A tsuba, a decorative sword guard on the hilt of Japanese samuari swords.

Bethanne's Pottery

Photo from a spread done in a Russian design magazine of Bethanne's apartment in Istanbul and her amazing pottery collection.

Another shot of her collection of decorative plates. Her apartment is so unique and colorful and really reflects her love of design.

A Few Days in Sea Isle

Even at the shore it was hot this week, but getting up early to take some photos takes the edge off. First a walk to the bay, some early fisherfolk had beat me to it, but it was pleasant anyway. Not to be deterred, I headed for the beach and found a few things to snap.









A sandy blue lifeboat is always a good subject.

And finally a view through the lifeguard stand. Give me an empty beach any time.

Beyond Beauty

Longwood in early spring. A willow just coming into leaf down near the Italian Water Garden. Sunday April 10 was a bit cool and overcast, not much was in bloom yet but the promise is everywhere. Give it a few more weeks and this place will be popping. I went to hear a lecture on "Beyond Beauty" which was given by the head of the horticultural staff and was aimed towards explaining where and how all the garden teams get their inspiration. Everywhere, it turns out. Things they read, see online, travel to see, hear about, wonder about and then try to find, they are open to everything and all the possibilities that exist. She talked about a few of the upcoming exhibits they are planning and mentioned a few things I never even knew existed. For example, last year they planted 24 acres of sunflowers in a back meadow. I wish I had known they were there; won't miss it this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing these wisteria in bloom in a month or so. Purple Japanese Wisteria. I bet they'll be magnificent.

Very Funny, Mother Nature

I suppose, in a way, it's cute that Mother Nature wants to play along on April Fool's Day. On the other hand, some of us are losing our sense of humor at her antics by now. Go Phillies!

Snow, Round 12

Or thereabouts.

Shine On

Last night's lunar eclipse coincided with the winter solstice and the longest day of the year to create such an incredible din in my head that I had no choice but to stay up and see it for myself. After all, as everyone on every news show that talked about it reminded me, this is my last chance since another such event will not occur until 2090 and I, if not all of us, will be long gone by then. Anyway, since I could see the whole thing out my dining room window, I didn't even have to go outside in the freezing night. It was quite lovely though. I started checking about 1:00 am when the moon was in full silvery light so bright that it almost seemed like daylight outside. By 2:00 you could see the shadow of the earth starting to move across its face and the light from the moon itself was visibly dimmed, but still bright. By 3:30, the moon seemed to be covered by a coppery scrim that gently glowed around the edges.

I finally went to bed and slept til about 8:00 am which is late for me, but I'm glad I got to see it.

(Image by EPA/THOMAS RENSINGHOFF)