I am pleased to be part of the June exhibition, Framed: Landscape and Architecture, at the Black Box Gallery in Portland, Oregon.
My photo, Columbia River, is on view in the online Annex gallery.
http://blackboxgallery.com/Framed-Land&Arch-Annex-Web/index.html
The photo features the Vantage Bridge, which was built in 1962, replacing an older one spanning the part of the river called Wanapum Lake, in Washington.
I’d been wearing my ladybug earrings recently, in honor of spring, and it seems it was a prescient act. Recently I saw a bazillion ladybugs in my yard! OK, not a bazillion, but I saw one, then another, and another, and finally realized there were a lot on my rose bushes! Not that there were any aphids or other pests that I could see, but I was glad to have the little red ladies.
From what I could see, these ladybugs were all small, spotless girls.
I grew up with the image of a deep red ladybug, usually sporting two black spots. But my visitors were much smaller and had no spots.
Some people call them ladybirds.
Ladybug, ladybug fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children will burn.
Despite their gentle name and lovable reputation among children and gardeners, ladybugs are feisty little beetles. Their scientific family of Coccinellidae includes ladies of various shades of red, orange or even yellow, and many variations of spots.
They are found worldwide. From my research on the web, I’m thinking my species is Harmonia axyridis, which varies greatly from red and orange to black, with no spots, a few spots, or lots of spots! This is the one that came from Asia and is now widely established in North America, South America, Europe and South Africa.
Lady beetles are 
valued as predators of garden pests, including aphids and scale, but scientists have learned that they also eat such plant materials as fungi, pollen, and nectar. They’ve even been known to become cannibalistic, eating eggs and larvae of other ladybugs when food is scarce.
Ladybugs to the rescue
Last year an invasion of aphids attacked my honeysuckle, leaving it looking pretty sad, with its deformed, unopened flowers. Once I realized the shrub was not dying for water and that there were aphids all over, I went to work.
I discovered that aphids cause the flowers to look like “witches brooms,” aptly named as the flower buds look like curved broom heads.
They just stay that way and never fully open, so my honeysuckle looked like all the flowers had died.
I have learned that this is an issue with certain honeysuckle species, so I’ll have to live with it. Advice on the web is to cut off much of the plant during winter, before the larvae can hatch. Also, spraying with a solution of dish soap and water can get rid of some.
So far, my plant is looking OK, though there is a lot of evidence of aphids again. I got out my spray bottle again. I then saw a few ladybugs on the plant. “Do your thing, do your thing,” I told them.
Several states have named the ladybug as the state insect, including Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee and New York. New York went further by specifically designating the native North American species, Coccinella novemnotata, the nine-spotted ladybug. This species has declined as the European seven-spotted ladybeetle and the Asian species I mentioned above have spread.
Ornate Hoppers
While I was scouting out ladybugs on my plants, I noticed a bunch of leaf hoppers. Hoppers are tiny, narrow insects, generally regarded as pests because they suck juices from vegetation. But I always recall macro photos of them in field guides that spotlight their beautiful colors. My leaf hoppers were a blue-green, with dark blue or black stripes on its wings.
It might be a “sharpshooter” leaf hopper. As with the beetle family, leaf hoppers can come in psychedelic colors. Some have red and turquoise stripes, or bright orange with green and blue; even a most artistic pattern of blue and yellow streaks.
What is the function of such color in the insect world? It certainly isn’t camouflage.
Blending In
But an insect that blends right in with its environment is the lacewing, another beneficial garden bug. I happened to see a few around my house. Only about an inch long, they have bodies of delicate green, and as the name implies, wings that are translucent and lacy looking. They are common to North America and Europe, and similar to ladybugs in lifestyle. They eat aphids, caterpillars, mites and other insect larvae and eggs. Garden plants that are said to attract lacewings include coreopsis, cosmos, dandelions, sunflowers and dill. In that case, lacewings should be pretty common! I’ve got enough dandelions to support a town of lacewings! And I’ve planted cosmos and sunflowers.
I’m honored that my photo, Mystical Light, has been accepted for the 1650 Gallery exhibition, Light and Shadow. The LA gallery show opens April 23. I made this image at the architecturally fabulous Milwaukee Art Museum.
I’m also happy to share that my photo Desert Sunrise has been accepted for the upcoming Black Box Gallery show, Taking Pictures: 2016. This image, viewable in the online annex gallery, was made at the historic Twentynine Palms Inn, where I stayed near Joshua Tree National Park. In addition to the park, the inn grounds and buildings are picturesque.
