Autumnal Woodlawn Cemetery – No Blinking!

November 4, 2016Autumn, birds, Cemeteries, Don't Blink, Fall, Gothic, herons, Nature, New England, tomb stonesAutumn, birds, Bronx, Cemeteries, Foliage, Nature, New England, Woodlawn Cememteryhealy24yang

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Three years ago, Yang and I took an autumnal visit to Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. This was our second visit. Our first was in the summer, and we took many photos of the gorgeous sepulchres with their ornate carvings of lions and sphinxes, as well as beautiful stained glass inside. This time, with the fall leaves beginning their metamorphoses into vivid colors, we concentrated on the outdoor imagery. I love the way this angel is framed by the flaming curve of the branch and leaves above it.

I also found this figure fascinating, straining for freedom, emerging from his marble prison – perhaps to burst the bonds of the body’s clay and fly away on the sharp wind of the north to eternity.

We found this image especially beautiful, the soft orange of the tree leaves providing a brilliant background contrast to the soft grey/white of the stone and the gentle and flowing draperies of woman portrayed here.

This woman draped meltingly over the tomb stone in her anguish was a deliciously melancholy image to ponder. I actually manged to find a piece similar to this monument from Toscano to add to my own Halloween graveyard in my front yard this year.

I’m fascinated by this monument. My guess is that the chap memorialized in Roman senatorial garb must have been a judge or a high political figure. I hope he met a better end than Julius Caesar! I thought the warm orange of the tree behind his imposing statue made an appealing contrast. Stern but not harsh features on this chap.

Happily, we found a wonderful living denizen in the cemetery. Woodlawn also contains a beautiful reflecting lake, and this Great Egret found it just the ticket! Of course, he was probably more up to fishing than reflecting – a bird’s got to eat!

There were other typical Victorian monuments, wonderfully complemented by the fall colors. Here is a mother with her children. One hopes this is not a comment on the high mother/child mortality rate but rather a celebration of deep feelings between parent and children.

I was intrigued by this praying woman, high atop her monument. She almost has an aspect of the Catholic Virgin Mary, not what you would expect in a seemingly predominantly Protestant cemetery. Again, the autumn trees provide a pleasurable contrast to the cool white and grey-aged stone.

This cemetery is indeed a pleasure to stroll through, just be sure to bring your camera – whatever season you visit!

Here’s a link that gives you a virtual tour.

Halloween Reading Treats!

October 25, 20161940s mystery, Autumn, Dorothy Mcardle, Film Noir, Gene Teirney, Gothic, Gothic literature, Halloween, Jessie Douglas Kerriush, Mary Wollstonecraft, mystery, suspense, The Sign of the Ram, The Uninivted, UncategorizedAutumn, Dorothy Mcardle, Gothic, H.P. Lovecraft, Halloween, Jessie Douglas Kerruish, Mary Wollstonecraft, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Sign of the Ramhealy24yang

Every October, I like to have some bedtime reading that suits the season. I just finished two new books: Midnight Fires and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. The first is a mystery by Nancy Means Wright that features Mary Wollstonecraft as its intrepid detective. Wollstonecraft is a great choice for the role, as anyone who has read her Vindications would agree that she has all the nerve, smarts, and wit to boldly ask the questions and dig the dirt necessary for an investigator. Her being cast in this role makes perfect sense. The novel is set during Wollstonecraft’s tenure as governess to the aristocratic Kingsborough family in Ireland and does a neat job of characterizing “the troubles.” We also get good views of the workings of the Kingsborough family, as well as how contemporary views of women have stunted and warped them – right in line with MW’s own writings. The descriptions of the landscapes are a pleasure to read as well. Not least of all, the mystery has some neat twists and turns.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was a pleasantly amusing visit with the supernatural – a low key, smile-inducing progress of Lucy/Lucia Muir’s liberation from oppressive Edwardian propriety to become a mischievous, independent woman – with a little help from a frank and fiery sea captain’s ghost – though she was already well on her way to freedom before they met at Gull Cottage. There are some significant changes from book to film, but both work equally well. I do think that Gene Tierney gives Lucia Muir a bit more power than the character in the book.

