I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
On January 8, 2016, we featured the photo above, “Gems 2.4.” It was taken by my son Ben in Taos, NM the summer before. We featured several of Ben’s photos that week. That day, January 8th, Ben wrote a a comment:
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Stefan Keller, Pixabay
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Free-Photos, Pixabay
If you know any homeless artists who would like their poems, photos or art featured on under1000skies, on our social media accounts and through our email list, please pass on our information. Thank you!
Have a great weekend.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Mabel Amber, Pixabay.
Special thanks today to every single person who has liked our posts, followed our blog, or left comments; to all who have contributed photos, quotes, poems, and stories; and to every single person who has helped so much over the years with ideas, inspiration, support, time and love.
I’m grateful for you, every day.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo “Milkyway” by FreePhotos, Pixabay
Special thanks to Rajni, KindSpring.org, for sharing today’s quote.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
I’m especially grateful right now for the firefighters who work heroically to battle the monster fires in California. My prayers and healing thoughts are — and will continue to be — with the 82 families in and around Paradise who lost loved ones and for the 700+ families whose loved ones are still missing.
My cousin Walter and his family lost everything in the Paradise “campfire.” Walter’s sister Joanne said that he and his wife heard a loud boom, ran out to see what it was, and suddenly they were running for their lives. They got out and are both okay, but Walter had to be admitted to the hospital. He’s on the mend. Joanne started a GoFundMe campaign and support has been pouring in from all over. Walter was overwhelmed by the response to her fundraiser, Joanne said, and by the kindness of friends and family. Even people he never met have helped.
I have seen this response and outpouring of support since this all began all over. It reminds me of this quote from Starman:
“You are a strange species. Not like any other. And you’d be surprised how many there are. Intelligent but savage. Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.”
Our family has lost a lot to fire. My grandfather lost his mother and sister. My cousins Cindy and Bonnie (Walter’s sisters) died in a fire when they were 14 and 19. Just a few weeks before she died, Cindy and I picked daisies in a sunny field covered with their bright blooms. It was the last beautiful memory I have of her. Cindy and I were the same age when she died.
I am thankful every day for our firefighters, police and military who put their lives on the line for strangers. During this week of Thanksgiving, and especially during this heartbreaking time when so many of us have lost so much to the fires in California, I wanted to share this story and my gratitude.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo, “Lock, Weir Dam” by Hans Braxmeier, Pixabay
Special thanks to Mish for sharing this quote. Have you ever felt that life moves this way, sometimes in huge spurts of achievement after a long period of dormancy?
I learned from a video on Jim Kwik’s Instagram feed that this is sometimes about limiting belief. You may know the story of Roger Bannister, the first man on record to break the 4-minute mile. It was 1954 and the 4-minute mile was considered the “Everest” of achievements for runners. It had never been broken. After Bannister broke this record, many athletes began to do so. Now the 4-minute mile is considered the standard for middle-distance runners.
This video from Athletics shows that wonderful moment in history when Roger Bannister pushed past the 4-minute barrier and opened the flood gates for other athletes.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo “The Blades Aerobatic Display Team; National Armed Forces Day” UK -June30th in Gallery/New Themes. Copyright © Richard Keys, Photo Sociology: “Exploring Sociology through Photography” All rights reserved. Used with permission. Thank you, Richard! ♡
Today’s quote
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
is courtesy of SkyGod.
Doesn’t it make you wonder how Leonardo da Vinci knew how flying felt? Did he have vivid dreams about it? Have you ever had a vivid dream about flying? I always wanted to but never have, even though I often have vivid dreams.
Today I learned by way of LeonardodaVinci.net that Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated with flight all his life. He drew sketches of flying machines (some of which are on the linked page) more than 400 years before the Wright Brothers made his dreams a reality in 1903 at Kitty Hawk. I loved Kitty Hawk and could have spent days there. If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it!
