Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Remembering 9/11

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Remembering 9/11: 16 years ago the world changed forever.  It is also the 5th anniversary of the Bengazi attacks.  Please take a moment to remember.  Below, i...

The Plight of the Bumble Bee

The Plight of the Bumble Bee

 

 

According to NPR, the bumble bee is endangered, and that is bad for flowers and plants that need pollinating.  The birds and the bees will not be the same without them.  I saw one today.  Last week, one was dying on the front step of my parents’ house.  It crawled pathetically, dragging one immobile leg. It touched me that something so small and fearsome still had a strong will to live.  By the time I left by the front door, the brave little bee was dead.

 

We feared bumble bees, deceptively cute with their fluffy yellow and black striped bodies.  Honey bees, too, are not as strong in numbers as they were.   A good reading of Sylvia Plath’s works or The Secret Life of Bees helps us to understand their place in the ecosystem, too.  

 

The lives of insects should give us pause.  They are tiny and intricate, yet intelligent, ruthless, and industrious.   Wilson’s studies of ants intrigue those of us who love miniatures and the miniature world.  They become more than household pests or picnic invaders.

 

Otherwise, the last flowers of summer glow fiercely in their beauty, and the insects all sing one last song, a dirge.  It’s as if they do know what is coming, and that they know they will die.  Ironically, my Dracula flower that needs sun, has withered and died on its stem.  Perhaps its perennial root is still good.  Yet, if a plant named for the ultimate vampire can’t survive in this world, one wonders if there is hope for us.

 

The ground crunches with acorns.  There is no quiet in the air; just the steady falling of them, sounding like repeating bullets.

 

Fall and Halloween are here; I’ve declared it. I’m moving on.  The last rosy golds and reds of summer glow, but will soon give way to frost, pumpkins, and cold rains.  The dying leaves will dazzle us with their beauty, gorgeous botanical corpses, they will be skeletal by Christmas.

Eclipse 2017

These are some images from the Eclipse of 2017.  The first image was done through a telescope.

Courtesy My Son, Mitchell Milani

Print I liked in our Motel Room

Darkness during the Eclipse



Eclipse taking Place on the Sidewalk, through the Trees; Note the tip of
my fashionable espadrille!

Urban Conversion

I just caught this show on PBS Create; truly defines recycle and renew.  designers, artists, and other use pallets, old tires, scraps, you name it, to create fashion and art.  One artist does solar art, similar to wood burning, but he class it Solar Art.  His last name is Papadakis.  Another artist's last name is Romero, and he creates boots and shoes with craps of Guatemalan fabrics and rubber tires.


Another challenge was to create playground equipment from old wooden shipping pallets.  If you watch, the ideas will start to percolate.

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: September Sneak Peek!

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: September Sneak Peek!: September 2017 Sneak Peek   Our cover this month features a beautiful duet of two rare and wonderful Izannah Walker dolls.   The...

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: “I Only Wanted to Wonder” at Theriault’s Summer Au...

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: “I Only Wanted to Wonder” at Theriault’s Summer Au...: “I Only Wanted to Wonder” at Theriault’s Summer Auction Press Release, Courtesy Theriault’s   Annapolis , MD -August 7, 2017   ...

Greek Salad

Fresh Greek Peasant Salad

This is the salad I grew up with; it was our late night snack and early lunch.  This one has home grown tomatoes, cucumbers, and banana peppers, Kalamata olives, feta cheese crumbles, oregano, salt, pepper, chopped green onions and lots of olive oil for dipping the whole wheat bread you see served with it.

It is great with stuffed, pickled baby egg plant if you can find it, any kind of olives, yellow tomatoes, Kaseri, paremsan, Romano, or other cheese.  Sprinkle fresh basil and cilantro on it, or chop up some mild red pepper.  Stir it up so the tomato seeds blend with the olive oil and spices to make a sauce.  Make over night, chill, and add the oil later.  It is a great Thanksgiving or Christmas dish, too.  Also great with crusty, home baked bread for dipping.  My uncle lights to mix in a tsp of Ouzo in the olive oil for a kick :)