Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) The Sap Moon of March and a stretch of sunny days have conspired to launch a timely Spring, with more plants budding, blooming and leafing than I was able to count, beginning just after the Vernal Equinox. Here are several from on and around our property at about 700′ elevation, Latitude: 38.40222
Longitude: […]
Author Archives: Scott
Elm
My favorite woods have three letter names- elm, oak, ash and fir. These names have been so repeated over the centuries, they have been polished smooth like river stones- extra syllables or letters are superfluous to their meaning. The trees themselves are thought to have magical origins, with deep roots in the collective consciousness, and […]
Harris Tweed
I keep my favorite Harris Tweed in the wood shop for chilly mornings, the pockets loaded with cedar shavings to ward off moths. My father bought this one new in the 1950’s and handed it down to me when I was in college. It has served as my armor ever since, whether I am building […]
Sunnyside Conservatory Menagerie
I’m putting finishing touches on a series of creatures for our Sunnyside Conservatory Menagerie project for final approval from the San Francisco Arts Commission before they are cast in bronze. The Conservatory building and grounds are currently under thorough renovation, and the creatures will be permanently installed over the summer as a complement to the […]
Driftwood Symposium
I’ve been collecting driftwood over the past couple of years and organizing it according to its general type (girth, length, curvature, species) and the frequency with which it can typically be found on stretches of beach near the mouth of the Russian River. I’d like to expand upon my collecting, make a kind of a […]
A Lovable Barn
Unconstrained by the rigors of domestic comportment, outbuildings often reveal the true character of a homeplace. Their practical requirements associated with daily life reflected in the interior workings- storage, work, repair- are kept in balance with their more poetic exterior. A lovable barn is where you can find shade on a hot day, rinse your […]
The Week in Bloom
The week preceding the vernal equinox welcomed the return of web-spinning spiders around our property, harvesting a new crop of air born insects brought on by the warm weather and longer days. We’re also beginning to see evidence of an oddly early annual migration of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), if yesterday’s swarms along route 101 […]