kick off

here's the task list from this morning's kick-off:

• attach award plaque to porch column base.  bask. 
• fabricate and install 2 pr screens and storm windows for front (west) wall windows. 
• neaten up beam pocket openings in interior side walls. 
• design, fabricate and install 3-panel upper front window and trim.  existing 6/1 window and frame to be removed with care for reuse. 
• front step has "trip lip" overhang and top step is too shallow.  suggest improvements. 
  [edit: based on a joint review of the process photos taken when the porch framing was built last year, it's probably best to just let this one be]
• fabricate and install 6 pr screens and storm windows for south wall windows + 1 pr for north wall window. 
• replace south wall shingling with random width TIG plank siding;  while wall is open insulate and address any structural issues found. 

and a reminder that no materials are to be sourced from Home Depot or Lowe's.  alternatives include Barron's or T. W. Perry in Gaithersburg or Mizell Lumber in Kensington. 

this morning's rain is not conducive for getting things done on site but running off stock for the window frames is something the trim carpenter can be doing in his own shop. 

up into the morning sky

[OT from cottage renovations]

the way these seed pods captured the morning sunlight caught my attention Sunday morning. 

(click through this thumbnail for higher resolution image)

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Grove Road, across from Woodward Park

discoid Lunaria seed pods against morning sky

sometimes, as in this case, when taking a picture one hopes not to attract the attention of others.  this Lunaria plant is only about 3 ft high so to get this image I was lying down on the ground, looking up into the camera's viewfinder and shifting around on my back in an attempt to find a good angle for composition and lighting.  it wasn't necessarily the aspect I would have preferred to present to neighbours or passers-by.  the ungainly pose was only temporary; whether the resulting image was worth it is for you to judge. 

detail detail

[OT from cottage renovations]

some of the magnolias just can't refrain from continuing to bloom.  a close look at one like this, seen in Saturday afternoon's sweetlight, reveals shape and detail of nearly unimaginable complexity. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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Johnson Alley

detail

around the steady centre the petals swirl around, with their delicate shading and form looking like the Sydney Opera House. 

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detail detail

the closer and the longer you look at this one, the more beautiful and disturbing you will find it to be.