A few weeks ago, Ms. Jeannie was contacted by Paris House in regards to doing a photo shoot for a few of their products. Sharon at PH was very complimentary of the photos in Ms. Jeannie’s Etsy shop and thought it would be fun to photograph some of the Paris House bags and clutches in similar fashion.
Based in New Zealand, Paris House not only offers completely original bags and accessories but also the experience of thinking outside of the proverbial conversation box. Here are some examples…
Everything is made of of the softest, plushiest leather, and they all contain gold embellishments and quirky sayings, both on the inside and outside.
This is more from the Paris House 2012 Catalog…
Photo courtesy of parishouse.co.nz
As soon as the box of bags arrived Ms. Jeannie got to work thinking about fun and creative ways to photograph these fun and creative items. Because the bags are brassy and modern with their sassy gold illustrations and because they are classically luxurious in texture, she thought that industrial type props would be a nice contrast…
Envelope clutch with weathered bricks. Click for more info.
As she was photographing this clutch, Ms. Jeannie started thinking about a little story involving the eyelashes and paparazzi. So she got out her vintage Brownie camera and incorporated it into the photo shoot. It was easy for Brownie to fall in love with the golden eyed beauty.
The backside of the clutch says Peeping Tom on it!The inside of the bag says: Love to my sister who just got married.
Next, Ms. Jeannie went on a little travel adventure with a weekender bag that lost his way…
The caption on this bag reads: Should this bag ever roam, smack his bum & send him home.
The inside had little illustrations that carry the fun from out to in…
Those little fruit characters really called out to Ms. Jeannie, so the next envelope clutch was all about fun with bedazzled fruits…
This bag states: Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.
That sounds like a statement Helen Gurley Brown would have made!
It is difficult to mention Helen Gurley Brown and then right after not to mention men, so Ms. Jeannie changed gears and went to work on the Fantastic Man zipper pouch..
Underneath Fantastic Man it says kisses!
In Ms. Jeannie’s opinion, any well-read man is a fantastic man. And who was one of history’s most fantastic, most well-read men? Why none other than Hemingway of course! So here’s a nod in his direction…
Ms. Jeannie thinks Hemingway would approve of the deer antler addition.
Then of course, one cannot think about Ernest without thinking of his famous “write drunk, edit sober” quote so Ms. Jeannie carried on into a night of partying with the Two Drunken Couples zipper pouch…
On such a wildly entertaining night as this, of course, just about a billion and a half stories unfolded. So many in fact that inspiration for the Dear Sophie zippered pouch came about from stacks of stories in stacks of notebooks…
Dear Sophie, Everything I have is yours except my boyfriend.
And now Dear Sophie and her stacks of stories from the drunken night now sit on the homepage of the Paris House website…
parishouse.co.nz
As you know, Ms. Jeannie just loves everything that tells a story, and these bags do such a good job of giving you a little slice of creative inspiration. Wouldn’t it be fun to combine all these little sayings into one short story? It would be an interesting one at that! Ms. Jeannie might just have to set out on such a challenge. In the meantime, stop by the Paris House website and peruse their vast collection of fun and whimsical items here.
And, when conversation hits a lull at the next party or dinner date you attend, you can call on Dear Sophie or the drunken couple to liven things up a little bit:)
The cutest little thing greeted Ms. Jeannie on the screen porch this morning…
It’s a fig leaf, dear readers! And can you guess where it came from?
That’s right! It came from our very own fig clipping water method! It’s hard to believe that this was the easiest most uncomplicated way to grow a fig tree. And yet, here our little dazzler is – her own version of jazz hands greeting the day.
If you recall from previous posts, Ms. Jeannie tried two different ways to grow a fig tree from a clipping. There was the newspaper method and the water method. After trial and error, which you can catch up on here, the clear winner was the water method. In a nutshell… cut a fig clipping in winter, stick it in a jar of water for several months and watch the roots grow.
Then transfer the rooty clipping to a pot filled with potting soil. Ms. Jeannie at this point still kept the clipping indoors for a couple of weeks, but placed it next to a window that receives indirect sunlight. Then, on a bit of a whim one gorgeous afternoon, she moved the pot to the screened-in porch. That side of the house gets late afternoon sun for a few hours and apparently that was the ticket for this little one to sprout!
And so here we are, in newborn fig heaven.
