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writerspink · 6 years ago

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K-12 Words

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drowsy bashful hatch glad copy possible wicked grin sibling shovel run verb sail polish ride young steep case Indian laughed soil appear bolts costume melody narrow behave howl example flee together lot filthy alarm spiral selfish idea conductor fight rolled middle glacier tree dizzy gather sneaky already construct every miss lively metal couldn’t gold plant mask chat nation hear either bundle section near rescue face divide sob celebrate family loosen jealous crash chimney daily own cozy ripe cut son natural serious carry care paper broken cue within body music color stand questions fish area mark horse birds problem complete room knew since ever piece told usually didn’t friends easy heard order red door sure become top ship across today during short better best however low hours black products happened whole measure remember early waves reached

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being instead ache exactly hard speed buy age late artistic close affordable fraction eyes appetite complain sleep seem eat below remove rusty grow glum stormy trust enormous scale open add grab upset weed denied expensive story terrified lead jumped died basket side bear bend list tomb while batch grateful father gleaming dress light sprinkle amount exclaim result yank leave cheat whimper angle outside remain heap champion surprise dodge moment fancy squeeze pretend village shriek city thunder rapid iron striped don’t attitude bell hat tug isn’t applause children honest cross spring freezing listen wind rock space covered fast several hold himself toward five step morning passed vowel true hundred against pattern numeral table north expert slowly money map farm pulled draw voice seen cold cried plan notice south sing war ground fall king town I’ll unit figure certain field travel wood fire upon

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pattern cave hope mile group travel blush killed seed bottom hide important let ticket timid pounds restart silent cranky keep real bright quite curved repeat trip without dart consonant mountains quiet apologize roar grip groan bolt food injury century exhausted cabin atmosphere floor it’s scold transportation delighted giant hill something build fog method rough left everyone obey deserve speak therefore soon french switch until pushed state knob hobby between surround collect fire I’ll arrive road happened certain top order astronomy inches club catch farm nibble color yourself received connect told gaze check wear English half ten fly gave box finally wait correct oh quickly person became shown minutes strong verb stars front feel fact street decided contain course surface produce building ocean class note nothing rest carefully scientists inside wheels stay green known island week less machine base ago stood

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round award crowd slowly yet products, goods, services vowel himself strange whose draw team hold feel flood sent save stood yard notice warn enemy deep please flap coast music wrote safe blast behind island lizard figure famous garden correct whisper listen joined clear share net thus calf maybe cried piece fold seen england decided bank fell pair control clean telescope trouble glass float morning horse produce course hunting rest step statement contain shouted filled zigzag accident cents instrument fly single express visit desert seeds chew dome experiment break gravity against branch size low plane system ran boat game force brought understand warm common bring explain dry though language shape thousands yes equation government heat full hot check object am rule among noun power cannot able six dark ball material special heavy fine circle include built

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mark wealthy row feeling across attention ran map students inside design art mouth ring skill hot during shelter full till log (book) blossom discard bring quickly scientists party town covered wise early cram grain harm goal pause inform heal clue fame freeze badge pimple dim missionary diet dumb rod march agree stick government bulb mall ban greed skiing poison stove image grew fact material dangerous flow gap ago stack explain didn’t strong voice true drawing surface gift corner cloud since king dawn pulled dozen friends greedy burning upon knew insect decimal nervous pay foot weak smooth aware steady serve lost nonetheless beach front atlas questions less cost slight motor banner wire area carefully separate equation local minutes fast table plan fine waves fair sing dive suppose boat thousands shape among toward gas factory birds wait understand sure ship report captain human game history reflect special brave bounce though else can’t matter square syllables perhaps bill felt suddenly test direction center farmers ready anything divided general energy subject Europe moon region return believe dance members picked simple cells paint mind love cause rain exercise eggs train blue wish drop developed window difference distance heart site sum summer wall forest probably

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include cage language base red brain building feast better built demolish excess leap tower ocean plains cold claw information scholar climbed woman worry strand heavy herd common ground damp pack choose president least increase half english invent class measure dash tremble object become doubt became bare wheels continued shiver engine core couple business stars week peak numeral brought nothing touch reached uncle symbols however rumor evening inasmuch (as) force curious heat career system valley dust flock spray robber practice lonely remember luxury warm heard calm rock frighten leader difficulty best gum cheer key support universe stream bit usually fish parade balance money note cliff stand proof you’re pale machine complete cool shown street today shy easy several search unit war power caught settle itself fuel mention fresh planet plane straight period person able direct space wood seal field circle lady board besides hours passed known whole similar underline main winter wide written length reason kept interest arms brother race present beautiful store job edge past sign record finished discovered wild happy beside gone sky grass million west lay weather root instruments meet third months paragraph raised represent soft whether clothes flowers shall teacher held describe drive appreciate structure visible artificial

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afraid absorb british seat fear stretched furniture sight oxygen coward rope clever yellow albeit confess passage france fan cattle spot explore rather active death effect mine create wash printed process origin rose swift woe planets doze gasp chief perform triumph value substances tone score predict property movement harsh tube settled defend reverse ancient blood sharp border fierce plunge consider terms vision intend total schedule attract average intelligent corn dead southern glide supply convince send continent brief mural symbol crew chance suffix habit insects entered nursery especially spread drift major fig diagram guess wit sugar predator science necessary moisture park ordeal nectar fortunate flutter gun forward globe misery molecules arctic won’t actually addition washington cling rare lie steel pastime soldiers chill accordingly capital prevent solution greek sensitive electric agreed thin provide indicate northern volunteer sell tied triangle action opposite shoulder imitate steer wander except match cross speak solve appear metal son either ice sleep village factors result jumped snow ride care floor hill pushed baby buy century outside everything tall already instead phrase soil bed copy free hope spring case laughed nation quite type themselves temperature bright lead everyone method section lake iron within dictionary bargain loyal resource struggle vary capture exclaim gloomy insist restless shallow shatter talent atmosphere brilliant endure glance precious unite certain clasp depart journey observe superb treasure wisdom

