“I grew up on the countryside where my parents run a plant nursery and a flower shop.   I decided to show nature how I experienced it as a child.”

-http://www.amirafritz.com

May 21, 2011

Above: Dress made from yucca leaves and flowers.

May 16, 2011

Image above: http://www.bloom-magazine.eu

Place flower between 2 sheets of paper to protect the pages of the book. Leave at least 1/8” of pages between pressings, weigh the book down and wait a couple of weeks.

May 15, 2011

-http://treehugger.com

May 13, 2011

Above:  Tree says hi.

Photos by Israel based photographer Ella Sverdlov

May 12, 2011

Stunning drawings by Japanes artist Ikeda Manabu .  Click on images to view larger.  On view now at Japan Society.

May 01, 2011

April 27, 2011

“Захотелось вернуться в васильковое лето,
когда от зноя плавится воздух, от тишины звенит в ушах” - Х.Росс

В чистом поле, у реки
Распустились васильки.
Синенькие крапинки,
Словно неба капельки...

April 24, 2011

Tonatiuh Ambrosetti has been making these stunning photographs of glaciers melting in his home country of Switzerland.

- http://www.tonatiuh.ch

April 20, 2011

April 14, 2011

Great blog from Vancouver, BC - http://www.old-chum.com/

April 12, 2011

Wild fields, abandoned fields, nobody’s fields, everybody’s fields….{Does anyone know a large to medium size field near New York City area anyone
can walk on?  )

April 09, 2011

Green streets in my neighborhood Moscow, Russia(Москва, район Ленинского проспекта и ул. Обручева).  One thing I miss about growing up during Communism - the overgrowth.  Photograph by Dmitriy Chistoprudov. 

http://chistoprudov.ru/portfolio/

March 29, 2011

Snow Piece by Yoko Ono.

February 21, 2011

February 19, 2011

The Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifacies), also known as Whēkau or the White-faced Owl, was an endemic owl found in New Zealand, but is now extinct. It was plentiful when European settlers arrived in New Zealand in 1840.  By 1880, the species was becoming rare, and the last recorded specimen was found dead at Bluecliffs Station in Canterbury, New Zealand on July 5, 1914

The Laughing Owl generally occupied rocky, low rainfall areas. Being quite large, Laughing Owls were able to deal with the introduced European rats that had caused the extinction of so much of their prey; however, the stoats introduced to control feral rabbits, and feral cats were too much for the species.

January 31, 2011

Lawrence Beck is a New York based artist who explores controlled and unbound nature. Beck takes photographs plants in national forests, city parks and botanic gardens. He celebrates the beauty of plants while undercutting this ’natural’ elegance by revealing its manufacturedness.

January 24, 2011

Patterns in waste ash at coal- fired electrical generation station, Moncks Corner, SC

Aerial view of bauxite waste

Removal of Overburden from Blasting Kayford Mountain, West Virginia

Photographs by J Henry Fair

January 15, 2011

Photographs by Helena Kvarnstrom

http://artandagriculture.org/

January 08, 2011

Moths and butterflies illustrations by Eugene Seguy

December 22, 2010

Photographs by Rob Hann. From “The Plant that Ate The South” project.

“Anyone familiar with the American South will know that throughout the summer months large parts of the countryside are swathed in a green leafy plant that will cover anything in its path. It smothers abandoned buildings and drapes over trees, large and small, giving the landscape a magical, dreamlike quality.” - Rob Hann

Kudzu is a plant native to Souther Japan.  Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in 1876 and is now common throughout most of the southeastern United States. Kudzu has been spreading at the rate of 150,000 acres annually and is considered invasive species.

http://www.robhann.com/project-kudzu.htm

December 16, 2010

Above slogan was hung between two treetops in the countryside, 1978. It reads: “I do not complain about anything and I almost like it here, although I have never been here before and know nothing about this place”

Collective Actions is an art-group founded in early 70’s in Russia that was part of Moscow Conceptualist Movement.  Collective Actions is responsible for series of art performances and installations in forests and suburban parks outside of Moscow.  They call their happenings “Trips Out of Town”(«поездки за город»)

Above photo was taken by Collective Actions not far from the “Slogan” installation.

Above: Twelve canvas paintings by N.Alekseev were sewn together into one single piece, installed in the shape of a tent and left in the forest. 1976.

Above slogan installed and left in the forest: “I waited for you at the appointed time and left. You know the road yourself. Come, if you want to see me.”

December 14, 2010

I was happy to find this online snowflake library: The Bentley Collection  Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Thousands of snow crystals available for view online for free:

December 11, 2010

December 06, 2010

Fog and Ice, Jokulsarlon Lagoon, Iceland, September 2006 BUY

Icebergs, Jokulsarlon Lagoon, Iceland, September 2006 BUY

Stanislav Ginzburg recently launched SG Print Shoppe - a place to buy beautiful nature photography from all over the world while benefiting iconic North American wildlife (A ten percent donation from each sale will be made towards creating American Prairie Reserve in northeastern Montana. This future three-million acre wildlife sanctuary will provide an uninterrupted area that will harbor more than 90 species of mammals, 300 birds and over 1,500 kinds of plants. For the first time in a hundred years it will restore migratory routes for pronghorn antelope, grazing fields for bison and will reintroduce entire colonies of prairie dogs and foxes back into their native habitat. )
This is truly the best present for holidays!

http://www.sgprintshoppe.com

Read more about American Prairie Reserve:
http://sgprintshoppe.com/protect-wildlife/

November 23, 2010

Above: Moth from various leaves, acorn, rose hip, sticks.

It is autumn and acorns, pine cones, sticks and various seeds are available outside. These are some wonderful illustrations instructing on how to make toys from found natural materials. (Поделки из природных материалов)

Some materials to think about:

Snake from acorns, string and acorn caps:

Cat from deergrass, sticks and maple seeds:

Above: Bear from pine cones. (ha-ha)

DIY hedgehog from pine needles and pine cone.

Donkey from acorn, sticke, peaunut, maple seeds.

Goldfish from acorn, oak leaves, maple seeds.

Owls from pine cones.

November 22, 2010

Golden leaves and trees full of house sparrows in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

November 08, 2010

Pigeons need houses too?

Few decades back in Russia, almost every building courtyard had a pigeon house(pigeon loft / dovecote). There were two near where I used to live in Moscow near Molodezhnaya street.  Why? Pigeons symbolize peace? The need to care for environment and others (bird and non-bird friends)? To be used as messengers during war (haha)? White doves, brown, black and regular gray pigeons were trained to fly around the neighborhood in perfect circles.  I loved watching them flying or sitting in their pigeon lofts.  Today most of pigeon houses in Russia are abandoned or demolished.  Reasons: pigeons spread disease but most importantly care for pigeons asks for money and time. Maybe it’s not cool anymore to have pigeon keeping as a hobby..

“The hobby of pigeon keeping is gaining in popularity in the United States, after having waned within the last 50 years. Both the hobby and commercial aspects of keeping pigeons are thriving in other parts of the world” -Wiki

Read about John Neilko’s flock of 250 pigeons that lives on the roof of the Polonia Democratic Club in Williamsburg, New York - NYMag

October 27, 2010