Tickled Orange's Journal in Art and Photos

Labels: flowers, observations, spring, trees

I participated in Earth Hour 2009 last night, which made me fall asleep during the lights out hour. It's just too hard to do anything by candlelight, including remain conscious!

Labels: events

Today I was at MIT, where I photographed the amazing Stata Building designed by Frank Geary. It's incredible.


Then we headed to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for the evening.

There were giant baby heads outside the building sculpted by Antonio López García.


The baby heads reminded me of one of the five Martin Luther King Jr. sculpture finalists at the University of Texas by Ralph Helmick. The sculpture project took place over ten years ago, and Hemlick's proposal was my favorite. Covering MLK's head were quotes from his speeches. I enthusiastically voted on Hemlick's proposal as a student; however, another one of the finalists was ultimately chosen. I hope one day I'll see the giant MLK Jr. head out there somewhere.

Inside the museum was thoroughly enjoyable too. I liked these sculptures of Christ the Good Shepherd from Goa, India. The left is from approximately 1700 A.D., and the right is from 1550-1650 A.D.


This El Greco painting was stunning, and the hallway it was located in was remarkable.

Labels: art, museums, places

We visited the Slacker Museum today, which is a bit of a mishmash of exhibits while the Fogg is being renovated. Then we walked by the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts. You can read more on the architect who created the building at austin.to.boston.


Behind the Carpenter Center was a beautiful tree in bloom.

Labels: museums, observations, places, spring

Labels: food, sky

We enjoyed an afternoon at the Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum.

Minerals









Birds



Tanager



Butterflies






Penguin



Huxley's Skeleton Group



Day of the Dead



Masks






Mayan Art

Labels: museums, observations

Labels: birds, flowers, nature, observations, spring

Labels: observations, sky

I baked a yummy shepherd's pie today to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Labels: food

On a walk today, I could feel spring returning.

Berries



Flowers






Pussy Willows






Budding Tree

Labels: nature, observations, spring

I made a batch of ginger spice cookies for friends tonight. Then, the next day, I made another batch for us.

Labels: food

Today I tried to photograph snowflakes, which is really a difficult task, even with modern equipment. It made me more fully appreciate Wilson Alwyn Bentley's work in photographing snowflakes. Known as "Snowflake" Bentley, he was the first to successfully photograph snowflakes. I've been fascinated by Bentley's work for many years.

A lovely quote:
"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."
-Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, 1925

Here are a few webpages on Wilson Bentley:
Bentley Snow Crystal Collection - a wonderful resource from the Buffalo Museum of Science
Snowflake Bentley


Here are my first attempts at photographing snowflakes myself:

Labels: winter

I've run out of my supply of Canadian Oreos. Here's a photo of my last cookie before I ate it. I wish American Oreos by Nabisco tasted as good, but the icing in the middle does not taste as delicious to me as the Canadian Oreo filling made by Mr. Christie's/Kraft Canada.

Labels: food

We caught sight of an owl on a nearby building today. He was there for quite some time, sitting peacefully on the ledge.

Can you see him?



There he is.


The title of this post was inspired by Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat, a book I remember from childhood.

Labels: birds, observations

Labels: winter

Labels: food