art and nature

It was not planned, but this post follows my last post, about artist Anne Siems, kind of perfectly!  Local Grand Rapids arts group SiTE: LAB put together another show at Blandford Nature Center, and because Andy and I have to check out anything SiTE: LAB related, we went on Friday evening.  (We went last year, too.)  Just like last year, it was sultry, but beers from Brewery Vivant kept us cool and our thirst slaked.

Blandford has beautiful wooded trails, and the artists make great use of the setting.  I love this macrame tree cozy.  

Blandford also does great work, taking in injured wild animals for rescue and rehabilitation.  Andy once brought a turtle in who had a cracked shell after it was hit by a car.  We stopped by and visited the large outdoor cages of rescued owls, hawks, turkey vultures, and even a merlin!  You can see some of  the rescued residents on Blandford's website, but be forewarned: if you're like me, you'll end up spending hours listening to the linked audio files of various owl and hawk calls.

Hee hee!

These sea creatures were mounted in the small stream that runs through Blandford.

Aw!

xo

K

a walk in the woods

We celebrate Lucy's birthday on Cinco de Mayo every year, not for any particular reason--it's just the date we picked. So we decided to treat her to her two favorite things: a nice long walk in the woods, and a trip to Chow Hound to buy treats and sniff the captive bunnies. (By the way, the title of this post is also the title of a wonderful book by Bill Bryson, which you should read if you haven't already.)

The woods were blooming with beautiful trillium.

Another good reason for a walk in the woods? Ramps! These will be made into something delicious.

A young deer watched our progress along the trail from a ridge. The zoom on my digital camera is useless, so this is the best photo I could get. Can you spot him?

Here he is.

This is what I wore--unintentionally, the colors of the Mexican flag. Well, the skirt is more coral pink than red, but still. You can't really see it, but my blouse is a vintage middy-style, with little blue raindrops on it.

xo

K

city mouse or country mouse?

Having lived for 11 years in New York City, a part of me always has been, and still is, a City Mouse. Though I escaped the city to live in what is, essentially, the country, I still love my trips into "the city"--whether that be to visit friends in New York, my best friend in Detroit, or more frequently, downtown Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids is not a big city, but its downtown is pretty thriving, especially lately. It seems like a new bar or restaurant opens every week. Saturday night was evidence of this. We went out to celebrate 900 sales on Etsy (yay! Thank you to our lovely customers), and had to drive around forever to find parking. Public transportation is one of the things I really miss about New York. Anyway, I wore this wonderfully lightweight 1950s dress with matching belt, and because the dress is fairly sheer, a vintage deep blue Van Raalte full slip underneath. The slip came from our big estate buy last summer. And I added this chalkware dogwood brooch, which I appropriated off another dress from that same estate buy.

Here's Andy, all dressed up in his favorite style: 1960s prep. As you can see, he also is sporting a new haircut. It's a little shorter than I like on him, but I think it goes well with his vintage plaid shirt.

We had a lovely night, meeting up later with friends for cocktails at my beloved Viceroy.

On Sunday we spent a little time on the lake. Here's Country Mouse me (and Lucy) in the canoe. I'm in my typical lake gear: swimsuit, gingham shirt as cover-up, water shoes, and giant hat. This was taken just after I had a small freakout about a bug that I had to remove from my decolletage.

Ah, nature.

I am not really an outdoorsy person. Well, I shouldn't say that. I'm not the type of outdoorsy person who likes: sports, loud and fast boats, heat and humidity, bugs.

I am the type of outdoorsy person who likes: slow paddles around the lake, hearing and watching the birds in the trees, shady walks in the woods, and floating in the lake with a bottle of beer.

Sunday was pretty bustling (with human life) on the lake. But there were other creatures, too.

There are always lots of dragonflies (one bug that doesn't bother me a bit!). This one caught a ride on the canoe.

I guess I love the city and the country. I'm very lucky to be able to get frequent tastes of both. I hope your weekend was lovely, wherever you spent it!

xo

K