tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63169812024-03-27T16:10:54.556-05:00Gone to ChicagoWhy Flee Florida?Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-63286688890308207422013-01-13T11:10:00.001-06:002013-01-13T11:10:20.481-06:00Delaware Bayshore's Reed's Beach after Sandy<a href="http://www.capemaytimes.com/news/2012/11/reeds-beach-after-sandy/#.UPLpxDMO1N4.blogger">Delaware Bayshore's Reed's Beach after Sandy</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.capemaytimes.com/news/2012/11/are-we-losing-higbee-beach/#.UPG4uKjbiT4.facebook" target="_blank">Are We Losing Higbee's Beach?</a><br />
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Global warming's stealing not only our future, but our childhood memories as well.Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-55102276093836936172008-11-11T10:22:00.005-06:002008-11-11T11:42:37.144-06:0022 degrees this morning, summer's passed by, garden remnants are huddled under cold frames and David's just finished the new greenhaus. Fresh organic lettuce and spinach in December will be a revelation- if what I've been reading in the Nearings' and in Eliot Coleman's year round gardening books holds true. And if I pay attention to what I'm doing.<br /><br />Some new photos here of what we've been up to; busy-ness in real time precludes busy-ness online. Hoping that the lockin weather of winter will result in my paying more attention to this blog.<br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="320" height="240" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Ffla33040%2Falbumid%2F5267444914679753825%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-26355059233447846362008-09-28T21:47:00.001-05:002008-11-11T10:21:43.668-06:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIGmV6AzjaWcsSZUR65OSfzOdESoWA3tlDZJt-zMre4wNaUF8JGxA2YnWe4anvmhnu1V-zfE5GYazKfdSKcyV3AqcVxvthN0zqgdnuKcbfJezGK87nBG2oxIEgshrEA8Ai7U/s1600-h/IMG_2744.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIGmV6AzjaWcsSZUR65OSfzOdESoWA3tlDZJt-zMre4wNaUF8JGxA2YnWe4anvmhnu1V-zfE5GYazKfdSKcyV3AqcVxvthN0zqgdnuKcbfJezGK87nBG2oxIEgshrEA8Ai7U/s320/IMG_2744.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">October here means time to "put up" the garden, canning and pickling are standard procedures. Lots of handiwork to do so, cutting,chopping, measuring, cleaning but there is a presence of mind developed meditating on the fruits of the vegetable kingdom that zeros in on zen. Grasshopper, what is the sound of one hand chopping? I took some photos to share these small beauties with my friends. The jar is filled with Tomatillo pickle, referred to locally as "ground cherries". One pal from my reading group turned down my offer of tomatillos with the following observation, "Ground cherries, no thank you! Mom pickled those when we were kids and - oh gross- they look like eyeballs in a jar!!". These are cut in quarters so the horror is averted :) </span>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-9248169525650198672008-09-26T08:08:00.001-05:002008-09-26T08:08:43.796-05:00mobile blog setupTesting new service to post on the goRobin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-46306096371665908802008-04-27T21:45:00.002-05:002008-04-27T21:50:31.661-05:00Out late this afternoon in Blue River looking for signs and colors of Spring. These sandhills take my breath away with their quiet beauty and secret details, inscriptions describing the biology of place and alchemical wildness surrounding us, cryptic motifs of an austere environment not yet given over to the rioting of summer seeds and grasses.<br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Ffla33040%2Falbumid%2F5194101309872358113%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-10543561785075802552008-04-27T09:44:00.003-05:002008-04-27T22:04:47.081-05:00We're in the process of adding a permanent note of springtime to Chestnut Street, going from deep winter Addams Family grey to sunflower yellow in a few thousand brushstrokes! Trees are budding and tulips popping on this perfect spring day, going out to enjoy the sun and consider how to layout the garden for this year's crops.