tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75370799024259084582024-02-20T18:03:47.030-08:00JourneysBarbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.comBlogger413125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-84235884227694626522022-03-21T15:04:00.002-07:002022-03-21T15:04:18.082-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_2CUBYk9rtOc-84LT7BxuCxAVPQ_7DFwGU_wuSoFZXyTQh5snRBuprWtNrKde80ms1D_t1XZ59O_7SdZwYms9snx3gh8T9Esw3N6U_NDdkxJvngfXDUDqG5Xg0c9AAQqhggZHptkHhGSJtLPP0MQlIP-Hw8XVGQB2A6au4-DQkCixmmQuvZYMRom/s2048/Brook%20trout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_2CUBYk9rtOc-84LT7BxuCxAVPQ_7DFwGU_wuSoFZXyTQh5snRBuprWtNrKde80ms1D_t1XZ59O_7SdZwYms9snx3gh8T9Esw3N6U_NDdkxJvngfXDUDqG5Xg0c9AAQqhggZHptkHhGSJtLPP0MQlIP-Hw8XVGQB2A6au4-DQkCixmmQuvZYMRom/s320/Brook%20trout.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Brook trout.<p></p><p><br /></p>Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-66642949040393592302022-01-07T08:36:00.000-08:002022-01-07T08:36:07.314-08:00<p> Snow day. schools and many places closed in Grand Haven and along the coastline of Lake Michigan.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQgxA4VM-mEJE6QrwKlylPxdRFQv1Ti3gVmgMhdDtThtCahrILgi24aMl_Ylc1_EfjG1gszbUOXKZ6B7dYo-lb-9MgvIORWJTkQOWM8huhvoajSkdD-Fw-V9qD8C_zMcgMK_ztY6xWv76n2mhVywjEi-tzgwbIv_d5RYYPJwnEqnLj8vEGRsClcN2t=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQgxA4VM-mEJE6QrwKlylPxdRFQv1Ti3gVmgMhdDtThtCahrILgi24aMl_Ylc1_EfjG1gszbUOXKZ6B7dYo-lb-9MgvIORWJTkQOWM8huhvoajSkdD-Fw-V9qD8C_zMcgMK_ztY6xWv76n2mhVywjEi-tzgwbIv_d5RYYPJwnEqnLj8vEGRsClcN2t=w212-h283" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After a warm December the ice on Lake Michigan is beginning to freeze along the shoreline. One crystal grabs one grain of sand and the ice begins to build outward into the lake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyDuWkX8c-iCQ_Gut-66pN8eQXMJo-Nij4iLHSTm3-ntuTnMvmW5rMz1MaUo5oPL6jniTFl9nCceI-ia_HzeHrd6mvoFNMFsZumQK6T9zP34wxihkB7FOF4A-gPdjxjpj4mg_gfgOJMdGn-DMKLkWaiGWQjc1uIyNjrQ6ziJLNaoRuZlzHxH5HRWR8=s1981" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1981" data-original-width="1485" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyDuWkX8c-iCQ_Gut-66pN8eQXMJo-Nij4iLHSTm3-ntuTnMvmW5rMz1MaUo5oPL6jniTFl9nCceI-ia_HzeHrd6mvoFNMFsZumQK6T9zP34wxihkB7FOF4A-gPdjxjpj4mg_gfgOJMdGn-DMKLkWaiGWQjc1uIyNjrQ6ziJLNaoRuZlzHxH5HRWR8=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-75893690621038460892021-09-29T06:45:00.002-07:002021-09-29T06:45:33.969-07:00<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Our Lives Together<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My husband, you know my love for you forever<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remains true over time and restless tides<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We live and love each other in our fine house<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Where we have raised our loving family<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two successful daughters on their own<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Beautiful women with children of their own<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Five grandchildren now grown and successful<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One great grandchild, a sprightly girl with curls<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who does the splits on a balance beam.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our lives blessed near the freshwater seas rolling in<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And sometimes like a mirror for sky<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I need you as the earth needs the sun light<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And as the earth needs rain, clouds, snow and ice<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are blessed on earth, blessed and forever blessed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stay by me as you have for many years<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I will stay by you my faithful husband<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Down through the passing days, months, years<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We started with little and as we worked<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We gained more: our house, our family and friends<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It could never be better our lives together<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With a love like this we shall live long lives<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Together in our house by Lake Michigan <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Together here and beyond our lives here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>--Barbara Spring<o:p></o:p></p>Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-9031665423100245412020-09-07T13:34:00.000-07:002020-09-07T13:34:42.883-07:00<p> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;">Wet in Wet</span></p><div class="_1dwg _1w_m _q7o" data-visualcompletion="ignore-dynamic" style="font-family: inherit; padding: 12px 12px 0px;"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-testid="post_message" id="js_ab" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 6px;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5f5698253ce296d21462486" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><p style="font-family: inherit; margin: 6px 0px;">Pigments stain wet paper<br />Swirl out in rolling clouds<br />Of colors that run together<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><br />Blend ochre for antelope hides<br />For sand dune forms and<br />For the earth I roll up under my toes.<br />I add Paynes gray translucent as water<br />And a touch of vermilion for desire.</span></p><div class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><p style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 6px;">Palette and brush extend from the mazes<br />Of my brain and move to rhythms imbedded<br />In cycles of stars, the arms of<br />Spiral galaxies, in the dances of creation<br />Bright planets and singing stars<br />In the rolling of waves, the beating of wings<br />And wind sighing through green leaves of trees<br />And singing in gold and green grasses<br />I am making my wet into wet painting</p><p style="font-family: inherit; margin: 6px 0px;">--Barbara Spring</p></div></div></div><div class="_3x-2" data-ft="{"tn":"H"}" style="font-family: inherit;"><div data-ft="{"tn":"H"}" style="font-family: inherit;"></div></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div></div></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><form action="https://www.facebook.com/ajax/ufi/modify.php" class="commentable_item collapsed_comments" data-ft="{"tn":"]"}" id="u_fetchstream_27_1r" method="post" rel="async" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="_4299" style="border-radius: 0px 0px 3px 3px; 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cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; max-height: 16px; overflow: hidden; text-decoration-line: none;" tabindex="0"></a></div></div></div></div></div></form></div>Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-19205661597182947432020-08-24T13:33:00.000-07:002020-08-24T13:33:28.618-07:00<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Summer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