Gala, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, Cripps Pink. Can you taste the sweetness and feel the crunch?
Washington state is the apple-growing leader nationwide. You’ll see proof of this if you drive around Yakima Valley or Wenatchee, where the orchards are concentrated. The other top regions are the Columbia Basin, Lake Chelan and Okanogan.
I wanted to photograph orchards in bloom for a while. I thought, rightly so, that huge stands of trees covered in white blossoms must be a sight to see. Not just apple trees bloom in the spring, but also pear and cherry. I had written off finding cherry orchards and focused on apples. Pears, if I found some, would be the ice cream on the apple pie, so to speak.
I had driven around Wenatchee once, so
I knew there were many orchards there. In fact, the town has an apple visitor center, where you can learn all about the state’s sweet crop. But Wentachee was a longer drive from Seattle than Yakima, so I scouted out some areas near Yakima last fall, and found an ideal spot in Zillah.
My gut told me this could be the time, but in order not to miss the blossoms, I needed to go have a look. To Zillah I headed. It’s about a two-hour drive through shrub-steppe country. There‘s a nice rest area near Selah with a view of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams where I usually stop for lunch. There was a clear view of both peaks.
After my break I headed on to Zillah. But before I got there, I began to see orchards in bloom, and whitish blobs covering the hillsides in the distance. It took a minute to realize I was seeing apple orchards in peak bloom!
I made a quick decision to take the next exit and find the road that was closest to the orchards. I was just ahead of Zillah, but I knew I didn’t need to continue on. I wouldn’t find anything better.
Past Remains
It turned out I had arrived in the little town of Buena, and buena it was! This is not a ritzy area and the homes are very modest, but it seemed that even the smallest p
lot of land had a mini orchard on it. Apples are lifeblood here, or at least, a sideline.
I found a main road that stretched north to south, with orchards in view. I turned off to a side road to get closer to the trees. Along the way I found a big old abandoned house and just had to stop to photograph it. Large trees cast soft shadows on the grass in the bright sun. A hundred years ago it was a grand house, surrounded by farm land. Now its windows were gone and the inside all graffitied up. I wondered how such a once-grand house could get to this state.
That the house was left to stand was evidence of someone’s respect for the past, or a simple lack of money either to fix it up or tear it down. What happened? Who now owns the property? Perhaps the last owner died without family who could take over. Perhaps someone tried to sell it and gave up. Why had no one rescued it before it fell to vandals? The locals must have a name for it, maybe “the haunted house,” or “the Smith house,” or “the big house.”
Peak Bloom
But I had to move on and find my orchards! I scanned the landscape as I drove, and spied an orchard up a side road that looked promising. I turned around and headed up the hill. Beautiful orchards on either side of the road came into view. I pulled onto a dirt drive and got out of the car.
As I was admiring the landscape, I could hear what sounded like a hawk nearby. I looked around and finally looked up. Overhead were four red-tailed hawks, perhaps two pairs, wheeling around and squawking. What a treat!
Across the road and along the irrigation canal was another orchard. Mt. Adams loomed to the west.
Upon close inspection of some blossoms, I noted that bees were happily buzzing from flower to flower. I wondered if the orchard owner had rented bees. I didn’t notice any hives, but I guessed that bees must be rented every year to 
polli
nate all the trees.
Harvesting
When apples are harvested, they’re loaded into traditional wooden boxes, which hold 40 lbs. of fruit each. You can see these in big stacks here and there.
On average, the state harvests 125 million boxes every year. Washington grows 6 out of every 10 apples eaten in the United States, and its apples are enjoyed in some 60 different countries.
Though the varieties that we export are a paltry drop in the apple crate when you learn there are 7,500 varieties of apples grown around the world. Apples arrived in the new North American world with the colonists.
Apple History and Lore
Archeologists have determined that apples have been eaten as long ago as 8,500 years, according to the Washington Apple Commission. Apples are said to have originated in Central Asia millions of years ago. So Adam and Eve might not have been the first to indulge.
Various notions and legends about apples have been passed down through generations. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” We also say, “as American as apple pie.” Putting apples in a pie may be American, but now we know apples themselves are hardly American.
