The Osage Indians called September "The Moon of Yellow Flowers." It's October now, but I thought I'd share some photos from last week which demonstrate how appropriate the name is. These were taken Sept. 28th at Melvern Reservoir in Osage County, Kansas, and Sept. 30th at the Prairie Center in Johnson County.
______________________________________________________________
Maximilian sunflowers (Helianthus maximiliani). Notice how their faces are turned toward the sun - they didn't even realize I'd snuck up on them to shoot pictures.
Tall goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). There are several species of goldenrod, but this is the one most of us are familiar with; it occurs not just in prairie settings but in meadows and roadsides across much of the continent. The blooms cause grief for people with allergies, but they also have a wonderful scent.
Seed pods of prairie milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii)
Not all the September wildflowers are yellow. Here is snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata) - the flower heads of this plant are less showy than the white and green striped leaves.
I couldn't identify this one. It resembles false fascicled foxglove (Agalinis fasciculata) but the stamens are wrong.
Broomweed (Gutierrezia dranunculoides)
A box turtle. When I was a kid I saw these all the time, but this was the first one I'd encountered in several years.
Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus). This species has long been used in agriculture, and hundreds of varieties are now cultivated worldwide for their oil and seeds.
Sunflower close-up with three little bugs
Large-flowered gaura (Gaura longiflora)
Blue sage (Salvia azurea)
A spider climbs into the sky. Her web was across the path, and when I tried to get a close-up shot she took off up a strand like she was flying.
Jersualem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus). The roots of this sunflower were a valuable food source for Native Americans.
Rose hips on prairie wild rose (Rosa arkansana). These are larger than most rose hips, about the size of a cherry.
Leavenworth eryngo (Eryngo leavenworthii). I love the metallic purple color of these fierce-looking flowers.
A wasp feeding on stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
Rose vervain (Glandularia canadensis) or, as it used to be called, rose verbena (Verbena canadensis). I have no idea why they changed the name - in growth habit, foliage, and blossom it's nearly identical to the verbenas commonly used in horticulture. Whatever the taxonomists call it, rose verbena has one of the loveliest scents of any wildflower.
False boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides)
Willow-leaved sunflower (Helianthus salicifolia) with a bumblebee
all images © 2011 by nanatehay
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Comments
It's my understanding that it isn't the goldenrod that bothers people, but the inconspicuous ragweed that blooms at the same time and the goldenrod gets the blame...
I'm glad you didn't include the ragweed though. AAAA....aaa....CCCccHHOOOOOoooo.
Linnnnn, I'm glad you could hear them. I haven't had that happen since the last time I took mushrooms... :P
AKA, when are you going to post the photos from that trip? I love Indian paintbrush - what species was it?
Seeing these felt like Christmas, or my birthday!
Thank you for a lovely gift for the eyes!
Linnnnnnn, now I think about it, prairie wildflowers do have a sound; the crunch of hiking boots on the path, and meadowlarks and wind through the grasses
Mhold, that you enjoyed these photos is a gift to me. Thank you.
(Now all that's missing is for Frank Apisa to show up and point out that some of thse flowers aren't actually yellow, there's no moon in any of the photos, and in any case you took them in the wrong month so it's all futile anyway.)
Castilleja miniata.
Soon I hope. Next few days are busy for work.....
Written, you're crackin' me up over here.
Lea, "Buds, Bugs and Beyond" has long been my personal motto...
M.C., October on the prairie is beautiful too. The sumacs and plum thickets turn red and purple, and the tallgrasses have a palette of fall color which, to me, is as glorious as the woods in New England.
It's been a great autumn so far Jeanette, warm days and lots of sun.
AKA, that's one of those cool Western species; in my area we only get Castilleja coccinea and Castilleja sessiliflora.
Greenheron, that turtle was irritated as hell alright - once he realized I didn't want to eat him he was all "Step off and let me get on my way you stupid primate." Osage orange fruit do get weird-looking as they age, though in most cases outdoors the deer eat 'em before that happens. When I was a kid we'd have fights with them; you can easily knock a person out with a head shot.
Jack, no self-respecting plant geek can talk about wildflowers without throwing the Latin names in there. And yeah, for most people, "foxglove" means digitalis purpurea, but common names can be misleading and sometimes the same name is given to entirely different species, which is why the Latin comes in handy to get exact identifications. For instance, one of the wildflowers in this post is called "snow-on-the-mountain" but there's also a type of groundcover used in horticulture with the same name. Regarding chrysanthemum, I have my doubts. The only species of chrysanthemum I've ever seen in the wild around here is ox-eyed daisies, and mums are a composite flower with long, strappy petals, while the mystery plant up there seems more like some kind of legume. For the record, I'm kind of a wildflower snob and don't photograph plants that aren't natives - admittedly, it's possible that the purple one is an exotic, though I'd wager it's a native because of where I found it.
Hard to pick one shot above others but that leavonworth eryngo blows my mind!!!
Having been born and mostly raised in the Rockies, I'm still amazed to find that flat places can be beautiful too.
Thanks for these great shots! So many I don't recognize, but I do recall that one summer we drove across country three times, I stopped the car endlessly going through Kansas because there were so many cool flowers to photo...
The mystery looks like a mutant prairie rose : )
Love that wild purple Leavenworth eryngo, a teasel cousin??
...and I always wondered what goldenrod actually looked like.
