Red Baneberry

Tree Lichen - Merrimack River Bank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

for my brother from another mother

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Hemlock

 

 

D. O. B.

The hugging saint Amma (she's hugged uncountable millions of people) once gave me a piece of chocolate on my birthday - she threw it in my mouth after I told her what day it was (someone encouraged me to do so). "Happy Birthday!" she said throwing confetti and rose petals at me, grinning!  Chocolate pervaded  every sense and pore of my body for a couple of hours as I wandered around Manhattan Center on 34th Street in NYC taking in the radiant atmosphere - the Indian Ragas, air thick with incense,  a long line of people waiting for a hug from Amma.  It was as though I was turned into a walking candy bar. To get a hug from Amma is to fall into a deep, loving abyss. It feels like hours, it lasts about a minute. Another time, a couple years later, I saw her once again on my birthday and she gave me a rose, its fragrance bright and all encompassing like a hug. Its stem still resides on my altar. If you ever have the opportunity to get a hug from Amma you should. It is a rare, sacred and special occurrence - like your precious human birth!

***

 

 State House - Concord, NH. Independence Day 250

 

 

July 4th! Happy 250 America!

One Nation, Under God!

 

 

Lake Winnipesaukee, NH