"... But to be able to fall down in such a way that the same second it looks as if one were standing and walking, to transform the leap of life into a walk, absolutely to express the sublime in the pedestrian - that only the knight of faith can do - and this is the one and only prodigy."

A truly tragic event occurred yesterday (December 25th) at one of my very favorite places in the world. Tatiana, a Siberian tiger living at the San Francisco Zoo, escaped her enclosure and attacked and killed a 17-year-old zoo visitor. She then attacked two other zoo visitors, leaving both seriously injured. Police arrived a short time later and shot Tatiana, killing her. My family and I go to the San Francisco Zoo every year in the days after Christmas. I've been going to this zoo since I was a very little girl. It's a beautiful, peaceful zoo. The most tranquil place I've ever been to. The photo above is a napping Sumatran tiger that also lives at the San Francisco Zoo. It is not Tatiana. I took this photo in the days after Christmas, last year. I posted it a long while ago. It is a bit further back in my photo archive. ... My thoughts go out to the family of Carlos Sousa, the young man fatally wounded while visiting the San Francisco Zoo, yesterday. I am sorry for your loss.

More leaves. I'm surrounded by leaves. I live in a treehouse and leaves are all I ever see. Leaves, leaves, leaves ....

The stones are semi-precious. The child holding them is the most precious of all things. My G.

"Though they say Valhalla ain't what it used to be Still I reckon that it can't be all that bad It can't be any worse than a world without a friend"

"I have already developed my ability to find what is broken and irredeemable." From 'Squandering The Blue' by Kate Braverman