A good anti-inflammatory, diuretic, helps strengthen veins for varicose vein sufferers, also antiseptic, aids in upper respiratory infections...great properties to this plant.
Thanks for these! It looks like it was a great day all around with that sky...
Trig says: "Pure euphorbia." Obviously he knew that the false boneset in this post was named for it's resemblance to boneset, which is one of the euphorbiaceae. Good eye Trig!
Cappy, I love the mountains myself, but the prairie has an understated beauty all its own. Wtf is wrong with Trudge, not inviting you to dinner? You're one of the original Gutter Krewe for crying out loud!
Jack; Guns, Women, and Flowers, and not necessarily in that order. One of my favorite websites is a place called:
http\\www.heavilyarmedfloralhottiesunleashed.com
Just Thinking: eryngo is in the parsley family, or Apiaceae, while teasel has a family all its own, the Dipsacaceae. They are similar in appearance though. Thanks for sharing the medicinal properties of goldenrod; it's amazing how many uses some of these plants we view as "weeds" can have.
Joan, the milkweed is one of my favorites too; it's like the floofy seeds are spilling out of the pods in slow motion.
Trig, the EP seems to have killed this post dead; there've been no comments for, like, forever now. :(
Just kiddin: thanks Emily!
Makes a man want to put on his snake boots
and grab ahold of his vasculum.
Well done!
Inverted, I had to Google vasculum. I've never used one, though there was a time when I used to drive around in rural areas with a shovel and a couple of plastic bins in the back of my vehicle. Yes, I was a wildflower poacher, though I never took any plants that were endangered and I haven't done it for several years now so please don't turn me in to the EPA.
I'm glad you think so Miguela!
That's hilarious, Lammy; the bounder should have known better!
Keri, I've actually thought a time or two about submitting some of my stuff to them. It's maybe something I should do instead of just thinking about it.
Thank you for visting, Dirndl Skirt. Whether in a meadow or in someone's yard, there's something inherently happy about sunflowers.
Tom, the Osage were for a couple centuries the strongest tribe in the central prairie region, and many of our place names and names for other tribes are Osage words. They were a formidable people, the men often standing nearly seven feet high, but they never went to war with the United States. Of course, they were paid back for that by having almost all their lands stolen and then being shoved down onto a reservation in Oklahoma. "Manifest Destiny" was a merciless whore.
I actually hate flowers, Tom, but I pretend to like them for the chicks. Don't tell anyone I said that...
I'm glad you like 'em Lorraine. Please disregard the remark I just made to Tom. :P
great pics Nana, I love Indian Summer we haven't had much of one here lots of rain and humidity, now dark and chilly already frowny emoticon here.
Lovely all of these, especially the rose verbena.
Lovely you who brings them.
Good to see you get E-Peed upon. A Golden Shower for Golden Flowers. Kinky, but cool.
Congrats on the EP and R!
I love the A. Indian asides, & the pharmaceuticals in comments ~ probably they tie together ? & tell about the camera ~ what kind of machine produces images like these ?
( I'd ask bbd but he'd go on for hours ... )
Anyway thanks ; you're a proud Kansan ( ? ), & I see why.
"William Blake : Ah! Sunflower
Ah! sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller’s journey is done;"
nature is a fine damn thing to turn to when we need
proof of intelligence in the universe.
but a favorite story has to do with rose hips. i had a few rosa rugosas at the last house that were the ugliest plants in the winter, all brittle grey branches (with grey thorns), looked entirely dead, but for the huge orange hips the size of tangerines. i guess everything has a redeeming feature. :)
congrats on the EP. of course it's deserved - this is gorgeous. it's only uncool to get one when someone writes crap and it gets one.
Jeanette, I'm busting a gut picturing the scene you left out of your anecdote. I'm sure it was no more disgraceful than what I would have done.
Erica, New York's a beautiful state in its own right, at least the parts I saw up around Lake Champlain were.
I'm sorry you aren't having much of an Indian summer up there Rita. I'd send some of our weather your way if I could; it's supposed to be almost 90 here tomorrow.
Tink; tears here at the news of your weeping, real tears. :D
Lovely you, Anna, for the way you are and the wonderful things you say. Thank you, friend.
Paul: "Golden Shower for Golden Flowers." Thank you sir, for your delicacy and refinement!
Linnnnnnn, don't act like you don't know what I'm talkin' 'bout. ;-)
Thank you too, Zuma. I saw your photo essay and intrepid journalizing a bit ago and you do damn fine work yourself.
I am a proud Kansasn, Kim. We don't get much respect from the folk who call everything between NYC and LA "The Flyover" but there's a lot to see here if one takes the time to get off the Interstate and look around. My camera is a Canon Powershot A2000 IS, with 6X zoom and 10.o megapixels. It's a modest little digital camera, but for 200 bucks or so it does pretty well.
I didn't see it coming, James, because I'm not as well acquainted with William Blake as I should be. I know I can always count on you to add some literary tone to my comment threads.
Trudge, can I have some of that chronic you're bogartin?
Dianaani, I knew about half the Latin names without having to look; the rest I found in my little library of wildflower books. Yep, hard copy books - how weird is that!?
Candace, rose hips the size of tangerines you say? Why didn't the wildlife eat 'em? Rose hips are excellent food for people and critters alike. And yeah, it's fun finding native cousins of horticultural plants out in the field, and if Salvia azurea isn't available yet in nurseries, it should be. There are lots of prairie natives that've made their way into garden center catalogues over the years; echinacea, penstemon (Husker Red is a nice cultivar), gaillardia, tradescantia, coreopsis of various kinds, etc., and they're offering more and more of them all the time.
