Fun with Carrot Hugs

1. "It's so sweet of you to bring me to the park where we first met."

 

2. "I could lie here in your arms and watch the stars forever."

 

 

3. "It's piggy-back time!"

 

 

4. "Oh DARLING! I thought you'd never come home from the war!"

 

 

5. "It was good seeing you. We'll get together again soon."

 

 

6. "Oh dear! You really do have octopus arms tonight, don't you!"

 

 

7. "Unpf, unpf, unpf!"

 

 

8. "You're the best friend anyone could ever have!"

 



 

9. "Hold on tight! Relax! I've got you!"

 





 

10. "Welcome home. I hope you don't mind that the place is a bit dirty."

 

 

11. "Good news! I'm pregnant again!"

 

 

12. "DADDY!"

 



 

13. "I love the way you smell - it's so earthy!"

 









 

14. "So what if you're yellow and I'm orange. Some day the world will accept our love."

 

 

15. "There, there....don't cry. I know you didn't mean it. I forgive you."

 

 

16. "Are you sure nobody can see us? I'm still weirded out by doing this outside."

 

 

17. "I will wait a million harvests for you!" 

 

 

18. "Be gentle with me - I'm freshly uprooted."

 



 

19. "Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you." 





 

 

20. "Happy Mother's Day to the best mom ever!"

 

 

 

(Found it here.) 

A Predicament

I can't resist sharing this:

Mallards in Our Yard



This isn't much of a picture. I would have liked to take a picture last week of all those lovely eggs sitting so prettily in the nest I accidentally uncovered when I was cleaning up the debris under the spreading juniper in our back garden. But Mama Mallard didn't much like me poking around, so I quickly covered it all back up and hoped for the best.

I saw Mama sitting on the eggs yesterday but today when I went out to check the excitement was all over. Only empty shells were left.

Maybe she'll be back. Sometimes mallard females lay more than one clutch of eggs in a season and often they will come back to the same place year after year.

The nest was very soft and the eggs were covered with a mix of leaves and duck down. I counted 11 eggs last week but there may have been one or two out of sight. I hope all the ducklings made it safely to a suitable pond. There are lots to choose from around here, but the geese are often very vocal and prickly about who they are sharing with.

 

Since we're in the garden, let's talk for a moment about hostas. Above is Hobo Slug. He travels around and sets up house near hostas. Last year I read that watering emergent hostas, before the leaves start to unfurl, with a 10% solution of ammonia in water would reduce the population of snails and slugs by killing their eggs. 1 part ammonia to 9 parts water. It worked - we had no observable slug damage in the garden last year, so I'll try it again this year. That's the tip of the day!

Smart Monkey

Joseph Wheelwright, Artist and Sculptor



My friend Joan brought this artist to my attention when she told me about the visit she had to the Katonah Museum of Art in April to view the quilt display there. At the same time she admired some tree sculptures by Joseph Wheelwright, so I had to look him up and I was immediately captivated by his work and by his thoughtful gentle manner as well.

Here's a tour of his studio in Boston:

 

At just over 8½ minutes, this first video might be a tad long for a busy person to watch. Here's a shorter one of the tree sculptures at the Katonah Museum of Art.



 



Joseph Wheelwright's website is very interesting, with lots of photos of his works in various media - stone, bronze and wood, in addition to the trees. Besides holding exhibitions, he does commissioned work and his pieces are installed in  many public places to inspire, calm and enrich our lives.

Thanks, Joan, for bringing him to my attention.

Your Adrenal Glands

A team from the University of Toronto, including a PhD student and two U of T alumni have created a video as part of a challenge by Scientific American and guess what!!....it won!

The contestants were instructed to create a two-minute video explaining a body part or process in a fun and engaging way using common household items, such as string, rubber bands and paper clips. The U of T team, Dorea Reeser (MSc 2009), Raluca Ellis (PhD 2011) and Nogel Morton (BA 2011 VIC) chose to feature the adrenal glands which help regulate the body's response to stress.

The judges were impressed with the educational value, clarity and polished quality of the video as well as the team's humour and use of the required props.

There was no cash prize for winning the competition, but Reeser said that the judges' encouraging comments were wonderfully motivating and rewarding.

There's a lot of information crammed into these two minutes.