Click on the title above to read in your browser and make sure you don’t miss anything! I’m getting a warning that this post is TOO LONG for email! Lots of images today.
I bought gas for the first time since March yesterday!
We left our house, in a car. Another meat run was needed, since our last trip was not a complete success. Silvana Meats (home of the anti-maskers) was out of ground lamb when we went a few weeks ago.
We cannot live without ground lamb. Well, we could I suppose, but we would rather not. So I looked into other methods to obtain high quality lamb. We discovered that Double DD Meats not only had it at a reasonable price, but also does curbside pickup!
You can just see the blue and purple haired young woman in a mask putting our order into the trunk. SUCCESS.
The trip was not without a few horrific sights. On the whole, most people in the busy parking lot were wearing masks. However, there was an open-air BBQ event going on, and of course there were old white men not wearing masks. My dudes, what you think is social distancing is not even close. And just because you’re outside… well. That’s not completely safe either.
I think people don’t really have a good sense of how far six feet is. The National Park Service has been sharing some fun and helpful diagrams on their social media to help people visualize how far six feet really is.
We also saw people setting up a birthday party in a park. Michael counted 7 adults and 5 children hanging about together - no masks. I’m SURE those kids were doing a great job of staying six feet apart…
BUT WAIT! All hope is not lost, not quite yet. It’s pretty darn close, but just as I was about to completely give up on people, I saw a group of 6-7 adults and one kid who looked to be playing Pokemon Go in the park the other day. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WAS WEARING A MASK. Even the kid. I’ve also seen more individuals walking or cycling while wearing one. It’s just a good habit! Do it every time you leave the house. Even if you’re just out for a walk. I encounter people all the time while I’m walking Rowland - delivery drivers, people coming and going from their homes, folks working in their yards.
It was nice to get out and drive the car. Rowland enjoyed coming along with us. Now that we’re both home all the time I think he might freak out if we left him home alone. He gets a bit anxious if he thinks we’ve left. He’s also been bad about licking his foot, so he’s also wearing his cone or “zen collar” all the time. It makes a nice pillow for him.
One last virus thing before I move on. Remember two years ago when I was drawing a little drawing every single day? I was looking through my notebook and look what I found! Prophetic.
Everyone loves trees! I certainly hope they do. I’ve been thinking a lot about the trees in my neighborhood, since they’re pretty much the only trees I see in person these days. A while back I followed an account on Instagram called thelast6000, which belongs to thelast6000.org. Their goal is to identify and map the over 6,000 big trees in Seattle, with the help of citizen scientists.
In 2015, the city hired the University of Vermont to use aerial technology to measure tree canopy. It used a technology called light detection and ranging, or LIDAR, in which a sensor-equipped plane collects data to create a three-dimensional model of the Earth’s surface and surface characteristics, such as trees. One result of that study was the discovery that there were only 6,338 trees with a trunk diameter of 30 inches or greater left in the city. In this campaign, we refer to these trees as "majestic."
There is no street-level data from that study, and no satellite images have been assessed since then. Therefore, we don't have a good picture or current data of how many, what species, the state of health and where these majestic trees currently live in our city.
I’ve often thought of mapping the big and interesting trees in my neighborhood. Something along the lines of the Trees of Snohomish Walking Guide. There are a lot, many of which I can’t identify. Yet. I’m going to work on that when my copy of Northwest Trees: Identifying and Understanding the Region's Native Trees arrives in a few days. I snagged a copy of the first edition for $5, so will start with that. I know it won’t cover all the trees, but it will be a start!
Here’s one of the many Bigleaf Maples I pass frequently. The trick will be figuring out the different varieties of ornamental trees as well as the natives…
Learning the trees of my neighborhood seems like a good quarantine project.
Dispatches from Idaho
Nolan and Mia send their regards from the Sawtooth Mountains.
Tidbits
The Atlas of Surveillance - yes, they are watching you…
Here are seven books where not much happens, much like quarantine life
Recently eaten: white cheddar Cheez-its. Rowland approves.
Making: lines lines lines! I watched another of Amy Maricle’s slow drawing sessions this week. She usually livestreams on FB on Friday, then leaves the stream up for a couple of days of free access. There are plenty of videos on her YouTube channel too. This week the pattern was called “blossom.” The Index Card a Day (ICAD) challenge is winding down this week, so in August I’ll be back to random whatever art. I did this funny collage a couple of nights ago.
Reading: I finished Neuromancer AND One Square Mile this week, and now I’m in that in-between place where I haven’t really sunk into anything new yet.
Eye Candy Corner
Today I share two very different artists who make art that will surprise you.
Bisa Butler is a QUILT artist who makes vibrant pieces that look like paintings. Her subjects are both modern and historical, and show the beauty and struggle of African American history. Take a virtual tour of her exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art.
A quick glance and you’ll think these are collages just like many others - photos and magazine cuttings layered to create whimsical images.
Not so fast - these are locative collages, which means the paper cuttings are photographed outdoors or in a setting that completes the image. Kind of a cross between street photography, street art, and traditional collage. I love it! This is something I may have to try at home. Click through to Instagram to see the locations where she’s taking the photos.
Learn more about her work here: MissPrinted - Destroyer of Books
Video of the Week
Doesn’t get much better than this!
Question of the Week
If you feel like answering the question, hit reply to this email. Answers will be shared in next week’s newsletter - anonymously. Don’t be shy! General public commenting is available too at the end of this post.
What are you reading this summer?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last week I asked if you had a favorite stuffed animal as a child.
all stuffed animals were my favorite at one time or another, but i had a small winnie the pooh bear that had a music box inside of it. you would wind him up and he would play the theme song. i think my mom still has it somewhere! i currently have more stuffed animals than a 40-something year old woman should have, and sleep with my teletubby, LaLa, every night. my mom gave it to me when i was in high school because my sister and i were obsessed with the teletubbies, and it's been on my bed ever since.
here's a good picture of what my winnie the pooh looked like:
mine is probably just a little (a lot) more worn.
My favorite stuffed animal was Snoopy. My mom and dad gave him to me on the occasion of my tonsillectomy at age five. In those days, kids had to stay overnight before such operations. I recall my parting words to my mother as she left me alone for a night right before surgery: “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” Mom and I talked about this many years later and she admitted she was a little heartbroken to think I didn’t need her. I thought I was just being a brave little patient. Perspective, eh?
Current Temperature: 79.9 F (26.6 C)
Current Humidity: 55%
Wind (max gust): 12.5 mph
Precipitation: 0.00 in