I discovered these precious little ones

 While walking around the lake last week,  I had a nice chat and petting session with this four legged prince.

 

I saw this little fairy princess, well dressed in warm garments as well as her tutu! 

To wish everyone good beginnings of the short month of February, (tomorrow) rabbit rabbit!

By Victoria Beata

Gin Durham 'Part of the Landscape'

Not her photo* Beatrix Potter -- the beloved English author and illustrator of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit" and many similar animal books -- is pictured here with a real-life "Peter Rabbit." As a child, Potter and her brother kept, cared for, studied, and drew their impressive collection of animals and insects which they kept in their school room and on the Scottish and northern England estates where they spent many of their summers. In 1902, Potter’s most famous work, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” was published to immediate success. For almost two decades, she continued to publish two or three similar books per year, ultimately writing 24 children's tales.

Potter also spent a good deal of time drawing and observing things found in nature. Mycology, the study of fungi, was of particular interest to Potter, and she even wrote a paper on the subject of fungal spore reproduction. Her paper was presented at a meeting of the Linnean Society in 1897 by a mycologist from the Royal Botanic Gardens, because women of the time were not permitted to attend the meetings. Upon her death in 1943, Potter, a dedicated conservationist, bequeathed sixteen farms and over 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, enabling significant preservation of the lands that created the Lake District National Park. At the time, it was the largest gift the National Trust had ever received.

Source: Facebook page "Exploration of History"

* see comments for link to some of Potter's photos - in Black and White!

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Today's quote:

Practicing humility is important — while you may have a greater understanding in some areas, others will always be able to teach you something.

Today's art:

An Argonaut! by Andrew Barnes

Sharing with Eileen's Saturday Critters (tomorrow)

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I've seen Dr. yesterday, and he said maybe I should call the dentist back, since he couldn't do anything except check that it wasn't a blood clot in the swelling. So I'm going to see the dentist this afternoon. She was also concerned enough to work me into the schedule. Of course it is slowly getting better, so maybe by then I won't have the numb lip, swollen cheek and pain any more. Actually that would be great and I'll just cancel the appointment! (I'll let you know tomorrow!)

Sustainability

 Considering some of the climate change  efforts...

Some videos to share about the Green Wall being built tree-by-tree across Africa.

..and I enjoyed seeing the following video which shows the 4 year training efforts of planting just a small area of trees at a time, then other plants for food and other sources.

These videos were shared with me by Cathy Holt, a former Asheville NC resident, who now lives in South America and publishes an occasional blog post through "Medium." Here's the link to her latest post: https://cathyholt.medium.com/earth-us-africas-great-green-wall-food-forest-barichara-s-water-ea501489c38d

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And my new newsletter "The Contrarian" selected Al Gore for their weekly standout figure for democracy last week.

"Climate change deniers have derided Vice President Al Gore for decades. And yet with each new climate change-enhanced disaster, his warnings about global warming seem more prescient...

Slamming President Trump’s climate denial and “phony” energy emergence, he declared, “These performative acts show the pervasive influence that the fossil fuel industry will have in the United States over the next four years. But make no mistake, the global Sustainability Revolution is unstoppable.” He slammed withdrawal from the Paris Accords as “shortsighted abdication of leadership that will only serve to put our nation at a disadvantage.

“Trump officially barred new offshore wind leases and will review federal permitting of wind projects, making good on a promise to ‘end leasing to massive wind farms that degrade our natural landscapes and fail to serve American energy consumers,’” Vox reported. Even his own party members may dissent. (“The top four states for wind generation — Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Kansas — are solidly red, and unlikely to acquiesce. Even Trump’s pick for Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, refused to disavow wind power during a hearing last week, saying he would pursue an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy.”)

Meanwhile, in targeting credits for EV’s Trump is handing China a gift. Rattner notes that while the U.S. lags in EV production, only 10 percent of our car production is electric. In China, that number is 50 percent. China dominates the world market with 76 percent of the global market.

The rest of this article "Undaunted: A champion for truth, science, and responsible stewardship" was published Jan. 24, 2025, by Jennifer Rubin.

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Today's quote:

What I like in a good author isn't what he says, but what he whispers. 

-Logan Pearsall Smith, essayist (1865-1946)

Today's art:

Unknown photographer

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You may notice I'm posting more that will share the efforts all over the world to better our possible chance of survival from the climate crisis, and oh yes, the political one as well.

