With its foot sticking out like that, I’m convinced this turtle has attitude. As I told a friend, I thought these little guys were just statues until I moved closer and that foot kicked out.
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Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged colors, leaves, Middlesex Fells, mushrooms, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, reflections, water | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged flowers, nasturtium, Photography, photos, pictures | 3 Comments »
With Father’s Day approaching, I decided to post a “reprint” of a story I wrote that appeared a few years ago on the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature website.
Seeds
In elementary school, my younger brother and I participated in an activity where we were given seeds to plant in cups. Over time the seeds sprouted and tiny house plants grew. At home, when my brother discovered that the neighbor’s maple tree helicopters littering our yard were in fact winged seeds, he decided to replicate the school activity. He planted one seed in a handful of soil in one of the small white Styrofoam cups that our dad liked to use for coffee.
My parents were supportive of his effort, though not at all positive that he was doing anything except making a cup full of mud. But, green shoots soon sprouted up through the soil. When the sapling outgrew the Styrofoam cup, he planted it in one of Mom’s large clay pots.
My brother was only about seven years old with the attention span of gnat. We all expected him to forget about the tree, to let it wither and die once the joys of watering it faded away. But he didn’t lose interest. He watered it. He moved it around the yard to catch the traveling rays of the sun. He dragged it under the house during rain storms. When a branch was accidentally broken, he applied a field dressing of black electrical tape which saved the budding limb.
Dad was fine with the tree until my brother wanted to transplant it from the pot to a fertile area near the vegetable garden. He tried to explain to us that the roots of maple trees spread ferociously. We heard the words but we didn’t really understand. My brother wanted to replant his tree, and I supported him. Mom sided with us. “Let him plant the thing. See what happens.”
Over the years we watched the garden shrink as the tree grew magnificently, with a trunk so wide I couldn’t wrap my arms around it, and a canopy so broad that it shaded half the back yard.
One day I saw my father looking up at the tree, lips pursed. Then he looked at my brother’s head thrown back, face beaming as he looked up at his tree. My father tipped his cap at the tree and sighed.
“Come on,” he said to my brother. “Get inside and wash your hands.”
As my brother dashed by him, my father patted him on the head.
Nearly thirty years later, the tree is gone and so are my parents. My brother is grown and not especially inclined toward gardening.
But recently he did call me. He’d gone to the store to buy gifts for his girlfriend’s two young daughters.
“What did you buy?” I asked.
“Little gardening gloves,” he said.
And I could hear the smile in his voice.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged childhood, fathers, gardening, maple tree, nostalgia, Photography, seeds, storytelling | Leave a Comment »
Well, just the other day, Steve snatched a large white serving bowl from my hands. As he clutched it tight, he said, “I best put this back on top of the cabinet else you’ll plant herbs in it.” He’s probably right. It’s just been one of those springs. Indoor gardening has consumed me a bit. During the long winter, I collected a lot of seeds. And so now, in pots and cups and old vases, on two floors of the house I live in, are growing: basil, dill, lemon thyme, marjoram, and two types of sage.
Later today, as a reward for completing a few writing projects, I’m hoping to run by the local flower shop for some mint plants. Mint used to grow wildly across my yard growing up in Virginia. My mom showed me how to make mint tea with it. Fun, but not really a palette pleaser. Then I learned that there are MANY varieties of mint. Today I intend to pick up chocolate mint, orange mint and pineapple mint plants. The boon for me is twofold in planting all this greenery. One, of course, they make great photographic subjects. And, two, Steve loves to cook for family and friends.
Lemon thyme plus olive oil, two egg yolks, a hot pepper, and a little mustard were transformed into this delicious lemon thyme aioli. Nasturtium blossoms and leaves are tossed on top of green salads. Fresh basil is layered between mozzarella and fresh tomatoes and then drizzled with olive oil. Toasted bread is rubbed with garlic before being piled high with chopped tomatoes, sage and marjoram. And then … I think you get the idea! 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes | Tagged collaboration, food, gardens, herbs, Photography, photos, pictures, recipes, spring | Leave a Comment »
This month the Inside Out Gallery (located in the CVS window in Davis Square, Somerville) is featuring a juried exhibit showcasing international cuisines. I’m proud to have three photos in the exhibit of images taken during a visit to Kyoto, Japan. There are many other beautiful works on display. I hope if you’re in the area you’ll pause a moment to check out all of the tasty images.