There are four books that I usually return to once I finish any new prizes for the month: The Uninvited (Dorothy Mcardle), The Sign of the Ram (Margaret Ferguson), The Undying Monster (Jessie Douglas Kerriush), and Redeeming Time (me, unpublished – yet!). What I admire in the first three (and try to emulate in the fourth), is the depth of characterization, the creation of a powerful mystical/eerie atmosphere, the vividness of the landscapes, and the intelligence of the storylines. What makes them such a pleasure to read is their authors’ deftness with language: there’s enough detail to savor and shape your imagination but no excess or filler. Right now, I’m working on The Uninvited. I review it and The Sign of the Ram on this web site, under Golden Age Mysteries. The Undying Monster is part of the psychic detective genre, with a woman psychic brought in to help a scientist uncover the nature of the beast that has ravaged an ancient British family for centuries and now threatens to destroy his two close friends. The novel deftly captures the post WWI fascination with psychic phenomenon and leads characters and readers into the dark depths of ancient ruins, crypts, and family history to reach a final, mystical resolution – and it’s a fun ride!

What’s Redeeming Time about? Think H. P. Lovecraft meets film noir meets Indiana Jones meets Val Lewton.

Image of Gene Tierney from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir copyright 1946, 20th-Century Fox (http://classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com/2010/08/just-thought.html)

Horrors of the Yang Manse

October 24, 2016Autumn, Gothic, Halloween, Hallpween Decorations, pumpkinsAutumn, Gothic, Halloween, Halloween Decorations, New Englandhealy24yang

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So, last week, I showed you what the outside of the Yang House of Horrors looked like. Here, I will give you some images of the interior decorations. How about a look at the evil bride who faced you as you ascended the stairs in the gloom of the evening?

This creature looks especially scary, when you bathe her in a black light!

Of course, when you look down the corridor, you want to be greeted and guided by Halloween denizens.

Then, you defiintely need a comforting night light when you hit the bathroom on an eerie night like this.

We also have charming candles to guide you back down the stairs.

Watch out for otherworldly visitors peering in the window, maybe trying to lure you off to perdition. All I said to my friend Judy was, “Oh, Look. There’s someone in the window behind you.” And this lost soul prompted a shriek from my pal. Judy still comes to my house, but she’s a little leery about glancing out the windows now.

The fireplace also has its share of holiday decor, including our home grown pumpkins! These bad boys/girls started growing as early as April and developed into lovely, strong pumpkins. We haven’t grown anything this big since we lived in Connecticut!

Now, my problem is going to be trying to measure up to these decorations and those of years past. Ah well, who will I creep out this year? The trick is to place your creatures in shadows so that imagination does a large part of the work – especially when you hear sounds or glimpse preternatural beings in places where you wouldn’t expect them. Unfortunately, those kind of shadows don’t lend themselves to clear photographs, so they are hard to capture and present to you in pictures.

So, I’ll close with this goblin wishing you a fare thee well from atop his pumpkin throne! Enjoy your holiday, and be careful whom you invite to cross your threshold!

Halloween, Yang style

October 16, 2016Autumn, Cemeteries, Gothic, Halloween, Hallpween Decorations, New England, tomb stonesAutumn, Cemeteries, Halloween, New Englandhealy24yang

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I just got all the tombstones and a few haunting creatures up in my front yard. I still have to add several more supernatural visitors, but the eerie atmosphere is starting to coalesce. Just to give you an idea of what things will look like, I’ll share with you some images from last year’s outside decorations.

Here’s a vertical shot of the graveyard in the front lawn. Yang joined in the fun by getting the iron fencing and putting it up for me. Mr. Bones there seems to be chuckling over something the ghoul in black just told him. Did they see into the future for this year’s election?

I think this chap is recovering from one of the Halloween parties that I have every year. Either that or he’s someone I caught plagiarizing. See any red marks on him?

We also were visited by a few witches, ghouls, and demons, flying joyously on the fall winds. Some of them are looking right at you, and they seem awfully glad to see you – for what reason, I’m not sure. it’s probably not good for you!

