Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged blossoms, dispatches, flowers, indoor gardening, Inspiration, monotype, nature, orchid, Photography on May 8, 2014| 4 Comments »
I knew it was going to be a long day of traveling from site to site, and so I told a friend that I would send him dispatches from the road.
Instead, I find myself choosing to share some dispatches from the kitchen as part of a quick coffee break. 
Okay, a last sip, and then back out into the day. Have a good one, folks. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged food, food photography, gardening, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, Photography on April 6, 2014| 1 Comment »
Meanwhile, the scallions are a beautiful, unruly mess and the lemon thyme is creating great shadows on the bookcase.
The fennel I nearly watered to death but I think I caught myself just in time. We’ll see. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged colors, food, gardening, indoor gardening, Inspiration, onions, Photography, potatoes, red onion, spring, sprouts on April 6, 2014| 5 Comments »
An unexpected find in the pantry drawer this morning. Tucked in the back, a small red onion and a few small potatoes had sprouted. My father used to treasure such finds at this time of year.
He’d claim them from my mother and save to plant in the vegetable garden. I consulted with my brothers who paid much better attention that I to the details of planting vegetables that have gone to seed.
I’m going to tuck these sprouts into some dirt in some big pots I have in the house. I don’t expect I’ll get much of a crop but it will be fun to see what does happen. Stay tuned … 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged fennel, food, food photography, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography, spring on April 2, 2014| 7 Comments »
My favorite flower shop, Ricky’s, has reopened, providing further evidence that Spring is truly here. He does not yet have his full array of herbs on display but he had enough to make me happy as I walked into the shop. I departed with some standard items, e.g. two different types of thyme, but I also walked out with something new that I’ve never tried to grow before. Fennel.
The resident chef seemed happy with sight of the little pot on the table. We’ll see what he does with the feathery fronds in future dishes. Meanwhile, the other indoor greenery continues to do well, bathed by the light of the new season.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged botanicals, colors, flowers, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nature, orchids, Photography on April 1, 2014| 1 Comment »
The sun finally shone bright, or at least, just bright enough to revisit the orchid.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, beauty, home, indoor gardening, Inspiration, light, nature, Photography, plants, rocks on March 19, 2014| 3 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged cuban oregano, fern, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, kitchen, Photography, plants on December 11, 2013| 3 Comments »
Posted in Books I Love, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged colors, cooking, creativity, food, food photography, herbs, indoor gardening, Inspiration, Photography, writers, writing process on September 5, 2013| 3 Comments »
That thought crossed my mind this morning as I did everything except the one thing I needed to be doing — write, write, write. But, eventually, I remembered that part of my creative process, especially when I am feeling stuck on a writing project, is to get up from the computer and to walk toward … something. In this case it was toward a small table in Steve’s kitchen.
On the table is an eclectic mix of items: an antique silver pitcher against which leans a postcard of Hiroshige’s Plum Garden, a small pot of basil, two pots of red peppers separated by a pot of Cuban oregano, lavender that needs to be replanted and some lemon verbena.
Nestled amidst all of these herbs are bits of pottery filled with fruits of the season, glass votives, an empty wooden basket, and another postcard, Romare Bearden’s Autumn Lamp (Guitar Player).
Deborah Madison’s Vegetable Literacy sits open upon the table, too. I think I have it for two more weeks from the library before I have to return it. It’s a good book that I think I am going to add to my Christmas list. I flipped through the book for a bit, letting my eyes dance over her words and images. And then guess what?
I closed the book (after marking what I intend to try for dinner tonight). I sat back down at the computer and began to put fingers to the keyboard, feeling just a little bit less stuck. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged calla lily, colors, flowers, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nature, Photography, plants on June 10, 2013| 8 Comments »
I’m not sure when or where I purchased the bulb. In early spring, I was buying stuff to plant at every venue, from fancy nurseries to the Dollar Store. I remember that I found the bulb one day in the bottom of a crumpled bag. It’s label was gone. I still planted it by itself in an orange clay pot. Nothing happened for the longest time. I had to practice my patience skills big time. Then one day, green shoots appeared. A lovely dark green. An amaryllis perhaps? But then the leaves unfurled revealing white spots, providing me with just enough information for some internet research. As the leaves grew tall and spread wide, I kept wondering when the heck would the flower appear. And then one day it did.
It has been fun to photograph, and hard. There are things I see with my eyes that I have yet to capture exactly as I wish with the camera. Variations in color and texture, all of which continue to evolve as the plant grows.
That forgotten bulb at the bottom of a bag has turned into a very lovely learning experience.
Words + Images 