Public School #9, Brooklyn, New York
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"America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live." ~ Jane Addams (1869 - 1935) US social worker
Public School #9 Annex on Sterling Place in Brooklyn was built in 1895 and is on the Register of Historical Places. The companion school, built in 1867 is located two blocks away. Both are still in use as schools for the Brooklyn area. I love the architecture of the old buildings and the vibrant colors of the facades. I wonder how many children passed through these doors and looked out these windows over the past 100 years? How many went on to realize their dreams, as Aaron Copeland did? He attended the companion school, just down the street.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "school". (end of post)
..my sweet embraceable frog? (Click picture for larger view) Embraceable You
Embrace me
My sweet embraceable you
Embrace me
My irreplaceable you
Just to look at you
My heart grows tipsy in me
You and you alone
Bring out the gypsy in me
I love all
The many charms about you
Above all
I want my arms about you
Don't be naughty baby
Come to me
Come to me do
My sweet embraceable you
~ George and Ira Gershwin
I've posted this picture once before but it is one of my favorites. Perhaps it's the frog she's kissing; he is so cute and scholarly with his book in hand. Or perhaps it sparks the age old question, "How many frogs does a girl have to kiss to find her prince?"
Submission for Moody Monday topic "embracing". (end of post)
Willow: belly up! (Click picture for larger view) "Relaxation means releasing all concern and tension and letting the natural order of life flow through one's being." ~ Donald Curtis
I knew Nicky loved to sleep on his back and for some time I thought he was the strange one. But his sister Willow spends at least half of her life on her back, belly up. Here she relaxes on the sunroom floor, her tummy bathed in sunlight and fur ruffled. I envy her complete composure, her lack of fear; that sense that at least in her world, the litterboxes are clean and all is well.
Submission for Tuesday Tummy at catstuff.
Miss Willow will be visiting the other animals at this weeks Friday's Ark and will join the party at the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday. The Carnival is hosted this week by Begin Each Day. (end of post)
..I'm going to let it shine.
(Click picture for larger view) "God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the lamp of Divine Grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up the path of mankind." ~ Kahlil Gibran
A candle is the symbol of Alpha Lambda Delta, the National Honor Society for first year college students, and part of their purpose is to spread the love of learning. Tomorrow the children here in Virginia Beach return to the classroom and I'm sure some are excited while others are not. Parents almost universally are overjoyed. The school supplies at Walmart have been decimated, the school clothes and uniforms picked over, and the backpacks are ready. And so tomorrow, all over Hampton Roads, teachers begin again to spread their love of learning. In doing so they, like the wise man, light new candles to show the way.
Submission for Tuesday's Photos topic "candle". (end of post)
Hosta bloom & ant...."Peek-a-boo, I see you!"
(Click picture for larger view) "The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh (1926- )
The hosta in bloom; its miniature flower, a pretender. I once mistook this flower for a lily, until I saw the black ant peeking out from the center petal. The plant is best known for its rounded shape and love of shade; the tall stems with rows of tiny flowers seem a gangly afterthought. But up close, the blooms are as exquisite as any lily or rose. The petals are white to pale lavender with translucent edging and a "wet look", enhanced by beads of morning dew glistening in the sun. What ant, or fly, or even bee could resist this tiny wonder; so beautiful, yet so soon faded?
Summer is quickly becoming fall. I see it in my pumpkins. (A tease for the "Great Pumpkin Epic", coming soon.) I feel it in the night air, at last. Many gorgeous flowers have come and gone this summer with only a fraction ending up here on this site. I've done that on purpose; save them, for dreary rainy day posts of fall; for something colorful to brighten the bleak gray of winter. This way they are able to bloom year 'round....in my camera, in my mind.
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