Invasive Species aka Noxious Weeds

One of my casual acquaintances is on the landscape committee of her condominium association.  The condo complex is a relatively small one that was developed about four miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Manatee County, Florida, in the early 1980's.  At the time of development,  the Carrotwood was a popular landscape choice.

Sadly, it was discovered too late that Carrotwoods are invasive, difficult to eradicate, and are generally a danger to already fragile coastal ecosystems.  Many areas in Florida have city/county ordinances against planting them.

This acquaintance of mine is generally considered to be a nice woman.  She and her husband are pillars of their church, and are well-loved neighbors of the condominium residents.  She is also what I call a hyper-Christian.  Prayer chains and Bible studies, as well as frequent church attendance, feature regularly in her daily life, and references to God and "his" blessings abound in her speech.  God causes the weather, the joys and heartaches we experience, and "his" will is evident all around us.

Being on the landscape committee has thrust this acquaintance into a battle with the Carrotwood trees that were planted in her condo complex and she has successfully lobbied to have many of them removed.  (No easy task, as they continue to sprout from the roots unless quite drastic action with toxic chemicals is taken.)

It has occurred to me that it is this woman's lack of control over this particular species that galls her.  Broadly speaking, she has selected the invasive Carrotwood as a touchstone for all that is beyond her ability to understand.  Her hatred of the trees in her complex is evident in the frown lines that develop between her brows, the down-turn of her mouth, and the nasty little twist in her tongue when she says 'invasive species.'  Several weeks ago, I cheerfully allowed as how God created the Carrotwood in addition to all the other trees.  For a moment, you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.  A strange look crossed her face.  That man imported and planted the trees in Florida to begin with, and that ignorant birds tend to carry the seeds for dispersion is of little account.  It is the wayward and incorrigible nature of these trees that is the entire focus of her interest in them.

If you follow the link in the first paragraph and read about the Carrotwood, you will notice similarities to the behaviors and spread of human habitation.  We too, are an invasive species, noxious weeds able to be eradicated only by the drastic action of toxic chemicals.  The degradation of the coastal areas of southwest Florida is far more likely to have been caused by intentional human greed and the desire to own water-side property.  There are not miles and miles of Carrotwood trees consuming vast acreage, but there are miles and miles of high-rise vacation rentals.  We require air-conditioning, strip malls, automobiles, a complex electric grid and miles of paving.   Our use of dwindling fresh water resources verges on the criminal.

Although they are, indeed, a threat to mangrove and other coastal habitats, the Carrotwoods provide shade, food and nesting safety for birds, and are a visually attractive tree.  Highly salt tolerant, they thrive in semi-tropical where other shade trees can't.  They are clueless bystanders in a strange war not at all of their own making.  To blame the trees themselves, is like blaming the winter snow for a flood in June.

Like human beings and snow and even flooding or thunderstorms, the Carrotwood is neither all good nor all bad.  And the small and rather interfering God of my acquaintance, probably has little or nothing to do with any of these mysteries!

Post Card Swap

If you treat yourself and hop on over to Lenna's Creative Swaps page you'll discover that there are just a few spots left to join this incredible swap!!!

Lenna's swaps are always inspiring and well organized.  And the results.......?  Well, it's always top-drawer art from a faithful following of regulars, plus talented newcomers joining in on the fun.  Lenna has several swaps in progress, but I love the postcard size, and maps, and summer, and taking trips..... so it was a no-brainer that I should do postcards.

The swap is three for three (plus I did an extra one for Lenna because she is such an able and enthusiastic hostess.)

(Click to view a bit larger)

I'm no poet, but this bit of rhyming silliness felt right ;-0
(Click to view a bit larger)

So the art is finished, the photos taken, a bit of blogging done, and when I head out later today will send these off to Lenna to share.  I'll be watching her blog to see what the other participants are doing and start dreaming about which three postcards will be mine when the swap is over.

Thanks Lenna!!!

Zentangle Challenge # 32

Laura Harms has another guest challenger this week - the talented Carole Ohl.


Here's what Carol wrote about this week's challenge:


"Weekly Challenge #32: Zentangle is for Everyone

Zentangle is for everyone!

I love that every week of the Diva challenge, we get to see each person’s unique and wonderful interpretation. It’s an stunning affirmation of the natural beauty that lives in all of us. I know, it’s kind of mushy, but it’s true. 

I was recently asked to participate as an “Artist of the Month” by a new local restaurant. Each month Amicis gives their wall space to a local artist.

Instead of showing just my own work, it seemed like an opportunity to showcase that Zentangle truly is ‘art for everyone.’

One section of the show will feature a wall of Zentangle tiles that have been created by different artists, using the same four tangles.

This challenge contains an invitation to participate with me in this little show. (You can, of course, participate in the challenge even if you don’t want to be in the actual show.)