<br /><embed pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="400" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Ffla33040%2Falbumid%2F5193933196262457985%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1041013706417840532008-04-16T07:38:00.002-05:002008-04-16T07:46:04.295-05:00Taxes done, good weather, National Library Week and National Poetry Month all in one day. We live rich lives these days compared to the struggles of generations that went before us. Yet still we and our children war, destroy and live in fear of loss of wealth or status. What species is this that doesn't just get on cheerfully with life when the sun shines. A red cardinal in our feeder flinging black sunflower seeds aside while feasting sings within a joy maybe beyond most of us; and we think we know?Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-24533820624894130912008-04-12T11:55:00.002-05:002008-04-12T12:01:20.303-05:00Spring Thaw! Now that our fingers are unfrozen there may be more blog posts :)Busy at the library with programming adventures for April ( National Library Week and National Poetry Month) and Summer Library Program- Bugs! for the kidz and Metamorphosis for t/weens. Also The Art by the Stream festival is coming in June, with much yet to do. Auction at the Central House will be held in a week and we're still working on the Youth Art display. Wow, life out in the country can be just as busy as Chicagoland, never bored, that's a fact.Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-85061267472851939402008-02-19T22:03:00.001-06:002008-02-20T06:44:35.847-06:00More photos of our snowlocked home after the weekend's ice and snow storms. The colder the day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwJARNHQyvfHhxyjF-JKsP9ueARfoWaYGRrmdoqh3phCabVxR6HbooCSF2_8SXGKGHJIf8_Du0LJPtj5qaGy22S6qTvn4T_QafoYgv7VD8P69vUpij8kPgSD4F0yJ1k3dlz8/s1600-h/IMG_2033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwJARNHQyvfHhxyjF-JKsP9ueARfoWaYGRrmdoqh3phCabVxR6HbooCSF2_8SXGKGHJIf8_Du0LJPtj5qaGy22S6qTvn4T_QafoYgv7VD8P69vUpij8kPgSD4F0yJ1k3dlz8/s320/IMG_2033.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />the blue-er the sky and relentless the light; no soft focus hazy tropical highlights here now. Everything is high contrast, clean edged and without superfluous decoration. Pure, functional forms to withstand the unrelenting cold and exacting lens of winter's magnificent eye.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmaaiDJXenuG3H8vzQ7psLZ_rfl9cvVQGdmwxcPzHPLYsu6MLT-4kNRje-f-6wgr8NzuztMmJbFLLuVEgnxkZpXbzGSQK2uf10vJixMKaOjQP3gtcAGTpF8dMu3Fo0dTKLGjY/s1600-h/IMG_2025.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmaaiDJXenuG3H8vzQ7psLZ_rfl9cvVQGdmwxcPzHPLYsu6MLT-4kNRje-f-6wgr8NzuztMmJbFLLuVEgnxkZpXbzGSQK2uf10vJixMKaOjQP3gtcAGTpF8dMu3Fo0dTKLGjY/s320/IMG_2025.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWhL4kibYlZbV_m4O3Jwof0yj0P8dRLnOzS-UpcuimwqRh4xHwhzRRb_3dNymKbHFShzwp_44Jz3QjmDvLuE5fWMM1sxasNPlGwjiEq86g88O2krPTLyT5U-h0FTZtMYt9jc/s1600-h/IMG_2017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWhL4kibYlZbV_m4O3Jwof0yj0P8dRLnOzS-UpcuimwqRh4xHwhzRRb_3dNymKbHFShzwp_44Jz3QjmDvLuE5fWMM1sxasNPlGwjiEq86g88O2krPTLyT5U-h0FTZtMYt9jc/s320/IMG_2017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdw2Z4LDdCU-6HNRlSVfACfVhZS3COT58EN33jA4hdXi4j367j3J0SAvs0oO-ksQs9O9dXRbQ_kSUKtlX2b8fYKsNJduMrag37uOA8sujZ3siqAkus4DOGrkKqAAzEXiMpzE/s1600-h/IMG_2041.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdw2Z4LDdCU-6HNRlSVfACfVhZS3COT58EN33jA4hdXi4j367j3J0SAvs0oO-ksQs9O9dXRbQ_kSUKtlX2b8fYKsNJduMrag37uOA8sujZ3siqAkus4DOGrkKqAAzEXiMpzE/s320/IMG_2041.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos.blogger.com/linkurl" _target="blank"></a><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: right"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-27200715295630907182008-02-17T13:49:00.002-06:002008-02-17T14:09:59.212-06:00So much snow we walked downtown to get groceries, rather than risk getting stuck <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyqo-g8Ks1fKQ6x0snr09kMPiskobIzUhBCozU47dND7gYZUw-0BmYn0XeNlUu6Hrru0iqYdMYxZauBaYNME2ybSxujv5rkWmPqjswfJ8LFNg9lZMbtS6ujNO08G5rckCajY/s1600-h/IMG_1989.