near the landscape architecture studio), between Garden Ave and East Ave, adjacent to the Azalea Garden, which seems to be sheltered enough that the snowdrops and crocuses bloom there first. A microclimate, perhaps. I've been keeping an eye on this hillside, and on my way to the library today noticed snowdrops poking through the leaves in between clumps of snow. I love the French name for snowdrop: perce-neige, which literally means "pierce snow." It evokes for me the feeling that this tiny plant is dealing a blow to winter. En garde, hiver! Le printemps avance!

As I was kneeling in the mud and leaves with my camera, I heard a shout from across the street. "Liz!" I turned. "Ha! I knew it was you," said my classmate Matt. "Who else would it be?"

Ha, it's true.

fleurs d'érable

2011-02-28T14:48:00.003-05:00

Above, Acer platanoides blossoms are pictured in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow.

It is the season of maple sugaring, as my cousin reminded me the other day. She'd been assisting with sugaring operations over the weekend at Fairmount Park in the Wissahickon nature reserve of Philadelphia, and was describing the scent of fresh sap filling her apartment. I love how she relishes the turning of seasons, she always seems to be taking advantage of the most ripely seasonal food or activity (or both).

The sense of smell takes prominence in spring. As plants and earth wake from their winter slumbering, a musky scent of soil, with topnotes of chlorophyll, fills the air. Before even the smallest crocus unfurls to distract the senses (vision, that most easily seduced sense, overwhelms more subtle stimuli), the earth exhales, and we breathe it in.

The sense of color deprivation I feel at this time of year, when snow makes for a monochrome landscape, is really the biggest motivation for this series of flower posts, but I also feel scent-deprived, a deprivation not as easily mollified. Alas, scent is not transmittable by internet, so I will have to speak to memory and try to awaken yours. The scent of maple flowers is one of my favorite spring smells. Norway maple flowers have a sweet, fresh, warm scent I just love (one of the few redeeming characteristics, selon moi, of this invasive species). To me, the scent of maple flowers has always been the standout indicator of spring. The scent of green cut grass belongs to summer, and frequently has gasoline overtones. The heat of summer, at least in the city, blots out subtle scents with a miasma of smog. Delicacy of scent in nature belongs to dulcet, humid spring. So, enjoy the scents of spring! Breathe deep!

I intend to soothe my cabin fever next weekend at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Last year's show featured such marvels as an attractive luxury-resort style lounge with pillars and walls of plants (even a plant-covered bar, left), and a larger-than-life-size giraffe made out of orchids. This year's theme is "Springtime in Paris." I expect numerous floral interpretations of the Eiffel Tower, and a generous serving of kitsch. It will be difficult to resist adding another orchid to my collection, but I am trying to remind myself that moving domiciles with a large collection of plants will be tricky enough as it is.

last September, Ravello

2011-02-25T21:18:00.004-05:00

In September 2010, I had the good fortune to go to Italy. The trip was academic in nature: my studio class was studying the site of an archeological park in Castellammare di Stabia on the Bay of Naples, a site centering on two villas that were part of the Roman town of Stabiae. We stayed at the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Institute, a former seminary with views of Mt. Vesuvius. During the day, we did field work, went to lectures, and ate long lunches. Occasionally, we were treated to outings by bus to see local attractions, usually after we had completed a cycle of staying up all night ~~drinking Italian wine~~ working and then formally presenting our designs, and were thus somewhat loopy.

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Dendrobium kingianum 'Roy'

2011-02-25T13:35:00.004-05:00

I purchased 'Roy' in spring 2009, at the Smith College Botanic Garden orchid sale. He has fragrant purple flowers in abundance when he blooms. The drawing at left depicts only one of his "branches." What are they really called? Bulb-lets?

To be honest, though I painted the picture on the left last night, the underlying pencil sketch was done last winter, when Roy sent up numerous spikes of flowers. This winter, he has not bloomed, though it is prime orchid blooming time and all my other orchids (except for the teeny baby Phal, which is still nor more than the size of my thumbnail) are blooming. Why? Well, it's my own fault. While he was blooming last winter, I overwatered him, thinking that surely putting up so many flowers must be taxing. As a result, instead of storing up flower-energy during the summer, Roy sent up a huge crop of clonal babies (keikis). This, I read, is a dendrobium's response to receiving surplus water during what is supposed to be its dry season. Oops. Those babies, however, after they sent down lots of fibrous white roots, were transferred to tiny pots, and given to friends (I still have one unclaimed. Any takers in Ithaca?). I'm keeping him dry right now, in the hopes that he will bloom next year. On the right is a color photo of my D. kingianum 'Roy,' alongside Oncidium Twinkle 'White Twinkle.' Twink has been banished to the corner of the kitchen under the grow-light, where she is now blooming her silly head off, because her flowers smell like cheap vanilla perfume, with top-notes of putrid fruit. Roy (coincidentally, also the name of my future father-in-law) smells like fresh iris and violets.

Edit: Since writing this post, I have taken a look at my orchids, and one of the offspring of Roy is growing a flower stalk! Hooray! The parent plant is also showing some swelling buds. There will be flowers after all, just a little late.

poppy, Château d'Acquigny

2011-02-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Very full weekend, excuse the lack of posting recently. Last Friday-Saturday were spent riding the rails of New York state, for a studio project. Sunday was greenhouse work. Mondays are just crazy-busy for me. Man, I love teaching, but it is exhausting!

I'm working on some watercolors to post here, but (bien sûr) with all that's been going on its been really hard to find a non-exhausted moment when I can paint. I'm always stealing time from something else to have a wee moment of pause. Like now, I am supposed to be in class... A tout à l'heure!

tiger lily, Parc André Citroën, Paris

2011-02-17T00:23:00.001-05:00

Isn't this orange color just magnificent? This lily was glowing in one of the modernist bosquets of the Parc André Citroën, a wonderfully geometrical park in the XVe arrondissement in Paris.The park was designed by a group of architects and architectes-paysagistes (landscape architects) in the 1990s. While we were there last summer, there was a weather balloon mounted in the center of the park (is it still there? a semi-permanent fixture?). Square screens on four sides of the balloon changed color to indicate air quality (red=bad quality, green=good quality). The immense balloon was tethered to the ground with cables, and visitors could ride in its basket for an incredible view of Paris and of the park. I had never been in a balloon before, and the idea of a balloon view of Paris seemed too perfect to pass up. After a moment of extreme vertigo as we climbed higher and higher, and the basket swayed queasily, I steadied myself and snapped as many photos as I could manage (double click on images for larger views).

In the second photo of the three above, you can see the Tour Montparnasse off in the distance. As you can see in the photo immediately above, there were ugly construction gates set up throughout the park, as the water system was being refurbished. Some of the water features were not functioning, but I am sure the work is completed now (if anyone reading this is heading off to Paris soon and wants to visit a really neat park, and if so I am envious). At the "head" of the park are two large glasshouses housing strange tropical plants, complete with informational placards. Several other, smaller glasshouses are placed near the bosquets (you can just barely make them out in the middle photo). Despite the construction work, many people were using the park, including a full-blown birthday party going on in one of the bosquets, and these adorable kids kicking a soggy football through the fountain between the two big glasshouses.

passionflower

2011-02-15T20:09:00.002-05:00

This tiny passiflora was blooming in Cornell's Liberty Hyde Bailey Greenhouse (now sadly closed due to its deteriorating condition) last February. The elaborate flower pictured here was only about the size of a dime.

Rose, Parc et Jardin d'Acquigny, France

2011-02-14T12:08:00.002-05:00

The Parc et Jardin du Château Acquigny has some beautiful roses, of the old, fragrant, billowy variety. My fiancé and I visited here the day after he proposed this past summer. The family to whom Château Acquigny belongs are friends of mine, ever since I stayed with them for two weeks in 2004, during a horticulture internship. It was romantic and nostalgic to visit again, as this was one of those places I knew I wanted to take Mike to, but never really thought it would happen. Aside from roses, a very pretty orangerie, and peaceful pastoral scenery, the park also includes some enormous, amazing trees, including two Sequoias and some immense London Plane Trees. If you ever find yourself in Paris and wanting to take a day trip, Acquigny is 45 minutes from Gare St. Lazare, though when you get there you'll need to take a bus into Louviers or call a taxi, though Acquigny is close enough to Louviers that you could bike the rest of the way. The d'Esnevals are really lovely people and may show you around in person. They have recently converted a graceful old carriage house into a gallery space, and frequently hold art events and concerts. Parc et Jardins d'Acquigny

Cherry Blossoms, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, Scotland

2011-02-12T14:02:00.001-05:00

Geez, way to drop the ball already, Liz. That's okay, I know you understand. Maybe I should change the name of this posting event to "flower-every-day-I-can-manage-to-post." Nah, too long.

a little spring in your step

2011-02-10T18:57:00.002-05:00

Hello! I have been very lax in posting. Many apologies. I blame wedding planning and the hectic-but-so-far-so-good LAST SEMESTER of GRAD SCHOOL. Hurrah.

While the snow continues to fall, and spring seems very far away, I thought I'd bring back the flower-a-day posting. Forthwith, and until the end of April, I will bring you a flower each day, photographed by yours truly. Each flower shall be identified, along with its provenance. Use of flower images as screensavers and desktop backgrounds is encouraged (so long as you are honest and give me credit if anyone asks).

Today's flower is a (what else?) coquelicot, or field poppy. These iridescent red flowers grow wild throughout France. This one was blooming in a disused, weedy rail corridor (which, ridiculously charming, has a name: La Petite Ceinture du 12e Arr. de la Friche Ferroviaire au Sentier Nature, in English "The Little Enclosure of the 12th Arrondissement [no trans.], of the Vacant Railway with a Nature Path," ye gods), which was being used variously as a sentier nature (nature path) and potager communal (community vegetable garden). Also as a place to spy on the gorgeous rooftop gardens of adjacent apartment buildings.

