coming out of my shell

coming out of my shell

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Still hanging on

I will eventually write about Charlottesville.  I will eventually allude to the hatred that is no longer festering in the hearts of so many American citizens, but has burst, sporelike, into the light of day. Hideous, disfiguring hatred is making zombies of the living. Hatred is born of fear and ignorance. And, of course, there is really no way to get around the fact that it is a sin.

Today, however, I am still trying to hang on to the goodness and beauty that is all around me. So I am going to continue with another post about the wildflowers found in the nearby nature preserve. 

Here is an interesting flowering vine. The identifying sign on the walkway referred to it as balsam pear. It is also known as bitter melon.  According to Wikipedia: "When ripe, the fruits burst apart, revealing numerous seeds covered with a brilliant scarlet, extremely sticky coating." It is not a native plant. However, it is still beautiful. Here it is in various states of being, and splitting open to spill its seed:








19 comments:

  1. Well, Colette, I'm up past my bed time and past coherent. I can only spit out unrelated sentences, and not very far, at that. Trump will keep going through staff like a Gatling gun. Good. A bunch of Bushes denounced Trump. A white supremacist arrested in Charlottesville cries over the warrant. Just little bits to make me laugh. Off to bed now.

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    1. This man just isn't qualified to be President.

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  2. They are very pretty. We need some beauty right now.

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    1. We do. Luckily, it is still all around us if we can force ourselves to see through the chaos.

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  3. I know exactly what you mean. Beautiful vines.

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  4. Gorgeous and unusual.

    I too am still thinking things through. Working through the feelings of sadness and anger. I do not wish to hate in return but I find myself having that feeling for one particular person.

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    1. I suspect he won't be president much longer. I see him resigning before he is impeached.

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  5. I've never seen this flowering vine anywhere. It's wildly interesting and beautiful. A good balance to the madness that grip our country right now. I have no words for how deeply horrified I am by the hatred that has reared its ugly head. Sigh.

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    1. It seems to be a Southern vine, and is native to Africa.

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  6. Beautiful plant! I am so envious that you have one growing near by. I remember similar plants from our years in paradise, we called them snozzcumbers but only because our daughte's favourite book at the time was The BFG by Roald Dahl where snozzcumbers feature largely.

    http://roalddahl.wikia.com/wiki/Snozzcumber

    Overt the years I have learned that distraction - even for a short period - helps to handle the harsh stuff.

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    1. Tastes like cockroaches and slime wanglers..

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  7. Splendid color and grace to be found in the simple act of walking and looking around.

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    1. So true. And the more you walk, the more you find.

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  8. I know that some people can never escape racism - they have to live it every day. But appreciating the beauty in the world (of which there is much) is a great way to remember what we are fighting for.

    This plant is friggin' amazing !

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  9. Nature is divine. So much to learn, discover and embrace. Wonderful photos and nice of you to share.

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    1. Thank you Blogoratti! It is good to hear you liked the photos.

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  10. Hanging on to Goodness and Beauty is what I also choose to do during these turbulent times when so much Negativity and Evil is erupting around us.

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So, whadayathink?