Aubrey's recent reference to the work of painter Maxfield Parrish triggered a memory of another artist's work. It must be something to do with the way they handle light –softly warm– that made my mind put Parrish and South African painter Tertia du Toit together. Otherwise their paintings differ greatly, especially in the dynamics of posing human figures. Anyway, the only way I knew du Toit's work was through, of all things, wine labels!
It was a rainy and cloudy weekend so no stargazing this time. We did, however, attend the groundbreaking for what will be a unique public facility: the Geauga Park District's Observatory Park. The park will celebrate nature from the ground beneath our feet to the cosmos of which we are a small part, all under skies recognized as some of the darkest in our region (very good but not great). As a part of the development the District acquired the Nassau Astronomical Station from Case Western Reserve University and will rehabilitate its 1957 building and research-grade 36-inch telescope for Park use. A second 36-inch reflector has also been donated to the cause. Park officials expect the facilities to be open for use next year. As a boy I dreamed of observatories of the design seen at Nassau (and at Baldwin-Wallace College)… their turret-domes, telescopes, control rooms, and catwalks enthralled me then and now. It was a thrill to visit Nassau this weekend as a part of the Park's groundbreaking. Hopefully the facilities will continue to fascinate and inspire for many generations to come, both by themselves and as stairways to the stars.
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do” — Wendell Berry
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