The Dream – The Seed

[Photo Source: Google online images California wildflowers - GOD spilled his paints!]

(28 APR 2011 -- At times it is a burden to imagine so many wonderful 'things' and NEVER see them come true. The Dream - The Seed. dht-2011) 

**********
IF you think in terms of a year, plant a SEED;
IF in terms of ten years, plant TREES;
IF In terms of 100 years, TEACH the people."
[~ Confucius]

**********

SEEDS -- My maternal grandparents taught me how to tend things growing in the EARTH. This year (2011) I have planted FLOWERS (roses, sweet peas, calla lily, cannas, iris, african orchids, nasturtium, marigold, gladiola, coral bells, forget-me-nots, peter pans, daffodils) and a veggie garden (radish, green onion, green squash, yellow squash, tomato, bell pepper, cukes, jalapeno pepper).

TREES -- I have planted a tree at EVERY HOME I lived in (except for rentals). The Trees in my current home are California REDWOOD trees. (I planted 5 trees—AND there were FIVE already on the property---SO now I have 10 of these magnificent trees in my yard—LOVE'N IT!)

TEACH -- I have been a pupil and student most of my life, and LOVE to learn from others on just about everything and any topic! Anything is NEW when looked at from the different perspective, experience, and perception of others. IN ADDITION, I have been a TEACHER for all my life. I taught my parents how to take care of a new baby (I was their first child).  I taught my grandparents the joy of having a young child (age 4-6) again after raising their own six kids (my aunts and uncles). I taught my spouse what it was to have a wife, BUT NOT how to cherish and LOVE her (some things cannot be taught I found). I taught my daughter the joy of sewing her own clothes (I made almost all her clothes until she was about age 10). I taught in College as an Assistant Teacher to College Professors (Pre-Legal, Accounting, Business, English, Public Speaking, and History). I taught co-workers in the various jobs were the company offered on-the-job-training — many times my employer-company would send me to a class and then I would have to return back to work and teach the same thing to my co-workers on the job.

BUT, NONE of this amounts to a droplet-of-water-in-the-ocean!   Especially, when you compare what GOD (or whatever you want to call the FAITH LEADER) created and planted on this EARTH and the HEAVENS above and all that was made or taught to us by GOD's GRACE.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

**********
SHARE  your thoughts on this!  (if you care to)

LOVE OF NATURE -- SONGS OF OUR BIRDS

 [Photo Source: Google online images. Called "MOURNING DOVE"]

**********

(25 APR 2011 -- IN MY GARDEN, there are many winged visitors.  They bring a cheery greeting as they forage and gather whatever they find in my yard.  I hear them by their songs and the beating of their wings.  Frequently I am able to get a PIX or video (if I'm quick enough), some of these I have posted here to share.  There are many DOVES, and I especially enjoy their 'coo cooing' songs as they go about their daily routine.  The DOVES are always in pairs in my yard, and it is difficult to tell the male from the females since they are similar in size and coloring.  I have posted a PIX with this NOTE that was made by John James Audubon; it is a PIX of the "Mourning Dove".  Also, I have posted a PIX of John James Audubon with dog, horse, and rifle in an outdoor setting.  ENJOY!  [dht-2011] )

**********

John James Audubon (1785 –1851) – QUOTES

During all these years, there existed within me a tendency to follow Nature in her walks. 

I can scarcely manage to scribble a tolerable English letter.  I know that I am not a scholar, but meantime I am aware that no man living knows better than I do the habits of our birds. 

I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could. 

On landing at New York, I caught the yellow fever.  The kind man who commanded the ship that brought me from France took charge of me and placed me under the care of two Quaker women.  To their skillful and untiring care, I may safely say I owe my life. 

[JUST A NOTE:  TAKE A LOOK  at the photo below and SEE IF YOU CAN FIND a Quaker woman in a bonnet in the left side of the PIX of John. dht-2011]

**********

Carolina Pigeon (now called MOURNING DOVE)

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

The Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family (Columbidae). The bird is also called the Western Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove.  It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds.  It is also the leading game bird, with up to 70 million birds shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and for meat.  Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure stems from its prolific breeding: in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods a year.  Its plaintive woo-OO-oo-oo-oo call gives the bird its name.  The wings can make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, and the bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph).

