Doesn’t it look like it is aflame – such intensity in that yellow. Nearly glowing.
Taliesin Gardens and Asian Sculptures
Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio in Spring Green, Wisconsin, has several gardens also designed by Wright. (If you know much about FLW, perhaps you know that Wright designed everything connected with his homes. He was not only the architect, he also designed the furniture, rugs, and everyday house implements from dishes to lamps. And some of his clients even allowed him to design their clothing, including magnificent dresses, so that they would FIT into his vision of his perfect environment. (Susan Dana from Springfield IL was his favorite client because she agreed to any of his ideas AND funded them promptly!) Hmm. Maybe Frank was a bit of a control freak in addition to all his creativity and genius.
Anyway, Wright brought thousands of art objects and artifacts from Asia to the US, most notably from Japan, and used them throughout many of his homes, in his designs and in his gardens. These two cranes are in the garden near his bedroom in Taliesin. He could open his bedroom door which was set into a wall of framed windows, take a dip in his 8 foot deep plunge pool, and then wander a bit through his flowers and sculptures.
It really would have been an insomniac’s solution – a dip in a cool pool and then a midnight stroll in the gardens. I’d much prefer that option to the one I take nearly every night when I find myself awake, lying awake and watching the ceiling.
Do you think FLW would mind a new occupant?
Snapping Turtle
This snapping turtle – one odd looking creature – was on dry land , traversing a muddy path moving south from the Wisconsin Riverway. She was not quite 2 feet long. It may look like I got rather close to her, but I’m not crazy – I was using a 70-300 mm telephoto lens. Even so I was about 3 feet away, and didn’t choose to get closer. She did sit quietly, staring at me wherever I went, and wasn’t disturbed as I set up my tripod to take a few photos.
Early to mid summer is a good time to see snapping turtles as it is their peak egg-laying time, and the turtles actively move from ponds and streams to nest-sites. They prefer sandy, south-facing banks and are frequently seen laying eggs along country roads. If seen in a road, they should be prodded towards the side which they are headed. Probably better not to pick one up as these turtles have strong jaws and long necks. And, after all, they are called “snapping” turtles.
Their feet are equipped with bear-like claws and their tails resemble the tails of dinosaurs. I think their faces look a bit like a mole’s face. Definitely a prehistoric-looking creature. They mostly live in the eastern two-thirds of the United States and Central America. Individuals can live at least 50 years.
Snapping turtles, as we know them, evolved about 40 million years ago, and they are the ancestors of most turtles of today. Today’s snapping turtles have hardly changed from 215 million years ago when the most primitive turtle we have evidence of lived. In comparison, the era of dinosaurs was approximately 150 million years ago and humans evolved a mere 3.5 million years ago.
Capitol as Night Falls
Living in the capitol of Wisconsin, it is hard to pass this stately building wthout taking a photo now and then. Friday night my Sherpa and I lugged the camera gear to the Isthmus (the Capitol building is on a narrow strip of land between two large urban lakes) where we dallied with dinner at a local brew-pub, then strolled over to the Monona Terrace Roof Garden.
We enjoyed the steady breeze off Lake Monona, and watched the clouds move in, cover the Capitol dome in gray, and then slip away again. Finally the Capitol lights went on and I set up and took a few photographs. She’s a mighty handsome building – this Capitol with the loveliest gold statue of ‘Miss Forward’ standing atop her highest stone.