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyqo-g8Ks1fKQ6x0snr09kMPiskobIzUhBCozU47dND7gYZUw-0BmYn0XeNlUu6Hrru0iqYdMYxZauBaYNME2ybSxujv5rkWmPqjswfJ8LFNg9lZMbtS6ujNO08G5rckCajY/s320/IMG_1989.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8T7VKdDR27adxDkTSqGTphI5LWo2JwFzwF3W9Aaei6bI_D_WEV57gjH8KB8Zprb7lchHtfU4lNuioS8HAdEDJ0go45XP2itaNd7_DI_ebpWYGDUGR5Qkk_oLF-Hy8J0kr58/s1600-h/IMG_1988.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8T7VKdDR27adxDkTSqGTphI5LWo2JwFzwF3W9Aaei6bI_D_WEV57gjH8KB8Zprb7lchHtfU4lNuioS8HAdEDJ0go45XP2itaNd7_DI_ebpWYGDUGR5Qkk_oLF-Hy8J0kr58/s320/IMG_1988.jpg" border="0" /></a> crossing the footbridge over Saunders creek<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnwdiA07jI63pbm8RgBJFDQHahcQFrEt3a2QBc6pQbd599plZ7YldEajEhJRzvPLxpGH8Bvc6I6kg352WfraHo8aTHiHrxysCY0zNgoU8Zfh2auYyUD8klh0pg78sJMt5M8E/s1600-h/IMG_1986.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnwdiA07jI63pbm8RgBJFDQHahcQFrEt3a2QBc6pQbd599plZ7YldEajEhJRzvPLxpGH8Bvc6I6kg352WfraHo8aTHiHrxysCY0zNgoU8Zfh2auYyUD8klh0pg78sJMt5M8E/s320/IMG_1986.jpg" border="0" /></a> buried fire hydrant with the creek beyond. Its not too cold today, @ 26 F and we stop to look often as the snow and wind sculpt new views and reframe old ones.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNjEWSQujYdT-EStQV1QiMIgvtwzef2xROmyFaw98C2_lWc6OF0OT0RM4fz47Lm3ubLZxa-mriutgifXK-Zvd2O9EDPMO5e86mAGpEQm_rdVNtGT6tuPMkfXKbrHFjLCE82k/s1600-h/IMG_1985.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNjEWSQujYdT-EStQV1QiMIgvtwzef2xROmyFaw98C2_lWc6OF0OT0RM4fz47Lm3ubLZxa-mriutgifXK-Zvd2O9EDPMO5e86mAGpEQm_rdVNtGT6tuPMkfXKbrHFjLCE82k/s320/IMG_1985.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: right"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-23399646179476964942008-02-17T13:33:00.001-06:002008-02-17T14:15:14.471-06:00<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#6633ff;">Every other or third day since 1 December</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIci5YvPn5yJs_mgmR1IE-waJ7WpCY6VgxuRtiRmt0Oj1-sM_TRgJ6U5SWbxm2EezRrVf9N0wW42Uk0_nMB5W1Vwh6wU4UFHs8dnaswwlanBNdq-R2Eqv9AckWBjNTrhhO5w/s1600-h/IMG_1998.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#6633ff;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIci5YvPn5yJs_mgmR1IE-waJ7WpCY6VgxuRtiRmt0Oj1-sM_TRgJ6U5SWbxm2EezRrVf9N0wW42Uk0_nMB5W1Vwh6wU4UFHs8dnaswwlanBNdq-R2Eqv9AckWBjNTrhhO5w/s320/IMG_1998.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#6633ff;"> 2008 we've had some snow. With @three & 1/2 feet on the ground already, this weekend we are receiving 1- 2 inches of freezing rain (last night) and from 4 -12 inches of snow today. This morning we had snow storm warnings, now we are alerted to the possibility of a blizzard! Outside my studio window flurries of flakes cascade earthward in a gyre. The beauty of this weather outweighs all trepidation, fears of cold or death recedes before the decorative beauty of snowed trees and the glittering crystalline flakes that take your breath away</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDaWUg9PvmrOafxKzMe0pl5rD802EUe5T1QFU5m03I2Ognas3-_Ff34BBKrsVvpxn0_y3vibtsxWIxnqm806r2qTmKQzvtl74dn5Wx13ZewxABA0lIjjhpaJJo-oPQ5T86rk/s1600-h/IMG_2002.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#6666cc;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDaWUg9PvmrOafxKzMe0pl5rD802EUe5T1QFU5m03I2Ognas3-_Ff34BBKrsVvpxn0_y3vibtsxWIxnqm806r2qTmKQzvtl74dn5Wx13ZewxABA0lIjjhpaJJo-oPQ5T86rk/s320/IMG_2002.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#6666cc;"><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Red oak leaves still cling to last summer's colors. The trees branches spread like a dancer's or supplicant's arms catch a bright layer of snow in contrast to their dark wet bark, a reminder of the earth buried below the snow pack waiting patiently for the sun and plow, a conspiracy of defiant seeds.