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prepared journey trade delicate arrived track cotton hoe furnish exciting view grasp level branches privilege limit wrong enable ability various moreover spoil starve dollars digest advice sense accuse pretty wasn’t industry adopt loyal suggested blow treasure cook adjective doesn’t wings tools crops loud smell frail wisdom fit expect ahead lifted deed device weight gradual respect interesting arrange particular compound examine cable climate division individual talent fatal entire advantage opponent wouldn’t elements column custom enjoy grace theory suitable wife shoes determine allow marsh workers difficult repeated thrill position born distant revive magnificent shop sir army struggled deal plural rich rhythm rely poem company string locate church mystify elegant led actual responsible japanese huge fun meat observe swim office chart avoid factories block called experience win crumple brilliant located pole bought conditions sister details primary survey truck recall disease radio rate scatter decay signal approach launch hair age amount scale pounds although per broken moment tiny possible gold milk quiet natural lot stone act build middle speed count consonant someone sail rolled bear wonder smiled angle fraction Africa killed melody bottom trip hole poor let’s fight surprise French died beat exactly remain fingers clever coast explore imitate pierce rare symbol triumph ancient cling disturb expose perform remote timid bashful brief compete consider delightful honor reflex remark brink chill conquer fortunate fury intend pattern vibrant wit

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capture remark western outcome risk current bold compare resident ambition arrest furthermore desire confuse accurate disclose considerable contribute calculate baggage literacy noble era benefit orchard shabby content precious manufacture dusk afford assist demonstrate instant concentrate sturdy severe blend vacant weary carefree host limb pointless prepare inspire shallow chamber vast ease attentive source frantic lack recent distress basic permit threat analyze distract meadow mistrust jagged prefer sole envy hail reduce arena tour annual apparent recognize captivity burrow proceed develop humble resist peculiar response communicate circular variety frequent reveal essential disaster plead mature appropriate attractive request congratulate address destructive fragile modest attempt tradition ancestor focus flexible conclude venture impact generosity routine tragic crafty furious blossom concern ascend awkward master queasy release portion plentiful alert heroic extraordinary frontier descend invisible coax entrance capable peer terror mock outstanding valiant typical competition hardship entertain eager limp survive tidy antonym duplicate abolish approach approve glory magnificent meek prompt revive watchful wreckage audible consume glide origin prevent punctuate representative scorn stout woe arch authentic clarify declare grant grave opponent valid yearn admirable automatic devotion distant dreary exhaust kindle predict separation stunt

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evade debate dedicate budge available miniature petrify pasture banquet pedestrian solitary decline reassure nonchalant exhibit realistic exert abuse dictate minor monarch concept character strategy soar beverage tropical withdraw challenge kin navigate purchase reliable mischief solo combine vivid aroma spurt illuminate narrator retain excavate avalanche preserve suspend accomplish exasperate obsolete occasion myth reign sparse gorge intense revert antagonist talon aggressive alternate retire cautiously blizzard require endanger luxurious senseless portable sever compensate companion visual immense slither guardian compassion escalate detect protagonist oasis altitude assume seldom courteous absurd edible identical pardon approximate taunt achievement homonym hearty convert wilderness industrious sluggish thrifty deprive independent bland confident anxious astound numerous resemble route access jubilation saunter hazy impressive document moral crave gigantic bungle prefix summit overthrow perish visible translate comply intercept feeble exult compose negative suffocate frigid synonym appeal dominate deplete abundant economy desperate diligent commend boycott jovial onset burden fixture objective siege barrier conceive formal inquire penalize picturesque predator privilege slumber advantage ambition defiant fearsome imply merit negotiate purify revoke wretched absorb amateur channel elegant grace inspect lame tiresome tranquil boast eloquent glisten ideal infectious invest locate ripple sufficient uproar

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apprehensive dialogue prejudice marvel eligible accommodate arrogant distinct knack deposit liberate cumulative consequence strive salvage chronological unique vow concise influence lure poverty priority legislation significant conserve verdict leisure erupt beacon stationary generate provoke efficient campaign paraphrase swarm adhere eerie mere mimic deteriorate literal preliminary solar soothe expanse ignite verge recount apparel terrain ample quest composure majority collide prominent duration pursue innovation omniscient resolute unruly optimist restrain agony convenient constant prosper elaborate genre retrieve exploit continuous dissolve dwell persecute abandon meager elude rural retaliate primitive remote blunder propel vital designate cultivate loathe consent drastic fuse maximum negotiate barren transform conspicuous possess allegiance beneficial former factor deluge vibrant intimidate idiom dense awe rigorous manipulate transport discretion hostile clarity arid parody boisterous capacity massive prosecute declare stifle remorse refuge predicament treacherous inevitable ingenious plummet adapt monotonous accumulate reinforce extract reluctant vacate hazardous inept diminish domestic linger context excel cancel distribute document fragile myth reject scuffle solitary temporary veteran assault convert dispute impressive justify misleading numerous productive shrewd strategy villain bluff cautious consist despise haven miniature monarch obstacle postpone straggle vivid aggressive associate deceive emigrate flexible glamour hazy luxurious mishap overwhelm span blemish blunt capable conclude detect fatigue festive hospitality nomad supreme

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exclude civic compact painstaking supplement habitat leeway minute hoax contaminate likeness migration commentary extinct tangible originate urban unanimous subordinate collaborate obstacle esteem encounter futile cordial trait improvises superior exaggerate anticipate cope evolve eclipse dissent anguish subsequent sanctuary formulates makeshift controversy diversity terminate precise equivalent pamper prior potential obnoxious radiant predatory presume permanent pending simultaneously tamper supervise perceived vicious patronize trickle stodgy rant oration preview species poised perturb vista wince yearn persist shirk status tragedy trivial snare vindictive wrath recede peevish rupture unscathed random toxic void orthodox subtle resume sequel upright wary overwhelm perjury uncertainty prowess utmost throb pluck pique vengeance pelt urgent substantial robust sullen retort ponder whim saga sham reprimand vocation assimilate dub defect accord embark desist dialect chastise banter inaugurate ovation barter muse blasé stamina atrocity deter principal liberal epoch preposterous advocate audacious dispatch incense deplore institute deceptive component subside spontaneous bonanza ultimate wrangle clarify hindrance irascible plausible profound infinite accomplish apparent capacity civilian conceal duplicate keen provoke spurt undoing vast withdraw barrier calculate compose considerable deputy industrious jolt loot rejoice reliable senseless shrivel alternate demolish energetic enforce feat hearty mature observant primary resign strive verdict brisk cherish considerate displace downfall estimate humiliate identical improper poll soothe vicinity abolish appeal brittle condemn descend dictator expand famine portable prey thrifty visual

