Poor (Wo)man's Asparagus 

available

above and here

please bear with me as i navigate how 

to be a merchant.

i hope you will like the book!

book news

i'm in it,

 along with loads of wonderful book artists: 

aimee lee, malissa jay craig

to name two of my favorites! 

~~~

and

~~~

Poor (Wo)man's Asparagus

is available for sale

(once i sort out paypal)

printed ink jet,

(red or green or umber)

at home 

it's about how i learned milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

white pages, green mottled cover

and a sample of milkweed paper inside

~~~

marks made

this mark, 

asphalt crack was extended by something 

or someone

to create a lovely loop

which wouldn't photograph well

 and these weatherd shingles

seen backwards below

hold on to their red pigment

 a strange surface

marked by water and pressure

 little jude marks

 and green 

green!!!

coming on.

nesting close by is a crow family, 

they are silent coming and going from the nest, 

but i know not precisely but almost, 

where they are.

i expect lots of happy crow babies soon!

some people make marks

then they make tracks

high tailing away.

potential

spring is all about

potential:

safflower

viola

bloodroot

trillium

are waiting for me

are waiting for me 

are waiting for me

but they won't wait forever.

and imagination

procreation

recreation

creation

happy!

there's indigo and safflower seedlings coming on

oh, and black holyhocks.

nestlike

 i keep being surprised

waking early

the sound of many coyotes, the pups

all hollering for what sounds like joy

or fun

or cussedness

 this nest is actually not,

instead it's

hibiscus rootbound

and finally freed

 around the garden i find

violets, violas, pansies

faces contented with their variety

 bee balm.

and i napped today on the porch

 until i was disturbed by a

male ruby throated hummingbird

who

 in his great excitement

 ardor

 whatever was going on

 for she, too, was flying about

 he got into the screen porch 

bold enough until i

in my human wisdom

tried to help

 and then i was obliged

to go upstairs to find

the insect net

which was luckily

locatable 

 and brought his frenzy to a close

 and released him to find 

this spruce

 where generations of hummers have hung out

nested

and probably raised chicks

nests which

 i have never seen

test post

a nifty library

so yesterday was hannah's

orientation at syracuse university's bird libraary 

special collections

peter verheyan gave us a tour, fed us

and off they toodled, and

off i tootled

 i love how the old paper sucks up ink

and the desire unerstand

the natural world

is with us still

(and we still understand so little)

 vovelles are my favorite parts

of kinesthetic books

 see how this on sits on the page

 with a tiny bit of added yellow pigment

 1574

 and there was this small psalter

with an amazing illuminated letter

 on vellum

 see how it rests in the interior

 then there were these funny birds

after a tasty lunch

good conversation with 

six people who love books as objects

as well as their bookness,

i spent time with this stack of books.

 look at those lines,

the gold leaf

and below the green pigment

hannah starts work in a week or so.

go to see the power & the piety

the world of medieval and renaissance europe

at the 

special collections research library

a little jewel of an exhibit.

number 600

this is my 600th post

omg as my students will write (once only)

over at the new place, down the road a piece.

 this is one of my new neighbors

 three

 isn't this one magnificent?

and i recently got this:

 a fine package

from asao shimura

who taught me japanese and pina papermaking

long ago

at carriage house

~~~

a day at bittersweet farm

sunshine cheeks

stretched muscles

dirt and bugs and worms

and happiness.

~~~

happy 600!

i am terribly long winded!

moonness play

moon 

mood

mooney

mooned 

woo

wound 

 wound

 down

fall down 

falling down 

 downed

drowned

 drowned in

 

drowned in moonness

down in the moon

from next door:

moooooo!