October in my yard

Ithaca varies from nasty rainy days to luscious warm ones. Today was one of the latter.  After driving to Aurora and back, with glorious colors on each side of the car, I decided to spend some time with the camera in my yard.

There are pictures here of the ever present lotus leaves that are changing rapidly from their robustness to somewhat somber, waiting for decomposition and a new spring.  I love the  back lighting and venation that shows here.

The grasses are majestic centerpieces of some of the perennial gardens.  Their tassels glow in the sun.

Look up and the oak leaves sparkle in the sun.  Many have fallen, but the brightest ones are still vibrant at the top.

The seeds of the Bears Claw are bursting, ready to be planted.

Then there is the vining fall clematis that has very fuzzy flowers, with total translucency.

What surprised me most was to find some forsythia in bloom.  I have no idea what caused that.

Lastly, there are some colored leaves dotting the azalea.  I just noticed that the computer placed the pictures in the reverse order. Ah, something else to learn about.

Enjoy.

Asian Art tour at the Cornell Johnson Art Museum

Curator Ellen Avril shared her expertise during the "Art for Lunch" today at the Johnson Museum. The 5th floor was renovated this year, providing additional space for much of the collection that had been in storage. It is an amazing resource for studying the art of China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, among others. The art objects are well laid out, with meaningful connections from one exhibit to another. The view from the 5th floor on a sunny day is also one of my favorites in Ithaca.

The collection include pottery (one piece was 6,000 years old), scrolls, sculptures, woven goods, and many tomb objects.

Here are some images from inside the exhibit and through the windows of the campus and Cayuga Lake.  If you want more information about the museum, visit  http://museum.cornell.edu/

Museum facade

Naga and the Buddha

View of Cayuga Lake

Dormitories

Tomb artifacts

Guanjin

Laquerware

Practice caligraphy

Japanese room divider

Picture that generated the Tea Garden

Japanese fisherman made from ivory

Cornell

Cornell

Cornell

Chinese porcelain

Puppets

Indian sculpture