**********

WIKIPEDIA

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

John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter.  He painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North America in a manner far superior to what had gone before.  Born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) and raised in France as a youth, in his embrace of America and his outsize personality and achievements, he represented the new American people of the United States.

**********

BOOK

http://pbmo.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/birds-of-america/

THE BIRDS OF AMERICA is the title of a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing paintings and scientific description of a wide variety of birds of the United States.  It was first published as a series of sections between 1827 and 1838 in Edinburgh and London.  The work consists of hand-colored, life-size prints made from engraved plates measuring around 39 by 26 inches.  In December of 2010 a copy sold at auction for £7.3 million.

**********

[Photo Source: Google online images of John James Audubon with dog, horse, rifle in an outdoor setting, and Quaker woman in bonnet.]

The Well – The Walk

[Photo Source: National Geographic online images]

(24 APR 2011 – A special THANK YOU to my friend "sky-bird" for the term "Nature's crew" in this writing – which he inspired and his 'crew days' in the military that he has shared!  dht-2011)

**********

LOVE grows tended with a gentle heart.

THE more one LOVES, the more LOVE grows.

BUT, not all are fated to find that special someone.

IF we do, sometimes we are fated also to lose that person.

WHAT then the Loss,

SHOULD one despair for the remainder of the WALK,

OR, SHOULD one look elsewhere –

To Family, Friends, Nature's crew, Nature's bounty.

MAY not, there be that single passion called our own,

YET, others may benefit from our LOVE.

OUR WELL overflows with LOVE and needs to flow,

ELSE, it may stagnate and desiccate.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

**********

The Dream -- The Walk

[Photo Credit /Source:  Courtesy of Wm Monckton, wildflower field in Lancaster, CA]

(24 APR 2011 -- How many dream and apparitions follow from childhood to adulthood?  Some precious few?  Or, are you still waiting in hopeful expectation?  dht-2011)

**********

How I wax nostalgic for my girlhood DREAMS!

My WALK a succession of DREAMS and HOPES, some realized, but few.

Most wither and fall wayside as the journey goes.

Yet, many DREAMS and HOPES hold out for a LIFETIME,

Waiting to be realized just as a seed planted

Awaits the season to realize Nature's promise.

DREAMS and HOPES like flowers choked by weeds,

That suddenly unfettered in a lovely, sun kissed vale,

Whence blooms and springs forth to vibrant life.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

**********

AS I WALK THROUGH MY DAYS

                                  [Photo Source: Google online images]

(24 APR 2011 – Every day I find something in the New Day that calls to mind the many Blessings that are bestowed upon my Life.  My maternal Cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson used her genius with words to wrap her feelings and thoughts in over a thousand writings, which she wrote for her own Joy.  Nevertheless, since her death, her Joy is now shared with those who find meaning and inspiration in her poetry and writings.  Below is one short poem that speaks to my Heart – and that inspired me to speak with my own Words.  Enjoy!  dht-2011)

**********

If I can stop one Heart from breaking

I shall not live in vain

If I can ease one Life the Aching

Or cool one Pain

Or help one fainting Robin

Unto his Nest again

I shall not live in Vain.

[-Poem #919 by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson]

[Poem #919 -- My sentiments and my Maternal Cousin Emily's words. dht-2011]

**********

Every day I am Blessed

Anointed by the dawn

Kissed by the sun

Lulled by the moon light

Til dawns anew a kaleidoscope of Hope.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

**********

HUMMINGBIRD -- Looking Over My Shoulder

                               (Photo Source: National Geographic online images)
**********

(16 APR 2011 -- The HUMMINGBIRDS that dance among the trees branches and hover upon the soft breezes are a delight to behold as they go about the daily business of gathering, nesting, and raising their young.  This morning I was in the backyard early and watering the garden by hand with the hose, (the sprinklers still needed repair).  A couple of HUMMINGBIRDS came within two feet of my head and helped themselves to a SHOWER from the water spray from my handheld garden hose.  I was thrilled and delighted and my heart was lightened; and I felt honored that they would feel safe enough to grace me with their closeness and presence.  dht-2011)

