romance with roses

From the time Cleopatra filled a room two-feet deep with rose petals for the visit of her beloved Marc Anthony to modern lovers offering a single rose to their love, the rose has been a symbol of romance and love.

Quote for the day.

bill murry...me ma's favorite

snickers halloween commercials

BIZZARO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1pTb7cVi5c

                                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgSv1SKCteQ

pink snow

Blood snow, is Chlamydomonas nivalis, a species of green algae containing a secondary red carotenoid pigment (astaxanthin) in addition to chlorophyll. Unlike most species of fresh-water algae, it is cryophilic (cold-loving) and thrives in freezing water. It is enhanced by strong uv sun light

Two most famous witches

From the Wizard of Oz:...least we forget

Glenda the good witch,
The wicked witch of the West

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself - and maybe that Goblin up there!

Based on a true story.

mt tv sons

"A wise sons makes glad the father,
A foolish son is a sorrow to his mother."
  ~ scripture

voyager's view of solar system

Voyager 1 is currently 18 billion kilometers from the sun. It was launched in 1977 and it's plutonium power source is expected to allow it to continue communicating with earth until 2025. It takes 17 hours to send a command or receive a response from the spacecraft (lightspeed).

the willow in fall

this tree needs lots of water

Willow

BY ANNA AKHMATOVA

TRANSLATED BY JENNIFER REESER

And I matured in peace born of command,

in the nursery of the infant century,

and the voice of man was never dear to me,

but the breeze’s voice—that I could understand.

The burdock and the nettle I preferred,

but best of all the silver willow tree.

Its weeping limbs fanned my unrest with dreams;

it lived here all my life, obligingly.

....

what's in your leaves?

  The birds are silent a foot but not so in piles of dry leaves....me dog hears far off.

halloween quotes

scares me!

'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world.
~William Shakespeare


From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Saying

Moon rise in Scotland

Need I say more.

dreaming

  "When i slept i dreamt of treasure
    When i woke i found duty my pleasure!"

~ one of me ma s favorites

useful tatoos

A Prayer in the Prospect of Death by Robert Burns

O THOU unknown, Almighty Cause
Of all my hope and fear!
In whose dread presence, ere an hour,
Perhaps I must appear!

If I have wander’d in those paths
Of life I ought to shun,
As something, loudly, in my breast,                            

Remonstrates I have done;

Thou know’st that Thou hast formed me
With passions wild and strong;
And list’ning to their witching voice
Has often led me wrong.

Where human weakness has come short,
Or frailty stept aside,
Do Thou, All-Good-for such Thou art—
In shades of darkness hide.

Where with intention I have err’d,
No other plea I have,
But, Thou art good; and Goodness still
Delighteth to forgive.

Time to convert

A Ukrainian archbishop has been sent to a monastery for a month after being caught on CCTV taking part in a bar brawl.  Police armed with Kalashnikovs were called to break up the melee involving the Archbishop of Ternopil and Podillya, Mstyslav, some of his clergymen and other patrons. The men are members of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), the smallest of Ukraine's three Orthodox churches, which says on its website that the archbishop is being sent away "for repentance".

twin babies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXATjvr_rl4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY


factoid on twins:

Hamnet Shakespeare (baptised 2 February 1585 – buried 11 August 1596) was the only son of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the fraternal twin of Judith Shakespeare. He died at age 11.

Actual school excuses

1. My son is under a doctor's care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.
2. Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.
3. Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.
4. Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's fault.
5. Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.
6. John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.
7. Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.
8. Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.

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

Vote

"If  voting really meant anything important, they wouldn't let us do it."  - Mark Twain

Peace

"When my heart is at peace, the world is at peace."
--Chinese Proverb

The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

oh the election

“Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” 

― Abraham Lincoln

jpr: doesnt get any more serious than this!

On fishing

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
~~ George Carlin

no cold beer here

irish flu shot

gets me one regular like!

cheating in school

everyone's favorite

I've used it in my day!

Bai Juyi [772- 846]

Bloom not bloom
mist not mist
Night half come
heaven bright go
Come like spring dream how long time?
Go like morning cloud not find place
The bloom is not a bloom,
The mist not mist.
At midnight she comes,
And goes again at dawn.
She comes like a spring dream - how long will she stay?
She goes like morning cloud, without a trace.

what ???