When this little darling sprouts a few more leaves, she’ll transfer it to a bigger pot. In the meantime, she’ll just watch it grow.
Another little delight that greeted Ms. Jeannie recently, was this fellow…
Just like the kitty that surprised Ms. Jeannie in the fig bush last year – this visitor also found his way into the yard from the fig bushes. Perhaps there is some sort of trap door in those fig bushes! A little underground network of tunnels for stray cats, with a special sign at Ms. Jeannie’s fig roots that reads REST STOP – THIS WAY!
Whatever the case – it seems Ms. Jeannie is on some sort of list now to receive a new cat every summer. This one she has named Boy-O because he’s very clearly a chap, and he’s got green eyes and that handsome black and white coat which favors the Irish complexion. Ms. Jeannie actually went through a whole roster of names beginning in Italy (since he was in the figs on a hot summer afternoon of course!) … there was Paolo, Giuseppe, Jono. He was completely indifferent to those names so Ms. Jeannie changed directions… Adolph, George (this was long before the royal baby!), Leo, Sam, Charlie. No interest again. Then she said in exasperation – “Boy Cat what is your name?!” And he turned his head and looked at her. Aha! Something was ringing a bell. “Boy. Boy Cat. Boy-O? Could that be it? Boy-O?” Immediately right after she posed this question, he meowed. Clearly there was a winner in the name department!
So it’s been about a month now that Boy-O has visited here with Ms. Jeannie. He loves to eat and he loves to pal around with Ms. Jeannie’s two cats. He enjoys walking around the garden, licking fallen figs and drinking out of the bird bath. But perhaps his most favorite thing to do is nap. He loves the side porch, more than anything, just like the little fig sprout does. Most afternoons, Ms. Jeannie sees him sprawled out like this…
All this afternoon bonding time with the fig sprout has led Ms. Jeannie to think that perhaps Boy-O is a fig nanny. Maybe that sign in the underground tunnel reads FIG NANNIES – APPLY HERE, and Boy-O just showed up because he needed a job.
Whatever the circumstance, Ms. Jeannie is working with her local vet to try and find a home for him. It’s a daunting task as they have their own giant book of Boy-Os that also need homes. “But mine comes with a skill,” Ms. Jeannie told them. “And he’s dedicated!” The proof is in the pictures…
Fig nannies just don’t come along every day, dear readers, so if you know of anyone – who might need such a talent, than Boy-O is their man(cat).
This past Tuesday marked the return of one of Ms. Jeannie’s most favorite shows…
Who Do You Think You Are on Tuesday nights on TLC
Now in its fourth season, Who Do You Think You Are is the pet project of actress Lisa Kudrow (from Friends fame) that follows celebrities as they trace and discover their own roots. Ms. Jeannie loves this show because everyone can learn from it – regardless if you are famous or not, everybody follows the same format. You have to look back in order to look forward.
Lots of different types of celebrities from film stars (Susan Sarandon), to sports figures (Emmit Smith) to singers (Lional Ritchie) to comedians (Chris Rock) to models (Brooke Shields) have been featured on past episodes.
This week it was singer Kelly Clarkson, who Ms. Jeannie realized she actually had a few things in common with. This is the trailer for Kelly’s episode…
Kelly’s great, great, great grandfather, Isiah, was a Civil War soldier from Ohio who fought for the Union side. Ms. Jeannie’s great, great grandfather was also a Civil War soldier from Ohio who fought for the Union side…
Ms. Jeannie’s great, great grandfather Albert (1840-1921)
Kelly’s ancestor fought in the war for four years. He was captured and taken prisoner by the Confederate soldiers and sent to a prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. Ms. Jeannie’s great, great grandfather also served for four years and fought in battles all over the Southeast – his last one was very close to Andersonville, GA and it was there that he suffered trauma to his eyes.
The prison camp at Andersonville was awful – holding over 40,000 soldiers in a barracked field open to the elements and left to their own devices for toiletry, food and shelter.
Camp configuration at Andersonville. Photo courtesy of mihp.orgAndersonville tents. Photo courtesy of old-picture.comUnion soldier held at Andersonville Prison.