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stance vie instill exceptional avail strident formidable rebuke enhance benign perspective tedious aloof encroach memoir mien desolate inventive prodigy staple stint fallacy grope vilify recur assail tirade antics recourse clad jurisdiction caption pseudonym reception humane ornate sage ungainly overt sedative amiss convey connoisseur rational enigma fortify servile fastidious contagious elite disgruntled eccentric pioneer abet luminous era sleek serene proficient rue articulate awry pungent wage deploy anarchy culminate inventory commemorate muster adept durable foreboding lucrative modify authority transition confiscate pivotal analogy avid flair ferret decree voracious imperative grapple deface augment shackle legendary trepidation discern glut cache endeavor attribute phenomenon balmy bizarre gullible loll rankle decipher sublime rubble renounce porous turbulent heritage hover pithy allot minimize agile renown fend revenue versa gaunt haven dire doctrine intricate conservative exotic facilitate bountiful cite panorama swelter foster indifferent millennium gingerly conscientious intervene mercenary citadel obviously rely supportive sympathy weakling atmosphere decay gradual impact noticeable recede stability variation approximately astronomical calculation criterion diameter evaluate orbit sphere agricultural decline disorder identify probable thrive expected widespread bulletin contribution diversity enlist intercept operation recruit survival abruptly ally collide confident conflict protective taunt adaptation dormant forage frigid hibernate insulate export glisten influence landscape native plantation restore urge blare connection errand exchange

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feasible teem pang vice tycoon succumb capacious onslaught excerpt eventful forfeit crusade tract haggard susceptible exemplify ardent crucial excruciating embargo disdain apprehend surpass sporadic flustered languish conventional disposition theme plunder ignore project complaint title dramatic delivery litter experimental clinic arrogance preparation remind atomic occasional conscious deny maturity closure stressed translator animate observation physical further gently registration suppress combination amazing constructive allied poetry passion ecstasy mystery cheerful contribution spirit failed gummy commerce prove disagreement raid consume embarrass preference migrant devour encouragement quote mythology destined destination illuminating struggle accent ungrateful giggle approval confidence expose scientist operation superstitious emergency manners absolutely swallow readily mutual bound crisp orient stress sort stare comfort verbal heel challenging advertisement envious sex scar astonish basis accuracy enviable alliance specific chef embarrassed counter tolerable sympathetic gradually vanish informative amaze royal furry insist jealousy simplify quiver collaborate dedicated flexible function mimic obstacle technique archaeologist fragment historian intact preserve reconstruct remnant commence deed exaggeration heroic impress pose saunter wring astound concealed inquisitive interpret perplexed precise reconsider suspicious anticipation defy entitled neutral outspoken reserved sought equal absorb affect circulate conserve cycle necessity seep barren expression meaningful plume focused genius perspective prospect stunned superb transition assume guarantee nominate

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install reticent corroborate regretfully strength murder concise cunning intention holy satire query confused progression disillusion background mundane abrupt multiple enormously introduce emulate harmful pragmatic pity rebut liberate enthusiastic elucidate camaraderie disparage nature creep profitability impression racist sobriety occupy autonomy currently amiable reiterate reproduce cripple modest offer atom provincial augment ungratefully expansion yield rashly allude immigration silence epitome exacerbate somber avid dispute vindicate collaborate manufacturer embellish superficial propaganda incompetent objective diminish statistics endure ambivalent perpetuate illuminate phenomenon exasperate originality restrict anxiety anthropology circumstances aesthetic manufacturing conventional dubious vulnerable reality precedent entity success term critical repair underscore stepmother republican hesitantly classic wary contents prediction immediate invoke notorious implicit excluding input skeptical foster element punish frank humanity profound dessert orthodox substance disappear encourage neighborhood elder superfluous naive ascertain complacent resilient deafening military tend prudent glare acceptance skillfully induce monster beam gullible conciliate vessel petty cantankerous disclose archaeology anecdote disdain electronics substantiate subjective tourism advisable joyful incredible provocative psychological ruins discipline condone indifferent misfortune judgmental industrialize tasty assume astute mission mar protective definitely escape oppress shocked virtual zealous endorse qualification hostile eccentric abstract disparate geographical scrutinize generalization tolerate activity claim dogmatic influential obsolete extol implausible subsequent resource chronic benevolent improve confidential ambiguous seriously dearth perplex hatred throughout dine contemporary evoke essentially economic flagrant obscure alleviate eloquent dreaadful clumsy sympathy victim condemn vigor condescend spontaneous quell reprehensible substantially sleeve equivocal ironic decry errand articulate progressive eradicate refreshments elicit aspiration recently exemplary bribery theoretical disingenuous partisan revere particle nostalgia self-aggrandizement debunk tyranny rhetoric hierarchy warning whimsical venerate commend assert miserable awful vibe constrain undermine explicit differentiate compliment scrupulous contempt erroneous ideal refute imply cynical rash presume insight revival vary delay renounce indignant offensive temperate circumstantial export peep logo advertise suppress distort chunk convoluted denounce overwhelming fertility rigorous acquire arrogant university antagonize profitable indulgent strategic breathing idiosyncrasy profession frugal discern accommodation adversary incredulous disturbance digress social belie roam smug continual pertinent voluntarily elite subtle blame sincerity lick horror censure involvement candid infer futile impetuous exploit bewilder sustain diligent sincere protect sealed musical empathy callous parenthetical insure acorn sarcasm seize sacrificially allege emphatic irrelevant progress diplomatic stunned improvise deride reconcile meticulous deject scientifically incontrovertible pressure justify gloomy depict supplant endurance analogous diary bolster slip contemplate pesticide glow religious advocate negligent creator lament fundamental embrace throne inherent inferior valuable thrive trivial pretense reserved capricious refresh refusal flight boost explanation coherent prevalent tenacious official royalty assassin rub poach delete

