Widow's Endorphins: Fairies, Butterflies and Ladybugs

Widow's Endorphins: Fairies, Butterflies and Ladybugs: Summer is drawing to an end, and the enchanted garden next door is all aflutter.  The fairies are doing their best to calm the butterf...

Fairies, Butterflies and Ladybugs

Summer is drawing to an end, and the enchanted garden next door is all aflutter.  The fairies are doing their best to calm the butterflies, as the Monarchs excitedly prepare for their long flight back to Mexico. They've got butterflies!  You know - the kind you get in your tummy before a big event, or doing something new.

If you have a child, or grandchild starting school, they may have butterflies too!  Like the Monarchs, generations before them have made the journey, in a mass migration.  Like the Monarchs, the children won't be travelling alone.  Yet, the first day of school is experienced by one child at a time. It's personal.  It may be awful...or awesome!  

    

Every advice column on the subject, says to take time to visit the school with your child before the school year begins.  This way, your child learns the route to school, and has a sense of what that big building looks like on the inside.  If possible, introduce yourselves to the teacher, so that your child sees a familiar face in a classroom of strangers.

Creating an amazing first day of school may be as simple as a comforting hug, and a message to carry your child through the day, and through the years.  "You are going to learn so much, and make a difference in this world.  Remember, you are loved".  The ever cheerful Ladybug, would add, "Just be you!"

The Fuchsia ballerina fairies are whispering that Summer's carefree spirit does not have to end. Those magical days of happy adventures, and playful learning can be part of everyday life, for the rest of a child's life.  Curiosity about the world, and creative expression last a lifetime - if they're nurtured.

We all know what happens when we take a beautiful butterfly, or tiny ladybug and put them in a glass jar.  Something inside a child dies when creativity is stifled.  In the coming months and years, give them the freedom to explore, experiment and discover.  Give them new ways to express themselves, through art, music, dance, writing, baking, woodwork, or sewing. Give them a sense of security, without the walls of a glass jar. Give them plenty of hugs, and smiles...and love. 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Pink and Grey

Widow's Endorphins: Pink and Grey: The benches in the park next door are sunbleached and weathered.  Worn by years of strong sun, heavy rain and icy snow, the grey wo...

Pink and Grey

The benches in the park next door are sunbleached and weathered.  Worn by years of strong sun, heavy rain and icy snow, the grey wood grain has the look of driftwood, or old barn doors.  They're a beautiful backdrop to the muted pinks of Hydrangea blossoms.  Hipster Hydrangea!

Not to be outdone, this lovely Lespedeza Thunbergii - also known as Thunberg's Bush Clover, is at home growing next to the weathered park bench.  The vibrant pink-purple blossoms cascade in a fountain of colour in late Summer and Fall. Native to China and Japan, the blooms look like a cross between Wisteria and Sweet Peas.  They are a member of the legume family of plants, and love the sun.   

For urban photographers, the grey wood of the local park bench is as close to driftwood and barns as we get.  I love that the beauty of nature is steps from the busy streets of Canada's largest city! A perfect spot for dark roast coffee and a business meeting with myself!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: World Photography Day

Widow's Endorphins: World Photography Day: Of all my senses, I most cherish my sense of sight.  It is a gift to look into the expressive eyes of another; to see the ever ch...

World Photography Day

Of all my senses, I most cherish my sense of sight.  It is a gift to look into the expressive eyes of another; to see the ever changing colours of the evening sky; to gaze in awe at the unique colours, patterns and shapes of flower petals.

It is part of what makes us human, that we desire to share our experience of the world with others. Long ago, a friend who had gone on an Outward Bound adventure - days of which had to be hiked in isolation - said that he saw so many amazing landscapes, skyscapes, birds and animals, yet there was no one to share the glory of the moment with.  No one to nudge and say, "hey, look at this!"

All of our ancestors must have felt the same desire.  Pick a flower, press it between the pages of a book, and try to describe what it looked like when it was fresh and alive.  Draw a picture.  Paint a picture. 

  

  

Just over two hundred years ago, all that changed.  French inventor, Joseph "Nicephore" Niepce, took the first photographic image, using what was called a camera obscura.   Unlike today's cameras, his 1814 camera needed eight hours of exposure to light to produce an image.  Once the image was formed, Niepce couldn't keep it, because the image blackened the longer it was exposed to light. Now you see it, now you don't.

Then, in 1825 or '26 (or '27, depending on what you read), Niepce took what is now regarded as the world's oldest surviving photograph.  Point de vue de la fenetre du Gras, or View from the Window at Le Gras.  He used a combination of chemicals including bitumen of Judea (asphalt), and lavender oil to prevent light from further blackening the image.

