Remnants

Everest Khumbu Ice Fall (Gineth Soto)

The Intersession of Navváb

Shrines of the Purest Branch and Navváb

“O faithful ones!” Bahá’u’lláh specifically enjoins, “Should ye visit the resting-place of the Most Exalted Leaf, who hath ascended unto the Glorious Companion, stand ye and say: ‘Salutation and blessing and glory upon thee, O Holy Leaf that hath sprung from the Divine Lote-Tree! I bear witness that thou hast believed in God and in His signs, and answered His Call, and turned unto Him, and held fast unto His cord, and clung to the hem of His grace, and fled thy home in His path, and chosen to live as a stranger, out of love for His presence and in thy longing to serve Him. May God have mercy upon him that draweth nigh unto thee, and remembereth thee through the things which My Pen hath voiced in this, the most great station. We pray God that He may forgive us, and forgive them that have turned unto thee, and grant their desires, and bestow upon them, through His wondrous grace, whatever be their wish. He, verily, is the Bountiful, the Generous. Praise be to God, He Who is the Desire of all worlds; and the Beloved of all who recognize Him.”

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

I had a nuthatch eating out of my hand this morning---a first for me.  They are friendly little birds and along with the chickadees, my favorite visitors.

Work I Do

Not my design, but my drawing.

Influence of the Press

'Lovers of Light' --Mark Tobey

In this day the mysteries of this earth are unfolded and visible before the eyes, and the pages of swiftly appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world; they display the doings and actions of the different nations; they both illustrate them and cause them to be heard. Newspapers are as a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech; they are a wonderful phenomenon and a great matter. But it behooves the writers and editors thereof to be sanctified from the prejudice of egotism and desire, and to be adorned with the ornament of equity and justice. They must inquire into matters as fully as possible in order that they may be informed of the real facts, and commit the same to writing. Concerning this wronged one, what the newspapers have published has for the most part been devoid of truth. Good speech and truthfulness are, in loftiness of position and rank, like the sun which has risen from the horizon of the heaven of knowledge.

--Baha'u'llah,  Tablet of Tarazat

Politics

"There is nothing so bad that politics cannot make it worse". --Thomas Sowell

Little Traffic Cone

Point Sur Card

On the Occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah

From a Facebook post by Behjat Enayati Samimi.

This cake is presented to the Baha'i's of Isfahan in Iran by their Muslim friends on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baha'ullah, the Founder Prophet of the Baha'i Faith. This cake is a masterpiece example of it -- beautiful, sweet, and inspired! Salutation to its maker, admiration to the motive and the love that created it. 

.این قطعه کیکی هست که توسط یكي از دوستان مسلمان در اصفهان تهیه شد و بدوست بهائی تقدیم گردید
.این نشانه اصالت و نجابت ایرانیان انسان دوست وفرهنگ ایران میباشد

Luke 3:16-17

John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. "His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  Luke 3:16-17

Van Gogh Wheat

Starry Night Cake

A whimsical Starry Night cake.

Медведь на Камчатке

Медведь на Камчатке

Baha'i Consultation

BAHA'I CONSULTATIOIN

Whenever decisions are to be made by a group, these principles of Bahá'i consultation form the most noble framework.

1)  Universal participation: everyone within a body (such as a family, an Assembly, or a Convention) should participate. It is the collective responsibility of each body to ensure that everyone has the opportunity and the necessary encouragement to participate. A broadly based consultation is a healthy barrier against the opinions of the forceful.

2)  Objectivity: prayers to set the tone and perspective; clear statement of the problem; spirit of objective (scientific) inquiry; establishment of the facts; investigation of the relevant spiritual principles; full and frank discussion; consideration of alternative solutions, including the unconventional; converging to the ‘best’ solution; preference for unanimity; the apparent truth; offering of resolutions and voting if necessary;

3)  Detachment: the group acts as one composite mind; the ideas do not belong to the speakers; therefore no one has a ‘position’, no one offends, and no one takes offense; one may speak against ones own previously stated opinion.