De nada, Bleue; there's no point in taking pitchers if there's no one to see 'em.
Rated for I hope you had a zoom lens (too close to that hornet!)
Fall unfurls her banner
A dazzling blue sky
Sun coaxes the prairie
Shy wildflowers sigh
The Moon of Yellow Flowers
Says 'arise' to the throng
And the glorious prairie
Rejoices in song.
(I would apologize to Robert Browning but there is absolutely no danger of anyone accusing me of even the lamest attempt at imitation.)
all the stuff that your lens work is;
there's a gift.
Marjie, that is very awesome!
Seer, that was done in macro, no zoom, but the hornet seemed too intent on the nectar to worry about me. Regarding being at peace, to everything there is a season... :P
A NOISELESS, patient spider,
I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them—ever tirelessly speeding them. 5
And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,—seeking the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form’d—till the ductile anchor hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.
Mirabilis nyctaginea? my bid for the mystery flower
*whispers suck-up* :D
I'm better now, I've had some sleep, and some soda pop and even got to put in some resumes for jobs, one of them as a financial analyst!! My god man, do you know what they do?
Fudge the books!!
I CAN DO THAT!!! :D
What were we talking about?
Oh yeah, I'm with trig, I can't read ya for like maybe two posts now!! I can flag ya for a post, but I hate doing that!! You're my friend, friends don't flag friends, unless it's Cap'n or Trig, then, it's okay, cause they like flags!
Wait, is that the right term with what they like?
Frags?
Lags?
I forget!!!
Thank you for the sucking-up, Julie, though next time could you put a little more fawning into it? :P
Tink, I too will be not reading my next several posts, will only click on them in fact to hit the "flag" button. I hope you get to be a financial analyst so I can call you and scream "Why are my financial records no longer in the shoebox I keep in the drawer with the extra twist ties and dead batteries and stuff? Where's my tax form? What? What do you mean I haven't filed my taxes in nearly a decade? That's what I hired you for you maggot!"
Good to see you Mary! Thank you for your kind words, and the Moon of Yellow Flowers is definitely bright and bold, some people might even say tacky, but then those sort of folk are into doing their landscapes in color themed arrangements of whites and eye-soothing lavenders. That might fly in the suburbs but the Osage would have been mortified. ;-)
Then we can weep like little school girls and watch live feeds of the North Dakota State University Vs. Kansas Tech on our small 11 inch screen we got at the Good Will Store!!!!
Which by the way, is tax deductible!! Teehee!! :D
(I'm saddened though, I had to start flagging some Spammers, they're not posting live feeds of high school games, or junior high, just NCAA, who the hell wants to watch a bunch of college pricks play skeet ball on the web??????????)
Do you take them while you work on your award winning blogs?
And aren't you a blogger by profession according to what the FBI has on file about you?
YES!!! YES!! GLORY BE, You can deduct the crack, the meth, and the vodka and possibly the mixers you use to make the Bliss Bomb(take crack, meth, and vodka, mix with Cola, generic cola you got from the dollar store!!! Drink down and wonder if God just hates you or loves fucking with ya!!!!!)
and cool!! (I love being right....it's probably the most annoying trait i have)
Marjie, I'd never crack on Walt, his alarming personal proclivities and abnormal hirsuteness notwithstanding. The influence of 19th century American literature on modern rap music is a topic which is long overdue for some scholarly attention, so I'm looking forward to your forthcoming book. It's a little known fact that Snoop Dogg wrote "Gin and Juice" after reading Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha under the influence of some bubonic chronic, and Biggy Smalls was famous for reciting excerpts from Walden to the bitches and hoes during concert afterparties.
"The influence of 19th century American literature on modern rap music"...
i see some byron maybe , i mean he was the Elvis of his era,
but the wordsworth or coleridge
nexus
i gotta read
to believe.
blake i know applies. he is pretty much the whole
damn picture, if we ever catch up to him.
too bad he didnt know Freudian or Jungian or , ha,
Oprah
psychology.
rappers love oprah. i know this from the joint.
they admire her billions.
Good point, James. I've never watched Oprah's program, but having seen every episode of "The Dave Chapelle Show" at least 7 times, I know all I need to know about that vile woman.
Throw your arms in the air, wave 'em around like you just don't care, 'cause LORD BYRON IS IN THE HIZZY!
But - are you sure you're not under the influence of "bubonic chronic." LORD BYRON IS IN THE HIZZY. James says he was the Elvis of his era: ha ha, true James. I think Lord Byron might have been familiar with bubonic chronic but he sure could write:
The Destruction of Sennacherib
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee
Why isn't this post showing up on the cover?
There are many odd literature-music connections. Just a while ago I was listening to "Xanadu" by Rush, which is based on the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and from there I went on to the Rush album 2112, which is based on the works of Ayn Rand. Yeah, I know, Rand was a semi-demented freak of nature who influenced the generation of economists who in turn ruined our nation, but it's a good album. So then I went on to play the early Fleetwood Mac song "Green Manalishi With the Three-Pronged Crown" followed by the Judas Priest cover of the same tune, then the Judas Priest cover of Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust" followed by Hole's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman." The weird thing is that so many people were surprised when Rob Halford came out as a gay man. I mean, come on, weren't they paying the least bit of attention during the last 30 years?
