Wall Of Tears Kaui, Hi

In the Iao Vally, waterfalls emerge from the clouds, and the five thousand foot volcanic cliffs, graced in a sheer vertical rain forest. It is a place of cleansing and rebirth. Mega turbulence, light aircraft, and awesome beauty go well together here, where one can see how wonderfully fragile life is.

Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, "Sky City"

Acoma Pueblo, (Place of Readiness) 70 acres atop a 370 foot high Mesa, where first native peoples found refuge from the Apache and Navajo. A mesa is wider than it is tall. It has been continuously inhabited from 1150 AD to this day. It's a few miles southwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico off I-40.

Louisiana Vegetable Garden

There hasn't been a garden here in 45 years. I reclaimed this my grandfather's land grown over since his passing, and this is the 2010 planting. From rear - sweet corn, okra, peas, watermelon, and cantelope. I hope he can see it. His name was David Fuselier and he taught me how to love the land.

Fallen Giant Redwood

Chance is a seed that grows into a tree,
that gets struck by lightening.

Coastal Redwood Forest, Northern California

Hall of Maps, Vatican City

Vatican Rome, Italy

Haleakala Creator Maui, Hi

Life is a wondrous gift. The world is beautiful. And then one finds that something extra that is magic.

When I was a little boy, I believed  this extraordinary quality existed, and that I would see it.

Michelangelo painted it on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the form of God reaching out to Adam.

Haleakala is that inspiration in the raw.

Yukon Territory

The beauty of the land extraordinarily out-merits sufficiency,
such a wonderful example of a physical Heaven. There is no evil in it.

Container Vegetables in South Louisiana

My hoop house container garden (47% shade cloth) new variety experiments. I do real good with sweet corn, Dixie lee field peas, snap beans, carrots, melons, green unions, parsley, and excellent with cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, mustard greens (no grit). Close attention must be paid to pests, especially aphids and white flies. Catch them early. Also, keep foliage elevated 18 inches off ground cover or floor keeping plants adequately spaced to allow for good ventilation, makes it hard for pests to survive where runoff dries quickly. Vegetables like moist roots but dry stems and foliage so use drip emitters or spray stakes that don't create a mist, or water by hand.

Grandfather Tree

I think one of the first lessons we each as individuals should learn is, that a word is like a tree. The ultimate meaning of the word, like the tree can grow with time, despite our short sightedness, no matter our years of life experiences. We must keep an open mind, and never come to the conclusion that we know everything about anything, because then we will know nothing.

I once met a humbly learned individual by the name of  Mario, an indigenous person who lived most of his life in the rain forest, far from any modern convenience. He told me he left the simple life he loved because he wanted his son to go to school, and learn to read and write. The park service there offered to give he and his family good clothing, a small salary, teach them English in exchange for a job as a tour guide, as his knowledge of trees and plants was extensive. He spoke with a reverence for the plants and animals of the jungle and for life I have seen in few ministers.

He pointed to a huge tree, (kind of like this one that my grandfather planted) towering above all the rest and said to me, Ron, this is the Grandfather tree, and within its limbs and crevices, as you can see is a forest in itself, within which seeds, the hopes of all future rain forests rely. A tree is like a word that grows.

Monastery at MonSerrat, Spain

A Longing For Oneness

In the landscape of life,
there must be a sufficient distance,
to reveal the grandest of vistas.


Seasons of suffering provide
understanding for the heart to see,
that all things long for oneness.

That's what the rocks say.

Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, New Mexico

Train From Durango To Silverton Colorado

The steam engine leaves early morning. It's about four hours trough the San Juan Mountains to Silverton. Nice ride, Beautiful country. The sides of passenger cars are open and benches face outward for easy viewing. You will return to Durango by bus and appreciate the difference in technology.

Pompei Bread Market

These are paintings on the wall of the bread market, buried for 1600 years during a the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Near Naples, Italy

Freedom

Nothing is yours until you give it,
and then you are free.

In this precise moment, this young man is weighing the  value of ownership versus that of giving, and he is satisfied that it would only be fair to own one and give one.

I knew what he was going to do before he did it. He was born generous.