My Blog primarily consists of close-up nature photos (that I've taken locally) combined with original holistic-truth oriented prose and/or poetry involving mindfulness/awareness. I love nature and I love understanding the whole (not merely the parts and the details). I'm a retired teacher of the multiply handicapped.
I have a number of interesting hobbies, such as fossil collecting, sport-kite flying, 3D and 2D close-up photography, holography, and pets. Most of all, I am into holistic self-awareness, spontaneous insight, unconventional observation/direct perception, mindfulness, meditation, world peace, non-fragmentation, population control, vegetarianism, and green energy.
To follow my unique Blog of "Nature Photos and Mindfulness Sayings" and for RSS feeds to my new posts, please access at: tom8pie.com (On my regular Blog posting pages, for additional information and to follow, simply click on the "tack icon" at the upper right corner... or, on my profile page, you can click on the "Thomas Peace" icon.)
Stay mindful, understanding, and caring!...
Yes, this is a priceless and beautiful creature which we fear will not exist much longer thanks to man’s unkind treatment of Mother Earth. You cannot merely vacuum away the travesty that we have heaped on nature, from our smallest creatures to the beautiful whales we are seeing beached and dead. What have we done – it is too late now for hand-wringing and shoulda/coulda/woulda. What a beautiful photo Tom. P.S. – Detroit had the 3rd highest “smoke pollution” on the planet on Monday. Shaking my head.
So sorry, Linda, about the terrible smoke pollution in and around the Detroit area. Like i recently mentioned in your blog, the birds have absconded (with virtually none to be seen in our area). Very weird indeed. And Trump (kissing Fossil Fuel’s ass) is wanting to destroy weather satellites that may show how manmade climate change is destroying the planet. Insane!
I am sad about the lack of birds and butterflies around here Tom. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Botanical Gardens, along with a perennial garden at Heritage Park to get some photos of butterflies. The Botanical Gardens has many plants – no butterflies, nor hummingbirds. I saw one Swallowtail butterfly that day at the Coneflowers in the perennial garden. Very sad. Our wildfire smoke issues have improved today and now we have heat and humidity … the heat is probably not welcomed by the birds as they’ve suffered through many above-90 degree days so far this Summer. It’s all so sad about what we are doing, yet denying it, causing climate change. Countries with moderate heat are sweltering … Finland for example. We’re “cooked” literally and figuratively!
How sad, Linda, that you didn’t see much at the botanical gardens, but i’m not surprised; that’s the way things are around here too. The good thing about the high heat is that birds have a normal body temperature of 103 degrees… so they like heat. After all, they actually are a type of dinosaur, and they largely evolved in very hot and humid jungle-like environments. Hopefully things will eventually get better, but, in the mean time, we better hold our breath (out-door-wise).
Here I was thinking the birds were in dire straits due to the heat … that is good then. The strangest thing happened to me today Tom, so I have to share it with you. I intended to go out to a bigger park today – the car needed a run and there was no air quality alert today, but at 8:00 a.m. when I was ready to leave, it was 75 degrees and 93% humidity. By the time I’d get home it would be noon and a real feel of almost 90 … no thank you. But I did take the car for a six-mile spin and when I came home and got out of the car to open the garage door, a Red Spotted Purple Butterfly landed near the gas tank. I didn’t have my camera on me – too bad as it was perfect, no tatters, just looked like velvet and stayed there a good two minutes (of course, the entire time I was weighing running into the house and grabbing the camera) … it was like that Cabbage White, posing so nicely. It finally flitted away. We have a very hot weekend in store … I am going to hold off going out and next week we have rain at some point Monday through Friday. I see the long-term weather for Winter is for more precip (rain/snow … freezing rain … oh joy). Better enjoy Fall.
I, just the other day, got a new carport. Thank goodness… at 73, I am tired of scrapping tons of ice and snow off of the car and off of other parts of the car.