What were we talking about? Oh yeah, "The Destruction of Sennacherib."
Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
Now THAT'S a poem!
1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Talk about multiple blasts from the past. I love Rush, I don't care if some of the guitar solos last 15 minutes or longer.
A modern day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride
The Green Manalishi. Wow. I've never heard it by Judas Priest and I don't think I want to; that's FM's song (actually Peter Green's swan song with the band. He was its founder I believe). Although I've never heard anything by Judas Priest so maybe they do okay by it.
I don't know if too many people know Fleetwood Mac pre Buckingham/Nicks, but I liked them better. Not that Stevie and Lindsay didn't add something and I loved Bob Welch (Hypnotized, Future Games) and Danny Kirwan too but they shed their bluesy origins which they did so well. Gold Dust Woman is an eerie song; I think that's about Joe Walsh & her & cocaine. I like Christine better than Stevie as a singer. Brown Eyes from Tusk is one of my favorites. Peter Green played on it.
The Destruction of Sennacherib is too much to take in at once; I have to take breaks when I read it because it's so sad and beautiful. But here's one you're almost forced to race through. I love Gunga Din.
Gunga Din
YOU may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,
An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But if it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water, 5
An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.
Now in Injia's sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them black-faced crew 10
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din.
It was "Din! Din! Din!
You limping lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippy hitherao! 15
Water, get it! Panee lao!
You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din!"
The uniform 'e wore
Was nothin' much before,
An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind, 20
For a twisty piece o' rag
An' a goatskin water-bag
Was all the field-equipment 'e could find.
When the sweatin' troop-train lay
In a sidin' through the day, 25
Where the 'eat would make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl,
We shouted "Harry By!"
Till our throats were bricky-dry,
Then we wopped 'im 'cause 'e couldn't serve us all.
It was "Din! Din! Din! 30
You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave you been?
You put some juldee in it,
Or I'll marrow you this minute,
If you don't fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!"
'E would dot an' carry one 35
Till the longest day was done,
An' 'e didn't seem to know the use o' fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,
You could bet your bloomin' nut,
'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear. 40
With 'is mussick on 'is back,
'E would skip with our attack,
An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire."
An' for all 'is dirty 'ide,
'E was white, clear white, inside 45
When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire!
It was "Din! Din! Din!"
With the bullets kickin' dust-spots on the green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could 'ear the front-files shout: 50
"Hi! ammunition-mules an' Gunga Din!"
I sha'n't forgit the night
When I dropped be'ind the fight
With a bullet where my belt-plate should 'a' been.
I was chokin' mad with thirst, 55
An' the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din.
'E lifted up my 'ead,
An' 'e plugged me where I bled,
An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water—green; 60
It was crawlin' an' it stunk,
But of all the drinks I've drunk,
I'm gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.
It was "Din! Din! Din!
'Ere's a beggar with a bullet through 'is spleen; 65
'E's chawin' up the ground an' 'e's kickin' all around:
For Gawd's sake, git the water, Gunga Din!"
'E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean. 70
'E put me safe inside,
An' just before 'e died:
"I 'ope you liked your drink," sez Gunga Din.
So I'll meet 'im later on
In the place where 'e is gone— 75
Where it's always double drill and no canteen;
'E'll be squattin' on the coals
Givin' drink to pore damned souls,
An' I'll get a swig in Hell from Gunga Din!
Din! Din! Din! 80
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Tho' I've belted you an' flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
You're right about Fleetwood Mac; they were entirely different early on under Peter Green than what they became later. And definitely, Christine's a better singer than Stevie, though a lot of people think otherwise.
"Gunga Din" reminded me of this one:
The sons of the Prophet are hardy and bold,
And quite unaccustomed to fear,
but of all the most reckless of life or of limb
was Abdullah Bulbul Amir.
When they wanted a man to encourage the van
Or harass a foe from the rear,
Storm fort or redoubt, they had only to shout
For Abdullah Bulbul Amir.
This son of the desert in battle aroused
Could spit twenty men on his spear.
A terrible creature when sober or soused
Was Abdullah Bulbul Amir.
The heroes were plenty and well known to fame
That fought in the ranks of the Czar.
But the greatest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
He could imitate Irving, play euchre or pool
And strum on the Spanish guitar.
In fact quite the cream of the Muscovite team
Was Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
The ladies all loved him, his rivals were few
He could drink them all under the bar.
Come gallant or tank, there was no one to rank
With Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
One day this bold Russian had shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer.
He went into town, and straightway ran down
Abdullah Bulbul Amir.
"Young man", quoth the Bulbul, "Is existence so dull
That you're eager to end your career?
For infidel, know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdullah Bulbul Amir."
"So take your last look at the sunshine and brook
And send your regrets to the Czar.
By this I imply you are going to die,
Mr. Ivan Skavinsky Skivar."
Said Ivan, "My friend, your remarks in the end
Will avail you but little, I fear.
For you ne'er will survive to repeat them alive,
Mr. Abdullah Bulbul Amir."
Then this bold Mamalouk drew his trusty skibouk
With a cry of "Allah Akbar."
With murderous intent he ferociously went
For Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
They parried and thrust, they sidestepped and cussed
Of blood they spilled a great lot.
The philologist blokes, who seldom crack jokes,
Say that hash was first made on that spot.
They fought all that night 'neath the pale yellow moon,
The din it was heard from afar.
And multitudes came, so great was the fame,
Of Abdul and Ivan Skivar.