The photograph has since been retouched, so that we are better able to see what Niepce saw from his window, overlooking his family estate in Burgundy.  

The first photograph of a recognizable human figure happened either by accident, or experimentation. In 1837, Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerrotype process, was photographing the street view from his high window, overlooking Boulevard du Temple (near the Knights Templar temple). The exposure was "only" 10 or 15 minutes long, however, people moving about their daily lives are blurred into invisibility...with the exception of a man who stood still long enough to be captured in the photograph.  The world's first person to have his picture taken, was a man having his boots shined on the street corner!  You can see him in the bottom left corner of the picture.  The shoeshine boy, is only recognizable as a human figure, once his customer is identified.

There's some discussion about just how accidental this shot was.  Some say, that a skilled shoeshine boy wouldn't take 15 minutes to shine one boot - what customer would want to stand that long? What's more, the figures appear to have been strategically placed at a visual point of interest, with the tree lined street pointing from the temple to their corner.

Up until 1900, photography had been the realm of wealthy inventors, artists and entrepreneurs.  The Brownie camera, invented for Eastman Kodac by Frank Brownell, brought photography to the masses.  It sold for one dollar (not including the cost of a roll of film).  Colour film came along in 1941.  The beginning of the end of those rolls of film came in 1984, when Canon introduced the first digital camera.  By 1999, the first mobile phone with a camera and video device was introduced. Now, everyone is taking pictures!  We're the most photographed people ever!

We're entering a new era of Computational Photography, which uses multiple cameras and collected data to produce 3D and HDR (high dynamic range) images to create photographs with lighting and detail which is at once super real and surreal.  

Floral photography is my natural pain and stress reliever, thus the company name Widow's Endorphins.  Hours pass, and I am blissfully focussed on a new series of floral images, and eager to share them with you!  Hey, look at this! 

World Photography Day is Saturday, August 19th.  Take your camera, or phone with you wherever you go, and record the gift that is today.

Photographs by Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre taken from Wikipedia.

Photographs Copyright:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Ain't Misbehavin'

Widow's Endorphins: Ain't Misbehavin': The Obedient Plant has a mind of its own.  This demure looking plant is a happy wanderer, and will never be confined to just a small ...

Ain't Misbehavin'

The Obedient Plant has a mind of its own.  This demure looking plant is a happy wanderer, and will never be confined to just a small corner of the garden.  If your garden has a place for everything, and everything in its place, the Obedient Plant will laughingly tell you, "you're not the boss of me!"

Although the plant is wild, and carefree throughout the garden, it behaves itself in a bouquet.  If you bend the stems, they will hold the pose.  It's that obedience, which makes it popular with florists, who use it in large scale arrangements.  The Obedient Plant, ain't misbehavin'! 

Ain't Misbehavin', the Stride/Jazz/Swing standard composed by "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks, with lyrics by Andy Razaf, was released when the plant would have been in full bloom:  August of 1929. For a song with opening lyrics, "no one to talk with, all by myself...", it's had a lot of airtime, and been perfomed by many of the greats!  

One of the best descriptions of Jazz, compares the genre to you and your friends taking a trip through the old neighbourhood.  Everyone knows the way to the coffee shop, and you each have a favourite street or park to explore on the way.  So, each friend in turn takes you on a little side trip down a lane, or across a field, through someone's backyard, past that place where they used to make that great BBQ chicken, past the community centre pool, across to the hardware store...and then, you arrive... and hangout for awhile.  Part of the magic of Jazz is in getting there.  

In the nearly 90 years since it was first released, Ain't Misbehavin' has been recorded by Fats Waller, Louis Arstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck, Django Reinhardt, Leon Redbone (my favourite version), Billie Holiday and Willie Nelson - each taking us on a trip.

If you take a roadtrip from late Summer to Mid-Autumn, you will likely see the Obedient Plant, in gardens from Quebec to Manitoba, all the way down to Florida and New Mexico.  Look for it in sunny spots, since it loves full sun.  Although it comes in pastel pinks, lavender and white, it grows tall enough to stand out: 60cm to 120cm (two to four feet).  Up close, the plant's blossoms look like Snapdragons, which is why it is also known as False Dragonhead.

You'll probably find it in gardens just like this one in Toronto, where it has the white Echinacea flowers completely surrounded!   

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Cosmos for an Eclipsed Lunar Eclipse

Widow's Endorphins: Cosmos for an Eclipsed Lunar Eclipse: With so much activity in our sky this month, it's the perfect time to gaze at one of the neglected stars in our earthly gardens: C...

