NY2013

Merry Christmas 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                                        

Veterans Day 12

Sandy

I am pained to hear that Amanda took her life because of 'bullying'. It is a shame indeed.  To all you 'bulliers', I say you have something drastically wrong in your brain or in your home.  That is why you choose this terribly negative vice to harm others.  Spread L O V E. not hate.

At 211 degrees, water is hot.  

At 212 degrees, it boils.  

With boiling water, comes steam.  

And steam can power a locomotive.  

And...

it's that one extra degree that makes all the difference!  

 “We salute our American Workers this Labor Day, who have through blood, sweat and tears

contributed to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our Country.”

Congratulations TEAM USA for a Great PERFORMANCE!!!

OLYMPIC CHAMP!

18 GOLD + 2 SILVER + 2 BRONZE = CHAMPION!!

Good Job Michael Phelps

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/22-facts-michael-phelps-record-22-olympic-medals-000650620--oly.html

A Salute to our State Olympians

Congrats with the first U.S. medal!

Prayers

"Sea-Fever"

"Sea-Fever"

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

                                                                             By John Masefield (1878-1967)

Happy 4th of July!

Morning Glory

Today is Flag Day!

On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a

Presidential Proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14.

Many Americans celebrate Flag Day by displaying the Red, White and Blue

in front of homes and businesses. The day commemorates the adoption of

the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States.

(click here for more history on our Flag!)

★ Memorial Day ★

 'Memorial Day' is a day to reflect on both the past and future of our nation. We remember our fallen, and we honor the ideals they defended, including freedom of speech and religion, democracy, and due process. Our soldiers protect these values through their service, yet as we acknowledge their dedication, we recognize that many threats to these American values have not been eliminated. 

NATURE

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair. By K.Gibran

TREES

"Every seed holds the promise of a thousand Forests"

Gratitude

As someone so wisely said:  "We go to poetry for one reason, so that we might more fully inhabit our lives and the world in which we live, and, that, if we more fully inhabit these things, we might be less apt to destroy both."    From this perspective, enjoy the poem below and give us your comments.

You are welcome to add your poetry. 

  

Unforgettable words of a dying duck

One spring, while in the Netherlands, we took a tour of the vast tulips fields, just 30 miles from Amsterdam, namely the Keukenhof Gardens. What a rare and beautiful sight to behold.  The thought of just running wildly through the fields of these gorgeous flowers was much appealing but our guide soon put a ‘damper’ on it. Instead, he took us to Aalsmeer’s flower auction Hall.  Flowers are big business in Holland.  We were truly amazed as we sat and watched in astonishment a flower auction in motion. Trainload after trainload of tulips and other flowers made their way around the auction halls where sat over a thousand wholesalers bidding excitedly as the flowers cruised past them. Down comes the gavel announcing the winner of that particular load.   Did you know that every day over 21 million flowers find their way across Europe and around the world from Holland.  But, not to diminish that rare sight, I beheld one other sight when unexpectedly I came upon this delightful world of beauty not too far away and in my hometown.  I remembered reading a ‘Haiku’ once on the ‘elegant and stately Tulip’ and here it is folks, enjoy both, the ethereal calmness of color and the ‘Haiku’

I am a tulip

Dark, moist months I spent
in textures of earthiness,
dreaming of the light.

Breaking from my bulb
with radicle abandon,
i established roots.

I shot stems upward
to bud and leave with greenly
Tulipa delight.

And, while on Mother Nature,  we just watched some guys from the Park District planting small saplings in the neighborhood.  They carefully covered each and put a support around it so that the sampling, as it matured would grow up straight and tall reaching its fullest potential.  What a great idea!    We have got to do the same with our children,  to embrace, nourish, encourage their imagination, to teach them basic values of love, honesty, respect, discipline, sharing and above all responsibility for his/her actions. This truly all begins at home when the child first learns to walk.  Children tend to grow up much earlier in today’s world and they do not have the liberty or leisure to enjoy the process of growing up like we did.  It does not matter how small a child is, he/she can be taught that his /her actions do have consequences, they will understand the meaning of responsibility.  


Since we at NPP are extremely partial to Nature in all of its glory, we do have that special favor for children as well.  And from that aspect, we have published our first children’s Book, titled BUFO by Terra Ciel.  A wonderfully captivating and beautifully illustrated Book. It not only soars a child’s imagination but also teaches them love and respect for each other despite being different.  Encourage children to read because reading opens up enormous vistas to a child’s imagination besides teaching them.  Check it out Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Teachers  for the children in your life.  Read it to them if they cannot, help them research the various animals, insects, solve the puzzles behind the book.  All in  all, we do highly  recommend the book. You can buy BUFO  from Amazon (just click on Bufo)

Well here's hoping that someone took my advice and stopped and beheld gifts of Nature.  Now that Spring is around the corner, if you take a walk through the park, it feels like the earth is trying to send up a message of "GREEN" and the world thinks  "GO"   Tiny blades of grass are venturing out. I even saw a squirrel scurry here and there to see what's going around his part of the world. The geese think it warm enough to come back to town and even shared their eats with a dozen pigeons and a few sparrows.      How about you?  What's on your mind today, I hope, only happy thoughts of the day. 

A couple weeks ago, as I walked by the side of the lake, through the white expanse of a recent snow fall, I saw footprints of a human that had left their imprint in the soft snow and amongst them a quad of paw prints and several bird feet as well.  What did they think about?  Was there joy or immense sorrow, was there anticipation or dread?  Who knows? But, I do know this, if a human footprint was side by side with that of a paw, there must have been much joy and gladness.  Is it not amazing that one's pets love you unconditionally.  Yes, that is exactly what Mother Nature does for us as well, always giving, never expecting.  

"Naturesdance" epitomizes nature in all its beauty, whether stark and foreboding or colorful and inviting. Each Season leaves its imprint and moves on giving way to another effortlessly.  Nature does not begrudge and is generous. 

Man, on the other hand is busy with 'Yesterdays and Tomorrows'.  Instead we need to savor each new 'Today' because that is the only day, the only 24 hours we have to make it worth our while.  For 'Tomorrow' - who has seen? and, yesterday is a 'ghost' of the past;  but Today, now Today is important.  

Set aside a little time each day to savor Nature.  "Walk barefeet on the sand, or feel the wind thru your hair, listen to the birds chatter, notice the sun flicker through a 'raindrop' on a petal or a leaf, watch a snowflake fall or just watch a sunrise or a sunset.  There is so much beauty everywhere even in the 'silence of the night.'  I am reminded of a famous poem by W. H. Davies titled 'LEISURE.  It reads this way:                                                                                                               

       What is this life if, full of care,
          We have no time to stand and stare.
              No time to stand beneath the boughs
                 And stare as long as sheep or cows.
                    No time to see, when woods we pass,
                      Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
                          No time to see, in broad daylight,
                            Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
                               No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
                                 And watch her feet, how they can dance.
                                     No time to wait till her mouth can
                                       Enrich that smile her eyes began.
                                          A poor life this is if, full of care,
                                            We have no time to stand and stare.