Men were walking skeletons from mal-nourishment and disease, they were angry from being confined, and they were exhausted from fighting the war and then fighting to survive in a prison camp. Andersonville is the United States version of Holocaust camps in Germany. There was no regard for human dignity or for human life. Men were thrown together en masse and left to fend for themselves. Over 13,000 soldiers died in camp at Andersonville during the Civil Wa,r and now the park serves as a memorial to the bravery of lost victims. Thankfully Kelly’s great, great, great grandfather escaped the prison confines and re-introduced himself to civilian society. He carried on with strength and determination to lead a long and fruitful life.
Ms. Jeannie’s great, great grandfather mustered out of the Civil War cavalry after his eye trauma in 1865. He went home to Ohio to collect his sweetheart, Martha, who lived in a neighboring county in Indiana…
Albert’s wife, Martha. Ms. Jeannie’s great, great grandmother.
A month and a half later, in the summer of 1865, they married at Martha’s parents home in Johnson County, Indiana, and the very next day, they embarked via covered wagon on a journey to Iowa. Martha’s parents accompanied them. Ms. Jeannie can only imagine what kind of “honeymoon” this was! During the month and a half-long trip, Martha made this quilt, which you might recall from a previous post…
Martha’s churn dash style quilt, which Ms. Jeannie now keeps.
Martha made this quilt so that she would have a bed covering once they reached their new home in Iowa. It would be a reminder of their journey across country and also a symbolic token for the beginning of their marriage. By the time this blanket was created, Albert, 24, had seen all sorts of horrendous acts at war, he had defended his country, he had fought for his beliefs. Martha was a young bride, 18, leaving the only life she had ever known in Indiana to travel thousands of miles across country to begin anew. Neither knew Iowa nor what lay ahead for them. They simply set out and hoped for the best. Like Kelly Clarkson said in this past episode ” These are brave choices, made at this time – all these men and women.”
Kelly’s great, great, great grandfather went on eventually to serve a seat in the House Senate. Ms. Jeannie’s great, great grandfather also went on to a career in the public arena. When he and Martha reached Iowa, they staked their claim in Vinton where they became farmers and eventually, Albert, became the town clerk and justice of the peace, a position he held for 25 years. He and Martha became parents to 11 children – 9 of whom lived to see their adult years…
Martha and Albert, center, at their 50th wedding anniversary with their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren by their sides.
Albert died in 1921 at the age of 80. Martha died in 1929 at the age of 82. Ms. Jeannie is so thrilled that there are two pieces in her family to remember them by. The quilt from Martha and this civil war ink well from Albert…
Albert’s inkwell that he carried with him throughout the Civil War.
Both items are warm and hopeful pieces and Ms. Jeannie just loves that. Martha’s quilt kept the two of them warm for years. Albert’s inkwell may have aided in letters home while he was away at war. There is no documentation in Ms. Jeannie’s family of anything written using ink from this inkwell, but Ms. Jeannie thinks something special must have come from this font in order for it to have been passed down through the family for all these years. It could have been something as simple as an “I Love You” from Albert’s hand to his parents, James and Nancy in Ohio or a sweet “wait for me – I’m coming soon” sentiment to Martha in Indiana. Either way it was a valued vessel.
Kelly ends the episode by returning to Nashville and reporting to her mom all that she uncovered on her genealogy adventure. “Now we know…” she said to her mom. ” This is in our blood.” This is what makes this show, and genealogy in turn, so great. It is in your face history that has directly affected your life. Had there never been Isiah there would never be Kelly and had there never been Albert there never would be Ms. Jeannie. And while we can’t sit down and have a face to face conversation with these past generations, we still know them, because we are them.
We are all, a lot more related then we realize!
Who Do You Think You Are airs every Tuesday night at 9:00pm (eastern) on TLC. Next week, it’s the actress Christina Applegate. If you are a fan of the show, please comment below, Ms. Jeannie would love to hear your thoughts.
While we are all waiting, waiting, waiting for the royal baby to be born, Ms. Jeannie has been anticipating her own little bundle of joy…
The first ripe tomato of the season! Ms. Jeannie marked this occasion on Friday when she plucked the little darling in anticipation of including it in Friday night’s dinner.
Only she had one slight problem. It looked so pretty on the vine, but when she pulled it, the other side looked like somebody kicked it in the gut. Ms. Jeannie forgot to take a picture before she cut it open to see what was going on inside, but imagine a blister-like opening puncture type wound about the size of a dime. Not exactly the look she was hoping for!
