Saturday, November 11, 2006

Good Planets - 11/11/2006

Welcome to the weekly presentation of Good Planets, a project originated by Robin Andrea and Roger of Dharma Bums to celebrate the beauty of our planet. I'm delighted to be hosting this month.

(Click on the photos to see them full size.)

Phil starts us off this week with an encouraging shout: "Roll on, Columbia, roll on!"
We marvel at the closeup photography of Robin Andrea's twin, Michael, who presents lovely flowers from his garden:Robin Andrea celebrates the wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. "The birds have been going crazy in our yard. We've had enough rain for a few puddles to form, and the goldfinches just love them. The puddles disappear fairly quickly, so it is really interesting to see the birds make good use of this spontaneous pond."Describing a deer they saw on a walk in their neighborhood, Robin Andrea writes: "The white-tailed deer ... was standing in the long front lawn of someone's house, eating the fallen apples. Quite a beautiful young buck that was absolutely unconcerned by our presence." Dawn dramatically portrays a crow leaving a treeand treats us to wild horses in Murphy, Idaho in the summer of 1998. She writes: "They are real wild horses. I was thrilled they let us get very close as long as we were on 4 wheelers, so I had to be fast taking their picture." Xris (Flatbush Gardener) travelled in North Carolina and New York State during the past month:

Looking Glass Falls, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
Virgina Creeper, North Carolina ArboretumLLama at the New York State Sheep & Wool FestivalGoldfish and Lilypads at Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Lily Pool Terrace.In the southern hemisphere, Gary (brother of Roger of Dharma Bums) sends us photos of the north end of Espiritu Santo Island (the inspiration for James Michener's "Bali Hai") in the country of Vanuatuand some smaller islands in Fiji.
Many of this week's contributors have been inspired by the autumn colours in the northern hemisphere of our beautiful planet.

Yankee T. of Yankee, Transferred shares with us the October Glory Maple in her front yard. It was a housewarming gift, and has grown from a spindly sapling into a beautiful young tree.
Rowan of Circle of the Year lives near the Peak District in England. Her contributions this week show us this lovely countryside.

First a moorland stream:

and then the woodlands where she walks every day:

Kathryn of A Mindful Life says "I live in Silicon Valley, where the density of population and urban development predominate. However, earth's beauty can be appreciated even here. [This] photo is one example."c. corax's Anglewing Butterfly echoes fall colours:
Forty-five years ago, Roland took this photo of a late autumn afternoon in Ridgefield, Connecticut:
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Good Planets is open to anyone who'd like to share the beauty of their own world with us. Heartfelt thanks to the photographers who contributed to this issue. I'll be hosting Good Planets throughout November. Please send your photos to tortoisetrail AT gmail-dot-com by 9 pm MST, Friday, November 17 for the next issue.

14 comments:

Sky said...

fabulous!! i can hardly wait until friday nights or saturday mornings to see the surprises that await me on good planets! thanks for the beautiful post. i particularly love the way the light falls across michael's pink rose. so lovely. and, the wild horses in idaho would be such a treat to see!

Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener) said...

Thank you so much for including my photos. This is my debut on Good Planets. First time I didn't forget about the deadline!

beadlizard said...

Good Planets has become one of my daughter's and my favorite posts! Thanks to all the photographers and Pam!

Yankee, Transferred said...

It's fun to be over here with my photos-and a great selection this week! Thanks for hosting.

Anonymous said...

Super collection of photographs everyone!

robin andrea said...

Such beautiful photos, pam. I am so happy to see the world this way.

Pam in Tucson said...

Thanks to all who contributed and commented. I'm so happy to host this month. I love the photos and I'm making new blog/photographer friends in the bargain - a win/win for me! I know Robin Andrea and Roger have hosts lined up for the next two months. I encourage all to volunteer. It's really rewarding.

I was particularly excited to see Gary's photo from Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides). My aunt in Australia emailed me that my cousin Paul has recently moved to Vanuatu to take the job of General Manager of the NGO ProMedical VEMSA, Port Vila’s rapid response community ambulance service (land/air/sea).

LauraHinNJ said...

Lovely pics to enjoy with coffee on a Saturday morning. Thank you all!

Anonymous said...

Wow Pam,

another lovely morning drinking coffee and enjoying the great pictures. Thank you for hosting this month!

Dawn

Taradharma said...

these are all so splendid. Rowland's 45 year old photo is a beauty -- must've been on kodachrome to hold color so well over the years!

we have a lovely rain this morning, Dar Willliams on the ol' iTunes, coffee at the ready. Good Planets completes the picutre - thank you Pam for hosting!

Paul said...

Ooops! I missed the deadline last night by 5 minutes but that's OK. I didn't miss the opportunity to enjoy these photos and comments. Thanks for doing the work and hosting this.

Endment said...

What a lot of work went into this presentation
Very Impressive!

Anonymous said...

Pls. send back a ‘got it’
And share this message in your newsletter and in your e-mail lists

Introducing the
Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation
The hope for the ivory-bill!


Because
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“Deep in the bayou,
through the
thickness
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The long, lost
ivory-bill,
thought to be extinct,
has been
re-discovered;
And a Foundation
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to care for it.”
© nh
.
Our Mission
For the locating, recovery, protection, management, preservation and conservation of Ivory-billed woodpeckers; through scientific research and documentation; and the education of the general public.

This is a non-profit organization,
all contributions are Tax Exempt.


The Ivory-billed Woodpecker
The most endangered bird species in this country.

On February 27, 2004, Bobby Harrison, of Huntsville, Alabama and Tim Gallagher of Ithaca, New York, rediscovered the magnificent ivory-billed woodpecker, long believed to be extinct in the Big Woods of eastern Arkansas. This was after more than 60 years since last confirmed sighting of the species in the United States by two qualified searchers. Their own quest culminated in this miraculous find after spending more than 30 years of researching and following leads.
The rediscovery has produced waves of excitement in the world of conservation and beyond. It has been hailed by ornithologists, birders, conservation organizations and the media as a Victory for Nature; and highlights the need to preserve the world’s critical habitats. Rediscovering the ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, provides a rare SECOND CHANCE to save a species

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Cassandra Decoux@256-830-0738 (pm only)
Norma Harrison @ 256-776-2003 or 256-651-8466
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Anonymous said...

awesome!! Thank you so much for including my image.. this is a wonderful theme, one I hope to participate in again.. and please put me down as a host for the future.. in time hopefully I cann participate more fully.
Each photo stands on it's own for it's own reason.. what a joy to see so many natural wonders in one spot. And I thank you for the blurb on my store.. I had to swallow my pride for that one- a rising mountain of medical bills left me no choice.
Well done my friend and thanks to all who shared a piece of their world.. I can hear Louie Armstrong singing 'what a wonderful world' as I gaze on this post. How true.