In the Square Charles Péguy, a park which adjoins La Petite Ceinture, several large placards explained to park visitors the importance of the city's tree maintenance workers, or Bûcherons-Élagueurs. Since I have a passion for the type of intensive tree pruning practiced in Europe, I couldn't resist reading them and taking a picture. Especially nice graphics, as well, which is typical of the Mairie (roughly, town administration) of Paris. Somehow that wood-grained tree-maintenance man, with his chainsaw and akimbo stance, manages to look chic and confident, for all he is a silhouette.

restoring

2010-11-14T20:48:00.009-05:00

Looking East on the Kittatinny Ridge. To the left, Red Hill, to the right, the AT as it climbs the Eastern Kittatinny Ridge on the other side of the Lehigh River Gap

[Note: Yes, it's been forever since I've written anything here. I apologize for the hiatus. A big piece of news (if anyone out there who reads this doesn't know this already): I am engaged! Mike proposed on the Grand Canal at Versailles--trop romantique et tellement bon. This fall has been very busy and I've been focusing on work (my last year of grad school! youpie!) and wedding. Recently, I had an incredible weekend with Restoration Ecology class. We went to restoration sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania. We met sea turtles and a former coalminer and "Tea Party activist" who runs the largest compost business in PA. It was a whirlwind. Below is an excerpt--slightly edited for internet--from a report I wrote about one particular site that deeply impressed me. Everyone, look up the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and become a member. They are doing such impressive work there and need the support. Excuse the proselytizing.]

The Kittatinny Ridge was an impressive sight as we drove through Slatington towards the Lehigh Gap, and as we pulled into the parking lot at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center everyone’s eyes were fixed on that massive rise of rock laid bare. By the end of the visit, awestruck feeling inspired by the stark landscape shifted to awe at what a small number of determined people have been able to accomplish to restore a devastated environment. Dan Kunkle, Director of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, narrated the story of zinc smelting in Palmerton. Zinc companies were drawn to the area because of the nearby coal mines—coal was more expensive to ship than zinc, so the zinc company shipped zinc from New Jersey to where the coal was coming right out of the ground. Between 1898 and 1980, two zinc smelting plants owned by the New Jersey Zinc Company poured zinc, cadmium, lead, and sulfur-containing smoke from their stacks, a deadly smog that eventually killed all the vegetation on the slopes of the surrounding hills. With the trees and other plants dead, topsoil washed off the slopes, leaving a rocky substrate contaminated to 8 inches with heavy metals. In 1983, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the area a Superfund site.

Ruin of the New Jersey Zinc Company West Plant

The Lehigh Gap Nature Center presides over a thriving and growing wildlife refuge right around the corner from a blasted heath. The Lehigh river, once owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation company, has recovered from its once foul condition and now is home to otters and wood ducks. The ridge has pitch pine and hairgrass savanna at its high elevations, which Indians and settlers once burned to encourage good low-pH soil and sun for blueberries. There are also two endangered species on the ridge: Fringed Bleeding-heart (Dicentra eximia) and Glade Sandwort (Minuartia patula). Dan is a TogetherGreen fellow and winner of a “Best Citizen” award from the county (he didn’t tell us this last part, I ran across an article online). He left his job teaching high school biology and environmental science to run the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and credits his wife for allowing him to pursue this dream. He's also one of the most pleasantly modest people you could meet. He’s made restoring the Kittatinny Ridge his life’s work. Dan explained the EPA goals: revegetate with native species, stop the erosion problems, and fix metals in the substrate—using plants that do not bio-accumulate metals—so they are immobilized and unable to migrate into water sources. Included in the Superfund designation are Blue Mountain, a 2 ½ mile long mountain of zinc waste, the town of Palmerton, and the water of Palmerton. CBS Television is (through a long history of companies buying each other) the responsible party. The New Jersey Zinc Company started a restoration on the east side of Kittatinny that is now 20 years in progress, and still has not fulfilled the EPA’s goals. Dan attributes this failure to a lack of vegetation management and intrinsic problems with the restoration method—based on a soil/public waste compost mixture called "EcoLoam." The east side of Kittatinny restored by NJZC has vegetation, but it is chock full of invasive species and bio-accumulating tree species.

Canada Wild Rye

Little Bluestem

In light of the failure of NJZC's restoration, Dan said, he posed the questions: How would nature repair the mountain, and how can we find out and jump start the process? To answer these questions, the restoration effort turned towards ecological models. Dan knew that sometime during the post-glacial period, grassland would have been part of the first succession of plants. That grassland literally laid the foundations for soil which eventually supported forest on the Kittatinny Ridge. He also knew that there are areas where the soil is naturally high in heavy metals, such as serpentine barrens. Several different kinds of warm season grasses grow on serpentine barrens. Warm season grasses do not accumulate heavy metals. Would warm season grasses work on Kittatinny Ridge? Fifty-six one-acre test plots were planted in 2003, and the success of the test plots led to planting seeds with a crop duster in 2004. Along with the seed-planting program, compost was spread up to the highest slopes that could be reached with a tractor. Lime was added to bring the pH up from 4.5 to 6. The compost was essential for establishing decomposers on the barren contaminated substrate, on which all fungi had died. The crop duster worked, and the program was continued on higher slopes. Among the grasses planted were switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis), and lovegrass (Eragrostis). Along with the grasses, other plants started to grow, among them invasive species such as Buddleia and Ailanthus. Birch and poplar also started to grow, presenting a management challenge. The warm-season grasses do not bio-accumulate, but these trees and the invasive species do, and will end up mobilizing the heavy metals in the contaminated substrate when they shed leaves and eventually die. Dan has organized a monitoring and management program to remove the invasive species with herbicide. He explained that because the heavy metals will always be there in the sub-soil, adaptive management is crucial. There is a challenge not only with plants bringing heavy metals up into their tissues, but also the soil could shift around over time and re-expose the contaminated substrate, leaving it exposed and able to be washed away with rainwater. Over time, the metals may become less biologically available, but that will take a century or more. Some local people and organizations say they prefer to “let nature restore itself,” but the movement of heavy metals makes that approach foolhardy. Dan told us of hiking with a president of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy on Kittatinny Ridge, and indicating to her that with the contaminated substrate on ATC lands exposed to the elements, heavy metals were washing downstream with every rain storm. The warm-season grasses are working to gradually prevent the heavy metals from mobilizing, but it is a fragile balance.

la versaillaise

2010-06-30T18:45:00.002-04:00

la Versaillaise

Today was the fin des fraises, si triste. Most of them had stopped producing, so we ripped them out to make way for leeks. I felt as though I should say a few words in homage. I arrived here at the height of the strawberry season, which was sadly diminished by a cold and rainy spell. We saw them at their peak, we cleaned up the rotten berries with chagrin. They were tasty while they lasted! The only strawberries left are the rare, the incomparable, the Versaillaises. This variety is so delicate we cannot pick it to sell in la boutique here at the Potager du Roi, because it would no longer be good eating an hour after picking. The Versaillaise strawberry is small, half red or pink and half white. It is often slightly deformed. It is not a pretty strawberry. It doesn't have to be, its flavor is incredible--as if someone had taken a whole kilo of strawberries and crammed them into one tiny strawberry, with an added flavor that is almost alcoholic, like a sweet liquor. They are more sucrée, too, than other strawberries. Amazing.

I think the intense heat we've had for the last week has further concentrated the sweetness of the Versaillaises. Other fruits, like peaches, currants, and raspberries, are quickly ripening. Yesterday, having received at last official permission to harvest from the garden whatever I would like for my meals, I went grocery shopping. Evening songbirds were singing from the tops of espalier, swallows were tittering and swooping everywhere, and the sun was setting over the Pièce d'Eau Suisses as I walked through the Grand Carré of the Potager. I felt deliciously overwhelmed. Eventually I took a few early turnips, courgette, spinach, parsley, and white peaches. Oh! picking peaches off the tree! They are so fuzzy and tender... Mmmmm. I was tempted by the artichokes but would like them to be a little bigger. I am spoiled by garden riches! Not to mention the French supermarkets in general... even the little 8 à huit convenience store around the corner has treasures of cheese, sorbet, and jams. They have a Poilâine bread stand in the 8 à huit, for goodness sake! I found shrimp--big, juicy whole cooked shrimp--at Monoprix today, 10 for about $3! I only needed 5 of them to make a meal. I ate them with fresh potatoes that I dug up myself, with a sauce of fromage blanc and shallots.
Did I mention the incredible $4 bottles of wine?
To paraphrase Nathan Detroit: "So hate me, hate me, go ahead hate me, I love you." Wish you all could come visit!

post edited by Liz on 11/14/2010

waiting for the clouds to break

2010-05-01T23:20:00.001-04:00

Very humid and warm today, a day I am happy that my room is in the basement. Trying to stay in production mode here, but here are just a couple of photos of recent doings:

Orchids were brought outside to luxuriate in the jungle-like air.

I have a few new orchids. A friend in horticulture gave me a Lycaste, an orchid with wrinkly pseudobulbs and big leaves. It is a rescue case, I had to cut off a bunch of rotten roots, but it does have some healthy-looking new roots so I hold out hope.

She also gave me two bitty baby phaelaenopsis orchids. We're talking tiny wee here. The size of my fingernail. For the size of the leaves, they have very impressive roots!

This brings the grand orchid total to 6 (one of the baby phaels will go to Cindy but I am nursing it for now).

Pig and Buffy didn't think much of the heat.

spring sprung for sure, bringing news with it...

2010-04-24T20:17:00.006-04:00

The very tall cherry tree in the Bradbury's backyard is set off nicely by the Norway spruce behind it. Right now it is shedding a snow of petals all over.

Deadlines loom. There are Great Expectations and very little time. If there weren't beautiful things like this cherry tree around, I think I'd go nuts.

By the way, it seems likely that I will be in France this summer. I've been accepted to an internship at the Potager du Roi (King's Kitchen Garden) at Versailles. The National Landscape Architecture School of France (École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage) is located at Versailles and manages the Potager du Roi. The other intern (also a Cornell LA grad student) and I will be sharing a studio apartment in Versailles.