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Today is day 3 after dental work, and the area where novocaine was pumped is still sore and swollen, and my lower left lip is somewhat "frozen" and it's hard to talk. So I'm trying to get in to see my doctor sometime today...and taking ibuprofen. It's been hard to talk with only 3/4 of my lips working, not to mention my looking quite gorilla -ish!

Year of the Snake

If you celebrate Chinese New Year, or the lunar new year, have fun today with a new start, a beginning where there are so many choices available.

I read a newsletter by Jay Kuo, who comments on current events, and his personal life.

Jay Kuo's sister informed him that:

 ...snakes are not feared but revered in China: “As symbols of wisdom, these ‘little dragons’ are celebrated in Chinese culture for their intuition, transformational power, protection, prosperity, and good luck!”

Jay continues in his substack publication:

 My family and I are part of the LGBTQ+ community, and we are under attack as never before. From my rights as a gay father, to the queer-identifying nieces in the next Kuo generation, to even my trans nephew’s rights to identify as the gender he truly is, everything is on the line.

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Regarding the political changes, I have already drawn on my own line in the sand...as expressed in a blog several days ago,

 'I will not "work together" to remove civil rights from anyone.' See blog Taking a Stand.

Today's quote:

It’s really easy to be kind to others when I remember that none of us came into this world with a manual about how to get it all right.

JILL BOLTE TAYLOR

Today's Art:

by Tina Schart Hyman

Some ways to deal with this calamity!

 The Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation had some good ideas, which I'd like to share with my blog friends. 

I quote:

[From] Clarissa Pinkola Estés [comes] this excerpt from “Letter to a Young Activist in Troubled Times”

 “..One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires ... causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others, both — are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do. “

Let’s all BREATHE.  

 

We must pace ourselves, calm the tumult, and shine like gold for each other.

 

Some  concrete things we can do:  

• As much as possible, reduce exposure to news sites and socials except those that offer us real sustenance.  Find reliable sources for critical and actionable updates/developments, check them at most once a day, and leave the rest alone.
  
  Rely on news sources that don't report on every asinine comment being made, but instead use sources that give you real information and hope. Here is a curated list of independent news sources:  https://www.projectcensored.org/independent-news-links/  

This is going to take discipline, but the goal is to be adequately informed about actionable developments without being psychologically and spiritually destroyed.

• Please let’s use caution in posting or reposting ICE/immigration raid sightings that we do not have firsthand or highly reliable information about.  Many social media posts warning about ICE are made without verification or are AI generated as an attempt to sow fear. Get information verified or get some level of detail before posting–otherwise we just cause needless panic.
  
  
• Outrageous, heinous, alarming, terrible things are going to be said every single day.  Use caution in reposting and reacting to terrible things that are being said.  We are seeing what they want us to see.  We are hearing what they want us to hear.  We are fearing what they want us to fear.  Let’s not make their job easier. Outrage fatigue helps no one, and it drains our ability to be constructive and strategic.
  
  
• Protect our sources of love and joy and act from those.  Acknowledge our despairing and cynical impulses, and when we dip down into that abyss, have people around us who can tend our heart and hold us till we can come back up. UUWF is here for you. 
  
  
• Build safety networks with our people.  Pay attention to leaders in the immigrant and trans communities (for starters), and think about how we want to position ourselves as helpers and subversives for the long term.
  
  
• Pick one thing that will make real people more safe, learn about who is already doing the best work around that thing (and probably have been for years), and go from there. There is already leadership out there, and UUWF will continue to identify and curate organizations you can tap into. 

 

BREATHE.  

 

We are souls on deck, shining towards you. 

 

This is not a “next four years” endeavor.  Electoral politics is not going to save us.  

 

We are going to save each other.  We can, and we will.

 

In community, 

Ann, Antoinette, Candace, and Dana

UUWF

*P.S. A note about UUWF and public statements:  The line between public solidarity and contributing to the cacophony is thin.  UUWF will be attempting to be judicious about when and how we release commentary about specific events or developments, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t paying attention.  If you want to know where we stand, and you haven’t seen us say something you think needs to be said, please email ann@uuwf.org any time.    Support our work:  If you want to support our work towards collective liberation, please visit https://uuwf.org/donate

If you see it on TV, is it real?

 This is a political post. In case you are among my many friends avoiding such...fair warning!

People knew what the law was, and respected it. Even being willing to go to jail for sit-downs and peaceful demonstrations. But news coverage was limited.