At first Ms. Jeannie thought it might have been caused by rubbing due to the high wind and rainstorms this past weekend. But then on the underside of the green tomato above it she saw one of these…
A stink bug! Photo courtesy of nopests.com
Stink bugs are nutrient suckers and affect a wide variety of agricultural plants. Native to Japan and Korea, they were first introduced into the US via Pennsylvania in the late 1990’s. They are considered a pest because they are immune to a lot of insecticides and pesticides.
Being a natural/organic gardener, there is not much Ms. Jeannie can do about them, except pick off the ones she sees and hope that there aren’t a mass of them. Birds are one predator to the stink bug though, which she has plenty of in her garden, so she hopes they’ll find these little guys delectable.
Pill bugs are also taking up residence at the base of Ms. Jeannie’s Gerber daisies which is also the same pot shared by her herb garden. At first glance – everything is growing right along – the dill is getting tall, the basil is filling out, the chives are fattening up and the daisies add a sunny bit of color.
But on closer look in the daisy leaves, there’s a whole city full of these guys…
Pillbugs! They feed on dead and decaying plant matter, so they aren’t really a big threat. But Ms. Jeannie really wished they fed on slugs who also love the Gerber daisies, and unfortunately, are starting to discover her basil leaves. After careful checking today, she thinks she’s removed all the slugs but more rain is scheduled for this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow so we’ll see if more are coming.
If you’ve been keeping up with Ms. Jeannie on twitter, you’ll recognize this other bug sighting that she discovered last week in the flooding of the creek. At the base of some rotting log stumps she saw these extraordinary things…
Ms. Jeannie thought at first glance that they were old porcelain doorknobs buried in the dirt, which would not be all that uncommon a find here in Ms. Jeannie’s area (more on dirt discoveries another day!). But in actuality, they are giant Eastern Hercules beetle larvae. And giant they definitely are! Each one of these guys here was about the size of a large shrimp. Eventually they will look like this…
Female Hercules beetleMale Hecules beetle. Photo courtesy of fcps.edu
These are the largest beetles found in the US and are just a slightly smaller version of the Hercules beetle native to central and South America, which can grow to be 6 inches long. These beetles prefer rain-forest type conditions – and since it has been so rainy here – Ms. Jeannie can understand why they like her yard!
They feed off the forest floor eating, rotten wood and the like, so they are good groundskeepers, if not intimidating:) They are also considered the strongest animal in the world – with the ability to lift 850 times their own body weight. Amazing!
And last but not least, down in Hercules land, the creek is also now aflight and flutter with hundreds of damselflies.
Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, which are one of the oldest insects known to man. Both damselflies and dragonflies prefer wet environments where they can lay eggs in water. Love is definitely in there air at Ms. Jeannie’s. Did you know that when two damselflies mate their bodies form the shape of a heart? See for yourself…
Ms. Jeannie just loves that about nature. Just when you think you can’t stand one more monotonous day of dark, gloomy, wet weather – just when you think you’ve seen all the same rain drops day after day – Mother Nature surprises you with a few new interesting sights. It keeps you captivated instead of going crazy, which Ms. Jeannie fully appreciates. And now, as the rain clouds roll in, yet again, Ms. Jeannie wonders what Mother Nature just might have up her sleeve next. Stay tuned here on the blog and also on twitter for more discoveries…
If you remember from the last post, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers was the book written by Christopher Cokinos that inspired the artistry of Todd McGrain. Ms. Jeannie just realized that the title came from a poem by this woman…
Do you recognize her?
Emily Dickinson. She wrote the poem in 1861 at the age of 31.
Here it is in full:
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune–without the words, And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.
– Emily Dickinson
It was written during the time in her life where Emily was just beginning to withdraw from public life. She spent her days at home, her birthplace, the Homestead house in Amherst, MA surrounded by family and a few close friends.
Emily Dickinson’s Homestead in Amhearst, MA
The house sat on 14 acres and was surrounded by trees and gardens where Emily drew inspiration for her poetry and writings. There were plentiful garden beds where she would watch the birds dive and dart – the notions and assimilations fluttering about her mind.
