“Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden, is the only Kansas City-area venue to host Frida Kahlo’s Garden, an in-depth exhibition focusing on the influences and inspirations behind Frida Kahlo’s (1907–1954) body of work.” Here’s a sampling of that exhibit which is both biographical and educational.
Gazebo Chairs (2018) Pamela Morris
Oil on canvas
~~~~~~~~~
The Chairs That No One Sits In
by Billy Collins
You see them on porches and on lawns
down by the lakeside,
usually arranged in pairs implying a couple
who might sit there and look out
at the water or the big shade trees.
The trouble is you never see anyone
sitting in these forlorn chairs
though at one time it must have seemed
a good place to stop and do nothing for a while.
Sometimes there is a little table
between the chairs where no one
is resting a glass or placing a book facedown.
It might be none of my business,
but it might be a good idea one day
for everyone who placed those vacant chairs
on a veranda or a dock to sit down in them
for the sake of remembering
whatever it was they thought deserved
to be viewed from two chairs
side by side with a table in between.
The clouds are high and massive that day.
The woman looks up from her book.
The man takes a sip of his drink.
Then there is nothing but the sound of their looking,
the lapping of lake water, and a call of one bird
then another, cries of joy or warning—
it passes the time to wonder which.
Red Hot and Green (2014) Pamela Morris
Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world. He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating. — Wendell Berry
The best quote for this theme is “my favorite place is in the arms of a loved one”, but Powell Gardens in the photo above is close. Especially when spring is blooming with azaleas, crocus, daffodils, forsythia, hyacinth, peonies, quince, dogwoods, redbuds, magnolias, tulips, and wisteria.
Later in the season there’s Unity Village's rose garden where there’s an abundance and variety of roses amongst the fountains and Mediterranean architecture. Another favorite.
I live near Powell Gardens which is a 970-acre (3.9 km2) botanical garden about 30 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri. This is where I enjoy my weekend nature walks amongst the flowers.
Kansas City Union Station is one of the icons of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, having opened in 1914. Once a booming rail station and also noted for the Kansas City Massacre, it still serves public transportation as an Amtrak station while also hosting theaters, museum exhibits, and other attractions. As a small child I unintentionally let go of my helium balloon and watched it float to the top of the 95 foot ceiling. Click on the photo for other views of downtown Kansas City posted previously.
And this is the place I’ll be most evenings working on blog, photos, and mischief.
I’ve been making a post on here every day for over the past 4 years. So now I thought might be a good time to go on hiatus and take a break during the holiday season in order to re-energize. I leave you a festival of lights along with some selected Rumi quotes. Have a happy and safe holiday season!
The Kappa is a creature in Japanese Folklore. In places where it is rumored to roam, warning signs have been placed to ward away children and tourists. Kappa’s are water demons with incredible elastic arms. They lure people to their pools and drown them to eat them. There are two ways to stop this demon from eating you. The only thing they love to eat more than human flesh (particularly the livers) are cucumbers. They even sneak out of their habitat just to get a cucumber. Just carve your name and birth date in a cucumber and when they eat it, they’ll have to leave you alone. Another way is to take advantage of the hollow in their head. This hollow contains water. This water gives them their power. If you find a way to make them bow, the water will spill out and he will be powerless. *
"The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans all used animal-shaped waterspouts. During the 12th century, when gargoyles appeared in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church was growing stronger and converting many new people. Most of the population at this time were illiterate, and therefore images were very important to convey ideas. Many early gargoyles depicted some version of a dragon, especially in France. In addition to serving as spouts for water, the gaping mouths of these gargoyles evoked the fearsome destructiveness of these legendary beasts, reminding the laity of the need for the church's protection." -- Gargoyle-Wikipedia
“The name “Bigfoot” for the creature appeared in the late 19th century. Spotted Elk, also called Chief Big Foot, was a well-known Lakota leader killed during the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Famous in his time, his name likely inspired the name of two fabled attacking bears. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries at least two enormous marauding grizzly bears nicknamed “Bigfoot” were widely noted in the press, perhaps inspiring the common name of the ape-creature and may be a source of confusion in early stories.” Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch). 👣
“Morning and evening
Maids heard the goblins cry:
‘Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy”
― Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market
Maverick Mist 