More Plant Pictures

Pictures of some Sacred Datura, a highly poisonous plant that grows all over Arcosanti. They're also known as jimson weed. These flowers bloom at night, last through the morning, and wither between 11am and 1pm, depending on how much sun they receive. Personally, I like the little tendrils that grow between the main lobes of the flower. Kinda cool.

Something Evil at Arcosanti

Some form of evil bug has colonized Arcosanti in the last month or so. Back in June I could sleep at night with my door open, and only worry about live or freshly-killed "presents" from my cats. Now if I leave the door open at night I wake up with welts like this one: I never even feel these creatures bite me, I only know they've been after me when their bites swell up and start to itch like mad. Luckily the swelling goes down by morning, but it takes a little while to get back to sleep after such a rude awakening. I guess I'll have to be extra careful about forcing the door fully shut until these monsters die off.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

Ruth-Claire, one of my favorite people at Arcosanti, has returned. She attended a conference in Europe, then visited her family on the East Coast. Welcome back, Ruth-Claire.

Another shot of the EAR Unit performance from August 13. 

EAR Unit, performing in the Colly Soleri Theatre. The performance is a culmination of a special seminar that provides an opportunity for gifted composers to study and work with professional musicians. Since 1995 the EAR Unit, one of Los Angeles' premiere contemporary music ensembles, has served as ensemble-in-residence for the seminar at Arcosanti. 

The clouds that triggered an unexpected intermission during the EAR Unit performance. The raindrops hitting the cloth canopy over the Colly Soleri stage were loud enough to overwhelm notes played at a piano or pianissimo level. 

A wave of rain crossing the mesa opposite Arcosanti 

A rainbow spotted during the EAR Unit concert 

Sprinkles 

Sprinkles, Rest in Peace

My cat Sprinkles was found dead on the morning of August 6, 2005 in the Foundry area near my apartment. Even with four cats present in the house in Kingwood, Sprinkles was clearly my cat. When I brought her to Arcosanti, I was surprised to find that even without her claws Sprinkles was a mighty hunter, bringing mice and rats to my bed at night. Unfortunately she never adapted well to the human side of the Arcosanti environment, and many people here saw her only in photos. I never discovered where she spent the bulk of her time, hiding from everyone until nightfall. As time went by, even I saw her less and less often. Two night disappearances became two weeks, and finally reached a month's duration toward the end of her life. She was a good cat. I loved her, and I will miss her.

Goodbye Sprinkles,
Rest In Peace


Epilogue

On the same morning that Sprinkles' body was discovered, a praying mantis egg case in my terrarium opened, releasing dozens of tiny newborn mantids. The ways of the world are not ours to know, but sometimes we can glimpse the connections between life, death and the cycles of renewal.

Woodcarving

Over the past few weeks, I have begun to learn to whittle and carve wood. Today's photos show olive branches at various stages of the process, from whittling away the bark to choosing a proper coating for a finished piece. Eventually I'd like to learn to do more of what is typically called wood carving, detail work like faces or knotwork. The staves shown here have had their bark whittled off and have been sanded, but none of them would truly classify as carved yet.

This olive branch received two coats of shellac, then parts of the surface were re-sanded to produce the pattern of light and dark stain seen here. 

A finished Olive branch, with two coats of boiled linseed oil for protection. 

This olive branch has had its bark removed, and it has been carved and sanded to the desired shape. 

Olive branch showing the beginning of the whittling process, with most of the bark intact.