Insurrection Jan 6, 2021. Many of us watched news reports throughout the day with many visuals available as live action, and then the next week more were publicized through personal videos as well.

Months of investigations by Select House Committee about the January 6 Insurrection, resulting in a public report.

Jan 20, 2025 President Trump pardoned 1500 who had been legally tried and convicted of the Jan. 6 Insurrection.

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Hang onto your own sense of reality.

This man doesn't have the same one as the rest of us. We will be tested over and over as he lies about the things we know aren't true, the facts of the Biden administration being trash-talked as he did in his campaign speeches.

Always look at the primary source of information. These days the broadcast news will inevitably be "handled" to shade the orange one and his lies as true. I learned when doing ancestry work, to look for written records, like bills of sale, last wills, census lists that showed me the truth of people's lives. Yes some people added names to their own family trees so they could say they were descended from so-and-so. But these people never really existed.

Now we have to carefully sift through the emotional triggers...to let them pass by as just winged moths going to the flame, and having no merit.

North Carolina had a visit from His Majesty the Orange One this last week, as he inferred "to see how the people had been forgotten by the previous administration after the Hurricane Helene disaster." He had some (MAGA?) people who gave their own experiences of the floods and land slides. They were indeed people who had suffered. His teasing thrust was that FEMA had failed and he would destroy it. (It is not within his executive powers, no matter how much he stretches them.)

I was pleased to hear a little voice of reason on our local evening news, which had covered the afternoon press conference earlier in the day. The evening news also spoke of the $100 million from FEMA that had been used in Buncombe County for housing help and rental assistance, which gave a little bit of positive information.

And perhaps fortunately, I haven't heard/read anything about his Imperial Lying Majesty's visit to California the same day.

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Today's quote:

The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing. -Leigh Hunt, poet and essayist (1784-1859)

Today's art:

Thetis  70,000 individual ceramic vases in this one monumental sculpture by Grégoire Scalabre.

Speaking Truth to Power

From Tuesday Jan 21, 2025 (sorry there's so much politics in my posts lately, but that's where my head has been a lot of the time this week.) But this is about the resistance!

Episcopal Bishop, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, publicly called out Trump to his face today at a service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. This was some next level Jesus-style calling out the powerful that you rarely see exampled anymore.

“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.

I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God, for the good of all people, the good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen.”

He's already plotting how to get rid of her!

I sure hope the Episcopal church is not able to be bought. But then, it does have lots of people who depend upon it!

John Pavlovich used the same photo in his blog today about Christians.

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Another quote for today:

Billionaires need the working class. The working class does not need billionaires. -Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US Congress member (b. Oct 13, 1989)

"Winter in New York"
by Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883 - 1962) 

Taking a stand

 This is where I stand. The 47th President, his power hungry cronies taking positions of authority in his Cabinet and administration, and the majority of Republicans in Congress are a real and active threat to me, my way of life, and all or most of the people I love.

Some people are saying that we should give Trump a chance, that we should "work together" with him because he won the election and he is "everyone's president." This is my response:

•I will not forget how badly he and so many others treated former President Barack Obama for 8 years...Lies about his legitimacy and hatred for his principles and his attempts to work within the system.

•I will not "work together" to privatize Medicare, cut Social Security and Medicaid.

•I will not "work together" to subvert the Constitution by illegitimately pushing unfit Cabinet nominees through on recess appointments without the advice and consent of the Senate.

•I will not "work together" to build a wall.

•I will not "work together" to persecute Muslims.

•I will not "work together" to shut out refugees from other countries.

•I will not "work together" to lower taxes on the 1% and increase taxes on the middle class and poor.

•I will not "work together" to help Trump use the Presidency to line his pockets and those of his family and cronies.

•I will not "work together" to weaken and demolish environmental protection.

•I will not "work together" to sell American lands, especially National Parks, to companies which then despoil those lands.

•I will not "work together" to enable the killing of whole species of animals just because they are predators, or inconvenient for a few, or because some people want to get their thrills killing them.

•I will not "work together" to remove civil rights from anyone.

•I will not "work together" to alienate countries that have been our allies for as long as I have been alive.

•I will not "work together" to slash funding for education.

•I will not "work together" to take basic assistance from people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.

•I will not "work together" to get rid of common sense regulations on guns.

•I will not "work together" to eliminate the minimum wage.

