Miscellaneous

Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Photograph taken on Sunday, September 16, 2018 by Henry
Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Beside the hose faucet on the front of our house is a largish spider web. It’s been there for quite some time and I took a picture of this lady a few weeks ago. She was much smaller then and I might have thought it was a different spider, except Cathy’s been watching her, every time she uses the hose. Needless to say, she comes in from the other side and does her best to keep her distance. The spider, a black-and-yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia), is a good inch or more in length, not counting her legs. She’s a beauty, don’t you think?

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Green Ceramic Frog

Photograph taken on Monday, September 10, 2018 by Henry
Green Ceramic Frog

Green Ceramic Frog

This little green, caramic frog is sitting on our piano. I’m not sure exactly where it came from. Cathy probably knows but I haven’t bothered to ask. It probably showed up in a box at her mom’s house sometime in the last nine months. I don’t remember when it appeared on the piano, but there it is. As you may be able to see, it’s front left leg has been broken. It doesn’t affect the frogs ability to hop, though. That’s mostly because ceramic frogs don’t move very much, I suppose.

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House For Sale

Photograph taken on Friday, September 07, 2018 by Henry
House for Sale

House for Sale

We’ve been putting a lot of time into getting this house ready to sell. The first step, which didn’t actually affect this house, was getting out house ready for Cathy’s mom to move in with us. Then we she moved in January (with a lot of help from our friends). From them to now there have been many, many days of going through and sorting, trips to the dump, to the thrift store, to our storage units, things brought to our house, two more truck rentals, piano movers, visits from family members, some dot insignificant renovations, lots of cleaning, floor refinishing, painting, yard work, and more. I’ve posted pictures of some of those things (see the list below) but I’ve also posted pictures of some of the many interesting things we’ve found (too many to list below). This week, the house officially went on the market and (as I write this, was open on both Saturday and Sunday, with significant interest). We’re in the home stretch (if you’ll pardon the pun) and really looking forward to turning our attention to the boxes that got moved without really being looked through as well as starting to deal with things like photographs and other documents that need more careful examination.

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Purdah Screen

Photograph taken on Thursday, September 06, 2018 by Henry
Purdah Screen

Purdah Screen

I posted a photo of a purdah screen back in 2015 (see Friday, November 20, 2015) but thought I’d share a detail of another one today. This is a fancier screen than was shown then and one of two that we have in our living room with the same pattern. These two are not in as good condition as the one shown in the photo from 2015, but I really love the patina of the old wood and the puzzle-like intricacy of the pieces making up the central design. As noted with the older photograph, the outer rails and stiles of these tessellated screens are held together with mortise and tenon joints but they are held together without any other fasteners or glue.

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Huberd’s Shoe Grease

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 04, 2018 by Henry
Huberd's Shoe Grease

Huberd’s Shoe Grease

In general, old stuff like this isn’t really worth keeping. We’ve thrown away old tins and boxes and bottles of stuff that are either unidentifiable or dried out or gone bad. But sometimes the packaging is just classic. After a very quick searched I found that Huberd’s Shoe Grease is still available and the cans are only slightly different to this one, which probably dates to the 1960s. The new cans say “Original” at the top and have the URL for their web site (http://www.huberds.com). Also, new cans come in 1 pound (454 gram) and 7.5 ounce (213 gram) sizes, compared to this old one, which only has 7 ounces. From their web site:

A. E. Huberd founded his shoe grease company in McMinnville Oregon in 1921. In his workshop, A. E. concocted a beeswax and pine-tar formula that he introduced to logging camps and sold to lumberjacks. The lumbermen throughout the region helped Mr. Huberd improve his formula, build his customer base, and establish a thriving manufacturing company. Huberd’s products are made much the same way today.

