Sunday, October 27, 2019

good morning justin


m u r r e y' s     m i l l 








A dam provides this mill a near continuous

supply of energy to power its waterwheel.











Long ago people discovered they could use gravity,

water falling onto paddles, to turn heavy stone

and grind grain into flour, like a windmill.










Imagine a waterwheel big enough to power Las Vegas.

You'd need a dam about seven hundred feet tall

then fill it near full with the Colorado River.

Now turn the water wheel on its side and

encase this idea into a high-tech turbine.

Open the tap and provide a high voltage

extension cord to turn night into day

on the Strip.  We're grinding out neon.











A falling object delivers energy.

An apple bounces off Isaac Newton's head.

What's it to you, right?

Imagine the power of ten oxen turning 

your millstone, not just one... twenty-four hours a day.

Continuous power you don't have to feed and baby.

Cause its water, water everywhere

ready for more than drink. 










The physical realm in rustic garb.

All things hard we call solids, 

free-flowing water is liquid and

our ever present atmosphere is a gas.

The molecular phases of Earth.

Appearing just above the lip of the dam

are trees.  They represent the remarkable

molecular state of persistent, self-directed animation.

We call each instance of this phenomenon a cell.












Spillway with clinging moss.










Spillway with aesthetics.










Consciousness of purpose beyond its expiration date.










Everything about this wasp has a purpose

involving survival here on Earth.

There's the familiar hardened shell to protect

the animal's nutrient distribution system 

and various resource processing centers.

We've got legs and wings as a means of 

getting about.  You see the big eyes and antennae.

All the senses are here, letting the brain know

the nature of its existence.  Picture a mind,

root ball size of a nose hair, 

having to make sense of a flood of

on / off type neural impulses.

These specialized nerve cells together

analyze this streaming jumble of zeros and ones

and delivers to a physically derived consciousness -

you - the panorama known as life in the physical realm.

Summer is gone for the wasp.  












Tree living on flat rock with roots grasping,

probing for an opening to nutrients found mostly in soil.










Trees at Baker Creek competing for prime real estate -

the sun-drenched highlands of the upper canopy.

Think of each trunk as a wildcatter's pillar 

drilling skyward for energy gold.











Down among the shaded plants

you're likely to succumb to

the appetite of a roaming deer.










Fungus.

Athlete's Foot on a Tree.

Menu item found at four star restaurants.

This fungus has re-engineered plant tissue

into a nursery housing its next generation.

However robbers are afoot.  

They've penetrated the walls and are

currently feasting on fungal young.

No remorse.  Just add a tad of salt

and keep the yolks runny.










Time to stuff that drafty old twig nest with dead leaves.












Cold weather in the offing.










Florida snowbirds not.

Unless the pond freezes over 

this klatch will likely winter 

in their home town range.










Great Blue Heron presiding.



love
dad








©  Tom Taylor





Sunday, October 20, 2019

good morning jacob


f l o r i d a








Imagine an animal that grew leaves in place of hair.  
This cow wouldn't need to eat food to give it energy. 
How many leaves do you think it would take 
to maintain its body temperature, enabling it 
to move about while powering its heart, brain 
and other organs?  
I suspect a large shrub growing from its back 
would be necessary to meet its needs - 
one too heavy to carry around.  Which is the point of 
being an animal.  No roots.  Legs.










This squirrel would starve eating like a cow because
grass is a poor source of energy.  Our tree rodent here
has just cashed in with a tasty power ball clenched
in its teeth. Rocky runs on premium and gets terrible mileage.
What's with the high burn rate?  Why is it built to wear out
after three to five years?  Maybe because in nature 
as a squirrel you'd be lucky to last two.  
Durability is no longer relevant once you are dead.










Nature's solar cells.
Revolutionary - like inventing the wheel.
Life develops a means of converting 
a photon of light into one sugar molecule.
Or should I say carbon.
Chemical energy.
Life harnesses the sun's power and puts 
it to its own uses.  Things like building 
new infrastructure along with meeting 
constant maintenance and transport needs.
Then there is creating provision for 
life's continuation.








Dragonflies love feeding off a fresh slab of insect.
They'd rather starve than eat grass.  
But you know how the food chain goes.  Something 
eats the dragonfly which, in turn, ate one of its pond neighbors which ate something else and so on.
Until we get to the leaves which nabbed 
the photon's power in the first place.
That chemical ball of energy has by now 
been recreated in several life forms before 
finding its current home in our red dragonfly.










Form follows function.










Grabbing a bite to eat.










Aerodynamics.










Do you think they enjoy sunsets?
Ever hear of a bird spending the day sightseeing?
Hunger pang wins over love of beauty among
the living.  Feelings are what we observe 
as instinct in other animals.  Their impact
ranges from suggestion to dictate that must
instantly be obeyed.  From curious to panic!



love
dad









©  Tom Taylor





Sunday, October 13, 2019

good morning jessicca


c a r o l i n a     m o r n i n g   








l i f e     l e a v e s     i t s     t r a c k s 












a t     t i m e s     c o n j u r e d     f r o m     p u r p o s e












s e n d i n g     b i r d s     t o     f l i g h t 











l e g s     t o     a r m s     t o     w i n g s











a n i m a l s     m o v i n g     t h r o u g h     a i r











a s     p l a n t s     e x p r e s s     m o r t a l i t y












m e a l s     h i d e     i n     p l a i n     s i g h t  










w h a t     i s     t h e     s e n s e     o f     i t     a l l












w e     w r i t e     s o n g s     a b o u t     i t










n o     s u c h     t h i n g     a s     g r e e n










w h y     l i f e     w h y     r e a l i t y     w h y     a n y t h i n g










y e t     e n c h a n t m e n t











s o     m u c h     e f f o r t












d o     w h a t     i t     t a k e s










g i v e     ' e m     t h e     f i n g e r





love
dad