RMW Ramblings

  Rockford Tower Visitors Commemorating the re-opening of Rockford Tower to visitors in 2002, I painted this visualization of  1902 opening day visitors on the observation deck.       During a Wilmington Flower Market I later photographed modern visitors to the observation deck.

A Wilmington Flower Market Memory   In earlier years, the Wilmington Flower Market was preceded by a rotogravure supplement to to Wilmington Journal Every Evening with ads in support of the event. Most were photos of the business owners, patrons, and staff on site. Here is my great-aunt Reba (center, behind the counter) at Steinle's on King St in a clipping my mother saved from the early 1950s. The sepia tone is typical of gravure ink of that time. Mom didn't save the caption, so I can't identify anyone else.  

  Winter Dreams of Flower Market This is Flower Market week in Wilmington.  This charity fund raising event has run for over 100 years, and for over 60 years in Rockford Park with the iconic Rockford Tower.  It has grown beyond flower sales to include food, rides, games, and more.   Rockford Park also has the most popular sledding hill in the city.  Here w inter sledding kids see phantom Flower Market tents and rides.    

      California Poppies This year's heavy rainfall initiated a "superbloom" of wildflowers in California (https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/us/california-superbloom-flowers-climate/index.html) especially California poppies ( Eschscholzia californica ),  A photo on the news link reminds me of a painting I did of Mt Shasta.  The link was sent to me by our son-in-law Bill, who with Maura own the painting.

  Clutter Collections 3 Smith Island in the Chesapeake.

  Blue Glory Our brains are programed to identify patterns, a survival skill called pardeidolia, which enabled our ancestors to quickly identify threats in the wild.  We see faces in shadows and clouds, but not all such interpretations are of faces and animals.   Here I saw a flag as Mary sorted out some things, Blue Glory.    

  Clutter Collections 2 Remote Transform Consumer technology marches on; the detritus goes to flea markets.