"What Does Love Mean?"

A group of professional people posed this question to a group 0f four through eight year olds. "What does love mean"? The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

1. "Love is that first feeling you feel before all th bad stuff gets in the way."
2. "When some one loves you, the way they say your name is different You know that your name is safe in their mouth."
3. "Love is what makes you smile when you are tired."
4. "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
5. "Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."
6. "Love cards like Valentine cards say stuff on them that we'd like to say ourselves. but we wouldn't be caught dead saying."
7. "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him all day."
8. "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
9. "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs."

As Art Linkleter use to say, "Kids say the darnedest things." I use to watch his show all the time.

Monarch Butterfly

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milk weed butterfly. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer. In Europe it is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Maderia and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wing span of 3 1/2-4 inchs. The Viceroy butterfly has a similar size, color and pattern, but has a extra black stripe across the hind wing. Female Monarch s have a darker veins on their wing, the male Monardhs have a spot in the center of each hind wing and are larger.

The Monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer from Canada to Mexico and Baja California, which spans the life of three to four generations of this butterfly. The Monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south. Like all insects the Monarch has six legs, however it uses only four of them as it carries its two front legs against its body. The eggs are creamy white and later turn pale yellow. Female Monarch deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations.

It is sad to know that the Monarchs we see each summer are not the ones that come back. It is the third and fourth generations. How the species manage to return to the same overwintering spots over a gap of several generations ,it is still a subject of research, the flight pattern must be inherited The life span of most Monarchs is two months. Research has also shown that Monarch butterflies can use earth's nagnetic field for orentation. Also Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making the trans-Atlantic crossings.

Monarch butterflies are poisonous or distasteful to birds and mammals because of the presence of cardiac glycosides that are contained in milkweed consumed by the larva. In the pupa or chyrsalis stage, the caterpillar spins a silk pad on a twig. leaf and etc., and hangs from this pad by its last pair of prolegs. It hangs upside down in the shape of a J and then molts, leaving itself encased in an articulated green exoskeleton. At this stage his hormonal changes occur, leading to the development of a butterfly. It takes two weeks and he comes out and hangs several hours until his wings dry, then off he goes to find food.

Sorry this is so long, but I enjoyed also learning something about my favorite butterfly. I am also sorry to say I have not seen one in my yard this year (have you?).

Dreams!

I posted about dreams before, but, have been having some disturbing ones lately, so decided to re-do it.

Dreams, some think they come from our soul and intend to help you process along your life path, your subconscious never sleeps. Most of us allow our subconscious free reign in many areas of our life.

Most people have three to five dreams a night, during an eight hour sleep, at least two hours are spent dreaming. Researchers have shown that all human beings dream, the study shows brain activity during their sleep. Dreams often reflect our experiences and life concerns. Children's dreams are different than the adult dreams.Is it possible to experience death in our dreams? This will often occur as a result of great stress, caused by relationships, school, career changes, depression, or the on coming death of a loved one, or a sudden death in the family.

Many who dream that they are falling sometimes jerk or twitch their arms or legs and you may even wake yourself up. Sometimes dreams are so real that the brain believes that we are really falling or you are in some sort of danger and hence the brain sends signals to the body to flee.

If you have ever had a nightmare, you are not the only one. A;most everyone gets them once in a while, nightmares are bad dreams, it can make you feel scared, anxious, or upset, but these dreams can't hurt you.

While we sleep our brain does not shut off, it goes through several stages, including rapid eye movement During this sleep your eyes move back and forth under your eye lids and sometimes during these dreams they can be very scary, if you wake during this cycle it is easier to remember what you were dreaming about. Your most vivid dreams and nightmares occur in the early morning hours.

There is no scientific proof that dreams can predict or for see the future Some dreams that re-occur or repeat could be an indication that we have issues not resolved or confronted. Some people say they dream in color, this could be, because color is such a natural part of our visual experience.

Torpedo Alley

This is very interesting article from Wikipedia, and something I never knew before. This takes place right in our own country, right in the Atlantic Ocean waters, off North Carolina and into her inland waters. I never knew the Germans were so close to us.

The Torpedo Alley, off North Carolina, is one of the graveyards of the Atlantic Ocean., named for the high number of attacks on allied shipping by German U-boats in World War two.

Torpedo Alley was the 100 mile stretch of water along the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks are along the coast of the US and comprise a chain of islands off North Carolina (and just a bit of Virginia). These islands shelter the Pamlico and Albermarle Sounds, which run inland. If you check the state of N.C. you will see they do run inland quite a way.

Torpedo Alley got its name because of the effectiveness of the German Kriegsmarine, specifically their U-boats, who sunk nearly 400 ships along that stretch of coast, between January and July of 1942. Some 5,000 people, most of them merchany marines did loose their lives during these attacks on shipping, in what has sometimes been called the "great American turkey shoot".

Thanks to our men in the armed forces, the ones that fought to keep our country free from harm. For them we came through unscaved, except for the Torpedo Alley incident, we will always be grateful.

Gods Gift

Thank you God for the gift of life, for letting me be me,
For all that I can know by words, and all that I can see,
For all the music I can hear and all the songs I sing,
For all the joy that comes to me and all the joy it brings,
For all the food that I can taste and all the sweet scents I smell,
For all the loved ones I can touch, who love and wish me well;
For all the beauty of the world, ever fresh and new,
I do not know whom else I can thank, and so I am thanking you.

Author==unknown