I am hoping to have some time this summer to work on personal landscape design projects, such as my parent's woodland property in New Hampshire. It all depends on the dates of the internship, which I am expecting to hear... well, yesterday... but am trying not to be the impatient American. I am reminded of when Mike and I spent some time in Tennessee and I had a small amount of culture shock at the slower pace of southern living ("Why is she taking so long to make your espresso?" "Relax... they have a slower pace of life down here, and we're not in a hurry.") It was true, not just a stereotype! I suspect there is a similar spirit, a certain anti-hectic attitude, in France. I think of Peter Mayle's repairmen (see A Year in Provence) and their flexible attitude towards scheduling... So I am trying not to think about the price of airline tickets going up, and trust that they will respond to my emails soon.

Just three more intense weeks, and then I'll be able to breathe a bit more easily. Meanwhile I am trying to soak up spring as much as possible from the window and while biking home late at night, hearing the sound of cheeping peepers and smelling wafts of crabapple blossom along the dark road.

they say it's your birthday

2010-03-16T09:03:00.002-04:00

Happy birthday to me. 28 will be a good year. Yes it will.
I keep meaning to turn this photo into a painting:

is that you, spring?

2010-03-13T12:07:00.011-05:00

This past week we've seen glorious weather here in Ithaca, and everyone got a bit giddy as a result. I walked down to Collegetown to pick up a sandwich (BLT with avocado and parsley-garlic aioli mmmmm) wearing no jacket at all! My ears did get a bit cold, but if the crocuses can show their fragile petals amid the snowmelt, my lobes can survive without a hat.
Philadelphia last weekend was every bit as enjoyable as anticipated, and did a lot to brighten my outlook. It was wonderful to see sister and cousin. Alice remarked with surprise that it was the first time us three had gotten together independently as adults, outside of family holidays. One of these days us cousins need to set off on some traveling adventures together.

The flower show was satisfying. The theme was "Passport to the World" which resulted a variety of plants from various climate zones (i.e. both temperate and tropical plants and everything in between). There were hand-sized cattleya orchids:

Amazing bromeliads:

And extravagant nightclubs featuring waterfalls and green walls:

I came home with two little tiny orchid babies, whom I am hoping will survive babyhood. I never thought I'd become an orchid nut, and now I catch myself whispering encouragingly to them. Haven't started playing Mozart for them yet, though, so you know I'm still this side of sanity.
Next year the Philadelphia Flower Show theme is "Springtime in Paris." I anticipate tableau involving artists, berets, baguettes, young lovers, and many Eiffel Towers. Maybe even a bateau-mouche made entirely of flowers. Who wants to go with me?
Back to real work now! Site construction awaits, always...

yellow flag

2010-03-04T19:38:00.006-05:00

Yellow is such a springtime color. I took this photo of yellow flag iris, Iris pseudacorus, somewhere in the vicinity of Hampstead Heath, London, in spring 2003. C'mon spring, you can do it! I am anticipating with great excitement a visit to the Philadelphia Flower Show this weekend. I have fond memories of the Boston Flower Show, which my family went to frequently when I was a little girl. The smells, the colors, the strange shapes, the tableaux, were all enchanting to wee Elizabeth. I think there's something wonderful about a collective swoon over these fragile growing beauties at a dark time of year. The fact that the flowers are blooming and the leaves are flourishing only through careful forcing and precise cultivation methods somehow does nothing to diminish the magic, at least for me.
I'm also excited to see my cousin perform in 'The Countess,' in the title role at Old Academy Players in Philadelphia. And my sister is coming down as well to join the flower and theater fun! Hooray! Expect more flower images soon...

cabin fever

2010-03-02T16:42:00.005-05:00

Reading this article on foraging made me long to be able to wander in the woods, collecting various tasty wild edibles. Oh, how I miss being able to go outside without sinking ankle-to-knee deep in slush. Piles and piles of wet snow and mud outdoors, piles and piles of "to-do" lists piling up in my brain and on my desk... this is not a fun time of year.

I have a lot of photos in a rotating slideshow on my desktop, and the photos of flowers that I've been taking over the years have really been cheering me up. Since I have a whole lot to do and still haven't been able to get those paintings from my Key West vacation up on the blog, for now I will post a few flowers per week until spring comes (this may be a while, Ithaca being Ithaca).

Here is one of my favorites. This is Anemone occidentalis or Western Pasqueflower. It was growing in the Cascades, near Mt. Rainier. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and check out the beautiful downy hairs on its outer petals.

mittens! & a knitting-book review

2010-01-24T17:07:00.007-05:00

These mittens, knit for my sister, were sort-of finished in time for Christmas, but now they are really finished (i.e. blocked, with large snaps sewn on to secure the finger-flaps).

The pattern came from a lovely book called "Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice," by Melanie Falick. This book has many inspirational ideas, but I cannot exactly vouch for the patterns themselves, as I changed the pattern so much. I used the instructions for the thumb gusset, as I had never before knit a gusset (it was fun), and I used the basic stitch count, changed for my gauge, to start off with, but I changed the type of yarn, the gauge, the colorwork (which I invented), the thumb decrease, and the way the finger flap is shaped and finished (the original pattern calls for a [Skp, knit 2, k2tog] type decrease, but I like the simplicity and look of k3tog, with the raised "chain" of stitches along the seam that it creates, so I did that instead).
The yarn I used is baby alpaca, knit with size 5 and 4 double-points. If you would like more details you'll have to comment, as that's all I've noted for the moment.
Another note about the book: my aunt is also working on a pattern from the book, a double-knitted scarf which she was working on with a knitting class. Again, the design served as inspiration, but apparently the instructions were so confusing for this method that they used another reference to learn the mechanics of the method required to create the double-faced fabric. So all in all, a great book to get one inspired to make all sorts of knitted gifts, but maybe a book better treated as a jumping-off point than an exact reference. It's not too early to get started on gifts for next winter! I have enough wool left to make a hat to go with these mittens... hmm...

(Thanks to Harvey for being such a good, handsome kitten mitten model!)

a new creative project for the new year!

2010-01-02T14:52:00.004-05:00

I've been saying to myself and remarking to others how I am looking forward to doing some painting and sketching during my vacation. In an effort to transform declaring into doing, I had the idea to launch a new creative project: one sketch or painting a day during my vacation to South Florida. Though I will not be able to share these with you immediately, I'll scan and upload them when I return.
Meanwhile, I am cleaning my paintbox and getting my small painting and sketching kit together.
In light of the recent terrorist activity and expected tightened security, Mike and I are attempting to fit everything we need into our carry-on luggage. I like this challenge to pack succinctly, it makes me feel self-sufficient.
If you'd like a postcard, leave a comment or email with your address.

more loot from the semester bag

2009-12-13T20:13:00.013-05:00

Today I am trying very hard to remember the good things I've accomplished this semester, and not beat myself up about the few things that I wish I'd done better. I had a bad dream last night in which one of my professors was chewing me out about the poor quality of my work and saying that this was not the program for me. Oof. Stop it, subconscious. To whit:

I taught my first class, ever: Watercolor for Landscape Architects. I managed to pull together a show of my student's work, and it was so satisfying to see people examining & admiring the artwork every time I passed through the LA gallery. Below, one of the demonstration paintings I made (for a class on using gouache paints together w/watercolor). I wish I could show you some of my students' work. I learned a lot from teaching this class, both about teaching and about painting techniques.

I learned a lot more about Photoshop. It's exciting to be able to make use of more of its tools, and to push the limits of those tools. I've learned that I *can* make original art with a computer that is not so different in feeling from a traditional-media painting. Below, #3 of the triptych of images I made to illustrate my studio project (other two, previous post).

I started to make friends with AutoCAD and Sketchup. My goal is to be so comfortable with all the main programs that I can combine them fluidly and cut down on work time significantly. Already I've learned that it's much faster to create a measured section drawing in CAD, and then render it by bringing it through Illustrator and Photoshop. Hurrah faster sections! (you'll have to enlarge this one (a section of the existing site) to see its detail)

I've also learned, through Stormwater and Site Engineering classes, so much more about stormwater management practices, and the creative possibilities of combining the science of these practices with visual/spatial goals for a site. Below, a bus shelter design that incorporates (in this section view) a green roof, permeable pavement, and a raingarden. The bus stop would also be a WiFi hotspot, and include bike storage in its footprint. Part of its roof would have solar panels, to run the lighting for the shelter, and power the WiFi router.

This design was for a group final project concerning a Prototype Stormwater Master Plan for Cornell, which we presented to the campus landscape architect, a campus engineer, and a traffic/building systems coordinator. We received very positive responses about our expanded-amenity transit stops/shelter idea (which was but one of our several ideas concerning stormwater-focused design in various areas of the campus). I was really excited about this class, because I had come into it knowing next to nothing about stormwater practices and it opened a whole new chapter of possibilities.

So, difficult semester in some ways, I definitely feel more pressure to learn new programs and get huge amounts of work done in painfully condensed spaces of time. I'm excited for, not dreading, next semester.

Now, for some holiday hectic-time (but FUN hectic-time), and then off to Key West. I'm looking forward to doing some painting, taking photos of egrets and anhingas, and going to some new places (the Keys!) and some old favorite places (Sanibel Island!). Crossing my fingers for warm sunshiny weather...

the payoff for my cramped shoulder/neck muscles

2009-11-22T23:13:00.004-05:00

What I've been doing all weekend: learning how to create weather in Photoshop.
And the same place, in winter:

eye candy

2009-10-20T14:02:00.006-04:00

Various cookies in the window of Junior's in Brooklyn. I left nose marks.

Cakes in the window of Junior's (+ reflections of Flatbush Ave.)

Evening shadows stretch across the Long Meadow in Prospect Park.
Notice the artist with easel on the left side.

a dumpling day, and later, chestnuts

2009-10-13T11:16:00.014-04:00

Saturday was the beginning of fall break, and it started out gray and chilly--a dumpling sort of day. Anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I love gyoza--Japanese potsticker dumplings. They are very easy to make, and great party food. Plus, they are not so bad for you, as you use only 2 tblsp oil and can use a lean cut of pork, or substitute ground turkey, chicken, or tofu (though the taste will not be the same). I thought the Bradburys (my family-away-from-family) would like dumplings, so I decided to make them for lunch. I went out and bought round dumpling wrappers from the local asian-food shop.