See how green breezes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Play oak leaves high<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Above me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Summer breezes touch
my cheeks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Bend beach grasses<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Scatter their seeds--<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Sand pipers skitter
across the beach<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
As a brown bear dances<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in my dream.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>--Barbara Spring<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-44237789018058483952020-08-17T06:14:00.000-07:002020-08-17T06:14:09.725-07:00 Whale Watching on the Sea of Cortez <br />
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<br /></div>
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Whale Watching on the Sea of Cortez </div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baja</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> California, the
long finger of land dangling into</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mexico with the Sea of Cortez on one side and the Pacific Ocean
on the other, is full of surprise encounters. The Sea of Cortez is a playground
for whales and other marine mammals.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> In La Paz, we embarked on<i> </i>a
small cruise ship fitted out with all sorts of equipment designed to
investigate this surprising environment. The trip opened worlds of wonder to
us.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The <i>Sea Bird </i>is
operated by Lindblad Cruises, a line that specializes in
ecotourism. Our guides were specialists in the flora and fauna of
Baja and though they had studied their specialties for many years, they as well
as we were constantly surprised by what we encountered.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “Look, a Blue Whale,” Steve
our expert in marine mammals shouted. “It’s the largest animal that
has ever lived on earth!”</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We saw the dark, majestic
body of the whale surface and then slowly sound, several times. We
watched its dorsal fin and its graceful tail disappear quite close to
us. We peered through binoculars while we waited breathlessly for it
to emerge again from the mysterious waters that some call the Sea of
California.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Steve was full of
information: “These waters are ll,000 feet deep at their deepest...the whales
have a different song in each ocean basin... their low pitched voices can
travel l500 miles...no one knows how long they live...ivory harpoons have been
found in whales...best estimate..135-200 years.” </span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> He told us the area is young
in geological time. Millennia ago, tectonic plates shifted
separating the Baja from the mainland causing the depths of the Sea of Cortez
and thrusting up the Sierra Madre Mountains on the mainland of Mexico.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “The rocky islands you see
are of volcanic origin,” he</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">explained.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Just then another whale
surfaced quite close to the ship “A Brydes Whale,” Steve
shouted. “I’ve never seen one before.”</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We had not
either. The Sea of Cortez is full of whales as well as twenty other species
of marine mammals. There is plenty of room for them to cruise its
deep canyons and plenty of food brought up by upwelling currents.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our scientist/guides on board seined the waters with a net to
see what sort of plankton they could find. They put a drop of water under a
microscope and hooked this to the t.v. in the lounge so we could see the
fascinating array of life on the t.v. screen--life forms only visible when
magnified. We saw the larvae of star fish and many beautiful shapes of diatoms. I
thought we might see krill, the preferred food of baleen whales, but such was
not the case. The seine net could not go deep enough to strain out
krill. Our day of whale watching changed to evening as we watched the
vivid colors on the rugged landscape we passed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The next day we saw two humpback whales
spouting and sounding in unison, perhaps a mother and her calf. We
got quite close and Andrew, the ship’s underwater camera man went out in the
zodiac to film them. I gasped when I saw how close he was to the whale’s
flukes when he plunged into the water.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I asked him if he got any
pictures when he was back on the <i>Sea Bird. </i></span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “</span></i><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My heart was just pounding,” he said, “but I couldn’t</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">get close enough for filming...</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">we had equipment to record their voices, but they were not vocalizing.” </span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We learned to identify whales by
their spouts...these whales had V shaped spouts while the Blue Whale spouted
straight up. Gray whales have a heart shaped spout. Two Common
Dolphins rode the bow wake as we cruised along. I leaned over the rail to snap
photos. Toward evening the sunlight on the islands we passed turned their rose
madder colors to deep royal blues as a full moon rose over them.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We also had an underwater camera and we used it the next
day to photograph California Sea Lions.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We were up early and the
sunrise shining on the islands turned them to gold. After breakfast we donned
wetsuits provided by the cruise line along with fins and snorkels.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We could hear the barking of
the sea lions as they cavorted on a picturesque rocky island. These
were young males, pups, and their mothers. We slipped into the sea
and were greeted by playful sea lions under water. They zoomed by us
and peered into our masks with their large eyes. They played. I
imagined that one was dancing with me...twisting, looping, and sleek. I wished
I had just some of its underwater grace. All around us were vivid flashes of
bright colors and the fanciful patterns and shapes of tropical fish going about
their lives around the rocky island.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We stopped at Arroyo Blanco
to kayak around the sea caves. We heard the water surge and recede, sonorous
and low, boom in the caves where we paddled. Paddling close to the rocks we saw
Sally Lightfoot Crabs and lizards and many types of sea birds: pelicans, blue
footed boobies, osprey. On the sandy beach, small stones and shells washed in
