No worries, Karen. I appreciate your efforts. The eclipse was rained out here and also in the state where my granddaughter lives. (She has telescope.) It was nt meant to be this time.
Thank you Nancy and Mim….here is brief explanation of Blood Moon.
“The so-called blood moon happens during a total lunar eclipse. At that time, the Earth passes in between the sun and the moon, and blocks the sun's light from falling directly onto the moon. Instead, the moon receives a little light from the edges of Earth's atmosphere, which turns the light (and the moon's surface) red. Skywatchers who have witnessed a total lunar eclipse will understand why it is called the blood moon.”
Pero no! Yo vivo en Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But my wife and I have travelled to Spain. and we are yearning for a return visit. It is breathtakingly beautiful in so many ways.
Got our kayaks out as well today for a leisurely venture on a local river west of Boston. Saw a resident pair of bald eagles at their nest (high in a pine tree) with their 2 (large) babies. A couple of pairs of swans and always the geese (one pair with the first babies of the season). Perfect weather and always cathartic! The problems in the world just fade away for a while.
What a beautiful medusa. I've spent the day in Petaluma, CA reviewing plankton data. I am fortunate to work at the Bodega Marine Lab, right on the Pacific Ocean, where the environment in all its beauty sustains me. Have a good weekend.
Golly, I spent time at that lab! What a wonderful environment. Spent nights in the dines watching the moon and stars! I loved it and must get back.. from Australia?
Thank you. I just started reading this newsletter a few weeks ago, and I find it is enriching in a very special way. Heather has a way of presenting incendiary topics that can be understood without throwing a chair through the window. Not that I am a violent person or anything.
Actually when I find a fly in my kitchen a guide to fly out the back door because I think of the song Never swat a fly, he could be a friendly guy. Anyhow I really like this newsletter.
Your 'temptation' is justified. Michelle Obama misled us in saying 'When they go low, we go high.' Look where that is getting us with abortion rights, voting rights, and gun control all under attack. When one fighter wears boxing gloves and the other uses their bare fists, which do you think wins? Time to take off our gloves.
The ability to restore those values should they be lost! That's what is worth fighting for. In any revolution, it is the zealots, those who remain true to their values, who get shot down first. Those who are willing to adapt to changing conditions can survive and eventually restore those lost values. A friend, seeing my comment, quoted Sean Connery in 'the Untouchables' saying that 'when someone comes after you with a gun, you get a bigger gun.'
Aurelia aurita- or moon jelly - that was the classic jellyfish that we were taught about in invertebrate biology. And they seem to have been here for many tens of millions of years. Unlike Homo semi-sapiens.
Thank you HCR for your photo while floating, and for your scholarship and synthesis of America's zigzagging in the precious Letter delivered to each subscriber six days a week.
On Living
Nazim Hikmet - 1902-1963
Living is no laughing matter:
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example—
I mean without looking for something beyond and above living,
I mean living must be your whole occupation.
Living is no laughing matter:
you must take it seriously,
so much so and to such a degree
that, for example, your hands tied behind your back,
your back to the wall,
or else in a laboratory
in your white coat and safety glasses,
you can die for people—
even for people whose faces you've never seen,
even though you know living
is the most real, the most beautiful thing.
I mean, you must take living so seriously
that even at seventy, for example, you'll plant olive trees—
and not for your children, either,
but because although you fear death you don't believe it,
because living, I mean, weighs heavier.
II
Let's say we're seriously ill, need surgery—
which is to say we might not get up
from the white table.
Even though it's impossible not to feel sad
about going a little too soon,
we'll still laugh at the jokes being told,
we'll look out the window to see if it's raining,
or still wait anxiously
for the latest newscast. . .
Let's say we're at the front—
for something worth fighting for, say.
There, in the first offensive, on that very day,
we might fall on our face, dead.
We'll know this with a curious anger,
but we'll still worry ourselves to death
about the outcome of the war, which could last years.
Nazim Hikmet was born in 1902 in Salonika, Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloníki, Greece). The first modern Turkish poet, he is recognized around the world as one of the great international poets of the twentieth century.
You are so deserving of this beautiful time with Nature. There is nothing more peaceful. Have a good night. We appreciate everything you share with us.
Boy, have I felt that a few times in my life. I guess we're (my husband and me) not alone in appreciating the simpler joys in life. Rest well. Thanks for your diligence and vision.
Good job professor. I have learned from you, that history is measured in years, decades, and centuries. But life, i know, is enjoyed by the day.
Yes, Lynn!
Life’s joys are savored by the day,
its magic by the minute,
its bliss by the second,
its wonders by the hour.
One sweet moment in a day
fills the heart,
soothes the mind,
ignites new ways of knowing!
Thank you, Heather, for this speckled canvas of life!
