Spring?

It was not only the first nice Spring day we have had - but it was a taste of Summer with temperatures reaching 80 degrees and it being so balmy due to all the past rain. Eventually we did have a big storm and a lovely rainbow followed. I managed to get a little bit of gardening accomplished before it was wet again.

Is anyone else outraged?

I am shocked that the royal family has made wearing animal parts fashionable. It being the birthday of the great James Audubon I feel I must voice my outrage, as it was the Audubon society that helped end this horrific style that was fashionable in the late 1800s. As feathered hats grew in popularity through the end of the nineteenth century, more and more birds were becoming endangered. The more rare a bird, the more valuable were its feathers, therefore giving the wearer greater social standing. During the height of this fashion trend whole birds were stuffed and mounted on hats. The American Ornithologist Union estimated in 1886 that five million North American birds were killed each year for millinery purposes.

That same year, Frank Chapman, an avid birder, hiked from his uptown Manhattan office to the heart of the women’s fashion district on 14th Street. He tallied the stuffed birds on the hats of passing women. He identified wings, heads, tails or entire bodies of three bluebirds, two redheaded woodpeckers, nine Baltimore orioles, five blue jays, twenty-one common terns, a saw-whet owl and a prairie hen. In two afternoons he counted 174 birds and forty species in all. So in 1896, Mrs. Augustus Hemenway and her cousin Miss Minna Hall of Boston decided to organize their forces to end the slaughter of birds for hats. The two women invited prominent society women for afternoon teas where the cousins urged participants to boycott bird hats. This was the formation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

Outraged Americans in state after state founded Audubon Societies to combat the feather trade and advocate bird protection. They waged the first truly modern conservation campaign. In 1900, just four years after the women hatched their strategy over tea, the U.S. Congress passed the Lacey Bird and Game Act. This legislation helped bring an end to the heedless slaughter of plumed birds in Florida and elsewhere.

Happy Birthday Birdman

Jean-Jacques Audubon was born on April 26, 1785 in Les Cayes in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)^[1] on his father's sugar plantation. When Audubon, at age 18, boarded ship for immigration to the United States in 1803, he changed his name to an anglicized form: John James Audubon.

Audubon developed his own methods for drawing birds. First, he killed them using fine shot. He then used wires to prop them into a natural position, unlike the common method of many ornithologists, who prepared and stuffed the specimens into a rigid pose. When working on a major specimen like an eagle, he would spend up to four 15-hour days, preparing, studying, and drawing it. His paintings of birds are set true-to-life in their natural habitat. He often portrayed them as if caught in motion, especially feeding or hunting. All species were drawn life size which accounts for the contorted poses of the larger birds as Audubon strove to fit them within the page size. Smaller species were usually placed on branches with berries, fruit, and flowers. He used several birds in a drawing to present all views of anatomy and wings. Larger birds were often placed in their ground habitat or perching on stumps. At times, as with woodpeckers, he combined several species on one page to offer contrasting features. He frequently depicted the birds' nests and eggs, and occasionally natural predators, such as snakes.

Walter Topolski 1933 -2011

Allen's Dad passed away Sunday April 17th. We were in Pennsylvania for the funeral and family affairs. The picture above is from Christmas. Aster took the pictures below from the car on the way down, it was a gloomy, rainy, foggy morning.

But signs of Spring were to come.

Walter Topolski had nine grandchildren and two great grand children. The entire family was so happy to be together, but we really missed grandpa. There was a very competitive kick ball game (with only one injury). Aster and I spent a lot of time photographing her cousin's new St. Bernard puppy, Dexter. Allen's sister has four dogs, the german shepherd pitured is Lexi.

Happy Easter

Easter, 1916 by William Butler Yeats (edited)

Hearts with one purpose alone

Through summer and winter seem

Enchanted to a stone

To trouble the living stream.

The horse that comes from the road.

The rider, the birds that range

From cloud to tumbling cloud,

Minute by minute they change;

A shadow of cloud on the stream

Changes minute by minute;

The stone's in the midst of all.

Too long a sacrifice

Can make a stone of the heart.

O when may it suffice?

That is Heaven's part, our part

To murmur name upon name,

As a mother names her child

When sleep at last has come

On limbs that had run wild.

Now and in time to be,

Wherever green is worn,

Are changed, changed utterly:

A terrible beauty is born.

Etsy Treasuries

Etsy treasuries are created by anyone in the world. Then Etsy team members choose the best for the front page. If you get an item on the front page you get a lot of traffic, not necessarily a lot of sales. Still it is fun to have the honor. Maybe one will make it!

Spring Break Begins

I almost did not go to Estate sales today as I have had not many sales this past week, but I awoke to two sales this morning and so I reminded myself that I won't sell anything if I don't post anything. Below are some lovely little vintage plastic flowers, an amazing Vera silk scarf and more cameras. You can read all about them on Etsy!

Hurry up and wait

I am off to wait in line at two sales this morning. I have to hurry...

Here is what I got two weeks ago.

Brownie Duaflex II

and some photoshop fun...

Kodak Tourist

Kodak Hawkeye Flash Fun

Some of my 6 X 6s

Rochester Contemporary's Fundraiser Global 6 X 6

is June 4 - July 10, 2011

Artworks are Due: May 1

Preview Hours: June 1, 2 & 3, 1-10pm

Opening Reception & Artwork Sale: June 4, 6-10pm

$5 opening night admission

7:30pm raffle for buyer positions 1-20

8:00pm all other buyers

Global Online Purchasing Begins: June 6 at 10am

Sold Out Artist Names Revealed to Public: July 1 *New!

Purchased Artwork Pick-Up: July 10, 11 & 12

Cash prizes: Awarded by popular vote. *New!

I am sending in over 25 pieces this year - here is a sneak peak...

Monday

We all had a busy and emotionally packed weekend. A mental health day seems necessary for all of us. I am trying to get back to work selling my vintage finds and get the house ready for spring parties, but I am moving slowly. I find myself playing with photoshop filters more than anything.

Vintage crazy

I spent a very long time at an estate sale yesterday - I may go back today, it was jam packed, you needed a flashlight to see everything. I got some great vintage drinking glasses and a sewing box chock full of zippers, old containers and thread. Today there is another sale that I assume will be well attended, I am trying to decide if I go wait in line or go later...

I have a million items to post on Etsy, but my hand is falling asleep at the mouse. Listening to Dire Straits Making Movies is helping keep my spirits up - but I think I am going to give my wrist a rest and wait for my number to be called at the sale.