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warrant circumscribed somewhat explosive optimistic mandate previously detract opinion intuitive feasible intimate persistent humble simplicity tempt deliberate painful unethical fundamentals discrepancy remorse pessimistic possibility conclusion acknowledge impregnate soberly creation paralyze suitability oblige tranquil medal arbitrate pacify illusory susceptible vibrate vengeance infection democratic stressful grave speculative sample identification stifle obligation revenge organization namely mediocre practical scream weaken consensus affectionate deficient treacherous console isolation ingenious memory melodrama despair awestruck composition regret recommendation celebrity decision devoid opaque ornamentation longevity participate dread restore interrogate aid accordingly mislead embarrassment optimism domestic apt funds virtue geography fundamentally thoroughly press despite horrible chilling rental esteemed disappointment innovative contemplation assign popularize haunt deafen serene percent estrangement suffer extravagant throng estimate comment priesthood mass dreadfully promote periphery animated saying relate clarity triple derivative succeed distortion register suicide improvement discreet inquisition probable curative incident praise convenience baffle covet dreadful genuinely weary undisturbed disgruntled humility renown nonchalant monopoly comedy vague decisive inconsequential announcement fabricated nevertheless vigilant scarce neglectful hushed attainment tedious explode snatch pslm agency sentimental tension adhere meanwhile sacred avert conformity likewise challenger accessible responsibility peril contact event roast fallible catastrophic competitor violate resolute deceive exaggeration discredit intolerable approve paste dimly novelist demeanor norm politician satisfaction obvious vehicle reservation defer involve restoration crush audible assistant backpack attain inanimate commemorate confrontation emigration parasite disperse quantitative laughter policy vulgar occasionally repay effective eulogy starvation empty therapeutic overall immortal encompass inappropriate opportune engagement illustrate turmoil observatory classification expression reminiscence comedian invention depress remedy protagonist gesture texture diplomatic election prolong conducive emotional invigorate curiosity expressive %

K-12 Words was originally published on PinkWrite

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networkingdefinition · 5 years ago

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Water Lily Quotes

Official Website: Water Lily Quotes

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• A pure drop of rain may fall on a beautiful water lily or on a dirty mud pond! This is exactly what happens when we are born! – Mehmet Murat Ildan • And you’re too nice,” he added, above the lap-lap of the water and the patter of sand on the water-lily leaves. “I was relying on you being too jealous to let that demon near the place. – Diana Wynne Jones

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Water+Lily', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_water-lily').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_water-lily img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • But, for all that, they had a very pleasant walk. The trees were bare of leaves, and the river was bare of water-lilies; but the sky was not bare of its beautiful blue, and the water reflected it, and a delicious wind ran with the stream, touching the surface crisply. – Charles Dickens • Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education. – Luther Burbank • Everyone knows French artist Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies,” which he painted in his garden. You find the images everywhere from galleries to dorm rooms and dentists’ lounges. – Ari Shapiro

[clickbank-storefront-bestselling] • He goes along just as a water lily Gentle on the surface of his thoughts his body floats Unweighed down by passion or intensity Yet unaware of the depth upon which he coasts And he finds a home in me For what misfortune sows, he knows my touch will reap – Fiona Apple • I have sat here happy in the gardens, Watching the still pool and the reeds And the dark clouds. . . . But though I greatly delight In these and the water lilies, That which sets me nighest to weeping Is the rose and white colour of the smooth flag-stones, And the pale yellow grasses Among them. – Richard Aldington • I have to accept my role. I will never kill myself like Vincent Van Gogh. Nor will I paint beautiful water lilies like Monet. I can’t do that. I’m in the idiot role of being a kiddie book person. – Maurice Sendak • In 1879 the Bengali scholar S.M. Tagore compiled a more extensive list of ruby colors from the Purana sacred texts: ‘like the China rose, like blood, like the seeds of the pomegranate, like red lead, like the red lotus, like saffron, like the resin of certain trees, like the eyes of the Greek partridge or the Indian crane…and like the interior of the half-blown water lily.’ With so many gorgeous descriptive possibilities it is curious that in English the two ancient names for rubies have come to sound incredibly ugly. – Victoria Finlay • In a marshland amongst the crocodiles, there float beautiful water lilies! Even in the Hell, one can find the good and the beauty. – Mehmet Murat Ildan • It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them. – Claude Monet • Nature seemed to have adorned herself for our departure with a profusion of fringes and curls, mingled with the bright tints of flowers, reflected in the water. But we missed the white water-lily, which is the queen of river flowers, its reign being over for this season…. Many of this species inhabit our Concord water. – Henry David Thoreau • She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces through the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look’d down to Camelot. Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror crack’d from side to side; “The curse is come upon me,” cried The Lady of Shalott. – Alfred Lord Tennyson • Swan flocks of lilies shoreward lying, In sweetness, not in music, dying. – John Greenleaf Whittier • The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond clear water in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end. – Anna Sewell • The sky was a midnight-blue, like warm, deep, blue water, and the moon seemed to lie on it like a water-lily, floating forward with an invisible current. – Willa Cather • The water-lily, in the midst of waters, opens its leaves and expands its petals, at the first pattering of the shower, and rejoices in the rain-drops with a quicker sympathy than the packed shrubs in the sandy desert. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge • The world must live. We are only one species among billions. The gods don’t love us any more than they love spiders or bears or whales or water lilies. – Daniel Quinn • Where Cezanne captured and intensified shards of the eternal (every pear far more sharply defined than it could be in life), Monet portrayed the changeability and flux of every moment. ‘The Water Lilies’ give you a jittery, amorphous sense of a world seen at the speed of light. – Jerry Saltz

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'a', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_a').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_a img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'e', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_e').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_e img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'i', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_i').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_i img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'o', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_o').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_o img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'u', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_u').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_u img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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equitiesstocks · 5 years ago

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Water Lily Quotes

Official Website: Water Lily Quotes

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paullassiterca · 6 years ago

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Fermented Fruit Leads to Drunken Animals

Animals and alcohol don’t mix. Residents of Gilbert, Minnesota, have reported birds flying under-the-influence in their community. They were flying into windows and cars and generally acting confused after partaking of fermented berries in the neighborhood before flying south.

The chief of police reported the younger birds were getting more “tipsy” as their livers may not handle the toxins as efficiently as the more mature birds.1 In Wayne Township, Indianapolis, a woman called on firefighters in the early morning hours, frightened her pet raccoon was in danger after having eaten someone else’s marijuana.2

More animals are presenting at the veterinarian’s office after having imbibed alcohol or marijuana-laced treats as they typically don’t have the impulse control to stop at one.3 Just as overindulging on alcohol is not healthy for animals, it isn’t for humans either.

