children in the flower garden

Many other than flowers grow here!

" The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul.” 
― Thomas More

Go Ahead, Try Me.

A Sparrowhawk with a serious disposition problem.

Beauty in Appalachia

If'n it ain't be in woods it ain't be true Appalachia!

when bushes bloom

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d

BY WALT WHITMAN

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,

And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,

I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,

Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,

And thought of him I love.

Jpr: soon...have 4 lilacs in the back yard.

Beautiful china

Colorful mountains known as Zhangye Danxia

RIP

Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN, died at 92, one of me mom's favorites.

Another Shakespeare Mystery

It's a mystery that has gripped historians and Shakespeare experts for generations - and one archaeologists believe they could have finally found an answer to.  After a hi-tech investigation concluded the legendary playwright's skull was probably taken by trophy hunters more than 200 years ago.  His Stratford resting place has been disturbed at  the head end, and proves a mystery skull thought to be his is actually that of a woman, new theories about what happened to Shakespeare's head are beginning to emerge but remain at best ‘guesses’.

easter sunday rebellion 1916

Dublin was shelled by English gun boats

Some 1600 hundred Irish rebels country wide faced nearly 19000 British troops and artillery.
Rebels suffered 64  killed, with 143 English killed. Some 1800 Irish were arrested and sent to interment in England without proper trial.

Strange Nature.

Stripe hyenas are solitary hunters and unsociable even with their own kind. They forage alone and only occasionally come together to munch on a kill.  They are known to be highly intolerant of other large carnivores.  But in an unusual find, scientists have increasing observed striped hyenas travelling as members of grey wolves’ packs, often at the center of the group.  Wolves are better at tracking down large prey, while hyenas have a superior sense of smell.  The ‘cooperation’ reflects the hard times’ both groups are experiencing.

Procida, Italy

One warms in the sunshine, smells the seafood, and tastes the jelato!

Irish tele

Seems the "crack (humor)" of the Irish goes well on tv.

Jpr: we need RTE America! We want RTE America!!?

caño cristales river in colombia

One of the most colorful places on Earth.

There Goes More of My Youth

Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and longtime broadcaster Joe Garagiola has died at the age of 90.  A constant voice in our house during the summer months.  RIP 

Glenn Coe in the Highlands of Scotland

Home to MacDonald Clan who where notorious cattle thieves and brigands. On February 13, 1692 English loyalists killed 78 members of the clan after spending the night as guests in their homes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXebqFyj0A

Weird Titanic facts.

 In 1898, 14 years prior to Titanic, author Morgan Robertson wrote a novel called Futility: The Wreck of the Titan.  His story was about the largest ship ever built hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean on a cold night in April. The fictional ship was named Titan, and his description of the ship and its circumstances were incredibly close to the real-life Titanic. Both ships were called “unsinkable”.

Numerous people purchased tickets for the journey but did not actually sail. These included Hershey’s chocolate founder Milton S. Hershey; Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the telegraph; J.P. Morgan, the American banking and steel magnate; and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, one of the richest men in America. 

Children's Easter Parade

                                  A special joy...no?

How Stupid.....

The British Natural Environment Research Council is running an internet competition to name its new 250 million dollar research ship.  "Boaty McBoatface' is currently leading with more than 27,000 votes, while the second place pick trails with around 3,000.  Can you imagine, Boaty McBoatface?

A Real Cat Burglar

A nocturnal "cat burglar",  six-year-old Tonkinese cat Brigit from Hamilton city, NZ,  has been stealing dozens of socks and men's underwear.  In two months, she brought back 11 pairs of underpants and more than 50 socks.  Her owner. Sarah Nathan told the news  that the trouble first began when she started discovering "odd pieces" of underwear among her washing.  No idea where the stuff came from.

Palm Sunday

palm sunday tenerife, spain

There are 2.2 billion Christians in the world. A large portion of these will attend services today. Could be a few more if u get to church!

St Patty's, an American Tradition.

