An apple still life. (Click picture for larger view) 
"How many apples fell on Newton's head before he took the hint? Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again. And suddenly we take the hint." ~ Robert Frost (1874-1963)
This fruit has been intertwined with man's history from the beginning. When Eve gave in to temptation and ate the apple, she wrecked havoc on all humanity. Adam was spineless, ate a bite as well and then blamed the whole thing on Eve... this too has continued throughout history.
In Greek folklore, the Earth Goddess, Gaia, gave Hera, the Queen of Heaven, an apple tree when she married Zeus. That tree was kept in the Garden of the Hesperides, guarded by the dragon, Ladon. One of Hercules’ tasks was to fetch an apple from that tree.
The evil Queen gave Snow White a poison apple so perfectly red and shiny she couldn't resist. With one bite Snow White fell into a deep death-like sleep until she was awakened by the kiss of Prince Charming. (Where is Prince Charming when you need him?)
The Legend of William Tell describes a Swiss national who defied Austrian authority, was arrested and forced to shoot an apple from his small son's head with a crossbow at a distance of 80 paces by the hated Austrian governor. Successful, he subsequently ambushed and killed the governor, an event that is said to have led to rebellion against Austrian rule.
Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), began his westward mission in 1797. Moving ahead of the pioneers, he planted apple seeds and seedlings, setting up nurseries in Ohio, Indiana and other areas of the Midwest. Often he sold or gave these orchards to the settlers moving in. He was a peacemaker between settlers and the Indians and never carried a weapon. He continued his work for fifty years and is memorialized as a man who based his life on the principles, "To Do Justly, To Love Mercy and To Walk Humbly With His God."
Then of course, there is Sir Isaac Newton who is said to have worked out the laws of gravity while sitting under an apple tree and after having an apple fall and hit him squarely on the head. Ouch!
These are but of few examples of the folklore surrounding the apple.... remember, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Well, at least most of them!
Submission for Lensday topic "fruit". (end of post)
Colorful patterns in constant motion.
(Click picture for larger view) "At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities." ~ Jean Houston
Every second a different pattern, different colors, always in motion and different... no two designs alike; colors glow through Nyssa's kaleidoscope. Each day is a new sunrise with endless possibilities, each different, no two days the same; and life moves on. It's Spring, that time of year when nature shows off its most glorious color. In our area the redbud and cherry trees are in bloom in vibrant pinks and burgundy; the dogwood in white and pink are filling in and the bright yellow forsythia are hanging in there. Our lilac is still just a promise, but the azaleas in white, rose, and red are already attracting the first bumblebees of the season. Vinca and wild violets grow amid the left over dead leaves with purple and blue flowers popping to life. And I am planting... lilies, dahlias, carnations, sunflowers, columbine... and wildflowers. Soon we will have a kaleidoscope of color in our garden, always different, always beautiful.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "colorful". (end of post)
Lost in The Great Gatsby. (Click picture for larger view) "An unread book is just a block of paper." ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." ~ Mark Twain
You may have a huge library full of books, but unless you open the cover and read, they are as Fitzgerald says, "just a block of paper." So, where do you like to read?
Nyssa reads anywhere... sitting on the hot tub, in bed, curled up in a dorm room nook, in the back yard on a cold day, in the car and yes, in the bathroom. I'm just glad she has always loved to read.
Reading began early with the classic children's book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Every night we read this book, beginning the first night home from the hospital... "In the great green room, there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of...." One of her first words... "moon"; her answer to the question, "What would you like to read tonight?" We branched out to Caps for Sale, When You Give A Mouse A Cookie and others. We bought books and we checked them out of the library, twenty or thirty at a time; reading the classics first and then starting with the beginning of the alphabet and working our way through the children's section. We read fairy tales and Shakespeare plays, poem treasures and Bible stories and when she learned to read on her own The Wind in the Willows, The Chronicles of Narnia and Charlotte's Web. In high school and college she has found a fondness for Virginia Woolf and other modern writers.
We have different tastes in books, my daughter and I. She never gravitated toward some of my favorite childhood reads such as The Swiss Family Robinson, Nancy Drew Mysteries, or The Black Stallion Series. I went through a biography phase and she didn't. I read The Lord of the Rings back in the late 60's before it became a popular read, although I didn't read them in the right order; she hasn't gotten the urge to do so yet.
We both agree that The Giver by Lois Lowry is a must read for older kids, teenagers and adults. (a fabulous and thought provoking book) And I admit that we both love Harry Potter... actually we fought over Harry Potter a few times.
And now armed with my library cardn I can again revisit those classics from Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and others. As I sit with a good book in a quiet space, I travel back in time to an old stone smokehouse off the 100 year old farm house in Illinois where my grandparents lived. I see a chunky little brunette girl sitting in the window seat with boxes of Reader's Digest Condensed Books at her feet and an open book in her hands. She is reading by dim light through the small soot coated window panes, when faintly she hears as if from another time and place.... "Roxanne? Come to supper!! Where is she?" Oh to be that little girl again.Dear little child, this little book
Is less a primer than a key
To sunder gates where wonder waits
Your "Open Sesame!"