Back to those pesky skeletons again! They’re worse than ants in the summer – and just as hungry. Heh, heh, heh!

And lest I forget, Here are some shots of our homemade dancing ghosts! These guys (or gals) usually go up closer to Halloween because if there’s too much rain and wind the ground gets too soft to support them and they become staggering, collapsing ghosts. As Quentin and Beth say, there’s nothing worse than when your ectoplasm starts to sag!

So, I’ll just close with this nice horizontal shot of the whole front yard, to let you drink in the entire spooky panorama. Try not to be too scared as you drive up the street. This year, I have even some new tomb stones! It may not be Mt. Auburn or Hope Cemetery, but it’s home sweet creepy home to me!

Falmouth Rail Trail – Look! Ospreys and Swans! Oh My!

September 17, 2016Cape Cod, Nature, New England, Osprey, Rail Trails, Swansbirds, Cape Cod, Falmouth MA, Nature, New England, Osprey, summer, Swanhealy24yang

Before the summer is over, I wanted to post some of my other favorite images from the summer adventures Yang and I had along the New England rail trails. In June, we did a rail trail in Falmouth, on the Cape. As always, we saw some of our favorite birds there. We sighted many rabbits and chipmunks, and at one point a fox dashed across the trail far ahead of us. Per usual, the Catbirds wouldn’t hold still long enough to be photographed.

So, here are some of the lovely birds we could photograph. In one little bay, we found this swan family: Mummy and Daddy and several young cygnets. Interestingly enough, one of the kids had already turned white!

We also managed to photograph this gorgeous Osprey. Look at those eyes! They’re enormous. No wonder no prey escapes this guy or gal. There are several spots along the trail that have osprey nests on poles and platforms erected by the good folks on the Cape. There is even one platform in the bay near the docks in Woods Hole. As your ship pulls in or out, you can see the family chilling in the nest.

We caught this swan swimming forward to greet us in a different marsh along the trail. I think he’s saying, “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille” in this shot

This display is always fun to see along the trail. I think it’s neat that the people who live next to the trail here have such a fun and creative bent with all these nostalgic items.

This whole rail trail is wonderful to travel, and we usually take the ferry from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard to walk around there and enjoy the beautiful houses, especially the Victorian camp cottages. Sorry, no pictures. I feel intrusive taking those shots. What a great – and exhausting way to spend the day!

Late Summer Birds and Flora

September 15, 2016birds, Cooper's Hawks, flowers, gardens, hawks, morning glory flower, Nature, New England, pumpkins, summer, Uncategorizedcardinals, flowers, gardens, Gold Finches, hawks, monring glory flowers, pumpkins, summerhealy24yang

Summer is almost officially past, so I’m posting some images from my gardens. We have three kinds of morning glories flowering in our yard. We’d have four, if the large blue ones would flower, but they won’t. So, we have some deep purple, some magenta, and some orchid ones. I don’t know all the names of the types, but they are lovely. Every year, I collect the seeds from these flowers to replant them in the spring. Sometimes, we get some interesting hybrids. I managed to get pictures of one of my favorites. Sometimes the orchid morning glories will sport a broad, deep purple stripe, as you see here. The seeds will actually reflect the combined types. Orchid seeds are cream colored and purple or magenta ones are black. These hybrid seeds are usually cream with a black stripe. Sometimes, the orchid ones will also blend with the magenta to produce a pink flower. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the one pink flower I’ve seen so far, but I did tag the flower so that I can retrieve the seeds.

The birds have also been having a grand time in our yard. We’ve seen lots of cardinals, including the Daddy Cardinal taking the kids out for dinner. We also have Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, scads of Gold Finches and Purple Finches, Chickadees, Titmice, and Nuthatches. I even saw a hummingbird three times this year! One time was in early September! The young gentleman Coopers Hawks have since taken off and rarely visit now. We named them Shawn and Gus – I know you know that I AM telling the truth about that! In this picture, you can see one hawk in the foreground and if you look carefully, the other is in silhouette in the triangle of railings on the right.

