Tomorrow Never Knows

[H2O Man]

Turn off your mind, relax
and float down stream
It is not dying
It is not dying

Lay down all thought
Surrender to the void
It is shining
It is shining

That you may see
The meaning of within
It is being
It is being

That love is all
And love is everyone
It is knowing
It is knowing

That ignorance and hate
May mourn the dead
It is believing
It is believing

But listen to the
color of your dreams
It is not living
It is not living

Or play the game
existence to the end
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning

-- Tomorrow Never Knows; by John Lennon

John Lennon was finding the phenomenon of Beatlemania a bit overwhelming by 1966, and his curious song "Tomorrow Never Knows" details his attempt to step back from the madness. The song was inspired in part by "The Tibetan Book of the Dead," something that older DUers will remember as being influential in the mid-1960s. The song was a curious progression from his earlier theme in "The Word" ("... the word is love..." becomes "...love is all and love is everyone ..."), with peaceful lyrics set to rather intense, not-so-soothing music.

There are times when I think this could be my theme song for the Cheney administration's second term. In fact, I've been humming the tune as I have read through a number of the threads on DU:GD in the past two weeks. A couple weeks back, I had posted an essay about my new pond, in which I wrote about the benefits of stepping back from the intensity of our culture, from time to time, to recharge one's batteries. I have a tendency, if I sit in front of a tv or computer, to think that what is on the screen defines "reality" .... and it is good for me to "get outside" of that mindset.

It helps me to keep in mind that what is happening now is a very small part in the long stream of time. It's not a matter of thinking today is less significant that yesterday or tomorrow; rather, it is making an effort to not let our society's definition of "time" cause more stress for me.

I'm thinking that many, perhaps most, DUers can think of examples of how the fast pace and tight schedules can increase tensions in their lives. It helps me to read Thoreau's writings about "not doing" as he sat near a pond. He wrote about learning to "not do" from native cultures. That reminds me of Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons talking to Bill Moyers about different realities of time: an ant's concept of time is very different from that of a redwood tree.

A few days ago, a couple of friends asked me to accompany them on an afternoon walk. Tom is a retired high school science teacher, and Don a retired scientist for industry. Both are active in our area's historical societies. Tom owns some land about three miles downstream from me, where there is a beautiful waterfalls. The falls played a significant role in local post-Revolutionary War events, as there was a mill that was central in helping develop the area. I've swam there since, well, since before the Beatles were famous, and my father had long before me. So I have been able to show Tom some things on his land that he wouldn't have noticed otherwise.



One of the more interesting things was a fossil of an Eospermatopteris, or an ancient "tree-fern." Some DUers may remember earlier this year, reading about some important discoveries in Gilboa, in Delaware County, NY, in what is considered the world's oldest (known) forest. In the late 1800s, a flood uncovered a number of fossils of these tree-ferns, which come from the Devonian era, and date about 380 million years old.

Last year, we had a heck of a flood here, and Tom and I had been thinking that besides destroying a lot of the physical historical records, the water may have uncovered some things. He had found a second fossil of a tree-fern (aka "fern-tree") on a rock the flood had deposited below the falls. A shallow understanding of the scientific method has convinced me that, in terms of "rock hunting," it's always good to have children around. Hence, after showing my daughters and a friend the type of rock in question, I asked if they could find more of them. Within 90 minutes, they found more than 50 additional examples.




While they pretended to continue their search while swimming, Tom, Don and I discussed putting the puzzle together a bit, in order to present it to some folks from the NYS Museum/University system. Don suggest that the flood may have carried the rocks from a long distance away. I pointed out how trees are frequently deposited in certain spots along the creek; I assumed that it was possible, even likely, that the same thing happened when the tree-ferns had fallen 380 million years ago. I pointed to an area about 200 yards upstream, and suggested we go take a look there. Luckily for us, there was a ledge with numerous fossils, and it was clear the stones we had found had come from that spot.

I'll post a few pictures to go with this thread. I hope that my friends on DU will enjoy looking at these. Last year, the flood made this area seem like that background music from "Tomorrow Never Knows." This year, though we recognize the damage it did, we also are able to find the good in what happened. Maybe this is the type of thing that only appeals to old folks and children, but there is something powerful about looking at the remains of one of the world's oldest forests.

