Photo of the Day - Konza Prairie in June

This is another of my favorite photos of the Konza Prairie near Manhattan, Kansas in the rolling Flint Hills. The nature trail winds through creek valleys with trees and on the hilltops covered with prairie grasses and wildflowers. When people tell me Kansas is flat, I laugh. While it is in the western half of the state, the eastern half is quite hilly in places. Trudge up the hill in this photo and you'll get a wide view of the prairie while you catch your breath.

Photo of the Day - Orchid

You never know when a photo opportunity will present itself. I was having lunch at Little Harbor and the tasty sandwich came with an orchid. I prompty put it on the table (eating outside in the "winter" is wonderful here) and photographed it.

The Volunteer Army and the Lack of Major Protests

Yesterday evening we were watching the "Honor Roll" of our dead military service members in Iraq and Afghanistan and I said to my husband, "Each of these people volunteered to serve their country, and look how the country has repaid them, by spending their lives in a war that should not have happened." Some, perhaps many, believed in the mission. Some served in spite of misgivings, but they all served us and were willing to chance death to do it. They ranged in age from 18 to 43. One was a woman in the Navy. We see a brief flash of a photo on the screen with their name, rank, age, and home town, but none of us know the stories of their lives and deaths.

Our President says we should not leave because of those who have already sacrificed their lives, but why should more make that sacrifice because someone else has?

My husband asked why we didn't see the major war protests that we did during the Vietnam War, and I said, "Because there is no draft." Partly it's because we don't have the larger numbers of people in our armed forces that we did in that war, and not as many deaths (yet, and I hope there never will be!), but a big reason for it is that most of our young people don't feel threatened. They don't fear having to serve in uniform and risk their lives, because no one is forcing them to do it. And those who volunteer can be "brushed off" in some sense as having "asked for it."

Meanwhile, fewer and fewer of our Congress members and administration have ever served in the military. They have little understanding of either military life or tactics, much less strategy, yet they are the ones expending the lives.

We are paying a high price, not only in lives, but in broken bodies, broken families, and the monetary costs of the war.

If you have not read Woodward's STATE OF DENIAL and Ricks' FIASCO: THE AMERICAN MILITARY ADVENTURE IN IRAQ, please do so. And also the article in the Army Times, "The Seven Pillars of Modern Iraq." You can find the link on this page.

Getting Behind

I'm disconcerted to see that I've skipped several days of posts. Not even a photo. Aside from raking leaves (better than scraping ice off a windshield in February), I've been engrossed in some graphic arts projects that may take up a good part of my time for the next couple of weeks.

Photo of the Day - Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

It's hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to construct this fortress with walls right in the sea, in such an isolated location in the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of the masonry walls and the tropical colors of the sea, the angles and clouds, made for many interesting shots.

Photo of the Day - Bonfire

Photographing fire is fascinating. Because it is ever-changing, with subtle and brilliant light and color, you don't really know what you're capturing until you see the image. I photographed a bonfire in Pittsburg, Kansas, which was part of a family celebration. This photo seemed appropriate for a winter day, when even in paradise we could use a bit more warmth.

More Thoughts on Life in Paradise #4

Even in paradise, people get sick, and I felt like the energy was sucked out of me on Monday and Tuesday, and stayed up all night sleepless Tuesday, starting Valentine's Day behind the curve, waiting for the roof repairman to come back and fix a leak that was still leaking. (Did you know that roofs leak in paradise?) Then we spent four-and-a-half hours shopping for such exciting things as snail bate, fertilizer, a new dishwasher (not yet purchased), new dryer vent, and the like.

Not much romance for a Valentine's Day.

Today it's "cold." If I were still living in Kansas, 58 degrees in mid-February would seem like a heat wave, but here, with a chilly damp wind and no sun, it's "cold." We still made it out the door for a six mile bike ride, bundled up with jackets and gloves. Perspective does change in paradise.

I'm finding it is hard to set aside the time to write all the things I'd really like to, but I'm making a list so I don't forget them. I'm a list champion. I have lists for everything, and without them, I'd forget more than I'd get done.

Photo of the Day - Pink Peony

Roses may be the traditional flowers of love for Valentine's Day, but this lush pink peony seems to fit just as well to me. Our yard in Kansas had a profusion of white and pink peonies. The flowers were so large and heavy that the stems could barely hold them, and if there was any rain, they couldn't manage. Peonies smell wonderful, but I've never seen a peony perfume fragrance.

A Favorite Quote - Andre Gide on Kindness

"True kindness presupposes the faculty of imagining as one’s own the suffering and joys of others." -- André Gide

Photo of the Day - Limestone Column Detail

I've been fascinated with architecture since I was about ten years old, and I enjoy photographing unusual buildings and smaller architectural details. This capital on a limestone column is part of the beautiful detail carved by stonemasons that built some of the older stone buildings at Kansas State University. The KSU campus is a lovely, park-like setting, and unusual because nearly all of the buildings are constructed from native Kansas limestone.