It’s wonderful to think that Emily’s writing is still cause for inspiration over 150 years later and for such a noble book and equally noble art project as commemorating the lost birds of America. Here she was, a reclusive soul, interpreting the world how she saw it by putting thoughts to paper in Victorian era America, and now, free like all birds are, her words have taken flight to protect the very subjects she so admired. Ms. Jeannie just loves this. How one bit of creativity can spark another. You just never know how your words can affect others – so pick good ones, dear readers – they might just bloom into something extraordinary when you are least expecting it:)
The other night, Ms. Jeannie watched a documentary and fell in love with big birds. Five in particular. This is one of them…
The documentary was called The Lost Bird Project and was about an artist who set out to memorialize five birds that are now extinct from our environment.
Inspired, after reading the book, Hope Is The Thing With Feathers (great title!) by Christopher Cokinos, sculptor Todd McGrain built man-size sculptures of five particular birds that are no longer living in the natural world. He wanted the birds to be not only memorials for something now lost, but also educational pieces that would make people pause and reflect about their own individual roles in the hands of nature.
The five birds he chose were:
The Carolina Parakeet, extinct since 1918, was highly sought after by the millinery industry for their bright feathers. This statue was placed at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park in Okeechobee, FL. Photo courtesy of lostbirdfilm.orgCarolina Parakeet. Photo courtesy of extinct-website.com.The passenger pigeon, extinct by 1914, saw its main decline due to hunting. This statue was placed at Grange Audubon Center in Columbus, Ohio. Photo courtesy of lostbirdfilm.orgPassenger Pigeons. Photo courtesy of rareprintsgallery.comThe Heath Hen, extinct since 1932 due to hunting, predators and development was last seen in the wild on Martha’s Vineyard. The last one living by himself on the Vineyard for years, constantly called for mates with no replies. This statue was placed in Manuel F. Correllus State Forest in Martha’s Vineyard, MA. Photo courtesy of lostbirdfilm.orgHeath Hen. Photo courtesy of nhptv.orgThe Labrador Duck, extinct since 1878, was most likely demolished by a lack of food supply due to coastal industry expansion. This statue was placed at Brand Park in Elmira, New York. Photo courtesy of lostbirdfilm.org.Labrador Ducks. Photo courtesy of mcq.orgThe Great Auk has been extinct since 1844. Ever present seabirds, they mated for life and found refuge in rocky terrains off coastal waterways. Their greatest predator was man who would use them for food source, oil and feathers. This statue was placed at Joe Batt’s Point at Fogo Island in Newfoundland. Photo courtesy of lostbirdfilm.orgThe Great Auk. Photo courtesy of itsnature.org
The documentary presents a wonderful arc of a story from creation of the sculptures through dealing with the bureaucratic red tape of state “gifting” to seeing the sculptures placed in the areas intended by the artist (where the real birds were actually last seen).
Compelling, doesn’t begin to describe the subject matter and at the heart of the story is one man’s quest for genuine expression. It is humble. It is grand. It is remarkable. And it makes you think about nature around us… the common sights and sounds we live with everyday… and all that we might just be taking for granted.
Here’s a trailer for the documentary…
If you’d like to find out more about the project and the artist , visit the film website here. If you happen to live near or have been to see any of the bird statues, please comment below with your thoughts – Ms. Jeannie would love to hear.
****** UPDATE – MAY 8, 2017 ****
The Passenger Pigeon – a Lost Bird Project sculpture was spotted in the gardens of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.!
It’s a gusher around here! 7.5″ inches of rain in 3 days.
Just about everything seems waterlogged. The grass is spongy, the first figs showed up fat and bloated, the creek overflowed and flooded the banks. Goodness gracious, what would Aunt Lorraine think?
Aunt Lorraine? But who is that again, Ms. Jeannie?
Well my dears, Aunt Lorraine is that lovely, thoughtful woman that gave young Burt that wonderful gift of a book called Storms: Their Origins And Effects, back in 1966.
Vintage 1966 Children’s Book available in Ms. Jeannie’s shop. Click for more info.
In her inscription, she wrote the following:
Dear Burt: I hope you don’t find this book “too childish” – I still enjoy studying it. Hope you have a nice birthday. Love Aunt Lorraine.
She pasted her note into the book on lined notebook paper.
In honor of the Aunt Lorraines of the world – who enjoy a good storm and see in them, the joy that they can bring to others, Ms. Jeannie is hosting a two day storm sale in her shop. Now through Tuesday evening take an additional 25% of all items using coupon code: STORMY upon checkout.