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-41816883167696870422008-01-06T19:37:00.000-06:002008-01-06T20:01:58.953-06:00Sudden warming here the last couple of days, from 0 to 40 degrees! Snow is melting and flowing water falling jingles everywhere outside. So I took a walk along Saunders Creek today and shot this short video, ending with a side trip to a local welder's shop where a long curling ice wave has shed off the shear lip of tin roof and melted into a Hawaiian hang ten curl amid the remnants of Wisconsin winter snow.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7pJGcMy4rVUQ11zG9dU3J0vEqRBY0lF_ofJ8sUpDgXYpm-_os9DahPyfznwvSm1hzwRTwqgOp-qk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-75395205410658261342008-01-06T18:26:00.000-06:002008-01-06T18:51:10.257-06:00Flippin' kitty cats, shot after one too many cups of "Tom and Jerry" holiday nog :)<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyOEGoRqHacYopTzWSWZUbXA45GKfy8-uq_8V2bztoGGJIXr1dlbA8KhwfSEKSTUNvHhDKlnjo5fsU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-3587362061853914602007-12-13T19:36:00.000-06:002007-12-13T19:41:20.425-06:00Laura sent me a link a friend from grad school sent to her: video of a compelling high school art show. I'm adding a link to it here:<br /><a href="http://www.collierhighschool.com/video/artshow2007.html">http://www.collierhighschool.com:80/video/artshow2007.html</a>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-85955597031061325012007-12-11T23:04:00.000-06:002007-12-11T23:13:50.689-06:00Two new Flip video camcorders for the library just arrived today and of course I had to test out and surf up and over this new technology's mini learning curve. Cool device, software's somewhat limited, but it seems all decent vid editing software requires a credit card somewhere along the route, so not too surprised by that. Excellent ease of use and upload to PC. Here's my first test run using a canned vid editing template and a soundtrack I grabbed at random:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwNziHujptMgHzTm8qhNvLUYi3KJOO6w1MmEXm_3F5IZBUav21JmZDWCeYQX9sX8B-LCo8wQaTIEw4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-9594349934719903962007-12-01T15:35:00.000-06:002007-12-01T18:53:22.381-06:00<a href="http://www.blogger.com/linkurl" _target="blank">Here's</a> a quick look at our first real snow storm of the season. This one is wrapping up with a shower of pelletized ice, slippery in the extreme but musical as it pings over and over again against bare wind rattled branches.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz72vPARgSbKYXJHumigP331Qje1hnJvNPi_k8zOyJWwZhTtnCmebI6JFEVzxCnjZcI1iOvl3Cxm8U' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-67123610859782946402007-11-09T07:24:00.000-06:002007-11-09T07:28:31.865-06:00Finally Friday, and a three day weekend at that. Life is good!<div style='text-align:Left;margin:0px auto 10px;'><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oT1o4sxsvHleeAbe-IcS_EWyknsfViKlmd4jo2McalkujWQBhajrlLQDry87hXhssjmx1HmZhqSxYOBrSxDGa6BOM5PbGriLvVXkNncdAXJA-J5etRAafB5D-QhT80dwmDo/s1600-h/IMG_1819.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oT1o4sxsvHleeAbe-IcS_EWyknsfViKlmd4jo2McalkujWQBhajrlLQDry87hXhssjmx1HmZhqSxYOBrSxDGa6BOM5PbGriLvVXkNncdAXJA-J5etRAafB5D-QhT80dwmDo/s320/IMG_1819.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' ></A> </div><br /><p>Photos of some trees in our backyard, the great sweep of branches reminds me of lines of poetry, one more formal like a sonnet, the other free verse.</p><br /><div style='text-align:center;margin:0px auto 10px;'><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcSgJ4tsquIxpdl4ULJ0ZcOUKLVvxbqYSnlECMCbyjUGCdIlRVjztZH0aYgIXbOPBQnZ4A1XMNbztwO7FQ9MLf7SPgCdjNUrN-koFzA-jVxvvPlJKe0TymPnIF2McnvNdnvM/s1600-h/IMG_1817.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcSgJ4tsquIxpdl4ULJ0ZcOUKLVvxbqYSnlECMCbyjUGCdIlRVjztZH0aYgIXbOPBQnZ4A1XMNbztwO7FQ9MLf7SPgCdjNUrN-koFzA-jVxvvPlJKe0TymPnIF2McnvNdnvM/s320/IMG_1817.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' ></A> </div><br /><p>Believe it or not, here's a card catalog in use! Isn't it beautiful? I'd forgotten how noble they looked. This one is in the library of St. Norbert Abbey in Green Bay. Where better than an abbey to find a relic....