Frans Snyders, The Larder, City Art Gallery, York, England

A masterpiece by Frans Snyders (1579-1657), the preeminent Flemsih still-life and animal painter Flemish.

A Dream

Nature Wins: the fences fall

Stepping Out: or a spiral column

Polyphemus

Odysseus identified himself as "Nobody" to Polyphemus, the man-eating one-eyed cyclops, when he put ashore on the creature's land, for the monster had defiled the rules of hospitality, not least by gorging himself on many of the hero's sailors. In revenge, Odysseus had the monster blinded and then escaped with the remainder of his men by clinging to the underbellies of the sheep herded by Polyphemus. Once safely on board his ship, Odysseus called back to the enraged son of Poseidon and told him his true name. Thereafter, on his journey home to Ithaca, Odysseus was pursued by the furious sea god who took the part of his misshapen son.

with gratitude to Michael Anthony Roberts for identifying the remains of this beautiful creature

The Mast Restored: the tree upright as ever

but with dead vines for leaves and tethered with taut bonds

The Unseen World

When I photographed the flowers--a cousin of the black or brown-eyed Susan-- I had no idea that the plant was being harvested by aphids. At a distance the stems appeared to have brown haris. It was not until I looked at the image on my screen that I discovered "the other world." I had an experience akin to 17th-18th century microscopists. No wonder Charles II wanted Boyle to make more drawings for him of the minute world that was discovered through the wonderful new instrument, the micoscope.