Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 84 of over 1200 images

Thai Garden Elephant, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, Wisconsin, September 20, 2012

Olbrich Botanical Gardens:

The Thai Garden surrounding the Pavilion emulates a lush, tropical garden with Wisconsin-hardy plants. Ornamental grasses, some reaching up to 12 feet tall, and several hardy bamboos are essential in creating a tropical look. Large-leafed shrubs and trees are pruned to give them the look of plants in a typical Thai garden.

Glazed water jars and clipped tree art called mai dat, are both common elements of Thai gardens. Mai dat is a traditional horticulture feature in Thai gardens that has been practiced since the 13th century. Olbrich uses large Chinese junipers for the clipped tree art.

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay and Flickr as “Thai Garden Elephant.”
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2. Olbrich Botanical Gardens website
3. Wikipedia

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 83 of over 1200 images

Wild Geranium, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia May 12, 2009

Wikipedia:

Geranium maculatum, the wild geranium, spotted geranium, or wood geranium, is a perennial plant native to woodland in eastern North America, from southern Manitoba and southwestern Quebec south to Alabama and Georgia and west to Oklahoma and South Dakota. It grows in dry to moist woods and is normally abundant when found.

The plant has been used in herbal medicine, and is also grown as a garden plant. Wild geranium is considered an astringent, a substance that causes contraction of the tissues and stops bleeding. The Mesquakie Indians brewed a root tea for toothache and for painful nerves and mashed the roots for treating hemorrhoids.

I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay and Flickr as “Wild Geranium.”
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 82 of over 1200 images

Dandelion Parachute Ball, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, May 12, 2009

Wikipedia

Taraxacum (/təˈræksəkʊm/) is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The genus is native to Eurasia and North America. The common name dandelion (from French dent-de-lion, meaning “lion’s tooth”) is given to members of the genus. Like other members of the family Asteraceae, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. In part due to their abundance along with being a generalist species, dandelions are one of the most vital early spring nectar sources for a wide host of pollinators. Many Taraxacum species produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.

The flower heads mature into spherical seed heads sometimes called blowballs or clocks (in both British and American English) containing many single-seeded fruits called achenes. Each achene is attached to a pappus of fine hair-like material which enables wind-aided dispersal over long distances.

A number of species of Taraxacum are seed-dispersed ruderals that rapidly colonize disturbed soil, especially the common dandelion (T. officinale), which has been introduced over much of the temperate world. After flowering is finished, the dandelion flower head dries out for a day or two. The dried petals and stamens drop off, the bracts reflex (curve backwards), and the parachute ball opens into a full sphere. When development is complete, the mature seeds are attached to white, fluffy “parachutes” which easily detach from the seedhead and glide by wind, dispersing.

The seeds are able to cover large distances when dispersed due to the unique morphology of the pappus which works to create a unique type of vortex ring that stays attached to the seed rather than being sent downstream. In addition to the creation of this vortex ring, the pappus can adjust its morphology depending on the moisture in the air. This allows the plume of seeds to close up and reduce the chance to separate from the stem, waiting for optimal conditions that will maximize dispersal and germination.

I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay and Flickr as “Winter in the Ozarks.”
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

Halloween 2020 #11

Halloween 2020 #10

Halloween 2020 #9

Vintage Halloween Postcards from the digital collections of the New York Public Library

Repository: The New York Public Library. Mid-Manhattan Library. Picture Collection.

Halloween 2020 #9
Originally published October 30, 2016

Snap Apple Night: All Hallow Eve¹

Snap apple, of Irish origin, is a synonym for apple bobbing, a game in which contestants try to pick apples out of a tub or basin of water, using only their mouth. A variation has the apple hanging by string, with the same goal of picking the apples using only one’s mouth.²

All-hallow Eve by Daniel Maclise³

Maclise revisits Cork —‘ All-hallow Eve’—‘ Scene at Blarney’— His Picture⁴

At this period there lived. in the village of ‘Blarney’ (a very few miles from Cork) the Rev. Matthew Horgan; he was the parish priest, a genial old gentleman, famous for his antiquarian research, and his profound acquaintance with the literature of Ireland.

A man he was to all the country dear,’—

the arbiter to whom all disputes and differences that sprang up in the parish were invariably referred; in fact, he claimed to possess a kind of feudal jurisdiction over his tractable parishioners, and he ‘had his claim allowed.’ It was the invariable custom of the good old priest to invite a large party on ‘All-hallow eve:’ it was a social gathering, where persons of superior position in society were to be found unaffectedly mingling with the poorest peasantry of the parish. Crofton Croker and Maclise were invited to this entertainment, and whilst the young artist, charmed with the novelty of the scene, surrendered himself, heart and soul, to the enjoyments of the night, and joined in the harmless hilarity that prevailed, he contrived to sketch every group in the ‘Barn.’ On his return to London in the beginning of November 1832, he commenced his wonderful picture of ‘All-hallow Eve,’ and he wrought with such unceasing diligence and rapidity, that it was ready for, and appeared in, the Exhibition of 1833. As the earliest specimen in oil, of his powers on a large scale, its appearance produced an almost electrical effect on the public.

• Then Peggy was dancing with Dan,
• While Maureen the lead was melting,
• To prove how her fortunes ran,
• With cards that old Nancy dealt in;
• ..
• There was Kate and her sweetheart Will
• In nuts their true love burning;
• And poor Norah, though smiling still,
• She’d missed the snap-apple turning.