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A Little More Furniture

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 01, 2018 by Henry
Rental Truck Filled With Furniture

Rental Truck Filled With Furniture

We rented a truck today for the third time this year. The first time was on Saturday, January 6, when we moved Margaret from her house to ours. That was mostly her bedroom furniture and boxes of the things she’ll need here at our house. The second was on Tuesday, July 24 to move a bunch more furniture that we will either keep ourselves or get rid of more carefully (i.e. sell rather than give away). Today we moved furniture that was to be given away. We filled a 16-foot truck pretty full and took it to A Wider Circle (http://awidercircle.org/). They took most of what we brought, leaving us with just a few of the things to dispose of (when furniture isn’t good enough for charity, it’s time for the dump). There’s still more at the house, of course. Mostly things that will go directly to the transfer station, either metal (shelves, a dryer, a refrigerator, etc.) or trash (particle board cupboards that don’t last and aren’t really worth anything).

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Cleome and Black-eyed Susan

Photograph taken on Thursday, August 30, 2018 by Henry
Cleome ‘Señorita Rosalita’

Cleome ‘Señorita Rosalita’

We really should plant more of this. The pink flowers in the foreground are Cleome ‘Señorita Rosalita’ and they really are lovely. They also bloom pretty much continuously all summer and well into the fall. We have just a few plants growing in a container on the back patio. They are pretty much overwhelmed by the yellow of the black-eyed Susans that are all around. I think if we had a larger container or two filled with Cleome, it would be pretty nice. I should make a point of buying a few packets of next year and getting them started early.

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Repaired Drinking Glass

Photograph taken on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 by Henry
Repaired Drinking Glass

Repaired Drinking Glass

We live in a throw away society. In some respects, that’s a sad thing. In general, the quality of some products is pretty low and their useful lifespan is pretty short. People aren’t going to be taking their grandparents’ Ikea furniture to Antiques Roadshow to be appraised by the Keno brothers of the future. On the other hand, this also speaks of unprecedented relative wealth, created by a free market system. Competition has improved quality and reduced cost so much that if a glass breaks, we don’t think twice about throwing it away and getting a new one. That hasn’t always been the case. This glass was broken over 50 years ago when Cathy’s family lived in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rather than throw it away, it was repaired. The pieces of glass had small holes drilled in them, the pieces were glued back together, and metal staples were glued into the holes to add the needed strength to hold the pieces together. Pretty remarkable and something of a glimpse into a different world.

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Lectern Eagle’s Talons

Photograph taken on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 by Henry
Lectern Eagle’s Talons

Lectern Eagle’s Talons

I’ve posted pictures of this eagle lectern twice before, once on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 and then again on Thursday, January 04, 2018. The first of those is quite similar to this picture, I’m afraid, but it was long enough ago that I’m doubtful that many who are following me now will remember. The other, a picture of the body of the eagle, is more recent. I also took a few pictures of what we assume was an award that was given to my great uncle Ralph. At least it has a brass plaque on the front with his name on it. It doesn’t say what it was for and it may have been some sort of retirement memento. We also are not sure what it is. It appears to be an electronic tuning fork, but we don’t really know. I’ve been meaning to fiddle around with it and see what I can make it do. But as a photograph, it just wasn’t interesting enough so you get a repeat of the wooden eagle talons.

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Reflections

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 26, 2018 by Henry
Reflections

Reflections

This evening I was sitting in the living room and notices the reflection of our curtains in the corner cabinet. I don’t know how old the cabinet is but the glass in the doors is not very flat. The reflections were showing a fair amount of distortion and I decided to see if I could capture it in a photograph. Reflections are sometimes tricky, especially when you add flash into the equation, which I did on this occasion. The flash needs to aim both at the reflective surface, to give a little light to the wood around the glass, and to the object being reflected, so it shows up in the picture. I think this one balances them pretty well. Another issue is focus, because you have to decide to focus on the reflected image, which in this case was more than twice the distance from the camera to the glass. In this case, I got the wood of the corner cabinet in sharp focus and the curtains are a little soft. Since they are so distorted, I don’t think that matters too much. There are a few yellow spots at the top of the curtains and it took me a moment to figure out where they were coming from. Those are specular reflections off of the brass curtain rings.

