Ingredients
6 medium strawberries
1/2 teaspoon of sugar, plus extra pinch
splash of red wine
1 tablespoon lemon and/or lime basil leaves, chopped
Hull strawberries. Slice in half. Place in medium sized bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and splash of red wine. Gently toss until strawberries are well covered. Place in shallow bowl or in center of a plate. Sprinkle with basil leaves and the pinch of additional sugar. Enjoy morning, noon or night.
Recipe and images by Cynthia Staples.
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations | Tagged basil, food, lemon, lime, Photography, strawberries, sugar | Leave a Comment »
Six cards, six images. I’ve been having a lot of fun with Moo, producing unique and collectible business cards to promote my writing and photography. Below is Set 1. Would you like to collect these six images taken in and around Boston? I’ll drop a set in the mail to you, no charge, so long as supplies last. Just email me at photographybycynthia[at]gmail.com.
Posted in Nature Notes, Photography, Publication Updates | Tagged art cards, Moo business cards, Photography | 1 Comment »
One of my favorite phrases from childhood is “tell me a story.” Four words that were an invitation to weave together the day’s events into a narrative with a beginning, middle and an end. Well, on this quiet Monday (at least where I am), I invite you to tell me a story using the following image recently sent to me by a friend. It is a petunia growing straight out of a wall. If you know nothing of petunias, let me tell you, it takes a while for them to grow from seed into a flowering plant. How did it get there? As it grew, did people stop to stare? As the blossom formed, was anyone tempted to pick it? How in the world has it survived the recent summer storms? Hardy little thing it surely is.
The Petunia Wall by Frank Reece
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged flowers, petunia, Photography, storytelling | 1 Comment »
I received an e-update today from poets.org that included news about W. S. Merwin, one of my favorite poets. He is succeeding Kay Ryan as the 2010-2011 U.S. Poet Laureate. His is a poetry that makes one pause. Maybe all poetry does that. 😉 In any case, in the bookstore where I work, in the quiet moments, I pull Merwin’s Shadow of Sirius from the shelf. I recently discovered that he’d written a famous poem about mushrooms. As someone who has habitually avoided mushrooms I am amazed at how often mushrooms are appearing in my life this summer!
Looking for Mushrooms at Sunrise
When it is not yet day
I am walking on centuries of dead chestnut leaves
In a place without grief
Though the oriole
Out of another life warns me
That I am awake
In the dark while the rain fell
The gold chanterelles pushed through a sleep that was not mine
Waking me
So that I came up the mountain to find them
Where they appear it seems I have been before
I recognize their haunts as though remembering
Another life
Where else am I walking even now
Looking for me
— W. S. Merwin
Posted in Books I Love, Inspiration | Tagged human condition, mushrooms, nature, poetry, W. S. Merwin | Leave a Comment »
Dead Mule School of Southern Literature has posted a poem that I wrote about southern storms. Thanks to the folks at Dead Mule. You can check out my poem at the link below, and please do read some of the other wonderful poems, essays and stories you’ll find on the website.
And to learn more about how a southern upbringing influences this creative life, read the recent interview with Molly Anderson-Childers for Creativity Portal.com.
Posted in Contributing Writer, Inspiration, Nature Notes, Publication Updates | Tagged childhood influences, poetry, summer storms | 1 Comment »
Isabel is my landlady. In her garden there are flowers and vegetables and herbs of all sorts and whimsical little touches for her daughter like little white birds. And there is Oswald. Oswald is a rat. When I’ve stood in the garden, I’ve seen him dash by behind me. And when I sit upstairs in the kitchen window, I see him nibbling on plump leaves below. He’s a city rat, big, brown and long-tailed and whiskered. His coat is streaked with gray. Perhaps he’s old and has lived in the garden a long time. It is a very nice garden.
I’ll be honest. I do not have a fondness for rats. But I do love nature. Oswald is a part of the garden’s ecosystem. So, when I see him and my heart hammers and I just want him GONE, I try to think of rats I’ve liked in literature, like those in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Then there’s that pot bellied rat in Charlotte’s Web. I’m sure there are others. In any case … I’m hoping we can find a way to live together.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged garden, Photography, rat | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged Acadia, blue, Down East, fog, Maine, mallards, mushrooms, Photography, reflections, ship, silhouette, water | Leave a Comment »
This quiet Sunday I found myself gardening. Procrastination, no doubt, from other tasks but I do like the end result. In the hallway where I live there is a glass topped wooden table and on the table there are some plants. This morning I removed the plants, cleaned the table and then covered the glass with an old shawl. I put most of the old plants back and then added a few new ones. It reminds me of a little oasis.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged green, plants, Sundays | Leave a Comment »
Gather mushrooms in a wooded area. Be very sure of what you are gathering or root around with an expert. With a brush, paper towel or even a pocket knife, clean mushrooms by removing tough stems and dirt. If necessary rinse gently in water. Drain well. In saucepan, warm butter and olive oil. Add chopped onions. After onions cook down a bit, add in mushrooms that have been rough chopped. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. A lot of liquid will leak out of the mushrooms. Let it cook down. Once most or all of the liquid has simmered away, add a healthy of dollop of sour cream. Cook until mixture bubbles and thickens. Serve with crusty dark bread and chilled white wine. Also good ladled over pasta!
Recipe by Galia
Image by Cynthia Staples
Posted in Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, On the Road | Tagged chantrelles, mushrooms, Photography | Leave a Comment »
These beautiful images were taken by my cousin, Lorraine, in the garden behind her Brooklyn home. They certainly brightened my day when she shared them with me. I hope they do the same for you wherever you are in the world today.
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Nature Notes | Tagged butterflies, Photography, swallowtails, urban gardens, yellow | 2 Comments »
Words + Images 