Patchett, woodblock print, and other important things

Today was a good day for many things.

Here's the Thai basil, now flowering, in the kitchen, the subject of the picture not as important as the composition. 

If you are familiar with the Japanese woodblock print, you'll recognize I am quoting the composition here. 

In general the subject is less important for an artist than the composition, color masses, and balance.  A lot of times we use photography to convey factual material but that's not all of it. The camera is an art tool, too.

Speaking of art and making it, Darrell Wakelam is again offering a great free lesson, for kids or anyone who wants to be in sunflower mode right now. 

He's a wonderful teacher, and even the youngest children do well with his lessons.

Here's a bit of straightforward photographic information: after friend's first crochet lesson: what she made.  She's going to be very good.

And here's the first sock of Sock Ministry,  Pair Five. 

Second sock now on the needles during our knitting group today, where we saw the crochet.

Home again, and a thump at the door indicates the Misfits box has arrived.

Smaller haul than usual,  all in good shape and complete. Ready for more cooking adventures.

With the weekend coming up, this is lovely to think about, Maggie Rudy and the mouse quilting bee, complete with children underfoot.

Meanwhile I'm reading a great book of essays, written in a style you can't put down, just one more, just one more..on flying, childlessness, writing, parents, dogs, friends, a great treasure of a book.

So there's Friday for you. Happy weekend!

Trip to the Preserve, ancient and modern socks

 Yesterday's surprise in the kitchen was this

The Thai basil had put out this tiny perfect six-part exotic bloom. I collect seeds every year and I've been keeping a plant going for quite a few years since my friend Lakshmi gave it to me before she went back to India.

Today being cleaners' day, I went off for a trip to give them my parking place and leave the house empty for them.

The weather is in the 50s and sunny, so I seized the day and went to our local bit of preserved nature, the Plainsboro Preserve.

Here's how it looked today

Dormant beech wood

McCormick Lake

The lake has quite a bit of ice which the sun is breaking up. From here you can hear it shifting and sounding when the water washes under it.

The beauty of ice moving and climbing as it breaks and meets the trees at the water's edge is a favorite of mine.

Inside  the beech wood. The atmosphere in here is very different from on the trails, quiet, warmer in winter, cooler in summer, the monoculture creating its own climate. There's a peace here you can't find anywhere else.

And I found that the sneaky route I've been taking for years, back to my car, along the field parallel to the main trail and separated from it by trees and hedges full of butterflies, is now an official trail

If you walk it, they will come. And name it

Here's the start, looking down to the lake before turning right and heading back.

Lovely trip today.

And once home to a clean house, yay, a thump at the front door, and the eagerly awaited yarn had arrived. 

The Sock Ministry is officially open. 

And, just to remind us  of the long tradition we're in here

Mine will be for the homeless, cared for by the Sisters of St John Baptist in north Jersey.

Aside from massive programs in a lot of social contexts, including turning over a section of their property to grow food for the food bank, and hands on social work and advocacy  ministry, the sisters who can knit also spend their precious "free" time knitting to donate. 

Yarn is donated to them, and they set to nunfully. They're big on nun puns, so they'd like this.

Anyway I found that none of them can knit socks, an urgent need, so I said that will never do, I'll do some. And here we are.

Now I have to go cast on, once I decide which color to start with.