Incidence of Alcohol Use Rising

Alcohol use disorder is a diagnostic classification that is widespread and often untreated in the U.S. While lifetime prevalence is 29.1 percent, only 19.8 percent of adults have ever been treated, according to data released in JAMA Psychiatry.4

Alcohol use disorders are among the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide, contributing to an estimated 88,000 deaths from alcohol-related causes annually and an economic burden of $249 billion.5 Globally, 3.3 million deaths in 2012 were attributed to alcohol consumption. In 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported alcohol contributed to more than 200 diseases.

It was the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability worldwide, and in a 2015 national survey,6 86.4 percent over age 18 reported they had consumed alcohol at some point during their lifetime, and 70 percent reported they had something to drink in the past year. In the same survey, 26.9 percent over age 18 reported engaging in binge drinking in the past month.

The number diagnosed with alcoholism increased by 49 percent during a study evaluating data from 2001 to 2013.7 Researchers from the University of Illinois in Chicago8 revealed alcohol may increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by disrupting the way amyloid-beta is cleared from your brain.

Binge drinking or heavy alcohol consumption may make it more likely your brain will accumulate damaging proteins and contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s. Generally, women are more vulnerable to alcohol poisoning and feel the effects of alcohol faster than men of the same size. They’re also more predisposed to suffer from long-term alcohol-induced damage in the body.

Not All Raccoons From Milton Were Drunk on Crabapples

You might not imagine wildlife or your pets getting drunk, but that’s what appeared to have happened to raccoons in Milton, West Virginia.9 Residents of the town reported seeing raccoons acting strangely and suspected they may have been infected with rabies. Officers staked out the area where the animals had been seen and caught two.

The first raccoon was caught near a crabapple tree where fruit was fermenting on the ground. It appeared the raccoons were not rabid but instead drunk from eating fermented crabapples. In an official statement to the community, the police said,10 “Turns out they appear to be drunk on crabapples.”

The raccoons were held in custody to allow the alcohol to be metabolized before being released into the wild. The story quickly spread through social media outlets. Unfortunately, just days later the police were once again called about a third raccoon who had fallen out of a tree.11

At this point they called local wildlife rescue group Point of View Farm, which suggested the animals may be suffering from distemper. They suggested all three raccoons be caught and tested. The police had the third raccoon and were able to track the second, which they found just 10 feet from where he’d been released, suffering continuous seizures.

The two raccoons were euthanized, but the police were unable to locate the first that had been trapped and released. Although health officials agreed with the diagnosis of distemper, the animals are being tested for rabies. In their Facebook post, police warned:12

“Sorry for such a long and depressing post but since this incident garnered so much unexpected national attention we wanted to be as transparent as possible. Please do not approach any wild animals that are acting abnormal and remember their natural instinct should be to avoid people or to run away. “

Raccoons Aren’t the Only Animals Eating Fermented Fruit

In preparation for winter hibernation, some report black bears appear to eat too many fermented apples and are found staggering near towns and residential communities. However, it’s unlikely a 600-pound bear will become intoxicated from eating fermented fruit for several reasons.

The idea is when apples fall off the tree, they begin to rot and ferment. Bears eat them and the apples continue to ferment in the their stomach, releasing alcohol. However, after testing the alcohol by volume percentage in fermented berries and Hawthorn fruits, closely related to the apple, researchers found only 0.3 percent could be achieved.13

Wildlife biologist Darrell Smith from Western Wildlife Outreach, believes,14 “One of the issues with fermented fruit is that it would take a lot to get a bear drunk. You know, people don’t get drunk from fermented apples either.”

Although black bears can eat a lot, often up to 20 pounds of food in preparation for winter hibernation, fermented fruit contains an extremely minimal amount of alcohol given the weight of the animal. According to the theory, the apples continue to ferment in the bear’s stomach. However, the pH of a bear’s stomach is around 3.5, much lower than alcohol-producing yeast prefers.

Birds and Insects Also Experience the Effects of Fermented Fruit

There is evidence some insects and smaller animals consume alcohol routinely. Male butterflies drink beer in order to boost spermatophores and many entomologists often bait insect traps with beer.

In a study comparing the diet preferences of male fruit flies that had successfully mated with those of males who had not mated, data demonstrated unmated males preferred food containing alcohol while the mated males did not.15

Some animals have a high tolerance for fermented treats. Malaysia’s pen-tailed tree shrew drinks nectar from the bertram palm, whose flower has the highest alcohol levels recorded in natural food, nearly 3.8 percent. Despite drinking this nectar nightly, they show no effects of intoxication.16

Many bats also eat fermented fruit and nectar but appear unaffected. Birds routinely eat winter berries in the northern hemisphere, which may have begun fermenting after the first frost. Meghan Larivee, laboratory coordinator at the government agency Environment Yukon in Canada, reports:17

“Most birds likely just get a bit tipsy, and very few people would be able to pick them out as intoxicated. However, every now and then, some birds just overdo it.”

Arriving with juice-stained beaks, several Bohemian waxwing birds ended up admitted to the Yukon territory’s Animal Health unit after they were observed flying in uncoordinated flight patterns and unable to walk. Likely intoxicated related to their small size and weight, they were checked for illnesses, recovered after a few hours and were subsequently released.18

Animals Acting Strangely May Be Infected

These anecdotal stories indicate there are some animals that may be affected by fermented fruit. However, it is critical you don’t assume animals that appear to be incapacitated are safe to approach. The raccoons in Milton, West Virginia, were infected with distemper, a condition often fatal in animals. However, while humans may acquire the virus, it produces no illness or symptoms.19

Another condition affecting wild and domesticated animals that can cause strange behavior is rabies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),20 wild animals accounted for 92.4 percent of cases of rabies in 2015.

In the U.S., bats were most frequently reported followed closely by raccoons and skunks, with foxes a distant fourth. Reports of rabid raccoons reached an all-time high in 1994 when nearly 6,000 were reported and found.21 The number dropped to close to 2,000 in 2014.

Rabies virus variants are distributed in distinct geographic regions. The majority of rabies affecting raccoons occur along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Florida. Skunks are more highly affected in the Midwest from the Canadian border to Texas and in small regions in California.22

The condition is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal.23 The rabies virus can also affect humans and domestic dogs. Cross-species infection from raccoons to dogs or humans is possible and the majority of human deaths from rabies are caused by dog bites.24

Rabies Presents in Five Stages

With the exception of Antarctica, rabies is found throughout the world.25 The virus is transmitted in the saliva of an infected animal and enters the body through the wound. The disease progresses in five unique stages26 — incubation, prodrome, acute neurological syndrome, coma and death.

