Saturday, February 02, 2008

Cactus world news

Prickly
Palm Beach, FL

December 2007
[Click to embiggen]


We were at the zoo (see here and here for more.) I was supposed to be taking pictures of the animals. And of the kids looking at the animals. But the trees and plants that defined this place kept distracting me. In a good way, of course.

I imagined what the grounds would look like without the dense woods that shaded each habitat and guided us from one exhibit to another. I decided the zoo would be a pretty depressing place without all that luscious green.

As I walked away from this one shoot of cactus, it occurred to me that this kind of thinking applied well beyond the gates of the zoo. Indeed, the world needs more green. Given the rate with which it seems to be disappearing, it's a message that not enough of us seem to be internalizing.

Your turn: Making the planet a greener place. Please discuss.

One more thing: The next Caption This entry will be posted later tomorrow (Sunday). Theme: depressing pavement. Start your creative minds spinning now - and feel free to bring a friend. I encourage that sort of thing.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yours is leafy and mine is icy. Green is a dream worth having.

Anna said...

OUCH.

:)

kenju said...

Making the planet greener is something we all should participate in - in fact it is imperative that we do. I'm going to add more plants this summer!

craziequeen said...

We live in a small town of about 10,000 people, and the town is surrounded by green fields, areas of which is aptly called 'Greenbelt' in England. We are one house away from fields and cows......in the evening we can hear cows lowing and bats fly across from the trees around the field.

We were horrified to hear they are planning to build more houses on these lovely fields. The contractors will not have an easy ride trying to build on our local farmland.

cq

Pat said...

Ouch Carmi! Embiggened that looks really lethal but I love the colour.
I would like people in the UK to stop putting hard standings (tarmac, ashphalt etc) to replace their grass front gardens. This increases the flood danger, as the water as no place to go. Common sense really. Keep up the good work.
Michele sends her best

Anonymous said...

Plant more trees!

Delhi has a green belt. Much better than the other Metros.

That picture of cactus is so good!

Sorry I got here a bit late. I was kind of tweaking one of my older poems.

Well, you know WHo sent me here..

Bobkat said...

Great pic as ever! The green really stands out on the dark background.

I love zoos. They do so much work these days to further knowledge about animals and their habitats and to try adn stop extinction of some species (well, the majority of them do in most countries).

Michele sent me to admire your prickly friend!

Joan said...

"We did not inherit the earth from our parents. We are borrowing it from our children." — Native American (First Nations) saying

"Green" can express multiple ideas these days. I love greenery - foliage and flowers, the beauty they provide, as well as the shade. I also think it's important to try to live a "green" life, minimizing one's impact on the environment. You may have just inspired the theme of my next colorblog entry.

PS - As always, thank you for your thoughtful comments on my blog, and particularly your perspective on the "yellow" entry. I'd love to hear more about how photography first "captured" you ... as if I haven't asked you enough questions already. :-P

Anonymous said...

I'd just like to commend you on your reference to an obscure band from the 80s. :)