and out with the waves.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We found paddling around the islands easier than walking.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Many varieties of cactus
march up the stony hillsides of the islands we visited. We took
hikes, mindful of the thorns. These rugged islands are not an easy place to
live, yet many species of plants have found a way to cling to the rocks in
drought and in the rainy season.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We were told that 99% of the
living space on planet Earth is in the oceans. I felt we had only scratched the
surface on this cruise yet there were mysteries and surprises
abounding. We were fortunate to see a Blue Whale, a Brydes Whale,and
Humpback Whales sounding and spouting in unison. We followed a Sperm
Whale, but it was elusive. We examined minute plankton through a microscope. We
saw many dolphins and swam with California Sea Lions. We saw
tropical fish and kayaked in sea caves. What a great adventure for two land
lubbers.</span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-59607209545182731352020-07-30T16:48:00.000-07:002020-07-30T16:48:08.280-07:00<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
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<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-pDfU9sht5_XqsgKTjkz2lqz9rnfOnkhsOkhVrWxyA0YEZEAFo7hAsDHP8f7FZdqFzB626uMnuMQtlCuWX8ifV2RaFNp0DM-2VA79gdlX2X3RfteVe8DqwabRys70T0lfPRoLNbr4jo/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-pDfU9sht5_XqsgKTjkz2lqz9rnfOnkhsOkhVrWxyA0YEZEAFo7hAsDHP8f7FZdqFzB626uMnuMQtlCuWX8ifV2RaFNp0DM-2VA79gdlX2X3RfteVe8DqwabRys70T0lfPRoLNbr4jo/s320/sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{160}" paraid="1074728640" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{160}" paraid="1074728640" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Nearness of God</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{164}" paraid="334260088" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">See how the breeze moves through</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{168}" paraid="1413553727" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Every blossom and leaf.</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{172}" paraid="423104765" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">See how the sounds of each bird</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{176}" paraid="1629784873" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">And insect wing sings</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{180}" paraid="843986900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">In our very heart’s core.</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{184}" paraid="1109731010" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Under a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">dome of rock in a sea cave.</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{190}" paraid="1393434719" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Listen to the ocean roar </span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{194}" paraid="1266974517" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Hear the whales sing through green</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{198}" paraid="1162923578" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Halls shot with sunlight.</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW54152964 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{202}" paraid="314835551" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">God’s majesty in all.</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW54152964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW54152964 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf2a102-63a9-4377-bb4a-92113a8dbefb}{206}" paraid="922263481" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">--Barbara Spring</span><span class="EOP SCXW54152964 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-48311538539357333472020-07-14T05:50:00.001-07:002020-07-14T05:50:24.990-07:00<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>July 14, 2020<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>As I sip my tea<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>I feel deep peace<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>In my place near the
lake.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>The beacon reflects<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>On still water<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>On days like this<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>It is hard to believe<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pandemics sweep<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Over the world<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Angry riots far<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Away today.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>---Barbara Spring<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-45011124616329616872020-06-25T10:31:00.000-07:002020-06-25T10:31:07.102-07:00Great Lakes: Mourning the Losses<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATWdD0RejLmSU5xE0Qfo5Uh3EYk42Scho6QKf5z4eViUJ72DTnfrIfkehe3dDCoa0_YnTJ43Nk0F3A_84ONAPh7PRu4H0Ua0LABFfpVMTKWg4TlDVctQc8S_sHhwvAV8Mz4rsN5GnHW0/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATWdD0RejLmSU5xE0Qfo5Uh3EYk42Scho6QKf5z4eViUJ72DTnfrIfkehe3dDCoa0_YnTJ43Nk0F3A_84ONAPh7PRu4H0Ua0LABFfpVMTKWg4TlDVctQc8S_sHhwvAV8Mz4rsN5GnHW0/s320/sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I mourn the loss of what used to be even before I was born. This was my
motivation for writing The Dynamic Great Lakes. I care about the environment so
much that I had to do something.<br />
When I think of the 500-year-old white pines that used to be where I live, I
feel a sadness. White pines were called white gold and used for the masts of
ships, and in West Michigan, these trees rebuilt <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city></st1:place> after the great fire. <br />
<br />
When I think of the sturgeon that were killed and burned like cordwood because
they fouled fishermen's nets, I want to cry. <br />
<br />
Glacial relics remain in the dunes and wetlands such as the arctic primrose.
The names of flowers are lovely: grass pink, lady's tresses, rams head lady
slipper. The fragrances of these flowers are in my imagination. Very few are
really found.<br />
Few are found because many dunes have been leveled.<br />
<br />
When Jacques Cartier reached the Great Lakes, his men had scurvy. The Native
Americans taught the French how to get vitamin C by making arbor vitae tea. The
tea was made by pouring hot water over the leaves of this tree. They learned of
a natural pesticide from the aroma of white spruce.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Now harmful chemicals are found in the air, water and soil and this is really
something to grieve. This was my motivation for writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Dynamic Great Lakes</i>. I care about the environment so much that
I had to do something. This book shows what some people working on grassroots
committees have been able to do. It is a hopeful book. It is a beginning.
