“The earliest truth that we're taught is that there's a world alongside this world, with spirits, not mortals, an enchanted universe of fairies, wizards, leprechauns and trolls. They are all around us. One has only to open his eyes.” — William Holman Hunt
Zebra Question
by Shel Silverstein
I asked the zebra
Are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Or you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again.
"Painted Dogs, also known as African Wild Dogs, are unique to Africa and they are among this continent's most endangered species. It is estimated that less than 7,000 remain in the wild. The Painted Dog population in Zimbabwe is one of the last strongholds of the species..." -- Painted Dog Conservation
“A true confession: I believe in a soluble fish.”
― Charles Simic, The Unemployed Fortune-Teller: Essays and Memoirs
For unusual I’m going with the flower towers from beautiful Glacier Gardens of Juneau, Alaska. These are toppled trees that are planted upside down and turned into giant hanging flower baskets.
“Alaska itself is an unusual state.” — Fareed Zakaria
"Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans have been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest, living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment." --Jane Goodall
"One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun." — Jane Goodall
"Madagascar’s beloved ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) have all but disappeared from many of the island nation’s forests. According to two worrying new studies, the species’ population has fallen to between 2,000 and 2,400 animals — a shocking 95 percent decrease since the year 2000. To put that number in context, there are now fewer ring-tailed lemurs living in the wild than there are living in zoos around the world. Factors driving the decline include rapid habitat loss, hunting, and the illegal pet trade, according to a paper published last month in the journal Primate Conservation and a second paper published today in Folia Primatologica." -- Scientific American
"Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium.
There is no life without water." — Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
THE FLAMINGOS.
Jardin des Plantes, Paris
By Rainer Maria Rilke
(translated by Len Krisak)
In Fragonard-reflections such as these,
one sees no more of true flamingo red
or white than if some messenger had said
about the image of his lover, “She’s
still soft with sleep.” For when they’ve walked green grass,
and stood together, lightly turned on pink
stalks—blooms in flower beds—they seem to think
themselves seductive; that their charms surpass
a Phryne’s . . . till they curl their necks to hide
pale eyes in softness all their own (inside,
there lie concealed both berry-red and black).
Then, through the bird-house: envy’s sudden scream.
But they have stretched the wings that were pinned back,
and stride, alone, into the world of dream.
Maverick Mist 