[H2O Man]

1. Two photos

that may help show the power of the flood-waters from last year .... the first is from last year, the second from this week:

[H2O Man]

2. The old mill ....

[bigtree]

3. when I moved into my present home we tore up the backyard

In the place of the ivy we put in hundreds of plants and shrubs. I built a stone wall out of Pennsylvania field stone. Many of the rocks we used had fossils from 100's of million years ago from the Carboniferous era. In fact all of the materials we've included in our garden are throwbacks to a previous era where these things may have existed as part of a natural order until man came and carved out our community. That's mostly our nature as man; to tear down, just to rebuild again. Same materials, different order. Some things change, some stay the same.

[H2O Man]

5. The Carboniferous era

came at the end of the Devonian, I believe. The National Audubon Society's Field Guide to North American Fossils has three plates from Pennsylvania fossils from late Devonian. I'm curious if you have found any ferns, etc?

Years ago, when I had my own back, I used to lay stone "walls" for my wife's flower gardens. One of my favorites is a spot where the last folks that lived here had a 20' round swimming pool. I made a 2' high round wall, then made 6 "pie slice" sections. Around the outside wall, I placed a series of fossils, of various sizes, in a general "time line."

Many of the best fossils I have came from when I used to participate in archaeological digs in this area. It seems that people have been fascinated with, and collected, stones for thousands of years.

[bigtree]

26. the ferns would have been a nice touch

but we have impressions of Brachiopods, these two-shelled, marine animals

[H2O Man]

27. I have some

really nice ones like that; a favorite is from a small cobble stone, which is broken in half, and shows each "half" the shell.

We also find many Oxytoma, and I've got a few Flexicalymene (all from Indian sites). Years ago, I found one "trace" fossil, the only "footprint" I've ever come across. It's part of a flower bed at my mother's house now.

[Dhalgren]

4. K&R. I needed this. Thank you...

[H2O Man]

6. Some of my

earliest childhood memories are of spending summers at this falls. And, of course, as I got older, the neighborhood kids would hang out here, listening to "Revolver" and other Beatle music. A couple friends lived in a house not far from here, though any evidence of that house was washed away last summer.

[zippy890]

7. love your reflective optimism

and your photos!

thanks

[mdmc]

8. ditto

k/r

[H2O Man]

17. Thanks!

I glad that you folks are interested in this.

[Me.]

9. 380 Millions Of Years Ago!

Don't tell the fundies, this will really mess with their heads.

[H2O Man]

10. I was

just a kid then.

[Me.]

13. Old Man River!

Do you have a close-up of what one of those ferns look like?

[H2O Man]

15. If people "google"

the words "giboa ny tree fern fossil," they will find good photos. Wikipedia has a good thing on the Gilboa fossil forest, which I'll attempt to link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilboa_fossil_forest

[Me.]

19. It's Mind Blowing To Know That Ny Has The Oldest Living Forest

You think of Sequoias or the forests of Germany and Ireland. But because we are a relatively young country we forget how much life existed here before us. We are just a notch on a continuum

[H2O Man]

20. These tree-ferns

date about 170 million years before dinosaurs. In fact -- and these are the things I'm reading, certainly not things I know on my own -- animal life on earth was partly made possible because of these ancient plants.

Those interested can contact the NYS Museum for a copy of L. Hernick's book ("The Gilboa Fossils") for $14.95 + $6 s&h. Call 518-402-5344.

[H2O Man]

18. PS:

Another photo; I'll try to get a few "close-ups" soon.

And, speaking of an Old Man:

[glitch]

44. What a great picture by the water fall. Is that you? :) nt

[H2O Man]

57. The old man

with the walking stick is me.

The young man in this one is my younger son, who we rely upon to move any heavy rocks:



Ah! To be young!

[glitch]

59. Awesome. One of the best swimming holes I ever swam in was on Fish Creek in West Virginia.

Deep, clear, warm(ish) water (warmish water's a luxury on the West Coast), beautiful 30 foot cliff to dive from. Huge fish swimming right up to you.
Whenever I read about mountain top removal coal mining I think of that creek.

[H2O Man]

28. A close-up

of the bark:

[Me.]

29. Amazing

HOW old is it? It looks petrified, is it?

[H2O Man]

30. Yes.

380 million years old.

[mmonk]

11. Thanks for sharing.

Our time also is on a longer timeline. I wonder what others later will discover.