•I will not "work together" to support so-called "Right To Work" laws, or undermine, weaken or destroy Unions in any way.

•I will not "work together" to suppress scientific research, be it on climate change, fracking, or any other issue where a majority of scientists agree that Trump and his supporters are wrong on the facts.

•I will not "work together" to criminalize abortion or restrict health care for women.

•I will not "work together" to increase the number of nations that have nuclear weapons.

•I will not "work together" to put even more "big money" into politics.

•I will not "work together" to violate the Geneva Convention.

•I will not "work together" to give the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party and white supremacists a seat at the table, or to normalize their hatred.

•I will not "work together" to deny health care to people who need it.

•I will not "work together" to deny medical coverage to people on the basis of a "pre-existing condition."

•I will not "work together" to increase voter suppression.

•I will not "work together" to normalize tyranny.

•I will not “work together” to eliminate or reduce ethical oversight at any level of government.

•I will not "work together" with anyone who is, or admires, tyrants and dictators.

•I will not support anyone that thinks it's OK to put a pipeline to transport oil on Sacred Ground for Native Americans. And, it would run under the Missouri River, which provides drinking water for millions of people. An accident waiting to happen.

•I will not "work together" to legitimize racism, sexism, and authoritarianism.

This is my line, and I am drawing it.

•I WILL stand for honesty, love, respect for all living beings, and for the beating heart that is the center of Life itself.

•I WILL use my voice and my hands, to reach out to the uninformed, and to anyone who will LISTEN:

That "winning", "being great again", "rich" or even "beautiful" is nothing... When others are sacrificed to glorify its existence.

Signed,

Barbara Rogers

Now it is your turn. Copy, paste, and add your name above mine. Add to your Facebook posts!

This needs to be heard loud and clear. I have removed the other (50+) persons on this list as I want to share this effort publicly and don't have their permissions.

Last of Chinese "Year of the Dragon"

 On Jan. 29, 2025, the lunar new year will begin what is called the Chinese New Year , the year of the snake. So I sadly say goodbye to the dragons I've been collecting for the last year. I don't collect snake photos, nor make them in clay. I don't like snakes.

Dragon Sled, made of dragon wood. Posted on Just Dragons FB page

Susan Seddon Boulet, Dragon Boat

Welsh dragon (Y Ddraig Goch)

A taste for Oriental decorations. The Casa Bruno Cuadros of Barcelona, known by locals as the Casa dels Paraigües (House of Umbrellas) built 1883

Perhaps this was a regular monster, not a dragon...

Dragon book reader puzzle

Photo by Cloudia, Fairy tales are more than true

Reluctant Dragon by American Golden Age illustrator Maxfield Parrish

Susan Seddon Boulet - Child with Dragon

Another wooden dragon creation posted to Just Dragons FB page

Sharing with Eileen's Saturday's Critters

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Today's quote:

So much of living a quality life relates in some way to spending your time so that you are in harmony with the current of energy that underlies your life. The objective is live in such a way that your psychic energy, your physical, intellectual and spiritual energy are enhanced by all that you do. Or almost all. Every path has its setbacks and challenges. You need to be prepared for those, and not get discouraged and give up. Especially early on.

Heron Dance Art Journal

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No more art today, as I've already posted what I had of dragons!

A second coming

 

And the amaryllis is about to blossom forth again! Incredible! This was Monday, Jan. 20.

Thursday, Jan 23 bud is about to open!

Early each (most) mornings the sun shines on the top of the tallest nearby mountain...let's see, what was its name? Maybe High Windy. If you know better, just let me know! 

I was parked on Cherry St. and noticed "The Hop" where they make their own ice cream, including a vegan one.

The porches looked interesting, and I think the one on the left used to be a bar/restaurant kind of place, if I'm not mistaken. After Hurricane Helene many businesses closed because their staff or owners were impacted in their homes by floods or landslides.

Not my photo but going from Old Fort in McDowell County up through the Swannanoa Pass to Black Mountain, Buncombe county, NC.

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I have recently subscribed to a new outlet for news: "The Contrarian" which was recently formed by the journalists who left the Washington Post in opposition to it's owner, Bezos' limiting their voices. Jen Rubin is excellent at interviews. I watched her interview with Ruth Ben-Ghiat about authoritarian governments. It was excellent for knowing how they (Trump's) work, and especially some ways to deal with them. We are to acknowledge that we are the opposition, and what we can do as such. Since I signed on for the free version, I'm about to go ahead and get the paid version, with more information that will help me know what the opposition (my side) is all about.