What touching words. They would look lovely inscribed on Heather Cox Richardson's photograph in "Classic Chinese Scroll" style.
Well said, and an excellent reminder!
Love this - perfect!
Lynn, Beautifully stated and, admittedly, a realization I struggle to maintain at a time when no matter how much I try to do it never seems enough.
Take time to smell the roses you know.
Actually, we now need to take time to nurture the roses.
Precisely Lynn. Hence why gardening is so fulfilling.
And sunflowers 🌻
👌❤
Nicely said :)
You are so diligent and important. You deserve more days off than you take.
I love how by example, you give us permission to take some time off to perform restorative activities and get restful sleep 😍
Thank you Heather! What a beautiful photo of the jellyfish. I’m glad you were able to get out on the kayak on a beautiful day.
Yes--but don't forget: tomorrow is the Blood Moon and you'll have to stay up till 11:30 to witness it.
Here in the Pacific Northwest the blood moon is supposed to rise just before sunset. Should be amazing And the sky might be clear🙏
Send us a photo, please!
I certainly will!
Sorry it looks like my photo link won’t open. I will keep trying.
No worries, Karen. I appreciate your efforts. The eclipse was rained out here and also in the state where my granddaughter lives. (She has telescope.) It was nt meant to be this time.
And maybe not! I’m not very tech savvy
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/9e/14/A27A7878-1BF4-4621-9010-073540EAC229/IMG_0829.heic
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/34/04/04511F0D-F74E-48B8-B711-A668C404CE80/IMG_0830.HEIC
Maybe this will work. The pictures don’t do it justice though
IMG_0833.jpg
Sent from my iPhone
In Brussels the full eclipse is at 05:50. Will I get up to see it, or will the clouds get there first?
I plan to here in Spain
There will be rain in Maine. But please enjoy in Spain. 😅
Certainly on the Spanish Plains, hehehe
Might...
Might is right! But hope springs eternal.
Sadly, our sky will be cloudy but I can imagine it, see photos and we need the rain.
Yay!
And there will be a total eclipse.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/13/world/total-lunar-eclipse-may-2022-scn/index.html
The eclipse will turn the Flower Moon into a Blood Moon.
https://www.space.com/39238-full-moon-names.html
Thank you Nancy and Mim….here is brief explanation of Blood Moon.
“The so-called blood moon happens during a total lunar eclipse. At that time, the Earth passes in between the sun and the moon, and blocks the sun's light from falling directly onto the moon. Instead, the moon receives a little light from the edges of Earth's atmosphere, which turns the light (and the moon's surface) red. Skywatchers who have witnessed a total lunar eclipse will understand why it is called the blood moon.”
And in about a half hour the ISS will fly over Portland, OR. 🛰
I will head outside. I’m in Hood River about 60 miles east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge. Hopefully I can see it
I love the area where you live!
Thank you Gailee! I love it too.
I just saw on another post that you live in Spain! I have always wanted to go there. From what I’ve seen in pictures and movies it looks beautiful!
Pero no! Yo vivo en Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But my wife and I have travelled to Spain. and we are yearning for a return visit. It is breathtakingly beautiful in so many ways.
Jackson Hole is beautiful too. I used to live in Idaho and went there often. I love the Tetons!
The cloud cover is too thick😿
Got our kayaks out as well today for a leisurely venture on a local river west of Boston. Saw a resident pair of bald eagles at their nest (high in a pine tree) with their 2 (large) babies. A couple of pairs of swans and always the geese (one pair with the first babies of the season). Perfect weather and always cathartic! The problems in the world just fade away for a while.
What a beautiful medusa. I've spent the day in Petaluma, CA reviewing plankton data. I am fortunate to work at the Bodega Marine Lab, right on the Pacific Ocean, where the environment in all its beauty sustains me. Have a good weekend.
Bodega Bay…camped many a time on the dunes. Are you a marine biologist, Marian?
Marine ecologist, yes. The dunes are a great place to camp, sometimes restricted these days, though, because the endangered Snowy Plover nests there.
Those birds are so very cool. May they fully recover. 🙏🏻
Haven’t been there in many years but I do admire your work.
Golly, I spent time at that lab! What a wonderful environment. Spent nights in the dines watching the moon and stars! I loved it and must get back.. from Australia?
Thank you. I just started reading this newsletter a few weeks ago, and I find it is enriching in a very special way. Heather has a way of presenting incendiary topics that can be understood without throwing a chair through the window. Not that I am a violent person or anything.
Actually when I find a fly in my kitchen a guide to fly out the back door because I think of the song Never swat a fly, he could be a friendly guy. Anyhow I really like this newsletter.
