Blog of Cris Koonce
"O God, give us serenity to accept what cannot be changed; courage to change what should be changed; and wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
- Reinhold Niebuhr
"The good Lord set definite limits on man's wisdom, but set no limits on his stupidity - and that's just not fair."
- Konrad Adenauer
"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification."
- Martin H. Fisher
The photograph is of the sanctuary of the First Christian Church in Mineral Wells, Texas. It is a grand space, that in spite of its massiveness is incredibly warm and welcoming. Thank you, Pam, for sharing your time and new chapter with us.
To accommodate both the extreme bright and dark areas of the space, multiple images of various exposures were taken then blended together to make the picture above.
- Dorothy Dix
"We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same."
- Anne Frank
"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."
- Coco Chanel
The pink flower (a poppy) in the picture grew on a really tall stalk that looked a lot like that of an unwanted weed. If I saw one before it bloomed, in a flower bed of mine, I'd probably pull it up. There were hundreds of them purposely planted and thriving. Individually, they weren't especially pretty or striking as flowers go - and as mentioned,they looked incredibly weedy with big spiny leaves. But they were interesting and pleasant to view, and all together they made a beautiful sea of bright and unusual color. They were different.
Photo taken at Clark Gardens.
The cheetah photo was taken at the Fort Worth zoo; the rose at Clark Gardens.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
In making arrangements to take pictures for a dear friend that would span several days, I sent her an email inquiring about the times I should show up at the various places. She was away from her computer and so didn't see my email. I showed up anyway - at times that seemed appropriate, hoping all would work itself out. It did!
Several days later, she had the opportunity to read my email and replied, "You came without instructions." What an awesome statement. It was a fun and sweet way for her to respond, but it struck me how far beyond its context it could go. (One of her many gifts is her way with words.)
Instructions not included. It's sort of like, "batteries not included," but better. I bet my parents noticed I came without instructions. I think of her words often. They bring a smile and an appreciation for being human.
May you have a swimmingly beautiful day.
~ The photograph of the swan was taken at Clark Gardens Botanical Park,
located near Mineral Wells, Texas. ~
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- CrisKoonce: Wow. We got 4.5 inches of rain yesterday. No need to water the garden this morning.
- CrisKoonce: Making my 1st scratch carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Hope it is edible. I'll let Bill have the first piece. :)
- CrisKoonce: Evenings don't get much better than tonight. Calm cool night. Candle light dinner on the deck. Nice fire in the chiminea and good company.
- CrisKoonce: This is the first time our zucchini plant has seen rain. The rain must have scared it, 'cause it fell over.
- CrisKoonce: The power is out. Five electric trucks have gone by so far. My oh my.