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China Clipper Model, BWI Airport

Photograph taken on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 by Henry
China Clipper Model, BWI Airport

China Clipper Model, BWI Airport

I drove out to BWI Airport this morning to pick up Margaret, who returned today from Chicago. I had a little time after I parked so I walked to the international terminal at the end of the building. I’m not sure why but the area was practically deserted. I took a few pictures of this model of The China Clipper (NC14716). The original was built for Pan American Airways by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Per Wikipedia, “In 1961, the Martin Company merged with American-Marietta Corporation, a large sand and gravel mining company, forming Martin Marietta Corporation. In 1995, Martin Marietta merged with aerospace giant Lockheed to form the Lockheed Martin Corporation.” The China Clipper flew the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila in 1935. It was lost in a crash on January 8, 1945 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

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Fifth Asian Games Palm Leaf Fan

Photograph taken on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 by Henry
Fifth Asian Games Palm Leaf Fan

Fifth Asian Games Palm Leaf Fan

In 1966, Cathy’s family lived in Bangkok, Thailand. In December of that year the fifth Asian Games, also known as V Asiad, were held there. While going through things from her mom’s house, we found a fan of woven and dried palm leaves, dyed green and pink, with a sticker commemorating the games. The sticker says, “Fifth Asian Games, Ever Onward, Bangkok 1966” surrounding a red sun (the official logo of the games) and with twenty interlocking yellow circles. Interestingly, the logo displayed on the Wikipedia page for the even only has eleven circles and they are blue but all the commemorative coins I’ve found photos of have twenty. Not sure what the deal is with that.

We also have a few t-shirts, souvenirs from both the 1966 games and from the sixth Asian Games, held in 1970, also in Bangkok, Thailand. According to Wikipedia, &#201c;Originally Seoul, South Korea was selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea but eventually the city finally hosted in 1986. Previous host Thailand stepped in to save the Asiad. A total number of 2,400 athletes, coming from 18 countries, competed in this Asiad.”

One interesting thing about this fan is the mistake in the weaving. Can you spot it? Once you see it, you cannot not see it, I’m afraid.

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Calcite Crystal

Photograph taken on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 by Henry
Calcite Crystal

Calcite Crystal

In the process of going through things at mom’s, I spent some time looking through a bunch of rock. I’m not sure what it is about rocks and our family, but it seems we all have a rock collection of some description. Mom also had some rocks and minerals that had been her fathers, including this large calcite crystal. A large section of the crystal is opaque but the left side as shown here is mostly transparent. Calcite crystals have an interesting optical property called birefringence, that is, they have a double refraction, causing two images of any items viewed through the crystal. As you can see here, the word Library (on a Modern Library copy of The Aeneid) is duplicated when viewed through the crystal.

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Corgi Toys Marcos 3 Litre

Photograph taken on Thursday, August 16, 2018 by Henry
Corgi Toys Marcos 3 Litre

Corgi Toys Marcos 3 Litre

I didn’t have any pictures today so I looked around for something to photograph. I have this little, yellow, model car that has been one of two sports cars I’ve owned over the years. I’m not saying that these are models of cars that I’ve actually owned. It’s the models that I’ve owned. The other is an old Jaguar XJ-S that was originally silver but I very carefully repainted a deep, lustrous green. This car, also British, could use a coat of paint. Somehow this is more in keeping with our current fleet, however. Our newest car is 13 years old, our middle car can vote, and our oldest can drink. They have a combined mileage of over 650 thousand miles. That’s not counting the miles on this little baby.

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Book of the Black Bass

Photograph taken on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 by Henry
Book of the Black Bass

Book of the Black Bass

The Book of the Black Bass, by James A. Henshall, M.D., was first published in 1881. The Preface to the 1881 edition includes begins as follows:

This book owes its origin to a long-cherished desire on the part of the author, to give to the Black Bass its proper place among game fishes, and to create among anglers, and the public generally, an interest in a fish that has never been so fully appreciated as its merits deserve, because of the want of suitable tackle for its capture, on the one hand, and a lack of information regarding its habits and economic value on the other.

Cathy came across this 1904 edition in her parents’ basement and we decided to keep it, as much for its lovely cover as for it’s fascinating contents. Although this is the 1904 edition, it’s actually from the eighth printing, in 1915. It details, of course, the largemouth and smallmouth bass, Micropterus Salmoides and Micropterus dolomieu, respectively. According to Britanica, there are “about six species” in the genus while Wikipedia claims 14 recognized species. Regardless, it’s the largemouth bass that I’m most familiar with, having them in our pond in Pennsylvania. I’ve only caught smallmouth bass when traveling, most notably in the lakes of east central Ontario.

