Monthly Archives: June 2024

Rat Gallery DC #4

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 01, 2024 by Henry
Ina Quadrio Curzio's Art at Rat Gallery

Ina Quadrio Curzio’s Art at Rat Gallery

Anna, Dorothy, and Katharine

Anna, Dorothy, and Katharine

This evening was the fourth Rat Gallery show at 52 O Street NW in Washington, D.C. I was impressed with quite a few of the pieces on display this evening and I think it was a successful event. I’ve picked a shot showing oil paintings by Ina Quadrio Curzio, an Italian-British artist who recently graduated from Georgetown University with a double major in Biology and Studio Art. From her artists statement, her subject matter “is centered around youthful environments, activities, and crowds. In my exploration, the figures undergo a purposeful deconstruction, their form intricately woven into a patchwork of brushstrokes that dissolve the boundaries between self and surroundings. This approach serves to dismantle youth culture into its chaotic essence of uncertainty and vitality. It invites viewers to contemplate the complexities of early adulthood and explore how our surroundings shape our individuality.”

I’ve also included a shot of three of the five Rat Gallery team. If you have any questions about Rat Gallery or would like your art to be considered for a future show, you should go to the Rat Gallery DC web site and contact the team.

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Three Birthdays

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 02, 2024 by Henry
Johnnie, Pam, and Krystal

Johnnie, Pam, and Krystal

We got together to celebrate birthdays for three good friends this evening. Johnny, Pam, and Krystal either just had or are about to have a birthday and although we don’t really need an excuse to get together, we use it as one, anyway. We had a lovely meal and more importantly had a great time with one another. Krystal and Mike are nearing the end of a significant renovation to their home and it was great to see what’s going on with that. By the time we’re there again it should be all done.

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The Mimic at Floodzone Brewery

Photograph taken on Friday, June 07, 2024 by Henry
The Mimic at Floodzone Brewery

The Mimic at Floodzone Brewery

We drove up to Union Bridge, Maryland after work today, meeting Dorothy and her friends, Andrew, Rachel, Anna, and Andrew’s parents, Kris and Mike, at Floodzone Brewery. We’ve never been there before but we enjoyed the visit. We went there because Dorothy’s friend Jeff was playing guitar along with the band he’s in, called The Mimic. That’s Jeff on the right in the green shirt. We sat in view of the stage while they planed and then moved outside—where we could hear ourselves think and actually talk with each other—when they were done and Heads or Tails Experience played. As ‘Old Folks’ Cathy and I didn’t know much of the music that was being played, but enjoyed it, nonetheless.

The food was good, I had a beer called Agnes, named for the huricane of that name that flooded the brewery in June 1972. Although Agnes was never more than a category 1 storm and was only a tropical storm by the time it reached Maryland, it produced significant rain including over 13.5 inches at Dulles Airport in northern Virginia.

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Amy and Jim

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 09, 2024 by Henry
Amy and Jim

Amy and Jim

Jim and Amy came to visit this weekend. Well, really Jim came to visit his and Cathy’s mom and Amy came to visit her dad and family, but Jim stayed with us and we got to see Amy a few times. On Sunday her nephew was playing in a soccer game at a local middle school so we met them there. I took a few pictures, as is my wont. I took one with Amy, Jim, and Cathy but I think this is better of these two and since the weekend was about them, I thought I’d just post this one. I also took a few of Amy and her sister.

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New Stairs

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 15, 2024 by Henry
The Old Stairs

The Old Stairs

The New Stairs

The New Stairs

In late May and early June we had a handyman working at the house on a few things. Saul repaired the molding on the front porch, he patched a drywall hole in our kitchen ceiling where a plumber had to get to some pipes. He also replaced the exhaust fans in the two upstairs bathrooms. Finally, he scraped, repaired, and repainted the Bilco doors on the back of the house. Those have stairs under them to the basement.

While he was working on the doors he asked me to open the doors. I went to the basement and got up onto the fourth step and opened first one door and then the other. As I was opening the second door, suddenly I wasn’t on the stairs any more. I was standing on the concrete floor. It took me a few seconds to figure out what had actually happened but as you can see from the photo on the left, the stairs were not there any more.

So, Saul called someone who fabricates stairs and little over a week later, we have new, steel stairs.

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Coragyps atratus (Black Vulture)

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 16, 2024 by Henry
Coragyps atratus (Black Vulture)

Coragyps atratus (Black Vulture)

We went to the C&O Canal today, walking about a mile and a half upstream from Seneca Creek and Riley’s Lock. We saw a few great blue herons (Ardea herodias) and one green heron (Butorides virescens), as well as a few smaller birds. But my favorite for this walk was this black vulture (Coragyps atratus) who landed on a tree quite close to us. Like most birds but unlike the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) the black vulture does not hunt by smell but is often seen in the company of turkey vultures, which have this advantage.

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Japanese Forest Grass, &tc.

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 23, 2024 by Henry
Japanese Forest Grass (<em>Hakonechloa macra</em>), Siberian Bugloss (<em>Brunnera macrophylla</em>), and Northern Maidenhair Fern (<em>Adiantum pedatum</em>)

Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra), Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla), and Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)

At the north end of our yard there is a relatively shady area, partially under a cherry tree. Cathy planted the two Japanese forest grass plants (Hakonechloa macra) you can see here. They are the chartreuse tufts in the center and lower left of the photo. The silvery, heart-shaped leaves are Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla), also known as great forget-me-not (but not the same as Myosotis species). In the upper right of the photo is a northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) that originally came from my father’s garden and which I divided a couple years ago and planted in various places around the yard. The base of the small tree in the top center of the photo is one of two fastigiate English oaks (Quercus robur) I planted about ten years ago.

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28th Pennsylvania Infantry

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 29, 2024 by Henry
28th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, Culp's Hill, Gettysburg

28th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, Culp’s Hill, Gettysburg

Cathy and I drove up to see Dorothy today, meeting her at the farm and hanging out with her there a while. Then we drove down to Gettysburg and walked about 4.5 miles from downtown into the battlefield. We passed a few monuments for the unit with which Cathy’s 3rd-great-uncle served, including this one between Culp’s Hill and Pardee Field on Slocum Avenue. We also drive to near the recently reopened Little Round Top, stopping to see a friend who works for the Park Service and was stationed there counting cars and busses. All it all, it was a nice, if hot, day.

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