A thing of beauty is a joy forever;Its loveliness increases;
It will never pass into nothingness;
But still will keep a bower quiet for us,
And a sleep full of sweet dreams,
And health, and quiet breathing.
~John Yeats
Endymion
Of Note: Mt. Merapi--meaning mountain of fire-- erupted this week on the Indonesian island of Java. According to Javanese, the mountain is home to a spiritual kingdom, and eruptions are attributed to offending the spirits. Sadly, the spiritual gatekeeper of the volcano, Mbah (Grandfather) Maridjan, will no longer be around to appease them because he was killed in the recent blast. His charred body was found in an attitude of prayer when rescuers went looking. Maridjan was appointed by the Sultan of the local province in 1983 and said of his work: "My job is to stop lava from flowing down. Let the volcano breathe, but not cough." In recent years, he has said that the spirits are unhappy with the destruction of forests and quarrying on the mountain. With his death at the hands of the revered volcano, the local villagers are preparing to choose the next gatekeeper soon. Mt. Merapi erupted following an earthquake that measured 7.7 on the Richter Scale and send a 10 foot tsunami to land killing hundreds. Could it be the spiritual kingdom high on the mountain is telling us something? Many Indonesians would interpret the signs thusly.
Today's Weather Report: The sun is shining and puffy clouds dot the blue sky. Even though it's only 20 something degrees Fahrenheit, the illusion of warmth is there. I have been sucked in before, though. Thus, when going outside, I will be well covered from head to toe. Yesterday our male dog, who is now at least 100 pounds, ran off--twice--only to be brought home by the next door neighbor. Mind you, the "next door neighbor" lives about a mile away. The second time he ran, we were quite upset with him and just as my husband was preparing to go find him, the neighbor brought him back. Later in the day, the neighbor emailed to say that her 97-year old Mom, who lives next door as well, became ill and had to be transported by ambulance to the hospital. On that second run, Chewy gave her Mom a solid, wet kiss as the paramedics were loading her in the ambulance. Ma Cech only told her daughter this later--and asked her to email us with a Thank You! With that email, the wayward pooch was vindicated, at least for the day. By the way, this is not a picture of Mt. Merapi, rather it is the Maroon Bells of Colorado USA taken by my talented sister, Marie.
Today's Weather Report: The sun is shining and puffy clouds dot the blue sky. Even though it's only 20 something degrees Fahrenheit, the illusion of warmth is there. I have been sucked in before, though. Thus, when going outside, I will be well covered from head to toe. Yesterday our male dog, who is now at least 100 pounds, ran off--twice--only to be brought home by the next door neighbor. Mind you, the "next door neighbor" lives about a mile away. The second time he ran, we were quite upset with him and just as my husband was preparing to go find him, the neighbor brought him back. Later in the day, the neighbor emailed to say that her 97-year old Mom, who lives next door as well, became ill and had to be transported by ambulance to the hospital. On that second run, Chewy gave her Mom a solid, wet kiss as the paramedics were loading her in the ambulance. Ma Cech only told her daughter this later--and asked her to email us with a Thank You! With that email, the wayward pooch was vindicated, at least for the day. By the way, this is not a picture of Mt. Merapi, rather it is the Maroon Bells of Colorado USA taken by my talented sister, Marie.
