Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park

 Tom and I enjoyed an afternoon at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park in Hamilton yesterday. The weather was perfect: a mostly blue sky with a few puffy white clouds and a pleasant high temperature of 72°. We had not been to Pyramid Hill before but with two free Groupon passes courtesy of Nan McGinnis, we had our Saturday afternoon all planned.

 Pyramid Hill is situated on more than 300 acres and displays "60+ monumental sculptures displayed in a landscape of rolling hills, meadows, lakes and hiking trails". We decided to see what we could minus available golf carts ($20/hour) and found the going a bit strenuous.

 The park calls itself "the largest cultural tourist attraction in Butler county". They boast of having 300,000 visitors annually.

 The Visitor Center and Gift Shop is nondescript and small. We found a parking spot easily but after an afternoon of hiking that small lot was full and a nearby lot was filling fast. Still, parking is ample for a non-event weekend and it's also free. But admission to the park is $8 per person.

 And so we began a foot tour of perhaps half of the area ...

 Tom is dwarfed by this sculpture.

 There are at least six "lakes" (actually ponds) on the property.

 This sculpture has a canoe atop, sawed in half.

 These standing stones reminded me of Stonehenge.

 I would suppose these to have been industrial grade pillars set for architectural work.

 Tom sitting on a bench with a sculpture of Harry Wilks. Read more below.

 A statue of a dog in front of the Pyramid House.

 This large sculpture has natural mica and quartz inclusions. Not so natural is placement of red glass, particularly a large piece set in the top. Below, Tom is looking up at the red glass.

 These remind me of papyrus.

 Harry Wilks "Pyramid House" is a private home on the grounds and is off limits. Finished in 1992, information about the house can be found here. Harry T. Wilks, a Hamilton philanthropist, died in March of 2014. He was called an "advocate for the arts, schools and community" by the Journal-News.

 Close-up of the statue above in a walled garden area.

Bill (l) and Tom

 A map of Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park can be found here.

 The park consists of beautiful rolling hills in a rural setting.One negative is the number of still-standing ash trees which have been killed by the Emerald Ash Borer. Due to the number, it'd be a substantial project to remove them all. But as they stand, they're quite numerous and unsightly. Also, some areas of the park have a severe mole problem (but then so do I). There are hills and runs in large areas. Both of those problems need dealing with.

 I'm told the park has wonderful Christmas light displays. I can imagine that's a stunning sight when there's snow on the ground.

Night Blooming Cereus Blooms Again

 It's only been a little over a year since our Night Blooming Cereus erupted into bloom. That was July 29, 2016. Previous blooms I've recorded have been on September 4, 2015 and on August 5, 2009. My understanding was that this plant was a rare-bloomer, maybe as seldom as once per decade, but recent episodes have proved that wrong.

 The most interesting aspect of the plant is that it is truly a night bloomer. The buds may swell and look ready to part but it never happens until darkness descends.

 Here's the current chronology of this cycle ...

08/31/17 

 I first noticed the bud while the plant was summering on our back porch. Mom and I were on the way to the grocery.

09/03/17 

 Because of recent gusty storms, I brought the plant back inside to its usual spot on our south-facing enclosed porch. Carrying it carefully with that dangling bud wasn't easy and was fraught with danger. Mom once accidentally knocked off a bloom at about this point.

09/03/17 

 I noticed that a nearby leaf has four baby buds. I've never seen multiple blooms on this plant.

09/03/17 

 Here's a close-up of the bud. There's a little insect at about 3 o'clock. Mom removed it carefully.

09/05/17 

 The bud turns up a bit before it blooms. That's a good signal that blooming is imminent

09/06/17 

 Just a day ago I figured the time had arrived. I've set an alarm each night for either midnight or 1 am so I'd be sure not to miss it. I was getting tired of getting up in the middle of the night and checking.

09/07/17

 Early yesterday the bud looked mature and about ready to open. The colors are exquisite: rose, mauve and various shades of ivory. And yet the bloom, when fully open, will be a pure white.