As Abdul's long knife was extracting the life,
In fact he had shouted, "Huzzah!"
He felt himself struck by that wily Calmuck,
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
The Sultan drove by in his red-crested fly,
Expecting the victor to cheer.
But he only drew nigh just to hear the last sigh
Of Abdullah Bulbul Amir.
Czar Petrovich too, in his spectacles blue
Drove up in his new crested car.
He arrived just in time to exchange a last line
With Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
There's a grave by the wave where the Blue Danube rolls,
And 'graved there in characters clear,
Is "Stranger, when passing, oh pray for the soul
Of Abdullah Bulbul Amir."
A splash in the Black Sea one dark moonless night,
Caused ripples to spread near and far.
It was made by a sack fitting close to the back
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps,
'Neath the light of the pale polar star.
And the name that she murmurs so oft as she weeps
Is Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.
........
..........
All better now? Great!
So all that is wrong with the economy today can be traced directly back to Ayn Rand and her beliefs? All fingers point to her? That sure seems like a lot of blame to heap squarely on one little woman, especially one who believed that "...individuals have innate nobility and that the highest duty of every individual is to flourish by realizing that potential," according to Alan Greenspan, commenting on her philosophy known as "Objectivism." But I probably don't have to tell you that. :)
Blaming Ayn Rand for today's woes is nonsensical. In fact, I think it's hogwash. In fact, I think we need more thinkers like her to get us out of this mess.
I've never heard of that poem, nor William Percy French. It does remind me of Gunga Din, a lot. But it's kind of startling how relevant it is for the 21st century and how it points up the ridiculousness and wastefulness of fighting. Even the bravest and the baddest are expendable, aren't they.
Well now you've got me thinking about war poems and I just learned of this poet Sigfried Sassoon, this year. He was also a soldier, in WWI.
A Mystic As Soldier by Siegfried Sassoon
I lived my days apart,
Dreaming fair songs for God;
By the glory in my heart
Covered and crowned and shod.
Now God is in the strife,
And I must seek Him there,
Where death outnumbers life,
And fury smites the air.
I walk the secret way
With anger in my brain.
O music through my clay,
When will you sound again?
Considering things I've seen you say in posts and comments, it kind of surprises me to hear you defending a thought system which was created to justify libertarian beliefs which are, and I'm being kind here, really, really stupid. Are you a libertarian? If you are, you're way smarter than most libertarians I meet, so I'd be interested to hear your take on why you think that's a good way to go.
I love "A Mystic As Soldier." The final verse is a perfect description of the hell our vets experience when they come back here and everything should be OK for them but they're not really here, they'll never be fully here again because something of their humanity was damaged forever by what they've seen and done. I think something like 18 vets kill themselves every day - they are as much casualties of The Forever War as their friends who die in ambushes and IED attacks.
Now I need to go back to Kipling, to something he wrote which seems pertinent to our little embroglio in Central Asia:
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
and the women come out to cut up what remains,
jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
and go to your gawd like a soldier.
Then there's this, by someone named David Roberts:
Innocent bombs
innocent bombs
the bombs of goodwill
are falling still.
Fall friendly bombs
destroy the threat.
Will what we sow
Be what we get?
We bomb.
We bomb
So that tyranny may cease.
We bomb with love.
We bomb in peace.
I can fix that! Hold on --- let me get into my "I'M A LEADER OF A REVOLUTIONARY TERRORIST ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS NUKE THE WORLD, SCREW REVOLUTION!! AKA KILL EVERYONE AND LET THE MICE HAVE THE PLANET!!!" uniform (a zoot suit I bought at the Salvation Army!! HI FRED!!!) and rain down fire from above, or sing a song ----
NUKE THE PLANET,
GET RID OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS,
AS THEY SUCK, BIG OLE DONKEY DICKS,
BIIIIIIIGGGGGGG OLD DONKEY DICKS!
I DON'T TRUST REPUBLICANS, AS THEY WANT
ME TO PUT BLAME ON PRESIDENT OBAMA,
I DON'T TRUST DEMOCRATS, CAUSE THEY JUST AS
CORRUPT AS THOSE OTHER WEALTHY ASSHOLES WE
CALL...
POLITICIANS!!!
NUKE THE PLANET, KILL ALL HUMANS,
IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE,
THAT WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE,
WOOO WOOO WOOO!!!
And I believe we probably should just get rid of the world too, it seems to be too broke to fix, so what the hell, dead space is an awesome item to have, maybe sometime a God who is bored can put a new planet there, called it Firth or Sarth or something stupid as Earth, and can put hairless apes on there, who call themselves Dirk or Mary or something stupid and they can kill each other with sticks, or hot pizza dough up their butts and they can say stuff like, "It's your fault you have hot pizza dough up your butt, asshole!! And it's your fault I'm taking all your money and leaving you a bloody mess on the side of the road, with two sticks jabbed into each eye, and up your pee pee hole!! GOD I LOVE POLITICS!!!"
And then we repeat the process of killing everyone and blowing up the planet cause dead space is better than an ugly planet full of screaming hairless apes!!!
NUKE THE PLANET, IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE,
GIVE UP,
GIVE IN,
HOLD YOUR BREATH,
DIE! DIE! WORLD FUCKERS, UNTIE!!
UNITE?
FUCK THAT!
And that's how babies are made, by ugly people who have had too much too drink and didn't bring a condom!!
