Category: Places
New York Botanical Garden – 2012 Orchid Show
| March 28, 2012 | Filed under Photography, Places, Plants / Gardening |
Earlier this month I was privileged to attend the annual Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. Just as captivating as the orchids were all of the other tropical plants in the Haupt Conservatory. I’m so happy to share the photos – enjoy the specimens!
A Weekend Folly
| September 15, 2011 | Filed under Animals, Photography, Places, Plants / Gardening |
Photos from Michelle’s parents’ garden in Kennewick, WA.
And finally, this guy. Might I just say this is not exactly what you want to see inches from your face upon looking up from being engrossed in composing a shot.
Square Watermelon
| September 14, 2011 | Filed under Food, Places, Plants / Gardening |
What on God’s good earth are these? Inventive photoshop work? Nope – these are all real fruit! Here’s the snippet from Wikipedia:
“In Japan, farmers of the Zentsuji region found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape was originally designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones, and much of their appeal to consumers is in their novelty. Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polyhedral shape may potentially also be used.”
Also – shaped cucumbers.
Somehow I find this so, so wrong, yet I am tempted to try it myself. It’s not GMO or a chemical alteration, merely a creative gardening “solution”. Would you eat a geometric fruit?
Patrick Cariou
| August 24, 2011 | Filed under Photography, Places |
So you all know my interest/obsession with vardos. In conjunction with that I present you with some photographs by Patrick Cariou – a photographer with a series about modern gypsy life. Here are a few of my favorite shots.
Without Further Ado – A Vardo
| August 9, 2011 | Filed under Design, Places |
I have been dying to share this with you but it’s been a crazy couple of weeks (did you see master cleanse updates below?!).
So I met Jenna in Minneapolis on July 9th and then we drove to Portland, making stops along the way. Read all about it on her blog.
Well, somewhere in Wyoming (was it Buffalo?) we spotted not one, not two, but three vardos! Only one was in an area public enough for me to explore it. No, I was not about to sneak into someone’s back yard to get inside their vardo. I hope the photos of this one will sufficiently appease your appetite for vardo gawking. I loved it!
POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY
| July 7, 2011 | Filed under Friends, Places, Portland |
Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Well, if you grew up near the coast, it is! A continental Pole of Inaccessibility is the point on land farthest from any ocean. On earth, this point lays on the Eurasian continent, a couple of hundred of miles north of Ürümqi, China. While Ürümqi has its own draws (a stop on the ancient silk road), North America’s Pole of Inaccessibility does not pull me so. It lies between Kyle and Allen, South Dakota. I picture it as something like this:
I suppose the plains will have their own sort of beauty, but something about traveling for miles and miles and hours and hours and days and days, and never seeing nary a hill, makes me feel very claustrophobic, and, frankly, scared out of my wits! It actually makes my stomach turn – what a strange reaction to a piece of geography!
But, this trepidation is lessened by the joy of the trip I will be taking. I’ll be meeting Jenna in Minneapolis, about half-way through her drive out west from New York. From there, we’ll make various stops, eventually making our way to Portland in about a week’s time. Highlights: The Badlands, South Dakota; Thermopolis, Wyoming; Grand Tetons, Wyoming; Bonneville Hot Springs, Idaho. Most of our planned stops will presumably not put flips in my belly. And as we near Portland, we will be happier and happier!
If you have any suggestions for our journey please leave them in the comments!
KELLEY POINT PARK
| June 20, 2011 | Filed under Animals, Places, Portland |
Today we took Daphne (did I mention we got a dog? – more on that later) up to North Portland’s Kelley Point Park. This park is at the very tip of North Portland where the Willamette meets the Columbia. The rivers were so high that we didn’t get a chance to enjoy the sandy beaches – they were underwater! But we had a lovely afternoon. Enjoy some pictures!
VARDO
| June 14, 2011 | Filed under Art, Design, Places |
I can’t stop daydreaming about making my own Vardo. I don’t think I’d try for historical accuracy – after all, to make an authentic Roma wagon is a bit out of my league. But I’ll be consulting these photos for inspiration when the time comes!
This is the second vardo made by Rachel the Goatwoman. It’s a semi-collapsible model that raises with a winch. 
This simple model from The New Gypsy Caravan looks great at night.
Kevin’s Gypsy Wagon has a lot of modern conveniences like a refrigerator, toilet, and sink!
Hornby Island Caravans has a pretty pre-fab vardo:
But I’m also very tempted by teardrop trailers…stay tuned for drool-worthy pictures of those!
HATCH SHOW PRINT
| April 11, 2011 | Filed under Design, History, Places |
I was lucky enough to visit this printshop when Jenna and I took our great southern road trip. If you are ever in Nashville, this is a must.
Thanks to Jenna for the reminder!
EGYPT IN COLOR, 1920′s
| April 5, 2011 | Filed under History, Photography, Places |
Autochromes taken by Gervais Courtellemont and W. Robert Moore for National Geographic, found via How to be a Retronaut.
