Chinese Brush Painting

I have been learning Chinese brush painting, which has brought me a lot of joy. This year I decided to make holiday cards out of small paintings. Here are a few of them.

[Click on any image for a magnified view.]

Wild Orchid. This is a traditional summer subject, but I used it for the holiday cards because I like the simplicity of the traditional composition.




























Dragonflies. Often a subject conveying summer, but it also conveys the Buddhist sense of the ephemeral nature of life. Mostly, I just like the strokes used to paint them.





































Plum Blossoms. This is a traditional winter subject. Apparently plum trees often bloom during winter, amid the snow.





























These will all be sent out to friends and family, so soon I won't have them anymore. Goodbye, little paintings, may you spread joy as you travel.


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Yellows and browns

Fall has come, with rain.














































I feel a haiku moment coming on ...



A leaf falls
Lo, another leaf falls
With the wind

-- Basho

Painting by Baitei, 1734-1810, Japan

However, some garden denizens refuse to succumb to a gloomy mood.
















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Happy Birthday to me

A November rose for my birthday.















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A Glimpse of the Future?

I hope not! No, this was just me on Halloween, 2008.



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Catskills again

In late August, we went back up to the Catskills, so that Owen could attend the Finale of the Wayfinder Experience camp. This time, we stayed near Phoenicia. Owen had a great time, and Robert and I did too>

We spent a lot of time in Woodstock. Robert made a new friend, Mike Esposito,who is something of a local celebrity. His history is classic Woodstock -- stopped in Woodstock in 1968 and never left -- and makes for a good story. These days, he fixes up old bicycles and sells them to the tourists, keeping his own schedule. I love the sign in the window of his barn; "Hopin' for Business." He's a sweet guy, and the time that Robert spent talking bikes with him and sorting through his barnful of parts was the highlight of the week for him.


















What I got out of it was time to check out the shops, and a Lotus bicycle I spotted in Mike's barn. I love the Lotus I have been riding, which we bought for $15 at a Goodwill-type store in Oshkosh, WI, but this one has a lady's frame, and I like that.

Another day, we spent a few hours on the Hudson River.















The hills in the background there are the Catskills.
















The sky was beautiful.















Once we were back at the house, Robert liked to take a swim in the pond at the bottom of the road. It was too cold and mucky for me.


















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A Day in Brooklyn

Brooklyn has many charms, even beyond my vest-pocket garden. Here is Prospect Park, on a lovely day in August.

Last summer I did a painting of this view.

I also really like the sky at this time of year. Prospect Park sky:

Windsor Terrace sky:

Issa says:

like blue sky
the summer kimono
I'm wearing

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August Doings

More action in the garden, in spite of the heat. We've had high 80s, sometimes 90s, with high humidity, for what feels like weeks and weeks. I think it has been weeks and weeks. Today, at least, is truly lovely -- 82o, very low humidity. Thank you, all buddhas and bodhisatvas in the ten directions!

[Click on any image for a magnified view.]

The clematis has now bloomed. One bloom. That's all. Did I do something wrong? I don't know. Everything is blooming less than it has in the past. I'm going to blame it on global warming, pandering to the uber-rich, and the war in Iraq.














Speaking of wars -- are you in the CLEMatis or the clemATis camp? Fine Gardening magazine says CLEMatis is correct. The dictionary (and the staff at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden) say both are correct. I'm following Fine Gardening, because I am a fine gardener, n'est-ce pas?

Other new faces:

Toad Lily (Latin Tricyrtis). This is one of my truly exotic plants, as it is native to Japan. Hence its placement near the fountain. I moved it forward a bit, and it seems to relish the extra light. I plan to save the seeds and see if I can get more plants going next year.

































Also newly blooming is the Liriope, aka Lilyturf. Apparently it is an aggressive spreader. That's why I put it amongst the lamium. They can fight it out. (Sorry for the combative subtext in this post. What is that about? Hmmm.)
















The nasturtiums are struggling along, blooming and then getting blasted by the heat. I've moved most of the plants to shadier spots. The flowers have an interesting structure.
































The fountain grass is blooming. I am probably allergic to it. Oh well.














A bloom emerges:


















Lost in a fountain grass world:















The daylilies are still going strong.



















Each flower lasts for one day. In the morning, I go out and pull off the finished blosoms. All that photosynthesis, osmosis, respiration, transpiration, and what-not, for a day's bloom.


This is what the butterfly bush looked like in May:



















This is what it looks like now:



















This is what it's all about:
















The fig tree next door also has grown quite a bit. Soon we will have ripe figs.



















And how is the morning glory doing? Just fine, thanks.



















We have a new addition to the hardscape. Someone down the street is cleaning out their garage and discarded this ladder. I've leaned another part of it against a wall of the house. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. Robert suggests using the two halves to build an arbor. I might just let a clematis or climbing rose have its way with it. Still thinking.



















Finally, sunflower siblings.
















Click here for a slideshow of the images from this post.

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But What About Mitsie?

I know you've wondered about Mitsie, even begun to worry. How is she? Where is she? Doesn't she live at this blog any more?

Your concern has been appreciated, and I'm here to tell you that Mitsie is fine! She's right here! She's happy you asked!

The truth is, though, that Mitsie is not enjoying this heat wave. She's making the best of it, trying not to complain. Mostly, she is just trying to keep cool.

Lying on the floor, under the big ceiling fan in the living room, sometimes works.















Until it gets boring.















Under the table makes for a nice change.



















Under the table, facing the other way is an option as well.















When all else fails, she can always have a wash.


























































Then there's under the china dresser.















Maybe now Mom will leave her alone?















(Okay.)

(To give due credit: the last photo was taken by Owen. Nice one, O!)


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