Pork Gyoza
Equipment: 1 large non-stick pan with lid
Ingredients:
-round rice-flour dumpling wrappers
-filling: 1 bunch scallions, 1 knob ginger root, 1 peeled carrot, ~2 lbs pork (I usually use ground pork, but that was not available so I used two packages of "stir fry pork" and cut it into 1/4" dice), and the leafy part of the Napa cabbage.
-sauce: 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 tblsp hot sauce, 2 tblsp sweet/sour duck sauce.
Instructions: Finely chop the cabbage and scallion (white part and as most of the tender green part), grate the ginger (peel it first w/a vegetable peeler), shave the carrot into thin strips, dice the pork (or not if using ground pork), and mix it all well in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper (not too much salt as there will be salt in your sauce).
Prepare your dumpling wrapping station: 1 small bowl of water. Dumpling wrappers. Plate. Get another person to help you. Put a dumpling wrapper on the plate. Dip your finger in the water. Run your wet finger around the inside edge of the dumpling wrapper to make a 1/2" wide damp area. Put a small amount (~tblsp) of filling in the center of the dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and pick it up, holding and pressing the wet edges together. Crimp the edges of the wrapper together, pressing firming (to make a fan-like shape, see photo). Add a touch more water if the edges are not sticking. Don't worry if your first efforts are ugly. The important thing is that the filling be contained (no holes). Cover the wrappers if you take a break--they dry out quickly. There will be enough filling to use the whole package of wrappers, plus a little left over.
Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Cooking: This is easier with a non-stick pan, or better yet, a multi-tiered bamboo steamer. I will assume you do not have a steamer (since if you do you probably know how to make dumplings already). Heat 2 tblsp canola or peanut oil in a large non-stick pan. Adjust heat to medium-high. Add as many dumplings as will fit, leaving 1" of space between dumplings. Immediately jiggle pan and loosen dumplings with a spatula to prevent sticking. Continue jiggling pan frequently for 2 min. to heat dumplings through and coat with oil. Add 1 cup water and cover pan. Steam for 4 minutes, or until dumpling skin is translucent and dumplings have puffed slightly.
Transfer to plate/serve to hungry person(s) and make another batch.
These really are easiest to eat using chopsticks, as forks tear the dumpling skin and the filling spills out.
When I had finished making the dumplings, and had managed to snag a few for myself (they disappeared very quickly), the sun came out. Cindy and I went to the Cornell Orchards and bought apples, paw-paws, and cider (Cornell cider is THE BEST I have ever tasted). I bought some cider and apples for my parents, whose arrival was expected that afternoon. On the way back, we decided to stop at the Plantations Arboretum to see if the chestnuts had dropped. A few weeks ago we saw a woman poking in the leaf litter under these trees, and we asked her what she was doing. She seemed shy and a bit reluctant, but admitted that these were indeed the edible type of chestnuts. "Are they good?" we asked. She paused. "Yes. They are good to eat." She was looking for nuts very earnestly in the pouring rain. We resolved to come back when more nuts were ripe.
Many more nuts had fallen when we went back, but it looked as though a few other people had hunted for them. The husks are too spiny to handle (you'd need thick leather gloves), but the shiny brown nuts easily popped out when we prodded and squished the husks with our feet. Most of the husks on the ground had been similarly squished. The nuts were pretty small, but we gathered about 3 cups of them. Back at the house, I scored the shell of each nut at its pointy end and graded them into larger and smaller batches. Last night we roasted them on a cookie sheet, for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. They were delicious. Because they were small, the skin was thin and peeled off easily. They were sweet and had a flavor reminiscent of pistachio nut and winter squash. The flesh was somewhat mealy, but in my experience with chestnuts the flesh is always somewhat mealy.
Note: I should point out that these are chestnuts from the Chinese Chestnut tree (Castanea mollissima). Horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) are not for human consumption. Always be SURE of the identity of the tree (if possible verify with an expert) before eating any of its fruit.
The rest of the weekend was really nice. Parents finally arrived after taking "the scenic route" (i.e. getting impressively lost) and we had a late dinner at Moosewood (mmmm dark chocolate ricotta mousse). Sunday I woke them up early, plied them with coffee, tea, and fresh pastries from Ithaca bakery, and whisked them off to Taughannock Falls for a morning hike on the gorge trail. We stopped at the farmers market for a good while, and then to the Bradburys for a luxurious brunch. Peter is the consumate brunch chef. We had pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, fruit, coffee, tea, cake, and leftover dumplings. Then everyone digested as I drove to Watkins Glen. My father and Becky took hundreds of photos. It was a brilliant day.

traffic patterns and urban stress

2009-10-02T11:06:00.013-04:00

The title of this post could be a metaphor for my current grad school life. Currently in the landscape of Liz, there are

traffic jams (when there is too much work at once and nothing seems to get done fast enough)
flat tires (when I run out of steam and have to take an evening off from work to do nothing more than sleep)
and a few confusing detours to the freeway (changing and then finally settling on my concept two and a half weeks into the studio project).

(click on image to enlarge) I started off the semester with a whirlwind tour through the traffic of Brooklyn, en route to a site visit (see Flatbush Avenue and Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, above), and then a wedding. This was appropriate, as it turns out, because traffic is such a huge issue in and around this site. After fighting with the problem of traffic for a couple of weeks (see above), I finally (ah Liz, always learning the hard way) decided to make traffic patterns a key part of my concept, and in fact base my design around traffic flow. This has been really challenging and also exciting, as I previously had not thought about traffic much, aside from it being an annoyance of the first order.
So now I'm all set up to put together a project I'll be proud of... I just need to pull all my current maps, graphs, and plans together for the Midterm Critique next Wednesday. And in between drive to Boston and back for a wedding this weekend. I hope I don't run into that much traffic...

fruitful foraging

2009-08-04T12:29:00.012-04:00

Four years ago, before my parents had bought the land where they are now building a new home, I went bushwacking on that property with my dad and my new boyfriend. Unexpectedly, but wonderfully, we found over a pound of black trumpet mushrooms on that outing.
This past weekend, I went with my parents as they met, on the land, with the contractor who is working on the first phase of the house. While they talked with him, I wandered into the woods, curious to see if the mushrooms were growing where they had before. After about 40 mosquito bites and an incident with a blackberry bush, I emerged from the trees with a nice handful of the fragrant brown beauties.

These are not the most attractive mushrooms. They are the exact color of dead leaves, when the leaves are almost to the point of becoming soil. But they smell nutty, wine-y, and richly fungal (in the best sense)--definitely an umami-rich scent. They also retail for $18 a pound, so I am proud to find them in the woods, enough to contribute to a luxurious pasta dish for my mother's birthday dinner.
We also found, given directions by the contractor, a patch of big white polyphore mushrooms, but as we have not eaten these before, we are wary. My parents plan to consult the local mushroom expert.
Aside from foraging for mushrooms, it was a pleasant short visit. It was so nice to wake up on the screened porch and be surrounded by a golden-green forest morning.
As I did not have time to check out the blueberries (aside from the bush next to the dock, see photo), I plan to go back up this coming weekend.

[Note: I have been picking black trumpets and chanterelles since I was about 9 years old. Use caution with wild mushrooms and consult a mushroom book.]

Summer wayfaring

2009-07-21T22:31:00.014-04:00

This has not been the best summer.

But.

I am trying to extract from it the best that can be had.

Since mid-June I have been working two jobs, at an outdoor outfitters and a garden center. This is all well and good. I am employed, I have a small amount of money, and I've been able to support myself and help Mike with his grocery bill. The trade-off has been time. Time--I mean having it--is pretty much the essence of summer to me. Summer Time is the special time when one is able to work on random indulgent projects. Not this summer. I've had to scrim and save my time, hoard it and even then there is not enough of it, for my one day off a week is spent on business-type affairs.

BUT.

There have been some good outings.
Over the 4th of July weekend, Mike and I were very unpatriotic. We ran away to Quebec and had a fine time exploring in the botanic garden, attempting to photograph monkeys in the Biodome, and hiking on Mt. Tremblant (a mountain in the Laurentian range home to a swanky ski resort, the "Vail of the East"). Then the following Friday we went to a baseball game. Herewith, some highlights:

Chung, Ellen, & Mike reflected in the windows of the Biodome

A tiny stream with a minuature dock in the Japanese garden area of the Jardin Botanique

Toadlily

On the main roadway within the Jardin Botanique

Roseate spoonbill

Les Ruisseaux/The Streams, Mont Tremblant

July 10, Red Sox v. Kansas City Royals

Dear old Fenway.

We got frozen custard and cotton candy. It was a swell time. And our team won!

Adventures in domesticity

2009-06-12T07:49:00.010-04:00

Mike and I have been trying to make meals at home more often, to try and save money. It is hard to save money when your nearest grocery store is a Whole Paycheck, but we've been doing our best. Yesterday I upped the ante a little bit, with a smoked salmon, leek, and goat cheese tart, accompanied by caesar salad with caesar dressing made from scratch. I swear, despite the fancy-sounding-ness, this meal was not time-consuming or difficult (or expensive). It would have been even easier, but Whole Paycheck does not carry unsweetened pie dough. I thought a quiche with sugar in the crust would be odd, so I fell back on my time-saving trick of using phyllo pastry. I used my rectangular tart pan. Recipe to follow.
Another food adventure occurred last week, when I was having dinner with my family. My dad requested that I bring up a bottle of white wine from the basement fridge, but there was only one bottle in the fridge. This one:

As you may have guessed from the label, this was a rosé wine. But what a rosé! It tasted like the magic elixir that Mary Poppins gave to Jane and Michael. It tasted like clouds of strawberries and mists of crème de cassis. We all pondered where this mystery wine could have come from, when my dad realized that the village of Chaux was home to our friend Maryléne's late aunt. We had all visited them on our family trip to France in 1999, and on that occasion we sat on their back patio and drank their homemade rosé. This must be their wine! Here is a close-up of its beauty.
For that dinner party my mother and I made a chocolate-strawberry tart, and I made cilantro-lime composed butter, for the swordfish my dad grilled. A perfect summertime dinner, all told.

