burning books

 "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” - Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

with his book, fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury caught my imagination and piqued my interest in science fiction years ago.  i realized that everyone is a book, with some more interesting than others.  how we create a storyline and weave a plot makes the book worthwhile to read or not.  it's not an opinion that people have that upsets me now but how well researched it might be.  "better dead than unread."  rip ray, on whatever planet you land...  "'The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on.'

sail on

 "o my brave soul! o farther, farther, sail." -- walt whitman, passage to india

sometimes life has to include challenges to make you feel alive, and although lately that has meant only wind and waves, last weekend was a chance to put the football pads back on one more time and play.  the alumni football game against PCM provided another chance to strap on a helmet and make one more tackle.  being the oldest player in the country to compete wasn't too daunting because my friend stripbuilder is 65 and won the everglades challenge against much younger competition.  unfortunately there were so many players that just when i was getting warmed up someone else wanted in to take my place.  i guess i'll have to stay in shape and try again next year... sail on, sail on...

clean up, fix up, paint up

"with an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things." -- william wordsworth

the peace tree is now painted by the many sea birds that call it respite from the wind and waves..

renewal

"human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does Nature, because in her inventions, nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous." --  leonardo da vinci

i always look forward to this season's contribution to renewal, the flowering of an icon and the hope that the experiences of the past create new growth and sustainability.  rise up in glory and hold your head high!

greatest show on earth

"not only the days, but life itself lengthens in summer.  i would spread abroad my arms and gather more of it to me, could i do so."  -- richard jefferies, the life of the fields

reflecting on the trip to wisconsin's beautiful waters also took us to baraboo, the original home of the "ringling bros. barnum & bailey circus" and museum.  with g'son jordan performing at callaway gardens this summer, with the fsu circus troupe, we had to stop to learn more of the origins of the "greatest show on earth"!

falling water

"no man needs a vacation, so much as the person who has just had one." -- Elbert Hubbard

 frank lloyd wright's wisconsin home and school, taliesin in spring green, included a beautiful waterfall.  it originally had a power plant attached for electricity.  tal iesin is welsh for "radiant brow" denoting wright's comment that a house should never be built on the top of a hill. 

a beautiful three days to mark 35 years together included this waterfall on the inlet to lake delton, wisconsin.  it was symbolic in that the water takes a tumble but gains energy and calmness in its journey. 

lunch at a lakeside restaurant on lake delton,overlooking the tommy bartlett waterski show rehearsal, included an hour of paddling and a "front row seat".  they didn't want to toss me a tow rope..

Sotheby's next sale

"nature, like us, is sometimes caught without her diadem." -- emily dickinson

john and mary pappajohn were in the dsm register this am for recently attending a sale at sotheby's in new york, looking for artwork for their collection.  for a bargain price they could have this trophy on the red rock shoreline.  it is without a doubt as artistic as anything in the sculpture park in dsm, and viewable for only a short paddle.  we made a quick run from cordova to the dam and back saturday am and probably one of the last w/ stripbuilder before he departs for south carolina.  it is always a faster trip with others, but as dr. john p. eloquently demonstrates, we are never alone when in nature.  guess i'll head back to the wild...

"what we cultivate in times of ease we gather as strength for times of change."  -- buddha