Andrew Lang. The Olive Fairy Book. Illustrations by H.J. Ford. London, New York, Longmans, Green, 1907.
This week’s Andrew Lang fairy book is the second to last book of the series and it’s filled with whimsy and charm. There are dragons and serpents, oxen and camel, spiders and lots and lots of birds. I’ve included all the full-page drawings because each of them spoke to me in one way or another.
Rudyard Kipling & Daniel De Foe. Little Blue Book #145, Great Ghost Stories. Little Blue Books, Girard, Kansas, 1924.
via: The Internet Archive
Don’t blame me for the used neologism, it is courtesy of Eric D Red.
But I like it.
I also like what can be done with epoxy resin. I am in no hurry to jump on this bandwagon, but I do have it somewhere on the back of my mind.
Edward A. Rand. All Aboard for Sunrise Lands. Chicago, Fairbanks and Pub. Co., 1884 [c1882]
This little buddy has climbed out of a hollow brick yesterday when I was processing dog-daisies into chemical weapons against wooly aphids infesting my bonsai trees (long story).
It was kind enough to remain in place for quite some time, allowing me to take pictures from all possible angles.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
©voyager, all rights reserved
There’s a robin’s nest in the eaves over my front porch, and I haven’t got the heart to evict them. Instead, I provide them with a birdbath and a regular supply of mealworms. In return, they’re cheerful to have around and provide me with lots of pleasant chirping and peeping and poop. I could do without the poop, but it’s a package deal, so I try not to grumble about the mess. It cleans up quickly enough with the hose.
This morning I heard one of the young birds making a fuss, so I went to the door expecting to see one of the parents out hunting in the yard. Instead, I found this little fellow sitting on the arm of my wicker rocking chair, looking a bit dazed and confused about what to do next. I watched him for about 20 minutes from inside the house as he quietly looked all around, trying to process this new perspective on the world. He spread his wings a few times, and I could see he had his flight feathers but hadn’t quite figured out how to use them. His mama was watching over him from a nearby tree, so I shut the door and walked away from it, hoping that mama would feel safe enough to come to his aid. Over the next 2 hours, I checked on him from the window, and the only thing that happened was that he took a nap. That seemed like a good opportunity to sneak out the side door with my camera, and I took a few snapshots through the railing before leaving him to the care of his still hovering mama. The next time I went to the window to check on him, he was gone. Bye, Bye, Birdie. Thanks for cheering me up 0n day eleventy-seven of the pandemic.
©voyager, all rights reserved
©voyager, all rights reserved
Maria Edgeworth, Jane Taylor, Mrs. Barbould Edited by M.V, O’Shea. Waste Not, Want Not, and Other Stories. Boston, D.C. Heath & Co., 1904.
Mildred Kennedy. The Forest Beyond the Woodlands. New York, A. A. Knopf, 1921.
This week I’m sharing a fascinating close-up look at something that most of us view from a distance. It’s a photo essay by Springa73, documenting the progress of a Red Maple between March and late May. The red maples in my neighbourhood are large and stately, but I’ve never stopped to notice how beautiful their many stages are.
Over the past couple of months, I have been taking photos of the developing buds, flowers, seeds, and leaves of a red maple tree (Acer rubrum) in my yard. I thought that they might be of some interest to Affinity readers. They show the budding out of the tiny red flowers on the red maple tree, then the development of the winged seeds as the leaves bud out and develop in their turn.
©Springa73, all rights reserved
Last week we saw this fuzzy clutch of cygnets all huddled together in the nest. Today we get to see them venture forth and go for a swim. Thanks to Anne, Cranky Cat Lady and her daughter Emily Davis for sharing them with us.
©Emily Davis, all rights reserved
©Emily Davis, all rights reserved
©Emily Davis, all rights reserved
©Emily Davis, all rights reserved
T.S. Arthur. The Prattler, Picture and Storybook for Boys and Girls. Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1876.
Today when I went into the workshop I had to light the fire because, despite reasonably sunny weather, the temperatures are really low. And this little fellow was sitting on one piece of wood and he gave me quite a start, for I have mistaken him for a wasp. Which is the point of its coloration, of course.
Unfortunately, I was only able to make these two pictures. The beetle was quite sluggish in the cold workshop, but when I took it outside in the sun, it warmed up quickly and flew off before I could make more with better camera settings. I hope my entomologist friend will be able to identify the species. Preliminarily I think it is some species of longhorn beetle that has emerged from a pupa in firewood.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Andrew Lang. The Crimson Fairy Book. Illustrations by H. J. Ford. London & New York, Longmans, Green and Co., 1903.
This week we’re looking at Andrew Lang’s Crimson coloured fairy book. I had a terrible time choosing the artwork to showcase in this post because all of it is wonderful. H.J. Ford’s full-page drawings are full of whimsy, and each one has some element or another that makes it worthy of a look, so I’ve included all of them for you to see. Enjoy. [Read more…]