Without basic knowledge about the <st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place>
it is impossible to make the right decisions about them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-15067661418618629832020-05-07T07:20:00.001-07:002020-05-07T07:20:58.485-07:00Whale Watching on the Sea of Cortez<br />
<div align="center" class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">On the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cortez</st1:placename></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Baja</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> California</span></b></st1:place></st1:state><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, the long finger of land dangling into</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mexico</span></b></st1:country-region><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> with the <st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cortez</st1:placename> on one side and the <st1:place w:st="on">Pacific Ocean</st1:place> on the other, is full of surprise
encounters. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cortez</st1:placename></st1:place> is a playground
for whales and other marine mammals.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> In
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">La Paz</st1:place></st1:city>, we
embarked on the <i>Sea Bird, </i>a small cruise ship fitted out with
all sorts of equipment designed to investigate this surprising environment. The
trip opened worlds of wonder to us.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> The <i>Sea
Bird </i>is operated by Lindblad Cruises, a line that specializes in
ecotourism. Our guides were specialists in the flora and fauna of
Baja and though they had studied their specialties for many years, they as well
as we were constantly surprised by what we encountered.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> “Look,
a Blue Whale,” Steve our expert in marine mammals shouted. “It’s the
largest animal that has ever lived on earth!”</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> We
saw the dark, majestic body of the whale surface and then slowly sound, several
times. We watched its dorsal fin and its graceful tail disappear
quite close to us. We peered through binoculars while we waited
breathlessly for it to emerge again from the mysterious waters that some call
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename></st1:place>.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Steve
was full of information: “These waters are ll,000 feet deep at their
deepest...the whales have a different song in each ocean basin... their low
pitched voices can travel l500 miles...no one knows how long they live...ivory
harpoons have been found in whales...best estimate..135-200 years.” </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> He
told us the area is young in geological time. Millennia
ago, tectonic plates shifted separating the Baja from the mainland causing
the depths of the <st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cortez</st1:placename> and thrusting up the <st1:placename w:st="on">Sierra</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Madre</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype>
on the mainland of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> “The
rocky islands you see are of volcanic origin,” he</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;">explained.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Just
then another whale surfaced quite close to the ship.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> “A
Bryde’s Whale,“ Steve shouted. “I’ve never seen one before.”</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> We
had not either. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cortez</st1:placename></st1:place> is full of
whales as well as twenty other species of marine mammals. There is
plenty of room for them to cruise its deep canyons and plenty of food brought
up by upwelling currents. Our scientist/guides on board seined the waters with
a net to see what sort of plankton they could find. They put a drop of water
under a microscope and hooked this to the t.v. in the lounge so we could see
the fascinating array of life on the t.v. screen--life forms only visible when
magnified. We saw the larvae of star fish and many beautiful shapes of
diatoms. I thought we might see krill, the preferred food of baleen
whales, but such was not the case. The seine net could not go deep enough
to strain out krill. Our day of whale watching
changed to evening as we watched the vivid colors of evening on the rugged
landscape we passed. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> The next
day we saw two humpback whales spouting and sounding in unison, perhaps a
mother and her calf. We got quite close and Andrew, the ship’s
underwater camera man went out in the zodiac to film them. I gasped
when I saw how close he was to the whales’ flukes when he plunged into the
water.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> I
asked him if he got any pictures when he was back on the <i>Sea Bird. </i></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> “</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;">My heart was just pounding,” he said, “but I
couldn’t</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;">get close
enough for filming...</span></b><span style="color: #26282a; font-size: 10.0pt;">we
had equipment to record their voices, but they were not vocalizing
.” </span><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 24.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> We
learned to identify whales by their spouts...these whales had V shaped spouts
while the Blue Whale spouted straight up. Gray whales have a heart
shaped spout. Two Common Dolphins rode the bow wake as we cruised along. I
leaned over the rail to snap photos. Toward evening the sunlight on the islands
we passed turned their rose madder colors to deep royal blues as a full moon
rose over them.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> We also had an underwater camera and
we used it the next day to photograph <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Lions while snorkeling.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #26282a; font-family: Courier New;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b> We
were up early and the sunrise shining on the islands turned them to gold. After
breakfast we donned </b></span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><b>wet suits</b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b> provided by the cruise line along with fins and
snorkels.</b></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> We
could hear the barking of the sea lions as they cavorted on a picturesque rocky
island. These were young males, pups, and their
mothers. We slipped into the sea and were greeted by playful sea
lions under water. They zoomed by us and peered into our masks
with their large eyes. They played. I imagined that one was dancing
with me...twisting, looping, and sleek. I wished I had just some of their<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;">underwater
grace. All around us were vivid flashes of bright colors and the fanciful
patterns and shapes of tropical fish going about their lives around the rocky
island.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> We
stopped at Arroyo Blanco to kayak around the sea caves. We heard the water
surge and recede, sonorous and low, boom in the caves where we paddled.