Here is the recipe for Smoked Salmon, Leek, and Goat Cheese Quiche, followed by the recipe for Caesar Dressing.

Smoked Salmon, Leek, and Goat Cheese Quiche

Crust:
12 sheets or so of phyllo pastry, thawed and kept under a damp napkin
cooking spray (i.e. PAM)

Filling:
3-4 ounces smoked salmon (I used 3 and this was plenty)
1 leek, white part only
olive oil
100 grams soft goat cheese
1 cup milk
3 extra large eggs
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp tarragon, minced
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Process:
Preheat oven to 375.
Spray tart pan with cooking spray. Fit one layer of phyllo gently into the tart pan, taking care not to rip corners. A good technique is to gently lift the pastry with one hand while with the other nestling it into the geometry of the tart pan. Repeat spraying and pastry-fitting process for the next 11 layers, overlapping the pastry where necessary to prevent holes. Give the pastry a final spray of oil, trim overhanging pastry with a knife, and cover it with a damp napkin for the moment.
Slice the leek in half. Flush all grit from between the layers of the leek with cold water. Remove outer layer of leek. Slice into small pieces. Sauté leek in olive oil until tender but not brown.
Tear the salmon into small pieces. Put in a bowl with the leek.
Beat eggs and milk together. Crumble goat cheese into this mixture. Add tarragon, lemon juice, salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
Arrange leek and salmon evenly in the tart pan. Add egg mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Turn off oven and let quiche rest in oven until serving.
Thanks to forthebodyandsoul.blogspot.com for recipe source (recipe slightly altered as is my wont).

Note: In the original recipe, the author notes that one must use milk with 2% or greater milkfat, or the quiche will not set. I used 1% milk, and had no problem. The fat in the goat cheese probably helps.

Caesar Salad Dressing
(From Emeril Lagasse. We chose this recipe because we had an exquisite Caesar salad at Lagasse's Delmonico restaurant in Las Vegas. This tastes just as good as at the restaurant.)
Serve over fresh, cold Romaine lettuce, with warm garlic croutons.

1 large, very fresh egg yolk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon anchovies, finely minced (about 1/2 a fillet)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan, roughly grated

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients except olive oil and parmesan. Whisk together. Continue whisking briskly, while pouring a very thin stream of olive oil into the bowl (it helps to have a sous-chef at this stage). Whisk until the mixture is emulsified (thickened and opaque), and all olive oil is encorporated. Fold in the Parmesan and adjust seasoning to taste.
Dressing keeps 24 hours. Refrigerate until use.

snapshots from the spring semester, or bidding farewell to a year of hand-graphics

2009-05-08T19:18:00.010-04:00

Our studio work will be nearly all digital graphics next year, so with this knowledge I especially enjoyed the opportunity to work on and improve my hand graphics skills. The prevailing hand graphics style in landscape architecture is stylized and geometrical, as one might expect. Nonetheless, personal style (so long as it is somewhat refined and "readable") is admired and encouraged. Also, it is still a necessary skill. Firms (so our profs tell us) look for good hand graphics when hiring interns and staff.
Some people naturally have a personal style that adheres more closely to the LA "norm." This is sort of hard to explain, but I guess there is a graphic standard of sorts. It is the kind of drawing that you see in books teaching presentation graphics. One of my classmates has it. His drawings are beautifully technical. His handwriting is brilliantly clear and precise, in a really pleasing way. I aspire to perfect my handwriting; I know he's worked to get it so precise.
Looking back at my drawings from the year, I know I'm evolving a style of my own, which is really kind of exciting. It is equally as cool to see the distinct styles of my classmates. If I saw a book of only their drawings, I know I could identify the artist by the marks.
An elevation drawing from my final studio project

A second elevation, same project as top (this elevation is "perpendicular" to the one at top, showing the end, instead of the side, of the vine-covered pavilion)

Plan view of my pocket park for Graphics II

Axonometric view of the same park. I encourage you to click on this image to enlarge. There are lots of details, such as the one below. I had fun drawing the people at the café-bar. See? They are listening to the jazz trio playing on the terrace.

goals

2009-05-01T16:23:00.002-04:00

So *obviously* my goal for the summer first and foremost is to find a job. But aside from that, there are many personal projects that I haven't been able to work on since last August. Here is a partial list.

Purely personal projects:

Knitting. First off, a sweater for Cara's baby, due in July! Second, socks for Mike. I've also been eying patterns on this great blog http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/. Now if I could only afford enough yarn for another sweater... I'd love to design a pattern of my own, and I have some visions I'd love to draw out.
Painting. Ideally I'll have a few days before I have to move out when I can work on the LeRay/Jones painting.
Sculpture: playing with paper and making abstract shapes. Specifically I have mobiles and light fixtures in mind.

Not as personal creative project:

Planning and research for the Watercolor for Landscape Architects class I'm teaching in the fall

Ode to a cookie

2009-04-20T17:30:00.006-04:00

Si simple, et quand même si séduisant, this little biscuit.
He comes from a pâtisserie on Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France.
He is made of good French flour, Normandy butter (best butter in the world, some say), sugar, and lemon. Maybe a little salt.

Yes, he is enclosed in what seems like excessive packaging, but only imagine his journey across the ocean, and this does not seem so excessive. It keeps his crumb supple.
And what a crumb:

He is like a miniature tart, no? A tart with soft lemony filling, gently caramelized on top. At two inches across, he is a very mini tart. So he does not induce much guilt after eating.

He has companions, also: similarly tart-shaped, but filled instead with chocolate. Is it just chocolate, or is there also a flavor of noix de coco? I prefer the lemon, though.

The delivery man is very sweet, too. He deserves his own separate ode, however.

what I spend my time doing

2009-04-02T22:38:00.005-04:00

Recent studio project, an AIDS Memorial for the Ithaca College campus, which had quite a few professors and some students die of the disease in the 80s.
The plan:

The model:

The illuminated model:

Yes, my model lit up. It took forever to make. You think this is cool, one of my classmates had a model with a fountain/stream... with real running water. And then he added dry ice to show how it would look in wintertime (the water would be geothermally heated so that it would run year long, and thus create steam/mist in winter). I wish I had a picture of his model to share!
More to come soon.

all quiet on the western front

2009-02-18T19:59:00.005-05:00

It is a dark snowy night in mid February (the dimmest time of year), a good night to be cooped up in the studio immersing myself in work. Real post to come soon, promise. Not just another recipe (though I have those).
For now, a couple of recent photos. These are (some of) my plants, which are creating a mini-greenhouse feeling in my bedroom. My magenta Phalenopsis orchid has a flower shoot with four buds! You can see the flower shoot in the upper middle of the group of plants, towards the window. I will record its process over the next weeks. I expect that it will not bloom until the end of March/April.
And this is the path I used to take to get to campus, now covered in snow and ice. The one time I tried it I had to hold onto the hand rail the whole way around because of the ice. Not going to do that again. P.S. To see the photos in their full glory (I'm not boasting (only sort of), they really are tiny and hard to see), I recommend double clicking on the photo and it will enlarge.

oatmeal kitchen sink cookies

2009-01-26T21:32:00.003-05:00

As in "everything but the ________."

Oatmeal Kitchen Sink Cookies
(adapted from a recipe I found online, I changed the flour amount and added more interruptions,* so I now consider the recipe to be my creation)

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts)
1/2 cup raisins (opt. if you don't like raisins, if so increase nuts to 1 cup)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon cinnamon (opt.)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)
2. In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugars with an electric beater. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the butter/sugar mixture until just blended.
4. With a large spoon or stiff spatula, mix in oats 1 cup at a time, nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. Dough will be stiff but it will all come together, I promise.
5. Drop dough onto UNGREASED cookie sheets in ping pong ball size spoonfuls. Tap each cookie lump just a little on top to flatten slightly.
6. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be just golden brown. Let cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:
-It is important that the butter be softened or the cookies will lose their shape in the oven. Stick the unwrapped butter on a place in the microwave for 10 sec intervals, 30 sec total--don't do 30 sec altogether or the butter will explode, trust me.
-You can make the cookies in bigger than ping pong ball size lumps, just extend baking time a little. The original recipe called for "heaping spoonfuls." I guess my heaping spoonfuls were more generous than hers, because my cookies were huge. Also if you make bigger cookies, flatten them more before baking.

*interruptions are what a friend of mine calls ice cream add-ins.

2009-01-26T21:16:00.002-05:00

New background: I am desperate for some spring green, and this cabbage leaf really appealed to me, as I was cutting it up for my dinner last night.

the snow semester

2009-01-21T17:54:00.004-05:00

Previously I wrote about how the weather is really not so bad here. I may have revised my assessment a bit.
The snow is pretty, yes, and though it was grey most of today the sun did shine brilliantly through my apartment windows from 3 to 4:30. But for the most part, this is the annoying, depressing time of winter. The depressive quality can be attributed not only to the precipitation and lack of sun, but also to the very cold and the difficulty of getting around.
That sun streaming through my windows improved my mood quite a lot. Maybe I need to get one of those full-spectrum lamps. Due to a variety of factors, I haven't been feeling super happy this week. Lack of sun, lack of exercise (I intend to asap, possibly skiing this weekend? X that, skiing too expensive), adjusting to the rhythms of the new semester, lack of boyfriend, and anticipation of stress. Yes, I am an anxiety junkie: I stress about stress.
The obvious solution to feeling low at the beginning of the semester is to get involved with my work. Then once I take some steps towards getting on top of things, I'll take some time for reflection and relaxation. The low feelings will pass, soon.

Note on previous post: the people upstairs have been pretty quiet since I sent that email to my landlord. Not sure if he spoke with them or what, but quiet is good anyhow.

and we're back from the break! this just in...

