Chasing 70

That’s the name of a blog that my son Nate and his girlfriend Jo (at the helm, below right) are using to spin tales of their current adventure.

jo at the helmLast week, they bought a 1985 Hunter 25.5 sailboat out of Muskegon, Michigan, sailed/motored it across Lake Michigan on a thankfully calm day and are now wending their way through Illinois following the path of the looper community (albeit more than a few weeks behind the main surge) with the goal of reaching the Gulf and 70 F temps by Christmas.

Visit Chasing 70 if you’d like to hear the stories of rookies navigating locks and dam(n)s, hail and oh the dreadful wind and rain and other challenges. And if you know any ‘loopers’ who make the trek up the east coast in spring, travel the Great Lakes in summer, and return to the Gulf through the Mississippi or Tennessee in fall, please pass the link along. They might have some good tips for these young adventurers.

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Miscellany

In case you missed it this week, Zonker and Zipper explore the erotica that is bulb catalogs. You can view Start with Monday’s strip and work you’re way through the week by clicking on the next tab.
doonesbury

Email from UPS says my bulb order arrives Tuesday.

While shooting pix the other day I heard the tell-tale squawks of crows harassing a hawk, then they flew right overhead.

crows harassing hawk

Colchicums at Billie Jean Isbell’s garden. Billie Jean hosted our first fall 2009 program of the Adirondack Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. Love her garden.

colchicums at bji's

On Billie Jean’s barn, ‘Flying fish’ sculpture that looks to be fashioned from a piece of warped slapwood.

colchicums at bji's

Living, Growing Architecture – Great post over at Dark Roasted Blend, full of root and vine bridges, reed construction, espalier, arborisculpture and more.

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Felder Rushing at the Cornell Living Sculpture Workshop

Felder Rushing drove his pickup truck garden north from Mississippi to attend the Cornell Living Sculpture Workshop on Wednesday. And he gave a very entertaining and insightful address from the back of said pickup. These are rough cuts I put together this afternoon. There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve when it comes to editing video. I’ll get better. I promise.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

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Flower bulb grant opportunity

[Full disclosure: I work on The Bulb Projectkids and flower bulbs website (see that tile over in the right hand column), sponsored by the International Flower Bulb Centre and the U.S. Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center (NFBIC), the U.S. press office of the Dutch flower bulb industry.]

Know anyone who works with children or youth who might be interested in diving in to a flower bulb project? Maybe you could team up with a teacher or youth leader, providing some expertise in launching a community beautification or educational project. If that sounds like fun, here’s a grant program that could help your effort by supplying the bulbs to carry out the project.

Just fill out an application (deadline is July 3) describing how your school or organization will use flower bulbs creatively in educational programs with children and youth. The 10 best applicants will receive $250-worth of bulbs for their programs.

Find more information at The Bulb Project website.

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