Walking Galena Illinois – A Sunday Series

Harleys on Main Street, Galena Illinois

Harleys on Main Street © 2012 Bo Mackison

A motorcycle functions entirely in accordance with the laws of reason, and a study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself.  ~Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Desoto House Hotel, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Desoto House Hotel © 2012 Bo Mackison

Galena’s DeSoto House is the oldest continually operating hotel in Illinois. It first opened its doors in 1855 and was six stories high, 250 rooms, and billed as the “largest hotel in the West.” Twenty five years later, following fires and economic downturns in Galena, the top two floors were removed to downsize the hotel more appropriate to its demand. ~ from Scenic Byways

 

Steps Conquer Hillside, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Steps Conquer Hillside © 2012 Bo Mackison

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.  ~ Lao Tzu

When we were walking in Galena, I kept seeing huge series of stairs, leading from one street to the next, to the next. Hundreds of steps. It reminded me of the run the town Of Bisbee, Arizona has each October — the 1,000 step race. Surely Galena has at least a thousand steps. How fun to have a similar race in northwestern Illinois.

Chalk Board Menues, Main Street, Galena Illinois

IChalk Board Menues © 2012 Bo Mackison

Mushroom soup, made in small batches with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes, followed by a heaping dish of bread pudding (baked with love) — the top two on my list of comfort foods, any day of the week. ~ Bo Mackison

Wrought Iron Staircase, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Wrought Iron Staircase © 2012 Bo Mackison

The red brick wall was the color of a red brick crayon. ~ Douglas Adams

Many of the houses in Galena are made of a familiar (to me) red brick – there are red brick buildings in most of the river towns up and down the Mississippi. Bricks were made from clay, fired in kilns, and then loaded on barges.

All the river cities had easy and cheap access to this building ingredient. I grew up in a red brick house, went to church in a mammoth red brick structure until its roof and interior burned in a midnight fire when I was 6 years old.

Red Fire Hydrant, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Red Fire Hydrant © 2012 Bo Mackison

Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the pressure off the second.

~ Robert Frost

Reflection of Buggy in Window, Galena Illinois

Reflection of Buggy © 2012 Bo Mackison

A city is the pulsating product of the human hand and mind, reflecting man’s history, his struggle for freedom, creativity, genius-and his selfishness and errors.” ~ Charles Abrams

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Galena is one of the most historically rich communities in Illinois. Nearly 85% of the buildings are in a National Register Historic District. It is also a hub for artists and craftspeople.

How to Make a Buttonhole Bouquet – Sunday Series

Flowers for Buttonhole Bouquets

Flowers for Buttonhole Bouquets © 2012 Bo Mackison

We visited Old World Wisconsin, a Wisconsin State Historical Site, during Laura Ingalls Wilder Days, August 4-5, 2012. We didn’t know about the special event, so we were pleasantly surprised to see all the hands-on activities at the different villages. When we arrived at the Koepsell Farm, in Yankee Village, a young farm couple (museum docents) were making tiny bouquets for anyone who wanted one to wear.

It was a rather celebratory crowd, since the weather was cooperative. It was a perfect walk-around kind of day.

Buttonhole Bouquets, Written Instructions c. 1870s

Making Buttonhole Bouquets © 2012 Bo Mackison

We stepped up to the table to pick out the flowers for my mini bouquet.

Each bouquet had three flowers, plus a bit of green foliage, fastened together in a foil wrap. The docent said the folks at Old World Wisconsin were following instructions from a womens’ publication dated from the 1870s, the oldest reference they’d found for making buttonhole bouquets.

I picked a peach colored rose, a purple zinnia and a yellow dahlia for my bouquet, plus a bit of greenery whose name I can’t remember. There were huge metal pails filled with flowers and greenery. What fun to choose from the many flowers and foliage!

Buttonhole Bouquets, Written Instructions c. 1870s

Wrapping Flowers into a Bouquet ©2012 Bo Mackison

Once I’d picked the items for my bouquet, the young woman cut the stems to arrange the flowers, then arranged the placed the foliage behind the flowers. She put a dab of wet moss in a square of paper, tucked in the bottom, and then rolled the paper around the stems. A large pin held everything in place.

 

A Lovely Woman and Entertaining Docent - Wearing a Buttonhole Bouquet

Docent with her Buttonhole Bouquet © 2012 Bo Mackison

One of the docents kindly gave me permission to take a quick portrait of her, wearing one of the buttonhole bouquets. She was taking a short break and she needed one! Her role that day was to rake the hay in a field into a large pile so the adventurous children could climb the hay pile and jump in the hay. The kids loved the activity, and she was enjoying herself, too.

Buttonhole Bouquet

My Buttonhole Bouquet © 2012 Bo Mackison

Here is a photo of my bouquet, propped on a wooden bench. What a fun and easy idea. And my bouquet stayed fresh until the next day. The moistened  moss provided enough moisture to keep the flowers in good spirits! And it was fun to walk through the outdoor museum, and see what flowers the many women and girls chose for their buttonhole bouquets. Great variety!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Each Sunday she posts a group of photographs on a theme – the Sunday Series.