Cosmos for an Eclipsed Lunar Eclipse

With so much activity in our sky this month, it's the perfect time to gaze at one of the neglected stars in our earthly gardens: Cosmos.  Sweet, simple and very independent cosmos, gets eclipsed by roses, peonies, and orchids, the stunningly beautiful, but very demanding divas of the flower world.

The word cosmos, is Greek for balanced universe.  The complete opposite of chaos and disorder. Astronomers use the word to describe the universe as a complex and orderly system.  The flower too, is balanced, with its petals arranged in opposite pairs.  When you look at a large field of cosmos, they look like stars in the Milky Way, spreading across the night sky!

  

Go ahead, ignore them!  Cosmos thrives on neglect.  These sunloving flowers are one of the easiest plants to care for, even in dry, drought conditions.  They need very little water, and don't bother fertilizing the soil.  In fact, if the soil is too rich, the leaves will take over the flowers. 

Cosmos are members of the sunflower family, however, their seeds look nothing like sunflower seeds.  They resemble tiny pine needles.  The plant self-seeds, too.  If you want to grow your own plants from seed, it's best to start later, rather than sooner.  The plant doesn't do well until after the last frost has passed, which in parts of Canada could be early June.  For once, being an early bird is not a good thing.

So, dear I-love-flowers-but-can't-be-bothered-with-all-the-work gardener, if you're beating yourself up about being a "lazy procrastinator", stop it!  Go out and buy cosmos plants (or maybe do it next year). It'll be a gardening marriage made in heaven!

I first saw cosmos while driving through the Quebec countryside.  It was blooming alongside weathered fencing, in farm fields.  The plants were higher than the wooden fences, their pink petals waving in the wind, above billowing mounds of what looked like asperagus leaves.

Quebec is a long way from the plant's origins in Mexico.  Which only proves the hardiness and adaptability of cosmos.  It grew wild in arrid regions of Mexico, accidentally making its way to the high plains of South Africa, by way of Argentinian horsefeed shipped to feed war horses during the Boer War.

Cosmos was introduced to Britain and Europe in the 1800's.  Then, it almost disappeared.  In recent years, many new varieties have been created, and last year in the UK, 2016 was named, The Year of the Cosmos.

Chocolate Cosmos is creating a sensation.  Discovered in 1860, it was last seen growing in the wild in 1878.  The deep chocolatey maroon coloured flower is gifted with a chocolate scent!  While I haven't had the pleasure of the flower's fragrance, I am told that it is, "out of this world"!

Tonight's Lunar Eclipse won't be seen in North, Central or South America.  It has nothing to do with the smoke from wildfires in British Columbia.  Not every eclipse is seen all over the world. This one will be visible in Europe, South and East Asia, Africa, Australia, and the most Easterly side of Brazil.

It's also visible from Antarctica, but only a lunatic would stand outside to watch a Lunar Eclipse from anywhere on that continent!  Tonight's Antarctic forecast is for temperatures of -55C (-67F)...with the windchill, it will feel like -74C (-101F)!

There's still plenty to see in the night sky this month:  mark your calendars for August 12th, when the Perseid Meteor Shower is at its peak, and August 21st for the Total Solar Eclipse.

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Postcards from Balconville!

Widow's Endorphins: Postcards from Balconville!: It's the August long weekend.  While many are heading to the cottage for BBQ's and lake swims, others are vacationing in town.  ...

Postcards from Balconville!

It's the August long weekend.  While many are heading to the cottage for BBQ's and lake swims, others are vacationing in town.  Montrealers have an expression for it:  passer ses vacances a Balconville.  In other words, a staycation on the balcony!  There's nothing quite like being on a balcony, surrounded by flowers!

Having a wonderful time, wish you were here!

Photographs Copyright of Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Tea Rose of the August Moons

Widow's Endorphins: Tea Rose of the August Moons: August, and my balcony tea roses are blooming for a second time this Summer.  I will gaze at their sunlit blooms by day, and after the l...

Tea Rose of the August Moons

August, and my balcony tea roses are blooming for a second time this Summer.  I will gaze at their sunlit blooms by day, and after the lavender blue of twilight turns to black, my eyes will look to the night sky, where there'll be two full moons and two eclipses this month!  A lunar eclipse takes place August 7th, and a total solar eclipse occurs on August 21st.  As if that isn't enough of a show, there are shooting stars, too.  August 12th is the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower.

During a lunar eclipse, the sun, earth and moon are aligned, with the earth in the middle.  The earth casts a shadow across the full moon.  The August full moon is known by many names: the Thunder Moon, because of the many thunderstorms during the hot and humid month of August;  the Corn Moon, because the corn crop is at its peak; and the Sturgeon Moon, for the fish caught in the Great Lakes, and other lakes in Eastern Canada and the US. 

