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In marble halls as white as milk,
lined with skin as soft as silk
in a fountain crystal clear
a golden apple doth appear.
There are no doors to this stronghold,
yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
What is it?
(don't peek!)
Thanks Billy, for sharing this with me a hundred years ago!
The rays of the sun make their way through the woods like a painter's dappled stroke.
You might expect a faery sprite to pop out from behind one of the trees.
Of course you might faint if one actually did,
but it'd be worth it!
Trees found in the mountains of Georgia.
Me!
I would like to thank the Academy for convincing Billy Crystal to host again.
It was a wonderful return to a steady stream of humor and fun.
Thanks Billy, for putting the movies back into the Academy Awards Ceremony.
You are the very best host ever.
And if anyone asks "Who won?"
Just say Hugo.
It's a pretty safe bet.
Thanks also to my friend with the big TV and cable.
It was a blast!
In the photo: Colette, Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Jean Renoir, and Katharine Hepburn
Standing on a Cape Cod beach one day, I watched as a wave climbed a short ridge
to settle on the sand and then disappear.
It lasted only a moment and then another wave would come along and do the same thing.
Sitting in a noisy restaurant with some friends the other night,
drinking beer and playing trivia,
there was a moment when I looked at each of their faces
and realized how lucky I was to be there with these friends.
No one noticed that I had stepped out of time to do this.
It felt as though I had stolen the moment,
and then returned to the scene with a bigger heart.
Photo taken near Race Point Beach in Provincetown.
The Azaleas are starting to bloom in St. Augustine.
Robins are coming through too, you can hear them.
Spring comes early in the south.
This year, you might say that winter is late, or a no-show,
except for those few days when it was below freezing.
I'm not complaining.
In fact if you saw me now, you'd see that goofy grin.
And did I mention that the azaleas are as pretty as orchids?
They really are and some of them are huge!
Yes, spring comes early in the south and I'm not complaining.
It won't be long before I'm boogie boarding again!
Remember Phone booths?
Remember when astronauts used to land in the ocean in capsules?
We've come a long, long way-
phone calls with video, space shuttles that land like jets,
robots roaming on mars,
telescopes exploring deep space.
What does the future hold for us?
Will we be able to bend time and space?
Travel to other galaxies?
Listen in on other people's thoughts?
It's all possible!
Or so they say!
It isn't really how BIG your friends are,
it's how big they are in your heart.
And they don't have to be going in the same direction as you either.
And sometimes they have goofy smiles.
Alligator and lizard pals shot at the Alligator Farm, in St. Augustine, Florida
Wind.
You can't see it or touch it, but you can't deny the fact of it either.
What if we didn't have a word for wind, hadn't named it?
How would we explain spanish moss dancing on the limbs of giant trees,
or snow going sideways, or grains of sand just up and flying down the beach?
It might be spooky if we didn't already know,
"Oh, it's just the wind."
Does naming a thing rob it of its magic?
Would we go out and dance in the streets when there was a mighty wind,
if we weren't so tamed by language?
We might, we just might!
What to do with the unlovable parts of ourselves?
Try as we might, we can't run away or separate ourselves from our shadows.
What happens if we sit and stay, like a good dog that wants to jumpandrunaround so badly,
but we sit and we stay, and we don't look away?
The poets say that's when the light gets in.
And it's true.
If we can love ourselves in our worst moments, then we are that much closer to just about everyone on the planet.
Our compassion shines through the dark.
We love more and judge less.
If you're having one of those days, (weeks, years),
try to sit and to stay long enough for the light to find you,
and believe that you are equal to the best of us.
"I'm feeling all fuzzy inside."
"Maybe because we're out of focus."
"Oh, don't pick on the photographer."
The pond was designed and installed by Bill Garren of Green Acres, LLC in Virginia and is in focus.
"Are they coming?"
"Yes, I see them now."
"You look good."
"You're a sight for sore eyes too!"
"It's funny, you and me. I never imagined that I'd fall in love with...well, you!"
"Yeah, it is funny. You're not changing your mind are you?"
"No, even if I could, I couldn't change my heart. I've never felt this good before,
and I wouldn't go back for anything, you know that."
"Me too. You are the bees knees and I just love being with you.
Look at this beautiful day!"
"Isn't it glorious?"
"Better than I ever imagined it would be."
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
A blast from the past! From 2/15/2012.
Share the love, everyone and have a great day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
"I love you!"
"I love you more!"
"No, I love you more!"
"I'm taller than you!"
"No, you're not, you're just standing higher...well, maybe you are taller.
I can't take my eyes off you, why is that?"
"I don't know, maybe because I love you."
"Or because I love you too...more."
"You are so silly."
"You are so silly!"
As you enter the season of love, with a capital LOVE,
remember, whatever your circumstances,
you are not alone.
Your heart is full of love.
There are a ton of people in your life whom you already love
and a ton of people who love you.
And if you are lucky enough to have a special someone who adores you (most of the time),
cherish that always,
but celebrate the most important love of your life, and that is your own sweet heart.
Get yourself a really nice box of chocolates or a pint of your favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream,
and don't tell anyone!
And if you haven't yet become your own best friend, this is a good time to do that too.
No one deserves your love more than you do.
No one.
Unlock your heart.
It's what the world needs now.
Palm trees, so evocative of sunny days and warm nights, and easy times.
Is life ever that simple?
Some days - Yes!
Drum roll please...
Congratulations, Laine on your 100th post!
(Thanks, Laine!)
How about a nice pat on the back and a parade?
Let's get out of here, before she starts singing...
Meet me at the Trade Winds for a toast at 6:00 p.m. today!
The largest Church in Iceland provides a spectacular view of Reykjavik.
Leif Erikson stands in front and can once again boast that he was there first.
Takk fyrir, Iseland!
Thanks also to Brooks Walker, world renowned photographer, for a wonderful private tour of Iceland, peppered with interesting Historical and political anecdotes.
Watching a lizard that appeared to be frozen in time and space,
I realized it was shedding its skin and was unable to move one way or the other.
Sometimes we are caught in time and space like that, wrestling with big changes and challenges.
It might seem that it would be easier to be a lizard than this complex bundle of molecules that we are.
But what would be the fun in that?
Besides, we have no idea how to be lizards and we'd have to eat insects!
Better to let lizards be lizards and take our chances as us.
One excellent way to warm up in Iceland is to visit the Blue Lagoon.
You might wander into a hot spot that is 112 degrees F, or bump into a waiter in black tie, serving cocktails!
The white stuff underfoot is mineral laden and slathering it all over your body is encouraged!
It is a unique and wonderfully warm experience.
While going through my photos of Iceland, I got chilly!
(Nothing that a cup of hot chocolate couldn't cure!)
This huge waterfall, Gulfoss, was so noisy and so beautiful.
There was ice on the rocks all around it from the far reaching spray.
It's one of those places that fills you with wonder!
By the second day, the sun began to melt the snow and we made some new friends.
Zora Neale Hurston: Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)