No, my friend, you not ugly, not according to what those fellows wrote on the rest room walls over at the truck stop.
"Nana has a nice ass!!! I'd tap that!"
But I don't think you can get pregnant that way. Maybe have butt babies, but we've had enough of those! I just flushed a load of them about 10 minutes ago.
What about Rand?
Nope, never read 'em!
Read Chan, he use to write cryptic shit, about angels coming down from Heaven and having sex with mortals and creating these 'Super Children' who didn't know their papa or mama was a fucking angel until they turned 21 and they sprouted wings and God, who doesn't like it when The Earth gets Super Children, so He decides he's going to kill the whole lot.
And the end of the book, all these parent angels are like, DON'T KILL THEM, THEY ARE OUR CHILDREN...And God is like,
FUCK!
And doesn't kill them and they go on crusades to help the planet, fix it or some shit, but ya know, if I was a Super Child, I'd like exploit this planet, have a bunch of slaves to do my tedious crap, like wipe my ass, and be like, "Fuck you Planet Mortals!! WIPE MY ASS!!! AND POWDER IT TOO!!!"
What were we talking about?
Oh yeah, I like chocolate cake!
~wanders off~
ALL Libertarian beliefs are "really, really stupid"? Every single one of them? Considering things I've seen you say in posts and comments, I was under the impression you had a more open-minded point of view. I can't believe I'm saying this here of all places. What happened to shades of gray? There are extremes in liberal thinking that I have no stomach for just as there are sensible conservative schools of thought.
Our country is not "ruined." That's a little dramatic. Yes things are bad. They've also been worse, lots worse. And things will get better again. Am I concerned about the future, my own and especially my kids'? Sure I am, I don't like what's going on, I don't like what's in the air and I've been directly affected too, but I also have faith that the best, brightest minds are right here and they're not going to let the country go to hell in a handbasket. And let me ask you this: if it's all gloom and doom, so wretched and awful and just terribleterribleterrible, where would you rather live?
Now I'm posting this and I'll be back; I'm not sullying Sigfried Sassoon or anyone else I like by including their poetry here.
To answer your earlier question, yes, I am a blogger by trade. It pays only slightly less than being a carpenter, and I don't have to step on rusty nails quite as often. On the downside, I don't get to wear a tool belt while blogging. Chix dig tool belts.
go Margaret
although quite honestly I'd rather have been born in some place like Norway (but with more sun)
My Libertarian sister and Right Wing parents though, them I'm kind of partial to.
Even if they are wrong, all all kinds of wrong. :D
You don't? I was told you were suppose to!! Damn it!! :D
I haven't read even Atlas Shrugged. I figured the movie would be out soon enough.
I figure what this world will turn into is ---- DEFCON 2012 which I rented the other night, and watched about 1/3 of it before I was like, "Time to dish this and watch Sucker Punch or The Fighter" but not before I decided the future of our country, U.S. of Fuckin' A, is an abandoned mall infested with Alien Scavengers trying to find stuff to sell on EBay and only a few human beings are alive, trying to find crap too.
Is our country busted?
YES! YES IT IS!
Can it be fixed?
YES, YES IT CAN!
Will Tink go away from his nuke the planet and let Space reclaim the dead space?
NO, NO HE WON'T!!
USA!! USA!! USA!!!
It's better than lets say Akapakialanastan!!!
But if I was living in Rome, I'd be closer to the Pope so I could show up at random at the Vatican and poke him with a stick with a sharp pointy end!! Cause well, I can!!!
I don't live close enough to DC so I can't poke my reps with a sharp stick!!! And Indianapolis is like a whole different country from Indiucky!! ~nodding~
God, I'm depressed now. **Wanders off to get some crackers and cheese** Wisconsin cheese!! Mama and Papa in Law brought it back for me!! ME!!
I am loved!!!
**group hug**
By the way, I'm a Communist according to this Republican fuck down the street!! ~shakes his fist towards the Repub's house~ And according to the Democrat across the street, I'm insane!! Repub fellow agrees!!
So do the Courts of Indiana. Five years for kicking a mime in the nuts to hear him scream!?!!!
THAT'S A CRIME!!!?
"Don't all the rivers of the world empty into Sea World Orlando anyway?"
I believe they do, I'd call my source for information on such things, Donald Trump, but I think there's something wrong with his phone as I keep getting 'This person has blocked your number...' who would do that, a close personal friend!?!?!!?
God!
I was once called, "An Indiana Traitor!" by the guy down the street when I told him I kind of liked the University of Louisville Cardinals. My wife tried to knife me as well, she's a University of Kentucky Wild Cat fan, and I guess college basketball is a big deal on this side of the Mississippi or something where as in the West, we like to follow cheerleading with a passionate, but basketball?
What the fruck!!?!?!
Someone should put that in a guide book or something!
"Don't say you like a team unless you REALLY like a team when it comes to Baskety-ball!!"
Sheesh.
Julie, if one looks at where the United States falls in many key indicators of quality of life, one could easily find plenty of countries that are better places to live than here. For most of us, alas, moving away from the Land of the Supposedly Free is economically not feasible.
