Golden Quote

Great minds discuss ideas.

Average minds discuss events.

Simple minds discuss people.

Wild Logan Village Beauty

Have no idea what these are but I found this shrub on the side of the road just outside Logan Village covered in these beautiful and vibrant flowers.

Photograph © Andrew swansson 2010

I believe in reincarnation -- Jackie Evancho

This young girl here is exactly why I believe in reincarnation and every now and then you get a transfer of soul and talent from one lifetime to the next ….




Thank goodness for shows like this that allow talent like Jackie to be found !

There is beauty in everything and everyone

The below picture is of a Scottish Thistle ( Onopordum acanthium ) in Australia it is considered a very noxious weed and a plant to be eradicated at all costs. It is considered to have little value and to be an unwanted pest and yet despite all these negative perceptions it delivers one of the most striking and unique flowers around & it's cultural significants in it's native homeland of Scotland is immeasurable ( as listed below ) where it is both loved and respected.

I'd like to think in some ways, irrespective of any negitive perceptions each of us have attracted or created that we are all a bit like the Scottish Thistle and shine bright for those that matter and carve out our own piece of significants where ever our homelands may be.

Photograph © Andrew Swansson

The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249–1286) and was used on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. According to the legend, an invading Norse army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scots army encampment. During this operation one barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step upon a Scots Thistle, causing him to cry out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the Norse invaders. Some sources suggest the specific occasion was the Battle of Largs, which marked the beginning of the departure of the King Haakon IV (Haakon the Elder) of Norway who, having control of the Northern Isles and Hebrides, had harried the coast of the Kingdom of Scotland for some years.

Suburban Truth

Sunshine soft
Sunshine warm
Wattles swaying over fresh cut lawns,
Dancing birds singing bright
At the rays of dawns first light.
The smell of toast, coffee, tea
Float on past on a morning breeze,
Souls raised high on a wing and a prayer
For a day without despair.
..........
Movement and clatter as the day awakes
People start to move in haste
Cars are started
Tempers fray
Here we go on another day.
Office opens
Boss demands
There goes that bloody phone again
No time for lunch
No time to breath
No time to smile
No time to be.
….......
End of day boss is richer,
Shares are up in the bigger picture.
The global village grows and grows,
At the expense of our mortal souls.
Feeling exhausted brain won’t work
Heading home to a place that hurts,
Wife demands less hours more pay
Get it right or she won’t stay.
Kids need braces
Bills demand
Self-esteem has faltered again.
….......
All demand all want and need
All want your blood to help them be,
Bleed you do
Every last drop
Until all is gone
And you simply drop.
Peace at last,
Free of demands.
Sleep deep my friend till dawns first light,
When the birds wake you with their singing bright
To herald the new day on a wing and a prayer
Of a day without despair.
……….
Andrew Swansson
© 2010