Megaptera novaeangliae, At Home in a Larger World

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Cordata (vertebrates)

Class Mammalia (mammals)

Order Cetacea

Sub-order Mysticeti (baleen whales)

Family Balaenopteridae

Genus Megaptera

Species novaeangliae

Common Name - Humpback Whale

Please CLICK ON THIS PICTURE To see all the lovely details



What am I in a humpback's world? Does she concern herself with the idea that there is life aboard the noisy machines that invades her feeding grounds? Are we something beyond a gust of bubbles and a funny oily smell? Is somebody bigger than a brontosaur, aware of me as a fellow-creature, a presence or with any kind of interest?

I encountered this gal as she was feeding out in the Monterey Bay. We also saw a minke and four distant blue whales, that looked like low-rising dark rocks coming out of the distant bay waters. These are both rare sights. But the humpbacks were all around us. They were lunge feeding, rolling on there sides, flipping their tails up and down, and so close we could hear their glorious trumpet breathing and smell the krill-laden breath that hovered over the water after they dove back down for more underwater chupas.

The krill are populating the bay in higher than normal numbers right now, so there are an awful lot more whales there than we would normally see at this time of the year. Our boat captain said we made forty sightings, of humpbacks. Here’s a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle about this unusual chance to see so many whales.

Araneus diadematurs, At Home in a Smaller World

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What am I in a spider's world? A cloud that passes over her sky? A tremendous gust of air? Is something smaller than the bud of my ear-buds, aware of me as a threat, a presence or with any kind of interest?

I encountered this little beauty hanging out on one of her own silky threads on the bathroom wall. That's usually where I meet up with her kind, right about tooth-brushing time.

She's commonly known as a "Cross Spider". I was so pleased with myself because I recognized her. That's because one of her sisters came to visit my porch on Halloween night. My trick-or-treat Cross spider was much, much bigger than this little darling. I was able to see her markings with my own eyes, but for this babe I couldn't tell what she was until I enlarged the photo in Photoshop. A magnifying glass would have done the trick as well.

I posted pictures of both these girls to the spider identification web site, where both were identified by entomologists who frequent the site. (It's a very to join this site for free, and to post your photos there .) This tiny lady was verified by a charming man, "Bug Eric". He has a great blog (http://bugeric.blogspot.com/) that really brings out the romantic side of insects, spiders and other arthropods, and the people that work with them.

* One of the tricker-or-treaters pointed her out and after that all the kids came to see her.

Beach Day

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When my daughter was young, one of her favorite books was a 'Little Golden Book' called 'Beach Day'. It was written by Fran Manushkin in 1988, and you can still find it used on the web. The story is big on the sensations of going to a beach in, it looks like, the Florida Keys. I think my daughter may have also liked the fact that the little girl in the book was an only child, like she was herself. She gets the full on attention of both parents, just as Mollie did. I'm partial to the book myself, particularly the way the little girl falls asleep in the car on the way home. Something I've always enjoyed since I was a little girl myself.

Fran Manushkin has a really nice bio web page, with references to a lot of her children's books, including a number of books Jewish children might like.

I took this photo on a recent day trip to Monterey. The altered picture is composed of multiple versions of the same image. The top layer is a partially transparent "mosaic filter".

Dona Nobis Pacem, All Hail the Peace Rose

Please click on the picture above for more lovely details

Dona nobis pacem, pacem.

Dona

nobis

pacem.

Thanks to my neighbors Chris and Jeff, who first brought Peace Roses to my attention, and were also kind enough to share some extra pots of these beauties with me.

The altered photo is from one of those rose gifts. The score is a snip from a free download at the free-scores.com site.

Just One More Daughter outta' Elysium, Singing in Beethoven Ninth Symphony

I studied Russian and Romance languages in school and had no appreciation for the emphatic first syllables of the German language, before I first sang in Beethoven's 9'th. Though the words to this music are gorgeous, performing this work with a mass of other voices goes beyond words. Luckily for me, the Stanford Summer Chorus* is singing it this summer. Every Tuesday night I can hop on my cruiser bike, pedal on over and become a part of the vocals behind it. No matter what else is going on, once I get there, Alle Menschen once more werden Brüder. And pedaling home through the darkness of a California summer night, I'm just one more daughter outta' Elysium.

Please CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE to see the lovely detail

Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. * Peninsula Cantare is my normal chorus

Joy, beautiful spark of divinity Daughter of Elysium, We enter, drunk with fire, Into your sanctuary, heavenly daughter! Your magic reunites What custom strictly divided. All men become brothers, Where your gentle wing rests.

Spain, Pensamientos finales

Is this Segovian Cupid waving Hasta Luego,

or simply thumbing his nose at me?

It’s time to bring my illustrated journal about my trip to Spain to a close, and return my blog to it’s regular form, as an art-journal of my daily life here in California.

The pieces I wrote about my trip are short themed entries, and are not intended as a blow-by-blow description of my trip. I've listed them below, with links for each entry. Or you can locate them by clicking on particular calendar days above the "About Me" section on this web page.

Each short piece I’ve written since I returned, includes one to four photos that I took there early in July and than brought home to alter in Photoshop. The details in these altered photos show up much better when you CLICK ON each individual PICTURE (try it with the cupids above).

It was hot and I learned to deal with that like a Spaniard. I increased my Spanish speaking confidence and reminded myself that there’s always some way to communicate what I need to – even if that means using ten words instead of the one I don’t know. The colors reminded me that I wasn't at home. When you find a good park, stick with it, and go back as often as you can. I’ll always remember visiting with a group of Madrillenos at the turtle pond at the Palacio Cristal. I gained a new appreciation of sola, when I traveled to Segovia.

Sincerely yours,

The Simple Romantic

• De Colores, On the Colors of Segovia

• Patrónes y formas, Patterns and Forms in Segovia

• Modern Edificios y Negocios of Madrid - Buildings and Businesses

• A Bit of Beauty from the Alcazar Palace(A printable luggage tag I created from an altered photo)

• The Mystery of Trenta

• Historic Edificios of Madrid

• Hace Calor, One Woman's Survival Strategy

• Enjoying the Frutas y Verduras of Madrid

• Getting Neighborly at El Palacio Cristal

• The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain, Language Survival

De Colores, Segovia

Y por eso los grandes amores 
De muchos colores 
Me Gustan a mi.

(De Colores, Traditional Children's Song)

PLEASE CLICK on each of these altered pictures to see much beautiful, colorful detail