Archive for the ‘photography’ Category

I noticed this cicada skin as we left for our morning walk a few days ago. I finally got around to taking some photographs. It held on to our tomato plant even during a downpour.

Check out this old post, which has a photograph of a cicada after it has molted.

On Friday, students from Operation Shoestring visited the Jesse Gates Edible Forest at Wells Church to see the growth. After a tour of the garden, volunteers from the church served a buffet of vegetable dishes and fruit. It was a very hot July day (about 100 degrees). You can click here to see earlier posts about the Jesse Gates Edible Forest at Wells Church.

My friend Stephenie turned me on to Zentangles. I saw the potential for combining the Fibonacci grid that I use in Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers and Nature and zentangling. I just need to add the spiral.

Richard and the boys are giving me no end of ribbing about the fact that I spend time on the internet researching new “tangles,” which look to them like plain doodling. The final straw was my insistence that I had “messed up” and went to get the white out.

D and I spent a few hours at the Seattle Public Library, which was amazing. Read about the building here.

We stopped in during a workday at the Jesse Gates Edible Forest at Wells Church. We nibbled blueberries and visited for a few minutes with neighbors and other volunteers. You can see below how things are coming along. Remember, this is a partnership with the Mississippi Urban Forest Council, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Wells Church, and Operation Shoestring.

You can see previous posts here and here..

I loved this bean leaf.
A tiny peach.
An onion.
A plum.
Beans!
Our project director, Loy Moncrief, and volunteers, Jane Streets, Sheila and Bobby Robinson.

Sheila and Bobby Robinson.

A watermelon.
More beans.

One of the things dug up along the fence.

Sheila’s dog.

Kids from Operation Shoestring standing with Loy Moncrief, Jane Streets, and Star Pool. This sign will serve until a permanent one can be made. I love the colors!

Richard and I started the day at the Jesse Gates Edible Forest at Wells Church. Loy tipped us off that blueberries and blackberries were ripe. We figured it was time to photograph the progress. You can see the earlier set of photos here.

Just some photos today. Richard took these in our butterfly garden and patio. We needed some color this weekend.

 

I am helping my mother and aunt with a family tree project. Both of them have been collecting facts, stories, and photographs on and off for decades. We think these are some of the oldest photographs we have in the family.

Thought to be Bridget Healy Queeny Dillon, who came to the United States in early adulthood. She was married to Mr. (?) Queeny and had two daughters. After Mr. Queeny died, she married Patrick Edward Dillon. Together they had a son, Richard Joseph Dillon, born on August 6, 1853, pictured here. Bridget is my great-great-great grandmother. Guessing young Richard to be less than two years old, it would seem this photograph would be from the late 1850s. Is this possible? Likely? Is it a daguerreotype?

This is a photo of Catherine Weber. She is the mother of the first husband of my great-great grandmother, Clara Elizabeth Kraemer Otte (Gutting).
Our family history website is on my website here. You need to be a member of the family with login privileges to make changes and to view information on living family members. Contact me here, if you are family and want to join.

My church is helping transform an empty lot into an edible forest.

Here is some background information:

“The Jesse Gates Edible Forest at Wells Church came into being when two dreams met at the corner of Bailey Avenue and Idlewild Street in Jackson. In 2009, Wells Church acquired the property, concerned that the vacant house might become a source of trouble. Our dream was to replace the building with a garden that could be enjoyed by the neighborhood.

Children attending Galloway Elementary School walk past the house twice a day, and middle-schoolers stand in the front yard every morning waiting for the bus. Having that old vacant house right there didn’t seem like a good idea. We tore down the house and planted a lawn to provide some “green space” while we considered ideas for turning the lot into an appealing garden.

Then, we heard about the Mississippi Urban Forest Council, an organization aimed at promoting quality urban and community forestry in Mississippi. One of their goals was the establishment of a model “edible forest” to encourage the development of local orchards and vegetable sites and community gardens as one way to improve the health and welfare of Mississippians.

With help from the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, our dream of a welcoming garden and the council’s dream of a model “edible forest” came together at the corner of Bailey and Idlewild. And the work began.

The mission of the project includes providing a model for growing local sources of fruits and vegetables, encouraging individual healthy eating and providing alternative sources of income by growing local produce.

The “Edible Forest” includes 26 fruit trees and multiple herbs and vegetables. It will be managed by local volunteers.

Part of the project includes community and citizen education regarding which edible plants can be grown locally for fresh produce. If you would like to be included in this information please send your email to the Mississippi Urban Forest Council at msufc@aol.com.

Shortly after work on the project began, we tragically lost one of our own young persons, Jesse Allen Gates, a talented musician and artist. Our Council and Board voted unanimously to dedicate this Edible Forest in his memory.

We invite you to drop by and visit the Jesse Gates Edible Forest at Wells Church, then contact the Mississippi Urban Forest Council for advice on how to develop one for your community.”

Richard and I are helping to document the transformation. We are getting help from lots of people, including the students who participate in after school programs at Operation Shoestring.

Here are some photographs we took at two work days:

As always, I had a wonderful three days at the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival in Hattiesburg. In today’s post I’ll just talk about my session: “It’s a Snap!” I talked about ways to use digital photography to get kids excited about reading, writing, books in general, and nature.

I shared some photographs of mine, some activities I’ve used with success in classrooms and libraries, and some photographs taken by students.

For the final segment of workshop, attendees used their cameras (or borrowed mine) to take some photographs of some things I brought in for display.

I very much appreciate the help I got from CBF ambassador Sarah M. Walsh, a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. She took the photographs during my session and helped with set-up and take down.

Here are some of the photographs taken by attendees using my cameras. Nice, huh?

If you were in the session and you want to share some of the photographs you took with your camera, please contact me via email here.