[H2O Man]

14. "Motel of the Mysteries"

In 1979, a good friend gave me this book, by David Macaulay. It starts thus: "In 1985 a cataclysmic coincidence of previously unknown proportion extinguished virtually all forms of life on the North American continent. On the morning of November 29, an accidental reduction in the postal rates on a substance called third- and fourth-class mail literally buried the North Americans under tons of brochures, fliers, and small containers called 'FREE.' That afternoon, impurities that had apparently hung unnoticed in the air for centuries finally succumbed to the force of gravity and collapsed on what was left of an already stunned population." The book details an archaeological excavation, circa 3850 ad.

[myrna minx]

12. Thank you. This is just transcendent.

I really needed to read this today.

[H2O Man]

16. I called one

of the people from the state, who has been involved in these studies. Though he was not there, the lady I spoke to said she was confident that he would be very interested.

[Kurovski]

21. We live in a beautiful place, don't we?

K&R.

[H2O Man]

22. Yes, we do.

I am always impressed with the beauty of even what might seem "day-to-day" to others.

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. Thank you, H20 Man, for an infusion of calm and a reminder of so many

good things. You know, you're sort of nice to have around! ; -)

I'd love to have a larger version of these photos, especially the second one, to paint from. Is this possible? Making a big watercolor of that second photo would be a lovely experience on its own, and I would hope that some of the people who looked at it afterward would get a bit of that calming positivity too.

[H2O Man]

24. My oldest son

frequently assures me that all things are possible with a computer. He helps me with all of my photos on the computer, as I am a low-tech person with very limited abilities (proof that not ALL things are possible!).

I think that you can blow it up; if there is any question on how, I'll refer it to him.

I'm also going to put up a photo or two of "close-ups" of some of the "bark" I collected there in 1984.

[Nothing Without Hope]

72. I'll send you a PM about getting these lovely images as painting references n/t

[H2O Man]

76. My son

will be here this weekend -- I hope! -- and I'll have him help us.

[Nothing Without Hope]

83. Great! Looking forward to this. n/t

[Annces]

25. Thanks for sharing this

Corbin Harney, the Native American spiritual healer says "We have to sing to ‘em, sing to the life of the water, the spirit of the water and so forth. So the water can be happier, the water can continue to flow. We have to make that water spirit at least as happy as can be."

We are in the age of science now, but we need to return to spiritual view of nature. The Yangtze River Dolphin was just declared extinct because of pollution.

I have always liked fossils and such. I had an Uncle Seward from Illinois who was a kind of naturalist. He collected everything you can think of and went on trips to the everglades to collect there to. His house was a museum of animal heads, jars of specimens, and rocks of every kind. When he died they donated it all to a museum.

It seems New York was able to retain much of its original people and character, more than places like Illinois.

[H2O Man]

31. The name of

this area is from an Onondaga phrase that translates, "the waters sing here."

[Buttercup McToots]

32. Thank you H2OMan

I needed this...:)

[H2O Man]

33. There are times

when I think it would be interesting to have a "rural retreat" for some of the DUers in the NYS area. I think this would be an interesting place to hold one.

[BeHereNow]

55. I was just going to ask...can I come visit?

Put my name on the DU retreat list, please.
I'm a great cook; that'll be my job.

:hi:

BHN

[hfojvt]

34. there it is again - Delaware County

Just a little juxtaposition. I am working on a branch of my family tree and the people I am researching were in Delaware County, NY. This is in the Heacock/Hickok family They connected to a different part of my ancestry which was also in Delaware County, a Sanford/Hull family. Today there was a post on a message board I subscribe to from a different family. I went looking for them, and found a possible connection. That person was somebody who had lived in Delaware County for about 20 years before moving to Otsego County and then to Ohio.
So, apropo of nothing, just funny that I am seeing alot of Delaware County.

[H2O Man]

35. As a kid

I played with the Sanford brothers, who lived 1/4 mile up from these falls. My oldest sister, who now lives with one of the Sanfords, is looking to move out of town, and is likely going to by a house half way between the Sanford's old homestead, and these falls.

Small world.

