Halloween Decorations 2013

2013 Halloween decorations - by day and by night

Halloween Project: Jack-o-lantern Bird Feeder

At my new home in Michigan, I have the perfect set up for observing the birds when they come to the bird feeders on the balcony. Most of the birds that come are sparrows (at least 12 that live in a bush nearby), a blue jay, a few chickadees, and a titmouse. One day, a hummingbird stopped by!

Sparrows feeding on the balcony
Fall 2013

With Halloween approaching, I decided to carve a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern with a special goal in mind: I wanted it to have a distraught face and to rig it so it would look like birds were attacking it.

I carved the face, just like you would, and added a couple of nails in the sides for the birds to land on. Then, I carved a shallow shelf above each nail and put a spoonful of birdseed in each.

Jack-o-lantern bird feeder from start to finish
October 2013

A couple weeks went by, the weather grew cooler, and the birds continued to feed on the balcony. After several stakeouts with my camera, the birds weren't finding the seeds in the pumpkin.

Stakeout Central

I had almost given up, until today. I was eating at the dining room table, facing the balcony, when I noticed there was a bird eating from the pumpkin! After sitting at the window with my camera for about 15 minutes, I finally captured this:

Success!

Creative Project: End Result & Gallery Show

Dad, me, and Mom, "Journeys" show opening, Main Street Gallery, St. Clairsville, Ohio
(Photo by Brad Schrum, June 2013)

In June, the gallery show opened as planned with beautiful works from very talented people in the Ohio Valley area. The show was held at the Main Street Gallery, in the back of the Hays Landscape Architecture Studio on Main Street in downtown St. Clairsville, Ohio.

The theme of the show was "Journeys".

Journeys can take many different forms... physical journeys from Point A to Point B, personal journeys of growth, etc. There was a mix of photographs, paintings, poems, and even a quilt that came all the way from Bowling Green, Ohio whose image documented a bird species that's nearing extinction.

Some featured artists wrote their own poem, while others had their poem accompany another artist's piece. Each artist had an opportunity to explain how the journey theme was represented in their piece and/or read their poem.

Although my piece doesn't encompass my 'talent' in photographic composition and detail, it tells a story - my story.

Some time ago, a friend pointed out that I take a lot of photos of my feet. Nothing spectacular in terms of photographic quality, but more like, "I was here," while capturing a small detail of the location. I decided to combine my self-portrait project into the "Journeys" theme and incorporate these photos.

Self-portrait for "Journeys" gallery show
(in progress, May 2013)

In my search, I found photos I took of my feet as far back as 2004, when I lived in Miami, Florida for school. The locations the photos were taken range from several locations in Ohio and Illinois, a cruise ship in the Caribbean, New York City, Wisconsin, etc. Looking at all the photos together, I could tell you details about the moment or the day the photo was taken and why it was taken.

Because none of the photos were of great quality, I chose to create one large piece with all of them instead of showcasing each one separately. I ended up cutting each photo into an oval shape and arranging them in a spiral (above).

To fill in the space around the spiral, I incorporated the names of most of the places I have either visited or lived over the course of my life so far. Hence the name of the piece: "So Far".

I also wrote a poem to accompany my piece in the show:

Her Feet
by Josie Pickens

Tiny feet waving in the air,
Wiggling and curling wrinkly toes.
She can make them touch her nose.
One day, those feet won their lifetime's role
Of having the floor meet their eager soles.
They carried her from mom to dad;
It was the most fun she'd ever had.
Over the years, her feet traveled much,
Through mud and creeks and grass and such.
They ran, they swam, they walked, they kicked.
On planes and trains and cars they tripped;
They crossed the ocean and went for a dip.
They carried her to all sorts of places:
Big cities, small towns, and huge natural formations.
In her old age, she felt content
That her feet had touched three continents.
Her feet don't travel far any more;
They're tired, swollen, callused, and sore.
Her journeys put them to the test,
And now, all they'll do is rest.

The experience of planning and preparing for this gallery show with some good (and new) friends was a memorable one. I consider myself fortunate to know such talented people.

Coffee Brews: Gevalia Traditional Roast

Gevalia Traditional Roast

Since I got my first coffee grinder last summer, I've been enjoying the freshly-ground-coffee experience in general. I've also been discovering which coffees I truly find to be delicious and which I can live without. I've decided to document them on here, both for my own reference and for anyone else that might be interested.

This week, I ran out of my favorite coffee bean thus far and had to purchase some more. Without a trip to the south side of Ann Arbor for those freshly-roasted Zingerman's beans, I had to make do with what I could find at Kroger.

For a long time before I moved to Ann Arbor, I drank Gevalia's ground French roast regularly - made in a French press or single cup cone. This time, I decided to go back to Gevalia, both because it was on sale and I was curious about grinding their Traditional Roast myself.

Gevalia Traditional Roast

The beans seemed to be a lighter shade of brown and extra dry. (Not nearly as fresh as the ones I've been buying, which is exactly why I'm documenting these coffee experiences.)

Upon grinding the beans, I found the aroma to be less than spectacular. You know when you smell good coffee: you immediately want to brew a whole pot and drink it all by yourself because it smells that good.

I didn't feel that way about this coffee and that should have been a sign. It claims to be a medium roast, but it definitely is more on the lighter side. I like my coffee to have a little more "oomph".

All in all, I've found that I don't much care for this brew: Gevalia Traditional Roast. Sorry, guys.