We have our folk hero, John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed, whom we imagine lived humbly, dressed shabbily and went barefoot, casting apple seeds everywhere he went. In fact, he was a nurseryman who collected seeds and raised trees.
Crunchy, sweet and juicy. Red, pink or yellow. The next time you bite into one of nature’s wonders, think of the growers who nurture their trees and the countless laborers who hand pick the fruit every year so you can enjoy it!
I have been honored to have photos included in two gallery exhibitions.
At the 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles, my photo, Chaplin’s Triangle, is included in the show, What’s New Pussycat.
You can view the show here:
http://1650gallery.com/pussycat2016_show.php
My photo, St. Richard, is included in the Black Box Gallery show Light and Shadow, currently on view in Portland, Oregon. This is a detail of the beautiful Spanish Mission-style St. Richard Catholic Church in Borrego Springs, California.
You can view the show here:
http://blackboxgallery.com/Focus-Light%20and%20Shadow-EP.html
They’re scattered in the desert sand, a ways back from the road. Mostly, you’d never even notice them as you drive by. Woolly mammoths, sabertooth tigers, a serpent, dinosaurs, and a grasshopper and scorpion so large they must have escaped from a 1950s horror film.
In the Anza-Borrego Desert in southern California, you will find some 140 wild and fascinating creatures. But fear not, they are cast in metal and welcome you to approach. These fantastic larger-than-life sculptures are the creation of Ricardo Breceda. The story goes that he first made a dinosaur for his daughter. Afterward, he met up with the owner of Galleta Meadows Estates in Borrego Springs, Dennis Avery. Avery had had the idea of using h
is land as an art gallery, so the two seemed destined to meet.
Visitors are welcomed to tour the Galleta Meadows Sky Art project and see the sculptures up close. Sculptures may not be the best way to describe them; statues or installations is probably more accurate.
There are no fences around the artworks. You can touch them and walk all around. They are impressive. Each has unique textures and designs to the metal covering.
Installations include real and imaginary creatures, in addition to a few human figures, a cactus and a Jeep that’s attempting to scale some rocks.
It boggles the mind to think of the inspiration and labor that went into each.
The road bisects a mythical serpent
Each stands silent and frozen in time. Though some seem to be crying out, perhaps their last gasp as their species died out. Others stare you down with cold, dark eyes that say, “You walk the earth now, but we too once roamed it, and now we are gone.”
Wild horses, camels and tortoises remind us that they are imperiled; their homes under constant threat of development.
So, what is the point of the Sky Art project?
I think it goes beyond simple public art. Visitors can experience a variety of emotions.
For me, there were connections to the ancient earth and extinct creatures. The stark desert landscape seems a fitting site for them, silent and seemingly otherwise endlessly empty.
I’ve been toying with this fantasy for a while, off and on. What if I planted a vegetable garden based solely on color? After all, color figures largely in my flower garden.
With apologies to Kermit, it IS easy being green. Celery, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, all green. String beans, peas, kale, chard, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, all green. What do most kids and many adults refuse to eat? Anything green!
Every year, when I plan my edible garden, I try to incorporate something different; something that I haven’t grown before. The old standards do well and I like them, but let’s face it. There’s a lot more to the fruits of this planet than what we eat all the time.
After just a little thought, I realized it wouldn’t be d
ifficult to create a one-color vegetable garden. I’m talking about the actual fruits of the plant. Fruits as in vegetables. Get it? For the most part, the leaves would still be green.
So I begin with purple. I made a list of every purple or nearly purple vegetable that I knew of. In some instances, a few might be called “red,” or some “red” vegetables are in fact more purple looking, so I have included them in my list. In the process, I discovered a few more, though I might have difficulty finding them in the store.
But seeds, that’s another story. All sorts of exotic seed sources exist. Seek and ye shall find.
That’s not to say that everything purple will grow in every region. Remember, it’s a fantasy garden.
Here’s a list of purple foods that exist in reality, and are possible to grow, somewhere, in no particular order:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Beets
Onions (red)
String beans
Cabbage (red)
Kale
Kohlrabi
Turnips
Eggplant
Potatoes
Sweet potato
es
Radishes
Peppers
Corn
Asparagus
Garlic
Tomatoes
Radicchio
That’s a pretty full plate of veggies! And with a few surprises. I never knew there was purple asparagus, and I’ve seen many heirloom tomatoes, but I don’t recall coming across purple ones.