[hfojvt]

48. and a large family

William Sanford came to Delaware County in 1790 and had 11 children, and one of his sons had 11 children, etc., many of them remaining in Delaware at least up to 1900. There are other early Sanford families which do not tie in, at least that I can tell.
Probably this site is known to you already, might have something on the mill.
http://www.dcnyhistory.org/

[H2O Man]

52. A good amount

of the information found there comes from "History of Delaware County, New York: 1797 to 1880." (It's very similar in style to Smith's classic on Chenango County, covering the same years.) The Del Co book, if you can find it, has information on some of the ferns being found on a sidewalk in Delhi in the late 1800s.

[Gregorian]

36. I feel very fortunate.

Shared wisdom. I'm thankful for the gracious sharing.

I'm digesting what to think of the uncovered fossils we are discovering in our country. The Bush family. Rove. I might be making the mistake that cancer...well, look at Lance Armstrong. Maybe I answered my own question. There is hope.




(I want so badly to find my home. (This is just me thinking out loud here). I suppose you know I also had a wonderful place like yours. Now I sit waiting. No home to speak of. My temper suffers for it. I miss the walks. The streams. The bears chomping on apples up in the trees after the sun has gone down. It does help to see someone else enjoying beauty and solitude. )

[H2O Man]

45. I recently visited

one of my uncles. He used to live on a rural farm not far from here, and some of the best memories from my childhood are of time spent there. Now he lives in Watkins Glen, and he loves it there. We were discussing how some people like to live in the country, and others in a town/city. I think that sometimes, it depends on what phase of life you are in .... few teen-agers would rather be out in the sticks, rather than in town where the excitement is.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

37. Beautiful

your essay has struck a chord with me, as Tomorrow Never Knows marked the advent of my spiritual journey. It is important to remember to simply Be. And the stream and hearing of the forest was lovely as well--there and not there and yet still there--all in beautiful New York State, one of the places I've always felt was very special to me personally. Thank you for this sojourn in tranquility.

[H2O Man]

46. I thought it

was interesting that you posted an article about scientists rethinking some theories about the relationship between some of our early ancestors today. Perhaps we do well to take the same approach to politics and social issues today: always being willing to examine the information available to us, to consider possibilities other than those we already accept, and to always try to advance our understanding of the world around us.

[malaise]

38. Lovely post n/t

[H2O Man]

47. Thanks! n/t

[librechik]

39. here's my contribution

I often think of this painting when I'm relaxing in the water.

(I try not to think about whether Ophelia is dead yet or not. I think she's just relaxed and happy, although completely mad, at this moment. Simply surrendering to nature.)

[H2O Man]

49. That is a nice picture.

Thank you for posting it.

[KoKo]

40. Kick....Cool Pictures for these very Hot days.

Good to see those pics from NYS! And, think about something else rather than politics for a bit.

[H2O Man]

50. The brothers who

built the first mill at this spot, in the late 1700s, were "spies" for George Washington in the Revolutionary War. It's also near one of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant's camps from the war, where "escaped" blacks who joined Brant's forces stayed. So even when I try to step away from things political, I don't step too far!

[EFerrari]

41. Thank you.

[H2O Man]

53. And you

as well!

[immoderate]

42. The flood is part of the life of the river.

As you so wonderfully point out the time concept of the river is not our own. The flood, and perhaps a change of course, are natural over its time.

Thanks for the words and pictures.

--IMM

[H2O Man]

58. River consciousness:

I have artifacts that are from people who have lived near here, off and on, since the paleo era. People in the archaic through woodland periods all lived in a manner than depended upon the river. During the contact/colonial times, and even up until around WW2, the families who lived in this area had frequent contact with the river.

In recent years, things have changed. A few kids and old-timers still fish here, though the NYS DEC warns them not to eat too many fish caught in the local rivers and streams.

But mainly, people just see the river, without giving it much thought, as they drive by. It took the flood to get people's attention.

[glitch]

43. One of your most beautiful posts ever. I love it when you go all metaphysical on us. K & R nt

[H2O Man]

60. I think that Lennon's

1966 "Tomorrow Never Knows" qualifies as one of rock's first "heavy metaphysical" songs.

[bleever]

51. Reading this thread and the responses really felt

like I had dived into that cool pool, and sat next to those fossils in the company of like minds.

Thank you very much!

[H2O Man]

64. It's a beautiful spot.

I like to sit there and listen to the water. I believe that the human mind is such that we are all attracted to the water that way. My uncle is happiest on the lake, my brother at the ocean. These pictures are able to communicate the beauty of this spot to a lot of our good friends on DU. I'm glad that you and others enjoy them!

