Here is another slide taken by my father, W. Keith Hartell at the New York World’s Fair. The large bronze statue is called the Rocket Thrower, and you can see the Unisphere in the background under the aerial tramway.
Look at the fashion. Most ladies are wearing dresses in this picture. This was normal for this time period.
My last post on my tree of thoughts featured a picture of my great grandmother named Hadassah (aka Hattie.) I found her picture in some scans of my father’s old slides. I had gone through his slides and selected many to scan and copy onto a compact disc so he could view them as a slideshow. He was beginning to suffer from dementia, and I wanted him to remember his family as long as he could. I did this back in the fall of 2007. He passed away in June of 2013. I made other CDs for the rest of my family.
We had gone to the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. I am not sure which year we attended. I had scanned slides of the Unisphere, the Rocket Thrower (which was a large bronze statue), and this picture which features my mother, brother, sister and myself. Behind us you can see part of the Chrysler exhibit featuring a pentagram inside a pentagon. They called this logo a Pentastar. Their marketing under this new logo was extremely successful.
The Pentastar reminded me of a starfish. A five pointed star is everywhere in nature. Here is another example of humans profiting off of nature’s design. It happens all the time. And nature copies itself repeatedly. Written history claims that Pythagoras brought the five pointed star to the prominent position it holds today.
The starfish you see here in this picture were inherited from my mother-in-law. I took this picture with my phone today. I wanted to show how when you turn the starfish over you can see the Chrysler star very clearly, and the only difference is the background is another star rather than a pentagon.
Another example of a pentagram in nature is an apple. If you cut an apple in half along its equator then the patterns of the seeds is revealed… a perfect five-pointed star or pentagram.
The pentagram has been adopted by many different groups and given many different meaning.
I found a scan of an old slide my father took long ago. Here is my great-grandmother Hadassah, "Hattie", Hartell. The toddler sitting in her lap is my brother, David. I had not been born yet when this picture was taken. She did live long enough for me to meet her. She was born in 1876 and died in 1965. She was a DAR member. I decided to post her picture when I read that she married my great-grandfather, Albert Conrad Hartell, on this day, November 28, 1900. This would be their wedding anniversary if they were both still alive! (123 years ago from today.) I have a vague memory of meeting her when she was living in a nursing home, and I was very young around the age of 5.
Myrtle was the name of my grandmother, my mother’s mother. She had been given a Myrtlewood vase. It is pictured above, and it is labeled beneath its base. I inherited it from her.
While researching Myrtlewood I discovered that in Hebrew the name Hadassah means “Myrtle tree.” I was surprised to learn this because my father’s paternal grandmother was named Hadassah, though mostly she was called Hattie. So, it turns out there was a Myrtle on both sides of my family tree.
There are many different species of Myrtle trees.
The vase is most likely made from Oregon Myrtlewood. The Latin name of this particular tree is Umbellularia californica, and its common names are Bay Laurel, Pepperwood, or Oregon Myrtlewood.
This Myrtlewood tree can grow very tall in the wild. It is a slow grower and it may take 120 years to reach full size. They have a deep tap root system so they can regrow as shoots from stumps or nurse logs. This strong root system helps to regenerate the species in the wild.
Myrtlewood can be found in a wide variety of colors and grain patterns, and it is considered one of the world’s most beautiful woods.
The Oregon Myrtle (or California Laurel) is neither a Laurel tree nor a Myrtle tree. The broadleaf evergreen grows only on a narrow strip of inland land along the Pacific coast between northern California and southern Oregon.
The aroma is very distinctive, and some local cooks use the leaves, which are similar to bay leaves. It is said that the Myrtlewood leaves taste spicier and you will not forget their aroma
Read about Myrtlewood money here. https://www.opb.org/artsandlife/series/history/myrtlewood-money-north-bend-oregon-great-depression/
November is a month of heritage, gratitude, and grief. Here is a picture taken in 2005 during a helicopter tour of Mesa Verde National Park. The ancestral Pueblo people, that built these cliff dwellings, lived in the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. They made their homes here long before Europeans explored North America. They moved on for unknown reasons. They left behind these weather worn structures and no written record of explanation.
History is full of rising and falling that builds layers all around us. We live in the moment of working to survive our place in the world. Each moment of reaching out and connecting to our families,friends, and even strangers is what breathes life and meaning into our world. Life, death, decay, and renewal are all around us. The constant cycling moves the world forward through time. We seek to understand our place in all these life changing events. My journey through grief taught me that we must make peace with this cycling process. The holiday of Thanksgiving is celebrated or mourned depending on one's personal perspective. Giving thanks to God and having gratitude helps me to see the blessings in my life, and make peace with the inequities of life. Focusing in on the food helps to shift my mind away from the chaos beyond my control. I cannot bring world peace, and yet I can make a divine dinner and give thanks for my blessings.