A reveler in Dublin 

March 17, the date of St. Patrick's death, is celebrated world wide through the Irish Diaspora.  The date has been celebrated in Ireland since the 9th century.  But the Irish Americans get credit for making the celebration what it has become around the world.  St Pat's celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia  and Savannah pre-date the America Revolution.  The first parade took place in Boston in 1737.  New York followed in 1751, both more than 150 years earlier than the first in Ireland, Waterford 1903.  

no politics

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. ~Nikita Khrushchev

Is there no end to this foolishness?

Cool Street Names

Got to admit this is cool, fly, hip, on sale, special one day only,  no refunds, must be 18 or older, Irish need not apply, and  et effing c:

"FERN"

Happy St. Pat's

Here’s to you and your, And to mine and ours, And if mine and ours Ever come across to you and yours, I hope you and yours will do As much for mine and ours As mine and ours have done For you and yours! Unknown

It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.” B Behen

I come from an Irish Catholic family, and hell-raising is part of the DNA. Brian Dennehy

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. Dave Barry

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. William Butler Yeats

If you're Irish, it doesn't matter where you go - you'll find family. Victoria Smurfit

st patrick's day

mass in st pat's san francisco

Americans will spend $4.4 billion on the day!

straw?

Jpr: oh the human heart!  There Mikey get ur lawn more busy!

most favorite pie....apple

Jpr: has a significant value of  (1).  Easier to remember than the infinite like value of Pi.

Some info on Pi

The value of Pi ( As of 10.17.11) is 10 trillion places. There is no repeating numerical sequence in these decimals.

pi = pie

Pool of siloam

Mentioned in the bible as part of David's old city of Jerusalem. They had third snakes etc., some must of made their way into this pool!

vernal pool from below

jpr: Great places in woods to visit as a kid along with the snakes and turtles.

Great Place Names

The English have a complex history in the 'naming' of places.  Here's one of my favorites,  a village named after the local river, which was used as an open latrine in ancient times.  Translated it simply means 'the town of the place to shit.' Love history.

Is There No End to The Corruption In Our Church.

The Pope has imposed new regulations on the 'saint' process after journalists revealed financial abuse in the system.  The new rules set out the mechanism by which donors supporting a candidate for sainthood pay for the services of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Vatican office responsible for reviewing candidates for sainthood.  Large amounts of money have been donated and relatively unaccounted for, while evidence suggests that the path to sainthood for large donations is faster than others.  The new system ensures oversight and accountability. 

Wolffia...the smallest flower in the world

The smallest flowering plant in the Plant Kingdom is also aquatic. It is Wolffia, commonly known as Watermeal, one of the Duckweeds, in the family Lemnaceae. It generally floats on the surface of the water.

jpr: check out that pond scum. 

At's One Ugly Bastard.

The distinguished looking gentleman above, with a long arrest recorded, recently arrested in California, testifies to a somewhat unpopular criminological theory.  A growing number of behaviorists recognize that biology, especially cognitive dysfunctions, plays a part in the behavior of some career criminals.  The suggestion is that such individuals are unable to comport their behavior (to be socialized) to social expectations, maintain relationships,  hold jobs or commitments, pay bills, or accept normal responsibilities. They drink, smoke and use drugs excessively, demonstrate sexual abnormalities,  and cover themselves with tattoos, piercings etc.  Interesting eh?

Forth Road Bridge Scotland

This RR bridge has been  painted continuously since 1890 to 2011 due to corrosive sea water mists.
The most recent painting uses glass flake epoxy and is expected to last 25 years. The workman's scaffolds that have been there since queen Victoria's time are now gone!

deer lying in meadow

This scene every night in the meadow behind my back door. W'll be cutting the grass there in about 3 weeks.

More Thoreau

knownWe have a picture of Thoreau as a hermit in the deep woods, but he lived just a mile from Emerson’s home in town, within hearing of Concord’s church bells. He also lived within close proximity of his mother, who did his laundry for him—in exchange, lest this seem a one-sided favor, for handyman jobs around Mrs. Thoreau’s Main Street home. He did odd jobs for other people in Concord as well, often in exchange for meals, and he set a good table himself, once, it’s said, hosting a supper party for twenty-five people in his small one-room cabin.

