Haiku Time in a Wet Day of Winter

Sequence of flying heron in Shark Valley, Florida. 

shine and cold
in the water prairie,

heron fly

Note: Interesting how the big bird gets aerodynamic pushing the legs back. Then it pulls back the head holding the long neck in an "S" curve to center its mass. They can reach 55 kilometers per hour with relatively slow wing beats.

A Colorful Photo Session with a Pink Shower Tree

The delicate color of the pink shower tree or Cassia bakeriana. 

When you see them, you can't resist. Click, click, click non stop. The native from Thailand and Myanmar captures your attention and your camera with its magical pink-purple flowers. 

According to the website of Pha Tad Ke Botanical Gardens in Luang Prabang, Laos,

Its symbolic value this Cassia owes in part to the fact that it is often reinterpreted in Thailand as being a “Kappa tree”, Kalapheuk, a paradise tree in Buddhist mythology which produces everything one could desire.

Let's plant one to get our wishes. What a magic tree. 

More of my pictures for your enjoyment. 

The tree.

The flowers.

The branches.

Glaciers: Ice in Grand Teton During Late Autumn

The moraine is perfectly seen in the photo. 

Photo taken last fall during a hike in Grand Teton National Park. I think this is the Middle Teton glacier - not sure. There are ~11 active glaciers in the park. 

Camping by the Meramec River in Missouri

Tall cliffs across the Meramec River. 

Meramec means "ugly fishes" or "ugly water" in the Algonquian language. This river joins the Mississippi near St. Louis. It's a long free flowing river. Huge forest over there. I stayed in Meramec State Park - geolocation. Big camp with many empty sites.  

There was some current by the wading beach. 

My campsite in the state park. 

After the stay, I left Missouri through the backroads and drove the Ohio River Scenic Byway. Poor communities all around in the Illinois side. Dilapidated homes, closed gas stations. What a terrible mess for the folks living there. It doesn't look the United States.

Don't Try to Be Perfect, Be Human

Don’t let the quest for the perfect house stop you from pitching a tent when you need it.

And an oldie from Tokugawa Ieyasu:

Life is like unto a long journey with a heavy burden. Let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not. Persuade thyself that imperfection and inconvenience are the lot of natural mortals, and there will be no room for discontent, neither for despair.

Ancient Wisdom: The Zen Teachings of Huang Po

A friend recommended this book. It's interesting. The Zen teachings of Huang Po is one of those texts that peels the human mind through old and traditional knives. Old wisdom soup. It touches cause-effect, duality, and the stress of living in past and future. Translated by John Blofeld, the book was published in 1959.

Who was Huang Po? The Chinese master of the 9th century Huangbo Xiyun. He learned from Baizhang Huaihai, one of the crafters of the early monastic rules of Chan - Chinese Zen. This teacher created the "Wild fox koan", one that makes you think about causality.

Some ideas from this book. 

• Buddha is within us. 
• Don't seek mind with mind. 
• Escape past, present, and future.
• Things arise from thoughts and vanish with thoughts. 
• Nobody can "study the Way". 
• Avoid clinging to written texts.
• There is nothing to seek.
• The mind is a void that can be filled with wrong stuff. 
• Cast away the darkness from your old concepts.
• Don’t be blinded by your sight. 
• Reject dualistic thinking. 
• Shine without intent to shine. 
• Be and forget appearances. 
• Kill the self. 

Four quotes from this text. 

All who reach this gate fear to enter. 

 

Here it is – right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it. 

 

Nothing is born, nothing is destroyed. 

 

Throughout this life, you can never be certain of living long enough to take another breath.

The Beauty of the Poisonous Water Lilies

Pale blue beauty - I took this photo in a botanical garden of Florida. 

They are fresh, feminine, delicate, and raise a mood of relaxation. But don't be mistaken, looks are deceiving because all water lilies are poisonous. These plants are in the family Nymphaeaceae which includes many species. The name relates to nymph. You know, beautiful ladies or beautiful deities for the ancient Greeks. These lilies thrive in calm waters. Nice decoration for a garden pond. 

Rubber Rabbitbrush in the Rio Grande Gorge

Blooming rubber rabbitbrush in northern New Mexico. 

What a golden beauty. I took this picture hiking in the Rio Grande Gorge. Scientific name is Ericameria nauseosa. "Nauseosa" tells you all: enjoy the view but don't smell. This plant is a cousin of the sunflowers. Zuni and Navajo Indians use the flowers for a yellow dye.