Saturday August 30th 2014

FAMILY

      "I sustain myself with the love of family."
                                              -Maya Angelou

                                     The Blessing of Family

                 Family before you, after you, surrounding you.

                                 Are we grateful for the gift?

     This Labor Day weekend might be a wonderful opportunity to

     tell someone in your family that you love and appreciate them.

Wednesday August 27th 2014

National Just Because Day

This day's celebration began sometime 

in the 1950's. Maybe you recall back then

hearing a parent say, "Just because."

Today, you get to be the just because person.
They say you can do (or say) whatever you
want with only Just Because Day as your reason.

Maybe the birds of the air have such a day also.

   Just because the orange peel was there I took it.

        Here's a beautiful thought we might consider:

          "It seems I was called for this:            To glorify things            Just because they are."

                                       -Czelaw Milosz

Tuesday August 26th 2014

Scent & Summer

Soon summer scents will be gone.
Maybe some families went to Hawaii on vacation.
When you arrive on the Islands, there is a flower you
learn of very quickly by its heavenly scent: Plumeria
You will never forget its citrus sweet scent.

If you live in a warm climate you may try and grow this
plant. Here's a reminder: Do not overwater! Or as one
gardener said, "Don't kill 'um with kindness!"

Save your kindness for the handmade leis you may present
to someone on a special occasion  . . .

and enjoy the scent of all flowers each day!

Monday August 25th 2014

Sharing

Sometimes we need to share our sadness
with the world. 

"While I thought that I was learning how to live,

 I have been learning how to die."

                                   -Leonardo da Vinci

When a good person

leaves this world for 

his Eternal life . . . 

For all your generosity &

laughter--

       Rest In Peace,

         Tony Julik

Sunday August 24th 2014

Earthquakes

"The earth takes a deep breath.  The ground coughs."

                                     - Kathleen Gunton

                    Monody In Time Of Disaster

 Dear people of Napa, California 

you are in our thoughts & prayers.

 

  

"We don't think of earthquakes 

  until after an earthquake." 

Friday, August 22nd 2014

Knowing Nature By Name

Do you ever capture an image
of something in nature
and then find yourself hunting for its name?

Some writers are amazing in their knowledge of nature.

May Sarton was one such writer. Open any of her

journals or collections of poetry and you will be in awe.

 AT SEVENTY (A Joural):

August 22, 1982

 "Queen Anne's Lace,  every  kind of  goldenrod, 

black-eyes Susans . . .I enjoyed the long drive 

from York to Orono"

Mystery?

Time to head out to a favorite Nursery--May the help be eager to educate. 

Learn the name of one new plant or tree this week.You will feel closer to that which you love, right?

Thursday, August 21, 2014

X. J. Kennedy

"I am one of the endangered species:
people who still write in meter and rime."
                                         X. J. Kennedy

Born in 1929 on this day,  X. J. Kennedy is also
famous for his children's poems. He aimed to
"give kids good poems that they like."

"Crocs paddle round their jungle pool
  Like pickles in a barrel."
                               from  "Crocodile"

                                                                                                                         

Do you have stories 

about the books you own?

Where & When you purchased it?

Books can remind us of our history. . .

But it might take a poet's birthday to remind us.

 

August 20th 2014

Stories & History

On this day in 1940 Winston Churchill spoke
to the House of Commons in England while
the Battle of Britain was being fought.

"Never in the field of human conflict was 

so much owed by so many to so few."   

                                   -Winston Churchill

                                  

                     John J. J. Niven,   Royal Air Force  1940

                           Mentor (to this photographer) 1990's

                                     R.I.P  (1911-2000)

       Do you have a special photo given to you along with a story?

              That first-hand story is gold for future generations.

         "If stories come to you, care for them."                                                     -Barry Lopez

         " The universe is made of stories, not atoms." 

                                                      -Muriel Rukeyser

Maybe today make the effort to collect a story from someone who has

been on this earth  for over 60 years. Look! those people with

stories are everywhere--even in your very own family.

Tuesday, August 19th 2014

World Photo Day 2014

Today we celebrate that day in 1839 when
photography as we know it came into being.
The process found its patent 175 years ago.

Maybe today you took your camera out and came upon
a new landscape or person or animal. May it be that you
were happily clicking. Now you're heavy into the process --
making a picture to share.

  Idyllwild, CA

August 19, 2014

"You don't make a photograph just with a camera.You bring to the act of photography all the picturesyou have seen, the books you have read, the musicyou have heard, the people you have loved."                                                          -Ansel Adams

Monday August 18th 2014

Mountains

The first ascent of Mt. Whitney (CA) took
place on this day in 1873.

We won't all climb a physical mountain in our
lifetime, but we all have our private mountains.
The ones that make us a better person.

