Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

The Best In Us

 

It is fascinating how many wild critters live side by side with humans.

Sometimes to their peril and other times, their salvation.

 

Yesterday a happy ending story came my way from Baltimore.

A baby raccoon was rescued from a down spout, 4 feet below the ground.

 

After being trapped for nearly 24 hours in the elbow of a cast iron pipe,

and over 7 hours of rescue attempts and everyone about to give up,

the little thing finally grabbed the hook on the end of the pole

that was being presented to him, for perhaps the last time,

and was hoisted to safety.

 

 

We are intrinsically connected to everything on the planet.

 

There are those of us who will stop whatever we are doing to do right by distressed creatures,

even if it takes all day.

And there are those others whose very lives embody that connection on a daily basis.

 

Hats off to all those who take the time to nurture life's pals,

you exemplify the best in us.

 

 

 

Lots of people helped the little raccoon - Ann first heard the cry for help and discovered where he was, then Jerry and Susan and Darryl got involved and called in others, like John from Critter Control who is holding "Rocky" and who delivered him into the hands of the Phoenix Center for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife and Kathy Woods, who will nurture him back to robust health and then introduce him back into the wild. The photo is Ann's. Thanks to all!

Golden

 

 

Balancing on a surfboard with a paddle is challenging enough.

This guy takes his dog along!

 

It is pure joy watching them.

 

The furry one, in his excitement, manages to walk the length of the board,

going through his companion's legs to get to the back!

Only once did he knock them both off balance and into the drink.

No worries!

A hand up and they are surfing again or cutting through the waves to get beyond the breakers.

 

There is an amazing bond between these two.

The furry one with no words and a heart of gold and the surfer,

who knows how to have fun.

 

The sun might be setting,

but the surf's up,

and the moment is golden.

 

 

Nature's Perfection

 

 

In the midst of nature's perfection,

there's not much more to say-

at least not today!

 

Hope today is sunny in all different kinds of ways!

 

 

 

Borrowed Sunrise

 

 

A new day begins.

Another chance to get it right, get it done, or maybe to just be.

Be in the day, really in the day, today.

 

No worrying, no planning, and definitely no panicking.

Picnicking maybe, but no panicking.

 

Just for today.

And maybe tomorrow too!

 

 

(Yesterday's Sunrise, by Paula Post, borrowed with her permission!)

 

Maybe We Are All Just BIG Babies!

 

 

Looking after a little guy who is 13 weeks old

and listening to him gurgle and sigh and coo and poop and fart 

and watching him eat like there's no tomorrow,

and stretch and grab

and seeing the smile that melts hearts,

there is the feeling that we really don't change all that much.

 

Oh, he can't wink yet, but we are working on that ;>)

And air guitar comes a little later too!

 

So, coo coo ka choo!

 

 

 

 

Photo of LainieBaby by Patrice Goham, at the Hon Fest in Baltimore.

Little Buddhas Among Us

 

 

Buddha kitty.

Everyday a retreat.

 

Sitting meditation.

Yoga.

Chanting.

Two light meals a day.

 

There is a calm centeredness about cats.

They spend a lot of time alone and it suits them.

 

Petting one can be meditative and calming.

 

They are little buddhas among us.

 

 

 

Determined or Stupid?

 

 

Determined to get into the ocean yesterday evening after work to cleanse myself of an oncoming summer cold,

I decided to assess the blatant warnings:

 

Blowing sand - storm eminent.

Fish jumping - possible sharks(!)

One surfer near me and some swimmers farther down the beach - ?

No lightning or thunder.

 

It was getting chilly in the wind and darker with each second.

I took the plunge,

and the water warmed me.

So I swam and dove and rode a few waves and swam and dove some more.

Then the rain started, just a few gimungus drops at first and then more and more,

until it was a genuine downpour.

 

How beautiful!

 

What to do?

Wait it out in the warm water?

At first that seemed like a really good idea, but then the storm grew and I ran for my bag and back to the car.

 

Cold all better now?

Not quite, but on the mend.

 

Garlic, lemon, honey, and apple cider vinegar -

do your worst!

 

 

 

Blowing sand at St. Augustine Beach.

What Did The Ocean Say To The Beach?

 

 

It didn't say anything,

it just waved.

 

 

 

Fish eye effect! Imagine if the earth waved like water...we would be in serious trouble!

 

Today's Dreams

 

 

Finding the balance between busy-ness and dreams...

Will today's dreams become the busy-ness of tomorrow, paving the way for more dreams?

 

How to balance today with all the yesterdays and tomorrows?

 

In the words of Thich Nhat Hanh -

"Breathe. Smile. Walk."

 

It does help!

 

 

 

Pottery shot on a First Friday Art Walk in St. Augustine, by Vicki Johnston. Apologies to the artist for not knowing who you are, it is lovely!

A Nice Green

 

 

Now that's a nice green.

(Banana tree leaf, disguising itself as a fish. It looks like it's growing teeth.)

 

(Watch out!)

 

 

Lucky Anhinga

 

 

Lucky Anhinga, everything it needs within diving or flying distance,

enjoying the feast of the Everglades, without worries-

not even bothered by the tourists on the boardwalk snapping photos.

 

Maybe we humans are just tourists on this planet.

We seem to have organized ourselves in very strange and self defeating ways.

 

Where did we go wrong?

 

 

 

It Could Happen...

 

 

Three guys, a girl, and two dogs, passing like ships in the night.

 

Maybe she's the Girl From Ipanema...

"She looks straight ahead, not at he."

Maybe not.

 

What if the guy on the right, let's call him David, meets her in 5 years and they fall madly in love.

They'll never know that years earlier they passed each other on a beautiful summer's evening on the beach in St Augustine.

 

Unless of course they read my blog!

 

That would be so cool!

 

"I saw you on Laine's Blog and I've been dreaming about you ever since!"

 

Serendipity? Synchronicity? Stupid?

 

Hey, it could happen!

 

Tell all your friends,

"Read Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud,

it could rock your world!"

 

 

 

"The Girl From Ipanema", written by Antonia Carlos Jobim.

 

 

Days of Summer

 

There's nothing half so much worth doing...

 

 

 

 

If you can finish this phrase from The Wind In The Willows, then you will know that it doesn't go with this photo, but is equally true!

There's That Blue Again...

 

 

On a balmy evening, the sky is refelected on the water in a hundred shades of blue and green and colors that don't have names.

 

 

It's difficult to capture the beauty and serenity of it.

 

 

 

 

Snowdrift Like The Sea

 

 

Just a little something to cool you off on these hot summer days.

Happy Hot Summer!

 

 

 

Race Point Beach, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Winter!

Can You Walk on Water?

 

 

Our self limiting beliefs,

the ones that thwart our forward progress,

where do they come from?

 

(everything on this planet is of this planet except this planet)

 

Our cells, our genes, carry memories, not only from our immediate relatives,

but from our distant ancestors too.

 

(we are just recycled star stuff)

 

That old fight or flight response is deeply ingrained in our primitive brains,

but so is dreaming!

 

Who dreamed up language, or fire, or rockets to the moon?

 

Maybe we won't be walking on water within the week*

but those other niggling dreams,

the ones obscured by our daily living,

it might be time to dust them off and bring them into the light of day

and see what happens.

 

You never know, it might lead to something wonderful!

 

 

*At least not without a stand up paddle board!

One Goal at a Time

 

 

Did this gopher turtle decide to take a dip in the ocean, or did someone mistake her for a sea turtle

and treat her to a dunking?

Either way she made her way back up the beach to her hammock home with surprising speed.

 

It's the steadfastness of turtles - one foot in front of the others -

and they get there by and by, 

focusing on one goal at a time.

 

 

This turtle had a human angel who watched over her until she was safely out of harms way. 

No Offense Intended

 

 

Recently a friend of mine was bemoaning the fact that there was no special someone

in her life who could scratch her back right where she needed it scratched.

 

I understood the desire and the longing and I didn't rush in (in my usual way) to scratch her back,

but for me, my bamboo back scratcher, with the little hand on the end, 

is just wonderful and a tad more accurate than some dear someones!

 

No offense...

 

 

Stained glass window discovered in Welaka, Florida.

The Floridan Aquifer

 

 

The earth has its own intelligence.

In Iceland there are hot springs, in Florida - cold!

 

The entire state of Florida sits on an aquifer that not only provides all of the water needs for millions of people

but is also a ridiculously wonderful way to cool off in the heat of summer.

 

Maintaining a steady temperature between 68 and 72 degrees,

it is aways refreshing to dive into one of the 700 natural springs scattered throughout the state.

 

They say that the body has its own intelligence too...

are you listening?

 

 

Photo of Silver Glen Springs and House Boat!

Happy Independence Day!

 

 

According to the great mythologist, Joseph Campbell,

  "...we cancelled the Declaration of Independence," when we entered the First World War

and re-joined the chaos of Europe.

 

He believed that it was a turning point in American politics that has led us away from idealism

and onto the slippery slope of greed, "the principal passion in politics".

 

There are a great many freedoms in America and more on the horizon,

and we are still part of the Great Experiment of Democracy,

and there is still time to get it right.

 

Happy 4th of July!

 

 

From The Power Of Myth, a PBS series with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, transcripted into a book of the same name.

With All That You See...

 

 

How do you see the world, little dragonfly?

Processing 200 images per second, compared to humans who process 24 -

do you grow faster, forgive sooner, love more easily?

Are there any shortcuts to wisdom?

Do you know?

 

With all that you see, what do you know?

Perhaps more of what it is to be alive and well on this glorious planet than we clumsy bipeds,

little dragonfly.

 

 

 

Naked Ladies

 

 

Life does surprise us.

Sometimes with storms.

Sometimes with unexpected friendships.

Sometimes with lilies!

 

These "Naked Ladies" were spotted on an early morning bike ride through the neighborhood.

Are they genuine "Surprise Lilies," a.k.a. "Naked Ladies"?

 

They were that morning!

 

 

These lilies were nicknamed "Naked Ladies" because the leaves arrive long after the flowers, leaving the delicate ladies naked!

That is also the reason they "surprise," showing up suddenly out of nowhere!