Dateline: 14 October 2016, AD
I pulled up a piece of plastic mulch in my garden and really surprised this cute little rodent. I think it was in shock. I picked it up and it started biting my glove. After taking a few pictures, I let it go.
This mouse reminded me of Beatrix Potter, and I found the following mouse art by her...
Back in 2009, at my previous blog, I wrote the following about Beatrix Potter...
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Beatrix Potter came from a family of means and was home schooled. She was an artist and loved to draw animals from a young age. In her mid-30s she tried to find a publisher for her Peter Rabbit book but no publisher was interested. So she self-published 250 copies of the book. After that, the book was picked up by a large publishing house and the rest is history. Beatrix Potter became wealthy from the several children’s books she wrote and illustrated. Now for the particularly endearing (to me, at least) part of the story...
What would you do if you became wealthy from the books you wrote? Personally, I’d buy a farm and land and take care of it. Well, it so happens that is exactly what Beatrix Potter did with her money. She began by purchasing Hill Top a farm in the Lake District of Scotland, an area where her family had vacationed for years. In time, Beatrix purchased 14 farms and 4,000 acres of land in that area. She purchased the land in order to preserve it from speculation and development. She was interested in preserving the ancient small-farm culture (called “fell farming” ) of the region. She herself became an avid sheep farmer. In some of the internet information about Beatrix Potter, she is referred to as a “countrywoman.” I like that term.
Beatrix Potter’s extensive land holdings went to a national trust when she died, so that the land would be preserved from development. Yes, that is endearing.
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A couple years ago I bought myself a copy of the book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life. And I enjoyed it very much.
One of my favorite artists/authors is Susan Branch and she is enamored with Ms Potter. I have a small set of figurines that I rec'd as a gift and I used them once to do a Peter Rabbit themed birthday cake. Wish I could post the pic here...it was cute.
ReplyDeleteI have found evidence of voles/moles in the field where I plan to put our garden next year. I guess after preparing the land I will have to fence and pest proof the garden with a buried barrier. I lost a lot of produce to them in my previous garden.
Amazing that you were able to get a pic of the little fella. Usually they jump out of my hand.
Cheers,
Pam
Elizabeth L. Johnson said,
ReplyDeleteAnd how are you and Lovely Marlene this fine morning! I sit here with coffee in hand, while it is winter outside. Anyway, enjoyed your mention of Peter Rabbit books. I can't wait to look into the sites you give about the author. Also, I have captured voles in my garden (with gloves on); they are a delight to chase and capture and are so cute. I don't understand why I have discovered many a vole tunnel, but never any damage to plants underground. I scratch my head over that. Nevertheless, I do purchase and insert in those tunnels garlic sticks (garlic-filled, six- inch plastic sticks). Your Upland experiences, and experiments are the icing on my end of each day. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the tip to what looks like a good movie. I got tasked with the Movie night program at the church our family attends. I guess it was an idea of one of the Elders to help build fellowship beyond just Sunday morning worship. I agreed to run the program when cornered one Sunday after church thinking that my wife and kids would help with the movie selection. Well, they help with the popcorn, but won't help with the movie selection. I would be the least likely person to be put in charge of such a project because I just don't like to sit down and watch a movie just to be "entertained." I absolutely despise most of the movies that appeal to my kids because they portray the adults as idiots or inept. I have struggled to find decent content for two years now. (I show one movie a month from September to May and take the summer off. Usually the first Friday night of the month.) This year, I went with the theme "Extraordinary Ordinary People" and put together a number of documentaries such as "Gifted Hands","Buck", "A Man Named Pearl", "Temple Grandin", "Miracles From Heaven", and also stuck in "Patterns of Evidence" (which was a throwback to last year's Bible Archeology theme) I was thinking of doing a "Demise of Disney" theme next year and show a bunch of his animated cartoons and show a gradual progression of cultural decay but after doing some research one evening, I came to the conclusion that Disney was rotten to the core from the very start and there is nothing that I would feel comfortable showing in an informal church sanctioned setting so I figured maybe I would run with the Extraordinary Ordinary People theme again next year until I figure out what to do. I am always on the lookout for Movie tips so thanks again!
ReplyDeleteRonC
RonC, here is a link to a list of several excellent movies for your church: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Kendrick
DeleteThey are produced by the Kendrick brothers. When you open the page,click on the title in the box for a description of each film.
Yep, got most of those shown already! Didn't know about Flywheel. War Room is on the playlist for May. It is excellent!
DeleteRonC