Season of Change

Is it possible that I haven't posted in three months? My how time flies. Not a single Spring post. As mentioned though it has been a season of change. For myself, I moved back north, started a new job and, and, and...saving that for later though. For now, I just returned from visiting w my family in Vermont and my Mother's garden was just abloom...
































All photos were taken in the garden over the course of a week except the last one of the pansies. The pansies came from the garden but they were inside in a vase.

Helping in a different way. Passing on the positive.

An update received from my brother and sister-in-law who are currently living in Santiago.

"Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We would like to thank all the persons who have written to express their support to us and the Chilean people in this time of tragedy. We share in the tremendous grief felt by the people of Chile for their country and those who lost loved ones.

The Santiago area, while impacted by the quake, experienced relatively minor damage compared to the areas near the epicenter. Things are quickly returning to normal in Santiago. Power was restored within 5 hours of the earthquake in the main business and tourist district, telecommunications were restored soon after. Supermarkets, gas stations, restaurants and shopping malls began opening on Monday. All Metro lines are running and the airport has begun operating on a 24 hour basis and is predicted to return to normal schedule by next Monday.

The response of the government has been efficient and well coordinated and they have dedicated unlimited resources to their efforts. Aid from foreign countries also began arriving today. Given its strong economy and fiscal discipline Chile has a tremendous revenue surplus to provide needed assistance. Chile is a strong, well developed country and outside of the Concepcion and Maule regions the damage was much less severe. The situation here is much different than what happened in Haiti. Chile, with a history of many strong earthquakes, has very strict building codes and Santiago, a city of 6 million, withstood any catastrophic damage. Sadly, many older homes and those which did not comply with the building codes, in the poorer parts of the city, were damaged. Chile will hopefully recover quickly from this tragedy but will mourn the loss of their loved ones always.

We hope for better reporting in the presentation of Chile’s current situation. As expected, the international media has focused only on the most severely damaged areas. They have done this without clear indications of the geography of a country that is 2,800 miles long. This has led to confusion and much unnecessary worry regarding the 6 million people in Santiago where very few people were injured. The major damages are 3 to 5 hours south of Santiago where, sadly, there were many deaths and there are many people still missing or trapped in buildings.

It is also unfortunate that the US government has recommended not traveling to Chile for tourism. Approximately 5% of the Chilean economy is based on tourism. The best way to help the people of Chile is to make sure that the world is correctly informed that Chile is open for business despite the country’s current effort to restore the areas affected by the earthquake. The main tourist destinations San Pedro de Atacama in the north, Patagonia in the south and Easter Island were unaffected by the earthquake. People should consider Chile very safe to visit once the Santiago airport is fully operational in the coming week.

If you would like to offer your assistance to Chile earthquake relief, please donate to the Red Cross which has committed to assisting Chile with their relief efforts www.redcross.org."

Following are photos taken by my brother a day after the quake.

La Moneda
The Presidential Palace

Patio Bellavista
Local open air plaza featuring art, culture and cuisine

Empresas Copec
Local petrol station receiving delivery

Emporio La Rosa
Gourmet ice cream eatery

Santiago Stock Exchange

Santiago Municipal Theatre

One sweet snowshoe!

a girl,
a dog,
some snowshoes,
a camera
and as an added bonus
a talented snowkiter
who showed up out of nowhere.












































The photos of the snowkiter just don't do him or the sport justice. You really need to catch a video or just watch them in person.

For myself I have to say after watching this guy for about an hour I want to go fly my own kite! Up the mountain, down the mountain, loop-de-loo! Some of the sweetest stuff I've ever seen on snow or off as the case may be! Check the video it's kind of long but right good stuff set to sweet tunes.

The Snow-Storm

The Snow-Storm

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hill and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden's end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delated, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hiddden thorn;
Fills up the famer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs; and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

With the last three posts having been posts of the past I thought I would post from the present. We had some pretty good dumps last week and snow is at the top of my lists of fave. The photos are from a hike I took with friends out Lake Creek.

The other side of the Pacific

While in Australia we were never far from the ocean and we spent quite a bit of time on numerous beaches both on the east coast of the mainland and Tasmania. Here are a few of my favorite photos.

East Coast Mainland Australia

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

More Gold Coast

View of the skyline of Sydney from the ferry to Manly

Beach at Manly, a suburb of northern Sydney





























East Coast Tasmania

The Beach at Bicheno

Tidal pool at Bicheno

Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park

For now I'll let the photos do all the talking. I'll be posting more about individual places later. I do have to say though that Wineglass Bay is the best place I've ever pitched a tent.