around our house in July

This week we finally had a 200 year old dead read oak tree cut down that was literally a sword of Damocles over our house and two of our two neighbors' houses. We were sad that it had to go, but we were tired of cringing every time the wind blew. We imagine that it is becoming really nice floorboards for some fancy loft in New York or somewhere. Having it removed helped us to appreciate the rainstorms that we've been having and the incredible mushrooms that have sprung up around the yard. And finally, I just think baby clothes look really cute hung on the line. We hit the thrift shops every couple of weeks to stock up then wash and store.

Calla lily

I noticed that my boss had a nice flower in her office that upon closer examination had a secret. It was in a wine bottle, and the ends were curled up so that it could not be removed, like a ship in a bottle. It turns out that the person who had given it to her was also a friend of mine, so I requested one as well and documented its progress. It's a calla lily.

Picture one is freshly cut with a straight stem.

In a few hours it was beginning to curl.

By midday it was clearly spiraling.


When I left to go home it looked about finished.

When I checked back Monday morning I found it had curled even more.

Thanks Priyanka!

"What do you do?"

It's a question that I get asked a lot - by strangers at parties, on the phone with my parents, at home by my wife. Am I really that mysterious?

I collect historical documents and other stuff for UNC's "library." That's about as simply as I can put it without lulling you to sleep. Once in a while though, it produces some interesting stories or even photo ops. Like the one shown here.

This is a bust of Senator Sam Ervin, Jr. that was recently donated to the library. I was the one called on to drive out to Burlington and get it. Of course it made most sense to me to park old Sam up in the front seat and strap him in.

What a creepy bust, right? Well, he was all jowls, all the time - the artist didn't really have much to work with.