Well congratulations Tom because I’m sure you’ll appreciate if the gloom-and-doom Winter weather forecast is correct. I know you use your garage for your aquariums, or used to at one time. I have an attached garage, but I can’t access it from the house. Last Winter we had so much ice and my sidewalks and driveway were icy, since I go outside every day to run the car in the Winter (and most days), I made a little path to the garage from the side door with the melting pellets so I didn’t wipe out. I did that for the mailman and told him to go through the garden for the mail or just hold it – most of it is junk anyway. I’ve gone paperless for everything now, so I rarely get legitimate mail nowadays.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Beautiful butterfly shot!
Thank you! They sure are dwindling in numbers lately.
Yes, this is a priceless and beautiful creature which we fear will not exist much longer thanks to man’s unkind treatment of Mother Earth. You cannot merely vacuum away the travesty that we have heaped on nature, from our smallest creatures to the beautiful whales we are seeing beached and dead. What have we done – it is too late now for hand-wringing and shoulda/coulda/woulda. What a beautiful photo Tom. P.S. – Detroit had the 3rd highest “smoke pollution” on the planet on Monday. Shaking my head.
So sorry, Linda, about the terrible smoke pollution in and around the Detroit area. Like i recently mentioned in your blog, the birds have absconded (with virtually none to be seen in our area). Very weird indeed. And Trump (kissing Fossil Fuel’s ass) is wanting to destroy weather satellites that may show how manmade climate change is destroying the planet. Insane!
I am sad about the lack of birds and butterflies around here Tom. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Botanical Gardens, along with a perennial garden at Heritage Park to get some photos of butterflies. The Botanical Gardens has many plants – no butterflies, nor hummingbirds. I saw one Swallowtail butterfly that day at the Coneflowers in the perennial garden. Very sad. Our wildfire smoke issues have improved today and now we have heat and humidity … the heat is probably not welcomed by the birds as they’ve suffered through many above-90 degree days so far this Summer. It’s all so sad about what we are doing, yet denying it, causing climate change. Countries with moderate heat are sweltering … Finland for example. We’re “cooked” literally and figuratively!
How sad, Linda, that you didn’t see much at the botanical gardens, but i’m not surprised; that’s the way things are around here too. The good thing about the high heat is that birds have a normal body temperature of 103 degrees… so they like heat. After all, they actually are a type of dinosaur, and they largely evolved in very hot and humid jungle-like environments. Hopefully things will eventually get better, but, in the mean time, we better hold our breath (out-door-wise).
Here I was thinking the birds were in dire straits due to the heat … that is good then. The strangest thing happened to me today Tom, so I have to share it with you. I intended to go out to a bigger park today – the car needed a run and there was no air quality alert today, but at 8:00 a.m. when I was ready to leave, it was 75 degrees and 93% humidity. By the time I’d get home it would be noon and a real feel of almost 90 … no thank you. But I did take the car for a six-mile spin and when I came home and got out of the car to open the garage door, a Red Spotted Purple Butterfly landed near the gas tank. I didn’t have my camera on me – too bad as it was perfect, no tatters, just looked like velvet and stayed there a good two minutes (of course, the entire time I was weighing running into the house and grabbing the camera) … it was like that Cabbage White, posing so nicely. It finally flitted away. We have a very hot weekend in store … I am going to hold off going out and next week we have rain at some point Monday through Friday. I see the long-term weather for Winter is for more precip (rain/snow … freezing rain … oh joy). Better enjoy Fall.
I, just the other day, got a new carport. Thank goodness… at 73, I am tired of scrapping tons of ice and snow off of the car and off of other parts of the car.
Well congratulations Tom because I’m sure you’ll appreciate if the gloom-and-doom Winter weather forecast is correct. I know you use your garage for your aquariums, or used to at one time. I have an attached garage, but I can’t access it from the house. Last Winter we had so much ice and my sidewalks and driveway were icy, since I go outside every day to run the car in the Winter (and most days), I made a little path to the garage from the side door with the melting pellets so I didn’t wipe out. I did that for the mailman and told him to go through the garden for the mail or just hold it – most of it is junk anyway. I’ve gone paperless for everything now, so I rarely get legitimate mail nowadays.
Very interesting conversation.
And a beautiful pic.
Thank you, Mr. Retired Man! I too am retired and, fortunately, there’s no going back. 😉