Friday, September 23, 2011

The Hello Crow

As I woke up this morning, Terri told me that the “hello crow” was back. There were at least five crows in the trees and on the ground near our bird feeder and suet, and though we couldn’t ID which crow it was that was vocalizing, we could hear it quite clearly. This crow, or one that has also picked up on the vocalizations, has been in the area for at least 16 years. I Googled “crow that says hello” and came across this YouTube video of a Hello Crow, perhaps it is the same one that visits us in central PA.




Images of the Day: Mabon

The variations from cool greens to blazing reds attracted my eye this morning.

A touch of dew on the quince.

Craig Thompson’s Habibi



We just started reading Craig Thompson’s Habibi yesterday, and I am only about half-way through it. His previous graphic novel, Blankets, is powerful in many ways, but this latest work is very complex on a lot of levels. I came across this interview with Thompson at Mother Jones, and also wanted to pass along links to his blog, Doot Doot Garden, and the Habibi site which includes a Process Gallery — be sure to click on the images there to enlarge them.

Of course, when I saw these images of the cover
being printed,  I had to include them here as well.

Money Trees


A money tree with copper and silver coins
hammered into the wood near
Ingleton, North Yorkshire
via dailymail
“…The coins are usually knocked into felled tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune. These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time. The tradition of making offerings to deities at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare. It used to be believed that divine spirits lived in trees, and they were often festooned with sweets and gifts — as is still done today at Christmas. The act is reminiscent of tossing money into ponds for good luck, or the trend for couples to attach ‘love padlocks’ to bridges and fences to symbolise lasting romance…”
Read more, and see additional images, here. A Flickr group can be found here.