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