~ Rupert Hughes, "With a First Reader"
Scarlett puts on her best pitiful face. "I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs... they are an obligation put on us, a responsibility we have no right to neglect, nor to violate by cruelty." ~ James Herriot
Miss Scarlett has been on her thyroid medication for over two weeks now and she still acted as if she couldn't sit still for very long. This past Friday she had the surgery to remove her bladder stones. She did very well and didn't even have to stay the night. The analysis is in progress to tell us what kind of food she needs to prevent them from recurring.
The dreaded collar.
She is supposed to be quiet and no jumping for two weeks... do you know how long it took her to break the jumping rule? About an hour. Her worst problem right now is this plastic collar; she must wear it for two full weeks. Bless her heart, Scarlett is having a time figuring out how to eat with it on. I did notice a bit of a depression in the food bowl so perhaps she is starting to get the hang of it. She has accepted being separated from the other kitties and seems to love the extra attention. The vet gave three days of pain medication and ten days of antibiotic. She hates pills and liquid and has to have the medicine with food. Right now to make sure she is getting enough water and calories, I am feeding her a special anorexic diet with a syringe three times a day, with her medicine. Sometimes she does ok, and sometimes she gets more food on the collar and on the outside of her face than in her mouth.
It is so funny to watch her try to walk around the room. If she walks too close to the door, the collar hits the edge and she stops dead in her tracks. Scarlett tried to exit through the cat door but couldn't negotiate the pesky collar through the flap. Poor baby. I hope that by Thursday she can spend a few hours in the sunroom without all the curious kitties bothering her too much.
Scarlett: "I'll never be able to wear a bikini again!"
Oh, yes... I almost forgot her little shaved tummy. Just a tiny incision, three stitches... but before they come out I know she will be completely frustrated. And I bet they are going to itch.
Scarlett will tell her ordeal to any cat who will listen today at Cats on Tuesday, hosted by gattina. There will also be cat tummies at Tummy Tuesday over at catstuff, and though her tummy shot had to be done quickly, (Scarlett doesn't like to be on her back at all) she still is proud of her stitches.
Update(4/5): Scarlett has made it with the collar for one week. She isn't happy about it and is very comical to watch as she tries to wind through the kitchen and under the table, but we do attempt to contain our laughter. She seems to be learning how to navigate her food and water with it, but it took several days. Today she got to spend the day in the sunroom and enjoyed the light and warmth. I think she is up to visiting the animals at Friday's Ark hosted by the Moderator. And by Sunday she might find another kitty having to suffer with "the collar", so she won't feel conspicuous at the Carnival of the Cats, hosted by Bad Kitty Cats this week. See you there.
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No better mousetrap. (Click for larger view) "A mouse-trap; easy to enter, but not easy to get out of.
~ Mrs. Clara Lucas Balfour
When I was almost six months pregnant with Nyssa, my colleague and Ob/Gyn decided that I should have an hour of bedrest in the morning and one in the afternoon. Before I could blink twice, he arranged it with the other pathologists in the group and the labor and delivery nurses. I guess he didn't trust me to do it. So, I would get my morning work done and head up the L&D where the nurses would take my blood pressure and call Dr. Coggins. (He really had a problem with trusting me, wonder why?) The labor rooms were decorated in bright colors; flowers, butterflies and other murals painted on the walls. Someone decided that decoration was needed on the ceiling as well, so large posters were placed in a position over the hospital bed. You remember those cute posters with a baby animal or cartoon character and a witty saying or quote? Yes, those. One day after hitting most of the others, they put me in the largest labor room. There on the ceiling was the poster showing a cute little beagle puppy, his feet in the air and head hanging out of a big bowl. He was covered with spaghetti and tomato sauce and looked absolutely miserable... he was stuck. And what witty saying did they have printed in bold letters? "There are some things in life easier to get in to, than out of!"
Now! Does anyone out there think this will comfort any woman in labor? I didn't think so! A man probably wrote it. I was surprised some mother-to-be in her 24th hour of hard labor had not already torn it to shreds!
Pregnancy is much easier to get into than out of, so is a mouse trap. Once that spring snaps the mouse or rat or even your own fingers are stuck. Ouch! This winter there has been an influx of roof rats in the area, so we had to get these large spring traps and bait them with ... well, actually we baited one with cheese and one with dog biscuits. That is how we discovered the rats were getting into the garage through a small hole at the side of the door. These critters consumed a two pound bag of dog biscuits in three days. Counting dog biscuits hasn't been a top priority so it took two bags of them disappearing in the twinkling of an eye, to make me take notice. These look the same as they did fifty years ago... no one has made a better mouse trap. All I can say is ... they still work!
Have you figured out what this has to do with "spring"? This new photo meme is really going to be a hoot to do. At first you think the topic is one thing but you have to read the instructions completely. He usually takes the topic and goes in a tangential direction, as here. The topic for Shutterday this week is "It Might As Well Be Spring"... and the pictures? Anything with a "spring".... just NOT the season. So I leave you with these words of wisdom regarding the spring mouse trap...."A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep." ~ Author unknown, but wise.
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