Every storm should end with a rainbow. The Bible says that God gave us the rainbow as a sign that he would never flood the entire world again. When times get dark and stressful we should look for the promise that things are not going to be tough forever. The storms will eventually pass.
Tag: Fayette County West Virginia
The Missing
Unfortunately this is not really one my happier posts. The image above was taken at Hawks Nest State Park. The Swans were brought in to enhance the beauty of the lake formed by the flood control dam. They were a mated pair. The Swans did their job wonderfully. Gracefully floating around lake and spreading joy, peace and love to all who came to the lake. Until one person who either through ignorance or malice shot and killed one of them. Shortly thereafter, the other got sick and died. Why would someone do such a thing as to kill the swan? I don’t know exactly. I try not to attribute to malice that which can be explained as ignorance. What kind of weapon was used? The truth is death doesn’t come in degrees and except for the amount of suffering the swan endured it doesn’t matter. One of the things that I love about nature is simplicity. To the surviving swan all that matters is the emptiness. She doesn’t perceive any difference between a gun, bow & arrow, catapult, wolf, coyote or oncoming traffic. Gone is gone and that’s it.
In the early days of the internet I became a fan of the late Ron Hood and his Hood’s Woods survival blog. I don’t if the rules originated from him or if he just promoted them but here is the rules of three for survival.
1. You can live three minutes without air.
2. You can live three hours without shelter.
3. You can live three days without water.
4. You can live three weeks without food. (under the right conditions)
5. You can only survive three months without love.
Love is just as essential to life as anything on the list. Without love a person’s body goes on but the soul begins to die. However, there is hope. As long as the body can continue to function a love life can be restored. Not only can you be restored but you can come back stronger and happier than ever before. Just like in physical survival emotional survival relies on the ability to adapt and continue the journey. In physical survival we have to adapt our diet. Nobody has been saved by finding a spectacular pizza tree in the deep forests. In emotional survival we have to hold onto the love and respect of friends and family. We have to just keep moving forward with determination until the point of rescue. Never fail to offer a stranger a smile. It may be returned with the potential of a friendship that becomes more. Don’t be afraid to hug someone. You may just find out that they are waiting for you to rescue them back. The swans were brought here and isolated. The surviving swan had no community to draw on for support. We don’t have to be alone. If you’re hurting today the best advice I can give you is to go out and find at least one person who could use a friend and then be one.
The First signs of Spring
The days are noticeably longer in the Appalachian mountains. Mother nature has begun to open her sleepy eyes. The buds on the trees have begun to swell and some of early flowers will be in bloom in just a few weeks. We’re still expected a few cold days and a spring snow is quite common in the end of March or early April. The Southern breeze occasionally peeks up out of the Gulf of Mexico to share warm kisses and hasten the thaw. Soon it will be time to plant gardens and make plans for cookouts and family gatherings. Most of all, there’s opportunity to find a nice quiet spot and just breathe in nature.
The tree in the image above grows in a park next to New River Gorge Bridge. The bridge is over 3000 feet long (924 m) and 876 feet high (276 m)
The catwalk under the bridge is open to the public and tourists can walk out over the gorge. I have texted with and seen pictures of one of the engineers walking the steel beams without a net or safety line. But I digress.
With the weather warming up I hope to bring you some fresh images of West Virginia. Our mountains and valleys are truly beautiful in the Spring.
Cardinal Flowers and a new myth
The Cardinal Flower is a common sight in Eastern North America. It’s an important resource for hummingbirds and it’s used Native American herbal medicine. (It is considered toxic to humans!) If you want to read more about the scientific information on Cardnial Flower you can click HERE. But, if you’re interested in the new myth then read on.
A very long time ago two tribes lived in the Appalachian mountains. They were separated by a large river. One tribe farmed and fished the Northern bank and the other made their living on the Southern side. They would occasionally trade by meeting in center of the flat water in dugout canoes. Until one winter day when a disagreement arose over a bad trade. From that point on the tribes would be enemies. The Northern chieftain had a young son who was a fearless warrior. He excelled in every challenge. When his father fell ill the tribe’s shaman sent him on a mission to gather fungus from the birch trees which was on the other side of the river. While gathering the fungus he stumbled upon a young maiden bathing in a side stream of the river. His heart skipped a beat and it was love at first sight. He was so struck by her beauty that he forgot where he was and stepped on a twig snapping it. The sound alerted her his presence and she gasped loudly when she realized she wasn’t alone. Their eyes met his love was returned. They were so lost in each other’s gaze that they didn’t notice the other warriors responding to her gasp until an arrow found it’s mark deep inside the young man’s chest. He stumbled towards her and died on the edge of the water. In her heartbreak, the maiden fainted in the middle of the stream and drowned. The warriors in both tribes were in shock. As they looked at the scene that had just played out a single red flower sprung up from the blood that was spilled on the water’s edge. To their amazement, a small bird with a ruby red throat rose from spot where the maiden fell. The bird flew over and began to kiss the flower and to this day when a hummingbird kisses a Cardnial Flower it’s a reminder that even death cannot stop true love.
Working With Stone (And hearts of stone too)
I’ve always been interested in certain trade skills. Cutting stone is one of them. To properly cut a stone one must have to be able to read the small lines that tell you where small faults are inside the stone. Stone cutting is thought to be a very masculine endeavor. The uninitiated often has visions of the stone cutter as a muscle bound brute striking mighty blows until the stone gives way. While it takes some elbow grease to wrestle a large piece of rock into place one doesn’t have to have extreme strength. Ancient technology like A-frames or block and tackle make it much easier.
But I really want to talk to you about the actual cutting process. It’s not about strength. It’s about control. A mighty blow with Thor’s hammer would be manly for sure but it’s also going to ruin the work. The key to getting that nice straight cut is patience. It often starts with abrading a line in the place you want to cut. Sometimes you need to drill and use a wedge. Then you place your chisel on the spot and tap it with the hammer. The vibration of chisel travels into the stone weakens the spot until a crack forms.
This is also how to change a difficult situation. Or deal with a difficult personality. If your goal is to destroy a relationship then hammer away like Thor and vanquish the enemy. But keep in mind that an enemy is what you will produce. But, if that goal is to shape a relationship from raw stone then the small light taps over a long time is how it’s best done.
It’s also how to set someone free. (Including ourselves sometimes)
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” – Michelangelo
In today’s microwave world of instant gratification we’ve lost the value of accomplishment. Some of Michelangelo’s works took decades. The investment of time and imparting of life energy is what gives value to an angel shaped hunk of rock. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that don’t be surprised if instant success leaves us with a hollow victory. Accomplishment is born from the struggle. The harder the struggle is then the more satisfying the accomplishment will be. Even Michelangelo struggled. I don’t have a source but I remember one of art teachers talking about Michelangelo’s unfinished works and that how some of were abandoned because a fault formed in the wrong spot. The lesson I learned was that to become a master is to have failures and move forward anyway. If we want success then we walk away from the ruined piece with our tools and our experience and we get to work on a new piece by making those small taps in just the right place. And, we do it again and again until the angel is free.
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