I am the Audience

Aldwyth

May 26, 2025

art

Since I reminded myself of the Aldwyth exhibition the other day, I kind of got on an Aldwyth binge yesterday.

PBS has a show about her. But, I can’t see it because their Roku app is balky for me. However, Vimeo has some stuff. So, I have seen her face and heard her voice. This one was particularly entertaining because the pieces in that exhibition are ones we had seen at the Gregg when we first learned about her.

I can’t adjust the lighting on this without losing readablity. I hope it isn’t to dark for you to see.

This is the bottom edge of the Louanne LaRoche frame. The second from the top on the left.

I would like some feed back on this post. When I have a lot I want to share, does this format work or is it messy?
Haiku thoughts as I was driving

May 9, 2025

poetry and songs

In trying to write a haiku, you have to depend on old ideas in order to be understandable. Using the images of plants that are unfamiliar to the reader make the poem useless, make the reference useless.

If the reader doesn’t know that crêpe myrtles are lush in the summertime but they do know that daffodils come up in the spring, then crepe myrtles aren’t the useful image that a daffodil is. Everyone knows that leaves turn color in the fall. They don’t necessarily know that the colors of the leaves, as they’re bursting in the Spring, give an idea of what those autumn colors will be. If someone doesn’t know that lilies bloom after irises, summer rather than spring, those references may not work.

Obviously, whether those things matter depends on the image that the writer is trying to convey.

I would be curious to see some of the books of words that are published for haiku writers.
Bragging on my kid

May 7, 2025

a day in this life, art, family

They just finished their 2nd practical session of the welding course at York Tech in South Carolina. This was their final project for the session.

It has an attached stand and can balance on the leaf.

Welding is their happy place.

Edit: Not the leaf. The stand.
New carnivores

May 6, 2025

carnivores, plants

When I met Sweet Leaf Nursery on BlueSky they were all mail order. But, by the time I was going to be in their area, they had gotten a booth at the PeeDee State Farmers Market. So, Saturday I went to see them. They are both delightful and happy to talk about their plants.

I bought 3.

I planned to get the nepenthes. But, the drosera were too much fun to leave behind.

The one that looks like an alien is Drosera binata. The Drosera aliciae is the more common type of sundew. (I saw them called bog buttons on Reddit yesterday.)

With my reference dime

That dish was a wedding present to my parents and I had never figured out a good use for it since it has no drainage. But, drosera need to keep their feet wet. So, there they are.

The Nepenthes briggsiana needs moist soil but not a soggy bottom. This is its temporary spot. I haven’t decided about a pot yet.

Miranda said that if it quits making pitchers, it isn’t getting enough sun. Because nepenthes are tropical vines, they come in for winter and don’t grow new traps until they go back outside in spring. But, that happens pretty quickly once they have enough light. I’m curious to see how this one does with the full spectrum bulbs we have in the kitchen.
About this hydrangea

April 27, 2025

grow your own, plants

It’s a variegated lace cap hydrangea. See how variegated those leaves are?

I have no idea how long it will take to mature. I took cuttings from a bush in South Carolina 4 years ago. I know it should be variegated. The leaves on the cuttings were not solid green. Which is why I took cuttings.

I have never grown any plant this way before. So, I am pleased it’s not dead. But, I’m ready for it to look like its mother.

This is the bush I took the cutting from.

The original bush was in the shade. I planted this with lighting that matched its parent plant.