2009-01-19T23:07:00.005-05:00

One of my new year's resolutions is to improve blog entry quality. Out with the mundane, in with the thought-provoking! Problem with this has been, I am often too tired/distracted/eager to take a break from deep thoughts when I write & post blog entries. Since I'm taking an l.a. theory class this semester, perhaps I will quote from my better writings for that class (Ye gods, writing is required for an l.a. class?! Yes. Well the prof is a former english prof). Multitasking. Yes.

But first... a bit of mundane. Rather ranty, please excuse me. It's been accumulating.
Some of you may remember my complaining about the noise from upstairs neighbors? At first I was sort of amused at their youthful antics, such as playing Rock Band with their friends, jumping up and down, & whatnot. Then I got peeved at how loudly they seem to walk back and forth (stomp really) into the wee hours of the morning (seriously, they do not seem to sleep at all). Among other loud noises. Well, I tried earplugs, but those fell out and mushed into the sheets or hurt my ears.
Then last night, the night before start of classes for spring semester, my upstairs neighbors arrived back at 2am ish, after which followed half an hour of them clomping up and down stairs, slamming the front door (which is behind the head of my bed), and then clomping all over their apartment for an hour putting stuff away and (seemingly) moving furniture. While yelling at each other. I fell back to sleep. At 5:30am I woke again, because of sex noises from up there. Great. I was so pissed off I stood up on my bed and rapped with my fist on the ceiling. This kind of helped, though I immediately felt a little mean.

But sleep is very important to me as a grad student. I don't get a ton of it usually.

I know it is not their fault really, they just seem to be naturally loud people and the thinness of the ceiling does not help.

Well. I emailed my landlords to say "Hi my toilet is running and by the way the people upstairs are rather loud, don't know what I can accomplish by telling you but they woke me up an average of 3 nights per week last semester, so maybe telling you can help in some way." They emailed me back promptly (my landlords are great), to say "Toilet will be fixed soon, thanks for letting us know. But on the other issue, what do you mean by "people" and "they"? There is only one person on the lease for that apartment."

...

I didn't mean to get them in this much trouble, as I said to the landlords in my reply, but I also said "Yep there are two people living there as far as I can hear." Which is true. I didn't go into details. I would be surprised if the guy is paying rent somewhere else.

Don't know what will happen as my landlords are pretty strict, and this is a clear lease violation. I requested that the landlord not inform my upstairs neighbors that I ratted them out. It would be bad if they knew. But maybe it is obvious that it was me? Yeesh I hate house drama. This is why I do not want roommates.

Speaking of housing, I am currently leaning towards living with my lovely lovely relatives the Bradburys next academic year. I have started to think that I do not want the responsibility of helping other grad students with their problems. Additionally, because I spend quite a lot of time in the studio, as a landscape architecture student I may not be well suited for this position. Also the mandatory August 1 start date for the training might mean an internship would not be possible.

Living with the Bradburys would be fun and cozy, plus could potentially enable me to have time for a TA position or other campus job.

beware of flying ice

2009-01-09T12:54:00.003-05:00

I was driving on I-95 this morning, and suddenly a huge piece of ice came flying off the roof of a truck two lanes over, and hit the right side of my windshield, causing it to shatter. I'm okay, but the car is obviously not drivable, which spoils my plans for the day, at least until we can get to the auto glass place, which will happen after the truck company insurance people get back to us.
So if you see a truck spraying ice off its roof, stay back! I didn't stay back far enough. I saw ice flying off the truck's roof, but I only saw small pieces, not the 1 and a half foot wide monster piece that broke the windshield.

sister friend

2009-01-08T16:25:00.004-05:00

I just want to note how nice my sister's boyfriend is... he has agreed to a road trip to Ithaca, NY next Friday! I am looking forward to showing them around my adopted hometown!

Birds and recipe (as two discrete subjects)

2009-01-07T14:02:00.013-05:00

Just after Christmas, Mike and I flew off to Evansville, IN for a friend's wedding, and after that (thoroughly moving, delightful, enjoyable) time drove to Nashville, TN to stay with his uncle for a few days. We visited Cheekwood, an estate in the suburbs of Nashville, on a beautiful day that felt like early spring. We peeled off layers, lifted our chins to soft breezes, and greedily soaked up the sunshiny warmth. Meanwhile the mansion still displayed gigantic, gaudy Christmas trees (the child in Mike loved the tinsel and humongous ornaments, we both liked the electric train around one of the trees), and the garden was woefully bare. In the absence of lush, blanketing green, we noticed shapes, colors, and smells that we might have missed in summer. I think this effect accounts partly for why we especially liked the bamboo grove in the Japanese garden, pointed out interesting bark to each other (Mike is very tolerant/indulgent of my plant geekyness), and why we spent a while in the herb garden crushing morsels of the plants and offering them to one another to smell (okay, I picked them and offered them to Mike, while he chastised me teasingly for my casual thievery).
A side note: Mike has an amazing sense of smell, and often notices shades of scent that I miss entirely. He could be a parfumeur.
As we wandered into the last garden that day, we heard a cacophony of birdsong. Birds are such a nice surprise in winter! They are still so active and quick while everything else is dormant or sleepy. We saw a few tiny birds in the shrubs of this garden, but since we are unfamiliar with southern birds we called them all warblers. A lot of them probably were warblers, though I think I saw a house finch too (they have those twitchy tails that are almost perpendicular to their bodies, right?). As we continued wandering we learned that this garden was designed to attract birds (duh). There was even a little hut in the garden with nice illuminated informational placards.
I've often wanted to know how to identify more birds by their songs, so I tried to read "The Singing Life of Birds" by Donald Kroodsma (a visiting fellow at Cornell Lab of Ornithology). It is a well written book but does not seem to be intended for the casual reader, as it is very densely scientific (i.e. urging you to study shades of difference in sonograms to learn birdsong). Are there any learn-birdsong books that are easy to understand? I am also frustrated with books that say things like "sounds similar to eastern grosbeak, only more shrill and more frequently repeated." So I suppose I need something in between. Maybe I should stick to that audio guide my family has somewhere...

The Omelet

For breakfast on Christmas morning, I made everyone customized omelets. I fancy myself a pretty good omelet maker. Herewith and for one time only, I reveal the secrets of my omelet-making success.

THE PAN: I like a small pan. It does not have to be an "omelet pan" per se. I used a 8.5 inch anodized aluminum Calphalon pan.

THE FLIPPING UTENSIL: I like the flat plastic spatula made by Oxo. It is flexible and about 4 inches wide by 1/8 inch thick. Your utensil should be able to easily slide under the eggs, so flexibility is nice.

THE EGGS: Fresh as you can get them. Two (not three), large.

THE FAT: butter and olive oil together. Approximately 3/4 tablespoon of each per omelet (I confess that I have a bad habit of eyeballing my measurements).

THE SECRET: 1 tablespoon, no more, of sparkling water from a freshly opened bottle. The bottle should be room temperature and I usually use club soda. This, plus a teaspoon (aka small dollop) of cream, is all I add to the eggs, initially. The sparkling water makes the egg mix puff up a bit when it hits the hot pan, making for a lighter-textured omelet.

THE ADD-INS: Like making stir-fry, everything must be ready, mise-en-place style, so you can attend fully to the cooking of the eggs and the temperature of the pan. I suggest crumbled soft goat cheese, grated gruyère/emmentaler, pre-sautéed mushrooms/onions, roasted red pepper, morsels of cooked ham, chopped green olives (not cocktail olives, preferably French picholine or Spanish "queen"), a mix of herbs (flat parsley, cilantro, tarragon, thyme). And don't add too much filling! There should be space for the egg to flow around and envelop the add-ins.

RECIPE:
1) In a small bowl, beat eggs with a fork just until the yolks are broken and the yolk/white is swirled together. About 5 vigorous rotations of the fork should do it. Add cream, swirl once with fork.
2) Attend to your pan. Before adding fat, turn the heat on to high, wait 10 seconds, then turn it down a tad to between high and medium-high. Add fat. Swirl fat around the pan with the spatula.
3) Add 1 tablespoon (no more!) sparkling water to egg mixture. Swirl once with fork. Pour egg mix into pan. Try not to splash it up the sides of the pan. Working quickly, sprinkle the egg mix with salt and pepper. Jiggle the pan gently, then as egg mix sets, begin to work your spatula under the edge of the egg mix and jiggle the pan some more. The point is to ensure that the egg does not stick to the pan.
4) Add filling. Avoid clusters of filling. Distribute filling evenly over the egg mix (not in a line, taco style).
NOTE: steps 3-4 should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
5) When the egg mix STILL IS WET AND UNSET IN THE MIDDLE, BUT ITS EDGES HAVE SET SLIGHTLY, slide your spatula under one half of the egg mix. In a smooth not-too-fast movement, fold the omelet in half. Count to 5. Flip the whole omelet over in the pan. Count to 5 again. Flip it onto a plate. Keep warm in an oven until ready to eat.

today's sunset

2008-12-08T00:26:00.004-05:00

Another beautiful sunset. I'm happy with my camera. This is using the zoom and it's not even blurry! I did use the balcony railing as a tripod. Too cold to stay out there for long though! 12 degrees! Brrrrrrrr. That's the top of McGraw tower on the right--the tower that some still-unknown people (rock climbing enthusiasts?) put a pumpkin on at Halloween, 1997. And when I say "on," I mean on the spire. The tippy-top poky bit. 173 feet off the ground. I guess I've been into measurement statistics of landscape features in recent entries. Hmmm... I wonder why...

not all snow and gray at all

2008-12-07T15:39:00.009-05:00

Before I came to Cornell, everyone said "Oh geez it's all gray and gross in the winter there." Actually I have not found this to be true at all. The weather is more like in the U.K., where in many parts there are 10 different types of weather in one day.
Views like above are a frequent occurrence out the windows of the studio. The huge picture windows 8 feet to my right.
Things are pretty okay when a waterfall like this is in the center of my town. Even if the temp was in the teens (I think?) when I took this picture of Ithaca falls yesterday. Note house at top left of falls for scale. The falls is roughly 75 feet high and 150 feet wide (I looked it up.
Measurements vary).
One thing is true: it is cold here. And windy. I need to bring a blanket to studio. These big picture windows let in a lot of cold air. The hot water bottle in my lap helps. We get banshees whistling through the cracks. Especially late at night, when the wind also makes the window frames creak.

debris

2008-11-21T12:36:00.004-05:00

Shrapnel from the work bomb that exploded in my apartment over this past week is still lying about. I slept until 11 this morning so there's not much chance of getting this cleaned up before I go to class (if I also want something to eat).
Prior to sleeping for 12 hours last night, I was up for 36 hours. This was the final push for that renaissance garden project and then I resisted taking a nap yesterday even though I had opportunity because I wanted to get myself back on a normal sleeping schedule. Ah, the worklag.* Last night helped me relax into "I can sleep now" mode. Watching "The Pianist" with friends, delicious snacks, red wine, and a warm puppy (Titan, Todd's pup) snoozing on my lap--all very restful and restorative. Sleep helped too.
Now I want to go on vacation to that renaissance villa/garden I created (it's on an island on a lake in Lombardy) and bring all my friends. I think 2 months of relaxation should do it.