Here is a young mockingbird that used to make my garden its home. Mockingbirds have striking yellow eyes. This one used to trick me outside my bedroom window by mimicking my alarm clock. It was also talented at mimicking a cat's meow. I named it my Sterlingbird and took this username as my own on an online garden message board. This particular bird is long gone from my garden, and I no longer have this username. However, I remember the inspiration it gifted me.
Battered by the season this Echinacea is a survivor. Her pinkness stands out among the brown decay. The feel of a last good-bye is in the air. I had to take her picture in all her ragged glory.
This week I saw the best looking Calabaza pumpkins (aka West Indian pumpkins) at Fresh World. I did not buy one, though I did buy a butternut and two acorn squashes. Above you can see their holiday decorations outside the store. I have been thinking about filling a cornucopia. I ended up finding two of them in our garage.
This display of colorful scarecrows got me to thinking about the history of scarecrows. Their history dates back to ancient Egypt, though I am sure they did not look like these. Then of course, the word scarecrow makes me think about the life-like one in The Wizard of Oz. He wanted a brain, though he proved that he was not brainless through his actions. Confidence in his abilities was what he really needed.
Scarecrows of one kind or another have been used by many cultures throughout history to protect their harvests from the bird thieves and bird vandals. This has been a battle since humans began to cultivate the land and grow crops.
The scarecrows above do not look very scary and I wonder how effective they would be in protecting crops. I have read that it depends on which species of bird you are trying to scare. Scarecrows can be effective against blackbirds and a few others. Scarecrows are fun and can be stylishly dressed to make a decorative statement despite their ineffective ability to scare off birds.
Yesterday late afternoon I was busily cleaning around my house when I looked out the kitchen window and saw a big hawk on a bird feeder pole. My cell phone camera was used through the kitchen window with screen, so the picture is not a good one. The size of the hawk compared to the feeders is worth showing you.
My cell phone camera does not begin to compare to my DSLR camera that has been packed away.
I unpacked my Nikon camera and had to change the macro lens to a longer lens. By the time I got back to the window, the hawk was gone. I will post a picture of another hawk taken through my dining room window with screen during a snowstorm using my Nikon, so you can see the difference.
As you can see the hawks look different. The one from yesterday did not have any orange or rust coloring. It was strictly brown and white and its eyes were yellow and not orange. I believe the one on the bird feeder is the same one I saw a week or two ago in the crepe myrtle closest to our patio. I did not get a picture that time.
I have pulled out my Gitzo tripod and am seriously considering setting it up in our dining room. I used to always have my Nikon and tripod set up ready to take pictures. It seems like this was in another life. Perhaps I can recreate that same state of readiness for this winter season.
In any case, the point I wanted to make here is that the Hawk spreads much more terror among the backyard birds than a scarecrow. The hawk can kill and does kill with a deadly swiftness. The birds did not return to our feeders until this morning.
Will we get snow this winter(2023-24) in Sterling, Virginia? It has been a long time since we have had a snowy winter. I am hoping that this winter breaks the spell. All pictures here were taken in my backyard in Sterling,Virginia. I am not a bird expert, however, I do know most of the birds that visit us. This morning when I woke up and was making coffee I spotted a tufted titmouse picking at one of the suet feeders (that I did not think was getting much attention.) It earned its merit this morning with the tufted titmouse. A little later in the morning when I was outside doing a little work on the pond, I spotted a Vireo. I was surprised when it came so close to check out the pond. They have rarely visited my garden, and when they have they normally stay in the tree top area. This was my best definite identification I have made. I have never been able to capture them on film. This is the time of year they visit my garden. My guess is that they are migrating at this time.
I went looking for a cornucopia basket that was a leftover from a previous Thanksgiving centerpiece. It was hanging up above a box of inherited Avon products that had once been my mother-in-laws. Most of her products had been given away long ago. Two hand selected boxes were left. Out of curiosity I looked in it, not remembering what I had set aside.
These green fish soap were within two boxes of three each. They had been well-preserved in good packaging. “Why not use them?” I thought aloud. My experience has been that many people frown upon receiving old gifts like these. So, we will use them for ourselves.
I like the idea of cleaning our hands with fish shaped soap. There is lots of symbolism related to fish. The Greek word for fish is “ichthys.” I have read that this symbol was adopted in biblical times as code by persecuted Christians. Though, the fish symbol means different things in different cultures. I will choose to use this soap, which is a practical product, to cleanse not only my hands but also to try and cleanse my mind and thoughts of negativity. I will say a little prayer of hope for my days to be filled with good intentions toward all, and to persevere through any difficulties with patience and a listening heart.
movingforwardslowly 