Incredible Nature.....

No, these are not pictures from the Planet Mars, but from the hiking of my granddaughter Maureen when she climbed to the top of the mountain with her friends.

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level.

Mars rover sends first photos

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has beamed back an incredible images of its surroundings, showing a spectacularly clear view of the enormous mountain that it will clamber up in the next few years. 'Curiosity' had its historic landing on Mars late on Aug. 5.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity snapped this picture of Mount Sharp with its front Hazard Avoidance camera, or Hazcam. The photo was released by NASA on Aug. 6, 2012.

Pianos under the Sky...

During my son, George's visit we took a ride few days ago to Salem's Minto Island State Park. We were very surprised to see that a jazzy piano was sitting on the road side, at the edge of a huge dog park. The puzzle was soon solved by this information from the net:

‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ was first commissioned by Fierce Earth of Birmingham, UK, in 2008. With 15 pianos distributed across the city over three weeks it was estimated that over 140,000 people across Birmingham played with or listened to music from the pianos. Since this time ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ has now reached over five million people worldwide. Each new city that commissions the work becomes part of this growing international legacy.

Play Me, I’m Yours is an artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram and has been touring internationally since 2008. Located in public parks, streets and squares, the pianos are available for any member of the public to play and enjoy.

News of the project spread internationally and since then, the artwork has continued to tour the world, successfully acting as a high profile launch event for numerous major international festivals, including the Pan Am Games, 2010 European Capital of Culture, San Jose Biennal, Sydney Festival, City of London Festival and Barcelona’s Maria Canals International Music Competition.

Disrupting people’s negotiation of their city, the pianos are aimed to provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape.

The pianos have also levered many hidden musicians from out of the woodwork. It has become apparent that there are hundreds of pianists out there who don’t have access to a piano to play. ‘Play Me I’m Yours’ provides access to musical instruments and provides musicians an opportunity to share their creativity by performing in public.

In cities like London, hundreds of perfectly good working second hand pianos get thrown away each year. Jerram transports dozens of these pianos annually to countries where the instrument is rare and more valued, for the public to enjoy them. After being presented as an installation artwork the pianos are then commonly donated to schools and community groups within the area.

Duluth cleans up as Minn. floods persist to south

In this aerial photo, floodwaters surround the Burning Tree Plaza shopping area in Duluth, Minn., Wednesday afternoon, June 20, 2012. Residents evacuated their homes and animals escaped from pens at a zoo as floods fed by a steady torrential downpour struck northeastern Minnesota, inundating the city of Duluth, officials said Wednesday. (AP Photo/The Duluth News-Tribune, Bob King)

Memorial Day's weekend of 2012

Last night the sky above my house turned to crimson and black before a huge lightning and thunderstorm.

Happy Mother's Day!

On May 10, 1908, the first official Mother’s Day celebration took place at Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two white carnations were given to every Mother in attendance. Today white carnations are used to honor deceased Mothers, while pink or red carnations pay tribute to Mothers who are still alive.

"The Supermoon"

A runner makes his way along a trail on a butte in front of the "Supermoon" at Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona May 5, 2012. A "Supermoon" was lighting up Saturday's night sky in a once-a-year cosmic show, overshadowing a meteor shower from remnants of Halley's comet. The Moon was especially big and bright since it reached its closest spot to Earth at the same time when it was in its full phase. /NASA/