Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The habit of ignoring Nature is deeply implanted in our times. This attitude reminds me of people who never look you in the eye; I find them disturbing and always have to look away."
— Marc Chagall

Tuesday Tooth Report

Ever so slowly tightening and aligning. Almost perfect.

Well-earned Vacation Time

Hi there. Just letting you know that I'm going on vacation so I won't be posting much to my blog. See you in 2 weeks! I hope you get some time off as well.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves."
— Willem de Kooning

Tuesday Tooth Report

A LOT to report today! My appointment went really, really well. My Orthodontist says I'm done! She was going to have me keep my elastics on 2 more weeks just to allow the teeth to get used to their new position. Unfortunately, I'll be away at the 2 week mark so I won't be able to see her until September. That month will hold 3 appointments for me. One to get fitted for a retainer, one to have Xrays done and one to have my braces off. Apparently the removal of the braces will take the better part of an afternoon. I don't know if I can hold my mouth open that long! I'll deal — it's worth it!!

Honda Canada Interviews Little Ole Me

I'm pleased to report that Honda Canada found my art interesting and "green" enough to interview me for the Canadian launch of their hybrid Insight on Earth Day. They travelled across Canada to meet environmentalists of all breeds. I met them on their Fredericton-Charlottetown leg.

* Choleena DiTullio on the Insight Into Canada Blog.
* And, here's a detailed look at the "Adirondack Fish" artwork on my choleena.com website.
* Re-Blogged on the Mount Allison University Alumni Blog.
* Tweeted at Twitter.com/choleena
* Re-Tweeted on Twitter.com/HJarche

Pass this along to those you think might be interested. Thanks!

Five Islands in Five Habitats

A 4-hour trip to Five Islands, Nova Scotia, Canada.


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First, let me introduce our canine host, Sadie. With her at the head of our pack, she sniffed out some pretty amazing views.


1. Brackish Marshland

Flat land with thick and vibrant grass that can handle very wet soil filled with salt-water.


Samphire greens that are used in many dishes including salad. They're just a juicy burst of salty goodness.


Rotting engine or some sort of mechanical device. Although it provided an interesting subject matter for photography, I was disappointed by how many man-made things were abandoned in every habitat.


This bird (a wren?) takes a moment to rest on driftwood. Driftwood straddles the marsh and coastal areas.


2. Coast

In every habitat there are "edgitats". My word for mini habitats that fall in between 2 diverse habitats. In there are plants and all kinds of life that are best suited to living in the blend of both. Here, marsh and coast meet.


The coast is not clear. Abandoned lobster traps and debris throughout.


Interesting fossil or mineral deposit in beach rock.


Shell of a small crab.


Seagull uses a post at the end of the wharf to take in a bird's eye view of the landscape. Either that or he's waiting for a bite to eat from...


Fishing boats.


Widow Island.


Wild roses grow in the 'edgitat' between the coastal and the grassland habitats.


3. Grassland

The remains of an old fieldstone foundation.


Unfortunately, half of the foundation is filled with garbage and tires.


Incredibly thick grass that's all gone to seed.


Video of grass blowing in the wind. The three strongest sounds that surrounded us were wind, waves and bird song. (4 seconds.)


I kid you not — pink grass.


Thistles. Don't ever try to hold one still in the wind. Yowza!


4. Forest

This edgitat between grassland and forest was absolutely filled with small butterflies — likely Skippers.


Forest with trails.


One of the most interesting tree trunks that I've ever come across. It would be interesting to know what forces were at work to create this shape.


On the forest floor were many pine cones.


Video of a cool spider with white bum (possibly an egg sack). (4 seconds.)


An interesting 4-berried plant that seemed to like growing in the shade of the forest.


Wispy moss.


5. Urban

Grassland, Forest and Urbanity seem to live in harmony in this sunset shot.


Bizarre and interesting man-made contraption.


Mo's: café, internet, used books, art, hostel. A lovely place. Try the wood-fired oven pizza. Yum!


In the next town over, we see a step toward keeping all these habitats "clean". A very promising day's end.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I used to say we should teach music to children 9 months before they’re born. Now I say we should teach music 9 months before the birth of the baby’s mother."
— Zoltán Kodály (Composer, Educator)

Tuesday Tooth Report

I've got an appointment coming up in a couple of days. Yay! Will hopefully have lots to report next week. Can't say if I'll be getting my braces off or not but my Orthodontist was hopeful that it would be soon.

Women's Work(s) Juried Art Show and Fundraising Auction

In May, I had the pleasure of being asked to Jury an art show for the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. And what an incredible project to have been a part of. On July 12th, everyone's hard work culminated in a thoroughly successful Juried Art Show & Fundraising Auction. Held at the Confederation Centre of the Arts, the show allowed 50 female artists from the Island to strut their stuff and celebrate the theme of women's work.

Talk about women helping women helping women! It's not just the artists who are women. The management team, auction emcees, auctioneer, and jury members, are all women, too. Each artwork sold not only supported the contributing artist but also supported PEI Family Violence Prevention Services Inc for its capital projects such as raising funds for a local safe house for women. To top it off, all of this was made possible by three generous and supportive female patrons: Sen. Catherine Callbeck, Patricia Schurman, and Anne Smith.

What wonderfully inspiring women. It was a pleasure to meet and work with you all.

* Women's Work(s) Blog
* The Artists
* The artworks
* PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#147)

Sundown brings a whole different group of critters to the yard and neighbourhood. This insect is a lot like a crane fly. He's as big as the negative space left when you bring your index finger tip and thumb tip together in a circle. I found him on the sidewalk near the house when walking the dogs. The only way to photograph him was to use the flash on the camera. It makes the shot look like it was taken in daylight.

Picture #141: Crane fly-type insect. I've only seen them at night so I assume they are a nocturnal insect. I find it interesting that the grey and rust colours on the insect are similar to the colours of the specs on the pavement.

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#146)

The left side of our yard only gets light in the evening just before the sun goes down. It's short-lived but gorgeous. If you're not out in the yard at exactly the right time, you might miss it.

Picture #141: Maple trees in evening sun.

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#141-145)

Some exciting new blooms in the yard today!

Picture #141: Tomato flowers! I had to take the photo upside-down because tomato flowers point downward. You can see the outline of the house in the background.


Picture #142: Lily.


Picture #143: Lily stamen close-up.


Picture #144: Lily petal veins close-up.


Picture #145: Dried poppy head. Here's the head of poppy well after it's bloomed. It is quite hard, almost woody. And, it's dried to the point where it's 'lid' has flipped up to reveal 'windows' — escape holes for the seeds once the Fall wind arrives. See previous poppy feature...


Picture #48 repeated: Poppy with dropped petals and seed pod fully formed. I'm including this photo here so that you can compare the non-dried head to the dried head (above).

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#139-140)

The yard is lush and beautiful thanks to all the rain we had recently. There are many blooms out and the garden is really growing. Unfortunately, we're in between flower seasons at the moment so there aren't many new blooms to show you.

Picture #139: Lily buds ready to burst.


Picture #140: Early-bird daisy. He's the only one of his kind that's out. I find their yellow centers mesmerizing. Stare at it for a while and you'll see an interesting pattern.