Thought for the Day

Be like the sun and meadow, which are not in the least concerned about the coming winter.

- George Bernard Shaw

What's Happening in the Garden Today

The last harvest of Bright Lights Swiss Chard
can only mean that winter is in the wings.

Every Man a Rembrandt

Found this completed paint-by-number masterpiece for $1 at a flea market this summer.
I fell in love with the color palette and the kitchy take on a country landscape.

Extremely popular in the 1950s, paint-by-number became a symbol of mechanical performance and mass culture. For critics, the paint-by-number phenomenon provided ample evidence of the mindless conformity gripping national life and culture.

"I don't know what America is coming to," one writer complained to American Artist,
"when thousands of people, many of them adults, are willing to be regimented into brushing paint on a jig-saw miscellany of dictated shapes and all by rote. Can't you rescue some of these souls, or should I say morons?"

So what, I say. Surround yourself with things you love, even if no one else does.

A Tannenbaum Fun Fact

Shelf Tree by Frank Visser of IJM

The Scottish botanist David Douglas, after whom
the Douglas Fir is named, died in extraordinary and terrifying circumstances.

In 1832, upon his return from the northwestern United States, his ship docked in Hawaii to replenish supplies. Douglas seized this opportunity to explore the mountains in search of new species. Tragically, he fell into a pit dug to capture ferocious wild cattle that roamed the hills. One such beast was already in the pit that he fell into and Douglas was powerless to prevent it from trampling and goring him to death. His remains were discovered by a search party a few days later.

Speculation continues to this day about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.