Redbud Tree Flowers

 
The redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) around my house have been especially bountiful this year.  I took this photo yesterday in my neighbor's yard because he has a tree with low branches.  I love the way the flowers come right off the branches.  Apparently the flowers are edible and the bark can be used to treat everything from upset stomach to fever to congestion.  I will probably not be boiling bark infusions any time soon, but I am open to tasting a flower or two.  I'll let you know how that goes.  In the meantime I am signing off to go lay in the hammock!

Spring Table

Spring has sprung early this year and I am loving it!  The other night we hosted the Xavier Bridge Marathon at our house and it was so warm we were able to play out on the screened porch.  I randomly grabbed this vintage pineapple tablecloth and threw it on the old yellow table that we keep on the porch. I think I did a double take when I saw it... just look how the butter yellow legs perfectly pick up the yellow of the pineapple!  All day I kept looking out the window because this little scene made me smile.  Happy Spring everyone!

More Antique Door Knobs!

Alas, this is the end of my Antiques Warehouse posts and I saved my favorite photo for last.  I love the movement created by the beautiful texture of the knob in the foreground, the chipped blue paint of the cart, and the ruddy-colored knob in the back.  Who knew I would develop such door knob obsession?  You just never know where life will take you. (click photo to enlarge)

Bowl of Rust

The day I went to the Antiques Warehouse, Gary's cousin Al was showing me around, helping me move heavier pieces into better light, and making suggestions about interesting pieces.  As I would find something to photograph he would tell me about it's history or some interesting factoid about this or that.  Well, when I saw this bowl full of rusty metal tabs I was super excited.  I love how the orange rust contrasts with the bluish grey color of the tabs...so wabi sabi!  Al's only comment was, "I was with you until now."  We'll see what Al says when he sees the photo.  Maybe he'll still think I'm crazy, but maybe he will fall in love with this bowl of rust like I did.

Antique Hooks

It was hard to leave the Antiques Warehouse because I kept seeing things I thought were interesting.  I was on my way out the door when I spied this old board with these incredible hooks.  All that beautiful repetition was like a Vanessa magnet (that perforated circle motif is just too much!).  It's amazing I ever made it out of there!

Antique Faucet Handles

I love the shape of these old faucet handles from the Antiques Warehouse...they remind me of shiny metal jacks.  They also remind me of the faucet handles we had in Houston.  For some reason they said "chaud" and "froid" for hot and cold and I always had to think twice when I used them.

Below is a photo of the last large room photo I have of the warehouse.  I had to use a really long exposure on all of the large room photos because the lighting conditions were so low.  They aren't perfect photos but I wanted to post them to give you an idea of the vast expanse of the warehouse.

I love these old lanterns in the photo below.  When I used to study bears in NC we had to use lanterns at night and I was always terrible at lighting them.  But they do give a beautiful, homey kind of light that is particularly nice during a damp, rainy night.

This last photo is one of my favorites (click on it to enlarge).  Of course I love the goldish knob that is the focal point, but look at the green one in the background!  And the knob at the bottom left has a nautical motif that looks like the wheel at the helm of a ship.  If I were a set designer for the Pirates of the Caribbean I would have used this knob on Captain Jack Sparrow's bedroom.  No one would ever notice but that is the kind of crazy-detailed set designer I would be.

If I owned all these knobs I would start a vintage doorknob blog where a different knob is featured every day and I would come up with a story about the perfect placement for each and every one of them. OK, now you think I'm crazy, but I am crazy-in-love with these doorknobs!

Vintage Industrial Lighting

While at the Antiques Warehouse I came across these awesome green beauties.  We have exposed brick in our basement and someday I would like to redo the basement and use old industrial lights like these. 

The photos below show another crazy view of the warehouse, a pile of antique pulleys (which I think could be turned into awesome lighting like this), and some old glass bottles getting some sun.

Antique Door Plates

These door plates were laying next to the door knobs from the previous entry and again, each one is a work of art!  It makes me wonder about the person who made the original design and how one might go about actually making these plates.  

Below are photos of yet another room in the Antiques Warehouse, a box of eagle finials, and a miscellaneous tray of wooden knobs.  I love the randomness of it all. 

Vintage Door Knobs

Out of all the objects at the Antiques Warehouse these old door knobs were my favorite thing to photograph.  Each one is like a work of art!  Can you imagine if all of the door knobs in your house like this?  It would be awesome!

The photo below shows the second floor.  One of the things I love about the warehouse are these incredible beams you see here. 

While I was there Gary pulled out a thin case which contained this vintage anatomical chart.  How cool is that?  Maybe it's the biologist in me, but I loooooooooove  this.  It reminds me of the fifth grade in Mrs. Penquite's class where we had a 3-D model of the human body and we could take out all the plastic organs.

And if you ever need a replacement vintage glass light shade look no further. The shapes of these looked like jellyfish to me, but I have had jellyfish on my brain lately.

I added this last photo because I love the way the light illuminates the glass of these shades.  The photo seems so quiet, soft, and ghostly.

Check back again soon...more on the way!

