A Moment of Hope #6

We are living in some scary times right now. I am old and have lived through others but this one is somehow different and maybe more frightening. So until it is over each day I plan to post an image that provides calmness and a moment of zen. We all need a lot of moments like these right now.

I look to nature for relaxation and solace. Even when this pond is still if you pause and listen you can hear the life and life always brings hope. Photographed at Lettuce Lake in Tampa Florida.

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Lettuce Lake

Life Finds Away

If you rent a car and drive about 45 minutes south of Cancún you will come to the wonderful little town of Puerto Morales. More on that in the future. Outside of the town off the highway is a hard to find botanical garden Jardin Botanico Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marin It is a fascinating visit and stroll through the Jungle.

It is not an easy hike, the ground is quite uneven in spots and you either have to cross a suspension bridge or hike up a steep hill. Well worth it though. There is allegedly a lot of wildlife but we only saw birds. Of course there were some ruins but also examples of how ancient Mayan’s lived. Inexpensive, uncrowded and very unique. Bring bug spray, it is the Jungle!

All through the park there were examples of species survival as this little tree tries to grow out of a mangrove root.

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Life Finds a Way

Life Finds a Way

White Lily

We planted our lilies with hope. They looked fine and healthy as they emerged from the ground. We noticed our pansies were being eaten and applied dried blood and the pansies survived. Our neighborhood suddenly seems to be overrun with rabbits. It rained for a few days and when we next looked outside the lilies all had a number of buds on each plant. We again applied the dried blood.

A week later we had a lot of rain and the next day after the rained stopped. There was not a leaf on any Lily plant. The buds were hanging off of green stalks. Damn bunnies! I was convinced they would never bloom. We again spread in the dried blood but it was too late I feared. How could they provide enough energy to bloom without any leaves for photosynthesis?

Life finds a way and the lilies survived!

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White Lilly

Survivor Lily

We planted our lilies with hope. They looked fine and healthy as they emerged from the ground. We noticed our pansies were being eaten and applied dried blood and the pansies survived. Our neighborhood suddenly seems to be overrun with rabbits. It rained for a few days and when we next looked outside the lilies all had a number of buds on each plant. We again applied the dried blood.

A week later we had a lot of rain and the next day after the rained stopped. There was not a leaf on any Lilly plant. The buds were hanging off of green stalks. Damn bunnies! I was convinced they would never bloom. We again spread in the dried blood but it was too late I feared. How could they provide enough energy to bloom without any leaves for photosynthesis?

Life finds a way and the lilies survived!

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Survivor Lily

Another View of East Jesus

This will be my last post now on the Art Commune at East Jesus California. In reviewing the images I found that I really liked this one and left it out of the original post. Maybe it is just my way of paying the Artists of East Jesus a thanks and adieu!

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Adeu East Jesus

Adeu East Jesus

In The Clearing at the End of The Path

In the Dark Tower series by Stephen King he writes about meeting at the clearing at the end of the path. I always thought that it was a wonderful way to write about the afterlife. I certainly like it better than the pearly gates or even heaven. It is definable, it has a clear vision to wrap my mind around. This is my old dog Deuce. He knew his job and did it well and loved his masters. He patrolled the fences of his one acre kingdom and defended us from bears and all sorts of critters. He was not an easy dog. He didn’t cotton well to young people and like most border collies too smart for his own good.

However he was the best dog I ever had. I miss my daily walks with this guy through the woods and have no doubt that at the end of it all, Deuce will be waiting for me in the clearing at the end of the path.

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Deuce

Deuce

Roots

Today at breakfast we were talking about the ancient buildings of Europe. Some cathedrals took hundreds of years to build. Families had generations of commitment to creating a single structure. These are the roots of a Bonsai plant at Pittsburgh’s Phipps conservatory. The plant began training in 1956 so the plant is now 60 years old. Some of these bonsai are over one thousand years old. Think of that commitment. Then think of your own commitment to your art or craft. We can all do better.

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Roots

Roots

Along the Tampa Riverwalk

People have told me that Tampa is a great city but people don’t live downtown. If true,that is not apparent from walking along the Tampa river. People walking their dogs, children running like crazy in the playgrounds and teens skateboarding are just a few examples I saw while strolling along the river on a Saturday night.

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Along the Riverwalk

Along the Riverwalk