2007 is drawing to a close and I won't be here again so this is kind of like my epitaph...

Beauty in Death

Happy New Year's Eve all, may 2008 be a prosperous, peaceful and joyous year for everyone.

Take care all... I'll see you around.

Usky

I was walking in the ancient forest of Wentwood recently and enjoying the morning air, despite the dampness of the mist. At this time of year there's little to see in the way of wildlife, but I did have the company of a robin who chittered and chattered as I walked my path.

My ramble was also blessed by the sight of a roe deer among the trees. For the briefest of whiles I watched him, watching me, watching him... then in the way of capreolus capreolus he was gone. I wished I'd had a long lens with me to capture the moment; this was the first roe I'd ever seen in Wentwood Forest.

I thought my treat for the day had come and gone, but lo and behold I was wrong. In a clearing, high in a tree, lounging on a branch and observing was one of the infamous big cats we keep hearing about that roam our wild places.

Sightings of cougars, pumas, leopards and lynxes abound, but there I was in the presence of the king of beasts... I was in the company of a lion!

I've no idea what wag had lodged this stuffed animal on the branch, but it certainly made me smile... after all it's not every day you see a five foot stuffed lion in a Welsh tree is it?

I wasn't able to do the toy justice without a long lens, but I hope you'll find these rather grainy images amusing anyway. As the old saying goes, the things you see when you haven't a gun!

...there's now a special place to find and post good news stories. It's called The Good News Blog and is operated by my chum sula36, but you can be a co-author too.

Make every week a good news week by visiting and contributing to The Good News Blog.

Lonemum mentioned hedgehogs being out and about yesterday when I talking about seeing lots of squirrels prancing about in the trees. It got me thinking... I've hardly seen any hedgehogs this year and I really miss the one that used to visit the garden regularly.

I did get one chance to capture a little chap (or chapess perhaps?) as it strolled inquisitively around a meadow. Keeping very still with my camera in my hand it seemed to ignore me, although it never came within about 10 feet and could obviously smell me.

Cute ain't it?

I'm almost certain these little guys used to hibernate when I was a kid... or am I just imagining that?

I know I'm getting old and cranky, but I didn't think my mind had completely atrophied...

...and it's dark, wet and windy; not the sort of day you want to be going out anywhere if you can possibly avoid it.

So what plans do you folks have this weekend? I guess quite a few will be braving the weather and hitting the sales (if you have any money left that is), while others will be cheering on their favourite sporting sides. For the record, Usky doesn't plan to anything very much although I do have to make a foray into the wet and cold this a.m.

If you're short of ideas you can always pop over to A Little Something For The Weekend and try your hand at my weekend teaser.

Oh and the Christmas Special is still open too if you fancy a crack at that one.

Whatever you choose to do, have a great weekend everyone.

So we're getting towards the year's end and that means it'll soon be time for the annual ghost story... hope you've all got loads of good ideas for frightening tales?

Just in case you're struggling to find some suitable subject matter, I thought I'd offer you an image to build a horror story around...

Now, make sure you're sitting comfortably...

And have a large glass of some reviving on hand...

You're going to need it...

And don't say I didn't warn you...

Because I'm warning you now...

This is possibly the scariest thing you'll ever see...

It's far worse than creepy spiders...

Much more frightening than slithery snakes...

Truly obnoxious in fact...

Are you ready?

Sure?

Really, really ready?

It's not too late to back out you know...

You can still save yourself the pain...

Oh well okay then...

If you're absolutely sure...

Click HERE...

I warned you!

I don't know why, but my depressive episodes seem to come in cycles. Ten days ago I felt good... I was even starting to look forward to Christmas. Then last Tuesday I started to slip and by Wednesday I was really struggling. What set me off? I've absolutely no idea...

I hate this whole depressive thing and the way it makes me feel. Still enough of the moaning eh? Nobody needs a moaner at Christmas, although they do say it's a time for nuts!

See y'all again soon.

Hello everyone. Apologies for not being around the last few days; I've not been too well I'm afraid.

I'm really only here to post my Secret Santa entry for CJ...

I'll try and catch up with you all in the next few days. Have a great Christmas all.

I dared to enter the void
And wondered would I be annoyed,
But some things from within
Had my face in a grin;
With a singing-cow keyboard I toyed.

Yes I dared to enter the void
In reading my eyes were employed,
Poor CJ I note
Has been both cold and broke,
But now equilibrium’s enjoyed.

So I’ll wish CJ a time of good cheer
Celebrate with fine wine or beer,
In tubs of hot water
You know that you oughta
Sing carols for Blogland to hear!

Have a very Merry Christmas CJ and a Happy & Prosperous New Year!

I know, I know, I've posted lots of pictures of Tintern Abbey and you really don't want to see any more...

Well I'm going to post this image anyway because I quite liked it and although I wouldn't say it's anywhere near my best study of the abbey it is taken from a somewhat different aspect.

Right there you are, I promise not to post any more Tintern Abbey pictures until next year.

I was walking in the winter sunshine recently and enjoying the crispness of the day. To be fair, it was more than crisp and by the time I'd walked for an hour I was cold... bloody cold in fact.

Quickening my pace and swinging my arms to generate extra heat helped, but my fingers were quite numb and a drip appeared at the end of my nose.

The route I followed was circular and I was on the homeward leg... thoughts of a hot, strong coffee were foremost in my mind when a head appeared over a gate and two doleful eyes regarded me from a dirty, dejected face.

I offered a greeting and the head recoiled as though struck... damn, was I really that scary?

Backing off a pace or two I spoke quietly and with a smile in my voice. The head slowly reappeared and with pricked ears; those doleful eyes stared suspiciously in my direction.