The drought has certainly left my pumpkins gasping for life. I’ve seen so many pumpkin and gourd embryos wither and die. Still, some made it. Here is an odd shaped pumpkin, which some critter took a chunk out of. Still, the pumpkin lives and now resides on my sideboard in the dining room. The pumpkin below isn’t a rogue that needs to be caged to protect the other flora and fauna. The vine climbed over the garden fence and the pumpkin embryo became fertilized hanging over the outside of the garden. Since we found evidence of some creature trying to dig into the garden, we developed protective caging from milk cartons. The ploy worked, for this pumpkin matured and now resides in state on the what-not table in my parlor. You can also see a crown of thorns embryo ready to flower and be fertilized. The good news is that this little guy is happily growing away. Maybe I’ll have some more pictures of it later.

Here are some of our eggplants and peppers. These guys were delicious! Yang can cook! So, I guess the drought didn’t totally blacken my green thumb.

What a Character!

August 10, 2016Uncategorizedhealy24yang

Birds and Beasts at Mt. Auburn Cemetery

August 1, 2016birds, Cemeteries, English Robin, herons, Nature, New England, robins, tomb stones, turkeys, turtlesbirds, catbird, Cemeteries, Great Blue heron, Nature, New England, robin, summer, turkeyshealy24yang

We went to Mt. Auburn looking for birds and beasts. In the past, we’ve seen rabbits, ground hogs, foxes, hawks, and robins, but we had a few surprises this time. This is a lovely catbird. I’m afraid you can’t quite distinguish his/her black cap. We have at least one who lives near our house and is rather friendly, visiting the bird feeders, sipping from the bird baths and fish pond, and plucking up multi-legged critters from the ground. We also saw tons of robins. I wanted to include this picture for my British viewers. Your robins are adorable, petite, and feathered lovely blue and rust. Ours, as you can see, are longer and larger, with a grey/black body and striking rusty-red tummy. Their faces and build are similar to your blackbirds, though yours are really black. I heard that your robins were struggling. How are they doing now?

Here was a nice surprise! Down by one of the ponds, we found quite a few painted turtles sunning themselves. Look at this guy stretch his hind legs. Seems comfy, doesn’t he/she. Meanwhile, in the pond, a baby was swimming around like crazy, having a ball. maybe this guy on the shore was a watchful parent?

We really had a surprise when we saw and were able to follow a Great Blue Heron around the cemetery. We expected to see him wading in one of the ponds. That’s how we usually see them, but not this guy. He just took himself on the most casual of strolls, looking around, chilling out. maybe he was looking for a friend?

Okay, here he is paying his respects.

Heading back to our car we got the biggest of surprises! A flock of about 8 or 9 wild turkeys! Notice the “beards” hanging from some of the birds. I’d never noticed that before.

I talked to a woman who was planting some flowers at a relative’s grade, and she told me the turkeys were making her nervous. Apparently, a turkey had gotten too aggressive with one of the workers in the cemetery last week, with things had not going well for the turkey. I have heard that these wild bird can be exceptionally bold. These guys didn’t bother us, but then, again, we didn’t bother them, either. I prevented Yang from mentioning either dreaded trigger word: Thanksgiving or drumstick.

Once More, DON’T BLINK!

August 1, 2016Cemeteries, Don't Blink, Nature, New England, tomb stonesCemeteries, Gothic, Nature, New Englandhealy24yang

Recently, Yang and I decided to take a stroll in one of our favorite cemeteries, Mt. Auburn in Cambridge, MA. So, to avoid the July heat and try to catch sight of some interesting birds, we left early in the morning and managed to get in around 8:00. Parking in a slightly different location, we almost immediately came across this monument to Edwin Booth, a famous Shakespearean actor of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, his mental health in later years led him to take the method acting thing a bit too far, his Richard III indomitably driving Richmond off the stage and his Othello trying to strangle Desdemona for real – maybe an inspiration for Ronald Colman’s A Double Life? Still, he posed far less of danger than one of his actor sons, John Wilkes.

Here you can see some wonderful reliefs carved on series of family tomb stones.

