Captain Kidd

 

Captain Kidd, Thames River Cruise, London, England 2014

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Blooming Succulents

 

Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens, London, England – 2014

Kew Gardens

 

 

The Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens, London.  2014

A lovely surprise was the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens, London.  Dedicated to the memory of Princess Diana, the Conservatory focused on two distinct habitats.  Deserts and Tropical Forests.  Starting with the desert the Conservatory was lushly planted with cacti and succulents from around the world.  Weaving one’s way through the desert I found myself surrounded by air cacti and ferns before ducking through a dark hallway.  Emerging from the hallway I was engulfed in a tropical paradise.  The air was moist and green, light shimmering on ponds through a canopy of exotic plants.  Diana would be so pleased.

 

 

Escape

 

Stained Glass Window, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France 2014

When your Life is too busy with noises and demands you need to find an open window from which to escape.  Escape.  Go outside into nature when you are feeling low, when you need a break, when you are sad.  Feel sunshine on your shoulders and raise your face to the rays.  Breathe in fresh air.  Touch leaves, tree bark, water, shell.  Listen to wind playing in the leaves.  Engage all your senses.  Sit and soak and be refreshed.

 

 

Our Only Hope

 

 

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy,

and after all our most pleasing responsibility.

To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal

is our only hope.”

Wendell Berry

Good Gifts

 

 

The atmosphere, the earth, the water and the water cycle –

those things are good gifts.

The ecosystems, the ecosphere, those are good gifts.

We have to regard them as gifts because we couldn’t make them.

We have to regard them as good gifts because we couldn’t live without them.

Wendell Berry