THE BEAUTY AROUND ME

Last week- on my Earth Day post- Barbara commented that one does not need to go as far away as Costa Rica or Hawaii to find some "amazing things in nature". I could not agree more.

The recurring seasonal bloom of flowers is one of the most extraordinary occurrences in nature.

In honor of May Day- I will share my garden- as it looks today- with all of you.

Take a moment- slip off your shoes, meander down the stone paths, feel the moss between your toes and smell the sweetness of their scent on the air.
And please do not look at the weeds.

Click on the images to make them larger and just look at the amazing detail of each bloom. Truly, works of art brought to you by Mother Nature.

A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
Chinese Proverb

We begin with my favorite tree- gorgeous, graceful, Japanese Red Maple.













And, finally, my favorite in all the garden- White bleeding heart.


The artist is the confidant of nature, flowers carry on dialogues with him through the graceful bending of their stems and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms, Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him.
Auguste Rodin

Photo Hunters- RARE

Today's Photohunters theme is RARE
Thanks to TNCHICK. Sorry you're under the weather and hope you are on the mend soon.

I have chosen two photos for the theme- one rare, the second rarer.

This first photo is of a black sand beach on the Big Island of Hawaii, Punalu'u Beach.
Black sand is formed when hot molten lava shatters as it makes contact with the cold water of the ocean.


This second photo is even RARER. This is a shot of the Green Sand beach on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Green sand is also made from molten lava. However, it acquires it's green color from the mineral olivine that is present in the mix.



Don't ask for the moon
It's taken...behold a world...
In a grain of sand

peter hugo mcclure

THE WEB OF LIFE

This post is dedicated to Steve-
He wrote, just today, that nobody wanted to talk to him about American Indians. This, after he wrote a beautiful post yesterday at Bullet Holes In The Mailbox

The following is something that my friend James sent me some time back. It is his true experience interacting with "the Spirits".
James is a Seneca Indian. He has followed the ways of the Sundance since his Mother's passing many years ago. He also takes part in the traditional tribal dances here in Maryland and along the East Coast.

Steve- it's not that I did not hear or want to comment on your post. I just thought that James words may do it better.

“The Understanding of Life…and of Death”

Written by: James M. Edwards

My Mother had just passed away…I didn’t understand why the creator would limit this time that we spent on this Earth. The Creator has the ability to give Live; which is such a precious gift, why did the Creator create Death?

Everyday since my Mothers’ death, I asked the Creator “Why was Death created”. The Days turned into weeks…and the weeks turned into months…THEN I stopped asking.

One day I was driving down the road, I began to hear a voice! This is what the voice said to me…

First…the Creator created the Earth…Then the Sun was created to give light to nourish and allow everything in creation to grow. The Moon was created to give comforting night light under the evening’s sky. Then the heavens were filled with the Stars in the night sky to give guidance, so the children would always be able to find their way home.

The Creator created the Mountains, the Valleys, the Rivers, the Lakes and the Oceans. The Creator filled the skies with many different color birds with many different sizes. Then the Creator filled the Rivers, Lakes, Streams and Oceans with many different colors and sizes of fish. The Creator filled the Lands with many different color grasses, trees, bushes and flowers. Then, the Creator filled the lands with many different color animals of many different shapes and sizes.

The Creator gave everything in creation their original instruction for living their cycle of life. Birds would fly south for the winter and Bears would Hibernate, Bees would make Honey, and Salmon would swim up stream in the spring.

The Creator wanted to create something completely different, so the Creator created Man and Woman. The Creator also gave them the conscience decision to make their own choice, without having any original instruction other than living a good life.

As the Creator thought about it, the Creator realized that a Daughter could hate their Mother or an Auntie could hate a Nephew, and go through eternity with this hatred. So the Creator wanted to create some way so that people would respect this great gift of life, in some way where people would be more Loving, Caring, Compassionate, and Forgiving.

After the Creator thought about it long and hard, the Creator realized the only way for people to understand the value of life and the precious gift we call life…was to limit the time we spent walking on this Earth, so the Creator created Death.

