Morning air

Curious visitor

“Living Tree” by Robert Morgan

It’s said they planted trees by graves
to soak up spirits of the dead
through roots into the growing wood.
The favorite in the burial yards
I knew was common juniper.
One could do worse than pass into
such a species. I like to think
that when I’m gone the chemicals
and yes the spirit that was me
might be searched out by subtle roots
and raised with sap through capillaries
into an upright, fragrant trunk,
and aromatic twigs and bark,
through needles bright as hoarfrost to
the sunlight for a century
or more, in wood repelling rot
and standing tall with monuments
and statues there on the far hill,
erect as truth, a testimony,
in ground that’s dignified by loss,
around a melancholy tree
that’s pointing toward infinity.

“Living Tree” by Robert Morgan from Dark Energy. © Penguin, 2014. Reprinted with permission.  

https://www.garrisonkeillor.com/radio/the-writers-almanac-for-tuesday-june-23-2026/

Really vital

The really vital question

AI may not have (or be) the answer, but it is fun to play with.

My next birthday tattoo

 With a little help from Gemini. It worked up my idea, from Sonnet 73 and Yogi:

 

 

Lightbulb moments

“While walking over fifty hours through unfamiliar territory, I began to think with increased clarity. Lightbulb moments became more regular, spurred on by being curious about the changing surroundings. Small, surprising details–a tombstone, an information sign hidden in the reeds, a clank of a gate–began to jump out at me. Step by step, the threads of history emerged, forming a rich tapestry. It was only by walking, by travelling at the natural human pace, that these unexpected revelations arrived. I saw so many things that I wouldn’t have done from a bike, car or library desk.”

— Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen by Alice Loxton
https://a.co/04a9ogq7

Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu

👣Solvitur ambulando

💭Sapere aude

Lightbulb moments

“While walking over fifty hours through unfamiliar territory, I began to think with increased clarity. Lightbulb moments became more regular, spurred on by being curious about the changing surroundings. Small, surprising details–a tombstone, an information sign hidden in the reeds, a clank of a gate–began to jump out at me. Step by step, the threads of history emerged, forming a rich tapestry. It was only by walking, by travelling at the natural human pace, that these unexpected revelations arrived. I saw so many things that I wouldn’t have done from a bike, car or library desk.”

— Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen by Alice Loxton
https://a.co/04a9ogq7

Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu

👣Solvitur ambulando

💭Sapere aude

Angel at church

Sign’s been gone for years (like Angel and many of our other walking companions in this neighborhood from ‘96 on) but I’ve carried its message ever since. Wisest words the Baptists ever shared. There are new signs there now, the result of a Boy Scout project. This one was better.

Escaping the cult

Leaving MAGA’s Billboard Campaign Targets Nashville | City Limits | nashvillescene.com https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/citylimits/leaving-maga-billboard-nashville/article_e23e9459-5a85-4939-b789-a96040022721.html