Tag Archives: Quote

One Man's Paradise

Black and White

I see the world in black and white,
and I don’t like compromising.

Greta Thunburg

I wonder how Greta is doing these days. It must be exhausting to believe so strongly in a cause and being ignored by most. There is a quote by her saying “Why study if there is no future?”. She and others believe we are at the beginning of a mass extinction caused by climate change (and possibly other human-inflicted causes). The warmest June on record, continued deforestation… Do I need to go on?

I am with the “Enjoy it while you can crowd”. Living in a large state, that imports most goods from the lower 48s, produces a big chunk of American crude oil, and has no recycling capabilities, it is not easy to be green. Our summer seems within the norm. Big swaths of mosquitoes, tons of wildflowers, bluebird days followed by dramatic skies, drizzle and the occasional torrential downpour.

Human nature is not black and white
but black and grey.

Graham Greene
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One Man's Paradise

Where to Stand

A good photograph is knowing where to stand.

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams created iconic landscape images by choosing great locations, waiting for the right light and realizing his vision in the darkroom.

I have found one of his locations that I can visit daily: Wonder Lake and Denali from Reflection Pond. So I am awaiting patiently for the weather gods to provide a great frame for the mountain and the lake.

My darkroom is digital.

Here is version 1.

P.S. – Knowing where to stand applies also to other aspects in life, especially morals and ethics.It seems many politicians and their ardent followers appear lost…

P.P.S. – No AI was used in the making of this photograph.

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One Man's Paradise

Midnight Sun №2

How beautiful the silent hour, when morning and evening thus sit together, hand in hand, beneath the starless sky of midnight!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a prolific American writer, who traveled extensively to Europe, to study languages and literature. He was fluent in German, French, Spanish and Italian. His own poetry was translated into 27 languages. It always amazes me how much art and traditions of other cultures we miss by not speaking their language or having a well-crafted translation.

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Inside Out

Shake it off

There is a tree outside of our house still has leaves clinging to its branches. The leaves are dry and a dull brown, or bright orange in the right light. There have been winter advisories with high winds, freezing nights, rain and sunshine. Nothing has convinced the leaves to go on their final journey and return to the ground.

It’s a new year, 2023. I feel like this old tree. Can’t let go of the old. The new green is not there, yet.

I know.

“Hit the reset button. Whatever happened yesterday, forget about it. Get a new perspective. Today is a new day. Fresh start, begins now.”
―

Germany Kent

How is your start in the New Year?

Cheers

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One Man's Paradise

Dawn To Dusk

“As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air.

William O. Douglas

In the morning light the tree in front of our house appears bright orange, in the evening it’s the sky.

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Quote

Nothing

Cliff Dwellings, NM

I produce nothing but words. I consume nothing but food, a little propane, a little firewood.

By being virtually useless in the calculations of the culture at large I become useful, at last, to myself.

Fire Season, Philip Connors

Those are my feelings these days. Visitors are thanking me for volunteering. I say, you can volunteer, too.

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Inside Out

Let’s Plant a Tree

The true meaning of life

is to plant trees,

under whose shade

you do not expect to sit.

Nelson Henderson

I am not pretending to know the meaning of life, but the quote by Nelson Henderson reminded me of recent acts of kindness that I have experienced. This post goes to all people that have opened their home, fed and supported me unselfishly.

More than ever, this is the time to think about and act having our less blessed neighbors, close by and far away, and future generations in mind. We indeed need to plant trees and take other measures to ensure the well-being of our Planet.

Nelson Henderson was a WWI veteran and a farmer in Manitoba. Apparently he was not a man of big words. Nevertheless, the above quote from his biography “UNDER WHOSE SHADE: A STORY OF A PIONEER IN THE SWAN RIVER VALLEY OF MANITOBA” by his son Wes Henderson speaks to us loud and clear.

One of my favorite books is “So let’s plant an apple tree. The time has come.” by Hoimar von Ditfurth. The author proposes humanity as incapable of recognizing its own behavior as the cause of the threat to our environment and of changing course. I tend to agree with the author, although I wish otherwise…

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Inside Out

Of seeds and deeds

Poppy

“Don’t judge each day

by the harvest you reap

but by the seeds that you plant.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

Just fishing here. I didn’t help an old lady across the street today and I didn’t plant any seeds today because it’s way too cold for that. Oh, that’s not what you meant, Bob?

Well, I am still very much in hiding. We are now talking about the fourth wave coming at us. What good deeds could I do in light of that? Haven’t moved my car in a month, brought my own shopping bags, walked to the grocery store and library, didn’t buy any chicken or red meat… Will it make a difference? No.

Those poppies in our front yard got me dressed the other day. First, the seedpods were covered in fresh snow, but I could not get a good shot of that. Over time the snow flakes bonded and formed crystals in and around the seed pods. The poppy pictured above looks to me like a blossom again.

Happy planting.

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