In reality, though, in less than a week I will be at home in Dorchester with my puppy, and lovely family, with walks in the NH woods, a toasty wood fire, and leisurely good-food-eating in store.
It will be heaven.

*worklag is what happens when your sleep schedule gets thrown out of whack because of work. Because jetlag is not an appropriate word in this instance... unless your work involves jets? In which case the right word would really be jetworklag?

For now, see my Italian Renaissance Garden. Click on the picture for an up-close view.

progress

2008-11-14T21:44:00.002-05:00

Today I worked at home all day, but I got a lot done so it was good, if a little claustrophobic. Above is the sketch-in-progress for my design of an Italian Renaissance garden. The assignment is to take a minimum of 6 pieces from different Renaissance villas, and combine them to make a "Villa Eclectica." That tadpole-head thing on the left will look better when it is balanced by the lemon grove I intend to put in just below it.

catching up

2008-11-14T11:47:00.010-05:00

Two huge projects due next week, two huge projects which both mean a lot to me. My head is spinning.

For now, some catching-up in photo form. What has Liz been up to? In sum:

Fall Break: hiking up Taughannock Gorge on 10/11

Making tasty food when she has time:

steak au poivre with red wine reduction, accompanied by rice pilaf, haricots verts and butternut squash (for Mike and myself when he came to visit me over fall break)

omelet with picholine olives, roasted-tomato salsa, and goat cheese

miso chicken broth with soba noodles, shitakes, green pepper, and roasted butternut squash

Walking through autumn mist on the way to class:

In other news, I have moved my orchids and maidenhair fern inside for the winter. They are now hanging out in my bedroom by a southwest facing window. I just have to remember to open the curtains for them before I leave for the day. Fortunately my bedroom is the coolest room in the house so it's not bad for plants, not too dry. Also I have acquired a new orchid, an oncidium. It is about to bloom.

Halleluiah! Halleluiah!

2008-11-05T00:41:00.002-05:00

I am so proud of Americans right now. I sincerely hope we can join together behind President Obama, and that his wise choices and thoughtful words will help bridge divides between fellow Americans.
This election means so much.
I am full of hope, finally.

Votey vote vote

2008-11-03T19:27:00.002-05:00

All the people of whom I know who read what I write here already know this, but VOTE! Participate in the American political process, however flawed it may be, and VOTE! Be an aware and responsible citizen and VOTE! Conquer the grinch of apathy and VOTE!
'Nuff said.

Vote already. I did. Absentee. Hurrah for voting.

Avgolemono!

2008-11-03T01:53:00.004-05:00

I made this deeelicious soup last night. It is perfect for cold weather and I suspect would be very nourishing if one had a cold. It is also surprisingly good left over, I say surprisingly because it even seems to improve the next day.
I will post the recipe when I get a minute sometime (ha ha). I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit. I think because I love eggs that I would add an additional egg yolk next time, if I was feeling extra indulgent, to thicken the broth a little more. Also, because the egg flavor is so important, I would use really good eggs.
This is not a "normal" avgolemono soup, because it includes zucchini. I also want to try asparagus and dill, including tiny bits of sausage, carrots and celery, etc... really its just a great soup base. Also I think it could easily be made with pearl barley instead of white rice.

Halloween!! Marie Antoinette deux (she's back, and better/deader than ever)

2008-11-01T13:37:00.034-04:00

A super Halloween. Lots of fun had by all. After finishing the sleeves for my costume (I pick-stitched them to the corset), I went over to Nicole's apartment where we applied makeup and fake blood (gel blood does not melt like the stuff I used last time I was Marie A., and is very easy to remove, plus it started to peel off later in the night, to grisly effect). Her wig looked perfect for the part of Jareth (the David Bowie character from Labyrinth), and her cape billowed out in just the right dramatic way when she walked. Here are a few photos... (la perruque; le costume; in character as Jareth and Marie Antoinette; Todd as creepy clown man and I).

a (mostly) quiet friday night in the studio

2008-10-26T00:36:00.004-04:00

In photo, left-right: my desk, Eammon's desk, Eammon, Titan the wonder pup

new camera!

2008-10-25T17:01:00.008-04:00

I have a new camera! Yay! It is a Panasonic Lumix. I can't wait to play with it.

And then comes along a campus-wide PC computer virus spread by USB devices. Now I am reluctant to plug the camera into my computer, lest it become contaminated.

So I will post instead a picture of the funky white deer that live in a former army base in nearby Seneca. I saw them grazing near the base boundary fence. They are not albino, but a genetic mutation that has flourished in this isolated deer population, because of the restricted breeding pool (they are fenced into the base completely, which is a huge huge area so it's nothing like, say, a zoo).

Note: These are not photos that I took, to be clear.

pauvre appareil numérique

2008-10-14T14:26:00.006-04:00

My digital camera has pretty much bitten the dust. The forward/back buttons for reviewing photos on the camera do not work. Neither do the flash selection buttons or macro setting buttons work, since they are the same as the forward/back buttons. Add to that the lag time which has seemed to increase as the camera aged, not to mention the very poor low-light performance and the nonexistent motion stabilizing... and you have a useless piece of digital equipment. A moment of silence, please...
My blog will display greatly diminished photo whimsy for now.
Sadly, this also means that my dear readers will not be able to view the cute apple clafoutis I made this past weekend as a treat for Mike and me. But I have a recipe:

Mini Apple Clafoutis

fruit:
2 fresh apples: one Granny Smith, the other red cooking (I used McIntosh)

custard:
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup half and half
pinch cinammon
dash nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon edible lavender flowers (optional)

Accompaniment: Vanilla Ice Cream

special equipment: 1/2 cup ramekins, set of 4

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve and seed apples (I use a melon baller). Do not peel. Cut into ~1/4 thick bite size pieces.
Butter ramekins. Fill 3/4 full with assorted apple pieces. You will have excess apple to snack on. Place ramekins in a casserole pan.
Whisk eggs well. Add about 3/4 cup of milk and 1/3 cup half and half (sorry, I didn't measure, I'll post more accurate measurements when I make it again). Whisk to combine. Add sugar, spices, and lavender. Whisk again.
Dole out the custard evenly among the ramekins.
Use a teapot to carefully add water to the casserole, surrounding the ramekins with water about halfway up their sides.
Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown on top. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.

Chef's notes: I might try making this with the asian pears I just picked. And you could change it a little by adding citrus zest and omitting the lavender.

Happily, though my digital camera is dying, another major machine in my life, my yellow velo, is back on its wheels and all 8 gears. Working in tandem (har har), Mike and I tinkered for a bit and fortunately it didn't take long to locate the problem (cable too tight, probably because it got cold out and the metal shrank), and solve it.

I know tis heresy, so help me Olmsted...

2008-10-08T01:35:00.004-04:00

Landscape architecture-speak that makes me wince internally:

-dynamic flow
-materiality (and sticking -ality on the end of random words, i.e. functionality)
-organic nature (i.e. I'm really loving the organic nature of this curve. It has real dynamic flow.)
-architectonics (a meaningless word--is it even a word?--that is used in place of the word 'architectural,' a perfectly fine word)

List to be added to as it grows (and I grill my classmates for additions)...

bad plant mommy

2008-09-28T14:44:00.007-04:00

My myrtle plant, which currently lives at my desk in the studio, is now sharing its cachepot with tiny bright yellow mushrooms. Which look rather... manly. Rachel is now carrying the plant around the studio showing off the studly fungi.

I swear the last time I watered it the dirt was dry dry dry. ???
I need to pin up a watering schedule.

Although... the results of my bad plant wifery are entertaining everyone.

In completely unrelated news, I bought a desk chair. Because the chairs provided seem designed to wrench backs.

Edit: The tiny mushrooms grew quite large (okay, three inches tall, but that's large compared to 3/4 inch in this picture), and opened up flat mushroom caps. They are gone now.

grumpy grad student lives below you

2008-09-25T23:06:00.004-04:00

The people upstairs are playing Rock Band and jumping up and down, and whooping. I'm in favor of youthful enthusiasm, but when it is in full force and my walls are vibrating I tend to get grumpy. It's actually slightly better than when they play the zombie-killing video game and there are sounds of machine guns and zombie-dying sounds (Sample: raatt tat tat tat tat tat tat ARRrrrrghgurgle ARRrrrrghgurgle raat tat tat tat tat tat tat ARRRrrrrghgurrrgle... repeatedly, at 2:00 am). Also when they play Rock Band they don't tend to scream "die f***ing zombies, die... woo hoo got 'im!" When they did that, I was minutes away from thumping on the ceiling with a broom handle, no joke.