Some great YouTube Videos of hummingbirds

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw-e7qPT8EM&feature=player_embedded#at=49  ]

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cAHedt8r-k&feature=player_embedded  ]

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4WPBzlk3Bk&feature=player_embedded  ]

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPxaqk2gdYE&feature=player_embedded  ]


**********

HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE Hummingbird QUOTES

Hummingbird shows us how to re-visit the past for the purpose of releasing it instead of being caught in a permanently backward flight pattern.  It also helps us to see that if we step aside we may see our life differently.  Hummingbird teaches us to transcend time, to recognize that what has happened in the past and what might happen in the future is not nearly as important as what we are experiencing now.  It teaches us to hover in the moment, to appreciate its sweetness. [~Constance Barrett Sohodski Quotes]

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.  [~Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays]

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather.  [~Terri Guillemets]

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?  [~Rose F. Kennedy]

There are joys which long to be ours.  God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.  [~Henry Ward Beecher]

**********

                           [Photo Source: Google online images]

 (Below is Poem #1463 written by my maternal Cousin Emily Dickinson – about the Hummingbird that is colorful and moves its wings rapidly as it hovers and flies among the bushes with ease as it delivers pollen to the heads of flower blossoms. dht-2011) 

 A Route of Evanescence

With a revolving Wheel —

A Resonance of Emerald —

A Rush of Cochineal —

And every Blossom on the Bush

Adjusts its tumbled Head —

The mail from Tunis, probably,

An easy Morning's Ride —

[Poem # 1463 by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson]

CHOCOLATE - How it affects my LIFE and FUNNY BONE

                 PHOTO SOURCE: National Geographic online images]

(12 APR 2011 -- Life is not ALWAYS what you perceive with your eyes, feel with your hands, or hear with your ears; BUT the heart ALWAYS sees TRUE!!   LIFE is full of the unexpected and surprises -- hopefully delightful ones!  THE SURPRISE HERE IS NOT WHAT YOU MAY BE EXPECTING !!  The photo above is actually a photo of 'mud' -- that's right 'mud'.  Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011)

**********

Below are some of my favorite quotes relative to Chocolate (my FAV flavoring) -- ENJOY!!

LIFE IS NOT LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES, IT'S MORE LIKE A JAR OF JALAPENO'S.

WHAT YOU DO TODAY, MIGHT BURN YOUR BUTT TOMORROW!

OKAY, it might not be Patriotic, but you have to admit it is pretty good!  [borrowed from Jean E.- 5JUL2010]OU DO TODAY, MIGHT BURN YOUR BUTT TOMORROW! Okay ~ it might not be Patriotic, but you have to admit it is pretty good.

"IT IS BAD TO SUPPRESS LAUGHTER.  IT GOES BACK DOWN AND SPREADS TO YOUR HIPS! 
I thought that was just chocolate that did that."  [borrowed from Jean E. 2011]

"All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." 

[- Charles M. Schulz]

"Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power.  It is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits."  [- Baron Justus von Liebig]

"Life is like a box of chocolates ... You never know what you're gonna get."  [- Forrest Gump, as portrayed by Tom Hanks]

If life is like a box of chocolates, then it's time for me to buy another box, I seemed to have already devoured all the good ones! 