The challenge: Use a 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inch tile. If you have an official Zentangle tile, great, if not, that’s ok too. The frames I will be using fit this size tile. Use any string you like with these four tangles: Pais (by Mikee Huber), Zedbra (by Laura Harms and Margaret Bremner), Keenees (by Donna Hornsby), and Baton (by moi) [moi, being Carol Ohl, herself] to create a response to this challenge."



And here's the tile I'll be mailing to Carol..... This truly was a challenge, because these aren't tangles I've used very often or played with very much.  We sure do learn something about ourselves through challenges - I love the easy curves of Pais, but not so much the more angular work of Zedbra and Baton, while Keenes seemed a bit repetitive without being relaxing or conducive to meditation.  

Home again, home again.....

This blog hasn't been high on my list of priorities lately.

Some of you know that I've recently bought a small condominium instead of continuing to rent an apartment, and others of you know that I recently took a two week trip to the UK.  Between traveling, packing. planning, keeping up a bit with a few small art projects and doing some kidsitting with my grandchildren, there just hasn't been time to post.

I did take LOTS of photos in the UK, and am going to throw a few of my favorite ones at you here!!

If you want to see any of them larger, please just remember to click on the image ;-0

Leaving on a jet plane.....

Victoria Station, London

Who would think in the middle of Bath, in a crack between ancient cobbles there would be a tiny, hot pink Mickey Mouse head sequin - is there no escape?????

The abbey, Bath

River Avon in Bath

Being an early morning tea drinker, i was thrilled to find these kinds of tea services wherever I stayed.  The electric kettles heat up super fast and really heat the water, real milk comes in the little blue-topped containers, and there were usually biscuits (cookies) too!  

Can you believe I rented a car and drove on the "wrong" side of the road for 11 days!!!  As you can see, thew steering wheel is on the "wrong" side of the car, too, but it really wasn't too difficult to master a new skill.  Did get beeped at a few times and the occasional irritated look.  the roundabouts are the worst, but overall, UK drivers are much more polite and patient than we are!! ;-0

Probably should have a separate post just for all the wonderful churches I saw, but this country steeple really caught my eye, so am including it here.

My first real pub!!!!!!!  Had a tasty sandwich and a half of the local ale - delish!!

At Graylake Nature Preserve

Lovely roadside scene on the way to Cornwall

Bluebells and snowdrops

Green!!!!!

This very clever hand washing device was at a local parking spot in Port Isaac, Cornwall, UK.
It is soap, water and an air drier all in one.  

Fabric Collage

Thanks to 3 Creative Studios and guest artist, Donna, I had fun this morning playing with scraps.  I'm taking a trip in a couple of weeks and will need a few special hostess gifts (for some very special hostesses!!!) so thought I'd make a test piece to see how Donna's tutorial would work.  I tend toward precision in all things, but this free-style approach to small art pieces really appealed to my inner playmate and here is the result. "Sunflower" - a 5 1/2 x 8 inch mini 'quilt' in some sunshiny colors plus B&W for the pop factor....... Guess I could add beads or buttons if I wanted to, but am very eager to get on with the next experiment!

Please click to see larger image ;-0

Just in case you're thinking my squaring-up skills are lacking,  this is meant to be wonky ;-0

The Diva's Weekly Challenge # 16

Sixteen weeks, going strong and growing!!!  That would be Laura Harms' Zentangle© challenge.

This week the tangle is a new one, Mooka, that was designed by the originators of Zentangle©.  You can read all about it on Laura's blog, and if you follow the hyperlinks she provides, you can see an absolutely nifty YouTube tutorial by tangling gurus, Rick and Maria.

Unlike some, I don't even try to draw a tile every day, but this new Mooka tangle is absolutely the most pen and paper fun I've had in a long while.  The continuous line of this new pattern just  flows from the pen by itself.....  I've been decorating my grocery list and a file folder, in addition to creating several tiles and it's still only Monday ;-0  The pattern seems to work well in any size - large and full-blown or small and precise.  It's time for supper, or I'd start another tile!!!  Anyone for dessert?

Please click for closer look.....

Rainy week... and an art challenge

So far it's been a rainy time in Florida the past few days.  We certainly need the rain to nourish trees, grass and shrubbery, but the downpour just awhile ago was nearly scary, and I love rough weather!  Took a couple of photos of wind and rain from my porch.

Sheets of windblown rain acting like a curtain

Rain pouring off the roof in two streams.....

Since this sure wasn't an afternoon to be outside, I decided to play with the monthly challenge from the Sarasota Surface Design Guild.  We were given a photo copy of the outline of a hand and no further instructions.   I've been wanting to trace my own hand and create a piece of ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art).  Thinking about the henna decorations on bridal hands set me on this path with my trusty sepia-toned Sakura micron pen.......  I took several different photos in different light, with and without flash.  These two  photos seem to show detail the best.  The name of the piece is "Eye-Hand Coordination" 

Please click for larger image

Please click for larger image