• Incubation — The incubation period happens after you’ve been exposed to saliva of an infected animal. It usually lasts between three and 12 weeks but it may be as little as five days or more than two years. The closer the bite is to your brain, the sooner you may expect to see symptoms.

Unfortunately, by the time you experience early symptoms, the condition is usually fatal. Today, less than 10 documented cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been reported.27

• Prodrome — Early symptoms include fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above, headache, anxiety, sore throat and discomfort at the site of the bite. These symptoms can last between two and 10 days and usually worsen over time.

• Acute neurological syndrome — During the next phase, neurological symptoms develop, including confusion and aggression, convulsions, hyperventilation, hypersalivation and hallucinations. It is during this phase it appears the sufferer is afraid of water, as it is difficult to swallow. In some instances, contractions of the throat occur even at the thought of drinking water.

• Coma and death — Once an individual enters into a coma, death often occurs in a matter of hours from a lack of respiration. Life can be extended if a ventilator is used, but rarely does a person recover at this late stage.

What to Do if You Are Bitten

Whether an animal appears to have rabies or not, it is wise to take precautions if you’re bitten. Rabies is spread through exposure to the saliva of an infected animal, so immediately wash the wound to reduce your risk for rabies or any other infection.

If bitten by a domesticated animal, insist you receive a copy of the animal’s rabies vaccination certificate. If in doubt, contact the veterinarian yourself. Report your exposure to your physician immediately, whether the animal was vaccinated or not. Lab tests on the animal may show antibodies, but these often don’t appear until symptoms of the disease appear.28

Since confirmation of a diagnosis from raised antibodies or visible symptoms may be too late to take action, patients normally start on a course of prophylactic treatment immediately. Discuss your options with your physician and if you aren’t satisfied with the answer, contact your local health department.

A series of shots is used to prevent the virus from replicating and thriving in the body. A fast-acting dose of rabies immunoglobulin is delivered immediately and as close to the bite wound as possible.29 Next a series of rabies vaccinations will be injected over the following two to four weeks to assist the body in recognizing the virus and fighting it.

Preventing the Spread of Rabies

Although serious, the disease is preventable and controllable in domesticated and wild animals. Regular rabies vaccinations for all domesticated animals and bans or restrictions on the importation of animals may help to reduce the spread of the disease.30

In rural Canada and the U.S., bait laced with oral vaccine has been used to reduce the number of wild raccoons with rabies, and in Switzerland, authorities have distributed vaccine-laced chicken heads. The foxes that consume the chicken heads immunize themselves and the country is now nearly free of rabies in wild animals.31

Protect your own pets by vaccinating them, keeping them indoors or confined and supervised when outside. Report stray dogs and cats, or any animal that appears ill, to local authorities. Never approach wild animals as those with rabies are likely to be less cautious and more likely to approach people.

Keep bats out of your home and seal exterior holes to keep them from nesting. In 2015 a woman died from rabies after having been bitten by a bat in her home during the night. She did not seek treatment as she did not realize she’d been bitten.32 Even if you don’t have bite marks or any outward sign of injury, you’re encouraged to seek medical health after an encounter with a wild animal.

In the U.S., between 30,000 and 60,000 people seek post-exposure prophylaxis each year after contact with suspected animals. Despite U.S. vaccinations to control rabies in domesticated animals, between 60 and 70 dogs and nearly 250 cats are reported rabid each year. Many of these have not been vaccinated and were exposed to the virus through wild animals.

The prevalence of the disease varies in different countries, so it’s important to determine the probability of infection when traveling. If you’re preparing to participate in activities where it’s likely to come in contact with wild animals, such as caving or camping, discuss the potential for a vaccination with your doctor prior to travel.33

from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/01/animals-drunk-from-fermented-fruit.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/180675764176

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chlnacat · 7 years ago

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all the sad and lonely ones (2)

Chapter 2: The Fall of Grace and Glory Part I

The few days following his encounter with the Godbeasts are, in Richie’s eyes, rather dull. Maybe it’s for the best, because school has been awfully demanding and he finds himself rather busy. He figures that when you’re really busy, it’s better that you have less to do; that way, you have less to forget. As the days roll on he goes about his normal routine and waits patiently for something to happen, remembering that things will work out the way they are meant to and that it’s nothing he should waste time worrying about. Time wasted is time you never get back, and how much time did one person actually have, anyway? No one knows how much time they have, or what they can really afford to spare, and Richie is no different. So he doesn’t worry much about it, and fall progresses in sweaters and school bells. The leaves of the deciduous trees all burn red with autumn ember and weep to the ground like rubies. The northern winds carry the promise of winter’s kiss in every whisper. Everything was dying but it was not a time of death, rather, a period of mindful rest. It was time to sit back, and breath, and relax for a little bit, because come spring the ground would thaw and all things would born again. The wheel of time will once again reach 0 degrees and reset itself.

Richie comes home from school smelling like chalk, his hands silver and dirty with pencil lead. When Henry Bower’s sticks gum into his thick brown mop of hair and Richie almost cries, Bill comes over with a jar of peanut butter and helps him pull it out. Sometimes time feels like it’s bleeding slowly rather than passing at a consistent speed. It’s hard to tell the days apart, and all he ever truly knows is that he has plenty of homework to do, and that it’s really starting to get cold, and that he misses his friends when they’re not around, which has been often, hasn’t it? It’s one of those sad things you can’t really do much about, the way friendship becomes different when you’re older. Maybe everyone’s feelings are just more complicated now than they were when they were young and full of innocence and pureness. You grow up and lose that, your godliness and virtue. You grow up and suddenly everyone is lonely, and no one will admit to it or ever say or do anything to solve it. The loneliness comes crashing in like a swollen saltwater wave, one that wants to swallow you whole, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Richie feels it now, low in his throat. He swallows his loneliness down like a pill, because he knows it’s a bad idea to let the birds of sadness stay long enough to build their nests in your hair.