[Uncle Joe]

54. Beautiful photos!

Thanks for sharing.:thumbsup:

[H2O Man]

65. Thanks

Glad that you enjoyed them!

[Uncle Joe]

66. When I look at them, I feel as if I'm there.

Whenever I meditate, I usually start out by visualizing my self floating down a creek or river on a raft, the tension just melts away.

Peace to you H2O Man,
U.J.

[Cameron27]

56. Your waterfall is so beautiful,

I think my memories are defined by the topography of all the places I've walked across in my life, but none are as vivid the woods with the little pond and waterfall that I played in as a kid. Of course, none of it exists anymore since the state decided to build an interstate extension and paved over most of it.

Thanks for some beauty and happy memories on a hot muggy afternoon.

[H2O Man]

67. The two ponds

that were big parts of my childhood are gone .... one was drained, the other filled in. I've wanted to have one on this property for years, but a number of things (including the price), kept me from getting one. Then my cousin made one for me.

The series of waterfalls in the creek was also a big part of my childhood. I count myself lucky to still be able to enjoy them. Without exception, when family or friends from the west coast visit me, they say they want to go to the falls.

[DemReadingDU]

73. Thank you for this quiet reflective thread

There is something peaceful and calming about watching the water, and birds eating at the feeders

[robertpaulsen]

61. You know I love any thread you start referencing the Beatles.

But in this case, you picked a song that tapped directly into what I've been feeling lately. I haven't been posting on DU as often as I used, mainly for a lot of the reasons you've mentioned. It has helped to step back for a while, relax, and take stock in my own thoughts and feelings in solitude. I'll tell you what's really helped for me: reading Les Miserables. It may sound strange that reading a book filled with so many incidents of squalor and degradation would bring inner peace, but Hugo balances that with so many incidents of selflessness and honor that the beauty rises above the misery. It also helps reading the unabridged 1463 page edition. I'm not in any rush to finish it - I'll take as much time as I need to stop and smell any forest Hugo sees fit to describe. I'm only 387 pages into it, so I'll be sure to take it with me to Yosemite in a couple weeks. If you've ever seen it, you know that soon I'll be experiencing the same peace and tranquility you did in Delaware County.

Thanks again for picking up my spirits with this thread.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

62. I love any thread he starts referencing rocks and water.

lol

:loveya:

[H2O Man]

68. When I went

to Seneca Lake last week, I took Vince Bugliosi's new book with me. It's over 1500 pages (and lots more on the CD included in the back). Though I disagree with much of the book, he's a talented writer.

Even on emotionally charged issues, people can disagree, but still have respect for one another. There are many times that this concept is displayed on DU; there has been a few episodes where the opposite has seemed true recently.

[robertpaulsen]

84. Bugliosi said the RFK coverup could "make Watergate look like a one-roach...

marijuana case".

He certainly is a fascinating man. Talented writer, brilliant prosecutor. Hard to believe someone as adamantly opposed to the idea of a conspiracy in the case of JFK could say the opposite regarding the murder of RFK, but it's true. I feel the same as you, don't always agree with him, but I do respect him and am always interested in what he has to say.

[KoKo]

63. Peaceful Places...reminding us that we aren't the FIRST HERE...and

that our imprint in History often depends on when History Made a TURN......

To be a "Tree-Fern" who can be found later...or maybe one of the Ancient Egyptians or Greeks or others who MADE CHANGE and are unearthed centuries later...well it might be a good thing.

[H2O Man]

77. That is interesting.

Chief Waterman used to talk about how the imprints that we call fossils, or the old banks of an ancient waterway, are the memories the earth has of former times.

[ClayZ]

69. How beautiful!

Thanks!

K and R

[H2O Man]

78. Thank you. n/t

[Marnieworld]

70. Thanks for this

Du needs this right now. Not just a reminder to let go but that we are all, all of this, is just a speck of time. To be humbled next to 300 million years on a regular basis must be very grounding. And the pictures were oh so beautiful.

Of course I'm a bit biased because it is my favorite Beatles song. I had the honor and privlege to hear it performed live- completely live by the Extraordinary Fab Faux. Have you ever heard of them? I think you would love them.

