Betsy Hilda Talks

Autumn Snakeroot
Actaea simplex ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ (Atropurpurea Group)
(ak-TEE-uh) (SIM-plecks)
Ranunculaceae

This plant is just stunning in bloom. I have been trying to get a good picture of it for weeks but I really missed the full bloom stage of my little patch. I was happy to see it at the Bartlett Arboretum on Sunday and it was just starting to bloom. The conditions for flower photography kind of stunk as there was a stiff breeze and even though it was one o’clock in the afternoon it was drearily dark out. I tried a couple of settings and ended up using the auto mode of the camera by accident. I have been manually focusing 90% of my macros and I decided to use the auto-focus. It came out fairly well considering I didn’t know what I was doing. The fragrance of the flowers, it was a stand of about 8 plants, was very pleasing. So was the color of the flowers and buds. The foliage, which a lot of people rave about, was a little ratty, just like mine at home. I guess if it gets too much sun or dries out the foliage isn’t great. They always seem to flower nicely though. It is sometimes a little slow to emerge in the spring but it has the rest of the season to develop. Just a little warning this is an expensive, hard to find and slow to develop plant. It is worth taking the time for.

(Synonyms: Black Cohosh, Bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa ‘Purpurea’)

What’s the best part about the new romantic comedy I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With? Clearly that it’s written and directed by Curb Your Enthusiasm star Jeff Garlin, and stars him, Sarah Silverman, Richard Kind, Amy Sedaris, Bonnie Hunt, and other genuinely funny people, so it could turn out pretty decent. What’s the worst part? That I mistakenly assumed the title I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With referred to the desire by the overweight, when eating cheese, to actually consume human flesh with the cheese. When the line is used in the trailer, it ends up making far more sense.

Wow! You have to see these photos by Rinko Kawauchi. So dreamlike and lovely, and the square format is exquisite.

People often say that I have a child’s eye. For example, I stare at ants gathering around sugar, or when I seek shelter from the rain, I gaze upon snails. These are things which you often do when you are a child aren’t they? I have a very similar sensibility to that.

I prefer listening to the small voices in our world, those which whisper. I have a feeling I am always being saved by these whispers, my eyes naturally focus on small things. Even when I walk around Shibuya, I find myself running towards a little batch of flowers. I find comfort in them. I think this is a very normal sensitivity, on the contrary to what people may think, I think its sound. But of course the world we live in is not only made up of grass growing by the road, it is composed by lots and lots of other elemets and so I do also take pictures of many other things. Just taking flowers is not interesting. I experience the world with a feeling of equilibrium and I think it shows in my works.

– Rinko Kawauchi

I adore how photography brings us inside someone’s world. Many thanks to alec soth for sharing them.


http://thatwaszen.blogspot.com

That Was Zen, This Is Tao:

A Journey in Haiblog by An Xiao

Welcome to 4newsonly.net. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!