Happy (post) 4th of July! It was a rainy one here in Ms. Jeannie’s neck of the woods, so instead of traditional fireworks, she and Mr. Jeannie watched fireflies, grilled in the rain and made frozen lemon mousse for dessert (recipes coming soon!). It was a magnificently delicious day.
It has been so stormy here for the past week, but luckily, this afternoon, there was a brief break in the clouds and the sun appeared for a little bit. And do you know what , dear readers? No one seemed more excited about this occurrence than the birds, whom immediately took to the birdbath. This seemed sort of ironic to Ms. Jeannie – but who is she really, to question the bathing habits of her feathered friends.
Anyway, it was a bevy of activity. A veritable line up of birds, waiting patiently to get in. Some opted for a full fledged bath…
CardinalBrown ThrasherSparrow
While another bird just opted just to get his feet wet and wade about…
Mockingbird
Mockingbird was making a big production of his pool time. The others were in and out in a flash…
In, Dunk, Shake, Out.
But that Mockingbird, he just wanted to take his time.
Sort of la-de-dah-ing away the afternoon.
The other birds thought they could share the pool – but Mockingbird would have none of it. “Wait your turn,” he said.
I’m not done yet.
But Mother Nature knew how to reprimand his inability to share, for as soon as he chased Brown Thrasher away, the sun disappered, the thunder rumbled and the rain came down again…
Bath time’s over. The pool is closed.
Now Mockingbird is nowhere to be seen. But you can bet he’s close by. Ms. Jeannie is just sure that he’ll be the first one pack in the pool once the sky clears again:)
On another bird front…Ms. Jeannie is pleased to announce that she has joined the great big blue bird’s nest on the internet…Twitter!
She’s not quite sure how to use it all yet – but she’ll get there eventually. You can keep up with her here if you are around the neighborhood. She looks forward to expanding her horizons and reading all that you post. So of course, if you are on Twitter as well, please let Ms. Jeannie know so that she can follow along with you.
As a testament to Harrison Ford’s acting abilities, we are all familiar with the face of Indiana Jones…
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Photo via pinterest.
He captivated audiences in four Indiana Jones movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark – 1981, Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom – 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – 1989, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – 2008 and now there are rumors that he’ll be starring in a fifth Indiana Jones movie at some point in the near future. That’s one impressive character career!
But did you know that the real inspiration for Indiana Jones looked like this…
Roy Chapman Andrews (1884-1960)
Meet Roy Chapman Andrews – a Wisconsin-born naturalist, explorer, taxidermist and all around adventurer. Ms. Jeannie first became familiar with him, when she listed this book in her Etsy shop…
All About Dinosaurs – published in 1953 – by Roy Chapman Andrews
At first glance it looks like a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the rise and fall of dinosaurs – but in actuality, this book is so much more – it’s part memoir, part textbook, part field guide to Andrew’s firsthand experiences unearthing dinosaurs in Mongolia and the Gobi dessert in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Roy Chapman Andrews. Photo courtesy of reocities.com
Written in 1953, after he had retired as the Director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Andrews set about recording his adventures. This book in particular, was geared towards children in hopes of inspiring future generations of scientists. And Andrews had a lot to share with his young audience.
Credited with bringing back the first known fossil dinosaur eggs to the Museum, from an expedition he led in the Gobi Desert, Andrews believed in his natural instincts when few others did.
Andrews and the soon to be famous fossilized eggs found in the Gobi Desert in 1931. Photo courtesy of mongoliatravels.comHere they are on display at the museum. Photo courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History.
In true pioneering style, Andrews led teams of scientists into the uncharted shifting desert sands via automobile and camel in the 1920’s. Industry professionals doubted his abilities, doubted his hypothesis’ and frankly, doubted his mindset.
Mongolia was off the radar. How could anything scientific be uncovered in a sandy landscape that was constantly windswept, arid and blazing in temperature? Plus there were warring tribes, logistical difficulties and governmental red tape to overcome. Now, does that sound like a task for Indiana Jones or what?
