POEM. The Land We Live In. Written by P. M. King (1870)  Friends and fellow-countrymen! we meet again,  To-day, as Irishmen, as countrymen!  We meet not in our own old Shamrock land,  But here, on the Pacific’s distant strand;  Not in our own Evergreen Isle, ‘tis true,  But here in a land that is always new,  Where Nature ever smiling seems to be,  Bounteous alike o’er Land and Sea.  This fertile soil, which you may truly call  The land of plenty, with liberty for all!  Here in this land, but once so nobly won  By Freedom’s first of heroes — Washington!  Ever sacred name! Thy banner when unfurled,  Proclaims at once — Freedom to the world!  (Excerpt) 

POEM. The Land We Live In.

Written by P. M. King (1870) 

Friends and fellow-countrymen! we meet again, 

To-day, as Irishmen, as countrymen! 

We meet not in our own old Shamrock land, 

But here, on the Pacific’s distant strand; 

Not in our own Evergreen Isle, ‘tis true, 

But here in a land that is always new, 

Where Nature ever smiling seems to be, 

Bounteous alike o’er Land and Sea. 

This fertile soil, which you may truly call 

The land of plenty, with liberty for all! 

Here in this land, but once so nobly won 

By Freedom’s first of heroes — Washington! 

Ever sacred name! Thy banner when unfurled, 

Proclaims at once — Freedom to the world! 

(Excerpt) 

Mimetic House, Dominic Stevens, architect. Dromahair, Ireland. The outside of the house is lined with semi-reflective glass, pitched downward, so that the walls of the building reflect the grass surrounding the structure. Stevens designed the house so that it reflects the changing of the seasons, thereby “mimicking” its environment.

Mimetic House, Dominic Stevens, architect. Dromahair, Ireland.

The outside of the house is lined with semi-reflective glass, pitched downward, so that the walls of the building reflect the grass surrounding the structure. Stevens designed the house so that it reflects the changing of the seasons, thereby “mimicking” its environment.

Tree Porn by David Anthony Hall: 

“It turns out I’m a tree pornographer! Well, at least according to Hannah at the ‘tree porn’ blog which outted me a couple of years ago. So I’ve done some research and I’m glad to say I’m safely on the soft-core end of the scale. The technical term is arborphilia and is described as having a special fondness for trees (soft core) The hard core end of the scale is referred to as dendrophilia which is sexual attraction to trees, often leading to sexual intercourse, often referred to among deviants as “going green”. This includes attraction to both gymnosperms and angiosperms. Some arborphiles are also attracted to bryophytes; however, this symptom is less frequent. Oftentimes, an arborphile will claim saplings as his or her own offspring. Arborphiles gave rise to the phrase “morning wood,” and can be observed in their natural habitat of national parks during nocturnal flights of fancy. This has to be my favourite forest in Ireland, on a recent visit the light wasn’t suited to photography so I shot some video instead. I try to visit as often as I can regardless of the weather or season.”