</p><br /><div style='text-align:right;margin:0px auto 10px;'><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YG2I3siFSCQn6K2h-YR4KymVq4c6EP4iVPqOwFHd1sh9RwkH-wRpSTnjEpb3u1M777mSvT6PBXv_rTCD4w4K-jXPtUyD5bYOEirYznWQqvPvSxrd6REtPiYHfLAsBLMcpTs/s1600-h/IMG_1713.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YG2I3siFSCQn6K2h-YR4KymVq4c6EP4iVPqOwFHd1sh9RwkH-wRpSTnjEpb3u1M777mSvT6PBXv_rTCD4w4K-jXPtUyD5bYOEirYznWQqvPvSxrd6REtPiYHfLAsBLMcpTs/s320/IMG_1713.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' ></A> </div><p>Josef S. Katz is showing off here modeling as part of the oriental rug pattern.</p><br /><div style='text-align:center;margin:0px auto 10px;'><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyGkp1IFjKkAj4gfNgDTuDWTqQpx_Ysm1U5w9_zEWYsTgrsNm0MxMWOuj_T-u91-bSTRpm1uqAKBqIsR55pGpcWrSwCpISjvzyLyDqXTvzAFXg_ZApivLc2PNgtCB6M1oIT0/s1600-h/IMG_1429.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyGkp1IFjKkAj4gfNgDTuDWTqQpx_Ysm1U5w9_zEWYsTgrsNm0MxMWOuj_T-u91-bSTRpm1uqAKBqIsR55pGpcWrSwCpISjvzyLyDqXTvzAFXg_ZApivLc2PNgtCB6M1oIT0/s320/IMG_1429.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' ></A> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-50898977706845887872007-11-07T08:20:00.000-06:002007-11-09T07:52:51.691-06:00New day and out the door in a moment. I've been doing a lot of work on the library wiki <a href="http://boscobel.pbwiki.com/">http://boscobel.pbwiki.com</a> trying out new widgets, etc. With all of these useful web 2.0 tools, the real problem becomes not, as it used to be, figuring out how to use the tool <<coding!>>, but instead how to find the TIME to use all of the tools. Here's a chat widget that will let you text me no matter which chat client you use.Just type "hello?" in the message box below and hit the enter key. If I'm online, I'll reply!</p><br />{Update 11/9: I jsut moved the chat widget to the upper left navbar, so it won't disappear into the archives as this post ages}Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-52235920276869704212007-06-09T07:49:00.000-05:002007-06-09T08:15:05.383-05:00She's back. Sorry for the long silence, this winter and spring whirled in a pile of major life changes. Everything old is new again! I'm just now beginning to feel like things are settling down.<br />Updates: Goodbye Chicago, hello Boscobel 24/7! I left the bank at the end of March and moved into this big old house for good. No more 3AM runs to catch the train to the Windy City. This is a good thing and was way overdue. Sleep deprivation and stress make you ugly inside and out :). I do miss the energy of Chicago but she's there waiting anytime for me and anyone else who wants to visit. You know who you are pals! If you're curious about Chicago, <u>Devil In the White City</u> is an excellent historical fiction about the city and the World's Exposition of 1893.<br /><br />Busy now working as the Boscobel city librarian, making time to dig in the garden, strip floors in the house and go fishing on the weekends. Writing and painting will come again soon- takes a while to rediscover thyself.<br /><br />Also have been playing online at secondlife.com, myspace.com and meez.com. This started in an effort to better understand the POV of the teens who frequent the library, but its changing my own point of view. Social networking tools present some compelling possibilites for defining new identities within the parallel universe of cyberspace. Here's our library avatar. More soon.<br /><a title="Check out this user's profile at Meez.com" href="http://www.meez.com/bwlibrarians"><img alt="" src="http://images.meez.com/user10/06/03/0603_10012172396.gif" border="0" /></a>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1164501748772172532006-11-25T18:21:00.000-06:002006-11-25T19:01:37.020-06:00<b>Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!</b><br /><br />I took a couple of days off and we've been in Boscobel since last Tuesday,can't believe that the week is gone already. Fantastic 50 degree weather with blue skies, air crisp and fresh, traffic, crowds, cars and noise banished for this while.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/1600/780920/Thanksgiving2006_Afternoon_58Degrees%2011-22-2006%206-13-19%20PM.