Photographed by M.V Adler
As our thoughts are with the women in our lives and we get ready to observe and honor mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds this coming Sunday let us celebrate those we love as we shall grow to bear a resemblance to them
The day compose of many moments unseen
The spark from her sting as the beauty of spring
Manors of consoling embraces
The stains and wrinkles of time remove
Her hug begrimed with nurture
Mesmerize with laughter
Millions of faucet smiles and tears pour
Scent of protection lounge
Sunlight of wisdom mentor
As moments fat with love gibbers
Rainbows fail in comparison to her beauty
Chill with endless sacrifice
Her pulse and thoughts beats fiercely
Her hands, bosoms feeds, hold even entice
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Poem Written by Brenda L. McCartney
Today, let us unpeel one more layer and take another step towards wholeness. Here is an excerpt from the White Egret by Derek Walcott. Enjoy your weekend all.
Be happy now at Cap, for the simplest joy-
For a line of white egrets prompting the last word,
For the sea’s recitation re-entering my head
With questions it erases, canceling the demonic voice
By which I have recently been possessed; unheard,
It whispers the way the fiend does to a madman
Who gibbers to his bloody hands that he was seized
The way the sea swivels in the conch’s ear, like the roar
Of applause that precedes the actor with increased
Doubt to the pitch of paralyzed horror
That his prime is past. If it is true
That my gift has withered, that there’s little left of it,
If this man is right then there’s nothing else to do
But abandon poetry like a woman because you love it
And would not see her hurt, least of all by me;
So walk to the cliff’s edge and soar above it,
The jealousy, the spite, the nastiness, with the grace
Of a frigate over Barrel of Beef, its rock;
Be grateful that you wrote well in this place,
Let the torn poems sail from you like a flock
Of white egrets in a long last sigh of release.
Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Iceland
A photographic essay.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXUytoaA-r8]
Although it is forty years after the first Earth Day, Earth Day 2010 can still be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.
Appended are a number of actions that you can take to make the earth a better place.
· Pick up litter when you see it
· Shop at local farmer’s market and buy organic food
· Take shorter, cooler showers and use less shampoo
· Install water saving shower head
· Abstain from eating meat one day a week to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry
· Write to your local utility company and ask about their plans to offer a green energy programme using solar or wind power
· Use environmentally friendly cleaning projects
· Use a reusable water bottle and take a mug to work for coffee or tea
· Organize a clean –up in your neighborhood
· Use recycled paper
· Plant a tree
· Clean a beach
· Use a reusable shopping bag for groceries
· Turn off lights when you leave a room
· Pay bills online instead of receiving bills in the mail
· Recycle aluminum cans
You Can Make a Difference!
The revised excerpt was taken from BNT Newsletter
Sturdy blooms of honeysuckle, horseradish, lilies
Layered her encyclopedic memory
A youthful lithe of treasured stories
The composition of a Bahamian rhapsody
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Smell Seven sisters, Dracaena, Angel Trumpet sweet perfume
Bromeliad pots unabashed wipe
The expectant joy of sapodilla in season sweetly bloom
Papaya and breadfruit not yet ripe
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Wine stain of sweet mulberries
Her brittle vine wring with taste
Incomparable pleasure appease
Revel in springs quiet chaste
-
Poem written by Brenda L. McCartney
Photographed by Susan Koster
Timeless ponder of mid morning calm
Casuarinas gone, listen to a louder bird song
Wind fan coconut trees and larger palms
As seagulls lines Saunders shimmering sand
-
Hues of calmer seas chisel sunrise
As lilt of white ocean enfolds
Golden streaks edge clearer skies
Ravish thoughts blossom then fold
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Satchels of bequest waltz
Lit, gleam tantalize
Ripples of kinder emotions exalt
In pleasured filled eyes
-
Poem Written by Brenda L. McCartney
Photographed by Brenda L. McCartney
Growing up we always had an endless supply of West Indian Gooseberries this time of the year. Trees droop with West Indian Gooseberries borne in small clusters straight from the trees trunk and limbs of the tree. This hard berry with a ribbed surface compelled us to oblige in-spite of the sour/acidic, zingy/tart taste.