4)  Unity: As a prerequisite of effective consultation and in subsequent support for implementation of the outcome, the final decision belongs to the body, not to any individuals.  Even though the decision may have been made by a majority vote, there are no minority opinions; unity in support of decisions is more important than correction of a possible short term mistake.

From the paper Principles of Baha’i Consultation by Farzin Aghdasi

Vine Maple

After a record wet spring and record dry summer, the Vine Maple in my front yard is responding  with color this wet fall.

Beaks

BEAKS

She-Bear (Медведица)

Медведица

I came across a slip of paper that had this printed on it:

SHE-BEAR

The Bear, sacred to Artemis, has been a totem of the Goddess in many cultures.  Bears are clever, deliberate and curious, watching and learning from the world around them.  Their hibernation is a metaphor of rebirth, the power of introspection and the knowing that comes from that place of silence.  They are referred to as the Head of the Council of Animals because of their great strength, fairness and courage.

PORCELAIN BROWN MOTHER BEAR

Ursus arctos, or gigantic brown bear, lives just across the Bering Strait from Alaska. These bears can be the Kamchatka brown bear or the Far Eastern brown bear. Considered to be the ancestor of the Kodiak, the Kamchatka brown bears are dark brown and the largest carnivorans in Eurasia. There was a time in when bears lived everywhere where there was a forest (practically all of Europe). As the woods were cleared, the bears were forced to retreat into more and more remote regions. Already by the Middle Ages the habitat of bears was limited to inaccessible, still wooded mountains. In Europe the best bear habitats are extensive forests on steep-sloped, rocky territory where humans hardly ever stray.

Two talented artists collaborated to produce many of the "Porcelain Zoo" animal sculptures. Porcelain painter Viktor Zhbanov and sculptor/modeler Pavel Veselov. The fruit of their cooperation produced unique figures that are natural and distinctive in their poses.

The Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (Ломоносовский фарфоровый завод) has had a long history, starting with its name. When founded in 1744, it carried the name Imperial Porcelain Factory (Императорский фарфоровый завод). In 1925, it became Lomonosov, named after the scientist and writer Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765). Finally, in 2005, it came full circle and was renamed the Imperial Porcelain Factory.



LINK

Royal Regiment of Scotland: Freedom of the Highlands

Ewing Clan Tartan

Ewing Clan tartan

Baha'i Center of Pendleton, Oregon

BAHA'I CENTER OF PENDLETON, OREGON


I happened upon the Baha'i Center quite by accident early one morning as I was travelling to Twin Falls, Idaho. It's a charming and dignified little building.

From their website.

Rose

Vincent's Bedroom in Arles

Vincent Van Gogh painted his bedroom in Arles at least three times.

Someone recreated the bedroom.

Someone built a model.

This guy recreated Vincent's painting in 3D, and put himself in it.

1969 Saab 95

We bought a used 1969 Saab 95 in Monterey in 1970.  It was cool little car with interesting features, like front wheel drive, free-wheeling and four on the column.  It had a V4 engine.

The trouble with the car was how rare it was.  Mechanics, even foreign mechanics, spent a lot of time scratching their heads when it was in their shop, which we paid for. 

Looking back, I wish we bought a more practical Ford station wagon.

This is the one I want.

MLB Watch

I bought this watch online.

There was a code embedded in the face of the watch, and I verified that the watch had a piece of this ball:

The ball is in the pitcher's mit, and Kelby Tomlinson is at the plate in the bottom of the 9th. I remember the game, and the at bat.

STRIKE ONE!

Kelby steps out and eyeballs the pitcher.

STRIKE TWO!

The next pitch is in the dirt.

It gets away from the catcher.  That's my ball!

I sent the watch back---I thought it was too big.  I wish I kept it.