"Many receive advice," said Publilius Syrus (46 BC) "but few profit by it."
Today, believe it or not, and according to reliable sources, is SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY. So I've taken a few interesting facts from the newsblast to share with you:
1. They have four front teeth that grow continuously, at a rate of about six inches per year. (Charming.)
2. Their strength can rule the world. In 1987 and 1994, trading on the NASDAQ market was briefly shut down due to squirrels chewing through power lines. And just last September, more than 3,000 Northern Virginians lost power because one "curious" squirrel got into substation equipment and caused a transformer to blow.
3. A group of squirrels is called a "scurry" or "dray." (This can be an excellent conversation breaker. As in, "Hello. And Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day. Do you know what they call a group of squirrels?")
4. Most ground squirrels kiss when they see each other. Mouth-to-nose and mouth-to-mouth.
5. The brainy Rocket J. Squirrel (aka Rocky the Flying Squirrel), created in 1959 by cartoonist Jay Ward, is one of the world's most famous of the Sciurus genus. He buds around with Bullwinkle the Moose.
6. Adjectives used to describe squirrels include "annoying," "cute," "scurrilous, "messy," "entertaining," "invasive," "jittery," "adorable."
7. They communicate by making shrill sounds.
8. Squirrels have big tails for several reasons. Its primary function is for balance by enabling them to dart around quickly without falling. Should they step amiss, the tail is also used as a parachute when they fall and a cushion when they land. In addition, tail gestures are a form of communication. (We do not know if the term "tattle tail" was invented by a squirrel.) When the tail is flicked, it means, "Get away." And lastly, those fluffy tails serve as excellent blankets in the winter
9. Though their brawn with hauling nuts might flirt with your affection, squirrels do not make good pets. In fact, in many states it's illegal to keep wild animals. Please don't remind me of the pet chimpanzee-who-tore-off-someone's-face story. While a squirrel wouldn't quite do that, they are not a species you can fully trust. Plus, they can't be trained to use a litter box.
10. It is a little known fact that mother squirrels are occasionally cannibals. But only if the mother is really stressed out... like she is stuck in the attic with some of her pups and there's no food or water.
I took the weekend off from blogging to work some more on the studio. I have most of my stuff that was out now stashed away, and the wheeled shelves hiding other wheeled shelves- seems to be neater than having all the walls lined with junk on top of junk! What I have discovered is that I have a surplus of boxes and bins and drawers and said shelves. What I really need to do is more consolidating. I am constantly reminded of my hasty move when I open up a box to find 5 scissors I didn't know I had. So I dump them into the 'scissors drawer' to make friends with the pinking shears, the funny edged craft scissors, the button-hole scissors with the little turny thing in the middle, the shears- big, bigger, and biggest, the Ginghers, the embroidery scissors, the teeny pointed guys with the curved edge and their sister with the straight edge, and of course the 5 or 6 Fiskars in differing sizes. Hmmm, do ya think maybe somebody else could be using these? As soon as the Open Studio is behind me, I am going to get at this.
Buttons: I have a basket of buttons, have made some semblance of order by putting like colors into little baggies, but altogether do I need four baggies of collar buttons? Nope. I've already made a couple of necklaces and covered a ciger box in two layers of them. I can't see well enough any more to sew them to anything, and TY doesn't wear shirts with collar buttons any more. It's all I can do to get him into golf shirts with only three buttons!
Beads: stashed in another matching basket to the buttons, also arranged originally by color in baggies but unfortunately that system became obsolete years ago and it's just a toss-box now. I rarely use beads any more and I betcha somebody else would adore them as a start-up stash. But you see, I have to go through them and keep the 'special' ones. Because...
Found I had a large lizard living behind my wicker table and he has run for his life into a back corner that I will NOT go into because it's the home for escaped spiders back there. Hope the lizard lives a long life back there cleaning it all up for me. I imagine this is the very same lizard that was about an inch long when I first met him and he bolted behind the table. It involved moving too much stuff so I left him there where he has grown fat on my free meals. From the amount of lizard poop and pee back there I guess he hasn't ventured out in months. More clean-up, aisle 2!
Ever been to Italy? This is about the place that blew me out of the water, so to speak: Bomarzo. This is the 'palace':
As a town it's pretty ordinary, but it has another draw that I had read about before our first trip years ago and I made TY drive out of the way to see it, even in the pouring rain! We were driving from Florence to Rome.
(The mauve dots indicate Etruscan places to visit, the green dots are interesting towns without much Etruscan association and the golden triangle is an area known as the Etruscan Triangle, for its wealth of cultural remains, mostly tombs.)
I had read about the Parco dei Mostri and the story behind it and indeed found our way to this:
(Not my picture, remember it was pouring!)
Here is a very old picture of the land being used as a sheep pasture before 1954's restoration:
And another shot of it as it appears today in it's restored park setting:
The result, a sort of mythological dream time brought to life, is now reasonably popular with those who go a little out of their way to see it.
So, why is this important/ interesting/ compelling? The surreal nature of the Parco dei Mostri appealed to Jean Cocteau and the great surrealist Salvador Dalí, who discussed it at great length. The poet André Pieyre de Mandiargues wrote an essay devoted to Bomarzo. Niki de Saint Phalle was inspired by Bomarzo when she created her Tarot Garden in Tuscany. The story behind Bomarzo and the life of Pier Francesco Orsini are the subject of a novel by the Argentinian writer Manuel Mujica Láinez (1910–1984), Bomarzo (1962). Mujica Láinez himself wrote a libretto based on his novel, which was set to music by Alberto Ginastera (1967). The opera Bomarzo premièred in Washington in 1967 but in Argentina it was banned by the military dictatorship. The Dutch magic-surrealist painter Carel Willink used several of the park's statue groups in his paintings, e.g. The Eternal Cry and Balance of Forces.
After a great afternoon climbing around the sculptures and taking a hundred pictures, we were back on the road to Rome, but this is what *I* was most impressed by on the trip. If you're in the area, do not miss it.
After a great afternoon climbing around the sculptures and taking a hundred pictures, we were back on the road to Rome, but this is what *I* was most impressed by on the trip. If you're in the area, do not miss it.
SO, what else is new? Oh, let's see. I went to a friends house last night to watch the Patriots embarrass themselves, but the good news is that I got to knit for a nice long stretch. When I got home I found this site for kerning (my son would be proud! He's the only person I know who actually has conversations about kerning.) I'll warn you now you WILL be graded on your performance. Beat me- I got a few 100s!
And a final little lesson for the day- how RGB LIGHT colors combine. Very different from PIGMENT color combinations!
Happy Monday off, everybody. I'm headed outside to get warm!
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