From their website:
http://www.thefabfaux.com/fauxstory.php

The Fab Faux are without a doubt the most musically satisfying Beatles tribute band on the scene today. Boasting the high visibility of TV star/musicians Will Lee from The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Vivino from Late Night with Conan O'Brien; five strong lead vocalists (including Rich Pagano, Frank Agnello, Jack Petruzzelli) and a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire; this is the band to see if you want to know what it might have been like if The Beatles toured behind their later albums (with a healthy portion of the early guitar-based stuff that most tribute bands play.) Imagine hearing complex material like "Strawberry Fields Forever", "I Am the Walrus", and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", performed in complete part-perfect renditions; or such harmony-driven songs as "Because", "Nowhere Man", and "Paperback Writer", reproduced not only note-for-note, but with extra vocalists available to achieve a double-tracked effect!

Peace! :hi:

[H2O Man]

79. It's kind of

exciting for us, because the scientists who have studied the Gilboa site are very interested in what we are finding on Tom's property. I tell my kids that my life-time dream is to become a footnote in a text book. This may be my big chance! (grin)

I think it shows what a force the Beatles were -- and are -- that there are still amazing "tribute bands." I can say in full confidence that in the 1960s, my friends and I were the worst cover band ever. One of my friend's brothers is in a Beatles tribute band now, which travels all around (the USA, much of Europe, even Liverpool) doing wonderful covers of the best music ever. Thank you for the link that you posted here; I will be sending it to my friend.

[kohodog]

71. A bit further south...

In Ulster County NY, there is an unusual stream formation where the Woodland Valley Creek and the Esopus Creek make a perfect circle, a very unusual geologic formation. These two streams form the edge of what is called the "Panther Mountain impact crater" thought to have been made by a large meteor or comet about 400 million years ago.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
A view from above.

And below a few pictures of the stream whose springs have nourished my family for many generations and currently supplies NYC with water. A number of years aro my mother found an unusual rock about the size of a softball, covered with trylobite fossils. We took it to the Smithsonian where the said it was from the Devonian period some 400 million years ago when the area was a shallow sea.

As to the floods, I was watching boulders rolling down the stream a few years ago with a local old tiomer who commented, "Yup, this is about the eighth hundred year flood we've had in the last ten years."

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

And finally, a picture of Koho, walking next to the stream.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

[H2O Man]

80. Very nice!

I like all three photos. Koho is one good-looking dog!

Since my pond has started filling in, my dog (Mugsey) likes to go into the water and just stand there, with just the top of his shoulders and head out, keeping cool.

[Garbo 2004]

74. ooh, thank you! Just hits the right note after my sweaty urban hike home from work.

Thanks for posting such natural beauty.

[H2O Man]

81. Years ago,

for my own interest, I took a few courses at a local state university that focused on "green" psychology. I was familiar with the lady who taught the classes, and considered it a treat to be able to spend one evening per week in the class room. Urban life has many advantages, of course, and though I prefer rural life, I was fascinated by the ideas of how to enrich urban life with plants, stone, and water.

When the class covered the chapters about the attraction of curving dirt roads and the sights and sounds of streams, I was able to bring in photographs of where I live. This "neighborhood" is as nice as anything in the textbooks we used in class showed as examples.

[EndlessMaze]

75. Recharging is very good for the soul

I spent a few days up in Yosemite with my wife and daughter a couple of weeks ago. A few Beatles songs were part of my campfire guitar repertoire.

Black Bird singing in the dead of night

Take the broken wings and learn to fly.....

Maze Man

[H2O Man]

82. That sounds

like fun.

Though I am lacking in musical ability, my wife and children are all talented that way. We like to play music for our own entertainment around here. Beatles' songs are family favorites, along with a few Clannad covers, and of course, a few of our own.

[Tatiana]

85. Simply amazing.

I'm constantly amazed at how the earth reveals things to us. But we have to be paying attention. I tell my fiance all the time (he's Creek) that there are such treasures literally in his backyard. His family lives on very sacred land. Sometimes when I am feeling down, I will sit outside and a feeling of peace settles over me. The land is so beautiful, not anything near as gorgeous as what you have shown us here, but beautiful in the Creator's own special way. Right on the tail end of the Trail of Tears route and every so often, working with the backhoe, historical artifacts get unearthed.

Thank you for this reminder that the land we live on, the water we drink, the air we breathe is a gift and a treasure unto itself.

Be blessed :)