I was delighted to see an entire series of flying photos on Richard’s blog a few months ago and to learn that he loves air shows at least as much as I do. I got to go to two air shows in the UK this summer by way of Richard’s camera. (Thank you Richard! Incidentally, this is the song I mentioned on your Armed Forces Day post.)
Special thanks to Richard Keys Photo Sociology, for gifting us with his beautiful photos all week long. You’ll be seeing more of Richard’s photos for as long as he permits. it. Thanks so much Richard!
In the meantime, if you know any homeless artists who would like their poems, photos or art featured on under1000skies, on our social media accounts and through our email list, please pass on our information. Thank you!
Have a great weekend.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo “Ganet-puffin-guillemot-1-of-12” in Gallery/Birds. Copyright © Richard Keys, Photo Sociology: “Exploring Sociology through Photography” All rights reserved. Used with permission. Thank you, Richard! ♡
From Richard’s page:
Northern Gannet
The Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) is one of my favorite sea birds. It has a beautiful blue eye which us set against a pastel yellow nape. They nest in large colonies and are very territorial. Gannets mate for life and return to the same nest year after year.
The snippet of poem shared on today’s Gem came from Julian Date, friend of writer and photographer Richard Carter, FDC. EDIT: Richard kindly gave me permission today to share the full poem. Also, I have corrected Julian’s last name from “Dale” to “Date” (“like the Julian calendar…” Richard kindly explained). Thank you so much Richard and Julian! ♡
THE GANNET
My favourite bird’s the gannet:
It’s the best bird on the planet.
It’s better than knots
And guillemots
And beats razorbills by lots and lots.Yes, my favourite bird’s the gannet:
It just can’t be beaten, can it?
It hatches on ledges,
Where it stays till it fledges
And grows a physique
With a fabulous beak.
Then it takes to the air
And soars way up there,
Till it reaches a summit,
Whence it dives in a plummet
And down with a S W I S H !
It catches a fish.Yes, my favourite bird’s the gannet
(Apart from my girlfriend, Janet!).
Richard Carter created a movement in the United Kingdom called Friends of Darwin. His original goal was to get the face of Charles Darwin on a bank note. This is from his Home page:
The Friends of Charles Darwin were founded in 1994 to campaign for the depiction of their hero, Charles Darwin, on a Bank of England bank note. The great man finally appeared on the new £10 note in November 2000.
Due to popular demand, we’re still taking on new members. We currently have 4,070 members in 98 countries. Our most recent new member is Chris Stephens of London, England.
So if you can truly say “Charlie is my Darwin”, and you’d like to be able to write the letters FCD after your name, why not join us? It’s totally free!
I’ve written to Mr. Carter to ask permission to share J. Dale’s entire poem here. Meanwhile, if you have some time, have a look around his site. It’s really fun and very informative.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo “Tree Sparrow,” Gallery/Birds. Copyright © Richard Keys, Photo Sociology: “Exploring Sociology through Photography” All rights reserved. Used with permission. Thank you, Richard! ♡
Special thanks to Rajni who shared today’s quote. A bit about Anita Desai:
“Anita Desai is an Indian novelist and the Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a writer she has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times.” (Wikipedia)
Richard’s photo of this little tree sparrow really captures my heart. Sparrows have been my favorite bird since I was very young. We lived in a city, where everything was concrete except the park. Outside our dining-room window was a rooftop patio. This is where I formed some of my earliest memories. I grew my first garden there in a small pot, and my mom taught me how to feed the birds. She clicked her tongue to call them, and they all came — sparrows, pigeons and even an occasional crow. I used to think my mom was magical, like Sleeping Beauty, to be able to bring the birds with this clicking sound. Sometimes the lovely ones with the most beautiful feathers visited, cardinals and jays. But I always loved the little brown sparrows best.
This quote today spoke to my heart too. Imagine how dense with beauty the birds like this sparrow are, flying free as they do to so many wonderful places.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
under1000skies 