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

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

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?

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

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

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

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!

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.