How's your day going!

more on the giant Irish elk

Neither an elk nor exclusive to Ireland, it was given its name because the most well-preserved fossils were located in peat bogs in the country.

ancient Traditions of the deer

In the Celtic tradition, there are two aspects of deer - female and male. The Hind (the red female deer), called Eilid in the Gaelic language, symbolises femininity, subtlety and gracefulness.

ancient irish giant elk

Many stories tell of Hinds changing into women, often goddesses, to protect does from being hunted. Stag, Damh in the Gaelic tongue, is also linked to the sacredness of the magical forest. The Damh represents independence, purification, and pride. It is known as the King of the Forest, the protector of its creatures. For time immemorial people have sought to identify with the stag by ceremonially wearing antlered headdresses and imitating the deer's leaping grace.

Both Celtic and Native American hunters prayed to the deer to give them a good hunt, and in return promised to take no more than was essential for the survival of the tribe.

blonde hair blue eyed native americans

Early missionaries encountered fair-haired Indians in the Mandan camps, and recorded it in their journals

mandans 1880s

.

"George Catlin, a nineteenth-century painter who spent eight years living among various Indian tribes, was among those who were impressed by the Mandan's remarkable traits. Catlin wrote: "A stranger in the Mandan village is first struck with the different shades of complexion, and various colors of hair which he sees in a crowd about him, and is almost disposed to exclaim that these are not Indians." The artist also noted "a most pleasing symmetry and proportion of features, with hazel, gray and blue eyes."

A pre-historic race of white people who lived in permanent settlements in America long before the days of Christopher Columbus by legend. They are believed to have been survivors of a colony that was established by Prince Madoc of Wales in the 12th century.

poem "The Hunter"

 The hunter crouches in his blind.
 'Neath camouflage of every kind.
 This grown-up man, with luck and pluck,
 Is hoping to outwit a duck.

-- Ogden Nash

mayan beauty

The Maya desired some unnatural physical characteristics for their children. For instance, at a very young age boards were pressed on babies’ foreheads to create a flattened surface. This process was widespread among the upper class. Another practice was to cross babies’ eyes. To do this, objects were dangled in front of a newborn’s eyes, until the newborn’s eyes were completely and permanently crossed. Another interesting fact about Mayan children is that most were named according to the day they were born. Every day of the year had a specific name for both boys and girls and parents were expected to follow that practice.

jpr: Not quite so different from we today?

churchill and brandy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/winston-churchill/11374144/How-to-drink-like-Winston-Churchill.html

i need one!

Note for winston churdchill for unlimited alcohol during prohibition.

fall roads in appalachia

fall just starting but soon they'll be apple pies everywhere and that is a goooood thing!

image of fall

Nothing Gold Can Stay Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.


jpr: I always wonder if  fish enjoy the change of season? Bet they do!

peace quotes

A Native American grandfather talking to his young grandson tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love and kindness. The other wolf is fear, greed and hatred. "Which wolf will win, grandfather?" asks the young boy. "Whichever one I feed," is the reply..

                        Native American quote

 

If there be righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in character. If there be beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home. If there be harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there be order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

                          Confucius

One cannot reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others. 

                          Lao Tzu

  

What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. Peace begins with a smile.

                          Mother Teresa

Gobekli Tepe

The ancient site of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey is over 11000 yrs old....some 7000 yrs before the Egyptian pyramids and 6000 yrs before Stonehedge. It is the oldest temple known in history.

jpr: the first i've heard of this...pretty interesting.

Pittsburgh Dad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JboJpr_N5ko

The Internet show was created by Chris Preksta and Curt Wootton. Preksta, a native of Munhall and a graduate of Point Park University and Pittsburgh Filmmakers, serves as director. Wootton, a native of Greensburg, Pennsylvania who graduated fromWest Virginia University and now lives in Los Angeles, plays the "Pittsburgh Dad". Wootton and Preksta met on the set of the 2005 web series Captain Blasto. They later collaborated on The Mercury Men for the Syfy network, where Wootton entertained the crew with a character based on his own father, Keith, emulating the thick Pittsburghese accent of his youth

blowing leaves

simple but lovely     http://www.videezy.com/nature/88-stock-video-of-autumn-leaves-blowing-in-the-wind

The Little Orphan Annie by James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphan Annie's come to my house to stay.
To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away.
To shoo the chickens from the porch and dust the hearth and sweep,
and make the fire and bake the bread to earn her board and keep.
While all us other children, when the supper things is done,
we sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun,
a listening to the witch tales that Annie tells about
and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!

Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers,
and when he went to bed at night away up stairs,
his mammy heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl,
and when they turned the covers down,
he wasn't there at all!
They searched him in the attic room
and cubby hole and press
and even up the chimney flu and every wheres, I guess,
but all they ever found of him was just his pants and round-abouts
                                             and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!                                       

sound familiar guys?????