Apparently there are four Ax-Men scattered around the Twin Cities, but we visited the St. Paul variety. It is a huge store of aisle after aisle of surplus stuff – lots of electronic bits and bobs, but also 1997 moon posters, old oscilloscopes, a bucket of plastic figurines of gulper eels, about 50 different colors of masking tape, art supplies, well, just a lot of random fun stuff. I meandered around for awhile, poking at this, handling that, and then I got to the chemistry isle. Holy Moly! Every sort of beaker, test tube, petri dish, and flask you could ever ask for at dirt cheap prices. I started stocking up on vials and little corked bottles, wishing I had more space in my suitcase for various glass instruments when I heard right behind me Dylan’s voice, “Uh…Michelle? You should come over here…” And there it was, a shelf full of botanical shadow box collections. Prices ranging $5 – $15 for the real big ones. If we thought we could get them all on the plane we would have cleaned the Ax-Man out. But we restrained.

A shot of the loot we somehow managed to carry on the plane with us in addition to 10 days worth of clothes, a video camera, a still camera, 2 laptops, and more books than anyone needs for 10 days.

Common Lichens, my favorite shadow box. “I lichen this” jokes were made all the way home. This was too big to put in our giant backpacks, so I carried it under my arm, much to the curiosity and delight of many a traveler.

Types of Pteridophytes, which, thanks to wikipedia, I now know are vascular plants which reproduce using spores instead of seeds or flowers.

A neat bottle for Benzinum – this seems to be Eastern European judging from the text – possibly Czech?

One of my favorite finds – Slime Mold sample. There were about 7 of these at Ax-Man and great care and time was put into choosing the best one. I love Slime Molds because they remind me of Egon in Ghostbusters. He collects “spores, molds, and fungus.”

Can never have enough test tubes and tiny bottles. Now if I can find something I can get through the minuscule opening of those bottles I’ll be set.

I love this box of Soap, Surgical. Just use as you would any ordinary soap!

A small metal box of glass-topped specimen tins – it’s travel sized! I’d love to go on an expedition and collect plant and insect life and fill each one of these. It’ll happen.

Dylan’s favorite is the Diseases of Grain shadowbox. Probably because he’s Midwestern and grain runs through his veins. Grain Veins.

Dylan playing tug of war over and ear of corn with a determined sheep

Tomatoes and cloudy skies

Aren’t these idyllic?

Chickens!

Eggs of all colors. All of the chickens are the same breed, the color and size simply vary from lady to lady.

I think we ate about 985 handfuls of blackberries.

A rocky beach on an overcast day always reminds me of Victorian sea bathing. All that’s missing is the changing tents and parasols. This beach even had a herd of swans passing by (a group of swans really are called a herd – did you know a group of mice is a mischeif? I learned that from bar trivia.)

Yes, I am the American Andy Goldsworthy.

Opening : August 13th Friday 6pm-9pm
On View : August 13th – September 8th

“In the style of a cabinet of curiosities, Enemark and Thuras have carefully curated a new installation for the Widows Watch. Combining photography, drawings, sculptures and taxidermy, the two pay homage to our flying feather friends.” (via Kill Devil Hill)

……………

I am so excited to announce the opening of a new exhibit I’ve been working on. Our favorite shop in Brooklyn, Kill Devil Hill, has recently transformed their intimate back room into an art salon and asked Dylan and I if we’d like to show some of our work there. After sharing total enchantment with David Attenborough’s Life of Birds, we decided to conjure up a wunderkammer of birds. I’ve got lots of different works in the show, from photography and drawings to some mixed media displays – and hopefully, if all goes well…my first attempt at a wet specimen. We’ll have some pieces from our collection on display as well.

Scroll down for a sneak peak of some work in the show. And please join us, this Friday, August 13 (Friday the 13th!) from 6-8. Hendrick’s gin will be sponsoring, so come sip a summer cocktail and enjoy some birds the way an 18th century gentleman naturalist might.

Kill Devil Hill is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on Franklin Street between Java and Kent. Just one block off the Greenpoint G train.

But some folks must – those antique stores, door after door after door of them, don’t run themselves. We hit just about every one, and right as I was ready to give up – every store was a bit overpriced and well picked through – I saw him. I discovered him in a shop with no price tags, so I carried him up to the counter with a price in mind. I was informed that he was very special, and that his name was Crackers. For what I think was a bargain of $35, Crackers is now continuing to be very special in our kitchen.

