A Day at the Museum

A day much anticipated , both by me and my grandson. It was a birthday adventure. And what could be more fun than some time spent with dinosaurs and other cool stuff? Especially if you've just turned 5.

This is one of my all time favorite museums. I was treated to this museum as a kid on a school trip and I've been sure to bring my own son, nephew, granddaughter,grandson and classes of school kids when I was living in my past life as an art teacher. What a treasure.... the Harvard Museum of Natural Historyhttp://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/. My favorite spot has always been the glass flowers http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/on_exhibit.html , but not so much for a five year old boy. But I've got to tell you they are UNBELIEVABLE ! ( Created in Germany and shipped over here by ship in the 1900's. And they are ALL glass. To look at them one can hardly believe it ! ).

But the 5 year old monkey DID enjoy so very many other treasures. His favorite ...the kronosaurus.

I've got to admit that it is pretty impressive - a water creature. But for comparison's sake , you need only take a short walk down a hall to find whale bones with balleen intact .

Some of the other favorites..... walking sticks and leaf bugs , of course.

Can you see what a treasure this place is? We do not enjoy the varieties of bugs such as these in my part of the world and I would heartily laugh if someone were to describe them to me. It would seem like a phenomenal joke to me. But to be able to see so many wonders in the world not available easily to us is a treasure.

We wondered further into the museum to behold great jewels.....well actually just rocks. Ah , but SUCH rocks. Some are jewels. My little friend truly enjoyed these almost as much as the dinosaurs. And serendipitously, or should I say synchronistically, the first glass case he stopped at and was delighted by was the one containing the rhodochrosite. I say this because the Mister just returned from a business trip from Argentina, whose national gem is none other than the rhodochrosite. If you like the color pink, this is the stone for you.

And how about this specimen? Looks like it has grown out of a frozen tundra.

There is so much more to show and tell !!! I think that I'll just wait for another time to continue my little guided tour. But if you get the opportunity , if you're in the Boston /Cambridge area be sure to take a little time to explore for yourself. I guarantee it will be worth your time.

Wishing you an adventurous day, Cyth

The Universe Sings

Oh I've been so intrigued since reading on the Resurrection Fern blog http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/ about singing yeast cells. I loved learning that energy from the cells is emitted and could be technologically made audible to our human ears. Such an ethereal sound it was, as though singing through the cosmos, or like lyrical underwater musings. I was truly as delighted as a young child discovering the first hidden Easter egg. Just think of all the yeast cells , or any old cells, out there singing their life, singing the joy of being. ( Oh, what about the yeast cells within our bodies. Do our bodies muffle the sound? Can they communicate through our bodies to cells in the "free world" ? What about the other cells in our body? Do they all sing a different tune depending on their function? Oh..... the questions ! )

Initially I felt saddened that we couldn't hear their songs with just our own auditory equipment. But as I continued to imagine all the possible kinds of songs sung by all the infinite life manifestations, I realized that we would be bombarded with noise. ( I guess we really are already. ) Our physical limitations would of necessity shut out a great deal of sound. It is , therefore, to our human benefit that we cannot hear all the conversations that are trilling even in this one moment. And probably a good lesson in understanding that we can't always hear what is right "in front of our eyes" ( so to speak ).

A friend , and the previous shop owner, offered to do a short presentation at the shop about lavender ( pictures above-her display in the shop ), it's uses, history, myth, lore and lure. She sells her wondeful products in the shop ( ooo so soothing ). What a wonderful idea , thought I. Together we planned and plotted and advertised. She made yummy lemon-lavender cookies. I made lemonade and picked great and small bunches of flowers, creamy white and green, for bouquets to highlight the lavender display.

Anticipation rose, excitement heightened, but , alas, the day was not kind to us.It was one of the hottest and sunniest days we had all summer ( a summer of considerable rain and quite cool !! ). Patrons must have been out swimming and boating and cooling their tootsies in wet beach sand, as our soothing , cooling lavender event did not attract but a few. Blessedly, there were enthusiasts, which made it rewarding. We had a number of people throughout the day, a few taking advantage of the lavender sale. But I couldn't help notice how little notice most visitors paid to the bouquets and even the cookies ( though I must say that when invited to try them their attention focused sharply then ).

It's a sad commentary to express my opinion that many people today are so little concerned with the details of a place or event, or sometimes each other. Sooooo much delight,and sometimes even insight, can be experienced by the subtle nuances of a situation. And yet it passes by the board for so many.

After a few moments of discussion with my friend and a little reflection, it consoled me some to realize, that like the singing yeast cells, sometimes we just can not hear what is right in front of us.