Has he created the world around him to mirror himself? Or has he been swallowed up and molded by it?

Perhaps he has the best of both worlds and it is a comfortable blending of the two.

These are the thoughts in my head as I looked at this sculpture.  When I first saw it I only saw the orb.  It wasn't until I got closer that I realized there is a person inside.  The figures are composed of letters from nine alphabets.

Like all of the sculptures in the Jaime Plensa Human Landscape exhibit, it is thought provoking.  The simple beauty, and the way that they actually seem to be a part of the landscape is breathtaking.  

Outside the main entrance is a 23' tall sculpture called Laura with Bun.

 There is a similar Jaime Plensa sculpture on the grounds at the Frist Center for Visual Arts.  That one is named Isabella.  Laura is actually facing in the direction of Isabella.

The Soul of Words I and II are posed to imitate two people in conversation.

Thoughts is just that - thoughts and phrases swirling around.

Silent Music made me think about those who have music in their souls

He created this one in part because Nashville is Music City.  He wanted to honor the diversity of musical history in the city.  When the exhibition is over, this sculpture will stay at Cheekwood and become part of the permanent exhibit.

Awilda and Irma is an unusual stainless steel mesh created in a pond.  He wanted to underscore the relationship to the landscape by installing it in the pond, and also to bring water, light and air together.  There is an amazing amount of detail to these, and a few steps in any direction will bring a change of the facial features.

The Heart of Trees are seven bronze figures, with their limbs wrapped around trees and the names of composers from the 19th and 20th centuries.  They are quite striking.

These were my favorite part of the exhibit.  Well, maybe my second favorite part.  I really liked the Silent Music sculpture.  But these are awesome.

Near the reflecting pool is Rul Rul's World.  She is a marble figure, whose variations in the color of the marble add to the beauty of the statue.  From the side view, she appears to be solid white marble.  It't not until you get in front of her that you begin to see the color variations.

There were also some pieces inside the museum.  For some reason I found the inside pieces to be very haunting.  Uncomfortably so.  I couldn't get decent pictures inside as you couldn't use the flash on the camera.  As I neared the exit, I heard piano music.  It is the first time I've heard the grand piano being played.  And played beautifully.  He paused between each song to tell us what he was playing.

In addition to the sculptures and the music, I enjoyed the time walking around the botanical gardens.  It was a cool day, with the threat of rain, so it wasn't terribly crowded.  

As I walked, I was treated to the beauty of the gardens and the wonderful autumn show that nature brings us.

Goodbye until next time.

A Dew-Covered Bearded Iris

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature, one photograph at a time.

During last weeks' staycation, one of the places we went to was Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.  It's a local place and we go there frequently.  They have some awesome exhibits.  Right now there's an exhibit of 'stickwork', which you can read about here.  Unfortunately we were too late to see all the tulips in bloom, but we have seen that before.  It's fabulous, and you can see that here.  

What we did see last week were some bearded iris' covered in dew.

The day was pretty overcast, so the drops stayed on the foliage and created picture perfect conditions!

So pretty and delicate.

Mother Nature has a Wry Sense of Humor

Reconnecting with Nature

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature, one photograph at a time.

Winter in the southern United States is generally a little chilly, but by now we've usually gotten some nice, warm sunny days and are seeing signs of spring - like crocuses and daffodils breaking through the surface of the ground and soaking up a little of the warm, February sun.  Not this year.  This year continues to be cold and snowy.

Since Sunday we have had an ice storm that left everything covered in 1/2" of ice (thank you winter storm Octavia), followed by snow, now being followed by bitterly cold air.  Jeesh.  Enough already - WE'RE IN THE SOUTH!!

I've been taking pictures of the yard because, well to be totally honest, I'm pretty bored.  I've been housebound for four days and if I'm going to stay in the house that long - I need something to do.  So I've been taking pictures and posting them on social media.  I must admit - even that is getting a little old.

As I was taking pictures today, I realized that Mother Nature has quite a sense of humor.

See what she did here?  The shed roof is snow covered, the tree branches encased in ice, and icicles hang down all along the roof edge.  Except right in front of the thermometer.  She didn't want to hide that!  She really wanted us to be able to see how cold it was!!

So it's cold - and snowy - and icy - and it's February.  A couple of months from now it'll be in the low 70's and sunny......

I'm counting on it!!

Pastel Sunrise

Reconnecting with Nature

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature.

As I was getting ready for work earlier this week, I looked out of the dining room window and saw this beautiful sky at sunrise.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of it and sharing it with you.  So calm and peaceful.  Makes you want to go outside even if it is a bit chilly.

That same day, my daughter sent me a picture of her house and yard in Massachusetts.   What began as a mild New England winter has turned into a late-blooming-seems-like-it-will-never-end snowpocalypse.  The kind of snow that makes me glad I don't live there anymore.

