Christine May 15th, 2008
Last evening we had our first rainbow of Spring. It was quite dark already but the sun glimmered out from beneath the clouds for one last peek before going down, and this is what we saw. See more Sky Watch Friday photos on Tom’s site - our host.
Christine May 15th, 2008
I believe one of the most amazing things about being a Mom is watching my children grow into people who are sensitive to and aware of beauty. Whether it is expressed in a love of music, science, or photography - which our boys both pursue: life and its discovery is truly just unfolding for them. Their brains and personalities are still evolving as they learn how to interpret and perceive their world; I want them to always be open to the Spirit’s blessings. And I trust that they will always be surrounded by God’s love and the love and strength of our family.
I feel a strong responsibility to enhance the positive and the beautiful with our sons although, at times I too, feel drawn down by world events, like deep mountain snow being melted too quickly by the hot sun. There will remain awesome difficulties my children will face as adults. I am not always cheerful and full of joy. Life is sometimes a tedious and frightening path. Still, I am a mother who only wishes for the best - we humans are a smart people who have an epic responsibility to our children and grandchildren. It is their future after all, as well as our own.
The hope I cradle in my heart is profound - a trust that we will be able to solve some of these hard issues and rise to the challenge of meeting the basics like curing hunger or resolving our fascination with waging war. All these issues touch us both on a personal level and on a global dimension. We are all still connected to the next person no matter how many miles apart their house is from our own.
So, I fantasize sometimes about asking many of our present leaders: did you honestly think about your grandchildren before you made that decision? I often wonder if they are ever awakened in the middle of the night with lightening bolts of doubt and fear - episodes which sometimes hits me at 3 a.m.? Do they ever worry if they were wrong? And, have they - any of them, been able to maintain the moral conscious and courage to even look ahead to what comes next? What leader now will pick up the burden and shoulder the responsibility for problems they either created or worsened? It keeps me awake a night, I wonder if it does them. It would be an enlightening moment to be able to gaze, just a second, into their hearts.
Christine May 14th, 2008
Spring has really, truly, finally arrived! All of a sudden I sat up and took notice when practically overnight the yard and garden started singing with color. That favorite song of mine from the play Oklahoma rang so true: ” Spring is bustin’ out all over! ” We have had hints of Spring the last few weeks, but the nights have remained very cold and the wind frigid. Today it felt almost balmy. During the last night it rained about an inch which brought everything out with a flourish. These were taken today in my garden by our son at my request. Click on the photos for a better view.
Christine May 13th, 2008
Ratio of an igloo’s circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi
Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement = 1
bananosecond.
This one is for my husband.
Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour = Knotfurlong
1 million microphones = 1 megaphone
Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoarsepower
1000 milliliters of wet socks = 1 literhosen
And this is a real groaner:
Half of a large intestine = 1 semicolon
These are only a few samples but they did indeed tickle my funny bone this evening. I hope these will encourage a gigglebyte from you too. Thanks to Deb, from Papa Do Run for passing these funnies along to me.
Nautical note: This afternoon our son and Matthew set up the mast and attached the sail to Seashell. For two people who haven’t even been on a sailboat before it didn’t take them that long. I learned that the main lines which control the sail are called “sheets”. You know the expression: “Three sheets to the wind” is, after all, a nautical phrase. In sailing jargon this means the lines are slack and simply flopping around in the breeze. Now that is learning the ropes!
Christine May 12th, 2008
Into the tunnel
a faint, warm light beckons me
mysterious dark
Captured, illumined
the further side of being
only one exit.
~~~~~
For more warm poems visit One Single Impression.
Christine May 11th, 2008
Arrr… here be an introduction to our new addition: ye (old) sailboat - Seashell. Avast! We arrived home with her on Wednesday night late, from Sandpoint, Idaho. Seashell is a Venture 17, built in 1973. As far as we can tell from looking at the faded marks of previous registration numbers, Seashell lived her early years in New York state, perhaps with a different name (there seems to be a faded name on her transom, but totally unreadable) and spent quite a while in Washington state as well before moving to Idaho. She has all of her parts and the former owner says everything works; he purchased her three years ago to learn to sail on and is now building a larger boat. He had her out on the water all last summer. She has a rebuilt keel and an almost new main sail, along with one very nice jib and one rather weathered looking jib. Best of all, she didn’t cost hardly anything… truly a “Good Old Boat”.