Margaret, since you weren't very specific there, I will take your c0mment to mean "Yes, I am a libertarian in some ways and it pisses me off you'd refer to libertarian beliefs as stupid." If I'm misunderstanding you, please forgive me, but rather than enlightening me as to where you stand you left me to read between the lines of your anger. I don't like being pigeonholed either, but come on, we are what we are. Though I don't fit all the parameters of what a progressive is supposed to be, at the end of the day I will own up to being what is considered, in modern political parlance, a "progressive." Regarding libertarianism, though I don't belive everything about it is stupid (for instance, its focus on the value of free will and individualism is quite admirable), I do think that in our current national discourse regarding the best way forward it does a great job of running interference for oligarchs and reactonaries who want to reduce regular people to the level of serfs. The market is not rational, nor is human nature, and those are a couple of libertarian fallacies (though by no means the only ones) which are used to great effect by corporofascists and the whores in our government who serve them. Ayn Rand would flay me for saying this, but if socialism combined with sane amounts of properly regulated capitalism is what allows places like Sweden to thrive like they do, then "give me socialism or give me death."
Wait, isn't that all there is to do in Indiana and Ohio?
I heard Iceland has green while Greenland has none!! What the hell is up with that??!!?!?!?!
I know I do!! Teehee!!
Damn the chick in the Burberry Body ad now being display is HOT!! She's all like, "Damn Tink, wanna truck?!" and I'm like, YEAH BABEEEEEE!!!
But I won't!!
Cause she's Republican!!
FOOL ME THREE TIMES, SHAME ON YOU, FOOL ME A HUNDRED AND FIFTY TIMES, SHAME ON ME!!!
Now this is just calling for a photo essay about the TRUE nature of Kansas wildlife, flora and fauna!
Especially the flora and the fauna...sknorxx...
I'm done. I'm goin' to bed. Nighty night, you adorable writing beasties
Heads up: We must rock the feed tomorrow so as to run the spamming weasels out of here. Let's wreak havoc. I will join in tomorrow after 3 pm PST and will read and rack up views.
We need something sparky. Shall we start the permanent Occupation OF Open Saloon?
I will try to be there!! ~nodding~
I'm not angry. If I have to be something, then I suppose I lean more toward progressive than anything else, but again, I don't like to be backed into a corner.
I just read "The Young British Soldier." It's horrible (I don't mean the poem of course), it just gets worse and worse and that repetition - serve serve serve, curse curse curse, fight fight fight etc. - is terrible. The "humorous" tone makes it even more ghastly. It's awful the way it builds. That last stanza is incredible and incredibly pertinent as you pointed out.
Here's something Kipling wrote after his son's death in WWI: "If any question why we died/ Tell them, because our fathers lied."
In "A Mystic As Soldier" you can feel the tension and pent up rage and confusion. I felt like I'd been hit in the chest the first time I read it. As for the David Roberts poem, it almost sounds like a nursery rhyme. Funny how the right words can make bombs sound innocent. Innocent bombs, friendly fire, collateral damage, peace through strength. It's all good!
SAVE THE RED TAILED JACKASS!!!
BLOW THE MAINE!!!
WOOP WOOP!!
Sorry....~wanders back to his picture post~ Damn picture posts are the toughest to do, take forever!! PFFFFT!!!
Kiểu dáng, sắc diện của kệ bếp và tủ treo có nhiá»u dạng, từ hiện đại sang trá»ng cho đến Ä‘Æ°á»ng nét và chất liệu cổ Ä‘iển. Từ Ä‘ó, có nhiá»u sá»± chá»n lá»±a cho gia chủ, theo ý thích và sá»± tÆ°Æ¡ng hợp vá»›i không gian nhà bếp. TrÆ°á»›c Ä‘ây, bên trong những kệ và tủ treo của bếp thÆ°á»ng chỉ phân chia những ngăn để Ä‘á»±ng các váºt dụng nhà bếp vá»›i các cánh cá»a “Ä‘áºy” bên ngoài. Lối chế tác này cÅ©ng gá»n nhÆ°ng vẫn thiếu những tiện ích thá»±c sá»± và công năng sá» dụng còn bị hạn chế. Bởi ngÆ°á»i ná»™i trợ nhiá»u khi phải tốn nhiá»u công sức cúi xuống, quỳ xuống hay phải chồm vào để tìm lấy má»™t váºt dụng nào Ä‘ó bên trong bếp. Giải pháp vá»›i những thiết bị phụ kiện má»›i nhÆ° tay đẩy, há»™c kéo có ray trượt, ray há»™p, bản lá», tay nâng giảm chấn, khay xoay ở các góc bếp.. Ä‘ã khắc phục được những nhược Ä‘iểm nêu trên; tạo công năng sá» dụng tiện ích và mang lại Ä‘á»™ bá»n lâu cho
And that's all I'm going to say about that!
Xu hÆ°á»›ng hiện nay các há»™c kéo, ngăn tủ kệ bếp, tủ đứng bếp Ä‘á»u dùng các loại ray trượt nhÆ° má»™t phụ kiện để tạo sá»± dịch chuyển nhẹ nhàng dù bên trong chứa đồ nặng vài chục ký. Ví dụ, bình gas, má»—i lần thay chỉ việc kéo nhẹ là khay trượt sẽ Ä‘Æ°a bình ra má»™t cách nhẹ nhàng. Có nhiá»u loại ray nhÆ° ray bánh xe, ray bi, ray âm hay ray há»™p vá»›i sức chịu lá»±c từ 25 ký cho đến 80 ký. Và cÅ©ng tuỳ thiết
To the both of you, and the rest, please read my post ---
WILL YOU WATCH MY RUGBY WORLD CUP AS I DANCE? Where I explain my stand on world hunger and Jesus Christ SUPERSTAR! and how it pertains to Bingo in Detroit!
