caves

Some things are too pretty to pass by,

but here’s something spectacular that you might miss altogether

if you weren’t looking for small, burrow-like doorways

amid the desolate desertscapes of New Mexico.

Journey with me …

Have you found the path to your passion?

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Ohh, I wish we had known about this last September when we went to visit New Mexico! What an incredible and beautiful life this man has created for himself. This is art at it’s most pure and honest form.

  2. Krista says:

    This is so fascinating! I would love to see one of his caves, especially the one that is going to contain a waterfall. This man has a great passion. The best part is that his passion is so strong that money hasn’t persuade him over. I wish I had the patience and drive to make something as beautiful as these caves.

  3. Reminds me of the Jain caves in India, all carved out of alabaster and the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my travels to 38 countries. More power to him for following his own ” star”.

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larger than life

I just ran across this photo of one of the largest bulls in the world:

Chilli, dailymail.co.uk

Chilli is a Friesian bull who lives at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Somerset, England. He weighs more than a ton and is over 6 feet tall (the same height as a small elephant!).

A few other giants of the animal world:

Hercules, the largest cat in the world.

Hercules, via guinnessworldrecords.com

Hercules weighs over 900 pounds, is nearly 11 feet long and a little over 4 feet tall (to compare, about 1 1/2 feet taller than the average desk).

Or how about Zeus, “the tallest dog ever” at 44 inches (just for reference, a standard kitchen counter is 36 inches tall, so I’m guessing Zeus’ owners never leave things on the counter).

photo, guinnessworldrecords.com

Then, there’s Romulus, the tallest donkey in the world, at 5 feet, 8 inches at the withers.

photo, guinnessworldrecords.com

Compared to KneeHi, the shortest donkey on record at just over 25 inches, Romulus is a true giant.

photo, guinnessworldrecords.com

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    This was fun and interesting. Poor Zeus needs one of those feeding stations where he doesn’t have to bend over so low. I’d love to have little KneeHi for a pet. He is just darling!

  2. Always am a sucker for giant (and peewee ) animals. I had a cat , Denzel Washington, so high and tall with such long legs that everyone commented I should have named him Michael Jordan instead.

  3. CJ Armstrong says:

    WOW!!! Some “honkin’ big” critters out there! Thanks for the pics!
    CJ

  4. Krista says:

    I love large animals! Zeus has to be my favorite. He reminds me of my Great Dane. She is a big girl standing at 35 inches tall, so I could only imagine what it’s like having Zeus around. I also can’t get over how big the bull is. He looks so big standing next to that guy! This is very fascinating.

  5. Darlene Ricotta says:

    It is really nice to see these and so interesting. They had a photo in our newspaper on a giant Holstein in our area. I think that bull is taller than it was.
    Thank you.
    Darlene

  6. Cindi says:

    That is one realllly big bull!!!! Makes me think it would be like standing next to a dinosaur. A small one. I’ll bet taking Zeus for a walk is a real traffic stopper, too.

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Raining Jane

It’s Raining Jane …

Nope, not a slip of the key.

Raining. Jane.

Call it serendipity.

There I was, surfing the Web in search of one of my old Raising Jane posts,

and Google introduced me to a group of four musically gifted mavens who call themselves

Raining Jane.

Of course, I forgot the task at hand and wandered off—ears first—to find out more.

These California songstresses, who describe their genre as “lady rock for owners of cats,” have a talent for singing from the heart in a way that dresses up ordinary details and somehow makes you want to celebrate being a woman. Or, maybe it’s just that they’re so darned good at wielding their array of instruments (guitars, cello, cajon, sitar, bass, and heavenly voices). Just beautiful.

“In an era of overnight sensations that fizzle as quickly as they spark, and a time when music seems often overshadowed by a side show of special effects, it’s a relief to know that there are still bands out there that are the real thing: bands who play their own instruments, write their own songs, and have the musical chemistry that can only come from playing and touring together for over a decade,” the band writes on their website. “This is Raining Jane.”

The women of the band (Mai Bloomfield, Becky Gebhardt, Chaska Potter, and Mona Tavakoli) launched their musical career with a UCLA concert in 1999, and although they have received notoriety for collaborating with popular singer-songwriter Jason Mraz since 2007, they hold their own with the soulful solidarity of sisterhood and have four independent albums under their belts.

Here’s one of their older tunes …

In addition to their musical work as a band, the Raining Jane ladies are passionate about community outreach. In 2010, they started Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls Los Angeles, a non-profit dedicated to empowering girls through music education.

On their Facebook page, they say, “Every morning in the Raining Jane van, we raise our teacups to toast, ‘Welcome to your life.’ We aim to make tasty lemonade out of whatever it is we can find out there in the world … We are interested in good people who like to do good things. Those things include (but are not limited to): creating, music, having fun, helping others, dancing, eating delicious food, expressing gratitude, skipping, whistling, etc.”

Get further acquainted with Raining Jane at Rainingjane.com/home.rj.

 

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    What a cool find! These women have beautiful voices and such a sweet message. I love that they have reached out to help girls in LA to become more empowered.

  2. Krista says:

    How crazy! Don’t you just love what surfing the web can do. Makes me wonder how many people have searched for Raining Jane and came across Raising Jane! I love their empowerment for girls and women as well as there excitement for the good things people do.

  3. Janet Pulver says:

    MaryJane, there is also a celtic musical group called Raising Jane. Just thought I would share that. Thanks for sharing the women’s group Raining Jane.

  4. Nancy Coughlin says:

    Thanks for sharing! This group does stunning work, on stage and off. It is wonderful to hear a group who can actually be understood. Am so tired of loud, banging music that covers up the words (usually, just as well because some lyrics today are downright nasty!) and frantic antics on stage. So nice to be able to listen and actually hear the song and the music blend together so beautifully.

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