Volcano

Darkness

Stars light up the sky.

Specs of orange glow in the distance

A slow flow down the mountain

Under foot, cooled lava back as the night

Pele moves at her own pace

In her own direction

This night she moves off in the distance

We watch from a home build on

Pele's black remains

Fire and a sparkling sky meet at the end of the road.

Avatar

Last night I watched the movie Avatar for the second time. I have to say I liked it even better. I could pay attention to the little details. I loved when they are in the tree and with each step the plants in the tree glow. The whole sense of the energy that runs throughout the film is wonderful.

Of course, I wonder what it will take to wake us up to the energy in our earth? That the energy has so much power and we need to live in harmony with it.

Let us reconnect with the earth and find that incredible connection that James Cameron depicted in his movie.

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10-10-10 @10:10

St. Francis' Prayer for Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Prayer for the Earth
Incredible Earth
Alive with growth and blooming
Let the people wake

Earthquakes volcanoes
Oil spills rising temperatures
Let the people wake

Eyes closed blaming him
Calling screaming begging earth
Let the people wake

Healing caring love
Peace forgiveness gently touch
Let the earth awake

Taro Planting Prayer

This taro field is up near Princeville on the island of Kauai. The leaves of the taro plant are heart shaped and shimmy in the wind.

E Kū-iki-olo walu –e,
I olowalu ka huli I ka mākālua a kāua.
I olowalu ke kalo I ola ka kahi’ ai,
I ola ka noho hale,
I ola ka ōhua
I ola ka ‘ohana,
I olo na malihini kipa mai,
A i ola iā u ia (ka inoa o ka mahi’ ai)
‘Āmama Ua noa.

O Kū-iki-olo walu –e,
May the taro top in our planting hole grow large.
May they grow large that I the planter may live,
That the dwellers in the house may live,
That the dependents may live,
That the family may live,
That the visiting stranger may live,
That I (planter's name)may live.
‘Āmama. It is free of tabu.

Collected from Daniel Kaonohiokalani Hoolapa © 1920 by Theodore Kelsey. A taro planting prayer in Na Pule Kahiko, edited by June Gutmanis and printed in Mana Cards: The Power of Hawaiian Wisdom by Catherine Kalama Becker, PH.D and Doya Nardin

This year I have felt a strong need to plant a vegetable garden. To grow some of my own food. It is a ecological and health decision. After listening to the book, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, watching Food, Inc., and reading so many other things about where our food comes from and how little nutrition is has by the time we put it in our mouths, I decided to take action. I have been purchasing fruits and vegetables at the local farmers market, but in Illinois, that is a limited time deal. I thought that I could heal the earth and myself just a little bit by planting nutrition and beauty. It is a challenge, and the above prayer is my mantra these days. I send it out into the world with love, and hope for healing and growth.

29 Gifts Giving Challenge

Visit 29-Day Giving Challenge

Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico

Sometimes vacations are about relaxation and lazy days and other times, it is an opportunity to test out another side of ourselves. I went to Oaxaca, Mexico with National Geographic to test out who I am as a photographer. It was quite a journey, we went on 1 - 3 photo shoots each day and had edit and critic sessions with two N.G. photographers. This meant downloading pictures each day and culling through them to select the best 25 from the days shoots before showing them to the instructor so they could critic and select the best 4 -8 for the day. Each student's selected images were then shown to the group with comments by the instructor's about what made the image good, what could have been done differently, and in some cases how they might be used in a magazine spread. We were given two rules, no cropping and shooting in manual mode.

I chose the Oaxaca trip because I am intrigued by Day of the Dead celebrations. I have heard and read about this special day that falls at the same time as Halloween and I wanted to experience it first hand. Day of the Dead combines native beliefs with the Catholic All Saints Day. They believe that the dead come back one day a year, and the living celebrate that moment with a special altar in the home and a night in the cemetery. The days leading up to the Day of the Dead are full of preparation and celebration.

In Oaxaca, sand sculptures are created in the Zocalo with skeletons, angels, and skulls.


Bands play, people dance, and children dress up in costumes -- usually skeleton costumes, but as the Halloween traditions creep South of the border, pumpkin costumes appear more often.


We spent the days leading up to Day of the Dead visiting communities and families to see and experience life in Oaxaca. We visited the Zapotec Ruins at MonteAlban and the ruins of Mitla, We went to and animal market in Zaachila, and the markets of Octolan, Mitla, and Oaxaca.













As we headed into the Day of the Dead experience, we were all glad to have practiced shooting in in a variety of settings. We were heading into the unknown, shooting at night with candlelight and flash as our only light sources. I was a nervous wreck for the first time that week. I am not much for flash photography and I wasn't sure I understood anything that we had been taught about flash photography. My camera and flash are supposed to be able to work remotely from each other, but I couldn't figure it out. This would have allowed me to move the flash so that it would be less direct and provide added light without the high contrast. In the end, I managed to get some cool images in the cemeteries. Maybe it was all the spirits because it is not my new understanding of the use of the flash.

From the mescal cheer:



To the quiet family moment just before dawn:



If you would like to see more images from the trip, Check out my flickr page.

Salsa Challenge

Well, I challenged myself to create a new recipe for salsa. Then I went to a competition at the Discover Sycamore Farmers Market. There were five contestants and three prizes. I did not win a prize. What does that mean? Jesus Romero kindly said that everyone had wonderful salsa and that people like different tastes. A couple of people told me that they liked mine and it should have won. I guess the most important thing is that I had fun and I like what I make.

I did and I tried something new.

I share my recipe with you here. If you don't like it, throw it out and don't make it again. If you like it; I am glad. It is the best time of year to make Pico de gallo in the Midwest.

Roasted Peppers Pico de gallo

6-8 Roma tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 jalapeno pepper
1 Serrano pepper
1 Hungarian hot pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
The juice of 1 small lime

Blue corn chips or any tortilla chips you like.

Start the grill. When hot, put peppers on the grill with a pair of tongs. Allow them to brown and turn them on all sides until well grilled. Take them off the grill and put them in a paper bag. Close the bag. Inside at a cutting board dump out the peppers. Wearing a pair of plastic gloves, cut open the peppers remove the seeds, and stems. Then allow to cool completely. They are small, they don't take very long.

Chop the tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Combine in a bowl. Cop the cooled peppers and add to the mix. Add the cocoa powder, salt and lime juice. Mix it all together.

Scoop into a nice serving dish and it is ready to serve with the chips.