An Easter shrine

I've made an informal study of comparative religions over the course of my rather long life. Pretty sure this was left in Atlanta's Grant Park as part of a nature based religious practice. (That's a rabbit in a carrot car by the way.) We don't know why it's there. Thinking it's a shrine to welcome spring and mourn the lost tree.



[Stephen H Banks photo. Click the link. Buy his metaphysical mystery novel. It's a great read.]

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Happy Easter

In case you were wondering what to do with all those hard boiled eggs...



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Scenes from my past - Part Two

This rock was the marker for Barchi's hot dog stand. It had two faces. Happy on one side and sad on the other. When you saw the happy face you knew you were almost to the lake. On the way home the sad face made you want to stop -- but really -- Texas Hot Wieners had better hot dogs.



And this the lake where I spent the better part of many summers. Learned to swim there. There were picnic tables and barbecue grills up on the hill under the trees. Had many a family picnic there. I remember what a big deal it was to finally be able to swim to that big float and jump off the diving board. And by jump I mean sort of walk off the end while I was holding my nose. Never actually dove off the thing. It was tall.



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Scenes from the past - Part One

Fell down a rabbit hole today and discovered a Facebook group with an album that took two hours to click through. Found many iconic images from my youth. None of the people in this photo is me and it doesn't begin to capture the magnificence of the display John Leahy put up every Easter in front his billboard, but it gives you an idea of how popular it was. One of my fondest memories is going there dressed in our Sunday best to get a photo in front of the giant bunnies.



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Once in a blue moon

This one has been hanging in the archives for so long, no idea where I found it. Santa Fe, New Mexico.



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Tweets from space

Another great one from Cmdr Hadfield on the ISS. Farms in Brazil from way up high in the sky.



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Tabula rasa

Yesterday morning at the Library of Congress, Packard Campus in Culpeper, Va. Guessing it's just about melted by now.

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[photo via US Capitol]

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Fire in the sky

I never got to see the PAN-STARRS comet in the sky. I don't have a good view of the horizon in any direction where I live right now. But there were lots of great photos. These were my favorites.



[Stonehenge by Simon Banton]



[San Critobal New Mexico by San Critobal New Mexico by Geraint Smith]



[Lake Lanier by Gene Phillips]

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Mission Impossible Squirrel

Old video but I've never seen it before. Very cute. Hope the squirrel that keeps hitting my bird feeder doesn't see this...

Heart and Seoul

From Paul Shoul's excellent travelogue on South Korea. A moment of Zen.



[Paul Shoul photo via Korea Tourism Bd]

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Me and my hero

My Dad was kind of gruff man on the outside but he had a heart of gold. I've never met a kinder man than him in my life. He was my hero from day one. Of the few photos I have of him, this is the one I treasure the most.



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A blue mood for Dad's birthday

Today would have been my Dad's 85th birthday. Second one without him here to celebrate. Still really missing him. He would have liked these flowers. Guessing they're some variety of forget-me-nots since it looks like such a damp spot. Seems like the perfect flower to mark the occasion.



[photo via Celebrating Life]

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Eat your veggies

I assume she drew the face on this and it didn't just happen but something about this happy pepper makes me smile back.



[knck1es photo]

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Change of season

Whatever the weather is saying outside your window, the wheel of time turned and the vernal equinox happened this morning.



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Mirror into the soul

I think this may be what I look like on the inside too but with a few more birds and flowers.



[Camil Tulcan photo]

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Spaced out

Definitely a photoshop, but wow. If this is really what it would look like if Saturn as as close to earth as the moon is, I wish it was true. Always loved that planet.



[graphic via Fascinating photos]

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Happy St Paddy's Day

My favorite holiday. Not so much into the drinking thing anymore, but I do still love leprechauns and all the wearing of the green.



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At the bottom of the deep blue sea

Found on facebook and it didn't have a source, so don't know who to credit, but a beautiful shot. Wondering where it is. I've snorkeled a couple of reefs in the Carribean and never saw anthing this colorful.



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Shadows on the wall

Shadow of an adventurer. My friend Sky Sutton, a true original, a courageous soul and an artist of many talents. She directed me in a play once.



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Outta this world

I've been fan of the genre all my life. I've seen almost every movie ever made, read maybe half the books, but not this one. I so love vintage sci-fi.



[graphic via cultofweird]

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Fire in the sky

I wasn't going to post this from the Facebook because I thought it might be a photoshop. I mean there's a face in that smoke and it just looks fake. But it appears it may be a real photo judging by the credits which suggest that NASA is involved. Either way it's a powerful image: Sakurajima Volcano with Lightning (2013 Mar 11)



[Martin Rietze image (Alien Landscapes on Planet Earth) ]

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In the days of my youth

My Dad used to go out every Sunday morning and get white powdered jelly donuts, New York hard rolls and about six different newspapers. Two of them had comic sections. The New York Daily News was the best one. It was a huge pull out. Half page fold. Dick Tracy was always on the front cover. I think Dondi was on the back.

Somewhere in the multitude of middle pages there was everything from Prince Valiant, to Apartment 3G to my very favorite -- Brenda Starr. I wanted to be her, bold investigative reporter with an exciting life filled with mysterious strangers.

Such is the beauty of the internets, when I was looking for something else, I saw this panel. I recognized it immediately. I was instantly transported to the moment I read this when it first ran. Meeting the elusive Basil St. John was a big turning point in Brenda's story.



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Taking care of business

This is probably old, but I've never seen it before and it made me laugh this morning even though I'm so grumpy about the stupid time change.



[Bill Whitehead cartoon]

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Pass the popcorn

I try to skip kitten pix since there are just so many out there, but this one is just so charming and rather original. Not sure it was spontaneous, but even if it's staged, it's a winner.



[photo via Resim & Fotograf from Turkey]

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Middle Earth is calling me

I have a feeling a probably posted this first photo a while back, but it's still my very favorite dream house. Pretty sure this is the one built in New Zealand for the movies.



And I believe this view from the inside out is new.



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Rhapsody in blue

My dream garden definitely needs some of these very rare blue poppies.



[photo via Longwood Gardens]

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They might be giants

The Appennine Colossus, just north of Florence, Italy



[via 1,000,000 Artists]

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My blue heaven

In my dream gardens there will be a path that looks like this one in Weinheim, Germany.



[photo via Amazing World]

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Duct tape love

As the saying goes, if duct tape didn't fix it, you just haven't used enough. Obvious photoshop, but being a huge fan of the stuff (seriously never go anywhere without it) I found this hilarious.



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Color my world

This artist Lindy Longhurst is new to me, but love her style and sense of color. Very soothing.



[photo via]

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Fun with fruit

This is quite possibly the best watermelon sculpture I've ever seen. Wish I could do stuff like this. I'm so uncoordinated, I'd probably end up slicing my finger off.



[photo via Amazing Facts and Nature]

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Your moment of Zen

No idea where this photo originated, but it just exudes peacefulness. I'd like to sitting in that garden at that moment.



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Book lover's dream

Back before my eyesight started failing I was a voracious reader of books. Swear, by the time I was 12 years old and could use my card in the adult section I read nearly every single book in the kid's library. I was also a terrible insomniac. So this image resonates with me. I spent many a night with a flashlight under the covers reading "just one more chapter" before I finally fell asleep.



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