Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Relentless Courage of Nature

Nature is relentless and unchangeable, and it is indifferent as to whether its hidden reasons and actions are understandable to man or not. ~ Galileo

Galileo couldn't know what man had in store for nature.

Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticided grain,
For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.
America, America, man sheds his waste on thee,
And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea.

~George Carlin

The crimes against nature being played out on the Gulf Coast leave me sad, disappointed and angry. Not only that it happened due to criminal negligence and greed but that the response to it is so slow and arrogant.

Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us.
~Henrik Tikkanen

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
~John Muir

I recently visited FORT HANCOCK and rather than take the tour of Officer's Row or visit the museum dedicated to battery guns I chose to walk around the abandoned section.

It was a warm windy day, the sun was shining but clouds kept passing over creating wonderful moments of silvery light and cooling the air.



I was immediately struck by how nature was reclaiming the ground that had once been cleared for buildings.

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
~ Doug Larson



I almost passed by these flowers. They were leaning against a piece of old wood. Not a single flower anywhere else. Just these.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin



Residents of an old basement, peeking out at the light.





Yes, there really is a door in there.



The steps are good enough for the ivy and the grass.



The stone may crumble but it will fall onto the softness and forgiveness of nature.

You could cover the whole earth with asphalt, but sooner or later green grass would break through.
~Ilya Ehrenburg



Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.
~Hal Borland



I watched this tree for a bit. Appreciating how she bends away from the building and toward the sea and sun.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
~Albert Einstein

Logical thought told me that the wind was creating the sounds I heard as I wandered about. Yet the wind is part of nature and it made the trees rustle and the grass sway. It grabbed up seeds from one old plant and deposited them somewhere new.

I was quiet. I was calm. I was respectful.

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.
~Eleonora Duse

19 comments:

Jeff B said...

I think nature is Gods way of telling us we are here for a short time, but He will be here for eternity. When we respect nature, we are respecting Him too.

Akelamalu said...

ON the way back from a trip to Liverpool on Tuesday we spied an old cinema turned minimarket with trees growing out of the roof. Yes, nature reclaims what man doesn't look after.

Jeni said...

Another "As Always" post from you, Dianne! I love how you point things out with words and photos and make your points so elegantly in the process!
And, also as always, we still have Hope, don't we?

jaycoles@gmail.com said...

What a wonderful photoessay. You always lift my spirit.

Anonymous said...

Nature is wonderfully resilient and will, inevitably, out-wit humankind; however, this may not happen before we utterly destroy our own long-term chances of survival on the planet. Let's hope for better to come.

Daryl said...

What an amazingly beautiful, poetic post ..

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

excellent post Dianne...

wonderful pictures

fermicat said...

Outstanding photo essay! Good stuff.

Scott Oglesby said...

This was a beautiful and touching tribute to mother Gaia. If only we learned to treat her with the respect that she deserves the world would be an entirely different place.

Call me crazy but I think that within the next 2 years we are going to experience a dramatic shift in consciousness and begin to honor every living being, including earth, or we are all go to die in a series of fiery explosions.

Linda Reeder said...

I love this! It is beautiful and poetic, and it leaves me feeling calm and peaceful too. Just wonderful!

Dianne said...

jeff b - please spread that word around :)

akelamalu - I hope they let the trees stay :)

jeni - yes we sure do always have Hope :)
thanks!!

jay s - thank you, means a lot to me

singing bear - there are those who think the BP disaster may be a wake up call
I have my doubts but I will try to be hopeful

daryl - thank you :)

vinny - I am proud of these, I think practice is making me better
plus I learn so much from other photo bloggers
thanks

fermicat - thanks!!

scott - funny you talk about the next 2 years
I sometimes get a flash feeling of something wonderful or terrible happening
as I mentioned to Singing Bear perhaps what is happening on the golf coast right now might actually shake people up

linda r - thank you so much!!

ellen abbott said...

I'm not worried about the planet. The planet will survive. Eventually we will pollute it enough that we cannot survive, we will die off and the planet will recover.

DJan said...

I am also worried about our Mother Earth, but when I see the beauty in the world, thanks to posts like this one, I feel renewed and hopeful.

Nessa said...

Beautiful photos and loved the accompanying sayings. I think weeds are more beautiful than cultivated flowers.

ds said...

Beautiful and poignant. Thank you.

HermanTurnip said...

You have an amazing eye for photographs. I now officially hate you ;-) I wish I had your talents!

Jinksy said...

All that persistent greenery looks like my wild, encroaching garden! :)

Mare said...

That was so inspiring, and way more interesting than the tours that everyone else followed while there. I echo Linda R"s comment.
I am always amazed at the greenery that pops thru concrete. And your leaning tree...priceless!

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

Beautiful post from a beautiful lady!
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