Mt. Shasta is actually a volcano in the Cascade Range of CA.
Like Mt. Whitney, Mt. Shasta is also over 14,000 feet.
Which is more famous?
Does it Matter?
Our mountain will not be the same as our neighbor's. So why
are we always so anxious to compare? 

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that

 there are many more hills to climb.   

                                                -Nelson Mandela

Also on this date in 1920: 

Congress ratified the 19th Amendment,

granting women the right to vote.

That  mountain's name was Equality and we still

have further to go!

August 15th 2014

The Mother of God

Today we celebrate the Feast of the
Assumption of the Virgin Mary also known
as the Feast of  the Dormition ( falling asleep)
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The beautiful scene of Mary arriving in heaven,
body and soul, has been imagined by many
artists and writers through the ages.

  

             Photo: Santa Clara University

A Jesuit priest who taught at Fordham University

wrote a beautiful poem about Mary's Assumption.

It appears in his book, Mint By Night (1938).

Here are a few memorable lines from the poem:

Mary's Assumption

There was silence in Heaven as Mary entered in

    For even Gabriel had not forseen

The glory of a soul immune from sin  . . .

Among the motherless in heaven there was a hush

    To hear the way a mother laughs and speaks . . . 

                               -Alfred Barrett, S.J.  (1906-1985)

Hail Mary, full of grace, pray for us!

 

Tuesday August 12th 2014

Depression

"A grief without a pang, void,
dark and drear,
Which finds no natural outlet,
no relief
In word, or sigh, or tear."
     
                -Samuel Taylor Coleridge

This world has

lost a generous

man who made

us laugh, giving 

us relief from

our troubles.

         Thank you
      Robin Williams
       

August 10th 2014

Super Moon

Are you looking to the skies this evening?
A Super Moon is riding low enough to
capture--maybe.

You drive through the streets looking for a unique
angle: a building, a statue, a hill.  You hope to create
the perfect image. Feeling you've missed another
opportunity you return home. When you step onto
your front porch, the picture you might have missed
is right in front of you through the trees.

Home is where everything super begins,  you say

quietly to yourself -- and to the man in the moon.

August 9th 2104

Book Lovers & Walden

Yes. Today is National Book Lovers Day.
Maybe you are celebrating with your favorite
book and some special quiet time to dream
and recall all the wonderful adventures that
books have brought you.

On this day in 1854 Walden by Henry David Thoreau
was published. (If you don't own the book, you
can read a digital copy online--free.)

"In short, I am convinced, both by faith and
experience, that to maintain one's self on
this earth is not a hardship but a pastime,
if we will live simply and wisely . . .   

                                              from Walden

O Henry . . . not enough of us heard you.

August 7th & 8th 2014

Lighthouses

Before leaving Alaska and August 7th . . .
National Lighthouse Day was established
in 1789 when Congress passed legislation
giving the Federal government charge of
lighthouses.

The waters of

      Alaska.

August 8th was the birth day of poet Sara Teasdale.

She was born in 1884 and died in 1933.

Can you relate to these lines?

"I found more joy in sorrow

Than you could find in joy."

                       from "The Answer"  

                            Oct. 1915

Monday August 4th 2014

Cool Weather

You've been to Alaska numerous times and
now all you can think of is the cool summer
weather of our 49th State.

Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867
for less that 2 cents per acre.

Beautiful

Mendenhall

Glacier

"Like music and art, love of nature is a
common language that can transcend
political or social boundaries.
                         (Pres.) Jimmy Carter

Enjoy something today that is really cool.!

Sunday August 3rd 2014

Explorer

On this day in 1492 Christopher Columbus set
sail for the first time.
His ships included The Nina, The Pinta, and the
Santa Maria.

In May of this year a team of archaeologists
discovered what they
believe to be the Santa Maria.
Time will tell.

Meanwhile . . . 

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes, but in having new eyes."     
                                                       -Marcel Proust

Saturday August 2nd 2014

SUMMER CAMP

Did you ever attend summer camp?

Do you go camping as a family?

"Come to the woods, for here is rest."
                                       -John Muir

Hurry and relax--back to school shopping
is just around an August corner.

Friday August 1st 2014

On Your Journey

We all know where Jesus had to go on His Journey.

Do we ever think about where we are
on our own journey? and who are the
special people sent to help us on the
road?
Parents, teachers, friends, nuns and
priests, fellow workers . . . our gratitude
list would fill pages.

Maybe think of one person each day and thank God
for that person.   (Thank you dear Lord for Father T.S.)

Today is the Feast Day of St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder
of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
The Redemptorists, as they are known today.

Speak to God often of your plans,
your troubles, your fears--
of everything that concerns you.   -Saint Alphonsus Liguori