See her mailbox in the front center of the picture?  That's how deep the snow is!  Everywhere!

Spring Castle

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature.

On Monday we took a ride to one of the Tenneessee state parks - Rock Island State Park -  to check out the waterfalls and explore the trails.  Truthfully, we had a three day weekend and it rained for the first two days, so I had a little bit of cabin fever and went in search of something to do outside.  You can see that post here.  

One of the things that I found beautiful on that trip were these stairs.

I know they're manmade.  But they were built with materials that come from the earth, so they are rustic and appropriate and nature is claiming them back.  I love the way the moss has grown on them and the ivy climbs up the sides.  When I went to climb the stairs, I found them to be extremely uneven, but all of the stones were well-grounded.  

The stairs lead up to a spring house which was built in the 1890's.  The spring house is more of a spring castle, made of stone, and totally at home at the edge of the woods.  I think it's adorable.  You can't really see in this picture, but the stairs are to the right of the castle.

Back in the day, a spring house was built over a water source and used for refrigeration.  The constantly running, cool water would keep the house at a steady temperature, thus keeping food fresh.  In this case, the spring house was used for the workers at the cotton mill across the street.

A beautiful, peaceful place.  With a building built by man, but with a deep respect for the natural environment.

The Robins Have Almost Outgrown the Nest!

An update on our babies.  Since, Wednesday, they have grown -- a lot!!

I don't think think it will be too long until they are fighting for space and pushing each other out of the nest.

Robins in Their Nest

Right outside of our kitchen, on the top of the drainpipe elbow, is a nest.  Every year the robins use it and we get to see the babies before they fly off.

I took these still pictures on Sunday.  There are three babies in the nest and they're still really small.  Their eyes were closed and their necks were very weak - it was obviously challenging for them to keep their heads held up!  You can easily see two of them, the third one is in the back on the left.

They were obviously hungry and when they heard me they hoped it was Mama bringing some food.  Sorry babies!!

I did manage to get some video of Mama feeding them on Tuesday night.  In the first section, you can see the babies really well.  Mama came with some food, but then got spooked by something and flew off before feeding them.  The second part of the movie shows her feeding them.  Their mouths open wide, wide, wide to get some food!  The babies will eat worms, insects and berries.  She was feeding worms this time.

Apparently it's not uncommon for them to build a nest in a sheltered area.  They don't generally use bird houses, but do like some shelter.  They've been there for years, and come back every year, so they must like that it's protected from both the weather and the predators.  

I just saw her fly up into the nest tonight, so I know they're still there.

The calm after the storm

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature

It poured late Saturday afternoon.  We were headed downtown to go to the CMA Fest concert and it was thundering, lightening and raining.  Raining cats and dogs, as they say.  They were calling for severe thunderstorms and, apparently, they were right.   CMA Fest brings in about 80,000 people over the course of the week, and about 65,000 attend the concerts at LP Field.  

Downtown Nashville has lots and lots of honkey tonks, and during CMA fest there are numerous music stages with live music.  Most of the crowd stays downtown until it's time for the concert.  The shortest route from there to LP Field is to cross the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River.  The storms were bad enough that they closed the pedestrian bridge and they delayed the start time of the concert.  The gates were closed and anyone who was already in the stadium was escorted to the concourse to wait out the storm.  We were in the car waiting for the text message telling us the gates were open.  FINALLY - about 8:00 pm, they opened the gates.  As we got out of the car, I looked to the right and saw the sunset.

Fisher Cat

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature.

My friend Cindy recently took these photos and explained that her dog, Sadie, had chased this Fisher Cat and it had found safety up in a tree.

Fisher cats aren't actually cats, they are part of the weasel family.  They are a medium sized, forest dwelling mammal.  They can climb trees, but prefer to hunt on the forest floor.  They like old-growth forests with dense, overhead cover.  Fisher Cats are not afraid of most other animals and will not hesitate to defend themselves if necessary.  I just learned this - and found it fascinating, they have extremely mobile ankle joints, which can rotate their hind paws almost 180 degrees, allowing them to agilely move through tree branches and climb down trees head first.  How's that for adapting to your lifestyle!

Fisher Cats are known as extremely vicious and dangerous to all other animals.  Fortunately Sadie came through this encounter unscathed and the Fisher was able to climb down from the tree and run back into the forest.  

An American Goldfinch

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature

I looked out the window into the back yard as I walked through the dining room.  Perched on top of the shed was a bright, beautiful goldfinch.  I have learned it's actually called an American Goldfinch.

The American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), also known as the Eastern Goldfinch, is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico during the winter.

The only finch in its subfamily that undergoes a complete molt, the American Goldfinch displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is a vibrantyellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter months, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate.

The American Goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. It may behave territorially during nest construction, but this aggression is short-lived. Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. This species is generally monogamous, and produces one brood each year.

