when you find a perfect circle of ice
in the bottom of a sand pail
and hold it to the winter’s sun
things become crystal clear.
—
“there is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes
do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions.”
-dieter f. uchtdorf
Barrow, Alaska in darkness on Monday
On Friday, the sun set for the final time in Barrow, Alaska, as the city plunges into polar darkness for the next two months and, in December, formally changes its name to Utqiaġvik, according to Alaska Dispatch News.
The next dawn in Utqiaġvik will be January 22, 2017, the first sunlight under its new name, an Inupiaq word that the wider area of Barrow has long gone by. The city of around 4,300 was incorporated in 1958 and originally took its name from nearby Point Barrow, named by a Royal Navy officer in 1825.
The city is the northernmost in the U.S. and each year spends a couple of months in darkness, owing to its position hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, and about 2,000 miles northwest of Seattle.
Residents recently voted to permanently change the town’s name to honor indigenous peoples and the area’s roots. Locals seem relaxed about Barrow’s final sunset. As ADN reports, the sun “was nowhere to be seen” on Friday, and Qaiyaan Harcharek, a Barrow City Council member who led the drive to change the name, said the event didn’t have much of an effect on him. “I didn’t put much thought to it,” Harcharek told ADN.
—
“hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
-desmond tutu
—
credits: alaska dispatch news, erik shilling, university of alaska- fairbanks, atlas obscura
a new sun and adventure await
a morning tea
provided by an american
who fell in love with an irishman and never left
a sweet guy who came with the room
love and protection free of charge
not yet ready for morning
—
“i get up in the morning looking for an adventure.”
-george foreman
—
aran islands, ireland
sundial house, cushendall, northern ireland, uk
the sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and the moon keep their diary.
~ alfred kreymborg
—
image credit: catherine hyde
“just living is not enough” said the butterfly fairy,
“one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”
– hans christian andersen
some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot,
others transform a yellow spot into the sun.
– pablo picasso
—
“the best way to make children good is to make them happy.”
– oscar wilde
—
happy father’s day and summer solstice
may you have many bright hours today
—-
image credit: etsy.com
and so
we went to the sea
and it was
everything
and more
moving sun
calm waters
boats afloat
seals playing
fish tacos and ice cream
on the beach
and
friends
and
stories
and
water
and
shore
alive
with color
and
changing light
laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
– victor hugo
climbing the apple trees
flying kites
chasing fireflies
sending messages in a bottle
wandering through the library
playing big games
losing shoes
baking cupcakes
reading books
so many surprises
walking everywhere
finding clues
making costumes
singing made-up songs
talking into the sewer to invite the ninja turtles to a party
meeting the people all around
making up and telling stories
robots and legos
dancing like centipedes
playing in and out and around the water
sand in your pants
tunnels and giant ants
making a palace for the fairies to move into
big, big messes
cardboard forts
cousins, cats, dogs, goats, bunnies, lobsters, frogs, fish
and more family of all kinds
and becoming part of the art
you are six shooting stars on a shining summer’s day.
—
yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun. –
john lennon
—
dedicated with love to all of the little stars who make my life so big
and all of my seasons so bright –
peaches
that she understood this, while many people with the gift of sight, do not, but she was the one with the true sense of vision.
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 