solitude

  a picnic table awaits in a quiet little grove in Eden Park, Cincinnati


iPhone photo by me  ©  2011   all rights reserved

landing

A butterfly lands on a visitor's hand during a butterfly exhibit at Krohn Conservatory.


See my last POST for more butterfly photos.

photo by me  ©  2011   all rights reserved

flight

I'm fascinated by butterflies and inspired because I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior, and..it's gardening season!

monarch

nectar table at The Butterfly Farm in St. Martin

People are always enchanted with the butterflies during the  exhibit at Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I love watching the interaction.  (The first photo of this POST is of a butterfly on a girl's nose!)

LINKS:
The Butterfly Farm  St Martin (Caribbean) --Monarch butterfly caterpillars need milkweed plants on which to feed.  Find out how, in the US, you can get free milkweed seeds.  There is a link to a USA state by state guide of where butterfly exhibits can been seen. 
Krohn Conservatory
Monarch Butterfly website --lots of information
The Butterfly Site --awesome site with a plethora of information.  Look under "Gardening" for a list of plants liked by a variety of species of caterpillars and butterflies.  There are links to butterfly varieties found state by state in the Us as well as other countries.
Barbara Kingsolver

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "F." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


Thank you, Ms Jenny, for hostessing another round!

  
photos by me  © 2010 and 2011   all rights reserved

earthships

In 2007, on vacation, my husband and I drove between Taos and Albuquerque, New Mexico and saw a few very unusual houses.

An Earthship is a type of passive solar house, sustainable  in design and construction, made of natural and recycled materials designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture.  Michael Reynolds began designing this type of house upon graduating with a degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati in 1969.  He now builds all over the world.  Earthships are generally off-the-grid homes, minimizing their reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels.  Earthships are built to utilize the available local resources, especially energy from the sun.  Houses grow their own food and dispose of waste by recycling--quite ingenious.

"The earth is embracing the building...as a mother holds a baby." 

~Michael Reynolds 

This is quite a fascinating subject.  The business Earthship Biotecture offers internships, seminars, events, nightly rentals, and even kits to build your own!

Below is the plan of the custom model The Phoenix from the Earthship website.  This 3 bedroom, 2 bath house rents nightly.  It has a fish pond, birds, a jungle greenhouse, and grows food.

The Phoenix Custom Earthship--source

LINKS:
◊ interview  on youtube with architect Michael Reynolds, creator of Earthship Biotecture with a tour of an earthship 
◊ movie on youtube:  Garbage Warrior--documentary of the earthship movement
◊ "Sustainable Build" article on building green
◊ an account --an intern builds an Earthship
◊ Earthship Biotecture
◊ "Albuquerque Journal" article about students worldwide learning to build Earthships --with photos

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "E." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


Thank you, Ms Jenny, for hostessing another round!

  
photos by me  © 2007   all rights reserved

tranquility

corner of a garden in Ault Park, Cincinnati, Ohio

Wordless Wednesday/ Wordy Wednesday--where I linked up: 

  The Art and Tree Chatter of Aquariann

  (yellow Asiatic lilies)

Create with Joy

(Magellan--the Laundry Hunter)

 

 
photos by me © 2014  all rights reserved

droplets of rain

It's been raining so much lately!  The plants are loving it along with lots of thirsty and hungry creatures.

A rain drop nestles in the center of a kalanchoe.

Rain droplets drip from the edges of this not-yet-quite-opened lily.

a convention on Solomon's seal leaves

purple clematis with lime leaves

A daddy long legs traverses a rain splattered field of leaves.

Rain droplets festoon a bevy of crimson lilies.

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "D." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


Thank you, Ms Jenny, for hostessing another round!

  
photos by me  © 2014   all rights reserved

colors

chlorochrous--green 

"my backyard"


 croceate--saffron colored

coreopsis 


celadon--pale green

Endless Summer hydrangea 


coccineous--bright red 

knock out rose 


chrysochlorous--golden green, greenish gold

I don't remember the name of this plant.  The shape and color of the leaves add interest to the garden.  It does send up a spike of tiny white flowers--rather insignificant.  
See the bug?  



caesious--pale bluish or grayish green

willow 

I took all these photos while wandering around my yard earlier today with the exception of the first picture.  That was taken a couple weeks ago while exploring the woods behind my house.

It was fun to discover some new "C" words for colors.

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "C." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


Thank you, Ms Jenny, for hostessing another round!

  
photos by me  © 2014   all rights reserved