Seeds and seedlings

(Dandelion in tree shelter. May 2008. © Robin)

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Once upon a time, when we were new to Breezy Acres, we had a hayfield. Every spring and summer the hay would grow. Every fall the farmer up the road would mow and bundle the hay which was then left in the field for him to pick up throughout the winter months as needed.

Then one day M got to thinking about trees. He did some research, talking with the folks at our local department of natural resources along with the soil and water people who have been encouraging reforestation since a good chunk of the land around here has been zoned as resource conservation. We ordered a soil map which was the most informative thing I’ve ever seen in terms of what our land is like, what plants and trees are native to the area, and what would grow best in that hayfield.

And so, not long after those thoughts of M’s, we asked the farmer not to mow the field anymore and planted 125 trees. Well, not trees exactly. Seedlings. We bought and planted seedlings because we couldn’t afford to reforest the area with bigger — and more expensive because they are bigger — trees. We planted sugar maples, red maples, oaks, black walnut, and black cherry trees.

The seedlings were lovingly planted by us both. After the first ten or so were planted we had a good, in-sync, rhythm going between the two of us and it became a relatively easy task. M would dig, I would plant. After the seedlings were planted, we placed biodegradable tree shelters around them to keep the rabbits and deer from chewing up the tender baby trees.

All kinds of things go on in some of those tree shelters. Red-winged blackbirds built a nest in one of them (pictures coming soon). Snakes hide out in them. And the usual assortment of weeds (if you think of them as such) try to make themselves at home. The dandelion pictured above has a long, long stem on it (over 2 feet) just so the flower could poke out the top of the shelter.

We probably won’t live long enough to see the trees at their full height and glory. But then, you don’t plant trees with that in mind.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

~ Nelson Henderson

Capturing the photographer (II)

(The budding photographer. May 2008. © Robin)

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.

~ Deepak Chopra

Capturing the photographer

(Reflections: Granddaughter & grandmother. May 2008. © Robin)

Sometimes looking deep into the eyes of a child, you are conscious of meeting a glance full of wisdom. The child has known nothing yet but love and beauty. All this piled-up world knowledge you have acquired is unguessed at by her. And yet you meet this wonderful look that tells you in a moment more than all the years of experience have seemed to teach.

~ Hildegarde Hawthorne

Tonight’s sunset

(Memorial Day sunset. © Robin)

Every situation, every moment — is of infinite worth; for it is the representative of a whole eternity.

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A little later…

(© Robin)

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.

~ Thomas Campbell

(Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Point Loma, CA. © Robin)

More info about Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery can be found here.

A poem called On Rosecrans Hill can be found here.

And a moment of silence can be found here.

(Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Point Loma, CA. © Robin)

(Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Point Loma, CA. © Robin)

Go play

(Kite flying. Embarcadero Marina Park, San Diego, CA. © Robin)

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing!

~ George Bernard Shaw

The music.

Mt. Soledad

With Memorial Day weekend approaching here in the U.S., it seemed a good time to go back to Mount Soledad. Mount Soledad, as you might recall, was one of the first places TPG took me when we met up during my last trip to San Diego.  I showed you some of the spectacular views from it in this post.

There is a 29-foot (43 feet tall when you include the base) cross dominating the top of Mt. Soledad, a cross that has caused some controversy. The history of the cross is pretty interesting. There have been three crosses on this site since 1913. The first was a wooden cross erected by citizens of La Jolla and Pacific Beach. Ten years later it was stolen, recovered, and more firmly affixed to the ground only to be burned down by the Ku Klux Klan. The second cross, made of stucco-over-wood, was put up in 1934 (again by private citizens). Blustery winds took it down in 1952. The third cross went up in 1954. It had to be repaired in 1955 after a windstorm damaged it.

Maybe it’s me, but it seems like the crosses on Mt. Soledad haven’t had much luck.

(Cross at Mt. Soledad. April 2008. © Robin)

In 1989 the ACLU filed a suit based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as a clause in the California constitution, basically stating that it is illegal to display a religious symbol on public property. The cross has been the subject of much litigation ever since. Supporters of the cross have tried numerous options to keep it there. In 2006 the federal government applied the powers of eminent domain to transfer the cross and the land underneath it from the city of San Diego to the federal government. President George W. Bush strongly supported the bill and this transfer was an effort to avoid court-ordered removal of the cross. The transfer involved listing it as a National Veterans Memorial and turning it over to the Department of Defense

The problem with that, of course, is that not all veterans are or were Christian.

Somewhere in all this mess (in 1994) some of the land at the base of the cross was purchased by a private group (the Mount Soledad Memorial Association). This, too, has been the subject of much litigation. Sometime after the purchase of the land (2002-2003) the Memorial Association had six concentric granite walls built to hold plaques memorializing service men and women.

As far as I can determine, there is still litigation going on, now at the federal level since it is no longer the City of San Diego property.

The wall on Mt. Soledad reminds me somewhat of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. although Mt. Soledad’s wall is not as stark.  There are pictures, symbols, and sometimes little stories about the people being remembered and memorialized.

(TPG at the wall. Mt. Soledad. April 2008. © Robin)

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

~ Joseph Campbell

I hope the final resolution is one that will honor the veterans as well as their various beliefs.

Disclaimer:  I used a variety of sources for the information on the cross, one of which was Wikipedia (yeah, I know, I know…but they had a good time line of the litigation events).  Any mistakes are mine which I will gladly correct if you would kindly let me know about them.

Steel Pier

(Steel Pier. Atlantic City, NJ. April 2008. © Robin)

A little something about the Steel Pier I found on YouTube.

The Steel Pier in Atlantic City was opened in 1898. It was called the Steel Pier because the underpinnings are made of steel. You can read more about it here if you’re interested.

Walk and be…

(Longwood Gardens. April 2008. © Robin)

The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.

~ Charles Dickens

Why I like rainy days (part 2)

(Exploring the puddles. May 2008. © Robin)

Because, as a grandma, I can give my granddaughter permission to play in the puddles. (Apologies to her parents who will now have to correct that behavior.)