On the day that something finally does happen, and Richie couldn’t tell you what day it was, he smells flowers. A fragrant floral aroma hangs heavy above him when he wakes up; he stretches and yawns. Golden morning sunshine pours in through the window on the east side of the house. The sun outside glows hot and red in the sky, just beginning to rise over the shingled rooftops lining Richie’s cul-de-sac. He climbs out of bed and opens the window, letting the cold air of November come in and kiss him awake, and thinks of how absolutely strange it is that even the breeze blowing in from outside smelled like flowers. It was typical at this time of year for the air to smell like a number of things, in Richie’s opinion; chimney smoke, burning leaves, baking pies, apple cider, frost and northern pines. There were all kinds of scents Richie associated with fall, and even the coming hush of winter; this strong floral aroma was not one of them.

Richie shuts the window, the apples of his cheeks slightly flushed from the cold air. He gets dressed and heads downstairs for breakfast and slowly forgets about the queer flowery smell, even when it follows him to school. His mind eventually just accepts it, and suddenly it doesn’t seem so strange, and if he can distract himself for a long enough period of time, well, he can’t even smell it anymore. Besides, it’s not like there was anything wrong with the scent of flowers.

He was getting ready for bed when things started to feel bit strange. All the muscles in his body had that odd sensation of being both tight and loose at the same time, his skin felt both hot and cold at the same time. He felt both sick but not sick. It’s the same sort of strange unease he gets when he’s coming up on acid, uncomfortable but not entirely unpleasant, a bizarre plane of weirdness right before your mind fully lets go and plunges you into your trip, a bizarre universe where you’re just trapped in your skin waiting for something to happen. He’s brushing his teeth in the bathroom, feeling a bit washed out in the florescent light, when the minty green shine of the backsplash tiles suddenly seem much brighter. Yes, brighter, and softer- like they’re really small silk cushions and not really backsplash tile at all. They reflect the pale light in a way that just seems glitzy and retro. Everything in the bathroom suddenly takes on an enchanting soft, silky, ritzy quality. The shower curtain seems to move, seems to whisper to him, something he can’t quite hear, and the cool tiles of the floor feel so smooth beneath his feet that he almost wants to lay down and press his face into them. His bathroom has never looked quite so beautiful before, and as he stands here and thinks about how incredible and vivid the colors are in here, and how elegant and classy everything looks right now, like he’s a millionaire, a Beverly Hills movie star, he realizes that he’s definitely tripping face.

He’s heard of flashback trips, of course, and he’s trying not to let the fact that he hadn’t actually taken any acid bother him. After all, if life hands you a free acid trip, who are you to complain? If he had known more about flashback trips he would have felt that maybe it was an odd theory, because really, did he actually do acid often enough to have flashbacks like this? And did flashback trips always feel quite so strong? Again, when life hands you a free trip, there’s no point in questioning it. You don’t look a gifthorse in the eye, right? Clearly God was in this bathroom tonight, and God was looking out for him and wanted him to be happy. He sits on hard the edge of the clawfoot tub for a good couple minutes, looking around and laughing. What a posh, glamorous bathroom he had. It was like something out of Better Homes and Gardens. He can’t get over the fact that he has such a nice bathroom; even the way the silver sink tap handles reflect light was soft, stunning, somehow luxurious. He’s laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, because, up until now, he hadn’t really looked at his bathroom like this. It had always been just a bathroom.

He decides it’s probably not such a terrible idea to get out of the bathroom, because truly, as grand as it was, he could think of a lot of other places he would rather spend his trip than in a bathroom. He makes his way towards the door, having to pause for a moment and look away, tears welling in his eyes, because the magnificence of the light bouncing off the glass doorknob was too much for him for a moment. It was such a divine sight, like a billion tiny diamonds shards, glinting and shimmering before him, twinkling with gaseous purity, and part of him felt like that kind of purity was inside of him too, and maybe inside of others he would meet along his way. The knob feels slick and oily to the touch. He opens the bathroom door and steps out into strange daylight.

He’s in a low, grassy meadow, brimming with flowers. The bathroom door behind him seems to have blinked out of existence. The fragrance that he had been smelling all day is present, more pungent than before, hanging thickly and sweetly in the air; but there’s more there, too, isn’t there? He can smell the sweetness of honey and buttermilk, mixing together with the underlying dryness of dead sea salt. The temperature and presence of the air reminds him of June, plainly and simply. The meadow floor is soft grassy green and pregnant with flowers that reach up gaily towards the sun. He can recognize quaking grass and crested dogtail shoots, as well as field lilies, their yellow bells incandescent with filtered sunlight. Patches of sweet smelling wild flowers bloom up all around and bob in a gentle breeze, some with stigmas pointed up towards the sun as though praising it’s glory and it’s lifeforce. Butterflies and bumblebees hover near him, bouncing from one flower to the next, their bodies fat and cheerful. It’s a very calm sort of place, and for a minute he just sits, and he can hear the cry of meadow birds and maybe, somewhere not too far away, the garbled babble of a stream. The ground underneath his is moist, but it’s not something he really seems to mind. That’s the thing about wet pants, and the scent of flowers. Once you get used to them, you don’t notice them so much.

The meadow is low and large, out skirted on three sides by a thick summer-green forest. The remaining edge is lined by a road, its asphalt soft and gray, running parallel to the meadow and winding off into some kind of far away place, a strange sort of quiet that Richie couldn’t see. He had a feeling he had no business with the road, regardless. At least for now. He spots something moving out of the corner of his eye and turns just in time to see a small white rabbit dive behind a scrub bush. It makes him smile, a warm feeling swelling in his gut. Slowly a pair of white ears peak out from behind scrub bush, and he can feel the rabbit’s gentle, timid gaze resting on him. He feels pleasant and relaxed in every sense of the word and yawns and pops his back, thinking it wouldn’t be so bad to just lay here and fall asleep under a blanket of warm sunbeams. Yes, he could lay here and count angels in the fat milky clouds passing above him until he fell asleep on a bed of forget-me-nots, and it would probably feel wonderful, it would probably be the best sleep of his life. He yawns again, thinking it probably won’t hurt to at least rest his eyes, if not for just a moment, when a voice rings loud in his head. It’s the curiously pleasant voice of Mr. Pestilence; “If you stay too long, or if the fire goes out, you might not be able to get back to your world.” Sudden panic tears through Richie, claws it’s way up his throat, tasting of saltwater. The thought of sleep was a distant memory in his mind now. There is no fire out here in this whimsical daydream of a meadow. He has no way of getting home right now, even if he wanted to, and it’s terrifying and brings forth the powerful feeling of helplessness. As beautiful as this meadow is, he needs to leave, so he can figure out just what it is he’s come here for.