The inside of a cooked purple sweet potato
Where does purple cauliflower get its color? The answer is anthocyanin, which contains flavonoid compounds. Purple cauliflower also contains glucoraphanin, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables. Both substances are said to fight cancer and are significantly lowered in value by cooking the cauliflower. I might have to rethink how I eat this vegetable!
I’ve eaten many foods on the list, including the potatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, beans, onions, carrots, kale and eggplant. I have to say that they all taste the same as other colors, but imagine the visual impact at a meal!
The next time you are in the grocery store, cruise the vegetable offerings with new eyes. I bet you will be amazed at how many foods you have never noticed. But they’re always there!
Sometimes it takes a few decades for something to come full circle.
Back in the 1970s, I lived and worked in Connecticut. New England is a wonderful place to go antiquing and browse flea markets. It was at just such a market that I happened to spot an old photograph, leaning against something on the ground, not very visible, not looking very valuable. It was quite dark and had a black frame, so the overall look was very dark indeed.
The image was of an old woman stooping over and placing some plant material in a big basket. The setting appeared to be some woods. The back held an inscription:
For years I wondered about the image. Was it truly a woman considered by the community to be a witch? after all, Deerfield was a hotbed during the heydays of witchcraft madness. Or was it just a model posing at one? Who were the Ray sisters? And who were Frances and Mary Allen?
Recently on a whim I decided to do some internet poking around to see what I could find. Instantly I turned up information about the Allen sisters, Frances and Mary, to whom my photo was attributed. How exciting! It’s so easy to play detective when you have the internet at your fingertips.
I read all about Frances and Mary, and their life and work in Old Deerfield, Massachusetts. I found an article from the New York Times that talked about them and their work, and a collection of Allen sisters photos in the Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield.
These two talented, entrepreneurial women became quite successful in this medium at the turn of the twentieth century. They had been teachers, but began to suffer from hearing loss, and found interest, skill and financial security in photography. They received many awards for their photographs at various salons and exhibits, and their work was published in many periodicals. They made a good living from their art.
Here is an excellent website about The Allen sisters, with many of their images. http://www.cliohistory.org/exhibits/allen/
I quote from Suzanne Flynt on the website:
“In 1896, Frances and Mary Allen participated in the first American photography salon, the Washington Salon and Art Photographic Exhibition, sponsored by the Camera Club of the Capital Bicycle Club. Nine of their photographs appeared in this juried exhibition held at The Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C.; two received awards. The artistic photographs section, Class A, included 177 photographs; five were by the Allens. . . The second section, Class B, was devoted to photographs with excellent technical merits, and included 168 photographs. Frances and Mary were represented by four.”
In addition, Flynt writes, “the Smithsonian Institution “purchased fifty of the 345 photographs in the 1896 Washington Salon for their newly formed Division of Photographic History. Two Allen sisters’ photographs, Spring and Sybil, were acquired for $11.00 and $6.00 respectively.”
They caught the eye of Frances Benjamin Johnston, a noted photographer of the day, who was also the White House photographer for the Cleveland and McKinley administrations. She became a supporter and mentor for the two sisters.
I was riveted to the words and images on the Clio website, and searched for my image there. I did not find it, but found some similar images and knew I had the real thing.
I decided to contact the Memorial Hall Museum curator, Suzanne Flynt, to see whether the museum might like to have my piece in their collection. I had enjoyed the photo for decades and decided I could part with it. I emailed photos of the image to her, and she confirmed that the museum does not have this exact image. Good news! “The woman in the photograph is Miss Caroline Ray, who provided flowers to the Deerfield Church every Sunday,” noted Suzanne. Wow, another mystery solved!
The outcome: Suzanne would be pleased to have it, and I am pleased to donate it! Giving it to the museum seems like the right thing to do, to have it as part of the Allen sisters collection. I think Frances and Mary would be pleased.
The Witch of Old Deerfield will be home at last.
I am pleased to have my photo, Wind Farm, included in the Black Box Gallery’s January 2016 online exhibition, Landscape: Photography Now.
The photo also appears in the exhibition catalog. Here’s a link to the site.
http://blackboxgallery.com/Land-Photography%20Now-Annex%20Web/index.html
I am honored to be chosen as a Featured Artist this month by the Urban Riche Gallery. See my profile and submitted work for the Urban Landscape exhibition at urbanriche.com.
Featured photos
Illusion
Natural Views 