When we see an older person pass, we say that this is natural; when we see a child pass, we ask why! This is to remind us of the frailty of life. To remind us of the precious gift we call Life; in hopes that we will live our lives and be more Loving, more Care, more Compassionate and more Forgiving in our Lives.

This is what was told to me, by the Spirits. I have shared this story with many people. They have asked me to send it to them. Stories given to you by the spirits are never meant just for that person, but to be shared with anyone it can help. Please remember this and look at how you live your life, and Live your life as if it were your Last Day! I hope this will help other people who have lost a loved one and who have asked the question “Why”.

Here I have included a song that James wrote as he watched his Mother dying. The loss of her has affected him deeply.

Mama’s Song

Written by: James M. Edwards


I can see your smile
I can see your face
I can feel every heartbeat you take

When the tears start to flow
My heart wants you to know
That I’m sorry that you have to go

Seasons start to change
But the memories still remain
Time has come to pass
And the day will come at last

When I’ll come home to you

I heart will never break
No, my heart will never break
Maybe this time, I was wrong

I’ve watch each second that has pass
It’s like counting sand in an hour glass
Longing only to be with you

Seasons start to change
But the memories still remain
Time will come to pass
And the day will come at last

When I’ll come home to you

Seasons start to change
But the memories still remain
Time will come to pass
And the day will come at last

When I’ll come home to you


Here ,I have included a few photos of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.. I visited about a month ago.

It is a beautiful museum, full of symbolism and honor for the Native Americans. It was designed by a team of Native Americans from across the United States- Cherokee/Choctaw, Hopi, Blackfoot and Navajo/Oneida were a few of the tribes represented within the design team.

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree,
the man, the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
Chief Seattle






And a few examples of their intricate beadwork.




Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

Chief Seattle

EARTH DAY

In wildness is the preservation of the world.
Henry David Thoreau

In honor of earth day I have posted a few pics that I have taken of this wild, wonderful planet. All of these were taken in Hawaii and Costa Rica.
Thanks Red Dirt Girl for the reminder.













Can Earth Be Earth?


Can Earth be Earth when all its trees are gone,
And sudsy waters have become unfit,
And poisoned life no longer greets the dawn
With raucous sounds that death has caused to quit?
Will trees no longer wave, with limbs unfurled,
On hapless Earth, that e'er in orbit roams?
Will human ego sacrifice the world
To satiate its lust for pompous homes?
Will distant Space look down on orb that's bald
And ask, "Wise Poet, can you name that sphere?
It's surface pocked with stumps? What is it called?"
And Poet sadly says, "Wide Space! I hear
'Twas once called Earth. But now, bereft of mirth,
I weep. That treeless orb's no longer Earth."

Ed Hoffmeister

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

This morning's photo hunt theme is STEPS.

I have taken the liberty to interpret this as stairs. This is a staircase taken in a building in Edinburgh Scotland. My feeble mind does not recall which building exactly, however.
As you can see I am standing at the bottom of a spiral staircase looking up to the ceiling. I thought it was an interesting composition.



The Stairway To Heaven


The stairway to heaven
Lies way beyond my soul,
Far from my heart,
And out of my control.
As I pass each second,
Of every single day,
I take one step to travel,
This far and distant way.
The stairway to heaven
Leads me to a final goal,
When my earthly life's absorbed
In a blending of the whole.

Ernestine Northover

..FOR THE LAST TIME

Yesterday was kind of a rough day.

As I sat in the hospital parking lot, waiting for my mother's surgery to end, I thought about how short life can be. So, I called him.

I didn't think he would answer- he usually doesn't. But this time he did. Not expecting a call from me he must not have checked his caller i.d. before picking up.

I told him the reason for my call. That I was thinking about how life is too short for there to be any ill feelings between people who once loved each other. There is no room for anymore animosity or regret. I apologized for not being my sister- the person that he thinks he is still in love with. Even though that was 30 years ago.

He fell in love with me as a replacement maybe? Who knows why.

I asked about his daughter and wife. Her struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse has consumed the last 2 decades for him. He continues to be consumed.

