by Bela Johnson | Jun 25, 2013 | animals, musings, nature, personal, philosophy, Uncategorized
If you ever met a mongoose, I doubt it would elicit your admiration. Crafty and cunning, they slink low to the ground, falling upon eggs or killing baby birds the way eagles pluck fish out of clear running water, only not nearly as majestic. Unlike squirrels peppering...
by Bela Johnson | Feb 26, 2013 | animals, lifestyle, philosophy, science, Uncategorized
I wish more of us sought to understand what we fear, instead of seeking to eliminate the causes of our distress. I’ve lived long enough to know that if we remove our triggers, new ones will invariably appear. It’s like those little pop-up figures in a shooting...
by Bela Johnson | Jan 8, 2013 | animals, happiness, nature, philosophy, poetry, Uncategorized
Strange fruit – shape and husks like the mottled purple-white breasts of small dying birds, scattered on asphalt. Running together, life and death in the avenue. That we choose one over the other – fight like cancer to linger in this place – affirms...
by Bela Johnson | Nov 29, 2012 | animals, inspiration, lifestyle, nature, philosophy, Uncategorized
As wintertime deepens, one observes nature releasing what she will not require in the cold months ahead. Energy in plants moves inward, growth slows and finally stops. Leaves shed from deciduous trees and some evergreens’ needles turn to yellow. Frogs aestivate...
by Bela Johnson | Oct 8, 2012 | animals, Hawaii, lifestyle, nature, philosophy, Uncategorized
We live down the street from a rooster farm – no, make that two rooster farms. We didn’t know about one of them, which only came into being a week after we settled into this place. It wasn’t a conscious decision to be or not to be in company with such an...
by Bela Johnson | Aug 21, 2012 | animals, Hawaii, nature, Uncategorized
“Young man,” said Miss Block“It’s eleven o’clock! This school beginspromptly at eight-forty-five;Why, this is a terrible time to arrive!Why didn’t you come just as fast as you could?What is your excuse, and it better be good!” “This morning, Miss Block, when I left...