The total eclipse of the sun, on the 21st, takes place during a new moon.  Usually, there are twelve new moons a year - one a month.  Some years have thirteen new moons, and this is one of those years.  The 13th new moon is called a Black Moon.  It is extremely rare to have a total solar eclipse during a Black Moon.

Although the eclipse occurs during a new moon,  the action takes place in broad daylight.  The sun, earth and moon are in alignment.  The moon passes between the earth and sun, totally blocking out the sun.  Everything gets dark, the temperature drops, and if you're near water, rising fog and mist could obscure your view.

A total eclipse was last seen in Borneo in 2016, and there'll be another one in Chile in 2019.  It's been nearly one hundred years since a total eclipse crossed the US, which is why there's so much excitement this year.  The best viewing will be along a path between Oregon and South Carolina. We'll be able to see it in Canada, however, it won't be a total eclipse. Vancouver will see about 90 percent of the eclipse, Toronto will see about 75 percent, Quebec City and St. John's will see less than 60 percent.

 

The lack of sunshine this Summer, nearly eclipsed the second flush of  these Chicago Peace roses, which I grow year after year on my balcony.  Not that they endure our harsh Winters, I just go out and buy a new plant each Spring! 

Chicago Peace is a Hybrid Tea Rose.  While the appearance of the rose varies greatly from grower to grower, there are characteristics unique to tea roses.  Like the moon and the sun, the hybrid tea rose rises. The rose has high centred, pointed buds.  Only one per stem.  As the petals unfurl, they form triangular points.  Hybrid tea roses have a tea-like scent. Although, one grower describes his Chicago Peace roses as fragrant, "only if you have a good imagination"! 

August is a great time for watching shooting stars, and movie stars.  The 1956 dramatic comedy, Teahouse of the August Moon, may not be your cup of tea.  The film, about the Americanization of Okinawa, Japan just after World War II, stars Glenn Ford, Marlon Brando, Eddy Albert and Machiko Kyo.  Ford plays, Captain Fisby, ordered to go to a small village to teach democracy, and build a Pentagon shaped school.  The villagers want a teahouse...and geishas.

The August Moon plays a role in this film.  Upon his arrival in the village, Captain Fisby is given a cup as a gift.  The cup is to be filled with the August Moon, representing maturity and wisdom.  Near the end of the film, the geisha, Lotus Blossom, asks Fisby to marry her.  He says she belongs in Okinawa, and he will always remember her, when the August Moon rises.

The film is credited with opening (and immediately closing) a conversation about interracial marriage.  It was made more than sixty years ago.  Even the choice of Brando (wearing two hours worth of makeup to play a Japanese villager), would likely not have been made today.  The movie, based on the Broadway play, based on the novel, was intended to satirize the American military, however, Brando's stereotypical portrayal of the clever Japanese interpretor, is politically incorrect by today's standards, and for many, is excruciating to watch.

On the other hand, film critic Leonard Maltin gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars.  As for tea, they drink a lot of homebrewed sweet potato brandy in that teahouse!

The 2007 film, August Rush is about Evan, an 11 year old orphaned musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore) searching for his birth parents, while his mother, a Julliard trained cellist (Keri "Felicity" Russell), searches for him, and his father, the lead singer in an Irish rock band (Jonathan Rhys "The Tudors" Meyers), searches for her. Their son was concieved one Summer night, under a full moon.

Robin Williams plays Wizard, a frightening, Fagin-like homeless man living in an abandoned theatre, who exploits children, and sees Evan as nothing more than a meal ticket.  He renames him August, and does everything he can to keep anyone from finding the boy - even pretending to be his birth father! It's a tearjerker with a happy ending.

Italian film producer/director Franco Zeffirelli, who's films include The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Romeo and Juliet (1968), and Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972), co-wrote and directed a movie based on his autobiography.  Zeffirelli's 1999 film, Tea With Mussolini is about an Italian boy growing up in a circle of British and American women in the years leading up to, and during World War II.  The cast is wonderful:  Cher, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith and Lily Tomlin.  The now 94 year old Zeffirelli's early years were as theatrical and dramatic as his adult life!

I am always amazed with Cher's on screen presence.  She's brilliant in Moonstruck, Canadian director Norman Jewison's 1987 romantic comedy with Nicholas Cage.  Cher plays a widowed 37-year old Italian-American bookkeeper from Brooklyn, who falls in love with her boring fiancee's passionate younger brother. It's funny and charming, fresh and timeless - even after all these years!

Enjoy the last weeks of Summer, whether you're gardening, watching old movies, star gazing, or moonstruck!


Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.