Paddling close to the rocks we saw Sally Lightfoot Crabs and lizards and many
types of sea birds: pelicans, blue footed boobies, osprey. On the sandy beach,
small stones and shells washed in and out with the waves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found paddling around the islands easier
than walking.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Many
varieties of cactus march up the stony hillsides of the islands we
visited. We took hikes, mindful of the thorns. These rugged islands
are not an easy place to live, yet many species of plants have found a way to
cling to the rocks in drought and in the rainy season.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv6171350095msonormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 24.0pt;">
<span style="color: #26282a; font-family: Courier New;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b> We
were told that 99% of the living space on planet Earth is in the oceans. I felt
we had only scratched the surface on this cruise yet there were mysteries and
surprises abounding. We were fortunate to see a Blue Whale, a
Bryde’s Whale, Humpback Whales sounding and spouting in unison. We
followed a Sperm Whale, but it was elusive. We examined minute plankton through
a </b></span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><b>microscope</b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>. We saw many dolphins and swam with </b></span></span><st1:place style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: Courier New;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>
Lions. We saw tropical fish and kayaked in sea caves.</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> We
came home with a deep respect for the surprising life found in and around the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Sea</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cortez</st1:placename></st1:place>.</span></b></div>
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<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-39374807710800305252020-04-22T08:09:00.001-07:002020-04-22T08:10:25.067-07:00<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS44cauFSiehc6GMDMQj-Yx7jSedW9LXSfYXYkQIFGnkxyzxCwnrGQRF7uep3iVelG14_paxTL2iX772szvakUpgzaJuHzTrfldtwRxftSJUhE2248jyOKFKZdR2QrSirYWXJBUzlkPU/s1600/Norm+parade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="640" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS44cauFSiehc6GMDMQj-Yx7jSedW9LXSfYXYkQIFGnkxyzxCwnrGQRF7uep3iVelG14_paxTL2iX772szvakUpgzaJuHzTrfldtwRxftSJUhE2248jyOKFKZdR2QrSirYWXJBUzlkPU/s320/Norm+parade.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Return of Eagles, Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In 1962 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Norm</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Spring</st1:placename></st1:place>
read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silent Spring</i> by Rachel
Carson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wondered how anyone could
read the book and not do something about the harm DDT was causing to the environment.
He was living right across the street from Central Park at the time and the
city of <st1:city w:st="on">Grand Haven</st1:city>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state></st1:place> would spray the elm trees for Dutch
Elm disease with DDT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was told he
could move his car, but along with his wife he had two small children and the
house and places where the young children played would be coated with DDT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem was DDT did not kill the elm
beetle. it soaked into the ground and everyone could see robins trembling in
their death throes in the grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
spray washed down the streets and into the storm drains so DDT entered <st1:place w:st="on">Lake Michigan</st1:place> where it was caught up in food chains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fish became highly contaminated with DDT.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish eating birds such as the American Bald Eagle
were affected since their eggs became thin and cracked as a result of DDT and
did not hatch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Norm went to every
meeting of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Grand</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Haven</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype>
Council for three years and finally the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Grand</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Haven</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> Council agreed to
stop their DDT program.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">People came from a
nearby city and asked “How did you do that?” and together they formed the <st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state> Pesticides Council that met at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Michigan</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the members were:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Norm</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Spring</st1:placename></st1:place>, chairman, Joan
Wolfe, ornithologists Dr. Ted Black, Dr. George Wallace, Dr. John Kitchel,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charles Schick, Ann Van Lente, , Joseph
Kleiman, Theodore Carbine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to their
work DDT and like pesticides were banned in <st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state>
in 1972 and then the ban went nation wide and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> followed.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Today the Eagles,
Ospreys and Peregrine Falcons have returned to the shores of the Great Lakes,
the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> because
the democratic process worked. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">We see butterflies,
moths and bumblebees, all part of a healthy ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Norm was inducted
into The Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame in 2014 for his work on behalf of
the environment.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=7537079902425908458" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="418" src="file:///C:/Users/Barbara/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" style="cursor: move;" v:shapes="_x0000_i1025" width="647" /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=7537079902425908458" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-17037750835530337922020-03-27T12:50:00.000-07:002020-07-14T05:52:32.464-07:00The Heart of a Rose<br />
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That Fragrance? The sublime some say is in the heart of a rose. Look deep. Gaze into time and space. Love unfolds like a lovely rose. Love bids us welcome. Sublime Love.Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-41345769379770723132020-03-27T07:52:00.000-07:002020-03-27T07:52:12.128-07:00Silkie<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mbdQlku12XbRPUpjegTiXhtw77YEHjlM5BhHHtTsbgemw0oXo_gTIWlyTVKJZ_CR1m5B0XrphoUi5IOkOwXFSDlzLGFwWu_NblT4fGhrOazmjp6OGiuFwFguAQXAVS1De1_kp2BPtfA/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mbdQlku12XbRPUpjegTiXhtw77YEHjlM5BhHHtTsbgemw0oXo_gTIWlyTVKJZ_CR1m5B0XrphoUi5IOkOwXFSDlzLGFwWu_NblT4fGhrOazmjp6OGiuFwFguAQXAVS1De1_kp2BPtfA/s320/sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Silkie<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I will dance
down to the salty sea and return to my cradle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Swayed in the deep, nuances of fishes surround me, nibble my heels, pass
in silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sun slides down through diatoms
like snow, glints off gills, scales, fins, tails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Light bejeweled with animals like
flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spin drift sand conceals old
coins, shells, fins, eggs, lies in ripples, troughs, caves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My tongue knows salt, my body the cool
