The Potting Bench

In bocca al lupo.  m

The Day Begins

The day begins.

I've added a few sites to my links that are fun and inspiring for the textile side of life.  I've been so hit and miss here lately that I've gotten behind on the other sites I link to.  I really enjoy the photos posted by 3191 Miles Apart, and Valerie Jardin with her international street photography workshops.  Take a moment and look through these sites.


And then there's the "kitten fix":

Phoebe.

In bocca al lupo.  m

The Serengeti of the Sea

Lately at the aquarium we've been having these little octopuses in our Tentacles exhibit. The body of these fellows is about the size of a baseball.  Their tentacles are webbed and they don't have suckers.  There are little flaps that stick out from either side of their bodies along with a siphon. We don't keep them on display for very long because these animals have only been found very recently.  They are so new that they are "undescribed". Little is known about them.  They are being studied at MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute).  So, we treat them very carefully.  They were found in the deep canyon of the Monterey Bay.

Among the many animals out in the bay at this time of year it is exciting to hear that Blue Whales have made an appearance.  In the past month there have been reports of sightings of large groups of Blue Whales numbering as many as twenty.  Blue Whales are the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth...larger than any dinosaur.  Last summer PBS and BBC combined to put on a program called Big Blue Live. They wanted to show the amazing variety of animals in the Monterey Bay at any given time.  In the three weeks that they were with us only one Blue Whale made an appearance.  I'm still waiting to see my first.

I like that the Monterey Bay is considered the Serengeti of the ocean.

In bocca al lupo.  m

Containers

This week's diptych. Fortuna in a basket, euphorbias in a pot.

In bocca al lupo. m

Garden Life

Outside in the garden I have so many visitors and, well, residents.  There has been this one-eyed, young cat I call Mimi.  Eight weeks ago she had two kittens.  I'm watching them all closely and when the time comes the three of them will be gathered and chauffered to the SPCA to be spayed and then brought back to the garden.  They have been living, at my invitation, in my studio. It's working out very well as they keep the rodent population at bay.
Looking back I'm realizing the last kittens I've seen around here were Emily and her sister nearly 18 years ago.  Growing up there were always kittens everywhere.  Generally there'd be young children sitting with a box at the entrance to the grocery stores with a note tacked to the side of the box announcing "Free to good home".  Sometimes there was even the inclusion of food.  I'm having a blast watching the two kittens growing and playing and being cared for so well by their mother.

In bocca al lupo. m

Garden Diptych

I'm trying out a diptych format.  They don't always print up very well being an odd size. Everything is experimental and I'll eventually figure it out.  I like some of the combinations and they'll be coming up in the next few posts.

In bocca al lupo. m

Like Living in Paradise

I took a drive along the seashore at the point where the Monterey Bay opens to the Pacific ocean.  It was such a dramatic afternoon.  I didn't have my camera, but just like everyone else, I had my cell phone with its camera. Remembering the adage that the best camera you own is the one you have with you, I stopped and took a picture.  I hadn't seen the kites until just before I snapped the shot.  Lucky me!

In bocca al lupo. m