09/07/17 

 I watched some TV and Mom went to bed. I checked the bud about 8 pm as the sun set. Nothing. It was still closed but looked like a balloon ready to burst. Then, at 9 pm as I readied to go to bed myself, I peaked through the dining room window and shined a flashlight on the plant one last time. It had opened in the past hour.

09/07/17

 It's really quite a sight as it begins to unfold. All the rose-colored bands which seem to bind it together, peel away and the blossom seems to explode with pent-up energy.

09/07/17

 Here's as close to a head-on shot as I could get. The flower is very delicate and can't be easily handled. In the distant past I remember these blooms to be quite fragrant but I've not noticed any scent recently.

 I'll keep an eye on the four developing buds and post pictures here. So check back.

Shakespeare's First Folio

 This weekend (09/02) the Cincinnati Museum Center had a free exhibit of Shakespeare's First Folio and it was something I didn't want to miss. The CMC usually has expensive exhibits, Tom said. The only problem was that parking was still $6. And a Star Wars costume exhibit drew great numbers to the museum.

 For information on the CMC, click here.

Construction is underway at the CMC. Scaffolding is everywhere but access is still maintained.

 Through a glass window, we could see construction work on this main atrium. A rotunda mural from the years when this building was a railroad terminal (Union Terminal) is visible through scaffolding.

 At The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (downtown location), this same mural is shown with explanatory text.

 But we came for the Shakespeare exhibit ...

 Shakespeare's First Folio was published in 1623, just seven years after The Bard's death. It is considered to be "one of the most influential books ever published in the English language" [Wikipedia, click here]

 The Fourth Folio

1685

The Second Folio 

1632

 This book was  inscribed as it appears to have been given as a gift.

 And now to what we came for ...

 The first folio (and the others) were shown beneath glass. The area always had a guard present.

The First Folio

(opened to Hamlet) 

 A copy sold for over $5 million in 2006. Originally 750 copies were printed. Today only 233 copies are known to exist. Eighty-two of those copies are at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. For a list of First Folio Facts click here.

 Unfortunately, the Star Wars costume exhibit had lines waiting to pay an admission fee. Tom and I were able to walk directly into the Shakespeare exhibit without a fee and without waiting. That's a sad commentary on today's values in my opinion.

 19th century handbills for Shakespeare's plays.

 And finally we rode an escalator up out of the basement of the Cincinnati Museum Center. A breathtaking afternoon.

Return to Melt

 On Saturday (09/02) Tom and I considered a number of places to have lunch and finally settled on a return to Melt. I was first there three years ago but it was at a small location just north of Tom's apartment on Hamilton Avenue. They recently opened at a new location, still on Hamilton Avenue but south of Tom's apartment.

 For my previous blog, click here. For information on Melt Eclectic Cafe, click here or here.

 Melt's previous location was small and cozy. This new location is modern, open and even a little sterile. Still, it's pretty in a modern way and the place was fairly busy. It was about 2 pm when we visited. They've added an expansive bar.

 After we ordered we had but a short wait for our meals.

 While we waited about five minutes to be seated we found plenty of open tables available. There were a number of two-seat tables open.

 Tom ordered an unusual "Vegan Mac and 'Cheeze'". It has a "smoky" vegan cheddar cheese and is served over spinach (a beautiful touch) and topped with pico de gallo. Both of us where taken back by our initial taste: the smokiness is somewhat unexpected. But I loved it. The serving, for $8, was certainly ample.

 I ordered there Vegetarian Cheesesteak for $10. It includes "house-made seasoned seitan", grilled peppers and onions and melted provolone cheese all placed on Shadaue's Whole Wheat Hoagie. I'd have to call it the most unusual sandwich I've ever eaten "Seitan" is often called "Wheat Meat". Information on it can be found here.

 Melt's menu is available here.

 We had only two problems. I asked for two checks when we ordered; we got one. And Tom ordered a soda but never received it (and wasn't charged for it). The servers are friendly and the atmosphere cordial. But both of us preferred the previous location which was admittedly tiny but more intimate.

 Nevertheless, Melt's vegetarian offerings can't be beat and that's enough reason to return.