Tally Ho
Riding to the Hounds In years past, November signaled the start of hunting season when skilled horsemen and trained hounds teamed to hunt a clever and equally skilled fox. In these glorious fall handkerchiefs, a pack of hounds is used to track a wild stag. Perfectly framed, the artist achieves maximum impact with minimal color, foreshadowing the colorless coming of winter. Again, the artist renders the hunt solely via shadow and silhouette. This stag chase may have commenced at chilly daybreak, or equally plausible, the hunt could be shrouded in the evening mists at dusk. The...
Read MoreOceanic
“She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar.” Janet Fitch, White Oleander August is the month to unwind, unburden, unencumber, relax, ramble, roam, and… slumber, snooze and siesta… We take to the beach to do absolutely nada. To stroll the sandy shore and sift through the seashells. Let the wind tousle your hair, the sun kiss your cheeks, and hear the seagulls cry “ahoy, enjoy.” Whether golden sand and sky blue, or sophisticated pink and gray, I love the simplicity of these shell borders surrounding a crisp polka dot center. They...
Read MoreThe Randy Rooster
“Trying to sneak a fast ball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak the sunrise past a rooster.” Joe Adcock “Spring forward, fall back” is the memory trick we use for re-setting our clocks in order to capture the gift of daylight savings. Who doesn’t appreciate an extra hour of sunshine in which to frolic and play? Yet we pay a price to shed our hibernating ways, as we begrudgingly crawl from the cozy comfort of our snuggly beds. One steadfast harbinger who can rouse us literally like clockwork? The lusty rooster, trilling and screeching, until we have no choice but to rise. A...
Read MoreButterflies
“Butterflies are self propelled flowers.” R. H. Heinlein Fall is here and it’s migration time for the magical Monarch butterfly to California’s Monterey Peninsula. They swarm in drove to frolic and flutter in the eucalyptus groves. This year’s count – 13,400. Yikes! It’s Match.com for Lepidopteras! They sojourn from October through February. You’re welcome to visit the grove and photograph all you like, but touching a butterfly carries a hefty $1,000 fine. Locals take their guardianship duties seriously, and children proudly parade in praise of these pumpkin colored wonders....
Read MoreUnder the Big Top
“The circus had been unlike anything I could ever imagine and I could not walk away. I wanted to be a part of the magic, create it and wield it with such skill that it looked effortless. I wanted to fly.” Laura Lam, Pantomime From P. T. Barnum in the 1800’s right up to today’s spectacular Cirque de Soleil, the circus has always stood for spectacle, awe, and magic. The costumes, calliopes, and clowns, the trainers, technicians and tightrope walkers, the animals, acrobats and atmosphere transport us to a realm of wonder and escape. As one young father taking his son to the circus for the...
Read MoreDog Days of Summer
The endless weeks of scorching heat experienced in July and August are known as the Dog Days of Summer, as noted in everything from The Old Farmer’s Almanac to The Book of Common Prayer, from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to the movie Batman. Legend has it the days are regulated by Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, which governs flood tides, extreme heat, and the moods of man and beast. Best to lie low during this time when “the sea boils and wine turns sour.” Whew! Sure, dogs may get testy when it’s torrid, but imagine how you’d respond enveloped in fur in 110 degree heat? Yet...
Read MoreBridal Butterfly
It’s June again, and the wedding season is upon us. It’s a time for celebrations of love, hope and the start of a new life together. Many of us will attend ceremonies, galas and festivities honoring couples who have pledged to love, support and sustain one another through life, and, regardless of the statistics, we’re always cheering for love to triumph. One popular image you’ll find embroidered on wedding gowns, veils, and bridal handkerchiefs is the butterfly. You’ll also find it on christening gowns and bonnets, as the butterfly symbolizes transformation, new beginnings and rebirth....
Read MoreKentucky Derby
httpa://www.youtube.com/ only, ?v=FZo9w0Avjnk ”To ride a horse is to fly without wings.” Author unknown Christened “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” the Kentucky Derby is a heart-stirring, dazzling competition of both power and beauty. A breathtaking show of man and animal working as one. Three-year-old thoroughbreds thunder at magnificent speed in this “Run for the Roses,” held every year since 1875. “At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack, but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other. Each is the selfless guardian of the other’s very well being.” Author...
Read MoreSweaters for Penguins?
BBBBBRRRRRRRRR…… “March comes in like a lion but goes out like a lamb” declared English playwright John Fletcher (1624-1647) in his play A Wife for A Month, and indeed, his observation still holds true centuries later. When my nephew and his family transferred from Minnesota to Kansas City last year, they garnered plenty of guffaws when their snow blower came off the moving van in 100 degree heat. Until last week, that is, when perhaps a neighbor or two lined up to borrow it, or simply sigh in surrender as they tossed endless shovels full of God’s bounty. Here my niece gingerly...
Read MoreThe Handkerchief as Alter Ego
Are you Adventuresome? Creative? Colorful? Fun Loving? Exciting? Or are you Demure and Shy? Serious and Studious? Classic and Refined? A Person of Mystery and Intrigue? In case you think I’m exaggerating the influence of the handkerchief on fashion,(see history) take a gander at this full page ad in the June 28, 1947 issue of The New Yorker. A full page was no small commitment, and it features – not a Mainbocher suit, Christian Dior gown or Lilly Daché hat, but a handkerchief. Yep. A simple square of cotton. And yet….it’s described as mad, witty and sophisticated! The subtext being of...
Read MoreBeam Me Up Scottie …..
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here, My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe, My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go. Robert Burns Pets of all varieties have adorned handkerchiefs throughout the years. The poodle is probably the most popular image, but the adorable Scottish Terrier appears frequently, scampering across everything from sporty handkerchiefs for men to hip and fashionable lipstick handkerchiefs for women to embroidered pups scampering around the border of a lady’s pocket handkerchief....
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