Antiques Warehouse Cincinnati

Yesterday I spent half the day photographing whatever caught my eye at the Antiques Warehouse in Camp Washington, Cincinnati.  The warehouse is owned by avid collector, Gary Neltner ("avid" being the understatement of the century!) and the "collection" takes up three floors of one warehouse and two floors of another.  I could have spent days..., no weeks..., no years taking photos there.  It is probably the best kept secret in Cincinnati if you are interested in antiques.  They carry anything and everything - lighting, hardware, architectural salvage, furniture, signage, movie props, garden artifacts, ironwork, tools, ...you name it, they've got it.  You can visit their ebay store or you can visit the warehouse (but call Gary to make sure he will be there 513-319-5405)

When I got home from the warehouse and downloaded my photos I realized there were so many I wanted to share I will have to post them over the next week or so.  So check back this week for more (and more and more and more!). (Click photos to enlarge.)

Jellyfish Fabric

I couldn't resist participating in Spoonflower's fabric contest this week because the theme was jellyfish.  I originally thought I might make "folk" jellyfish, but then it turned out to be more "retro" jellyfish.  You never know what will come out.

If you would like to vote in the contest click here and you will see the contest in the upper right hand corner.  It is worth it just to see all the awesome jellyfish designs!

Pavlova

This Valentine's Day I decided to go all out and surprise George with a fancy dessert...hence the Pavlova!  I used this recipe from SimplyRecipes.com.  I have never made any type of meringue dessert so I called my neighbor John over to help. We had a great time whipping those eggs into shape and the meringue patties turned out beautifully (thanks John!). After dinner I mixed raspberries with a little sugar on the stove to make the topping. The whole thing was incredibly simple and delicioso!  Hope everyone had a super sweet Valentine's Day!

Folk Valentine Cards

Yesterday when I was looking at the blog I realized the Valentine I made for my mom perhaps bore more resemblance to sperm and egg than a lotus flower.  At first I was horrified but then I had a good belly laugh.  Though not entirely inappropriate for Valentine's day, a sperm and egg card is not what one wants to send one's mother.   To redeem myself I decided to try again.    

I started making these cards with the intent to cut them out of paper.  I was spurred on by a last minute purchase from Michael's dollar bin of some irresistibly cute, circular scalloped-edge cards (must stay away from the dollar bin!).  I also thought it might be nice to plan out my design instead of just free-forming it like I did on my mom's card (look where that got me!).

As it turns out the cards were only 3.5'' tall which made the shapes so tiny that it was very hard to cut the curves on all of those hearts.  I could hardly move my hand afterward and I wasn't loving the choppy results (I wanted to say it was "jacked up" but wasn't sure if it was appropriate...decided it's OK inside parentheses).  In the end I decided I shouldn't quit my day job to become a full-time paper cutter.

Paper cut version

Paper Cut Lotus Flower Valentine

This past weekend while everyone was gathered around the TV watching the pre-game of the Superbowl, my mom and I were happily maintaining our own Superbowl tradition...that is shopping.  This Sunday we found ourselves perusing the aisles of Jo-Ann Fabrics when I came across an incredible book entitled, "Paper Cutting Book: Contemporary Artists, Timeless Craft."  Even if you have no interest in the subject you will be amazed at what people can do with paper!  Some of my favorites include Elsa Mora, Patricia Zapata, Emily Hogarth, Matthew Sporzinski, Nikki McClure, Heather Moore, and Yulia Brodskaya.

After pouring over the book I decided what better way to thank my mom for the book than to make her an old-fashioned hand-crafted Valentine's Day card!  And it just so happened to coincide with my super crafty friend Libby coming over for dinner.  So last night we had a great night of dinner, wine and crafting.  What more could a girl ask for?

Tropical Plants

Heliconia pogonantha

In addition to the great birds at Bijagual, I am always impressed with the diversity and abundance of the plants we see.  It was great to have Paul Foster, botanist extraordinaire and director of Bijagual, at hand to teach us about the plant families and to help me identify the subjects of all of these photos.

If you haven't noticed yet, I love repetition in my photos.  Repetition that changes slightly over a series is everywhere in nature (think of your backbone) and I find it both eye-catching and beautiful.  The photo below shows a fruit stalk extending from the center of this bromeliad.  When I saw this photo it reminded me of a fat, green caterpillar with its legs peaking out underneath.

OK, I know what you are thinking... "Not another dried up plant photo!", but I couldn't resist.  Just look at the amazing repetition of the bracts on this old bromeliad inflorescence (thanks for the correction Paul!)

And the next two photos might be my favorites.  The immature fruits of this bromeliad not only repeat, but they change color and twist at the same time!  It takes my breath away!

And speaking of breath, does this last photo not remind you of a lung?  It is actually a philodendron leaf that has not yet unfurled and I find it lovely and a little revolting at the same time.

Philodendron radiatum

Bird-banding at Bijagual

Birding in the tropics is always a great experience, but getting to see birds in-hand is amazing. This year we had a special treat on our trip to Bijagual.  Susan Shriner (Wildlife Epidemiologist & BFF) and George Farnsworth (Xavier Professor & hubby) put up mist-nets on the property for three days and caught 41 birds and 16 species.  In addition to taking measurements and placing a band on the birds' legs, they will test the birds' for blood parasites.

Below you can see a Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) getting his culmen measured.

This photo shows a female White-collared Manakin (Manacus candei) having a band place on her leg...

and then getting ready to be released.

Below are a few more photos with the species name above each photo.

Bronzy Hermit (Glaucis aeneus)

Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)

Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza)

Ochre-bellied Flycatcher (Mionectes oleagineus)

Passerini's Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii)

Female White-ruffed Manakin (Corapipo altera)

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)