summer's winter wonderland.

this is my most recent flowering orchid. it's a degarmoara winter wonderland 'white fairy.' this plant is an intergeneric hybrid that has bits of miltoniopsis, brassia, and odontoglossum in it's background. my flowers have been four to five inches. they are pure white with a small cluster of purple spots at the very center of the petals and sepals. they have a subtle, sweet scent that is quite pleasant. i am fortunate to have two spikes with five flowers on each spike. i originally thought this was an oncidium hybrid with bits of brassia in it, but i was recently corrected by someone wiser than i. this is a lovely orchid.

two days ago i treated myself to a new surfboard. it's the first epoxy board that i've had (epoxy is tougher, quicker, more buoyant, and, of course, more expensive than fiberglass). thursday the surf wasn't very good, so stu and i took off from work early on friday and went to the cross for some quick, drifty surf. kristen came, too. it was a fun day.

surfing is something i've grown to love over the past few years since i moved home from scotland. it's magical. there's nothing like it. it's been my escape, my time to think and refuel. it's also been a great fellowship experience with my friends, and this is most true with my brother michael. surfing has become something that we enjoy together, and sharing that time in the water has helped us get to know one another as adults, which has been very meaningful and important for our relationship. we took a surf trip with some friends last year to costa rica.
the photo below is from that trip.

i love my brother.

update on kristen. and slippers.

this is a phragmipedium. phrags are one of four genera in their subfamily. all are commonly called slipper orchids, because of the 'slipper' or pouch that forms instead of the lip as the unique front petal. the different subfamilies are classified for the different regions in which they grow. phrags are found primarily in central and south america, as they need warmer temperatures to survive. this one was cultivated by jason fischer. for some reason he called it 'miami beach.' a deficit in originality, but to each his own. nevertheless, the flower is a particularly beautiful specimen. well done, jason.

so that everyone knows, kristen escaped her terrifying car crash with only a few injuries to her left arm. the woman who crashed into her was driving a much bigger car, and actually rode up over kristen's car, smashing the windshield, then took to the air and came back down on the back of the smaller, more vulnerable honda. anyway, aside from being a bit shaken up and sore, kristen is doing remarkably well, and we are all thankful.

dear kristen.

two of my dearest friends, stuart and kristen west, were married earlier this year. stuart called me tonight from the hospital saying that kristen had been hit by a drunk driver in a head-on collision. he said she was stable, but they won't know the extent of her injuries until the morning. i pray she's alright.

the senselessness of this astounds me.

Lord, have mercy.

holy ghosts and orchids.

i'm going to start inserting an orchid with each entry as i blog. enjoy.



this is a ghost orchid. i believe it might be the most beautiful of all flowers. it is incredibly rare, and extremely difficult to grow anywhere outside it's native habitat. it is commonly called the "ghost" orchid because it's roots blend in, which gives the flower the appearance of floating in the air without stem or stalk, like a ghost. the lower lip, a unique petal in all orchids, has become something singular and breathtaking in the ghost orchid. the lip divides, and spins slightly downward, as if it has grown a pair of short legs. the ghost is an epiphytic orchid, meaning that it has roots which anchor to trees, allowing the plant to grow without ever touching the ground. epiphytic orchids are never parasitic. they have special roots, encased in special velamen, which absorbs moisture and other elements from the air and rain. the existence of such a beautiful flower boggles my mind. i have never been privileged to see a specimen in person, but one day... sigh... perhaps.

i've been having a few email conversations with my dad and my cousin andrew. i thought i'd share some of the content of the exchanges here. some of the discourse was born from a short book on prayer that i've been reading, and some from my work experience of late. enjoy.

"...Anyway, I think he's saying that as created, material beings one of the unique ways that we can know and bless God is through and on account of the material creation. Hence many great hymns and psalms extolling God for the wonders of creation, or "beauties of nature", and the sacraments, and again, Jesus. The resurrection of the body says that the body is important to God, and knowing/ experiencing/blessing God, at least in part, through our bodily senses is again, an essential part of his design and desire. The material, created order is important to
God - especially human beings. We aren't just spirits trapped in decaying bodies that one day we will shed for a purely spiritual existence. Jesus came to redeem our whole selves. Hence we say in the Creed that we believe in the resurrection of the body."

"I often feel exhausted, whether I've slept a lot or a little, whether I've worked twelve hours or six. Nevertheless, the last month I have felt happy. I made a decision to read more, to take care of myself spiritually, to serve, and to do things I love. I dive fully into experiencing God in a number of ways, and I'm thrilled that I'm not simply a 'trapped spirit.' I love to love music and mountains and waves and flowers and books. Everything I do has become spiritual to me, like a prayer. And I love it. It's like my life is a song, and when I'm happy and doing things i love, i'm like one worshipping. It's a never ending cycle of blessing: God blesses me by presenting me with opportunities to love certain things, and I respond by enjoying them. And I love it, because I feel this blesses Him, like we're enjoying each other.

"I guess I've written all this to say that this attitude is helping me cope with the stresses I face as a social worker, and I suppose I didn't realize it until now. It's hard for me not to internalize things and make my client's problems my own. I wake up dreaming about kids and parents, about their livelihoods and futures. I think being intentional about enjoying life, as well as being life to those around me, has helped me immensely.

"I've been given so many gifts, and I've squandered so many chances to be thankful. I don't fully understand why God chose to bless us and give us things and people to love, but it's so beautiful, isn't it? That he would create each of us with a precise disposition, to love and enjoy certain things. These thoughts make me happy."

indeed they do.

when the spirit surrounds me.

late night photography on palafox.


it's a great relief when you discover, by your own logic, that despite dealing with awful things, your life is largely great.

summons.

i sit and smell the yellow
roses
blooming

i hide them in my house

behind the

window
they grow in circles all
around my
children

my children laugh and play with

yellow

roses

what will the everlasting tongue

be saying?

will you come?

will you go, now,

outside?

find the well

find the spring

and drink in life.

i hide behind the wall and
watch you
laughing
i see the air around you
swelling
telling
my brother whispers in
my ear
i'm sorry
he holds me in his arms
i'm gently
crying

what will the everlasting tongue

be saying?
who will come?
who will go, now,

outside?

find the well

find the spring

and drink in life.

look around and see what's
right before you.
turn around and see.

turn around and see what's
right behind you.

look around and see.

certain seaweeds: a glorious gift

late this afternoon i rode my bike down to an area of town that is still very destroyed from the hurricane. for some reason i like to occasionally remind myself where i've come from, at the risk of melancholia. lately i've felt tired, exhausted from life. but instead, tonight, as i stared through the empty lots and bare trees at the red horizon i realized something beautiful: the future is bright. the unknown and unforseen in my life will be wonderful. the unanticipated will be welcomed, and the seaweed will spin beautiful patterns.