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turkey had a bad night

I've been gone on a road trip, buzzing horizontally across the state past 150 miles of sugar cane and storm clouds.  We visited TY's college best friend and they showed us around the 'new' Ft. Myers, a city that I hadn't really seen since the mid 80's when we would freeload February vacations on Sanibel.  We didn't drive out there this time, instead stuck to the mainland and took advantage of some of the upgrades to the town since the way I remembered it.  First of all I finally got to the Edison/Ford houses.  They are old wood structures from the turn of the last century on gorgeous sites.  The Edison office is an outbuilding and his work spaces are amazingly tiny.  The grounds are covered with all sots of rubber producing trees- I never imagined there were more than one, as in,

 'Oops there goes another rubber tree plant!'

But trust me, people gave him rubber trees from all over the world, one of which is a banyon that has grown to cover more than an acre.  Apparently there is a bigger one, and acre and a half, somewhere on Hawaii, but here is the east coast, errr, maybe west coast since it's on the Gulf, version:

This is about 1/4 of it. As you can see they have roped off the edges to keep people from trying to get at the rubber for themselves, but this whole thing grew from a 3' plant, a gift.  It was very interesting to see inside both houses and their associated out buildings-  even the most wealthy families lived frugally, small rooms oriented to the breezes off the river, large windows and doors opening to wide verandas, kitchens in nearby but not attached buildings, and of course tiny rooms dedicated to the secretary and the maid.  

The Ford house had a large garage and in it, guess what!

A BEAUTIFUL 1929 Model A!  Only difference is mine didn't have a 'Henry Ford Museum' sticker on the side, and it was green with yellow wheels.

Here is a few out to the dock where once there was a summer house loaded with wicker furniture.  It had no walls, only supports and a roof but I think they got tired of rebuilding it after every storm.  This is the sight-line as you enter the property.

And this is the 'moonlight garden' behind the office building!  And actually the first Moon Garden I have ever seen except in pictures.  I'm afraid I got a bit overexcited about this- it's surrounded by Mina Ford's white roses and a shallow reflecting pool in the center with water plants.  Why, you ask?  Because of this:

My 'vintage' Moongarden' quilt! 

(probably 1985 or so, exhibited in the SAQA Diversity show way back when.)  This whole thing was made with a box of fabrics that a friend in the garment district saved up and sent me:  silks and linens and sample sets from Barry Bricken clothing.  It was my first shot at broiderie perse which I have continued to use all these years (see trailing flowers cut from a toile moving up the right side)  I always thought of this as a break-through quilt for me, but apparently nobody else does-  it's hanging in my studio over my refrigerator now, probably the source of the daddy-long-legs family in residence.  Pssst:  wanna buy a quilt?  No?  OK, neither do I, but if I can sell it I can use the money to buy Other Art and pass it on!