This beautiful woman, perhaps an embodiment of the soul, presides over a family vault.

Walking up the hill towards the tower that gives a beautiful panorama of the cemetery as well as of Boston and its environs, the slope that rolls down into the rest of the cemetery provides a peaceful, shaded landscape. This day we didn’t see any exciting creatures at the top of the tower, which you ascend via a spiral stone staircase in the center. Once, when we were up there, we saw several hawks circling. Here’s a nice shot the stone path leading up to the tower. I also had to take a photograph of the enormous roots of this ancient tree snaking across and underground. There’s a Lovecraft moment in here somewhere.

From lectures on cemetery tours and material I’ve read on monument art, I feel fairly safe conjecturing that the kneeling female figure represents the soul of the recently departed and the angel’s lifting a cloak from her represents this sacred figure lifting the veil of life cloaking us from God’s radiance, preparing the soul to ascend to heaven. Interesting that the soul usually is portrayed as female. A connection to the goddess Psyche?

Another intriguing relief. Any comments on the symbolism?

Here’s a figure to give all the Dr. Who fans the willies. How would you feel if this child cherub came to life? A comforting figure or not?

All Hail Dusty!

July 17, 2016Bait and Switch, cats, Dusty, mischevious cats, Uncategorized, writingBait and Switch, Bait and Switch novel, cats, Dusty, Jessica Mintonhealy24yang

Dusty, the feline star of my novel Bait and Switch, is based on a cat with whom I grew up.

Dusty came into my life as a kitten when I was seven years old, and despite my occasional lapses of trying to saddle her with tack from my toy horse, Thunderhead, we were actually great pals. Especially since I would sit through thunderstorms when she hid behind the couch and try to calm to her. I’m afraid singing was involved, but unlike Rosalind, she didn’t think my singing suggested I was in pain.

Dusty gets credit for inspiring what may actually have been my first venture into literature: writing her biography, illustrated with pictures from a Purina Cat Chow book on cats. It was mercifully short. However, I did learn that Dusty was a silver or grey tabby from my research.

Inspiring the wise aleck attitude of her literary incarnation in Bait and Switch, the real Dusty was quite the character. Not only a top-flight mouser (which will come into greater play in the third Jessica Minton novel), Dusty also taught the neighbor’s dog an important lesson in inter-yard relations. As my mother related the story, Spot (there’s an original name) had a bad habit of chasing Dusty, until one day her nibs stopped short, turned around, and, as if to embody that she’d had it with being a victim, unleashed her very sharp claws right across her pursuer’s nose. He never bothered her again –– even though she would occasionally sit on her side of the fence between our yards and do the cat version of “Nyah-yah!”

She also was undeniably the boss of us. If my brother or I spent too much time late at night sitting, talking in a car with our friends outside the house, Dusty would circle the vehicle growling, until we got out. Then she would march us to the back door and into the house, before she galloped off to handle the rest of her catlly night duties. Humans are so hard to take care of!

Also like her name sake in Bait and Switch, Dusty was quite the gourmand. She also delighted in Polish ham, liverwurst, or fresh turkey and chicken. Dusty additionally had some more unusual tastes for a feline: peach ice cream; potato chips; and, as you see here, corn still on the cob. Note that her place setting has four bowls: water, milk, and two types of cat food!

And woe to you if you didn’t feed her fast enough. My sister-in-law Pam got a sound smack on the hand once for not moving that chicken with sufficient alacrity.

Dusty may have had a secret scandalous life. She did give birth to three kittens (Tiger Butterball, Jr; Mitzi Gaynor; and Midnight –– I didn’t name them!). We also suspected she might have had a drinking problem.

All in all, Dusty was a dear and sympathetic pal, going for walks with me in the yard, nuzzling me when I was down, playing with me when I needed some exercise. She lived all the way up to sixteen, one day waiting for my mother to come home before taking her leave and making a final journey to the great beyond. I have many more stories about her to tell, so mayhap we can have some more Dusty blogs. I would love it if anyone else who remembers Dusty would share. I just hope my novels are a fitting tribute to a truly cool cat!