Apologize

Random Quote #112

When asked to explain her state: “The only dream worth having is to live while you’re alive, and die only when you’re dead.” She said,

“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated, or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch; to try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.”

~ Arundhati Roy, 1959 -

Quake Update 01

I've blogged about quakes here often lately. It's been an unusual year for seismic activity. First, there was the devastating 7.0 Mw Earthquake with it's epicentre near the town of Léogâne, Haiti on January 12, 2010 which was followed by weeks and weeks of aftershocks (really only ending around the beginning of April). The death toll has yet to be calculated, and will never be accurately known, but can safely be placed in the 225,000 casualties. And all around the world the frequency of earthquakes was higher than usual.

Then on February 27, 2010 the earth again shook with a violence that is thankfully rare. This time with a magnitude of 8.8 Mw at a point just off the Chilean coast near the region of Chile called Maule. Since this event the site remains incredibly active. There have been over 250 aftershocks over 5.0 Mw and nearly 40 over 6.0 Mw. Unlike Haiti, Chile is a nation that builds with the memory of devastating earthquakes in its past. Perhaps the main reason that to date only 486 casualties have been identified as caused by the massive earthquake in February. And all around the world the earth continues to shake at a rate above its recent past.

And now on April 4, 2010 the shakes again. This time in a remote area of Mexico near where the Colorado River enters the fault created Gulf of Baja California. It shakes to the tune of 7.2 Mw. It is felt as far north into the United States as Central California, and Utah. And the initial quake spawns a host of aftershocks the stretch up along to fault lines into southern California in the United States. The death tole is below a dozen. New buildings fare well, while older structures in the remote and historic cities and town suffer the brunt of the damage. The fact that the quake occurred on a Sunday is a blessing. And all around the world the earth continues to shake.

Only 2 days later, Indonesia is hit with a major earthquake off of the coast of Sumatra. A 7.7 Mw quake strikes just off of the northern and western side of the island. This quake caused no tsunamis. And as far as has been reported to the international community, no deaths were caused by this quake.

So what's next? There is no way to predict an earthquake. And the fact that they occur along fault lines between tectonic plates is about as astute an observation in the modern world as plants are made of cells. So, what can be said that is quantifiable and also potentially predictive?

Here goes nothin':

1) You tug a piece of cloth in one place, and eventually the treads move in others. The activity both east and west of the Haiti quake has increased. This week there was a 5.0 Mw quake west of Haiti below the Caribbean near the Cayman Islands and the general seismic activity east of haiti is off the scale in very minor quakes (18 between 2.0 and 3.0 in the past 7 days)--and today there was a 4.4 quake just north of Puerto Rico.

2) The activity along the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate north of the Maule region of Chile has picked up, and is very active. This continues up the coast between the Cocos Place and the Caribbean Plate in Central America, as well.

3) Across the Pacific the region around the Tonga Trench has been extremely active. As has the fault along the Java trench especially along the coast of Sumatra.

4) The western edges of the Caroline and Philippines plates are likewise very active.

Another shoe that may be ready to drop in this is volcanic activity. As the tension between plates expresses itself, it does so in more ways than simply earthquakes. And the increase in smaller quakes suggests that the earth is relieving it's tensions in safer ways than huge events. For example, back in February the seismic activity off of the coast of Oregon was greatly elevated. I wouldn't expect a major quake there. But again, I am no Kreskin....

Miike Snow ~ "Animal"

Random Quote #111

"I look to the future, because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life." ~ George Burns,
1896 - 1996.

Shave The World!

No Smoking Area

Cherry Blossoms

My own private little cherry blossom festival!

Life Imitates Art!

Turn about fair play!?

The Ferns Are Unfirling!

Last year I made a conscious decision to go for ferns. I have dabbled over the years to some success. The bed of Lady Ferns, Athyrium Filix-femina that I placed along the north side of my garage have flourished. But most of the rest of them have just held their own or fizzled. So last year I went all out to add to existing beds, create new ones, and move some of the hold outs around into more hospitable locations. And here are some of the results:
This little puppy is a Mexican Fern (male), Dryopteris pseudofilix-mas, and I have a handful of them under the fountain in the front yard.
This Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponicum 'Pistum', is a transplant here under the fountain from a colony in the backyard. The origial two plants were purchase at Winterthur Museum in Delaware. And over the years they just floundered until the azaleas usurped their space and then boom, they exploded with progeny that just couldn't cut it where they were. So I also moved some to other locales in the backyard and all the refugees seem to be returning with gusto.
Here is one of my favorites, and gift from my neighbor who said he didn't like the way the fronds always seemed to flop over by mid-summer. Where I have this Cinnamon Fern, Osmunda cinnamonea, it really has never been a problem and now where once stood one, I have three clusters of fronds. Perhaps best of all, the thing blooms with these spectacular stalks of flowers.
This is one of two varieties of ferns that I did not buy to plant in my yard. This was, in fact, a gift from a friend and is a native fern from southern Maryland. Actually a very common wild fern known as the Christmas Fern, Polystichum acrostichoides, it has been in my yard for years and has just sort of hung on. However, now that it is a part of a much larger fern communities, it honestly seems to be perking up! I know that personifying an practically promordial plant, but hey, I must be doing something right, 'cause it's happy again.
These stalks with their little dark "fist" rising belong to one of several of the Autumn Ferns, Dryoteris erythrosora, the only other longtime success story in my history with ferns. I have had two colonies of these along the front walkway; now, in competition with the Epimedium, epimedium sulphurum, for years. They are born with a distinctive rusty burnish and they end with the same: They remain green, and at times, rusty all year round. I've since established them in the elevated bed around the base of the grand Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum, and in my shady woodland garden in the lower end of my backyard. This is a wonderful fern to start with if you're wanting to get into growing them.
These last two come from the woodland garden I'm working on in the lower end of my backyard. And this trio of Tassel Ferns, Polystichum polyblepharum, have made me practically wet with excitment. The picture doesn't do the robust beautify of their frond mounds justice. They are huge and swollen with new growth that threatens to overpower one another. They are going to be magnificent in full growth, and I cannot wait to experience it.
And here are some of their neighboring Ostrich Ferns, Matteuccia struthiapteris. I put in two last year, and this spring I am counting nothing short of seven mounds appearing! Another triumph for ferns. Honestly, I thought this was a risky thing to do, but now I am feeling really excited about all of the ways ferns will be defining and transforming my gardens.

Besides the ones I've pictured here, I also have colonies of Japanese Holly Fern, Crytomium falcatum, the afore mentioned Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina, Sensitive Fern, Onoclea sensibilis, which in all fairness I've yet to see any sign of this year (however, their colony is presently inundated with Mayapples, Podophyllum paltatum, Maiden Hair Fern, Adiantum pedatum, which is the other fern that I've never bought (In fact, all of them are volunteers that come from who knows where? Seriously. They arrive in rocky places, but how, I don't know. I had two last year which I transplanted and which then died, and I just saw another one three days ago.), a solitary Hart's Tongue Fern, Phyllitis scolopendrium, and a mystery fern that first arrived by accident with the order of Lady Ferns, and which I'm fairly certain is a Dixie Wood Fern, Dryopteris x australis.

In Memorium

I pass this on from by facebook account.

This event is being held in memory of 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, one of many beautiful lives cut tragically short because of bullying. Carl took his own life on April 6, 2009 after enduring constant bullying, including being called "gay" and "faggot" despite not even identifying as gay.

Please spend 5 minutes in Carl's memory and CALL YOUR Representative and ask him/her to support (or thank them if they already do) the Safe Schools Improvement Act, a comprehensive federal anti-bullying bill.

If you don't feel comfortable calling your Rep, consider spending 5 minutes in some other way to remember Carl and raise awareness about bullying.

MESSAGE FROM CARL'S MOTHER, Sirdeaner Walker, through GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (http://www.glsen.org):

One year ago Tuesday, my son Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover brought his life to an end after enduring relentless harassment and cruel bullying at school.

It is difficult to put into words what it feels like to remember that terrible day. But it is not difficult at all to do something positive in Carl’s memory.

That is why I hope you will join me in taking a moment from your busy day to reflect on Carl’s life and his tragic suicide – and to remember that bullying in schools has very serious and life-threatening consequences.

Pansymania!

Pansy may be a term to describe a weak person, but it is not a weak flower. In fact, Pansies are one of the most sturdy, weather tolerant, and resilient flowers in the gardener's repertoire.

Case in point: I purchased these blue pansies back in October of 2009, but never managed to plant them. So they survived this incredible winter in the plastic pots in which they were purchased. It included weeks and weeks buried under snow that at times accumulated to depths of 30". And now here they are!~resurrected and blooming to beat the band.

Here's a really interesting cultivar and extra curly pansies.














And this image greets me whenever I enter or exit my kitchen door. They are an amazing bunch of red/burgundy and yellow/cream colored pansy wonder.










Finally, I share this terra cotta bundle of white/ purple wild violas. Pansy's natural relative, I found this one amongst it's purple cousins 2 years ago. I moved it to this pot and here 3 years on, it's taken over the real estate in style.

I love pansies.

Collateral Lies

Okay, I get that war is hell. That war brings out our darkest angels. That no matter how noble the cause, mistakes happen.

BUT WHY THE LIES? Mercy upon us all.

What I'm Watching #232

"The Blind Side" is the Bomb.

I cried my way through it...

I don't know if Sandra deserved the oscar, this film deserves to be seen.

EVERY TEACHER IN AMERICA needs to see this film.

Cold Comfort

I've been telling you that the earth is shaking in ways and at a rate that is historic, and here we go again. The first real warning of this rift occurred about 3 hours ago with a 6.9 quake and now here is this 7.2 follow-on event, and dozens of others all over the scale and all over the region.

Reports of its impact are just now coming in. The range of its quake covers Los Angeles, southern Nevada, and the western outskirts of both Phoenix and Tucson Arizona. Fortunately an epicenter only rimmed by some of the world's densest population sites. But if Haiti or Chile are any indication, this Mexican quake is only just the beginning of another seismic hot spot.

This Year's Garden Gamble

Here's my garden along the back pathway. I past years I have planted rows of Cleomes, Coleus, Begonias, Pineapple Sage, Inpatients, Lupine, and even Tomatoes along it's narrow expanse. To varying degrees the results are impressive. Last year's Pineapple Sage to Coleus to Begonia trinity was especially amazing.

So it's a new year and I have a new inspiration. The photo shows three rows: spent daffodils in the back, purple-yellow violas in the front & wait for it....HOLLY HOCKS in the middle! It's a wild move and what can I do but wait and see what happens? I've never worked with holly hocks before. And there is the question as to what replaces the daffodils in the back and the violas in the front, but the season is young. Any suggestions?

AIDS Reminder

Cleveland Rocks!

Sunday Afternoon Image

Wha tI'm Reading #26

This is a wonderful collection of poems by Ho Kyun (1569 - 1618), born an aristocrat to a noble Korean family, he spent his life wondering, and was executed on false charges involving treason at the age of 49. In his life he strove to understand it's meaning from the lens of Confucious, Lao Tze, and even the Chinese poet, Du Fu. A lens that saw the reality around him -- the humanity of man, the beauty of nature -- before dogma.

I love reading poetry written in other centuries within other cultures. The ideas remain universal in spite of the differences.


Sending Away a Visitor, Sitting Alone

Piles of sutras, the warm stove, and unbroken silence—
my solitude, as an Immortal's house.
The warm day brightens plum blossoms, and my steps—
a light wind seeps through the gate, fells willow flowers.

I've given up writing. The roof-tile ink-stone slabs,
long dry. I should heat Dragon Tea over the strong fire.
Don't say I have no guests in this isolated place—
it's quite natural for bees of the mountain to visit.
1611

Easter Bunny Sighted

A stone cold hearted little hair it is! Here seen among the red columbine, bleeding hearts, celandine poppies and wild violets in my garden. Hippity Hoppity goes the bunny trail....