Saturday, May 23, 2009

Today in the Field

One thing I am invested in doing while I have an old farm and woods to myself is learn what is actually there. What am I looking at? It appears that I am finally looking, which is a start to then understanding. My art work tends to take the long view, the big, take a step back view. But I'm now asking, what kind of tree is that-look at its funky bark. How come these plants here look out of place, or are they? I've been taking b&w photographs of the woods. Here, but in NYC too. B&W takes away all that lush green, opens up texture and value, and even though it appears nostalgic, I love the play of light.

This evening I made my first experiment with stop-motion photography or stringing photographs together in order to display them in a linear fashion. With just a few shots left, I saw the spider below. I erased some shots to shoot these things in the old farm field.


Spider's doing the heavy lifting.


Some kind of buttercup, anemone, ranunculeae -closed.


Some kind of buttercup, anemone, ranunculeae -open.


Common Fleabane or Erigeron philadelphicus


I think another buttercup.


Whoa nelly! This is that plant I got from A at the plant giveaway. Star of Bethlehem.


Our dear, native poison ivy. Look at those shiny red leaves, I could just lick them. Innocent Reader, please don't.

2 comments:

  1. Star of Bethlehem - yay for the ID. The weedy front lot next door has a lot that popped up two weeks ago.

    Have you seen any jewel weed yet? Apparently it will grow near poison ivy, and its sappy stems are an antidote...hm. Have I said this before? sounds awfully familiar.

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  2. Sappiness is an antidote for most things, no?

    Apparently the star f beth is a rat in the field. Man cranky planters of it out there.

    I have seen the jewel weed, but it is way before flower. It is more likely in the damper spaces though, where the P ivy I see has mostly been in the dry fields and woods edges, sunny side up.

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