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Horseshoe and Spikes

Photograph taken on Monday, August 13, 2018 by Henry
Horseshoe and Spikes

Horseshoe and Spikes

At the top of our driveway Cathy had a few potted plants. Well, I say a few but there are quite a lot, really. It’s actually a nice garden and since we aren’t going to be putting our car in the garage in any case, it doesn’t really matter that it’s blocking them out. On occasion I’ve had to move a few plants just to get something large in or out but generally there’s enough of a path for that. In addition to the plants there are a few “ornaments” of one kind or another. I don’t recall where this horseshoe came from, or the iron spikes, for that matter. I particularly like their color when they are wet from the rain.

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I’d Rather Be Fishing, Part 2

Photograph taken on Thursday, August 09, 2018 by Henry
Fishing Lure Hooks

Fishing Lure Hooks

The other day I posted a picture of dad’s jon boat on the roof of my van. These are the hooks of some fishing lures, also my dads. When mom and I were cleaning out the garage I came across dad’s old fishing vest. The mice or squirrels had gotten to it first and much of it was shredded. There were some lures in the pockets, though, and a few weights. I took them before putting the remains of the vest into the garbage. This evening I was looking at them and remembering fishing with my dad. I didn’t really have the patience for fishing that he had but I think I’ve gained some over the years. The thought of sitting by a lake or river or sitting in a boat with nothing going on except the occasional cast and even more occasional bite sounds really good now.

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I’d Rather Be Fishing

Photograph taken on Tuesday, August 07, 2018 by Henry
Jon Boat On The Van

Jon Boat On The Van

There have been many loads of things taken from my mom’s house over the last couple months. Most of them went by minivan, either hers or mine, with the exception of her actual move, when things went in a moving truck. There are two things that can’t be fit into our vans, however. One of them is a small, utility trailer. I plan to put the tiller on that so although that’s two items, it will be moved as a unit. I hope to tackle that in a week or so. The other item is this Sears, aluminum jon boat. I don’t remember when dad bought it but it’s been at least 50 years, probably closer to 55. It’s a bit battered and the wooden transom is rotting out. But it’s sea worthy (or at least pond worthy) and I wouldn’t mind taking it out for a weekend and just fishing for a while. for me, the part of fishing from a boat that I don’t like is being out in the sun, so maybe I’ll wait for an overcast day. That or cooler weather, anyway. I haven’t fished in years and I think it’s time I did. I also have a few of dad’s rods, reels, and various other accoutrements. All I need is a license and a day off. Soon. Very soon. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that’s not my real license plate number.

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Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 by Henry
Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a drive this afternoon, going to a pond near Sunset Beach where we’ve seen alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). There was one close to the shore and I got a few pictures of it along with some water turtles. Then we drove back onto the island and to the east end, where I got some nice pictures of this great egret (Ardea alba) wading in the tidal marsh and finding fish in the shallows. We also walked on the beach at that end of the island and enjoyed the wind and the deeply colored, wine dark sea.

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Furniture Moving

Photograph taken on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 by Henry
China Cabinet

China Cabinet

We moved a bunch of furniture today. After work, Cathy and I picked up a rental truck and she followed me to her mom’s house. A half dozen guys came and helped load two china cabinets, a dining room table and chairs, various chests and other furniture into the truck. As we were on our way to the house it poured rain but by the time we were loading the truck it was mostly finished, which was good because most of the furniture was wood. Once we had it all loaded we all drove to our house and the same guys helped unload it and get it set up here. We’re replacing our current dining room table and chairs with the one we brought over and we’ve put two china cabinets in our dining room. The one shown here is the larger of the two, a fairly heavy piece that just fit in the height of the room. These two cabinets along with a glass front cabinet that we have been using (the so-called Uncle Ralph cabinet), there’s probably too much furniture in the room now, but we’ll deal with that when we have the time. I was really grateful for the help we received this evening and it was good to see folks, as well.

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