I got a letter from my landlords asking me to tell them my intentions to dwell or not to dwell for the 2009-2010 lease year, by October 15 (as is typical for Ithaca).
Despite the noisy neighbors, I would like to stay here as it is so convenient to campus, and I like my cozy home. It's just the right size and my bedroom is huge. However, I also realize I should explore my options, and try to find somewhere less expensive. I do so hate moving.

campus wildlife

2008-09-25T01:04:00.006-04:00

This little furry creature could sit comfortably in my palm, with wiggle room. It is about 4 inches tall, no kidding. I'm not usually partial when it comes to rooting for prey versus predator. I like hawks, I hope they eat many squirrels (especially the ones that live behind my house and gnaw gnaw gnaw on walnuts all the livelong day). And there are really a lot of bunnies on campus. But this little bit of fluff is just the cutest thing, I can't help but hope it survives. Thanks to MRY for the photo. Pretty good for a cell phone pic!
Also on the cute-creature front, I finally got a photo of Mr. Tubs, the sleek and round groundhog who lives in the Wee Stinky Glen. This is not his official name, and I have not asked him what he goes by, but I see him all the time when I'm walking to and from the bookstore, so I thought he needed a moniker. He has a quite handsome chestnut colored coat. He was eating leaves (I could hear him munching) so he didn't notice me sneaking up. I suppose it could also be Mrs. Tubs, or perhaps there is more than one groundhog living in the Wee Stinky Glen, but I am going to take some license.
Now back to studying plants.

By the end of the plant walk yesterday, my whole clipboard was covered with leaves.

3:30

2008-09-22T18:08:00.001-04:00

That was my bedtime last night. I have only had a couple of nights like that in the past, and it has been a long time since the last one. It kind of amazes me that my body can DO that--I mean the staying up VERY late and then getting up and running on adrenaline. The sleepies and the headache hit after I presented my work, right when we broke for nibbles courtesy of my studio prof. The critique went well, I think. I agreed with the criticism Deni Ruggeri offered, though I am not quite sure if I understand him totally--he basically said that though he became interested in my presentation because my narrative in describing the work and my process drew him in, my work needs to speak for itself more and be more... hmmm... was it obviously interrelated that he

meant? Did he mean that I need more signage on my work? I want to know if it is something in my process that I need to work on or is it just that I didn't have time to put in all the signage I wanted to.

On the time front, I am totally and completely going to get better at using my time wisely when working on a weeks-long project like this. The guy who sits next to me seems really good at getting steps done quickly, and also at not obsessing and presenting his work well. He's my new role model and I'm going to study what he's doing. Though not in a creepy way.

In other news, my bike is broken. It's this outdated gearing system I have. I need to research how to fix it so I can do it myself instead of spending loads of money and time.

A detail of my design plan--a stone terrace built into a steep, wooded hillside above a creek

stage 1 of any project: site analysis

studio/home, home/studio

2008-09-08T23:55:00.001-04:00

I have now moved nearly all art supplies and class-required books to my desk space at studio, so that I have to go over there, like I did tonight, for reading or recreational painting. I prefer it that way. For one thing, I like being in studio because there are people around. For another, I want to get to know these people (those are two things--sometimes there are people around and I appreciate them being there, too, but I don't actually talk to them beyond a "Hi").
But it does mean that I am going back and forth between apt and studio a lot. However on my bike that takes about 7 minutes door to door, so not a big deal. I'll enjoy the flexibility for now since there is no snow on the ground and it is warmish weather.
When it gets cold out... let's just say I may be bringing a blanket and pillow to studio. I already plan to keep some frozen meals there.

dogwood jelly

2008-09-07T00:26:00.002-04:00

A success! Very tasty.

Corneliancherry Dogwood Jelly (edited 9/13/2011)
(make sure the fruit you gather is from Cornus mas. I'd advise looking it up in a plant ID book and making sure you have the right kind of tree before you embark on eating any of the fruit)
Makes 6 cups of jelly

4 packed cups of Cornus mas fruit (measure after you pass whole fruit roughly through a food processor or blender)
1 cup water
7 cups sugar
1 packet of SureJell
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
canning jars (with two-part lid)
Fine mesh strainer

Instructions: Set fruit and water to boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Meanwhile, boil water and wash canning jars all over with boiling water.
When fruit and water mix is at a boil, turn heat down. Measure sugar and SureJell together into a bowl, then sprinkle into fruit mixture while stirring. Stir until sugar and SureJell are fully incorporated. Add cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Simmer for 5 minutes more.
Strain fruit mixture through fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Press on the fruit solids to remove as much liquid as you can. Ladle jelly liquid into canning jars. To clarify the jelly further, you can use cheesecloth or a small strainer as you ladle the liquid into the canning jars at this step.
Immediately as you fill each jar, wipe each jar rim with a moist cloth kitchen towel and twist the lids just into place. Wipe the jars down of any jelly liquid which has dripped on the outside. As the jars cool, continue to gently tighten the lids. Some of the jars may seal on their own (you will hear a *pop* as they seal and the lid will be concave on top). If you want to be sure your jars seal, process in boiling water per directions in SureJell packet or your canning equipment. Be sure to refrigerate until use any jars that do not seal. Cool on the counter for 30 minutes before storing.

plotting

2008-09-05T23:15:00.000-04:00

I am up late yet again, in the computer lab at studio. I went to bed at 2:30 am the last two nights, and I really wanted to go to bed by, say, 10:40 or so tonight. But then... then in class this afternoon we were talking about technology. Specifically, the kind of programs we're supposed to learn, and also the technology available in the lab. I felt a bit overwhelmed, and I had the idea that for the weekend homework, the first project board (a sort of distillation of my site analysis, a precursor to the actual designing) I would do some of the graphics on the computer. I thought this would help with the drowning feeling. Anyway, in my head the design included some computer-rendered elements. The photo in this post is one of the photos I used on the board. This wildflower is found all over the site.
So I designed the bones of the board in Photoshop (granted, this is a program I'm familiar with, but it's always good to practice), and now I'm waiting for the large-format printer, or "plotter," to wake up and print the damn thing already. It's called plotting, this process of printing to the monster printer. It takes about 20 minutes to print.

And... the plotter just scraped the surface of the paper while printing, so there's a noticable smudgy spot on one of my photos. Grrrrrrr.

At least, maybe, I'll get to bed by 1:00.

Edit: hmm... don't know why the time posted appears as 8:15 PM. It was actually 11:45. Odd.

scavenging

2008-09-03T20:22:00.001-04:00

As most of my friends and family know, I really enjoy finding and eating wild edibles. Surprisingly, this has never resulted in a trip to the hospital. So I was happy to discover that the Cornell campus affords a veritable buffet. During my first week I poached some verbena from the Plantations herb garden. I had to restrain myself from picking the corn in the agricultural demonstration garden.
One of the plants I have to memorize for tomorrow's quiz on Cornus, Deutzia, and Viburnums is Cornus mas, or Corneliancherry Dogwood. This plant bears many red fruits which, I learned during class, are edible! Sadly, they are extremely tart. So I am going to make jam out of them. This time I'm going to learn from making fig jam (fig syrup, really), and add pectin. And a lot of sugar. Eating one of these darlings is like munching on an extra sour candy. Except more sour.

better things to be doing

2008-09-02T16:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, there are better things I could be doing with my time. Since I am now a grad student, there are many many better things I could be doing with my time. But reflection is important too.
My first full week of classes is rolling along, though it feels like today should be Friday and actually it is only the second day of the working week. Today I have class 9-10:30, as in 10:30 at night. I'm going to an AutoCAD class after classes. My Tuesdays and Thursdays are rather nutty like that. Monday Wednesday Friday I don't have class until 1:25pm, which means some valuable open time in the mornings.
My classes:
Composition & Theory (studio class)
Landscape Representation 1
History of European Landscape Architecture
Creating the Urban Eden

Urban Eden is probably my favorite class so far, because it's all about learning best plants for which sites, site assessment, and then actually designing with plants for an actual site. THEN next semester a design will be chosen from the class work and we will implement the design, for real. Right in front of Kennedy/Roberts Hall (Kennedy is where the LA studio is located). Plus memorizing lots (LOTS) of plants. I have a quiz on 22 plants this Thursday. I know some of the plants already, so that's good for me. I concentrate on the ones I don't know.
I talked to my professor for Landscape Representation, and he has agreed to advise me on an independent study, since I have some experience with landscape representation. That way I can use the class time for the independent study. Next order of business: deciding what to do for the independent study. Something I can carry through the semester and not get bored with, that will provide me with rich, challenging material. Anyway, something to ponder.
I didn't realize how much my background would help me until I started classes and really saw for myself, but I am very happy about this. It validates my studio art degree, for one thing. It makes me feel I have good dirt to grow in, for another. It also makes me feel more ready to challenge myself.

les petites choses

2008-08-26T19:13:00.000-04:00

I'd been thinking all summer of writing about my time spent working at a garden center, and realized as a tangent to that that writerly thoughts often come up while or after roaming the "great outdoors." So this is my nature-girl outlet for those writerly thoughts. I thought about titles, and eventually settled on "le coquelicot." Not only is "coquelicot"--which means "poppy"--one of my favorite French words, but also I think the small, bright red field poppies that one sees all over France are just so darn beautiful. They're kind of a French cliché, seen all over mugs and scarves and handbags sold on the tourist market. Despite that, whenever I've seen one it is just such a burst of tiny, pure-color beauty that it makes me gasp. Gets me every time. That's the statement I'm trying to get at--that beauty and the possibility for beauty is found in all of nature, not only the really grand, but also in what is often seen as incidental--such as the humble poppy.
And that makes me think of the people who came to the garden center this summer with plant-identification questions. Both of the women who come to mind were new to the area and wanted to know: which of these plants is a weed, and which is a flower I should keep and cultivate? Well, I answered this first question as best I could, noting that most of their plants were traditionally thought of as weeds. This led to the question: What is a weed? Ah, such a loaded question in the plant world.
My answer: A weed is a plant that one doesn't want. No more, no less.
Ironically, most weeds are called such because they are really good at being plants: they make lots of babies, quickly, either through spreading roots or through spreading seeds. Adding to the irony is that many of the plants sold in garden centers can become weeds. Weeds are not always ugly! But as soon as the plant starts growing too successfully, taking over your garden and you have to pull it out... no mistake, it's a weed.
A reminder that while people try and try to make clean distinctions among plant groups, Mother Nature is always standing off a little ways, laughing.

Those pretty little poppies on the edges of mono-culture wheatfields in France are tough little buggers. Despite large-scale human agriculture and use of weedkillers, they still come back.