Nesting

Reconnecting with Nature -- Linking up with Chrisy to share a look at nature all around us.

In the corners of our house are drainpipes that go from the gutter, under the eaves, and then down the side of the house.  Every year since we have been here (this is our seventh spring) there are bird nests in both corners.  The nests are re-used every year and we delight in seeing and hearing the baby robins.  I have witnessed their flights lessons - and they are both amusing and amazing.  Unfortunately this year, one of the nests was destroyed.  There are black birds that take over the nests of other birds.  I'm not sure what the birds are (maybe one of you can tell me), but they will push the eggs and/or babies out of the nest and take ownership. We assume that's what happened here, either the nest wasn't on a sturdy enough base for a large bird and it fell to the ground or they were fighting over the nest.  Either way, the nest, babies and egg shells ended up on the ground.  I picked up the nest but wasn't really sure what to do with it.

Bird nests are a work of art.  I lifted off the top layer, and it was a perfectly formed bowl-shape.

Under that, was a more solid layer.  I guess every year they must have reinforced the base with some sort of a 'glue'.  In this case it appeared to be mud, and then a new layer of straw/grass, softer material was woven for the babies.

You can see how the nest has been built up year after year.  The circular layers are like a timeline.  This nest must be about 7 or 8 inches tall.

I took the nest and put it into a tree in the backyard.  I'm not sure any other birds will use it, but I couldn't bear to throw it away.

Honey.....

Linking up with Chrisy for Reconnecting with Nature.  We were at the Farmer's Market the other day, specifically looking for local wildflower honey.  We found it.  Nice thick, dark, non-processed honey.

All thanks to these honey bees

They are quite amazing - and where would we be without them?  90% of flowering plants are pollinated with the assistance of animals -- 90 percent!

Growing up in the country - and around cranberry bogs - there were always bees flying around.   The cranberry growers (and I'm sure other fruit and vegetable growers) actually rent hives to help pollenate the crops.  So during the warmers months, you will see the boxes of hives near the bogs.

  For the most part, if you don't both them, they don't bother you.  I remember one day Andy was next door mowing my parents lawn and came back into the house and said there were a LOT of bees out front.  He was right.  There were a LOT of bees.  I can't remember why, but apparently they left their hive and were looking for a new home.  One of our trees looked like a good place, so once the queen bee landed in the tree they all followed her.  Jim's father knew how to handle the bees, so we had him come over and get rid of them.

Since spring is right around the corner (notice that optimism?) that means allergy season will be here soon, too.  I heard from a nutritionist that if you eat one teaspoon of local wildflower honey every day for two weeks, it will help decrease the severity of your allergies.   It puts all of those allergens into your system in a slow, more controlled way so your body can build up it's defenses again them.  You can add it to tea, oatmeal, smoothies, whatever you want.  Yum!!

A Day at the Beach

Last summer we went to Cape Cod for Andy and Jenn's wedding.  We had hoped to get some good beach time because, having moved inland, we REALLY miss the beach.  There's something so calming about the sound and smell of the ocean.  The pure power and size of the ocean remind me of how small we really are.  Unfortunately it was also the weekend that a tropical storm came to the Cape.  So much for beach time - and an outdoor wedding.   It was a beautiful wedding, a lovely weekend with family and friends, and we couldn't have asked for anything more.

We were in staying at a Bed-and-Breakfast in Orleans, and went over to Skaket Beach one day (it may have been the day of the shark siting at Orleans Beach...... ) and saw this Fiddler Crab

They just look so unbalanced.  With the one big claw - like a sci-fi move gone bad.

Apparently this is a male, as the females claws are both the same size.   The males use their large claw in some sort of mating ritual.  The female chooses a mate based on his ability to wave his large claw - she can tell the size of his 'burrow' and then chooses the appropriate burrow size for her clutch of eggs.

All I know is that he was scurrying across the sand - and he may have been intimidated by us, but he kept going.  Perhaps realizing that we were intruders in his native habitat and would soon be gone.

Linking up with Chrisy at 'Living a Good North Coast Life' for her Reconnecting with Nature link-up.Living a Good North Coast Life

Birds at the Feeder

If we were still living in Southeastern Massachusetts we would likely be waking up to 8 or so inches of new snow on the ground.  I remember the sound of the snow falling.  You don’t think it should really make a sound - each snowflake being weightless and so delicate, but you really can hear it during big storms.  And that much snow changes the landscape for man and animals.  We had lots of birds around, and when the plants are dormant and the ground is covered, they can’t find food.  

We always kept bird feeders filled for them, most of the feeders we could see from inside the house.  This one was outside our dining room window.   The red bird on the right is a Cardinal - a male.  I think the other two are Nuthatches - a little hard to tell from this angle, but I think that’s what they are.

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life