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Sharing with Floral Friday Fotos

and

Skywatch Friday

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Today's art:

I noticed a couple of children's size rockers for resting tourists' feet. These are all painted by local artists and sold by the Chamber of Commerce. Black Mountain is known as "The Little Town That Rocks."

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Today's quote:

Even in the darkest days, the moon and sun make their ancient, reliable journeys. Birds sing. Some green thing insists on growing in a ravaged land. Our own human life force refuses to give up.

TREBBE JOHNSON -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some interesting things to consider about aging

This is for those of us accepting that we identifiy as elders of our tribe. Perhaps we're the ones holding wisdom, but more likely just the remote for the TV!

pencil drawing by 16-year-old Shania McDonagh

*Knowledge is key*

*What is the biological phenomenon that appears in human gradual loss of muscle mass, strength and function when they are growing older?*

This is known as *Sarcopenia*!

*Sarcopenia* is a gradual loss of muscle mass, strength and function... the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength as a result of aging... The situation may be terrible, depends on individual.

Let's explore & analyze multiple ways to prevent *sarcopenia* thus:

1. Develop the habit, if you're able to stand... just don't sit, and don't lie down if you can sit!

2. Whenever an elderly person falls ill, and get admitted to the hospital, do not ask him/her for more rest, or to lie down, relax and/or not get out of bed... It's not helpful. Help them take a walk... Except if they lost stamina to do so.

Lying down for a week causes loss of at least 5% of muscle mass! And unfortunately, the elderly can't recover the loss muscles!

Usually, most seniors/elderly who hire assistants loses muscle faster than the active ones!

3. *Sarcopenia* is more terrifying than osteoporosis!

With osteoporosis, one just need to be careful not to fall, while sarcopenia not only affects the quality of life but also causes high blood sugar due to insufficient muscle mass!

4. The fastest loss of muscles (atrophy) is through idleness in muscles of the legs...

Because when in sitting or lying position, the legs do not move, and the strength of the muscles of the legs are directly affected... This is especially important to pay unto utmost attention!

Going up and down stairs... walking, running and cycling are all great exercises, and can increase muscle mass!

For a better quality of life at old age... Move... & don't waste your muscles!!

Aging starts from the feet upwards!

Keep your legs active and strong!!

As we grow older on a daily basis, our feet should always stay active and strong.

If you don't move your legs for just 2 weeks, your real leg strength will decrease by 10 years.

Therefore, *regular exercises such as walking, cycling etc. are very important*.

The feet are a kind of columns that bear the entire weight of the human body.... So,

*_Walk every day!_*

As shared on FB by Sanwal Dani (where all the **s are part of the original text)

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This YouTube workout isn't the one I do, but is very similar. Search around for what you want to start with, or improve your knowledge as to what feels just right for you. Always have your physician's ok to do whatever you plan to do. (No marathons planned here please!)

I have friends who use a treadmill and can walk a mile that way, and watch a movie. For me, I'm nowhere near that fit yet, but do like looking at familiar instructions such that I can listen to an audio book!

Walking in nature would be my first choice always. But January and maybe even February and March around here have some iffy weather to avoid. I can use my walking stick if the terrain is muddy or not flat and paved. I also can continue with the print-outs of the physical therapy exercises I learned when I last took part in that and felt much better after just 4 weeks (twice a week, 20 minute sessions.)

There are many inspiring messages to share about being an elder and loving it. Gotta take care of myself before I can help others...a reminder I often have to give myself.

Today's quote:

I love this, but I have determined my inner child may continue even as the body ages. I've joined some of the actresses I admire and think I am embracing growing older, no longer fighting it, and certainly not trying to stay young. I am what I am!

Helen Mirren once said, “One of the great gifts of growing older is to discover the exquisite art of being alone.” What used to be an uncomfortable silence, is now a luxury. The house is peaceful, and I can dance in the kitchen without being judged or just doing nothing. My best company is myself, with a coffee, a good movie and the freedom to be, because solitude is not absence, it is fullness and peace of mind. "

Credtis: Somos consciência espiritual

Helen Mirren

Today's art:

The late great Dame Maggie Smith, watercolor portrait by Jung Hun-sung (S. Korean) 

Clint Eastwood at 94.

Sharing with Thankful Thursday