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/320/733265/Thanksgiving2006_Afternoon_58Degrees%2011-22-2006%206-13-19%20PM.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We finally moved a lot of the extra stuff from my CHI apt up to the house so I can downsize to a studio in the city. Best of all, aside from the time for us to just be together at home, the real luxury at last of time to burn just mucking about the house. There's always something to be discovered, to fix, to improve, to imagine building, crafting, creating- this old house indeed is us. <br />David cooked Thanksgiving Dinner this year, enjoy this photo of a delicious bird that barely does it justice, gobble gobble!<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/1600/29561/TGivingBird2006%202272x1704.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/320/454963/TGivingBird2006%202272x1704.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />...Enough words for now, the "News from Lake Wobegon" is on the radio and the leftovers and a regional nut brown ale "Fat Squirrel" from New Glarus Brewery are calling my name..:)<br />Almost forgot, here in the frozen (not yet!) hinterlands of Wisconsin, the northernmost hibiscus, given to us by our next door neighbors Nancy and Ben as a housewarming gift, chose to grace us with two beautiful salmon colored flowers jsut in time for Turkey Day<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/1600/86039/TGivingHibiscus2_Side%202272x1704.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/320/138949/TGivingHibiscus2_Side%202272x1704.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/1600/413318/TGivingHibiscusI_2006%202272x1704.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4803/145/320/596931/TGivingHibiscusI_2006%202272x1704.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><b>Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!</b>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1163734120211779032006-11-16T21:25:00.000-06:002006-11-16T21:28:40.223-06:00Was jsut fiddling with you tube to get some feedback for Lulu's brother Dan. Posted a test vid (lousy quality vid of a long time ago KW Author's Coop interview) and got it working in abt 15 minutes, so now want to see if I can embed the link here. Here goes:<p><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UT3pe3_zFg0"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UT3pe3_zFg0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="350"></embed></object> </p><br />If this works I'll narrate some short Boscobel clips soon!Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1161866662928522552006-10-26T07:33:00.000-05:002006-10-26T22:13:57.396-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0665.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0665.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The house has been keeping us busy, busy, sorry about the vast empty month. Am off to work here in a bit but wanted to say hello to everyone and post a couple of my most recent photos. The Wisconsin landscape is changing into its winter garb, which I find stunning to look at (not to mention that we've already hit 19 degrees one early morning, and its not yet November!). <br /><br />Here are two shots from my workroom /studio upstairs, looking west out the rear of the house. The creek is just beyond our neighbor's bungalow, which used to be the city hospital!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0664.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0664.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br><br />The concrete stoop at the back of the house, which was cracked to begin with, gave way last week and David surfed it all the way down. This is a shot of the replacement stairs he built. Nothing that this man can't do! You can also see our woodpile- this is about 4-5 weeks supply, all red elm, oak and walnut. <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0669.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0669.