This sailboat is the culmination of a ton of decision-making somewhat gone astray. Per a previous post: Matthew, after much deliberation, had decided he wanted to build a sailing canoe, but after the snafu of last week we went for this boat (found on Craigslist) and hopefully we will be out sailing Seashell on Flathead Lake within the month. He had his eye on her from the beginning over a month ago….( hmm that doesn’t sound so good, but tradition insists that we use the pronoun “her” when in reference to a boat.) The truly cool thing about this turn of events is our teenage son is very excited about learning how to sail. That is a great lesson in that looks are not everything. Basically she needs elbow grease and some soapy water right now. Oh yes, and an instruction manual would be nice…. Ahoy!
Christine May 8th, 2008
Where the Buffalo roam.
Here is another view from the same spot as the Sky Watch photo but looking in the other direction due northwest. Yesterday we made a quick excursion over the border to Idaho to look at a sailboat (a really old sailboat, but that story is yet to be told). It rained off and on the entire trip and by the time we reached Sandpoint the place felt worse than soggy and many areas were under water. Yeah, we need that boat honey, to get home.
Anyway, how does our trip into Idaho relate to this photo of wide open spaces? This view is not under water. Nor is it completely dredged or excavated by huge machines moving dirt and ripping out trees, creating mountains out of piles of gravel, or basically making a mucky mess of things all in the name of progress and building big houses. My point obviously: I was not very impressed with Sandpoint. I remember it from twenty years ago when and where Coldwater Creek hung its shingle — it used to be a sleepy, artsy town with soft industry. OK, it had timber happening too. Now it looks more like the tractor/ RV/ industrial outskirts of Spokane.
So, Sandpoint is predictably following all the rules of the game: it is developing fast towards Ugly. We drove past many wetlands on the way, lovely meandering ponds skirted with thick forests and some of them actually had moose in them; but those wild areas are being squeezed and encroached upon by parcel acre landowners. What will become of the wildlife? What about all the birds and pond creatures who have lived there for longer than any humans have been around? Will the story always read: Humans first? Not only humans first but humans with lots of money first? (If it isn’t the wildlife being squeezed it is those which have not who are squeezed, for example, in the third world.) 0h yes, sorry my point being: how will the collective conscious evolve and emerge if not from the individual who finally says instead of it’s my right, turns and says:: no I’m not going to build here because it isn’t right? I am posturing this mental and moral enlightenment, which is still in my dreams mind you, this progression of the individual consciousness might be our only hope since the local county governments can’t seem to do anything to curb rampant development, nor do they see any reason to worry about it. They can’t see the forest for the houses. Oh, and neither can anyone else.
Ah, so we come home to a relatively neat and fresh environment but we can see the same building and development virus going on around here too. Big signs out in the middle of a scrub-arid hillside advertising a lot for your next big McMansion. Nothing there but a few meadowlarks and how in the heck do you propose to get water up that steep, dry ravine which will probably turn into a raging torrent the next time we have a thunder storm? Ah, I see that’s where you’ll get your water.
Back again to the photo. Isn’t it peaceful, serene, quiet and empty looking? It sure is because this is an established National Reserve set aside last century by the Federal Government for the buffalo, antelope, deer and elk. It took an act of Congress. And you can’t build there.
Christine May 8th, 2008
A sky-water color which only nature can paint; this is taken looking south west near the National Bison Range. The view is a perfect representation of Springtime around this valley. The winds feel like they are still brushing hard against the winter snow fields in the mountains, but the sun stays longer each day and seems brighter each morning. It is definitely yet sweater weather. See more Sky Watch photos at Tom’s blog here.
Christine May 7th, 2008
Three interesting facts about Montana’s State Capitol:
~The town was originally named “Crabtown”. (Eeeww)
~In 1888, 50 millionaires lived in Helena having made their fortunes in the Montana Gold Rush.
~Helena is also the home of Carroll College, one of the nation’s top rated private schools.
