Spring Colors & Box

Spring flowers are here!  I love these early purple flowers.  Wish I knew the name of this plant.  Doesn’t the color pop right up!

Purple Flowers 4.21.2019

This morning, I chose colorful jelly beans to fill my Origami lidded box.  Yup..I folded that box.  Crooked corners and all.

Origami Lidded Box 4.21.2019

I read Tomoko Fuse’s Origami boxes, studied his diagrams and was sure they would be easy to fold.   Not so!

After a frustrating hour trying the “easiest” box model, I threw the crumpled pieces of paper in the trash.

YouTube offered me an alternative – a simple traditional Japanese box.  Another half-hour passed before I was finally able to fold the box and lid.

Sigh…must dedicate more time to practice.

A Graceful Swan

The graceful swan appeared on Jerry’s Pond about a month ago.  That morning,

Swan near Jerry’s Pond

I watched as it glided silently through the water and slid onto the bank.

Then, the swan struck a pose so passersby could admire its beautiful feathers.

It seemed the ducks and  Canadian geese gave it a wide berth.

Looking for Origami swans online, I was surprised to find many different designs.

An easy set of Origami swan instructions, I mangled with a cartoonish elongated necked bird and hastily disposed of the paper creature.

Origami Swan 5.20.2018

Here is the result of another swan design which turned out rather clunky and almost cubist in shape.

Oh well…what can one expect…it has been ages since I folded.

I need a more work-life balance so I too can swim calmly  through the waters of life devoting more time to  learning Origami.

Spring Plantings

We gathered on Saturday, a community determined to garden.

Rows of green spades waiting their turn, to be grasp and thrust into the ground.  Hard earth, not yet moist and soft with Spring rains, challenged us.

Barrels of water  were available for thirsty plants and fertilizer to nourish them.

Small lingering snow drifts in garden bed corners and a chilly breeze overhead did not deter us.

Narcissus, daffodils, tulips, and seeds from last year’s marigolds were mingled with others.

Some of us dug holes, others planted flowers and seeds or added water and fertilizer.

Children were delighted by the colorful plants and eager to help.

Soon, their tiny hands and faces would be muddied with dirt in their gardening effort.

In no time, our planting was completed.

We collected our tools, smiling in anticipation of the summer perennials and the annuals we would enjoy later that year.

A happy thought after a long New England winter.  I folded this Narcissus flower the next day.

 

Portland, Maine: Maps, Folding and Eating Lobster

The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education in Portland, Maine, has one of the largest collections of maps in the United States.  That’s what drew me to the city with the Boston Map Society.

We had a terrific visit to the Map Library where we admired the exhibits and treasures from the collection.

Afterwards, we headed to the King’s Pub for delicious beer and food.  A harbor cruise then a trolley ride to Portland Head Light House topped off the day.

Portland Head Lighthouse 5.23.2017

 

I stayed overnight in a bed & breakfast inn not far from the Portland Museum of Art.  It was an ideal location.

The following day, I visited the museum and went on a special tour of Winslow Homer’s restored art studio and home on Prouts Neck in Scarborough, Maine.

Winslow Homer’s Studio and Home, Maine 5.24.2017

Rocky Coast in front of Homer’s Studio, Maine, 5.24.2017

I took the Amtrak train from Boston’s North Station to Portland.  A local bus from the Portland station took me to the downtown area.

Maine is a great place eat lobsters…especially if the lobster has been caught that day!

Origami Lobster 10.1.2017

I was thinking about my weekend trip to Portland when I did this fold.

Can you believe it took me longer to fold this Origami Lobster than it did to shell then eat it?

How ambitious I was to think that I could fold this challenging design!

Happy Canada Day – Maple Leaf

Yesterday was Canada Day.   A shout-out to my Canadian cousins!

Origami Maple Leaf 7.2.2017

Since a Maple leaf appears on the Canadian flag, I decided to fold an Origami Maple Leaf.

But, the Origami model in the tutorial did not look like the eleven-pointed leaf on the Canadian flag.

The more I studied the Origami design, the more I wondered:

“Is this just a very, very stylized version of the Maple leaf?”

I asked Dr. Google and what I found out was surprising.

Turns out that most of the Maples are specific to Asia!

Sugar Maple Leaf and Origami Maple Leaf 7.2.2017

The leaf I picked up from the tree near my house is from a Sugar Maple.

These trees can be found in Eastern North America and Canada.  Delicious maple syrup comes from the Sugar Maple tree.

Its leaves turn magnificent colors of red, burnt orange, and yellow during the Fall season.

The Origami model I folded resembles a leaf from a Japanese Maple with five points.

There are many varieties of Japanese Maples – some with red leaves.

This Origami model seems to resemble the Coral Bark Japanese Maple.

 

 

A Goat Story

An email arrived yesterday describing a new Origami Goat YouTube tutorial.  The lovely design, by Peterpaul Forcher, captured my interest immediately.

Goat 6.17.2017

The goat made me think of dear Uncle Rudy who passed a few years ago.

When Uncle Rudy was a youngster, growing up in Trinidad & Tobago, he had an incredible business idea.

He saved money from odd jobs until he could buy a goat.  Then, he sold the goat’s milk which was far more nutritious than cow’s milk and highly desired.

Every morning before school, he would milk the goat and sell it in the village.   Soon he had enough money to buy multiple goats and expand his business thereby helping to provide for his family.

Goat and Milk 6.17.2017

Uncle Rudy finished high school and won a scholarship to study Pharmacy in Canada.  He saved just enough funds to pay for passage on a freighter and with one small suitcase set out for the interior of Canada.

Catching rides overland, Uncle Rudy made his way to the university.  He worked at night to support himself, and studied during the day – often falling asleep in class due to exhaustion.  His fellow students pitched in to provide him with Winter clothing.

Eventually, Uncle Rudy earned his pharmaceutical degree.  He would go on to become a doctor and then a much beloved orthopedic surgeon in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Origami Goat took me over an hour to fold.  While the instruction video is excellent, be forewarned;  the folding is quite extensive.

Origami Stress Reliever – Push, Pop, Push

The Origami Stress Reliever works.  Push – Pop – Push – Repeat.

Stress Reliever a. 4.21.2017

Stress Reliever b 4.21.2017

Stress Reliever c 4.21.2017

You can see the “spring” action from the reverse of the model in the images below.

Stress Reliever – Reverse 4.21.2017

Stress Reliever – Reverse2 4.21.2017