In the fore-ground of the picture several groups appear; the most prominent are a stalwart and openmouthed country boy and a buxom girl, trying to catch the apples which are affixed to the points of the cross-sticks, or ‘snap-apple,’ suspended from the ceiling: near this group a couple are dancing, and on the right are the fiddler and piper: the former has the expression on his face of exquisite torture caused by a young urchin who is slyly tickling his ear with a straw; and as the unhappy musician dare not stop the music, the contortions of his face are most ludicrous. This picture is so well and so widely known by the engraving from it, that a more detailed description will be unnecessary here. It is characterised by, great boldness of touch with simplicity of composition. The grouping and attitudes are most artless and unrestrained, and the entire coup d’œil fraught with beauty and effect.⁵

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1. Currier & Ives, American, active 1834 – 1907, Snap Apple Night: All-hallow Eve. Image retrieved from (Photo credit:) Yale University Art Gallery (Accessed October 19, 2016)
2. Apple bobbing (Wikipedia): In Ireland, mainly County Kerry, it is known as “Snap Apple”, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, “Snap Apple Night” is a synonym for Halloween. A variation of the game exists, with the apples hung on string on a line, rather than in a bowl of water. (Accessed October 20)
3. “All-hallow Eve,” painting, oil on canvas, in private collection. (Despite extensive searching, I was unable to find a high quality, higher resolution image.)
4. A Memoir of Daniel Maclise, R.A.; pp. 46-48; W. Justin O’Driscoll, Barrister-at-Law; London: Longman’s, Green, and Co., 1871
5. The principal characters are portraits of Sir W. Scott, Crofton Croker, the Sisters of the Artist, ‘Perceval Banks (who was married to Anne, the younger sister), and the Old Clergyman, who appears in the back-ground, compelling two of his ‘Boys,’ who had been trying their shillelahs on each other’s heads, to shake hands and be friends.

The Fascinating History of Halloween And How the Fall Holiday Originated

Good Housekeeping – Americans love Halloween: the candy, the costumes, and the creepy decor. But as beloved as the holiday is in the states, it didn’t originate here. In fact, the history of Halloween dates back thousands of years to the Celtic celebration of Samhain, a festival that marked the end of the harvest and the start of a new year. The day was also said to be a time when the veil between the living and the dead was the thinnest, and when humans could communicate with those beyond the grave.

This year, before you go trick-or-treating or put on your trusty witch costume, take some time to learn more about the dark history of Halloween. It turns out, the holiday is much more interesting (and eerier!) than you thought.  (read the full article)

Royalty free image from Pixabay
See Pixabay license

Pixabay image by davidfoxx • English • Member since March 7, 2017

The County Election by George Caleb Bingham

Elections in the mid-19th century were far different than they are today.

In George Caleb Bingham’s painting, The County Election, the artist presents a busy scene in a rural community bringing together a variety of people making decisions for the common good.  While this painting was completed in 1852, election practices would have changed little by the election of 1860, where Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Bingham reveals features of the elections of the times that are far different from today:

• all ages and classes of eligible voters are shown
  • African Americans and women had not yet gained the right to vote
• no system of voter registration – the man in red at the top of the courthouse steps is swearing that he hasn’t already cast a vote.
• no secret or paper ballots – voters call out their choice(s) to election clerks who record it (them) in a leger.
• no restrictions on electioneering – a well-dressed gentleman, probably a candidate or candidate’s representative, hands his card to one of the voters in line.

Picturing America¹

The lack of a single dramatic focus in The County Election is an expression of the democratic ideal: all men appear as equals, with no one vote worth more than another. Several members of the electorate engage in serious discussion, perhaps debating the candidates’ qualifications. Another group clusters around a newspaper, a potent tool of democracy. Nevertheless, Bingham seems to question the integrity of an election conducted so casually. In the left foreground, a portly man already sprawled in his chair accepts more hard cider from an African American precinct worker, presumably in exchange for a vote. Behind him, a well-to-do gentleman literally drags a slumping body to the polls as he casts a meaningful glance toward the candidate in blue…, and in the foreground, the actions of two boys, absorbed in a childhood pastime in which a knife thrown into the ground determines the winner, suggest that the political process is little more than a game of chance. More ominously, a tattered figure in the front right corner hangs his bandaged head, perhaps to imply that for all the apparent good will of the crowd, violence lies just beneath the surface.

Besides commenting on American electioneering in general, The County Election records a particular political event. As many of Bingham’s contemporaries would have known, the painting depicts Election Day 1850 in Saline County, Missouri, when the artist himself was running for a place in the StateLegislature. Bingham lost that election to E. D. Sappington, whom he represents as the unprincipled candidate in the shinytop hat. Sappington, with his workers, did try to buy votes with liquor, and because he was related to the judge and one of the clerks, the election’s outcome naturally aroused suspicion. Bingham did not contest the results, but The County Election makes an obvious indictment of his political opponent.The artist himself makes an appearance in the picture as the figure in the stovepipe hat seated on the courthouse steps, attended by a friendly dog and two men in white hats who pause to look over his shoulder. Bingham’s quiet concentration sets him apart from the crowd, and we can only wonder whether he is keeping track of the votes in order to tally them for himself, or sketching the unruly practices of a young democracy.

Elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1848, Bingham was one of the few artists to serve in elected political office. Living in Europe from 1856 to 1859, he returned to America and again became involved in Missouri politics. After Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson sided with the Confederacy, Bingham, a dedicated Union man raised troops to oppose Jackson and was commissioned as a Captain.  After the Missouri Constitution Convention reconvened, declared all of the state’s elective office’s vacant, and appointed new officers, including the governor, Governor Hamilton Gamble, Bingham was appointed by Gamble to the position of State Treasurer of Missouri in which position he served through the duration of the war.  In 1874 he was appointed president of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and, in 1875, Adjutant-General of Missouri, the senior officer of the state militia.

1. The County Election, 1852 — Picturing America was a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that brought masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. The project concluded in 2009. However, many of the educational materials created for the program are still available for use by students, teachers, and lifelong learners.