Petrified Darkness: 28 February 2010.

time advances and cold light is reflected from a distant past

Imagining a Winter Landscape

Landscapes of Imagination

the womb emptied of seed: an hibiscus pod

the self divided or a relationship

Natural architecture: nature constructs a portal

empathy and humaneness, III

Emma's bladder cancer manifested in her bloody urine. Look upon this and weep or commiserate. Life is never simple nor is death.

empathy and humaneness, II

Emma, from a healthy joyful puppyhood to living with illness for two years in her 10th and 11th years. Her body and mind still function and she is apparently pain free most of the time, but day by day she does weaken. What to do? A question we have asked ourselves again and again. Some would argue that she is old--eleven years and has multiple diseases: liver cancer, bladder cancer and diabetes--and yet she still eats with gusto, enjoys her treats, and walks, albeit withou the fervor she had some months ago. Nonetheless, though "legally" blind, possessing peripheral vision at best due to her diabetes, she still has a keen sense of smell and hearing. We have embarked on elder care for her until the time comes when she is clearly not able to function and exhibits pain as manifested by shivering and trembling. It is amazing to me that supposedly empathetic persons find this care uncalled for. Are they Cartesians, who regard a dog no more than a mechanism without "soul?' If so, animals are lesser creatures and man the noblest, who alone deserves humaneness. But we all know that ferocious killers, human that is, often begin their careers by torturing animals before subjecting humans to horrific defilement and death. Sir Thomas More and other humanists noted this as did Greek and Roman authors. And today? Too close to home I have encountered this disregard and fury directed at "that damned dog." Pity, empathy are learned. Perhaps in time it will be.

empathy and humaneness, I

jealousy and anger turn good into evil

Elizabeth Bowen: The Heat of the Day

"her young marriage had not been an experiment; it is the young who cannot afford experiment" Elizabeth Bowen, The Heat of the Day, 1948, Anchor edition, 2002, 147
Richard Brignoli and Susan Rosen Brignoli

Glimpsing the Past: an oculus and memory

Richard Brignoli: in memoriam, where he came from and the journey he undertook

Richard Brignoli: in memoriam, 1939, January 29--2006, April 14

Richard Brignoli, 1961, drawn by Susan Rosen; Richard and Susan Brignoli, June 1962, The Kaplans, Paul and Aranka, June 1962, all in Canterbury Ct.
I alone testify to the past; all others are deceased.
Richard with a great mane of dark brown/black hair, before it turned white.
A young man of promise and a long voyage before him.

Blizzard

nature's cycles: 2006 repeats in 2010, beautiful, beneficial but deadly.

The Hardness of Darkness

silvery light, a reflection

Kate: in memoriam

Remembering Kate, our first scottie. Katie died on this day in 1999. She struggled with death lying under a fir tree on a snow covered ground, but when it became evident to us that her death was not fast we rushed her to a Dr. O'Reilly who mercifully euthanized her immediately.
Kate was a remarkable being. Born in a puppy mill she was shipped around the United States. We encountered her at the Bergen Mall, in New Jersey. The morning after seeing her we brought her home and there she lived with us for twelve years. Her companion was her "brother " Fala. The two were inseparable once Fala was old enough to hold his own. Kate cared for him when he was ill; together they played with joy and inventive doggy happiness.

The Descent of Man; in Lucy's footsteps

Musical Notation

A Whale Cavorting in the Ocean: imagine

The Moon Rises over the Earth: imagine

A Paleolithic Feline: perception and nature invents

Chauvet cave in France, with dates ranging from 33,000 BP to 26,000. Among the animals depicted are lions. Appearing to advance, with ears flattened, the cats form a menacing line of formidable creatures. Nature's lion or feline, on the other hand, has an upright ear, as if alert and listening, prepared to flee or fight depending on circumstances. Though crafted by nature this image is man-made too.