He begins walking now, scoping out the edges of the woods from behind the thick frames of his eyeglasses. The sounds of nature harmonize together and ring out to fill all the open space in this ragged flower paradise, and although there’s all sorts of life bursting around him, Richie can’t help but feel a lonely sort of feeling as he walks along. There’s a sadness and an emptiness that comes with not being able to communicate with the things around you, and he wishes he had someone who he could talk to, someone who would understand and who would walk with him in this strange green place, and maybe then he wouldn’t feel so afraid or so alone. It’s probably a silly and selfish thought in the first place; there’s someone else he has to worry about, isn’t there? There has to be a reason why he’s here, someone that he has to help. He can feel loneliness set in like an invisible fog, one that’s hanging in the air, clinging damp to his shirt. This place is gloomy beautiful, doleful June serenity bathed in memories of skinned knees and laughing children.

He can feel the warmth of the sun on his back like a jacket, and finally his seeking eyes land on a small mouth in the treeline at the edge of the meadow. Something tells him that that’s the place to be, that he really ought to go check that place out, so he starts meandering his way over. Although his feet are covered by only socks, nothing seemed to be hurting him; there was no pricker grass, or thorn bushes, or stinging nettles here in this flatland. He passes by a cluster of milkweed plants, some with their pods burst open like swollen bellies, puffing their white fluff outward like fat preening birds. He wanders past a rather large blueberry bush, where he stops to pick some of the berries. They’re plump and dark and perfect; their taste is just the perfect balance of sweetness to tart, just as a blueberry should be. In fact, Richie thinks they’re probably the best blueberries he’s ever tasted. Their flavor explodes vibrant on his tongue as he pops them between his teeth, juices staining his lips and fingers.

He manages to regain some sense of self control and pull himself away from the fruit bush, his eyes still resting on the opening between the trees that lead into the forest. More birds call out, soaring over his head. When he finally reaches the mouth, he finds a path of fallen pine needles leading deep into the thicket of trees. The leaves overhead, and the sunlight raining lazily down the open spaces between them, create a dazzlingly and gleaming dark emerald canopy. The smell of fresh flowers is slowly replaced with the smell of pine and bark and Richie’s mouth tastes of milk. The forest noises converge and orchestrate a symphony; they tell him the tale of a warm day in mid-June, a day where it was supposed to rain but never did; the skies had been clear and blue and the people had rejoiced, their laughter ringing. Sunlight was power and a gift to the land. The forest was familiar and home to many creatures, great and small. As Richie walked he began to understand the story of the trees, he began to understand what they were trying to tell him in the way they pointed their leaves and curled their mighty roots. He sees more rabbits, their small white bodies scurrying away from his noise, and in a quick moment catches a flash something large and white, moving behind the trees. It’s only for a second, of course, and then it’s gone, like it had never existed in the first place.

Richie isn’t sure of how long he travels along this pine needle path. The trees rising around him feel safe, and as he wanders deeper and deeper into the unfamiliar woods, he’s filled with odd nostalgia and a strange sense of purpose. As the path winds down into a valley, flowers begin to bloom beneath his feet again, deep purples and magentas and shades of buttery yellow. He comes out into a small clearing, blinking as his eyes readjust to the sun.

Sprawled out on their backs atop the fresh and gentle sweetgrass lay two small girl angels, their intestines spilling out from large tears in their stomachs and clumping together in a bloody knot on the ground between them. Aside from this carnage, their intensities laid out, tied together, the angels are lovely. Their skin glows effervescent; it’s creamy, peachy pink, blushed with sunlight. One of the angels has golden locks of hair, bouncing curls that tumble down and land just below her shoulders; the other’s hair hangs in a similar fashion but was a deep, mousy brown, similar to the color of Richie’s own hair. Atop their heads rested crowns of thorns and purple-pink and white dahlias. The loose dresses they wore also matched, hanging from their shoulders like greek robes; the angel with the darker hair was dressed in blue, the other pink. Both their wounds ran vertically down their stomach, staining their dresses, and their spilling intestines stains the sweetgrass below with their blood, little pools and spatters that seems oddly innocent in the deepness of the afternoon

For a moment Richie stares at these vored angels wonders and if they are dead, and who had hurt them and why, and was starting to feel awfully sore about the whole scene, because really, who wanted to come across a pair of dead, vored angels? But then the angel with the mousy brown hair sits up and looks at him curiously, her pale blue eyes catching in the sunlight. She nudges the form next to her, but the blonde angel seems to be sleeping. She nudges again, and this time, the blonde angel stirs, sitting up and wiping at her eyes.

“Alright, alright, what’s going on?” The blonde angel asks sleepily. “Can’t a girl take a nap?”

“Grace, over there. It’s a boy.”

“A boy?” The blonde angel turns to look at Richie now, and he can see for the first time that she’s blind. Her eyes have no color to them, no shine; they are simply milky white and cloudy. Richie gets the feeling she can somehow see him anyway. Surely a creature as magnificent as an angel wouldn’t be handicapped by something as trivial and human as a bad set of eyes.

“Hello?” Richie calls out to them, hoping that his voice sounds upbeat and cheerful. “My name is Richie. Are you two alright, there?”

“Oh, I have a bit of a stomach ache, but I’ll live,” The angel with the brown hair tells him. “We had just laid down for a quick nap in the grass, it’s always so soft... I’m sorry if we’re in your way.”

“Oh, no,” Richie tells her. “To be honest, I’m not fully sure where I’m going. I might be a bit lost- really, I’m not sure.”

“If you’re not sure where you’re going, what are you do wandering around in the forest? Don’t you know all kinds of creatures live out here?”

“There’s someone out here that I’m supposed to be finding, I think,” Richie tells the angels. “See, I came here from somewhere very far away, and I have to find someone with a story to tell me.”

“Oh, we have a story, don’t we, Glory?” The blind angel perks up, and her golden curls bob as turns head towards Richie and seeks him out with her milky eyes. “I’m Grace, by the way, and this is Glory.”

#writing #prose #atsalo

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