I told him that I hope he feels loved by those around him. No response- I don't think he does. I didn't tell him this- but he is still loved here.

He politely asked after my mother and then had to rush off to beat the traffic home. I let him go, hopefully for the last time.

Thank God for Chuck. My friend and confidant and the one who knows more of what I have been going through than anybody.

Thank God for Chuck AND several gin and tonics. He met me for drinks. I told him I had called D. He let me bury my face in his warm, comforting neck and cry over this lost love- his strong, yet gentle, arms around me.



Lost poem...
Lost words...
Lost feeling..
Lost love...

Nay, these are not lost, it is a deception
Nay, these are not lost, a false perception

Lost poem...
Lost words...
Lost feeling..
Lost love...

Nay, these are not lost, they exist deep in my soul,
Ultimate forgiveness, a high ideal, and yet a worthy goal.

Lost poem...
Lost words...
Lost feeling..
Lost love...

chad fisher

INTO THIN AIR

Last night, in the quiet of the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, I had the pleasure of listening to an extraordinary example of a man's spirit and will to live in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles.

Dr. Beck Weathers shared his experiences during the deadliest day in the history of Mt. Everest.

Not quite reaching the summit he was left to wait the return of his colleagues as they pushed forward the last 300 ft. He did not know that he would never see many of them again.

Uopn the descent from the summit a storm swept over the face of Everest challenging more than 30 climbers to live through the sub-zero cold and hurrican force winds.
By the next day 9 climbers will have lost their life.

Dr. Weathers was left for dead as several of his colleagues attempted to save themselves and make it back to camp four. Lying frozen and encased in ice through the night he managed to barely keep himself alive.

Opening his eyes in the morning, hoisting himself off of the frozen ledge with his frostbitten hands he manages to make it back to camp.

Since returning home he has lost his right hand and most of his left hand due to the frostbite and hypothermia he had endured on that fateful day. He has continued his career as a pathologist, with the help of an assistant.

Mostly, he has re-evaluated what it is that is important in his life. His journey on that mountain was a re-awakening for him. As he put it- It saved his marriage,his family, as well as his future.

Would he do it again knowing the cost? His answer was "yes".


I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
Christopher Reeve

THE DAY AFTER RED DIRT GIRL'S BIG BASH

What a party! What a party! A good time was had by all. No one this side of cyberspace has ever seen anything like it. The social papers will be all abuzz.

The day after is going a bit rough. I guess one must "pay the piper" so to speak.

So to make myself feel better I am staying in bed and indulging in this.

A bag full of ice to cool my throbbing head.


A big bottle of aspirin for the pain of my hangover


And lastly- a little hair of the dog to settle my stomach.


I'm getting too old to party like this. Fortunately RDG's younger than I am- and hopefully feeling better.

What a party!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RED DIRT GIRL

There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know.-
Lewis Carroll

Let's start the party off right!
First a host of colorful kites to line the parade route


Then a lift off of bright balloons


Bouquets of love to brighten your day.


Cotton Candy presented by two adorable admirers.


And your gift- March down the street with the band in these girlfriend! And have a happy day!


While Dave is tuning up his guitar- I'm stringing the lanterns


And mixing the margaritas

PHOTO HUNTERS

Today's theme- thanks to TNchick- Hobby.
One of many for me.
First, would have to be shoe shopping, but that one got really expensive.
Second, would be gardening, but my garden sucks right now so that would NOT have been a nice photo.
Third, would be photography, but since I was using my camera at the moment I could not take a picture of it.
So here we are-Beading. This one has also gotten VERY expensive. It seems I just have to have the real stuff, you know, turquoise, amethyst,amber,real silver findings,etc. I am also not very productive as far as this goes right now. Hoping to get some real inspiration soon.

RED DIRT GIRLS PARTY ATTIRE

A PARTY, A PARTY!!!
I so love a party.These are the perfect party shoes for RDG's celebration.

I am all aquiver just looking at these.

However, if I am to be walking behind the elephants I believe these I must don.



Hand me a shovel- I'm ready to CELEBRATE!