Enjoying Nature

This is one of those "Zen" kind of posts... not much is going on and yet a lot is going on.

When I leave the house for work in the morning I see the most beautiful sight on my way down the steps. Our hibiscus plants bloom most enthusiastically first thing in the morning and then diminish as the day goes on, only to burst open again the next morning. But on weekdays I'm always rushing, so it falls to the weekend to capture this parade of colors.

**click on any photograph to see it enlarged**

The view coming down the steps.

The view taken through the kitchen window.

Looking through the kitchen window to the left to the deck...

... and my tomatoes :-)

The view through the kitchen window to the right.

I'm not the only one to enjoy this view. Here's Obi...

... and Chappu (bad lighting)...

... and Calvin.

After getting close up I noticed the bees were very busy collecting pollen.

I love the smooth interior of the flower. If I were a bug I'd curl up on bottom against that smooth surface and take a nap.

The pink hibiscus looks so exotic.

They make the bees look pink too.

Blossoms and buds.

Look inside the bottom two buds.

The pre-blossom structure looks like a green pepper.

Nature is not only beautiful in it's full blossoming glory; it can also be beautiful in its destruction thanks to some artistic worms and caterpillars.

Notice the wetness on the leaf from the dew that dripped down from the hibiscus flower above.

This is what remains after the flower wilts and falls.

The former beauty queens litter our sidewalk.

Such is the cycle of life.

For more Zen meditative viewing...

She's Back

Teddie's back for a little while. :-)

Book Club

Last night we met to discuss "The Camel Bookmobile." The story is fictional but based on reality (see video below.) The book itself was good but not great. The author wrote on a middle school to high school level (a great book for a teacher to have her students read) and didn't flesh out her characters well enough, but the story was definitely interesting and initiated much conversation about how we seem to like to impose our western ideals on other cultures for "their own good." I know several friends who have gone to countries in Africa and Central America to do "good" deeds only to find that their services were not needed, not understood, and not helpful. We decided that if someone wants to be helpful it needs to be based on the recipient's needs (not what we think they need) and within the their cultural boundaries. That being said, we (all of us book lovers) agreed that bringing books to any one is a good thing!!

Tomato Update

If you're tired of hearing about my tomatoes then at least go to the bottom photograph to appreciate the cute little black bug. Early on only the grape tomatoes were ripening (and yum, are they good) but now the larger "Stupice" tomatoes are ready to eat as well.

Remember, this heirloom tomato from Czechoslovakia is pronounced "stew-peach-ka" not "stoop-is"! They are actually quite small for regular tomatoes. The tag did mention that they are small but I envisioned something bigger than this. I'm not complaining as long as they taste good.

~a cluster of grape tomatoes with two ready for eating~

Obviously it had rained.

Here's my little cute black bug.

It looks like he is wearing a raindrop on his right antenna, but I think the drop is probably clinging to the hibiscus petal. Can you imagine trying to walk between two big piles of water as tall as you are?

Sharing The Laughter

For some reason this German weather woman losing it on live TV makes me laugh every time I watch it. The only thing that goes wrong is that the anchorman is accidentally flashed up on her screen instead of the weather map, but that's all it takes for her to get tickled...

Amazing Animal Photographs

Friends and family know of my love for the natural world and more specifically animals. I often get forwards of beautiful/funny/cute animals photos and I enjoy them immensely. Here are a few from my sister. I admit to screening out some of the "animal eating animal" pics - as wonderful as the photography is the reality of nature is sometimes more harsh than I can stomach - but included a couple. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

Do you think this one was manipulated? I think so.

This one too?

I love inter-species nurturing.

The Travelers

I just want to remind my family that if they're interested in seeing what my sister and brother-in-law have been doing this summer they should go to this link. The photo above comes from their travel blog. America the beautiful.