Carolyn Wells. The Dorrance Domain. Boston, Chicago, W.A. Wells Company, 1905.
The Art of Book Design: The Dorrance Domain
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
Carolyn Wells. The Dorrance Domain. Boston, Chicago, W.A. Wells Company, 1905.
Another beautiful butterfly from Avalus.
I have no Idea what kind of butterfly this is, but it allowed me to get very close.
©Avalus, all rights reserved
©voyager, all rights reserved
The people who live in this house decorate their porch differently for each season and they always make it a splendid arrangement. It’s one of my favourite homes in the neighbourhood and it gives me a smile every time we walk past it. Their current display is quintessentially autumn in Ontario with brightly coloured, coordinating pots of mums, dried stalks of corn and pumpkins galore, big and small, in varying shades of orange. Soon the tree out front will add its yellows and golds, reds and rusts, tangerines and salmons to the show until there’s a riot of colour about the place. It’s one of a thousand things I love about the fall.
Various authors . Illustrated by Ruth M. bishop. The Mermaid’s Message and Other Stories. Springfield, Mass., Milton Bradley Company, 1919.
Today’s book is also a Get Well Soon card for Giliell, who I think is into Mermaids.
©voyager, all rights reserved
Yesterday I mentioned that Jack has difficulty seeing in the dark. I forgot to mention that Jack also has trouble being seen in the dark. His coat is such a deep chocolate brown that when he steps out of the puddles of streetlight, he all but vanishes. That’s a worry because Jack has a nasty habit of eating things he happens upon, things that are probably not good for him to eat like garbage, poop and the occasional small dead creature. Last night he managed to swallow something before I could stop him. I have no idea what it was as there were no bits of it left to identify, but I’m sure it wasn’t a healthy snack. I jammed my hand into his mouth, hoping to fish it out, but I was too late. Jack smiled, licked my fingers and walked on, leaving me standing there dripping drool and hoping for the best. So far, so good.
Margaret Barnes Price. Daddy’s Widow, A Long Island Story. New York, Broadway Publishing, 1916.
From the days before misogyny ended. Oh wait…. that still hasn’t happened yet. Never mind.
Opus has sent us something special – a lovely story accompanied by some gorgeous photos. Enjoy.
When I was growing up in north Georgia, in the early 1960s, my mother always grew moon vines. I remember that the seeds needed a lot of help to germinate – soaking, followed by nicking with a nail file. The vines were nothing special, much like many members of the morning glory family. However, unlike morning glories, moon vines bloom in the evening. Mom always grew them in pots on the front porch, to make it easier to keep an eye on them. In my hazy memories, they always opened as darkness fell. Earlier this summer I ran across some seeds and decided to see if they were as beautiful as I remembered.
The plant has had two blooms so far, with more on the way. I missed the first; was busy inside and just didn’t notice until the next morning.. I was alert the next evening, and the bloom was well on its way to opening by early evening when I checked.
I had not seen one bloom in well over 50 years and had forgotten: it was spectacular. I usually do plant photography in the studio, with lots of light and gadgets galore. This was just an iPhone, and a truly mind-boggling subject. No edits, no cropping, no tweaking.
I have nothing to add to the pictures.
Well, one thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_alba
©Opus, all rights reserved
Click through to see the magnificent flowers. [Read more…]
©voyager, all rights reserved
The days of autumn agree with me and I enjoy so many things at this time of year. I love the crisp air that energizes Jack and getting to watch day by day as rich reds and flame oranges appear in the trees. It’s time to start making hearty soups and stews and casseroles with the bounty of local produce filling the market stalls and it’s time to turn on the oven and bake things full of apples. Fall is such a wonderful season. It would be absolutely perfect… if only the days were a little longer.
It’s dark now when Jack and I take our evening walk and Jack’s eyesight isn’t good in the dark anymore. He’s easily frightened by shadows and he tends to bark at things that aren’t normally around, like all the new political signs popping up on lawns around the neighbourhood. The political signs scare me a bit, too, especially since my neighbourhood is sporting quite a few Conservative signs this election season. Nobody wants to look at that nonsense so the photo today was taken late yesterday afternoon from our favourite forest path.
I apologize to Avalus for taking so long to post these photos. I received them near the end of August when things were hectic for me and I didn’t have consistent access to the internet. They’re beautiful pictures and I’m delighted to share them today.
Here is a beautiful butterfly. It might be a popular monarch (Limenitis populi) or a white admiral (Limenitis camilla), but I am not sure. In German they are called big and small Eisvogel (Kingfisher).
©Avalus, all rights reserved
©Avalus, all rights reserved
©Avalus, all rights reserved
©Avalus, all rights reserved
Arthur Emerson McFarlane. Illustrations by Thomas Fogarty. Great Bear Island. Boston, Little, Brown and Co., 1911.
Ralph Henry Barbour. The Story My Doggie Told to Me. New York, Dodd Mead, 1914.
And so ends Dog Week. If you like the idea of theme weeks let me know because I have a few other ideas. I’m also open to any suggestions you may have so just let me know here in the comments or drop me a line at affinitysubmissions@gmail.com. The address is in the sidebar just below the colourful, percolating skull.
via: The Library of Congress, where you can read the book and see all of the charming illustrations.
Hector the Dog. New York, McLaughlin Bros. 1904
Before Rin Tin Tin, Lassie and The Littlest Hobo there was Hector the Saint Bernard and his friends out there saving lives. Click through if you’d like to see more of the art and as always you can click the photos for full size.
via: The Internet Archive
Let’s do the twist ©voyager, all rights reserved
Have a good weekend everyone. Jack and I will see you on Monday.