WHEN YOU DRINK THE WATER REMEMBER THE SPRING

Today's theme is Water.
My favorite element. Cool, refreshing, life-giving water.

These are a few shots of a waterfall that I stumbled upon on my last trip to Costa Rica. How nice to have such a beautiful display practically in one's backyard.



Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted,
If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters returning
Back to their springs, like the rain shall fill them full of refreshment;
That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

HAG IN THE JAG

Wow! Yesterday was the kind of day I've been looking forward to for months.

The temperature reached 80 degrees. The sky was clear and sunny. Perfect day for a long, long drive.

After 32 years I was able to get my DREAM car. How great to finally be able to put the top down and head west to the foothills. I cranked the stereo up and tooled down the road with the wind in my hair. I think I smiled all day.
This car makes me feel great!

2002 Jaguar xk8

This is my all-time favorite "car" song. Don't know why. I suppose it's because I loved the EAGLES especially their older (you know, "Desperado" stuff). Or, maybe it just reminds me of somebody from my high school days.

Well, my time went too quickly
I went lickety-splitly out to my old fifty-five
As I pulled away slowly, feelin' so holy,
God knows I was feelin' alive
And now the sun's comin' up
I'm ridin' with Lady Luck
Freeway cars and trucks

Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a wishin' I'd stayed a little longer
Lord, don't you know the feelin's gettin' stronger

Six in the morning, gave me no warnin'
I had to be on my way
Now the cars are all passin' me,
Trucks are all flashin' me
I'm headed home from your place

And now the sun's comin' up
I'm ridin' with Lady Luck
Freeway cars and trucks

Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a wishin' I'd stayed a little longer
Lord, don't you know, the feelin's gettin' stronger

Well, my time went to quickly
I went lickety-splitly out to my old fifty-five
As I pulled away slowly, feelin' so holy,
God knows I was feelin' alive
And now the sun's comin' up, yes it is
I'm ridin' with Lady Luck
Freeway cars and trucks
Freeway cars and trucks,
Ridin' with Lady Luck
Freeway cars and trucks,
Ridin' with Lady Luck
Freeway cars and trucks
Ridin' with Lady Luck...

this is what the day looked like as it was ending. Sunset view through the trees from my back deck. Glass of wine, steak on the grill,caesar salad. BLISS

Black tie, Football and Wine

I can never say NO.

I was asked to serve on a planning committee for a local hospital's annual fundraiser. So, what do I do? I say YES, of course. What was I thinking?

The affair was this weekend at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore. 700 in attendance (mostly doctors). Fabulous food, fabulous band, beautiful Baltimore skyline on one side and football field view on the other.

Very cool part of the evening were the stadium tours. Not only were we taken out to the field but we were also taken into the locker rooms. Unfortunately, no large, brawny naked men were in attendance. Rats!!! I was so looking forward to that.

Here's a shot of me sitting in Ray Lewis' locker, sans smelly football gear.




Besides the cool stadium tour, open bar, rocking band, great tapas and mashed potato bars the highlight was the wine grab bag where for 15 dollars you choose any bag (out of 100). My choice turned out to be an unbelievable bottle of 1998 Opus One valued at over $200.00.
If you are a wine drinker and have never tried this you must. Truly the nectar of the Gods!.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG-FINALLY!

The new day has dawned with the promise of Spring in the air.
Today, the first day of a leafy new season.
Release, at last!


When Spring Goes By

The winds that on the uplands softly lie,
Grow keener where the ice is lingering still
Where the first robin on the sheltered hill
Pipes blithely to the tune, "When Spring goes by!"
Hear him again, "Spring! Spring!" He seems to cry,
Haunting the fall of the flute-throated rill,
That keeps a gentle, constant, silver thrill,
While he is restless in his ecstasy.

Ah! the soft budding of the virginal woods,
Of the frail fruit trees by the vanishing lakes:
There's the new moon where the clear sunset floods,
A trace of dew upon the rose leaf sky;
And hark! what rapture the glad robin wakes-
"When Spring goes by; Spring! Spring! When
Spring goes by."

Duncan Campbell Scott


A few shots of our beautiful nation's capital last year. Looking forward to standing amongst the pale blush petals again soon, very soon.



A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King.
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886),

PHOTO HUNTERS

Today's Theme is - DRINK- in honor of St. Patrick's Day I'm sure.

This photo was taken the other night. One of many during a photo shoot to accompany my very first ever article for my bi-monthly column. We're not using this one but I thought it was a pretty cool shot.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES- IMAGINE!

What does love mean?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group
of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got
were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you
think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint
her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his
hands got arthritis, too. That's Love.
Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You
just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving
cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of
your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she
takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My
Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop
opening presents and listen,"
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a
friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it
everyday."
Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are
still friends even after they know each other! so well."
Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I
looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving
and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared
anymore,"
Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else
kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still
says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left
him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her
old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

"When! you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and
little stars come out of you"
Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't
think it's gross."
Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it.
But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget,"
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the
contest was to find the most caring child. (Now this will melt your
heart.)

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor
was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing
the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's
yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother
asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy
said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."




Imagine all the people living life in peace......

SPRING REBOUNDS

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.

Thoreau

Spring is finally upon us. The greens of the grasses and the foliage appear just a bit greener, The cloudless sky just a bit bluer, the air just a bit warmer, the sun just a bit brighter.

With this new season hope flourishes. Our spirits lift. Our thoughts turn positive- with renewed energy, dreams and desires.

Bucolic early spring scenes. All we need are lambs gamboling on the lawns.

St. Andrew Cathedral- Scotland



The Enkindled Spring


This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,
Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,
Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between
Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes.

I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration
Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze
Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration,
Faces of people streaming across my gaze.

And I, what fountain of fire am I among
This leaping combustion of spring? My spirit is tossed
About like a shadow buffeted in the throng
Of flames, a shadow that’s gone astray, and is lost.

DH Lawrence

WATERFALLS, RAINFORESTS and VOLCANO

Now for a little side-trip.

The following are shots of Tabacon Hot Springs - Natural waterfalls and pools heated by the nearby volcano.

Feel the heat as you sink into the rushing water. Take a jaunt through the rainforest- awed by the amazing vegetation. Feel the power of the volcano as its' groans resonate through the countryside






One final shot of the volcano



The Volcano


The volcano
has been brewing
for some time
Smoke signals
what the future will bring.
Silently
deep within its belly
hate is harbouring
resentment is rising
unaware
we
watch from a distance
until
the uncontainable
the unavoidable
Explodes
We are left
crying molten tears
that burn down our face
until all that we had built
between us,
is black
smoky
and dead

Vincent Turner

STARRY, STARRY NIGHT

I sit here on this very warm, very starry night thinking of all that has happened since my last trip here. It was about 3 months ago that I sat in this very same spot and realized that my heart was being broken. No, not just broken, shattered into as many pieces as there are stars in this sky tonight.

To this day I do not want to believe it. I think of what I am missing- even though many would argue that I am missing nothing of importance. My heart still breaks for that love, that friendship, that passion. Is his heart broken too? Yes, but not by me. By another. What goes around comes around, maybe? Karma, maybe? Does he deserve to be heart-broken? No. Yet I know he is. And for that I am still sorry.

And, I am still sorry that he chose to break my heart. I, too, did not deserve it. I would have understood had it been done differently. But, alas, it wasn't. And this is what I need to accept. This will take a lifetime.


It takes a minute to like someone, an hour to love someone, but to forget someone takes a life time.

Anonymous