I love photographing rudbeckia (black-eyed susans); they are like sculptures in the winter snow. To achieve the see-through border, I added a 9px stroke to the Photoshop layer that had the sepia effect. Since the layer had an opacity lower than 100%, the border is also transparent. The default stroke effect is a bright red color; using the eye-dropper tool, I selected a color from within the photograph for the border.
This is a lovely blue jay I photographed about one week before the storm. And this is the post I wrote last week about a calf, a swallow and the winds, but I never hit publish until Monday morning, right before going out to shovel.
Here are rose hips during the early hours of the storm on Sunday afternoon.
Our street during the snowstorm
Our street the next morning – lots to shovel
My neighbor’s tree
Piles of snow one day later
I’m so grateful I live in a tiny little borough that plows its streets. Yay to everyone in Borough Hall or the Department of Public Works who ensures that this happens!
For more Nature Notes:
Snuck into my daughter’s room and took some shots.
The theme for Thursday Challenge is TOYS (Dolls, Games, Stuffed Animals, Athletic Equipment, Construction Toys, Art Supplies,…).
Chanukah is over, but I still have photos to share. My husband’s chanukiah has a spot for the shamash, the candle helper that lights the oil wicks underneath. It was nice that the chanukiah was built with a place for a candle, but did the designer have to put the candle directly above the oil cups so every year it bends over like this? It would have made more sense to put the candle holder on the side, although it would take away from the chanukiah’s “classic” look.
Two weeks ago I started a little dramatics group for my daughter and her friends. Some background on this theater group: my daughter had been asking me about drama classes. All the drama classes in our area are a distance away, and I knew that even if I could get her there, we would have problems with Saturday performances. Since I had taught drama way back when (in the early 1980’s!) and had taken one class in creative dramatics in college, I thought: I can do this! My daughter asked all her friends, most were interested, but only a few could actually come.
We are working on scenes from Ramona and Beezus by Beverly Clearly. If you have read any of the Ramona books, feel free to share your favorite chapters or scenes in the comments.
Here are a few drama exercises:
I hope these posts about drama (I set up a whole new category called drama on this blog) and theater exercises can be helpful to parents or teachers who want to try some acting with their kids. These exercises can be excellent therapy for kids; what a release to be able to talk about (or act out) feelings and relationships after a whole day of book learning.
When I was in college, we used Viola Spolin’s book Improvisation for the Theater. My old copy is still guiding me as I set up this class for my daughter and friends.
My daughter took this photo of Baby at Play (1876) by Thomas Eakins at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. last summer.
Watch the film: Pierre’s Reckless Adventure
My favorite comment this week by Mrs. S: “The Sephardim follow the Shulchan Aruch (R’ Yosef Karo), who – in this case – follows the Ashkenazi Tosafot. Meanwhile, the Ashkenazim follow the Rama (R’ Moshe Isserles), who – in this case – follows the Rambam (Maimonides – not the Ramban (Nachmanides)). This is unusual, because in general, the Shulchan Aruch tends to follow the Rambam, and the Rama doesn’t.” Got that?
Today was the first full day Ilana-Davita had her new header (that I designed) on her blog. And she wrote the post above to introduce the header.
Thank you, Ilana-Davita, it was a pleasure to have you as a client.
The Highland Park Farmer’s Market is over for the season, but the memories remain.
This one of pumpkins is a bit more abstract than the apples photo. It’s also more washed out, but I like the painterly quality. Some of us have a hard time picking one, whether it’s an apple or a photo.
This week’s Thursday Challenge is FOOD (Farmers Market, Vegetables, Meat, Cooking, Restaurant,…).
Chanuka is over, until next year, but I still have photos to share! This one is of the shamash; my husband and my three children are all holding their own as they say the bracha (blessing) before lighting the candles. The shamash is the helper and does not count as one of the 8 lights of Chanuka.
Yesterday I went to a lovely party. Some child had taken a whole plate of fancy chocolate candies and had nibbled exactly one bite out of each one. My friend the hostess was not amused. She considered putting up a sign: for adults only. I said maybe the parent should eat the candy if the child wants to try. Of course, then my daughter took one bite of a chocolate covered marshmallow candy without realizing it was marshmallow, and I had no interest in eating it. What do you think?
I loved this: do you hear in your house – “Are you going to put that on the blog?“