At the Garden Shop – Sunday Series

Ah, the Variety - Seed Packets at the NYBG

Ah, the Variety © 2012 Bo Mackison

“Whether you tend a garden or not, you are the gardener of your own being, the seed of your destiny.”
–  The Findhorn Community

Gardening Display at NYBG

Gathering at the Garden Store © 2012 Bo Mackison

“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed.  Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.”
–  Henry David Thoreau

Sun Hats, Garden Hats, Hat Hats at the NYBG

Sun Hats, Garden Hats, Hat Hats © 2012 Bo Mackison

“What dreadful hot weather we have!
It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.”
~ Jane Austen

Wall Flowers at NYBG

Wall Flowers © 2012 Bo Mackison

“Flowers have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music.
They relax the tenseness of the mind. They dissolve its vigor.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Garden Layers - NYBG

Plants for Sale © 2012 Bo Mackison

I have found through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon the land. ~ Julie Moir Messervy

Ceramic Stone Path - NYBG

Ceramic Stone Path © 2012 Bo Mackison

“The mere thought of walking outdoors on a brilliant golden-blue day causes fire-works of delight to go off in most people’s psyche.  It gives one an instant feeling of happiness and that is meditation!  We are not only in touch, at that moment, with the physical splendor of nature, but also with the beauty of merging our own spiritual nature with it.”  –  Karen Zebroff

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These photographs were taken at the Garden Store at the New York Botanical Gardens.

And a note of explanation regarding the last photo – this garden path was made of round ceramic stones, in varying sizes but most about an inch and a half in diameter. The Garden Store sold these small ceramic stones to benefit the Botanical Gardens.

The stones have possibly the most interesting history of any garden stone I have ever heard – each stone was handmade in the early 1900s as a functional object in a clothing factory. What could have been their use?

The stones were put in with newly manufactured fabric and washed. Stone washing!  It “gentled” the fabric and made it ready for use.

And yes, I absolutely had to buy a couple of dozen ceramic stones to place in odd spots in my garden – if only for the history they hold. At 4 for a dollar, it was money well spent. I have much enjoyed this tiny addition to my garden! Simple joys!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

Sunday Series – Oh, the Grasses!

Grasses

Grasses ©2012 Bo Mackison

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Grasses II

Grasses II © 2012 Bo Mackison

The faster one goes, the more strain there is on the senses, the more they fail to take in, the more confusion they must tolerate or gloss over — and the longer it takes to bring the mind to a stop in the presence of anything. ~ Wendell Berry

Grasses III

Grasses III ©2012 Bo Mackison

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness. ~ Pearl S. Buck

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. On Sundays, Bo shares a series of photographs and quotes she finds full of meaning and inspiration.

Sunday Series – Historic Log Church

Praire Land on Hauge Log Church Property, Church Visible on Hilltop

Hauge Log Church above the Prairie © 2012 Bo Mackison

I am trying to teach my mind
To bear the long slow growth
of the fields, and to sing
of its passing while it waits…
~ Wendell Berry

Hauge Log Church - Exterior and Door

The Door of the Hauge Log Church  © 2012 Bo Mackison

Everyone needs beauty as well as bread,
places to play in and pray in,
where nature may heal and give strength
to body and soul alike.  ~ John Muir

Hauge Log Church - Exterior

Hauge Log Church – Church on a Hill Overlooking the Prairie © 2012 Bo Mackison

Be faithful to that which exists within yourself. ~ Andre Gide

Gray-headed Coneflower

Gray-headed Coneflower in the Hauge Log Church’s Prairie  © 2012 Bo Mackison

Notice how present a flower is, how surrendered to life it is. ~ Eckhardt Tolle

Hauge Log Church - Main Floor Interior and Pulpit, Photographed from Rear of Church

Hauge Log Church – Simple Interior © 2012 Bo Mackison.

A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your entire life.  ~ Christopher K. Germer

Hauge Log Church - Front Window and Pulpit

Hauge Log Church’s Pulpit © 2012 Bo Mackison

Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.  ~  Sir Francis Bacon

Hauge Log Church - Rear Balcony with Window and Four Rows of Pews

Balcony of the Hauge Log Church with Window and Pews © 2012 Bo Mackison

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. ~ Ansel Adams

Hauge Log Church - Outside Grounds, Swing and Cemetery

Swing and Cemetery at the Hauge Log Church © 2012 Bo Mackison

You don’t get to choose how you die or when, you can only decide how you are going to live. ~ Joan Baez

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. On Sundays, Bo shares a series of photographs and quotes she finds meaningful. This photo series is of the Historic Hauge Log Church and its adjacent lands. The church was built in Dane County, Wisconsin in 1852. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and its upkeep is provided by a group of dedicated volunteers.