oh frabjous day, callooh, callay,

julie, dear julie, is coming to stay

if you're a guest at this tea party

you must drink rain water from your wine goblet,

sip duckgrass stew from the soup tureen,

sit attentively on cushions of mint and clover,

and never turn your back on the dormouse.

(art installation, johnston, rhode island)

a particular welcome to the table to new followers:

abe, frederique, john & ellen

at the roger williams natural history museum in providence, rhode island

wild animals repose

birds perch within victorian folding screens

ships of glass sail on seas of sunlight.

mountain laurels bloom exuberantly,

fringing indian pond

like water-creatures wriggling their star-kissed fingertips in the air

stairway to heaven?

nope,

just the ruins of madame sherri's 'castle,' chesterfield, new hampshire

welcome new followers: andrew, felipe, julian

i'm on the road for several days.

have a great weekend everyone.

the architects of flowers must, among many things, consider

the trembling balance of butterflies

and the powdered weight of bees.

is there anything more disarming

than a nearsighted fox?

but be mindful of your chicks...

a fox is a fox,

even in top hat and tie.

is this an ancient ruin?

musicians, poets, and pretenders,

all have passed this way.

lightning struck the stone steeple,

leaving a blackened scar.

no one prays here anymore...

unless you count the girl in her peasant skirt longing

for an invitation to dance.

the church, main street, brattleboro

happy father's day

from one of the kids.

welcome to new followers, be you fathers or not:

photographe83, ricardo, isasfotoblog, and domin

nature choreographed a joyous ballet

in wells fountain

when the sun returns

it illuminates every petal, every facet of glass, every glad heart in the morning kitchen

on monday i ate my first local strawberries of the season

which is your favorite...strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries?

lately the valleys

have clothed themselves in veils

rain soaked the brown earth

and stroked the patient beasts in their pastures

the rain-glazed road from brattleboro to canada...

is a silver ribbon threaded through a velvet green gown

sometimes it's good for the photographer to be silent

and let the image do the talking

how much we miss at 35 miles per hour...

such gifts await the walker.

what do hungry llamas eat?

every leaf within reach

does shooting into other people's windows

make one a photographer in search of a subject,

a pervert subject to criminal action,

or something else all together?

i don't expect to find an answer to today's question quite so easily (unless bob chimes in)

but in response to yesterday's question about red barns:

(this explanation came from a site called wiki answers)

Answer:

Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?

In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red.

• Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.

Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.
As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.
Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used.
My dad and grandpa have been farmers their entire lives and they used to tease us kids that the barn was red because it was the most noticeable when the snow was falling sideways and you could barely see because of the sleet and hail.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_are_barns_traditionally_painted_red#ixzz1OiKPloLx

did you ever wonder

why so many barns are painted red?

bird cage with rhododendron

someone has let all the birds free.

with exuberance they sing in the dawn.

when sandy came to share dinner with us she brought

a package too beautiful to open.

but i did open it to find...

peppermint-candycane fudge

(oh, baby).

sandy also brought a 'tick kit' because the little buggers frequently

hitch a ride home with me from the woods.

inside the little jar: ordinary dish soap.

instructions: saturate a cotton ball with said soap,

hold it on top of the burrowing tick for 15 seconds,

remove cotton ball...the tick should come away with it.

now can you think of two more thoughtful hospitality gifts?

beautiful girl, beautiful cow, beautiful day

10th annual strolling of the heifers

brattleboro, vermont

june 4, 2011

one afternoon, for two hours, every year

morris dancers bring 15th century dance

from old england to new england.

you, my dear friends, are so very clever.

have a wonderful weekend.

the magic

of the afternoon

embraced

dancers

and

spectators

alike.

gravity is defied

as kerchiefs flutter

swords scrape

sticks clap

and dozens of bells chime with each step

theme day: construction

the marina, a favorite among locals and guests,

after a devastating fire one year ago

rises from her ashes

like a phoenix.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants