Just saying...

 

Alysa Liu, US Gold Medal Figure Skater

The "Quad God" finished 8th. 

I love the idea of giving messages on fruit. Here my son's name, Tai, is part of this, by an unknown person.

The last of the snow in a parking lot at a doctor's office. Right now (Sunday morning) there are light flurries, and it's getting really cold. Here we go again! Many people are hunkering down for huge snowfall (2 feet for New York forecast!)

What loneliness is more lonely than distrust? 

-George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans), novelist (1819-1880)

Celebrating what we hope for together is better than fighting over what we believe separately.

STEVEN CHARLESTON

February picnic

 

This was the day we planned to sit outside and eat by the lake. Cool 60s and wet showers. No thanks.

Next day, early morning windy showers! 

Then an unplanned sunny and 65 F, we just happened to run into each other, then sat in the gazebo to eat! It was very windy, but we enjoyed being able to be outside. So did the Canada Geese. I sadly had to avoid being in the sun thanks to antibiotic, and was pretty darn short of breath getting to and from car. Would I say yes again, of course!

This is the shot before I cropped it for the header pic, showing yes indeed, there were daffodils blooming in Feb. in my neighbors garden.

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A nearby construction (destruction of old trees fist) site. Here is planned to be the "main entrance" to Montreat College Black Mountain campus.

Last week...

You can just make out the "one lane bridge" sign on the right...which goes over the famously flooded Swannanoa River. The building down the road in the distance is the derelict one that will not be torn down before the new interstate entrance is built...I-40 is just beyond that!

This entrance is about 25 feet from the railroad crossing...which is where a traffic light exists on US 70. Blue Ridge Rd. is about to become a major thoroughfare.

This last week, showing some of the trees which have been cut, waiting to be hauled.

As you can see, the new main entrance on this plan is on the far left of the campus. Currently it is in a small neighborhood on the far right of the campus. 

All those dark grey areas are parking lots. And see the little blue stream bed of the Swannanoa River...just waiting to flood that new road. Fortunately there's a big hill that the actual campus sits on, so all the buildings are unlikely to be in a flood plane.  On the number 26 area are 4 baseball fields, part of Veterans Park...which was flooded badly in Sept. 2024.

I wasn't asked a thing regarding the increased traffic on our 2 lane road, where we already have to take turns to cross the one lane bridge. Just really looking forward to all the college kids zooming around in a year or so. The plans for an exit/entrance onto I-40 have been approved, so maybe they'll build a new bridge too.

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Sharing with Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday. 

OK, ready with snow equipment and winter clothing again this week!

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The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is.

 -Nadine Gordimer, novelist, Nobel laureate (1923-2014)

Peacemakers 5 - us!

  

Signs and symbols...

,

From the internet...feel free to share!

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

H. JACKSON BROWN JR. Check out Yesterday's Pages on The Ukraine.

My own story

 My own stories are often told in my pottery images. Thus this vase with 4 aspects of importance to my life. I have shared the first "Persist" side recently, so here are the rest of them.

Here's part of the creation of it, from Alchemy of Clay in 2017, and more completed work on it the next week.  

I focused on a detail of otters Here on the vase, beneath the tree of life, with drawing on curved surfaces as the topic.

So I obviously made the 4 drawings to express myself.

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Sharing with  Saturday's Critters.

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Sign your own permission slip to go on a field trip and renew your energy.  

or  in case you haven't been parent to a kid in school for a while (like me)...

"My grandma told me that the Universe is singing in the snowflakes, the raindrops, in the trees, the water, and all Creation. Physicists call this holistic holographic universe. Lakotas call it Taku Wakan Skan Skan/Mitakuye Oyasin, which means everything is connected and related in divine rhythm, vibration.

Remember the Lakotas know that the song sings the singer. 

The Spirit sings the song.
—Basil Braveheart

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I parked next to this jeep-like yellow monster. I feel so bad that a child has that window shade to look at in the back window. Eerie!

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Good news - my iPad healed itself, with the latest update! I had no idea until a FB video had audio as well! The sound on the iPad worked again. So I checked out a new murder mystery to listen to while I’m sitting around waiting to heal. Can I get an update too?

Two Views, Same Place

 Many of these photos are from the internet.

Catawba Falls NC (not my photo)

 Catawba Falls, NC

From Asheville, 1893 and 2026...

Biltmore Village in 1893 and today. All Souls church was being built

Different views of Looking Glass Falls NC

Looking Glass Falls 1925. Asheville Post Card Co.

 Lower left corner shows photographer, Masa, numbering 0-5456.

This could be my photo, or one like it. This site is right next to US Highway 276 near Brevard NC.

Taken by drone probably...

Lady Liberty

Yellowstone Lower Falls, WY by Rob Moody

Yellowstone Falls in winter

From London England

The Temple Bar, the last surviving ceremonial gateway to the City of London

Sharing with Sepia Saturday

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A body of clay, a mind full of play, a moment's life -- that's me. 

-Harivansh Rai Bachchan, poet (1907-2003)

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Yesterday, February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled tRump's tariffs were illegal.

"BREAKING: The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20, 2026 ruled in a 6–3 decision that Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were illegal because he exceeded his authority under federal law when he imposed them without clear congressional approval.

The Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the 1977 statute Trump cited to justify his tariffs, does not authorize the president to impose broad import taxes. Under the Constitution, that power is reserved to Congress.

Majority (6 Justices) Tariffs Struck Down

Chief Justice John Roberts (wrote the opinion)

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Justice Elena Kagan

Justice Neil Gorsuch

Justice Amy Coney Barrett

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

These justices agreed that IEEPA does not grant tariff authority and that imposing tariffs of this scope without clear congressional authorization violates federal law.

Dissent (3 Justices)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Justice Clarence Thomas

Justice Samuel Alito

The dissenters argued that the statute could be interpreted to permit these actions or that the majority misread the president’s authority under existing law.

What This Means

The tariffs Trump imposed under emergency powers, including wide-reaching duties on imports from major trading partners, are no longer lawful.

The Court did not fully spell out the refund process, but companies that paid billions in tariffs may now seek refunds.

The ruling represents a significant check on executive power in trade policy and underscores that only Congress can authorize new taxes or tariffs.

This decision is a major blow to Trump’s economic agenda and could reshape how future presidents approach trade authority and executive power.