I’m not violent either, but current events (and past ones) are tempting me to move that way … <exasperated sigh>
Your 'temptation' is justified. Michelle Obama misled us in saying 'When they go low, we go high.' Look where that is getting us with abortion rights, voting rights, and gun control all under attack. When one fighter wears boxing gloves and the other uses their bare fists, which do you think wins? Time to take off our gloves.
If we stop living our values, what is left that is worth fighting for?
The ability to restore those values should they be lost! That's what is worth fighting for. In any revolution, it is the zealots, those who remain true to their values, who get shot down first. Those who are willing to adapt to changing conditions can survive and eventually restore those lost values. A friend, seeing my comment, quoted Sean Connery in 'the Untouchables' saying that 'when someone comes after you with a gun, you get a bigger gun.'
It's a movie! Written by Hollywood writers. Not where I get advice for living.
Welcome, Philip. Nice to have you and the would-be friendly flies here with us in Heather’s master classroom.
Aurelia aurita- or moon jelly - that was the classic jellyfish that we were taught about in invertebrate biology. And they seem to have been here for many tens of millions of years. Unlike Homo semi-sapiens.
Haha! Semi-sapiens!
Jellies are so hypnotic. Enjoy the calm.
Thank you HCR for your photo while floating, and for your scholarship and synthesis of America's zigzagging in the precious Letter delivered to each subscriber six days a week.
On Living
Nazim Hikmet - 1902-1963
Living is no laughing matter:
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example—
I mean without looking for something beyond and above living,
I mean living must be your whole occupation.
Living is no laughing matter:
you must take it seriously,
so much so and to such a degree
that, for example, your hands tied behind your back,
your back to the wall,
or else in a laboratory
in your white coat and safety glasses,
you can die for people—
even for people whose faces you've never seen,
even though you know living
is the most real, the most beautiful thing.
I mean, you must take living so seriously
that even at seventy, for example, you'll plant olive trees—
and not for your children, either,
but because although you fear death you don't believe it,
because living, I mean, weighs heavier.
II
Let's say we're seriously ill, need surgery—
which is to say we might not get up
from the white table.
Even though it's impossible not to feel sad
about going a little too soon,
we'll still laugh at the jokes being told,
we'll look out the window to see if it's raining,
or still wait anxiously
for the latest newscast. . .
Let's say we're at the front—
for something worth fighting for, say.
There, in the first offensive, on that very day,
we might fall on our face, dead.
We'll know this with a curious anger,
but we'll still worry ourselves to death
about the outcome of the war, which could last years.
Let's say we're in prison
and close to fifty,
and we have eighteen more years, say,
before the iron doors will open.
We'll still live with the outside,
with its people and animals, struggle and wind—
I mean with the outside beyond the walls.
I mean, however and wherever we are,
we must live as if we will never die.
III
This earth will grow cold,
a star among stars
and one of the smallest,
a gilded mote on blue velvet—
I mean this, our great earth.
This earth will grow cold one day,
not like a block of ice
or a dead cloud even
but like an empty walnut it will roll along
in pitch-black space . . .
You must grieve for this right now
—you have to feel this sorrow now—
for the world must be loved this much
if you're going to say "I lived". . .
From Poems of Nazim Hikmet, translated by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk, published by Persea Books. Copyright © 1994 by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk. Used with the permission of Persea Books. All rights reserved.
Nazim Hikmet was born in 1902 in Salonika, Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloníki, Greece). The first modern Turkish poet, he is recognized around the world as one of the great international poets of the twentieth century.
Wow, Fern. That is amazing.
Christine, My vision today is Black. It started in Buffalo and continued with the U.S.' massacres of Black People and Native Americans. Some music,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQww3HeL8M4
I hear you and Otis loud and clear. A lot of my research time lately is being spent on a current agenda to, not just change, but get rid of public education. Any interested in digging “not so deep anymore” can glean some interesting facts regarding the “classical education” takeover. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/135-everything-old-is-new-again/id1080145136?i=1000559696164
It’s from Have You Heard podcast app.
“ You must grieve for this right now
—you have to feel this sorrow now—
for the world must be loved this much
if you're going to say I ‘lived’. . .”
Powerful. Thank you for sharing Hikmet’s bittersweet advice, Dear Fern. Here’s to the serious living and grieving.
…caring, supporting and giving... Salud, to you AshleyR.
Thank you, Fern. The poem is perfect. We cannot go numb or let our hearts turn to stone. Very grateful.
You are so deserving of this beautiful time with Nature. There is nothing more peaceful. Have a good night. We appreciate everything you share with us.
The jellyfish is so delicate it seems impossible in this same world there could be such a thing as humans at war…
I agree.
Thank you Heather. Taking time to connect with what matters is important.
You deserve a night off. Thanks for all your good work.
Boy, have I felt that a few times in my life. I guess we're (my husband and me) not alone in appreciating the simpler joys in life. Rest well. Thanks for your diligence and vision.