In my beginning is my end. — T.S. Eliot
[Note: While photographing this Monarch caterpillar, it noticed the camera and suddenly went from high activity and movement to total stillness. More of us would be better off by letting total stillness — of the mind — occur more often (even though it is not merely an occurrence and has nothing to do with time or effort).]
Monarch Caterpillar … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Once there was a very rich man who, every time he saw people in need, would quickly pass them by, saying, “Sorry, I don’t help strangers.”
Then, over a short span of time, the man lost everything. When he reached out for help, the first person who passed him by mumbled, “Sorry, I don’t help strangers.”
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There was a man who, every time he looked up, worried about what was down… and every time he looked down, worried about what was up.
He suddenly died.
They buried him way down in the ground, facing up of course.
Monarch Butterfly on Cone Flower … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Originally posted on charles french words reading and writing: Given the horrors of the mass shootings over the weekend, clearly inspired by bigotry, white nationalism, and racism, I decided to use this post again. (https://en.wikipedia.org) In 1935, Sinclair Lewis, in It Can’t Happen Here, spoke to the idea that many Americans held that fascism could…
via It Can Happen Here: Revisited — Becoming is Superior to Being
A kind of postmortem examination
was done on him
long before his actual physical death
because unfortunately,
his brain became quite un-alive
after the innocent age of childhood.
Miseducation, brainwashing commercials,
propaganda-oriented news networks,
and being satisfied with remaining
in one dull routine after another
all contributed to his cadaverous pseudo-existence.
He often watches television and, of course, likes sports.
However, the little birds who nest in his yard
have far more compassion and life than he ever did.
Red House Finch Eggs … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Earth’s glaciers are shrinking five times faster than they were in the 1960s.
The United States used more energy in 2018 than ever before, partly because Americans drove more: 3.225 trillion miles, 12.2 billion more than 2017.
Wolves return to the Netherlands after an absence of 140 years.
A suspected rhino poacher in South Africa is trampled to death by an elephant, then eaten by lions.
The last time Earth’s atmosphere had as much carbon dioxide as it does today, there were trees growing near the South Pole.
Thawing ice on Alaska’s Denali is exposing the 66 tons of feces left by generations of mountain climbers.
Sea level rise has cost property owners on the East and Gulf Coasts more than $16 billion since 2005.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah says that the solution to climate change is to “fall in love, get married, and have some kids.”
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swede who inspired the Youth Climate Strike, is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The stomachs of dead whales found in the Philippines and Italy are full of plastic trash.
Scientists discover a new species of orca of southern Chile — “The largest undescribed animal left on the planet.”
Trump’s proposed federal budget would cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 31 percent.
Composite photographer Nick Brandt, whose profound works show how nature in the world is quickly dying away due to man’s indifference, says, “My motivation is my anger and despair at what we are losing, that the human race is sleepwalking its way to oblivion.”
Lacewing Insect … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Walking just walking along
gingerly and slowly swaying
waltzing alien-like from leaf to leaf
Stalking just stalking along
stick-like & Oh so lean
happily wondering whom next i can eat
Suddenly out of nowhere
a huge ominous creature appears
thrusting a blackish lens-thing right up to me
In a flash, I quickly leap away
and am so very glad
that the huge hideous creature didn’t eat me
[Note: This photo was taken about a month ago. This was the first Praying Mantis that i’ve seen this summer; it was young, just around 3cm long. And, yes — with blackish lens-thing macro camera in hand — i am the ominous, hideous creature. (You must admit, we ominous, hideous creatures are pretty huge.)]
Young Praying Mantis (praying that I don’t eat him) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
The ecstasy in the green luscious garden
flaps its wings in harmony
pert antennae sensing all the smells
in the rapture beyond the kitchen window
Lovely colors moving all around
flower to flower endlessly
cares not a bit about the past
or what the future might just be
Rubbing stamen amongst the stigma
in a style Oh so clean
purity in every blossom
here between the trees and golden honeybees
Collecting nectar sweet and no antiques
living fresh in every moment
time’s illusion not for me
beyond the world’s vast confusion
Ecstasy in the Green Luscious Garden … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
