New Hampshire Woods

The weekend before the big snow in New Hampshire we were visiting daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.

Temperatures were moderate so we took a walk.

This moss covered boulder caught my eye.

Old stone fence lines once enclosed pastures that are now grown up with trees.  Whoever assembled this fence has long passed into history.

A waterfall in the woods with ice forming.

Handiwork of man to bridge the stream.

Dappled sun on the stream ice.

Remains of a water powered sawmill that may have milled the beams in house down the hill. 

Winter Begins!

Below freezing temperatures have frozen the pond.

The wind and floating leaves make interesting patterns in the ice.

Winter is here!

Weekend Reflections

Feeding the Squirrels

Many people don't like squirrels, but I'm not one of those.  I know they raid bird feeders, but over  the years I've managed to get the kind of feeders they can't get into so all they feed on is the dropping of sunflowers underneath.  And they haven't been a problem for me in the garden either.  I have other critters that do the digging in the beds and pots.

I do feed the squirrels bread crusts and other starch leftovers.  They have come to expect it and sometimes will come to the back door on the deck to peer in to see where I am.  Now unlike suburban and city squirrels they don't come close to me.  Once I open the door they scamper away.  As soon as I'm back inside they will investigate what I have thrown out for them.

Yesterday it was a single pancake.  Somehow the pancake got divided and two squirrels had a meal.

Squirrel 1

Squirrel 2

Squirrel 1

Squirrel 2

We have a happy co-existence.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Unusual Performance Art

Perspectives: Chiharu Shiota

On view: August 30, 2014–June 7, 2015
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
#perspectives

Japanese performance and installation artist Chiharu Shiota installs a monumental yet intimate work in the Sackler pavilion this summer. Haunted by the traces that the human body leaves behind, Shiota collects discarded shoes and notes to represent memories of lost individuals and past moments.

Shiota studied at Kyoto Seika University, Canberra School of Art, and Berlin University of the Arts with Marina Abramovic and Rebecca Horn. Her work has been presented at the Mattress Factory (Pittsburgh, 2013), Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (United Kingdom, 2012), National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2007), Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin, 2006), and MoMA PS1 (New York City, 2003), as well as the Biennials in Venice, Fukuoka, and Yokohama. Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1972, Shiota currently lives and works in Berlin.

reprinted from asia.si.edu/perspectives