I think you'll agree, it's my best work since JESUS, THIS IS TINK, I GOT GAS!
So I shall leave you with this thought ----
Tay nâng và phụ kiện
Vá»›i tủ treo trên kệ bếp, để Ä‘óng – mở có thiết bị tay nâng “trợ giúp” báºt cánh cá»a lên hay khép cánh lại nhẹ nhàng. Có bốn loại tay nâng cho bốn cách đẩy cá»a: nâng cho hai cánh cá»a tủ xếp lại; nâng cho má»™t cánh cá»a tủ lên thẳng đứng song song vá»›i mặt tủ; nâng đẩy cánh tủ lên xéo phía trên tủ; và nâng đẩy cánh cá»a mở lên 90 Ä‘á»™. Tuỳ theo không gian nhà bếp để có thể chá»n cách nâng cá»a thích hợp và dù cách nâng nào thì vẫn thấy rõ các váºt dụng chứa Ä‘á»±ng bên trong tủ treo.
Dui Toi Ba Cocka Rena Fauleri CHIIIIIIII!! Good night and have a better tomorrow.
I just got done eating a chocolate eclair, does that count for anything?
Hello?
Damn it!!!
~wanders off~
NANATEHAY!!!
But they didn't use the best shot of the series for the Cover, the 1st pic!!
~wanders back out~
Congrats on EP, and great photos!
Margaret, I've always wanted to go there, too.
Zuma- work this evening or I would help occupy.
Who 'knocks me off' Salon & O.S.?
`
As soon as I sign on O.S. I get booted.
The same/same happened yesterday.
`
Honest. Could it be Klytus? Kerry? no?
Yup?
Hush.
okay.
Congrats. The Flowers etc.,`Exquisite.
Im off line.
I go read Email.
I lok for female.
I'll visit NetScape.
No. Visit Why Foe.
Visit Eric Holder.
He no foe. Friend.
I'll visit a Lawyer.
In Digby I see a`
Lawyer`James
L. Outhouse.
`
He rides a Harley.
I go eat a drumstick.
There are drummers.
They are in Shelbourne.
`
Beauty. Carpenters see:
Beauty, Hypocrisy, Ugh,
and tell Kerry L. this too?
`
If you pick up a box turtle let the turtle go wherever you found her/him. If you don't the Box Turtle will spend the rest of Life Looking for his Mommy, Pap, Lover-Boy, and besides ... This:
Maybe a Bald Eagle?
Maybe a Seagull or?
A Bluebird will haul?
`
A Bird may pick up a turtle.
Then thee turtle will bump.
A Box Turtle may flop too.
`
The Turtle has a hard shell.
Big Bird drops a Box Turtle?
The talons slip-up and Oops!
The Hard Shell Turtle Flops!
Big Boo Boo? Kerry? Bumps!
Nature does do strange things.
I am just bantering. This is true.
I have to pause. Know I was nice.
Then I go to Email, Alter/Net and:
If I am lucky Wi Fi gets turned on.
I wait until I am sure Wi Fi works.
Then before Kerry (?) or Who do?
`
This is what I do. I'll return on . . .
I'll quickly return on this contraption.
Wish me Luck. Yea Natatehay.
I saw your EP notice @ Salon.
I'll go eat the mashed potato.
No eat a drummer's drumstick.
Happy Thanksgiving. Thank You.
Kerry L.
Joan etc.,
Someone?
Talk truth.
This is demented childish.
I am Thankful for much.
I never cower at Cowards.
I have been reading GG.
I sure get weary of Nasty.
GG (UT) is a good lawyer.
Human Nature needs ``
Never mind. More``
Fresh haddock ``
Smile. Banter``
I just do thee``
Jabberwocky.
ALSO, WHERE'S OUR MILK SHAKES, WE ORDERED THEM 25 MINUTES AGO, AND STILL, NO MILK SHAKES!!
MILK SHAKES! MILK SHAKES!! MILK SHAKES!!!!!
AND WHY DID THIS EDITOR PERSON PICK YOU WITH SUCH AN UGLY SPORGA AS THE FIRST PICTURE?
DO YOU NOT KNOW OF THEIR ABILITIES TO RIP YOUR SPLEEN FROM YOUR NOSE AND THEN WEAVE IT INTO A NECK TIE FOR YOU, JUST BEFORE YOU DIE?
APPARENTLY NOT!
SO WE SHALL OVER LOOK THIS, AND RATE YOU.
DALLS BE WITH YOU!
FISH BOOBS OUT!!!
it's an historic
seismic pixel shift
Felicitaciónes
Thanks, all, for looking at my pitchers, and thank you also for your kind comments!
I couldn't connect with the bee as I was stung by one in the neck recently and it was not very comfortable. But I also realize we all have to do our thing, even the bees. Rated with a Jali Smile. :-)
Thank you for the smile, Jali, and thanks also for visiting my blog. I'm sorry about your encounter with the bee; a bee sting, especially in the neck, can be quite uncomfortable indeed. :(
your first lines had me thinking about how our indigenous island culture was obliterated, so little remains in comparison to others, we do not even have the names of months
Johnny, when are we going fishing on the Marais des Cygnes?
Jumping to the punchline to save time:
"The old man looked at him and drawled, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a Post Turtle."
"You know he didn't get there by himself, he doesn't belong there, he can't get anything done while he's up there, and you just want to help the poor dumb bastard get down."