Yesterday I looked up and saw this tree had changed color completely without my noticing. I'm sure it's
Nyssa sylvatica, or black gum. When I saw the tree I immediately thought of the
botanical name as I learned it when I studied horticulture at
American River College in Sacramento. My teacher at the time would take us on field trips to see all the trees in their mature state and I remember her saying the tree had brilliant fall color.
The fruit is prized by many North American birds. My photograph doesn't do the color justice since I took the photo in bright sunlight from a distance. The hill behind our house is very steep and I don't go up there.
Last week I was preparing for a bisque load and was sanding the rim of a large leaf bowl. Guess I pressed the edge too close to my body and I broke it. I was really looking forward to seeing how all the overlapping different colored leaves were going to look. I'll have to make another one. The bowl doesn't look like much when it's broken does it.
I'm working on tweaking my bisque firings. Here are the bisque cones from three firings. Two on left are medium 04 firing, a little too hot. The one on right is medium 05. I'll have to check my manual and see if I can fire a 055. A little braver now; I'm firing my bisque on medium instead of slow like I used to, so far so good. I hold it at 200 for 10 minutes just to be safe since it's so humid here. Coming up an easy and delicious recipe for crunchy baked okra, another basket with a driftwood handle, a gallery exhibit, and a new gallery carrying my work. Thanks for reading and for all your comments and suggestions.