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Down the hill there is a footpath that local kids take to school. This is a place where taking a shortcut across a neighbors yard is as common as it was 40 years ago in the rest of the country- fences are rare here unless there's a dog to be kept at home. I'm planning to put a meditation garden at the base of the 3 big pines that mark the back edge of the lot. One trunk is visible here <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0675.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0675.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br><br />We travelled back to the apple orchards at Gay's Mills last weekend to restock on McIntoshes, HoneyCrisps and tasty Amish chocolate maple walnut squares. The orchards look vastly different from the last time we were there (see the bumper crop pics in an earlier post), but the fall colors captivate the eye just as much as the harvest windfall did last month.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0708.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0708.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />the seasonal changes here are dramatic, cinematic even. You never lose awareness of the life of the land and creatures all around you, squirrels, rabbit, deer, chipmunks, turkey, quail, bluejays, robins and those everpresent invaders from across the Big Pond, the English starlings. The songbirds here are fatter than I have ever seen anywhere, perhaps they know something about the coming winter we humans have not yet understood...<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0693.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0693.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I haven't shared many of these, but this is also an area of working farms, dairy, corn, soy and other crops. The homesteads are storybook picturesque in this region. Here however, they're not populated by gentlemen farmers but by generations of farm families, the land and buildings hard won over years of intense labor and good business sense- or lost for a lack thereof. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0720.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0720.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <P><br />One crop that's a regional secret is the uncommon corn cob tree, we have one in the yard as you can see by this final photo. This ornamental looks best with a winter red tailed squirrel perched atop the cob, a golden kernel in each rosy little fist. The squirrel's a lucky character,if not for that bushy tail there by another name would go a rat. Shrink the squirrel, add racing strips and viola, you have the chipmunk, a clever fellow not above tormenting the local tomcat by skittering about on a low fence every morning directly across from the fern garden where tom lays in the sun to warm up. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0680.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0680.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </p>Ah, Wisconsin... Talk to you again soon pals.Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1159239267234213222006-09-25T21:43:00.000-05:002006-09-25T23:17:06.690-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0274.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0274.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We got the house!! Last two weeks have been a whirlwind. We closed on Olive's birthday, David's folks came to visit and we've been running around town meeting people ever since. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0280.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0280.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The house is massive and more than home already- can't explain why but this house in this place resonates deep inside. The hunt is over.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0278.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0278.