Thoreau’s notion of self-sufficiency did not involve standoffishness, then, and it made ample room for conviviality and company. Let’s not incorrectly remember him, on this anniversary, as a loner, but instead as an ardent student of simplicity, pleasure, and the best of the good life, dinner and drinks included.

Henry David Thoreau - artiste de la bullshi#

Known for his "simple" lifestyle, back to nature predilections, and civil disobedience, his famous work "Walden Pond" tells us (all baby boomers and anyone else who took American Literature in college) about his experiences of getting close to nature, away from the distractions of modern life, and the multitude of benefits derived from living in the woods by yourself.  Interesting to note however that  his mentor, R W Emerson's house was about a mile away from the shack and Walden's pond. Henry often had dinner there during his demonstration of self-sufficiency; and also received food supplies.   Henry's Mother also lived nearby Thoreau's Walden Pond Cabin, Self-Sufficiency demonstration.  She helped promote the philosophy by doing his laundry on a regular basis!
BS is an ART, heh?

Leicester Fans Cause Earthquake.

An "earthquake" was caused by 30,000 football fans celebrating a goal and recorded by a seisnometer near Leicester City's (UK) King Power stadium.  It reported a minor quake with a magnitude of 0.3. The tremor was attributed to a "sudden energy release" made by fans when Leonardo Ulloa scored a last-minute winner against Norwich, in February. The event has been labelled the "Vardy Quake" after top scorer Jamie Vardy.

Where'd This Come From?

The ‘@’ character, the symbol of the internet age, was once an obscure symbol known only to book-keepers. Ray Tomlinson, who died this week, the man widely regarded as the inventor of the email, plucked it from his keyboard in 1971 to go between the user name and destination address.  He chose @ because it was then rarely used in computing and the English name of the symbol was already "at". Businesses used it to indicate unit price eg 12 batteries @ $1 each. Early uses of the symbol can be dated to the 1300’s.

Who Knew?

William Hitler, son of Adolf's brother, served in the US Navy during the second world war.  Wounded in combat, he received the Purple Heart.  Born in the UK, he lived in Germany during the 1930's.  After immigrating to the US he had to personally petition President Roosevelt for permission to join the military. He died on Long Island in his 70's.

Is He In or Out?

A favorite.

A Rare Beauty

Wild flowers bloom in Death Valley for the first time in years, compliments of El Nino. 

baby turkey vulture

The vulture lives about 24 years.  They been back in the area for a week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGky9uw6OL0

“If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it.”

― Mark Twain

daylight savings 2016

                                  Begins Sunday march 13th at 2 am

Monsters by Hanna Ventura

Monsters sit on rainbows
And dine in daylight
They don't pester the darker things...like we think

Johnny mack brown

running the ball in 1926 rose ball

First of the heros on the athletic field then into the movies.

first of cowboys in talkies 

A poem for tomorrow

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Live fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul may be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose! 



"believe me if all those endearing young charms"

 by Thomas Moore

Easter choir ...join one

Jpr: choirs are ramping up for Easter octave. Undoubtedly the time with the greatest choral works to be performed.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9bUVOqX9sUU.       Pitch need not always be in unison apparently!

I am politically agnostic at this time but I will say this about Prumpf

trump as president isn't so bad. the potus doesn't have a lot of authority on his own and what power he does have can be countered by congress. if he is elected he will have little and maybe no support from either party. he will have no political capital to spend. he will be codblocked by both parties cause he didn't take time to connect to the Base, and that counts for a whole lot. 
he will be weak and useless. that's not a good thing but at least he won't be able to act upon his willye coyote agenda. It will be slightly worse than having no president for four years.

Wassailing time.

Wassailing, a celebration normally associated with Christmas, drinking and visiting the homes of friends, has a little known spring time variant, apple wassailing.  The ancient tradition of apple wassailing, in which trees are protected from evil spirits to ensure a plentiful crop is celebrated in the English West Country.  The custom, which dates back to pagan times, involves people pouring cider over tree roots, singing songs, making loud noises, and lots of toasting.  Happy wassailing.

Hen Domen.....old mound

 This Welsh countryside has never disturbed since 1070s. Excavated for last 25 yrs. It is site of a midevil timber motte and bailey (mound and wall) fort.