Higos Heaven

Well, I made friends with the owner of the asparagus yard and the fig tree, who graciously allowed me to glean from her yard.  In another week or so, I'll have enough figs to attempt some fig chutney.  Last night I sauteed these with some chicken and balsamic, then tossed with arugula.   And have you ever inhaled the aroma of fig leaves?  It's amazing.

Summer Reading List

Written by my neighbor up the hill, creator of What's That Bug.  The perfect resource for any curious naturalist. 

Ghost Mobile

More on this later...

Vermont after the rain

I forgot to post this a couple of weeks ago while visiting my parents in Vermont.  It was thundering and pouring at cocktail hour, then the golden light and rainbows came out for the dinner hour.   Best show in town.

Asparagus Gone Wild

Abandoned lot with TONS of asparagus growing wild.  There was also a massive fig tree I might have filched a few figs from.   Are these remnants of someone's victory garden?

Food Posters from the Past via treehugger.

Urban Wilds

Saw this little friend molting on my screen door last night.  It was tough getting a good picture in the low light, but thankfully his discarded skin was still there today.  I think it's a wee praying mantis.  Update!  I think this is a katydid nymph based on what I've seen in the gazillion pictures on The Bug Guide.  Any idea?

On a similar note, this article in the NYT Science Times today: Urban Evolution.

Ecoroofs

Image via growinggardens.org

Design Sponge has a nice little round up of living roof pictures: here.   I've had these on my mind lately as I am designing an imaginary school for one of my landscape arch classes.  What kid wouldn't want a classroom with green stuff growing on it?

Patio Pendant Lamp

I've  been hoarding these rusty old lamp bits around for at least a year now.  I got them at a thrift store for about $5 each, and I knew they would come in handy at some point.  Our new house has a lovely front patio, with tea tree shrub that arches over it.  I like that this area is a little wild and hidden, but it gets a little spooky at night.

To brighten it up, I decided to hang one of these lamps and use the other as a votive holder.  The one that still had its beautiful blue and yellow glass intact just needed a light strung through it, which was easily done with one bought at Ikea.  I made sure to use a really low wattage CFL bulb that uses very little energy, does not get hot and shines a subtle light.  Then it was just a matter of snaking an extension cord through the crawl space and finding the right branch to support it -- it was important to find a spot that was tucked into the tree so it would look like the lamp was naturally part of it.

Now our front patio has a little more ambiance and is a magical little space for enjoying cool LA evenings.

Sunday Breakfast

Picked these out back for a big fry-up this morning.  Nothing goes better with eggs and bacon than fried tomatoes.  Especially when grown just out your kitchen door. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Calder

 

 

top: Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, 1939

bottom: Vertical Foliage, 1941


Images courtesy of The Calder Foundation.

My own Calder tribute coming soon...

Small Friend

Perfect tiny moth in the stairwell at work today.

Garden Design Mag

Photos by David A. Keeps

The recently redesigned Garden Design magazine is chock-full of beautiful photos and styling.  No longer in the realm of old lady gardening, it's hip and refreshing.  This private garden in Silverlake, profiled in the latest issue, makes me so happy. 

Also on their website: Harry Potter Herbology 101.

The Wild Unknown

Photo by The Wild Unknown.

2010 was a big year for me, one that deserved a gorgeous calendar like this.  I still have it up, and it reminds me of the many amazing days of last year.  The Wild Unknown has a way of capturing wispy feathers, and they hand color each print.  They also make these sand terrariums, or prisms, with bits of beaches or deserts that you can stare into for hours.

Photo by The Wild Unknown.

Whooping Cranes

"When we had the single Stanley crane down here, when she was all alone before she got a mate, I would go in and dance with her and she would dance with me and we would run around the yard and chase each other and dance and jump up and down and one day she produced an egg. So, I must have done a really good job," Talbott said.

Glass is better

I finally bought myself a bkr glass water bottle, and love it.  I got the grey version which reminds me of a softly tumbled pebble.  Here's to drinking more water.



*This is my last product post for awhile, I swear.  Your comments on the lack of real photos have been noted.  I will post more of my own photos once I can afford to get my film developed.  all 10 rolls of it.

Arrows

I'm a sucker for all things arrows.  These included.

From A. Brandt + Son.

Svenskt Tenn

I found an old serving tray at the thrift store a few months back, and bought it because I loved the design on it.  When I got home I looked up the designer who's stamp was on the back, and stumbled upon the world of Svenskt Tenn and Josef Frank.   Much like the botanical prints I love from Liberty of London, these prints are whimsical and a little wild.  The print above with the birds morphing in and out of focus is my one of their contemporary designers, Emma von Brömsson, who appropriately sums up her work with the statement: a pattern is like music.
 

Image via designboom

Image via avidcruiser.com

Bringing the woods inside

Maybe a wood paneled laptop would make me feel closer to nature? 

Tough as Lichen

"Lichenes" from Ernst Haeckel's Artforms of Nature, 1904

I read somewhere recently that lichens are the slowest growing plants in the world.  My mom then told me that in the southern mountains of Peru, she's seen small tufts of lichen that the locals tell her are hundreds of years old.  They grow without soil, in deserts and the arctic as well as lush forests, and can act as biomonitors of atmospheric quality. 

And they're beautiful.

Top print available here.

Faces in the trees

(one is never truly alone in the woods)

Glorious Storms

I got back to the house from a walk in the woods, just in time.  It's 6pm a few weeks after solstice, and the sky is a winter-time dark.  There is a strong wind blowing in, and mumbling thunder from somewhere distant.  It's on its way, two-Mississippis to be exact.

Woods Time

I'm in the woods of Vermont this week, soaking up the sound of wood thrushes and rushing streams.  We're working on finding the perfect swinging vine...this one looks like a good contender.