pressure and the feathery touch of kelp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">* "The silkie be a creature strange who rises from the sea to change."</span></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-22894051522570206732020-03-19T12:19:00.001-07:002020-03-19T12:19:07.219-07:00Wishing for Viridity<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wishing for Viridity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For spring to reappear. So I<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Painted wildflowers with green<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leaves and stems all around<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A veery’s trill opens my bluebells<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pink columbine, delicate hepatica<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And nodding pitcher plants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I want to lie down in a grassy meadow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And breathe sweet breezes this spring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">--Barbara Spring</span></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-76839771916518075742020-03-14T14:09:00.001-07:002021-09-29T06:46:44.704-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A Sphere of Years</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0a991eaf-7fff-b1ed-0e0d-2bbf00782513" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I am a sphere of years</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Rolling on space/time’s</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">warp and weft.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In Chartres Cathedral</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Infant Jesus holds</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A golden ball in the palm of his hand</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">From darkness we come</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And the divine child is born within</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And every year is born again.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 10pt; margin-right: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 10pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-86629932284320754272020-02-28T13:04:00.003-08:002020-02-28T13:04:43.663-08:00The Dynamic Great Lakes a book about changes in the Great Lakes<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Praise for The Dynamic <st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her cautionary
book, environmental activist and professor Spring enthusiastically explores the
<st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place>, and clearly explains why they
should be protected. —Book Sense Nov 22 2003 <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is intriguing stuff for adults, but the straightforward
presentation also lends itself to use in schools. —Peter Wild <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> Water News<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every library should
have this book. —Stan Lievense, retired fish biologist MDNR<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Worth reading if for no other reason than that the writing
is masterfully done…reminded me a little of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
—Jonathon David Masters, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is an impressive little book. Not quite 110 pages long,
it’s a read of about an hour or so. The author has, however, managed to jam it
full of facts and information about the <st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place>.
The author also sprinkles a strong environmental ethic throughout the book
coupled with the belief that the democratic process can make a difference. —Bob
Gross, The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Oakland</st1:city></st1:place>
Press<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spring’s handy
108-page primer about the <st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place> provides
the curious with a solid overview of the lakes including their history,
physical characteristics, denizens and the threats facing them, particularly
from invasive species and pollution. —Dave LeMieux, The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Muskegon</st1:city></st1:place> Chronicle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-77733634938836712612020-02-28T05:59:00.002-08:002020-02-28T05:59:56.560-08:00Columbia Missouri<br />
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Mo</st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Does the house on <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Ross St</st1:address></st1:street> remember
me?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The little girl with
two skinned knees?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The little girl who
left her hand prints<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
On her sooty bedroom
wall? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Does the stucco house
with a screened in porch<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Remember my pet
turtle <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Winchester</st1:city></st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My polliwogs that morphed into frogs?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The stairs where I
would sneak along the banister<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Not letting the
stairs creak<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And I would spy on
Mom’s bridge party—<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“She always wears her
hair the same way” she said<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And all the ladies
laughed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Does the house
remember my Dad<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Who gave me a puppy
to love?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I named her Penny
because she had<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A coat the color of a
new penny.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
She had long ears and
big brown eyes—<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A cocker spaniel with
a pedigree.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
--Barbara Spring</div>
Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-89415971260812306332020-02-27T11:35:00.000-08:002020-02-27T11:35:27.662-08:00Planet Earth<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Planet Earth<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Lapis lazuli planet<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Swirling white clouds<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
We turn through<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Black space—<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Skeletal white moon<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Golden sun<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Mother Earth holds<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Us on her lap.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-61594755759608749702020-02-18T13:59:00.000-08:002020-02-18T13:59:03.585-08:00Life Born of the Sea<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Life Born of the Sea<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I hear sounds of surf
rolling in</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secret cobalt seas--</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Kissed by cadmium sun</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Tossed by gentle
winds</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Small waves splash
in—</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Sea cradle of blue,
rippled with green</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Pale sunlight slides
down through. </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Then vibrant life</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Life begun in the rocking
sea cradle</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Born of sunlight,
sand and water</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Pure alchemy.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Green and ocher
vibrations </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Tumbled and tossed</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Rippling, rolling
roiling waves—</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Life trembles</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wave after wave</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tosses life’s splendors ashore:</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Strange living shapes</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Transparent, round,
tubular</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Cast upon shore from
living waters</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
From near and afar.</div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-70124670379001585002020-02-06T12:44:00.001-08:002020-02-06T12:44:45.599-08:00Squash Blossom<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Squash Blossom</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I found you in the garden</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
knew you'd be there</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
deep in green squash vines</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
