My MOM the babe!

Portmeirion column

Watercolor attempt Portmeirion

You Never Know

Monday mornings usually mean Grocery shopping. Today as I finished and was getting in line at the check out the gentleman in front of me got out of line and moved to the next cashier. No sooner had he moved he backed up and went ahead of me again . As I backed up he turned around and said, "oh I didn't see you there". I motioned for him to go ahead of me and he then said "you get indecisive when you are approaching 83 and I will be 83 in November". He was quite pleasant and as we began talking, I was astonished to learn he was a retired FBI agent. He showed me his ID card and related that he had worked with President Nixon,Vice President Agnew and President Kennedy . You never know who you will meet while grocery shopping.

The Big Island

This was taken from the space Shuttle on May 22. Notice the 3 volcano plumes towards the bottom of the Island. As a friend once said "and we live here!"

Bad news Good news

Bad news Good news update on Snailzilla .
Bad news is that I found it crushed on the road this morning. Good news is that the Giant African snail is extremely invasive and damaging to the environment. One snail can live up to 3 years and lay from 100 to 500 eggs every three months . It can eat around 500 types of plants including tree bark. It also can eat paint and stucco . In addition it may transmit diseases including Meningitis So, all in all it is not a bad thing it was crushed .

There Will Never Be Another Michael Brecker

SNAILZILLA!!!!

I have never seen anything like this huge snail that I spotted this morning . Its size does really not show in this photo but it is probably 6 inches long. Its shell is good size too. It is probably larger than a field mouse. I'm sure it came right out of a Japanese science fiction film! Can Mothra be far behind!

It is just day lilies, Star Jasmin , wild orchids and a stone carving done by a local artist, all in our front yard but it could be an ancient burial side in the jungle. Maybe the tropics are getting to me!

animal collective ---OUT THERE

Pahoehoe Lava 2

Here is another photo of Pahoehoe lava. Of the 2 types of lava (A a and Pahoehoe) it is hotter (2000 degrees) giving it more viscosity. As it flows and cools it forms these fascinating patterns.

Connection

I am currently reading "On Italy" written by Henry James.This travel narrative written in the late 1800s has given me another connectivity moment. These rare(for me anyway)moments are always fascinating . Really relating to an author makes the book seem to be written just for you . This one began as the author was visiting a picturesque old mountain top village. As he is describing it he observes a man that he writes as having the characteristics of an Opera singer . Mr. James automatically begins to romanticize this man to fit his vision of an "Italian landscape" but is really off base when he begins to talk to him.
My connection moment comes with an experience I had in Venice. On day as I was exploring (lets call it wandering aimlessly) I came to a canal bridge where I saw a crowd looking up the canal. I got to the bridge just in time to see a man in a strange boat approaching. As he got nearer I could see his boat was a wooden replica of a Volkswagen beetle convertible . He was also singing some Operatic number. He waved to the cheering crowd, as he passed beneath the bridge and sailed off into the grand Canal.
As Mr. James had done I was in a Romantic tizzy about the happenings in this wonderful magic place.
As it turns out I later learned it was all a PR stunt .
I still think Venice is a wonderful magic place though.

The way it feels sometimes

Cable in Motion

the Great Ben Webster