Palm Sunday

The beginning of Holy Week


for more information:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11432b.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday

Paradise

Today's picture of the day from Art and the Bible is Lucas Cranach the Elder's Paradise. I enjoyed reading their commentary on the painting and wanted to share it with you. Visit the site at http://www.artbible.info/art/large/506.html
Here is what they had to say about it.



This panel shows a number of tableaux from Genesis.

Background, center: Eve is created out of one of Adam's ribs. On the foreground the two are addressed by God, who often made a stroll through the Garden.

Background, center-right: Eve has Adam take a bite from the forbidden fruit. Suddenly they are ashamed of their nudity, and hide behind a bush. But the archangel finds them and chases them out of the Garden (background left).

One might be tempted to think that Cranach used rubber dolls as models for Adam and Eve, as they don't seem to have any bones.



If you click on the picture to view a larger size of the image, you will see all sorts of interesting things going on in the background. I especially like God's head gazing down out of the cloud.

Song without Words 3/26/09

Fish Eagle!

Yes! Last Thursday afternoon. Right here in Rocket City, USA. My son and I watched as an osprey (Pandion haliaetus) make a couple of dives into the lake at Brahan Springs Park and come up with a fish dinner. Osprey will often fish by just snatching the fish out of the water, but they also fish using the diving technique, sometimes diving as much as three feet deep. These YouTube videos show the two techniques.






and








Unfortunately, I did not have any way to make photos to show the dive action step-by-step, so I've had to get a few from some Internet sources in order to show you this awesome bird. My thanks to the great videos from the YouTube contributors and to all the contributors at Photobucket and Public Domain Pictures who share their wonderful photos.



The osprey is also known as a fish eagle, fish hawk, or sea hawk. They are eagle-sized raptors, standing about two feet tall and having a wingspan of five to six feet. They are common worldwide, but are not year-round residents everywhere. In the Southeast, they are found throughout the year from the Mississippi Delta, eastward along the Gulf Coast and all of Florida, and through coastal Georgia. The rest of the Gulf Coast sees them as winter residents. I've seen them fishing along the coast near San Francisco, at Cape Canaveral in Florida, and also fishing in an inland pond near Panama City, Florida. In my part of Alabama, they are migratory. I had never seen one here before. I wonder if the bird we saw was just passing through or if it--and maybe some companions--were spending a few days here as they passed through on their way north to their summer breeding grounds in the northern regions of the U.S. and in Canada from their winter resorts in South America.




An osprey leaving the nest.




Our visitor first caught my attention when it dropped out of the sky as I sat in the car reading by the lake. With a splash it was completely submerged, but it quickly surfaced and in an amazing maneuver, swept its wings back and rose out of the water, flying away with a large fish in its talons. Unfortunately, it dropped the fish. Its loss was my gain, because I got to see it repeat its fishing technique. It made a few circles around the lake, hovered, dived headfirst into the water, came up with another fish, and flew away to enjoy lunch. It was amazing. These great photos will give you an idea of what it was like, but you really had to be there to get the full effect.




Hovering just before a dive.






Beginning the dive.






About to hit the water.






Splashdown!







Heads up!








Lift off!








Here comes dinner.








Two-fisted fishing.







Is that lunch in its right foot?





Drying off after a dive.





Some parting shots



A close look at the wing.



And those talons and beak.



For more information on osprey, visit these sites:
www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Osprey.html
www.itsnature.org/air/birds-air/osprey


Thanks to
www.photobucket.com and
www.publicdomainpictures.net

Nature's Art

Some time ago I found this photo of the Pacific coastline after a storm, taken by Ray Atkeson in 1967, on the American Heritage website (www.americanheritage.com). I wanted to share this beautiful example of Nature's art. Many thanks to Mr. Atkeson. I hope you enjoy it.

Remember, O man, thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return

—Genesis 3:19












Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
—Mark 1:15













Repent, and hear the good news.
—Mark 1:15



For more Ash Wednesday photos visit
andrew4jc.blogspot.com
For more information on Ash Wednesday
and Lent visit www.newadvent.org or www.wikipedia.org


photos from photobucket.com

Mardi Gras

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, a time of preparation for Easter. Today is widely known as Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), or less commonly as Shrove Tuesday, during which folks blow it out in partying before they have to settle down, try to behave themselves, and give up all sorts of things in which they normally indulge during the rest of the year.

Mardi Gras in the US began in Mobile, Alabama in 1703. Here is a little bit of Mardi Gras history that I copied from a Mobile Mardi Gras site at www.mardigraskeiwebs.com

Mardi Gras started in Mobile, Alabama at 27 Mile Bluff in 1703 when it was a colony of French soldiers. This was a continuation of the cultural traditions of the settlers in Mobile. After having survived a particularly nasty bout with yellow fever, they decided to celebrate, but since party favors were few and far between in the New World, the men opted to paint their faces red and just act crazy for a few hours. They must have had fun because it became an annual event. Many years later, New Years Eve 1830, Mobilian Michael Krafft did not want to end the dinner party celebrating the season with friends at a restaurant in downtown Mobile. Following the meal, these tipsy revelers "borrowed" some agricultural implements from a sidewalk display outside a downtown hardware store.
Then, with cow bells, rakes, and hoes in hand, Krafft and his friends paraded through the streets of the town and thus was born the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, the first parading Mystic Society. In 1840, the Cowbellion's presented the first Mardi Gras parade with designed floats and theme.

I guess you could say the rest is history. For more of the history of Mardi Gras in America, do visit the website. For additional information, check out the Catholic Encyclopedia at www.newadvent.org.


Mardi Gras is also known as Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday in Anglican, Lutheran, and some Protestant traditions because of the tradition of eating pancakes on the day before Ash Wednesday in order to use up the eggs, fat, sugar, and other rich food ingredients prohibited during the season of Lent. In many parts of the world, Mardi Gras is commonly known as Carnival and there are a variety of other names for this time of revelry before having to fast and behave for 40 days before Easter.


One spectacular thing about Mardi Gras is the parades, floats, and costumes. Wow! I'd love to be able to see some of it "live and in person." A real feast for the eyes. Just look at all the opportunities to see creative expressions of art.








However, I will probably never make it to a big Mardi Gras blow out. I elect to miss the excitement, color, fun, and craziness due to the fact that I really do not like crowds.





I'll just stay home, eat lots of pancakes (and chocolate), and look it up on the Internet. You've got until midnight, so PARTY ON! or I really should say: Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!!


thanks to www.nolafunguide.com, www.metrowize.com, www.orlandofuntickets.com, www.mardigras.keiwebs.com, and www.newadvent.org