Crackers in the Kitchen

I love him so, he is the perfect amount of scruffy and old. I’m so glad I’m getting the chance to give him a second life. He is actually going to be featured in a gallery show of my work, opening Friday the 13th in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. More details as they are available!

Anyway, this isn’t about blueberries, this is about peaches! Dylan and I aren’t big on sweets – I mean, we love them, but we never seem to be able to finish off an entire pie, or batch of cookies, or tray of muffins, or dish of crumble by ourselves. And though I like my fruit best raw, there’s only so many peaches that all ripen at the same time a girl can eat.

I promise that I won’t do recipe posts often – this isn’t a food blog – but I couldn’t resist sharing these two because they were so darn good, and looked pretty for the camera. So without further ado, not-too-sweet-peach-recipes! (Both of these were culled from Tastespotting, my favorite place to look for good recipes, because I tend to go on the picture alone when choosing one, and tastespotting is chock full of them.)

GINGER PEACH JULEPS
(via Dirty Gourmet, who got it from Nola)

Take two slices of peach, about 10 fresh mint leaves, and muddle with 1 or 2 (if you’re not a wimp like me) ounces of bourbon. I did this with a wooden spoon – it was my first time muddling, and I quite liked it. Then fill with ice and ginger ale. That’s it! It’s delicious. And probably best enjoyed at a picnic due to its refreshing nature, but it was raining when we made them. Don’t worry, they’re still delicious when had indoors. I do think the mason jar is mandatory though.

BLUEBERRY PEACH COFFEE CAKE
(Via My Kitchen Addiction, who got it from the Pioneer Woman Cookbook)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a pie dish. In a bowl mix your dry ingredients – 1 1/4 cups of flour, 3/4 cups of cornmeal, 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder and of 1/2 tsp salt. In another bowl mix 1 egg, 3/4 cup of milk, and 1 cup of ricotta cheese. Add these wets to the dries and stir until just mixed. Pour into your dish and press 1 cup of peeled chopped peaches and 1 cup of blueberries into the batter. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of raw sugar and pop into the oven. in about 30-35 minutes (or 40 if the bottom drawer thing in your oven won’t close like mine so everything takes longer because heat is constantly leaking out) it’s done! It tastes a lot like a corn muffin, if you’re looking for something sweeter, double the sugar.

This last trip to Maine was especially bountiful in the realm of antique acquisition. We had a long talk on our way home via a very crowded greyhound bus about how we are going to cull our collection…there simply isn’t room in our little apartment for another thing. And yet we continue to push it ever closer to bursting. We’re considering opening an etsy store – but I’m not sure I could actually give anything up.

Fountain pen holder from 1886 and antique inkwell with pewter cap.

Two brass and wood rulers, I think these are the prettiest rulers I've ever seen. Why aren't utilitarian objects made like this anymore?

My mom actually found this little fox plate (ashtray?) for me - she sure can pick em! I love the delicate design and the creepy fox face.

A huge lot from a doctor's kit; most of the objects date to around the 1930s - I tried to buy this lot two Christmas'es ago for Dylan, but the price tag was too high for me. This time I went in and suggested that since it has been sitting in the shop for nearly 2 years, perhaps we could consider halving the price. Next thing I knew, I was wondering where on earth I was going to put all this stuff!

I love the vials of PH testing papers and the little vial of unused labels

There's still pills in most of these!!

Every gentleman's desk requires a magnifying glass

Dylan lugged this huge bottle to the bus station, on the bus, through Port Authority, and on 2 subways home. It's amazing that the rusted handle didn't give out. We are considering using it for brewing beer - Dylan just took a brewing class.

This is my absolute favorite - I think this metal clipboard once held postcards, and was part of a display one would flip through, like poster displays.

I just love anything that is numbered. It suggests a story - where is 1-146? They must be out there somewhere.

We didn’t take many pictures, but Dylan managed to remember to take a few with his trusty iPhone from Bailey’s Island.

We also came back (surprise surprise) with loads of antique loot, I’ll post our findings later this week.

At "Land's End" (the name of a gift shop and the actual end of land) at Bailey's Island...you're driving along and here, the road simply ends.

A Seagull on the seaside walk to Giant's Stairs

"The Giant's Stairs - Presented to their native town by Captain W. Henry Sinnett and Joanna F. His Wife, March 7, 1910"

Sitting the the Giant's Stairs, a natural rock formation resembling steps leading down into the crashing sea below...perhaps better named Giant's Suicide Steps?

A Pointy Rock in the distance makes for a swell mysterious Maine coast photo opt

I couldn't resist tossing in an old timey diving suit! From Cook's Lobster House