earth vine leaf air.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I picked you up your</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
curled damp cord</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
tangled in spiral air and</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
your dark eyes met mine</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
your severed cord dangled in</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
midair</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I carried you through the front door</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and kissed your downy hair.</div>
Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-83120579818251341552020-01-26T11:23:00.001-08:002020-02-06T12:35:24.468-08:00Fairy Tale<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fairy Tale</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Rhinelander, the city of the green glass dome where
stands the court of justice, there dwelled a mighty sage who had paid
dues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sought the sage for my desire
was to be a poet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sought the sage in
the hall of justice but he was not to be found there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found him at last under a green leafy canopy
contemplating a cool damp mushroom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Greetings,” I blurted out brashly— then the sage fixed me
in his gaze for surely he had never seen me before and I’d never seen him
either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spoke then and I blushed for
he spoke of the foolish things I do and know and some wise things, too although
I hadn’t said anything except “greetings.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A woman who wishes to be a real poet the sage said must
accomplish three tasks:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Capture
the consonant dragon murmuring under the sea.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Capture
the black troll growling vowels.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">Capture
the essence of meadow flowers—the pleasantest task of all.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
But how am I to begin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My tendency to fly must be overcome in favor
of earthly images.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stay grounded at all
costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women should not try like Icarus
to fly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why court disaster?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My kiting dreams of many colors I pulled down
on a string.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoosh—they dangled from the
skeletal limbs of a tree between Heaven and Earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
I sat down on the damp Earth until
my bottom felt at one with it: cold and damp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It happens that dragons dwell in the satiny waters of <st1:place w:st="on">Wisconsin</st1:place>
lakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one has to look very far to
find one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stared out at the rippling
water and discerned a moving shape beneath it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dragon slip, dragon slide—on a dragon I would ride. I slipped onto the
dragon’s back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
Hssss—the sound of dragon
scales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel the cool pressure as we
stir clouds of silt where winding weeds grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The dragon takes no notice as I slide from its emerald skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of his scales has stuck to my shoulder.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
I lie down on the grassy shore to
dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BZZZ hums the sound of honey bees
kneading each flower with their legs furred with yellow pollen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They fly to their hive—females doing the work
of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yellow pollen covers my
hair, my hands, my feet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
My body leaves a hollow place in
the grass as if a deer had lain there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
wander into the forest with its dappled light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Leaves rustle as small animals flee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The coal bright eyes stare at me eye level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am lost.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
”Take me to the troll who dwells
under the hill,” I ask of the brown and white owl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spread his silent wings and flew low to
the place where stone and black dirt meld—then disappeared.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
All night long I listened to the
hooting echoing through the trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hoo.
Hoo Hoo Hoo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sat on a stone and waited
for the bandy legged man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then in the
moonlight he approached.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I confronted
him there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
“Take me to Mother Earth’s
vowels,” I whispered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
“Why can’t you finally leave me in
peace?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
“Please forgive all the mean
things I’ve done and said—my rude laughter—take me there and I’ll be grateful
ever after,” I said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
“You must follow me to the fen” he
said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
Moonlight turned leaves to
quicksilver as small breezes blew through them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At last we reached the dark fen where the earth quaked under our
shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sucked at my ankles and I knew
if I fell into the water it would whirl me around and return only my hollow
bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A green luna moth brushed my
cheek and I whispered “fly away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
moon you see below is deception and decay.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
The prune hearted man heard what I
said and threatened to bind me to a willow tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I showed him the dragon scale clinging to
my shoulder and bee yellow pollen that caught in my hair while I was still
unaware.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
“ I will lead you out of the fen
if you will take this apple seed from me,” he growled quite low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He handed me an apple seed like a tear drop
and I placed it under my tongue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Now
follow me,” he said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
As we approached the high mountain
meadow he disappeared and I saw the first rays of violet dawn then the golds,
reds and luminous grays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>East wind
dandled flower strewn grasses and when I felt tempted to rise and blow away
with it, I laid my body down, for grounded after all is where it was decreed I
should be by the blithe one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
And there I saw a bright yellow
flower symmetrical as the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I touched
it to my lips and breathed in its freshness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“The sun and the flower are one,” said I and felt a deep harmony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not explain how this is true, and yet
I knew.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
The sage who had paid his dues was
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By staying earthbound, I could go
everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A courthouse capped with a
dome of green Tiffany glass could never contain this truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now I will roam Earth’s high and low
places and write my poems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I reeled in
my kite from the tree and gave it to a little boy.</div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-47645035599106584922020-01-08T05:36:00.000-08:002020-02-28T06:01:55.917-08:00Missouri Childhood<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Missouri Childhood<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I was
