Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, Sunlight (1892 & 1894)

Whenever I'm in DC, I like to stop by the National Gallery of Art to see this pair of Monets. First, I went upstairs to the space where they've been displayed in the past, but all those rooms were closed. These, and others, were moved downstairs and are on display in the exhibit From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection. 

Occupy DC

Ran into Occupy DC on Friday down at McPherson Square.

If you're interested, they have a website here.

Trees....

Trees are great. These trees are along the Corral Valley Trail, outside of Coleville, CA (along 395 south of Topaz Lake).

The Nevada 'N'

Yesterday was Homecoming at UNR and, as they do every year, the Sigma Nu fraternity constructed a large sigma next to the Nevada "N" (although I thought they used to do this earlier in the year closer to the beginning of the school year in August). Ephemeral as ever, the sigma was gone this morning, but I thought it a good excuse to post a few random facts about this particular hillside letter.

Hillside letters are primarily a phenomenon of the American west (although I have seen letters in Canada and a hillside clock in Alexandra, New Zealand). The first hillside letter, a C, was built at the University of California, Berkeley in 1905. Located on the lower slopes of Peavine (and within walking distance of the R), the N was constructed in 1913 and is the first hillside letter to be built in Nevada. According to the 1913 Artemisia (UNR's yearbook), the N was constructed to measure 150 feet in height and 140 feet in breadth. Each leg has a thickness of 20 feet. It was the largest hillside letter until 1925.

Interested in further reading? Here's a collection of references gleaned from a research paper proposal I wrote many, many, many years ago for one of my classes:

Graham, A. (1987, October). If it's 'T' it must be Tonopah. Nevada, 47, 69-72.
Melton, R. (2001, July 2). The story behind the 'Block R.' Reno Gazette-Journal, pp 7A, 7D.
Parsons, J. (1988). Hillside letters in the western landscape. Landscape, 1, 15-23.
Somers, L. (Ed.). (1914). Artemisia. Junior Class of the University of Nevada.


....and a few web pages as well...

Hillside Letters: In Plain Sight but Not Intended for Planes
List of hillside letters in Nevada (Wikipedia)
Nevada's Hillside Letters (Google Maps)
Denied...Not! (the N could still use a new coat of paint)

Rabbit Brush

The rabbit brush is a-bloomin'.

Fresh From the Oven

I just pulled the pie from the oven and it smells divine! (Click here for the recipe.)

Mash Apple Pie

I woke up with a hankering for pie, apple pie. So after a bike ride out Red Rock Road late this morning and a stop at Home Depot to buy bulbs, I came home and got to work. I perused a few recipes for inspiration, and here's what I came up with:

Crust
by Pillsbury

Filling
3 pounds of Granny Smith apples
flour
cinnamon
cardamom
large orange
brown sugar

Topping
1/4 C butter
4 oz marzipan
2/3 C flour
salt


The Steps
Follow the directions on the box for the pie crust (in my case, let come to room temp then unroll into the pie plate). Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-ish inch slices. Put into a large bowl. Mix the sliced apples together with a few pinches of flour (2-3 T-ish), the zest of a whole orange, the juice of 1/2 that orange, generous sprinkles of cinnamon & cardamom, and a handful of brown sugar. Put the filling in the crust.

For the topping (which is from the Epicurious recipe I base my blueberry pie on), cut the butter & marzipan into chunks and throw it into a food processor with the flour and a pinch of salt. Process & let chill in the fridge. When ready, spread the crumble over the apples already in the pie pan.

Heat the oven to 350 F and bake the whole shebang for about 50 minutes or until the apples are cooked.

This photo is of the pie right before I put it in the oven. It's been in about 15 minutes, and I'm looking forward to tasting how this puppy turns out.

Changing Aspen Leaves

I haven't been in the US in October since 2004. One of the things I really missed about October is the changing of the leaves. Earlier this morning, Skeena and I did the Jones-Whites Loop. On the final leg back to the trailhead, I couldn't help but stop and take a photo.

#24 Them Bitter Black Hills

...One of the best beers of last night's Backwash (along with Reddy Eddy & Rosemary's Baby).

Why I Haven't Posted Lately

School keeps me busy. Today I'm butterfly busy.