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Photography Exhibits | Tagged Davis Square, exhibits, food, Inside Out Gallery, Photography, Somerville | Leave a Comment »
I’m lucky to live in an area where pretty much any day of the week I can stumble upon a farmer’s market in a park or public square. So inspiring both my writing and photography right now are the foods and flowers of the season. The idea for this recipe came about after Steve and I had actual beef carpaccio at a local restaurant. The artful arrangement of the meat and other ingredients on the plate made me curious if it was possible to create a similar dish using just vegetables. The answer: absolutely! 😉
Vegetarian “Carpaccio”
* 2-3 medium white summer beets
* 1 stalk green garlic
* 1/4 cup diced red onions
* capers
* olive oil
* black pepper
Directions: Thinly slice beets and layer on a plate. Top with thinly sliced green garlic, diced red onions, and capers. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with black pepper.
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes | Tagged carpaccio, food, Inspiration, Photography, photos, pictures, recipes, vegetables | Leave a Comment »
One hot summer, in a church bookshop, I worked with a young woman that everyone called “the little red-headed girl.” She was far younger than anyone else working there, a recent high school graduate. She was a joy to work with. There was such an air of innocence about her that the rest of us tried to look out for her. It’s not that we worked in a rough neighborhood. But that particular summer there were many incidents with homeless men who drank too much. There was panhandling, a few fights, and sleeping in the pews. The police were called often. So when the little red-headed girl sat at the main entrance of the church, as we all did at some point in our shifts, we worried about her. She was always fine, and would later relay funny stories of incidents with parishoners, tourists and sometimes the homeless men. Because of her youth, some of us more jaded folk found ourselves on occasion smiling condescendingly … especially when we discovered what she was doing with the angel coins. You see, the bookshop sold pewter angel coins for a dollar each. The girl would regularly buy several coins. When asked why, she explained that she gave them to people — friends and family for sure, but also to strangers on the street. Eventually the summer neared its end. The red-headed girl headed off to her first year of college.
Perhaps a week or two later, I sat at the front desk. I watched as a man approached the glass doors of the entrance way. He did not know or care that I could see him as he tried to make himself presentable, wiping his face with his shirt tails and using saliva to smooth back his hair. When he entered, as I expected, he reeked of alcohol. I simply said, “Welcome. How may I help you?”
He wrung his hands. “I’m here for the AA meeting.”
I glanced at the clock. “Sir, I’m sorry, but the AA meeting is three hours from now. Just come back and …”
“Don’t send me away. Please let me wait in there,” he said, indicating the sanctuary. “If I leave now, I won’t come back.”
“Sir,” I said softly, “You know the church’s policy …”
“I’ll pray, ” he said.
“You can’t fall asleep.” My shift was nearly over. I wouldn’t be able to go in and wake him up before security tossed him out.
“I won’t,” he promised.
Still feeling uncertain, I smiled and opened the door. As he entered the sanctuary, he turned to me. “Is that red-headed girl here?”
“Why do ask, sir?”
He reached into his pocket. “She gave me this,” he said as he held out his hand. An angel coin, of course. “I’ve been holding it tight since she gave it to me one day.” He placed it carefully back in his pocket, stepped inside the sanctuary, sat in a pew and bowed his head. I don’t know if he prayed. I don’t know if he made it to the AA meeting. I don’t know where he is this day. I just know from that incident that hot summer I learned from a little red-headed girl what a difference a small gift can make.
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Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes | Tagged edible flowers, nasturtium, Photography, photos, pictures | 1 Comment »
Life and death connected as part of a cycle of existence. That is the thought that comes to mind as I review these pictures taken by the Charles River yesterday. It was sunlight glinting on the scales of the fish that initially caught my eyes. And, then, the longer I looked, the more I saw.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged Boston, Charles River, death, fish, life, nature, Photography, photos, pictures, reflections | Leave a Comment »
Words + Images 