Category Archives: Mother Nature

The Art of Selfies

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“In 2021 pet vanity is the latest trend.”
JR

A selfie is one way to show off your impeccable fashion, as well as proof that you did something or met someone cool. It’s even turned a few lucky, ordinary people with no special talent, into having a profitable career.

Selfies have been around for more than thirty years. It became popular after Paris Hilton and Britney Spears posed for a selfie.

I was surprised to learn, the first selfie was taken in 1839 on a daguerreotype camera by Robert Cornelius in Philadelphia. Cornelius was an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast. He took the image by removing the lens cap and then running into frame where he sat for a minute before covering up the lens again.

As if there isn’t enough selfie competition, lately the animal kingdom has gotten into the game. Animal selfies are not only amusing, but they might even make you a bit jealous. Some of them are indubitably photogenic.

From wild animals to domesticated pets, these creatures have perfected the art of selfies. 

Shine On

Sweet Smelling Memories

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“The sense of smell can be extraordinarily evocative,
bringing back pictures as sharp as photographs
of scenes that had left the conscious mind.”
Thalassa Cruso

  • Trail riding with Jimmy circa 2001

It’s amazing to me how our sense of smell can trigger a memory, even as far back as our childhood.

The part of the brain responsible for our sense of smell is the limbic system and is related to feelings and memory.

Smells we experience can bring up memories about people, places, or events related to these sensations.

The last few days my sense of smell has been in overdrive. The savory smell of a chicken roasting in my neighbor’s kitchen. Then, the smell of sautéing onions with garlic creep through my window. The evening smell of the ocean breeze as it blows in the scent of night-blooming jasmine.

There’s an area in the wetlands of Marina del Rey that is covered with wild oat grass. I’ve often driven by this area at dusk, and every time, I can smell and breath in this intoxicating smell of the wild oat grass. I wish someone could bottle this smell and sell it. They’d be rich.

This favorite scent of dewy wild oat grass brings me back to a quieter much gentler time. It takes me right back to my evening horseback rides of my youth on the Southern California wide-open trails. Such sweet smelling memories.

 Shine On

Emulate Your Example

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“When you get, give.
When you learn, teach.”
 Maya Angelou

I received an email from a friend, with these words of wisdom for the coming year:

“For each of us, eventually, whether we are ready or not, someday, it will come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame, and temporal power, will shrivel to irrelevance.

It will not matter what you owned, or owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists, will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won’t matter where you came from or on what side of the tracks you lived at the end. It won’t matter if you are beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built. Not what you got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.”

 Shine On