young under the locust trees</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And living in sultry <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Missouri</st1:place></st1:state>.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I climbed down the
creaky oak stairway</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stole away out the door.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Outdoors was my
domain in those summer days.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I was a slender child
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Missouri</st1:state></st1:place></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Playing in the daisy
dappled meadows </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And skating down the
knee scabbed pavement.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Barefoot on the
grassy lawn.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Missouri</st1:place></st1:state>
cicadas buzzed all the night long.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
So I lay on the clover
strewn lawn</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gazed up at the starry night</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Breathed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>locust blossom scented air—</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And I went to bed
dreaming of ghost ships</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Circling the globe on
sea currents</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
As horned owls flew
past my open windows.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Then time carried me
far away</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
From places where I
liked to play--</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Looks like I am in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state></st1:place> to stay.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Water in a clear babbling
creek</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Changes course </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And sings as it flows
along—songs of</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where it has been</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And what is yet to
be.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-59653931924099761752020-01-03T14:47:00.000-08:002020-01-03T14:47:12.250-08:00Tikal<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #999999;">What we had seen from the plane were the tops
of tall temples poking up above the jungle. </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #999999;">Now in a mini bus we passed through a
countryside where men carried machetes on their way to fields and women carried
water jugs on their heads or dried beans on cloths in their yards. Wild turkeys
crossed the roads. The minibus stopped at a roadside stand-the driver seemed
enchanted by the beautiful girl selling a few snacks-and we were told we could
use the bushes if we needed a rest stop. </span><o:p></o:p></b><br />
<br />
When we reached <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tikal</st1:city></st1:place>
we asked if we could have overnight accommodations for there is more than can
be seen in one day. We sat and waited until finally we were told that we could
have a room in a jungle lodge. We were lucky. If we had not stayed overnight,
we never would have heard the haunting sounds of jungle birds and monkeys that
surrounded us after dark. Also, there was to be a full moon, and we wanted to
see <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tikal</st1:city></st1:place> 's
tall temples in the moonlight. <o:p></o:p><br />
We joined a group touring the ruins. Tikal is layer upon layer of temple
pyramids. The Mayans just kept building on top of former temples. I had a
strange feeling as we viewed nine stellae dedicated to the nine underground
gods. As we followed our guide we saw that Tikal was once a huge metropolis
with broad causeways and squares designed for pageantry on a grand scale. <o:p></o:p><br />
The square with its great temples on each side is filled with sounds of
flocks of parrots, monkeys, toucans and the voices of the Montezuma oro pendula
birds. Their woven nests are like an oriole's and their bell like voices echo
off the temple walls. The big beautiful birds, lemon yellow and rust, nest in
groups around the ruins each year. The temples face north, east and west but
never south. Strutting around the temples are wild turkeys that make a deep
drumming noise to show off. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
As we walked through Tikal, we saw temples that had been excavated and
others that were still overgrown with jungle trees, vines and soil. The jungle
is filled with trees cultivated by the Maya; kapok, balsa, cork, rubber trees,
nut trees, allspice tree used for embalming. Chocolate was considered sacred.
Spider monkeys and howler monkeys drop debris down at us from the tree tops. <o:p></o:p><br />
We wondered at the limestone pyramids carved with masks, the ball courts
where life and death games were played, aqueducts, market place, and coliseum.
We visited the museum that contains a burial, a tall skeleton surrounded with
shells, food jars, jade balls, jade anklets, necklaces. It is the burial found
in a pyramid. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Tikal means the voice of the spirits. In the main square, the acoustics are
astounding. What spirits are here? We saw carved bones in the museum, a jaguar
with a human face, a serpent with a face emerging from a dragonish serpent's
mouth. By day we walked carefully through jungle paths following our guide.
Poisonous snakes, the fer de lance and coral snakes are found here. We were
careful not to step on army ants marching in formation on the jungle floor. We
had no guide at night but we decided to walk through the jungle to see the
temples in the light of a full moon. The fragrance of night blooming flowers
filled the air and a musky smell-was it a jaguar or a fox? Something was near.<br />
<br />
Maybe the mythical jaguar man. Then through an opening in the jungle, we saw
the glorious sight of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tikal</st1:place></st1:city>'s
temples splashed with the clear light of a huge moon--the place of spirit
voices. We heard them all around us. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-48495557491090702122019-12-21T06:50:00.000-08:002019-12-21T06:50:00.115-08:00Rainbow Trout or Steelhead<br />
<br />
The rainbow trout planted in tributary streams grow large in the Great Lakes. Great Lakes steelhead are similar to rainbow trout but are two to ten times larger. They begin their life in streams then head out into the Great Lakes where they grow large. They return to the place where they hatched from the egg to spawn.<br />
excerpt from my book, The Dynamic Great Lakes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4fuRySpUgjxR6T0Ckdvyft5Y6kOxxRCupBDjJlcwm4VJqI0mhDWoJ3ZXDJ4UGIM3Ng82eD0G6NNASADJbGPxKbPL0BFG1AYQoh1L7ypa2ElFmPGROJsJxDI74O2oAnTrOqqgsmItsU0/s1600/DGLnew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4fuRySpUgjxR6T0Ckdvyft5Y6kOxxRCupBDjJlcwm4VJqI0mhDWoJ3ZXDJ4UGIM3Ng82eD0G6NNASADJbGPxKbPL0BFG1AYQoh1L7ypa2ElFmPGROJsJxDI74O2oAnTrOqqgsmItsU0/s1600/DGLnew.jpg" /></a></div>
Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537079902425908458.post-3805209264741751102019-11-29T07:03:00.003-08:002019-11-29T07:03:55.948-08:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Garamond-Italic; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond-Italic;">Where
Have All the Goddesses Gone?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">When
Mother Eve fell from grace<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Massacio’s
Adam turned his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">When
Artemis’ bow lost its sting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">all
the satyrs flooded in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">After
Ix Chel’s temple fell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">hotels
sprang up on <st1:place w:st="on">Cozumel</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">With
Demeter despised, shunned<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">residual
poisons leave us stunned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">With
Aphrodite degraded, mocked<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">the
porno business leaves us shocked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">With
Sophia’s radiance lost<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">can we continue to bear the cost?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">from my book <i>The Wilderness Within</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Barbara Springhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442858408225289344noreply@blogger.com0