My secondary research reveals numerous notable mentions of various types of gooseberry (excluding the West Indian Gooseberry). In Montserrat the fruit is called gooseberry, Cayman Island it is called chelamela. In Jamaica it is known by various names in different Parishes such as chermina, jimbelin, Otaheite gooseberry, sour barge. In Grenada it is called damsel, Trinidad raspberry.
There are other types of gooseberries as well. The other well published name for the gooseberries outside of the Caribbean are the Cape gooseberry with a Chinese’s papery skin, the European gooseberry which is green and the American gooseberry that is deep purple. Gooseberry is also known as Grosille a Maquereaux in French, Stekbes in Flemish, Stachelebeere in German and UveSpina in Italian. It was very interesting to learn that these gooseberries bear June to July.
These firm berries whether West Indian European or American all supply varying amount of Vitamin C, which is good for our immune system, and potassium which maintain the bodies mineral and fluid balance.
Smack, smack, smack, smack I can now see our friends squirm after biting into of these tangy berries. In Montserrat when things are sour we say that they ‘cut your courage.’ This Caribbean fruit has many uses include drink, jam, wine, currents and syrups. For children of the West Indies, we are hypnotized during gooseberry season as there is a natural compulsion to have another and another. I guess when you think about it “sour taste promotes salivation.” Sour foods are generally cleansing as well as stimulating to the appetite and just typing this is making me want to eat just one more gooseberry.
Photographed by Susan Koster
For years as I ascend the Soufriere Mountains on various hiking trips I would always stop and watch the Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) plane wreckage on the south side of the 3002ft mountain. On Friday 17 September 1965 Flight 292 crashed into the Soufriere Mountains while flying from Martinique en-route to New York via San Juan, killing all on board. It was reported that the sky was slightly overcast at the time of the crash. Seeing the footage from the scenes of this weekend’s crash in Poland reminded me about Pan Am crash in Montserrat. We are informed that Poland’s President Lech, Kaczynski plane crashed into trees in foggy weather as it approached the Smolensk airport. I remember hearing stories told to me about the Montserrat crash and now thinking about the differences of this recent disaster I know the former calamity is dwarfed in comparison on many fronts but there is one similarity for me and it is the fog.
Do you know that there is no difference between the fog and clouds other than altitude? Fog is defined as visible moisture that begins at a height lower than 50 feet. If the visible moisture begins at or above 50 feet, it is called a cloud. I know from my own experience while hiking that sometimes one can barely see your arms while walking in clouds. There are also moments of disorientation based on the speed of the walk. Furthermore there are also times when you are tricked into thinking that you actually reached the summit. So the task that Captain Grzegorz Pietruczuk (the pilot) was entrusted undoubtedly not an easy one.
Let us pray for the souls of the faithful departed and the many who mourn the passing of their love ones in these and other plane crashes.
Quilted by Carol Sauer Beckmann
Pieced appliqué thoughts
Where complete sets amassed for leisure
Textures tear away in patterns dots
Stitched on bits of cloth a pleasured treasure
-
Library mosaic in colors of many threads
With completed first editions
Transport, transforms, embeds
The stamping of friendships renditions
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The released passionate, personal at peace
A fragrant pausing, with style acquired
Infusion, wit, wisdom, desired design Matisse
A lifetime collection inspired
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A slow turning of free motions
The pace of many ginger bliss nights
On quilted Volumes of many selections
As Billy Joel Plays You May Be Right
-
A lone daguerreotype adorns as its laments
Created with fervor she presents
The beginning of a tradition well meant
For a Quilter in Residence
Have you looked forward to the prospect of something and it did not materialize? Well, my Lily did not produce a flower this Easter. In the midst of my disappointment there are recurring thoughts of the many beautiful strings of lilies that are strung in my associations.
I pray that you are not daunted by your unfulfilled expectations but your passion will inspire you to produce no matter your displeasure.
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