Grounds for Sculpture – Continued

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Daniel Clayman, grounds for sculpture, horace farlowe, Isaac Witkin, photography, postaday, seward johnson

Grounds for Sculpture extends over 42 acres (17 hectares), which will take several hours for anyone to walk around and view, even partially, what is on display. In addition to sculptures by Seward Johnson, there are also works by other artists.

“Eolith” by Isaac Witkin.

“Radiant Landscape” by Daniel Clayman.

“Double Check” by Seward Johnson.

“Portal Rest” by Horace Farlowe.

Grounds for Sculpture

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grounds for sculpture, photography, postaday, seward johnson

Grounds for Sculptures is a sculpture park in Hamilton, NJ, nor far from where I live. Its founder is Seward Johnson whose work has long been criticized by art critics as “kitsch”, with some even refusing to call him an artist. From the throngs of visitors yesterday, it seems that the public does not share those views. It was a beautiful, sunny day for photography, and here is a sample of what I saw. They are mainly sculptures based on famous paintings that you will easily recognize.

Entrance to Grounds for Sculptures.

A sculpture based on Edouard Manet’s Olympia looks on the entrance and parking lot.

A Turn of the Century, based on Dance at Bougival by Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Sculpture based on Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol.

Welcome Home, a sculpture of Van Gogh’s bedroom.

Were you Invited? Based on Pierre Auguste Renoir’s ‘The Luncheon of the Boating Party’.

Sculpture of The Scream by Edvard Munch.

Forever Marilyn, in small size inside.

Herring Gulls

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assateague island, chincoteague bay, herring gull, photography, postaday

Herring Gulls are large birds, not shy of humans, and easy to photograph. I saw the ones below on the shore of Chincoteague Bay on Assateague Island in Maryland. The younger ones were flying back and forth, while two adults stood and rested not far from where I was.

Herring Gull:”Did you see my baby fly?”

“There he goes? Isn’t he handsome?”

She: “Junior does quite well by himself, right dear?” He: “Just as you said, dear.”

Juvenile Herring Gull flying over the above pair.

Deep-Cut Gardens

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deep-cut gardens, mafia, photography, postaday, vito genovese

Deep-Cut Gardens is a park in Middletown, NJ located on 54 acres of land, most of which used to belong to Vito Genovese, a Mafia don that may have inspired some of the stories behind the Godfather (Vito Corleone) movies. Don Genovese purchased the land in 1935 and had it built up in a mixture of Italian (Naples was his hometown) and English style. Its centerpiece was a rose garden with a Pergola, both of which are still in existence.

Rose garden and pergola at Deep-Cut Gardens.

One of the features that Genovese insisted on was a model of the cone of Mt Vesuvius, a volcano located only 5 miles (9 km) from Naples.

Vesuvius at Deep-Cut Gardens.

The Mafia boss fled to Naples 1937, and since then the property has changed hands several times. The last owners donated it to the county, which acquired additional land to make it into today’s very peaceful and popular park, dedicated to home gardeners.

I took the following photos last Sunday as I walked around various areas of the gardens.

Tiger Swallowtail.

Silver-spotted Skipper.

Painted Lady.

Bee on Cosmos.

‘Grandpa Ott’ Morning Glory.

Hydrangea.

Dragonfly.

Summer Magnolia

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jane magnolia, magnolia, photography, postaday

“Jane” Magnolia, although not as prolific as earlier blooming Magnolias, never suffer from frost damage, and usually have a second blooming period in mid summer. When most other flowers have come and gone, the Jane Magnolias peek out proudly from upper branches, like the one I captured this morning.

Jane Magnolia.

Pawpaw

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asimina, asimina triloba, pawpaw, photography, postaday

Pawpaw (Asimina Triloba) is a fruit tree native to the Northeast of the United States. I have been growing several of them for five or more years. At first, the deer tried to destroy them by chewing on their bark and branches. However, the trees kept growing bigger and bigger, and this year two of them are finally bearing about a dozen fruit. They are still ripening so I can’t tell how good they are yet, but they are said to taste like custard apple and cherimoya. So far the deer have spared the fruit.

Pawpaw.

Pawpaw from another tree.

Pawpaw.

Monochrome Monday

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fern, monochrome, photography, postaday

Ferns on the forest floor amid fallen tree trunks. Their color and shape stood out from an otherwise drab background, and monochrome seems the better way to display them.

Ferns.

Those Deer!

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cosmos, milkweed, photography, postaday

Last week, in Prairie Sun Redux I posted a photo of three Rudbeckia Prairie Sun which had bloomed after their predecessors had been eaten by deer. Well, those deer also ate them and there is no bud left to bloom for the rest of the year. Sigh.

Only milkweed and Cosmos flowers remain. Here are a few shots of them at the height of the season.

Bee and butterfly on milkweed.

Cosmos

Cosmos

Wordless Wednesday

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cosmos, crape myrtle, marsh mallow, photography, postaday, Rudbeckia Prairie Sun

Cosmos

Crape Myrtle

Rudbeckia Prairie Sun

Marsh Mallow

Osprey Feeding Time

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Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Just before I arrived at the Osprey nest, I saw the father finishing the head of a big fish that he had caught. He flew with the rest of it to the nest, handed it over to the mother, then perched up high, keeping watch.

Thank you dear!

Go on with your feeding. I’ll keep watch.

Open wide!

There! That will make you grow up to be a strong Osprey.

Monarchs in Backyard

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asclepias incarnata, milkweed, monarch butterfly, photography, postaday

There are definitely two Monarch butterflies in our backyard. We have been seeing them fluttering back and forth among the pink milkweed plants, or flying in tandem up and down. As soon as I got home yesterday, they swung by the glass patio door, challenging me to come out and take their pictures.

Monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterfly.

Monarch butterfly.

Prairie Sun Redux

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photography, postaday, Rudbeckia Prairie Sun

A few weeks ago, our Rudbeckia Prairie Sun flowers were all eaten by deer. However, the plants continued sending up more flowers and yesterday I took the following photo of them. Their colors are not as vibrant and intense as the earlier ones, but they still put on a good show this second time around.

Rudbeckia Prairie Sun. The cut stems are remains from the first flowers a few weeks ago.

Pas De Deux

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday

These two Great Egrets looked like they were dancing a pas de deux. Actually they were being chased away from a fishing spot by a fierce Great Egret that was overzealous in guarding its feeding station.

Great Egrets.

Monarchs and Milkweed

Tags

asclepias tuberosa, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, milkeed, monarch butterfly, photography, postaday

While driving at the Edwin B Forsythe Wildlife Refuge this past Sunday, I saw a few Monarch butterflies from time to time. What made me stop and take the following pictures is the intense orange of the milkweed flowers (Asclepias Tuberosa) which perfectly matched the Monarch’s colors. There were many other weeds around the area, but the Monarchs did not mind.

Monarch butterfly and milkweed.

Monarch butterflies and milkweed.

Monarch butterfly and milkweed, and a tiny green insect.