[– unknown]

Life is like a box of chocolates, the best ones are half eaten!! [– unknown]

"There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles."  [– unknown]

Chocolate causes certain endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by making you happy.  Therefore, it counteracts depression, in turn reducing the stress of depression.  Your stress-free life helps you maintain a youthful disposition, both physically and mentally.  So, eat lots of chocolate!  [-Elaine Sherman]

This guy found a bottle on the ocean, and he opened it and out popped a genie, and he gave him three wishes.  The guy wished for a million dollars, and poof!  There was a million dollars.  Then he wished for a convertible, and poof!  There was a convertible.  And then, he wished he could be irresistible to all women... poof!  He turned into a box of chocolates.  [– unknown]

I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process....  It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?  [– unknown]

Chocolate flows in deep dark, sweet waves, and a river to ignite my mind and alert my senses.  [– unknown]

Chocolate doesn't make the world go around ... but it certainly makes the ride worthwhile!  [– unknown]

Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can. 
[– unknown]

Seven days without chocolate makes ONE WEAK.  [– unknown]

In the cookies of life, friends are the chocolate chips.  [– unknown]

***********

My Neighbors -- The Robins

                     (PHOTO SOURCE:  American ROBIN GOOGLE online images)

 **********

(10 APR 2011 -- There are several robins that live near my home and visit my backyard foraging for food and nesting supplies.  I very much enjoy their many songs and birdcalls that are cheery and something like whistling.  It is the nicest way to start my day and wake up to.  They seem to begin their songs early in the morning hours; and when I am outside doing my gardening, I enjoy their company.  I see them often with small twigs and grass in their beaks gathered from my yard, and then they fly to the house next door where there are some tall trees.

They visit daily and it seems forage all day long, although I have NOT taken many good PIXs of them.  However, they are just so healthy, 'fat', and beautiful that I wanted to post something here on my BLOG page.  I will try to get some good PIXs and even video this season to share.  These birds are truly wonderful and so beautiful!  Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011)

NESTING

It is amazing to watch the ROBINs in my backyard as they forage and gather small twigs and grass to build their nests.  Their nests seem to snugly 'fit' the body of the adult ROBIN perfectly.  This it seems is the best way to keep the nest insulated with the ROBIN's body so the warmth it provides stays in the nest.  The size of the nest is such that it will hold up to FOUR ROBIN eggs and growing chicks.  The nest is round and I wondered why!  After reading some websites, I learned that the robin in the nest hunkers down -- almost looks like it is bending in half.  It is at this time that it is using its wings to beat down and press the twigs in a circle as the ROBIN turns around in a circle in the 'growing' nest.  The ROBIN flaps its wings very fast - thump thump thump – and you can hear this sound if you are close enough (if they let you that close to their nest) and/or have a recording device near the nest.

SOURCES

I have posted a sampling of some WEB SITES here that have LOTS of great info, so I will only include my personal observations in this space.  AND, later I will post some PIXs of the ROBINs as they visit my backyard, and maybe 'capture' some of their bird songs.  The LEGENDS and STORIES that surround these wonderful ROBIN RED BREASTS are heart warming and have ties to FAITH and RELIGION.  


**********
SOURCE website (has ROBIN quotes):
[ http://www.worldofquotes.com/topic/Robins/1/index.html  ]

SOURCE website (has sound sample):
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Robin  ]

SOURCE website (has sound samples and MORE):
[ http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/id  ]

SOURCE website:
[ http://www.all-birds.com/American-Robin.htm  ]

SOURCE website (has video samples and MORE):
[ http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Robins.html  ]

YouTube

SOURCE YouTube (just a sampling of Robin singing):
[ http://youtu.be/98DFgHAe-Qw  ]
[ http://youtu.be/UwnhwF9_x2Y  ]

SOURCE YouTube (ROBIN in nest making the THUMP sound while turning in circle):
[ http://youtu.be/fqgPmnW8yCU  ]

SOURCE YouTube (just a sampling of Robin egg hatching):
[ http://youtu.be/FDKgLfWheoI  ]
[ http://youtu.be/Ko8E4b0bYFo  ]

********

(PHOTO SOURCE: GOOGLE online images -- American ROBIN blue eggs)

THE CHANGING SEASONS

(Photo Source: Google online images)

(9 Apr 2011 – Where is it written that Time moves slowly in times of Trouble and quickly in times of Joy?  Who is the record keeper of Times Passage?  My mirror holds many stories and many secrets.  dht)

The changing seasons mark the passage of time on NATURE's Landscape,

even as the lines on my cheeks mark the hourglass of my life's journey.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr]

           (Photo Source: Google online images)