Andrew’s camp-site in the Mongolian desert. Definietly a cinematic site! Photocourtesy of mongoliantravels.com
Andrews wasn’t intimated by any of these challenges. He was confident in his own abilities and that of his team and was certain that they would find something out there in the sand. And of course, with the dinosaur eggs, later with other fossils, he did. And of course, he returned to the States with fanfare and celebration and new celebrity status.
The accessories of an exotic explorer – a camel, binoculars and a foreign guide! Photo courtesy of mongoliantravels.com
Andrews worked on excavations in the Gobi Desert until 1930 when both political roadblocks and the Great Depression stymied the project. He returned to New York as a larger than life figure where fans waited with baited breath to hear about all of his exotic tales. Four years later he became director of the American Museum of Natural History, which now holds the largest collection of fossil amphibians, reptiles and birds in the world. In 1942, he retired to Carmel, California to set pen to paper and record the first-hand accounts of a lifetime spent studying his passion.
Not a bad lesson to teach children. Believe in yourself and your abilities, set your mind to task and you’ll have nothing standing in your way.
SPECIAL NOTE: While Ms. Jeannie was preparing this blog post, her All About Dinosaurs book sold. It was purchased as a birthday present for a 10 year old boy named Finley. Ms. Jeannie hopes you will all join her, dear blog readers, in wishing Finley a most happy birthday. And to Finley – may this year be full of thrilling adventures and daring discoveries:)
“Always there has been an adventure just around the corner–and the world is still full of corners.”– Roy Chapman Andrews
There’s no doubt dear readers, that you are still reeling (perhaps even still reading!) Ms. Jeannie’s EPIC long Mad Men post, so today she’ll keep it short and sweet.
A celebration is occurring, as today marks Ms. Jeannie’s 100th blog post! This image below is a compilation of over 40 images from previous posts that have made up the varied subject matter of Ms. Jeannie’s blog dating all the way back to the very first day – February 27th, 2012. What a time, Ms. Jeannie has had:)
A special milestone!
To mark this special day, Ms. Jeannie thought it would be fun to share some unique sightings that she has seen lately around her yard and garden.
A pair of red-tailed hawks.
Hawks are solitary birds, so to see two together is quite unusual. Normally sightings like this occur only in the spring when they are mating – but since we are now well into summer, Ms. Jeannie likes to think that these two sweethearts are so in love they can’t stand the thought of parting. Either that, or they are on extended honeymoon. These two were seen this morning hanging out on the branches of the dead tree towards the back of the yard. It stands right next to the gumball tree that Ms. Jeannie blogged about back in February.
Butterfly sighting!
Could this be one of the butterflies that was born in Ms. Jeannie’s parsley patch? Hmmm…this delicate one was floating just outside of Ms. Jeannie’s window the other day.
Storm Clouds
Storm clouds bathed everything in a wonderful peach colored glow as tornado watches and warnings swept through the area last week. These skies reminded Ms. Jeannie of the burning of Atlanta scene in Gone With the Wind.
Satchmo
Ms. Jeannie’s kitty Satchem, (or Satchmo as Ms. Jeannie likes to call her) thinks the entire world is one big drinking fountain. Here she is taking a sip from the puddles on the driveway:)
Oh my!
These are pictures of a four foot (4 FEET!) long Black snake that was seen crossing the driveway in route to the garden rockery! Holy toledo! This is a prime walking path for Ms. Jeannie in her bare feet. It’s now rubber boots (tall ones!) for her for the rest of the summer. This snake here might be the owner of the snake skin Ms. Jeannie blogged about last September.
And last, but certainly not least, last night Ms. Jeannie discovered two otters playing the creek that runs along the very back of the property line. Wild otters! It’s like a zoo in her own backyard. She discovered these guys last night at 8:30pm when she was taking a little walk after dinner. She had her camera – but again, like the butterflies, you have to be quick and it was almost dark so all she got was this grainy little picture.
Wild otter sighting!
This is what the creek looks like by day.
It would be a pretty nice home for an otter!This is the spot (by day) where the otter was seen. Even in the daylight it is still a littl dark.
Ms. Jeannie plans to go down there tonight at the same time as last night to see if they are back – she’s hoping they’ll stick around for the summer so keep your fingers crossed!
And a big THANK YOU to you, dear readers, for sharing in Ms. Jeannie’s interests with all your thoughtful comments and contributions over these past 100 posts. She looks forward to 100 more and then another 100 after that:)
In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat 