Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

Social Distancing...

 

 

Social distancing not required...

 

 

 

 

Cat (DJ) and Armadillo, the Moon and Venus, Two Butterflies, Cat (Lucy) kisses Gator, Two Web-footed friends, Five Turtles! All Safe.

Be Careful...

 

 

It is difficult to sit still for an invisible catastrophe -

there's no wind, no rain, no flooding -

in fact the weather here is perfect.

 

We have electricity, water, internet, the pantry is full,

and we have each other.

 

So, wash your hands, enjoy each other -

(they are singing from the balconies in Italy!)

get lots of fresh air

and be creative!

 

Don't panic.

Be kind.

and

Be careful.

 

 

Trumpet Flower, ©Laine Quinn 2007!

 

Glory Enough...

 

 

In her autobiography, Dust Tracks On A Road,

Zora Neale Hurston, with no disrespect to organized Religion,

states that-

 

"It is simply not for me...

The springing of the yellow line of morning out of the misty deep of dawn,

is glory enough for me."

 

 

 

Amen!

Photo, Crescent Beach, © Laine Quinn 2018, sunrise.

 

Poets...

 

 

Ecola

 

I walked by the sea-creek side.

The wind laughed, the gulls cried.

Sweet water lapped on the salt sand

between the deep sea and the deep land.

                                                Ursula K. LeGuin

 

Years ago, Joseph Campbell told us that the poets would save us.

 

I begin to understand.

 

 

 

From Ursula K LeGuin's book of poems, "Late in the Day."

Joseph Campbell, in his series, "The Power of Myth."

Photo of St. Augustine Beach, ©2020LaineQuinn

 

 

Obscene...

 

The word obscene in Greek Tragedies meant that the action took place off scene,

behind the curtain, because it was too terrible to actually depict on stage.

 

I've gone back 100 years to shake up the past and improve our lives.

Going back farther one is confronted with obscene brutality.

 

Imperialism - the way of the world -

an arrogance and entitlement that justified horrible acts of murder,

slavery and abuse on all levels.

Anyone perceived as different, inferior, or threatening,

and women and children of all stripes were dispatched or used with impunity.

 

 

Four thousand years of that arrogance landed in the Americas.

Spanish, French and English fought fiercely for the rights of a land already occupied.

And finally, the newly minted Americans were the victors,

and ran over the continent and her people without conscience.

 

King of the Hill...

whoever gets to the top makes the rules and breaks the rules and changes the rules.

They tell the story, HISstory,

not OURstory.

 

We still live under this archaic model

of might makes right

and the person with the most gold is King.

 

But, it was not always this way.

There is an older way.

A Peaceful way.

Long, long ago...

 

 

More tomorrow...

Re-enactor, St. Augustine.

 

So, Imagine This...

 

So,

in my alternate universe...

There was no degradation of the earth.

Clean Air.

Clean Water.

No lies, no wars in the oil rich Middle East, no lives lost.

The U.S. military would be doing what it is charged with-

protecting Democracy,

not dismantling it worldwide.

Cancer would still be a rare disease,

not the Big Business that it is today.

 

Our Government by the people, and for the people would stand by the people,

and not the greedy aggressive corporations that have given us this dystopia.

 

Family Farms would have been protected,

and the Giant Agri-Business would never have been allowed.

Our food would be wholesome and delicious-

the soil rich in nutrients-

bees would thrive.

 

And the peacemakers never would have been assassinated,

and they would have led the way to peace and prosperity for all people.

 

"You might say I'm a dreamer,

but I'm not the only one."

                                                        John Lennon

 

 

©2020 Laine Quinn, Earth Flag, Home!

John Lennon Quote from the song "Imagine"

Nature's Heart...

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

There Is Hope...

 

There is an interview with the Four Women of "The Squad" on Democracy Now.

After reading the transcript of these four diverse women,

at a time when I was getting very disheartened about the state of the country and the world,

I found HOPE!

 

They are, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York,

Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts,

Rashida Tlaib of Michigan

and

Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

These women are on the front lines and they are passionate and positive

and Hopeful!

 

 

So, whatever you do, don't lose Hope.

Hope will get us through.

Love and compassion

and passion for the things we love -

will get us through.

 

 

 

©2020 Laine Quinn, Wild Waves

The Hungry Caterpillar...

 

 

While burning a few things on the deck in the chiminnea,

I noticed these caterpillars munching away on the Butterfly Weed.

It was over a month ago. There were about 10 or 12 of them, and they decimated that plant.

 

 

Then yesterday,

while leaning over the rail to reach a hanging pot I spied this little one in the same area.

 

She is no bigger than the joint of my thumb.

Will she emerge from her cocoon?

We will have to wait and see.

I brought her indoors, as the temperature was dropping.

 

There is so much hidden in plain sight that we never even notice.

It was chance that led me to the caterpillars and the butterfly.

 

 

Look at the little bugs on the left.

I didn't even see them until I blew the photo up!

 

 

 

 

Garden Joy! February in Florida, annuals to plant!

©2020 Laine Quinn

 

 

 

What if...

 

HELP!

 

What if, when chemical companies came up with the idea

to spray food crops with the deadly compounds

that were developed in wartime,

someone very important had said,

 

"This is a really bad idea."

 

OR

 

What if, 20 or 30 years later, when a bright caring poet/scientist

saw the effects of these deadly poisons first hand

and sounded the alarm, that birds were dying, bees and butterflies too.

And the chemical big wigs had said,

 

"Oh my, this is not what we had intended.

We can do better than this."

 

If either one of those things had happened,

we would have vegetables and fruits

that actually tasted like something, instead of tasting like nothing.

And the bees and butterflies wouldn't be on the edge of extinction.

 

The Earth would be healthier and her people and their children.

 

 

 

 

Silent Spring was published in 1962, by Rachel Carson who died of breast cancer 2 years later, in 1964.

"Though much is taken, much remains and much returns." John Elder quoting Wordsworth with an addition, in Courage for the Earth, Celebrating the life and writings of Rachel Carson.

Things we can do...feed the birds, and plant flowers that attract bees and butterflies and grow our own veggies!!!!  And buy organic when we can afford to.

 

 

 

Soul Ecology...

 

 

"...a soulful ecology is rooted in the feeling that this world is our home

and that our responsibility to it comes not from obligation

or logic, but from true affection.

 

...As long as the heart is involved, care of the place will follow."

                                                              Thomas Moore, Care of The Soul

 

 

The thing to understand is that this in not your fault or my fault

because we didn't recycle enough or we use too much plastic,

or we believed that Round Up was safe.

 

The problem is institutionalized.

From the auto industry to plastics manufacturing,

oil producers have held sway over these industries for a century.

Chemical companies have been spreading their propaganda since WWII.

And governments have been holding their hands ever since

and silencing concerned voices.

 

There are little things that we can do in our lives and homes.

And lots of little things add up.

More later!

 

 

 

Home sweet Home! The cat, the hammock, and the flowers are still with me in my new home!

 

 

This is Dedicated to...

 

 

Whenever I see a line of pelicans coming along the beach, over the waves,

their wingtips just grazing the water, I get a little bit jealous of how simple

their life appears to be.

 

It seems that the creatures of this world are better at meeting their daily needs

than the oh so intelligent higher mammals who actually destroy or poison

the very things that support them.

 

From now on, my blog is dedicated to our home planet,

the lifeboat that we - all of us - are sailing on through space.

I am joining the chorus of concerned citizens of Mother Earth

to do my small part to alleviate the pressure of too many years

of human recklessness that has threatened our time here.

 

 

My first step is appreciation, and gratitude for the beautiful world we still live in.

The wonderful old oak trees in my neighborhood, and just last week, the hungry caterpillar on the butterfly weed,

and of course the beaches and all the life bursting there, the birds and fishes and dolphins.

 

A heartfelt appreciation and gratitude.

 

Bowing in humility before the multiplicity of life, here on planet Earth.

 

 

 

Brown Pelicans doing what they do as they surf along the waves at St. Augustine Beach.

©LaineQuinn 2020

Grateful...

 

From the book of poems, BLUE HORSES by Mary Oliver

 

...Bless the words with which I try to say

what I see, think, or feel.

With gratitude for the grace of the earth.

The expected and the exception, both.

For all the hours I have been given to

be in this world.

 

The multiplicity of forms! The hummingbird,

the fox, the raven, the sparrow hawk, the

otter, the dragonfly, the water lily! And

on and on. It must be a great disappointment

to God if we are not dazzled at least ten

times a day.

...

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

 

 

From the poem Good morning

Egret at the inlet taking flight! ©2019 Laine Quinn

 

The Long Journey Begins

 

Just before the Hurricane,

this little one emerges.

She's on her way to the turbulent waves.

 

We on the shore want so badly to help,

but we know better and walk beside her,

well meaning, helpless, guardians,

until a wave envelopes her -

back and forth

and she is gone

on her long journey

to everywhere.

 

 

 

Baby Turtle, September 1, 2019. The lifeguards assured me that she would make it!

© Laine Quinn 2019

Let Them Go to Mars...

 

 

The American Experiment has never lived up to its promise

of self-government and Liberty and Justice for All.

From the start it was non-inclusive, predatory and rigged

in favor of the "ruling class", the so called "people".

But this doesn't mean that a course correction wouldn't change things for the better.

 

America, (which has never been great, truth be told) can be good.

The promise is there and the vision is there and the American People

are good people.

Corporations are not people and have not been good for the people for some time.

Greed is not pretty, not for Americans or for the planet.

 

Have we reached the pinnacle of American Greed?

Let them go to Mars.

Let's stay here and take care of our own beautiful ailing planet.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the political post, it has been brewing for awhile.

©2019 Laine Quinn Flag at the Oldest Wooden School House in St. Augustine Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections...

 

 

A serene scene for anxious times...

Mother Nature hasn't given up on us yet.

 

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, 9.11.19 ©Laine Quinn

What we can do to support the climate strike on Friday, the 20th of September-

Don't buy anything on line that has to be delivered to your home, buy local.

Don't throw away any plastic at all for that day.

Drive as little as possible.

Be kind!

 

 

The Nursery...

 

 

The seed factory in a Sago Palm brings to mind part of a quote from Kahlil Gibran,

...life's longing for itself.

 

Isn't that how this gorgeous planet evolved,

one seedling at a time?

 

 

 

 

© 2019 Laine Quinn Sago Drama!

 

The Sea Oats

 

The sea oats are green again,

beginning their cycle from spring to fall to winter...

 

 

Living in Florida, it's easy to forget what season it is,

but there are ways of being reminded,

and the sea oats jarred me out of late summer to early summer,

right where we are!

 

 

 

Shooting with my phone, I couldn't see the screen and only hoped that I had gotten the line of pelicans in the shot!

©2019, Laine Quinn St. Augustine Beach

Strawberry Moon...

 

 

Through the trees...

 

 

 

 

 

June 17th Full moon!

©Laine Quinn 2019

 

 

The Tree Of Life...

 

Tree of Life,

 

re-imagined at Disney Park, Animal Kingdom.

Look closely at the life carved into this man-made tree.

 

Real trees have even more mysteries and secrets,

kept over the centuries and passed down the generations.

 

 

 

 

 

©Laine Quinn 2019, Disney's Pandora Tree of Life. Possibly Ostrich in the foreground!

Tickling the Buddha...

 

 

 

 

Backyard Buddha, with 2 lizards! © Laine Quinn 2019

Disney, Animal Kingdom...

 

Disney = long lines and sore feet and exhaustion!

BUT...

the Avatar ride in Pandora was worth it all!

You are gliding on a Banshee through the Fantastic Pandora landscape,

even though you never leave your seat,

you duck and lean to avoid hitting branches and arches and going into the ocean!

 

WILD!

 

A giant plant, along the 3 hour walk to the ride!

Very well thought out exhibit!

 

 

© Laine Quinn 2019.

Earth Day and Poetry

 

 

A fallen blossom

Is coming back to the branch.

Look, a butterfly!

 

                                                                                by Moritake (1473-1549)

 

Happy Earth Day!!!

Of course, everyday is Earth Day!

And since April is National Poetry Month,

here is a Haiku from a book I have had with me all of my adult life,

One Hundred Famous Haiku

Selected and translated into English by

Daniel C. Buchanan

It is divided by season.

This is one for Spring.

 

 

 

Butterfly shot at the Key West Butterfly And Nature Conservancy, © Laine Quinn 2008.

Treasure Found...

 

Many years ago I began a novel by Zora Neale Hurston and couldn't find the rhythm of her words

and abandoned the effort.

About a month ago I picked up her autobiography, "Dust Tracks on a Road" at our local Library and was blown away.

 

Here is a writer with an understanding of life and love and the world, with a truly unique view into the cosmos,

that rivals the greatest poets.

 

Ms. Hurston can lift you up and encourage you to get on with it, no matter what,

because this is a BIG Beautiful Life!

 

She hears the wisdom of the trees and understands that we are all ONE

and that one day our bodies will join the earth and the earth will fall into the sun

and the sun will implode into the universe

and we are ALL a part of that.

That is where we came from and that is where we will go.

 

 

"Dust Tracks" was written in 1941, before Stephen Hawking came up with the Big Bang Theory,

before the Hubble Telescope,

and before researchers confirmed that trees are actually communicating with one another (and with Ms. Hurston.)

 

Since reading her autobiography, I have read "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

and found the rhythm of her dialogue and loved every word.

 

Zora, ( I can call her that because she wants us all to be "kissing friends" so that we can cultivate peace in the world),

is a treasure I have discovered late in life and am ever grateful that I did.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo from Astronomy Picture of the Day, (APOD) by Coles and Helm. ©2015.

 

Spanish Soldiers

 

 

While our Castillo de San Marcos was closed

during the government shutdown,

these wonderful re-enactors,

(volunteers all,)

took to the streets.

 

Here they are in our temporary gallery on Aviles Street.

 

 

 

We thank them for helping to authenticate the experience of 17th and 18th centuries Spanish Soldier's life in the fort.

© Laine Quinn 2019

The Gallery Group will stage a "POP UP" show every first Friday weekend.

March to be announced!

All Is Well...

 

 

All is right with the world

on an evening like this,

after a cloudy day,

all is well.

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine harbor, leading out to the inlet, almost sunset. © Laine Quinn 2019

Total Eclipse...

 

 

The brightest moon went dark last night...

 

 

 

© Laine Quinn, Eclipse, January 20th, 2019. St. Augustine Florida

Your Table is Waiting!

 

 

The crowds are gone,

town is quiet,

for awhile!

 

 

 

Old Town, © Laine Quinn, 2019, Gaufre's Restaurant.

St. Augustine Weather...

 

 

Hot and humid one day, foggy the next, rain and then cold after that...

That's our winter,

here in St. Augustine,

warm again now,

in the 70's all week!

 

Not too shabby!

 

 

 

Porpoise Point, Vilano Beach, December 30th, 2018.

©Laine Quinn

 

 

Progression of the Full Moon Rising...

 

 

 

This is nothing like watching the Moon rising over the ocean in person,

but it's all I got!

It was truly breathtaking!