Springs of Consciousness.....

Dave's Holiday video!

hrana — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:50:46 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9BO5gilNXc

Spring is NOW!

hrana — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:38:08 GMT

Signs of Spring: Our first snowdrops & crocuses opened yesterday in the yard! (For crocus pix see my entry for LAST March- they look much the same!) The Sap is running and we've been making Maple Syrup every day this week. "Alchemical maple syrup"--from a Silver Maple tree. Thank you Billy Bardo for that piece of wisdom! Every morning when I open my door I hear a tsunami of bird sounds--thousands of the geese and ducks have been delighting in the flooded corn fields nearby...grackle flocks are passing through, filing the trees with their calls. The bushes are full of newly arrived flocks of sparrows, also migrating back. The Robins arrived last week...... Willows boughs are brightening every week, and many bushes are starting to redden and bud. Rejoicing as the year turns.

Wood Spirits came into our home last night!

hrana — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:56:02 GMT

Dave was out chain-sawing & splitting some wood last night and brought this psychedelic stump in to show me. I immediately saw that our guest was a Tree-man! And he has a mirror-opposite on the another piece of wood. Dave will try and make some more slices along the logs & see if more faces emerge. We are trying to figure out what tree the wood is...smooth-ish bark, not many clues. Dave can't remember where the piece of wood was from. I feel blessed and inspired by the image--THANK YOU trees for heating our home.

Moon struck

hrana — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:13:09 GMT

I got inspired and painted this vertical triptych while the eclipse was at the midpoint last night-- I kept running in & out of the house to watch it, then paint... I was so wired afterwards, it was difficult to sleep!

Golden Compass Outing

hrana — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:50:04 GMT

Iorek suggested we gather, partake of such things as honey cake & cheeses, and then check out the movie on opening weekend.... so we did! Later arrivals included a professor of experimental theology, his fox daemon & Stelmaria. --Mrs C.

My new book #2- The Slave & the Lion!

hrana — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:47:19 GMT

This one is was very fun to illustrate, I looked at lots of Greek vases! more paintings and how to order are here: http://www.hranajanto.com/children-books.html

My New Book - How Thor got his Hammer back

hrana — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:41:35 GMT

I'm excited that my new kids books recently arrived. These are readers I illustrated for McGraw Hill. I completed the 13 paintings in a sleep-deprived frenzy of 11 days for Thor... Thank you my dear goats, gods & goddesses (you know who you are) for posing! more paintings & info on how to buy signed copies is here: http://www.hranajanto.com/children-books.html

Nova "Kryptos" link, for those who missed the show on TV!

hrana — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:44:50 GMT

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3411/03.html

My art on NOVA Today (tues)!

hrana — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 04:10:10 GMT

A Greek history piece I did years ago was licensed by NOVA/ScienceNow & will be shown on PBS today, July 24 between 8 &9 pm (on WNET in NY, time may differ elsewhere)! It will be during the segment on Cryptography & the CIA.... I will probably be in a dance class at the time, but will tape it (they are sending me a copy of the program as well) Posted here is half of the image.

Dave doing great!

hrana — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:34:19 GMT

(photo from 1994) Dave is doing great, his swelling is going down, he's icing his knee and hopping around a lot. He started PT yesterday, and is going for post-op with his doctor tomorrow. He even drove 5 miles yesterday! The seemingly endless surgery day & painful post-surgery night is vanishing away. Dave even went to the Frolic Saturday, to hang out with everyone. thanks to everyone for all the love & support!

Dave's April 19 surgery

hrana — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:51:18 GMT

Dave is having knee surgery tomorrow morning, getting his ACL ligament replaced. He would appreciate healing thoughts & love sent his way! He will be on crutches for a couple of weeks and then will have some months of recovery & physical therapy. I'm envisioning him eventually being able to dance freely like the lightning he embodies, and of course, to climb around on everything again......

"Bag Ban" This makes me so happy!

hrana — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:53:39 GMT

(The first time I had an awakening about the plastic bag dilemma was when I went to the British Isles in 1985--and realized that stores there often expected customers to bring their own baskets or bags for their purchases, especially for food. ) San Francisco Passes Plastic-Bag Ban Paper Or Cloth? San Francisco Approves Ban On Plastic Bags In Large Markets, Drug Stores SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 28, 2007 (AP) City leaders approved a ban on plastic grocery bags after weeks of lobbying on both sides from environmentalists and a supermarket trade group. San Francisco would be the first U.S. city to adopt such a rule if Mayor Gavin Newsom signs the ban as expected. The law, approved 10-1, requires large markets and drug stores to offer customers bags made of paper that can be recycled, plastic that breaks down easily enough to be made into compost, or reusable cloth. San Francisco supervisors and supporters said that by banning the petroleum-based sacks, blamed for littering streets and choking marine life, the measure would go a long way toward helping the city earn its green stripes. "Hopefully, other cities and states will follow suit," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who crafted the ban after trying to get a 15-cent per bag tax passed in 2005. The 50 grocery stores that would be most affected by the law argued that the ban was not reasonable because plastic bags made of corn byproducts are a relatively new, expensive and untested product. Some said they might offer only paper bags at checkout. "I think what grocers will do now that this has passed is, they will review all their options and decide what they think works best for them economically," said David Heylen, a spokesman for the California Grocers Association. Newsom supported the measure. The switch is scheduled to take effect in six months for grocery stores and in one year for pharmacies. Craig Noble, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said it would be disappointing if grocers rejected the biodegradable plastic bag option, since more trees would have to be cut down if paper bag use increases. The new breed of bags "offers consumers a way out of a false choice, a way out of the paper or plastic dilemma," Noble said.

In Praise of Cold Frames

hrana — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:10:40 GMT

I thought I'd be starting seeds in the cold frame soon, but it's still too full of salad greens to think of starting anything. The Arctic lettuce I planted (too late) in the Fall is finally shooting up. The cold frame got so warm during the winter that some of the greens have been bolting for months! Even when it was in the teens outside, I had to vent open the coldframe or it would have fried the plants when it was sunny out. What's in our coldframe: Lettuces, mache, claytonia, arugula, tatsoi, bok choi, mustards, mizuna, scallions, sorrel, parsley, baby kale, baby chard. We've been eating fresh salad all winter. Cold frame was created by my beloved Dave with double polycarbonate twin wall for added insulation. When it dipped below freezing, we bungied it down and put blankets/plastic sheeting over it... Next year....a Hoop House to go over the cold frame?

Spring is NOW!

hrana — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:47:02 GMT

The horses are shedding, the Robins are back (or just passing through) and my crocuses started blooming today! See photo from the south side of the house where the melt has been swift....FLOWER SEASON HAS BEGUN! I had garden ADD all yesterday, skipping around to see if buds are starting to swell on the fruit trees. The Elderberries win, leaf buds opening already! Seed packets are waiting and I'm starting to procure scions (grape, apple, pear) for grafting onto our old trees & vines... one of this spring's projects.......

Signs of Spring....

hrana — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:00:28 GMT

The Doves are back! A week earlier than last year. Monday morning as I awoke, I heard them cooing. Today I saw the pair courting on my walkway as I went out to open the cold frame. The leek seeds I started indoors on Imbolc are shooting up, thin strands of bright green....

Yule Tidings!

hrana — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:06:17 GMT

Winter Blessings to all. Happy Yule/Solstice!