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> On the practical side, for the first time ever I have more kitchen cabinets than I can fill, enough rooms to get lost in, a community where people still don't lock their doors and where the bar, hardware store, grocery and movie theater ($3.00!!) are a walk away. The Clawfoot tub and fireplace ain't bad either :)<br />Of course its not all beer and skittles: the refrigerator died immediately, David had to replumb a grease thickened kitchen drain from the sink to the basement and the riding mower "nothing runs like a Deere" didn't at first.<br />Nevertheless, we are home, and its a beautiful place:<br />The Wisconsin River flats<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/WisconsinRiverSandbars.2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/WisconsinRiverSandbars.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>, convergence with the Mississippi is west of us.<br />Bumper crop of apples this year,<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/AppleBonanza_2.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/AppleBonanza_2.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> notice that the tree limbs are actually breaking from the weight of the fruit!<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/AppleBonanza_1.0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/AppleBonanza_1.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Cold nights (38 degrees a week ago)have starting pushing out the fall colors, with crimson sumac the brightest by far at present. Back roads are covered in walnuts.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/WalnutRoad.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/WalnutRoad.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> That's all for now folks, cya in Wisconsin!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/ChestnutHouse_ERASign2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/ChestnutHouse_ERASign2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1157716450635791372006-09-08T06:45:00.000-05:002006-09-08T07:04:52.683-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0132.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0132.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />TGIF, even with rain predicted for the entire weekend, there's nothing like a day off! Although one learns not to expect too much wisdom to be revealed in random messages from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), this train door says it all!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/1600/IMG_0131.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4803/145/320/IMG_0131.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Speaking of timing, coffe cup's empty, its time to go get refilled, grab my coat, forget the hat, hit the bus in seconds flat. Image here is of an El station adjacent to my downtown stop, Harold Washington Library. I'll try to eventually get some pics of the bldg posted,it's an amazing bit of architecture. Carpe weekend, any good plans?Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316981.post-1157542193739115452006-09-06T06:20:00.000-05:002006-09-06T06:37:00.946-05:00<a href="http://www.dclunie.com/eshelton/wildflow/wildind.html" _target="blank"> Wildflowers of the Northeastern and Northcentral US</a><br /><br />Workday, argh, must type quickly, onto the 135 Clarendon LaSalle express bus in 45 minutes! <br />Discovered this wildflower site this morning while verifying that the fantastic red flower I took pictures of during a Wisconsin fishing trip (image below) was actually Indian Paintbrush; it wasn't :) Its Red Lobelia or Cardinal Flower, and the picture doesn't do it justice. The red is so intense its like a flame searing thru the woodland shade. Nice that we can now capture it via camera instead of picking it; apparently like so many other beautiful wild things, it was loved almost to death and now is somewhat rare. I've only ever seen it in places that required a canoe to access.<br /><br />Also learned from the wildflowers site that the Robin is the Wisconsin state bird; now that's a bit freaky, guess I really am heading home. Yay! Okey doke, gotta bolt to my cube, carpe diem!Robin@TheNatureCoasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967142870018108887noreply@blogger.com1