I continued my soft dialogue and slowly raised my hand. The head immediately snapped backwards; they eyes opening wide with fright. Then she was gone... poor old girl. Someone had obviously treated her badly... abused her... why else would she be so timid?

...back in November, but somehow managed to get myself sidetracked.

These are images of Cardiff's memorial to the unsung heroes who gave their lives to ensure this country didn't starve during WW2. Seamen of the Merchant Service put their lives on the line day after day with little or no protection in some of the worst conditions imaginable. It is hard for many of us to appreciate just how hard life can be at sea, with or without a wolf-pack of submarines waiting to pick you off...

Sadly it doesn't look as though too many people remembered the Merchant Service this year, does it?

Please Click Me!

Lycklig jul alla!

To go with my Oldest Swinger post... here's an old Hook-er

Do swingers have more fun? According to Vanessa Burton they do...

In her book she says:

If you haven't already heard, swinging is the new and exciting recreational, alternative sexual lifestyle that consenting adults (mainly heterosexual couples) engage in. That's right, swingers (usually couples) hook up with other couples and swap partners at private parties and in their homes.

Well I don't know whether that's right or wrong... perhaps someone here might like to enlighten us?

This here's a real old girl and she's been swinging for years and years.

According to Trinity House, their task is to deliver a reliable, efficient and cost effective Aids to Navigation Service for the benefit and safety of all mariners, covering a sea area from Berwick upon Tweed on the North East Coast to the Solway Firth in the North West, and Gibraltar.

Trinity House provides a mix of nearly 600 visual, audible, electronic, fixed and floating aids to navigation, ranging from storm lashed lighthouses like Bishop Rock in the Western Approaches, Lightvessels and buoys marking the English Channel, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, to a modern differential global positioning service (DGPS).

This particular lightvessel is no longer in service:

The Helwick LV14 lightship, above, was last stationed off Rhossili, on the Gower Peninsula, in South Wales where she marked the treacherous sands off the western point of the Mumbles Peninsular.

The beam from the Light tower could be seen from 25 miles away and warned sailors of the Helwick Swatch, a treacherous sand bank between Carmarthen and Swansea at the entrance to the Bristol Channel.

As an ex-mariner I have always been grateful to the likes of Trinity House for providing warning lights and marking safe passages. This is particularly true at this time of year, when winter storms rage and waves the size of houses crash...

I guess a lot of us know the rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub, rhyme and many of us probably know about Jerome K. Jerome's book, Three Men in a Boat.

So my question of the day has to be...

Looking at this sculpture in Cardiff Bay...

And looking at the three characters in this tub...

The man, woman and child...

What's it all about

Feel free to click the images for a larger view.

Just one more piccy of the fountainy thing at Cardiff Bay, with the Wales Millennium Centre in the background...

The fountain really is extremely reflective; notice the blue smudge of sky reflected on the Millennium Centre.

I often find myself agreeing with Charles when he talks about modern structures being carbuncles... but not always.

For example I really like the fountainy thing at Cardiff Bay I posted earlier this morning, so here's another image of it.

Just the top portion against the sky this time and shot from the side with the light bouncing off the hard edge...

What do you guys think? Do you like it?

On this cold and frosty December Monday morning, I thought I'd post something to help brighten your day.... I hope anyway...

This is the mirror fountain at Cardiff Bay... bright ain't it?

Busy day tomorrow, so I'm off to watch Cranford before bed...

Enjoy your Sunday evening everyone!

I always find these guys fascinating... the worms that build these sand-houses keep a low profile while the tide is low, but pop their heads up to feed when the water covers them over.

You may want to click the image for a larger view.

Rusty colours on an old iron bar thingy that is.

Life without the occasional Rusty Usky bit just doesn't seem feasible somehow.

Yesterday I extolled the virtues of using your eyes to really look at the pebbles and rocks you find on beaches and in fields. This morning I'm telling you to look even closer at the stones you find around you.

We've probably all seen geodes in shops that sell crystals and the like and may well stand in wonder at the beauty of form and colour, but how many of us realise examples of geodes are all around us?

You won't always find geodes with amazing colours or crystals its true, but even so taking a close look into a crack or crevice in a rock may pay remarkable dividends.

Don't just glance and walk on when you're out and about... take your time and really look around you.

Have you ever looked at rocks on the beach? I mean really looked? Closely... not just glanced at them when you spread your beach towel, or look for a flat piece of stone to sit on.

I'm always amazed by the variety of colour and quality of texture. I dare say other beach users think me strange when they see me crawling about amid the pebbles, on my knees with my camera in my hand... or clambering over the larger rocks and peering into holes and crevices...

Sometimes you have to get up close to the rock's surface to see things clearly... or wait for the light to be right to see the best of the colours... take your time, you won't be disappointed.

Next time you visit the coast, or come across a rocky outcrop in a summer field take a moment and look closely; you may be surprised by the things you see.

A local history-type post this one, that may be of particular interest to fans of Alexander Cordell's novels.

The discovery of rich seams of coal and iron ore transformed much of the quiet, rolling hills of south east Wales in the nineteenth century. The iron and coal industries of south Wales were the powerhouse of Britain’s industrial revolution: they facilitated the relentless expansion of the empire, providing raw materials for transport, power and infrastructure.

Nantyglo, a small agricultural settlement in the eighteenth century, was the site of one of the largest ironworks in the country by 1820 – the local landscape transformed by pits, furnaces and mills. However, the decline came almost as quickly as it had arrived, and by the 1870s, ironmaking at Nantyglo was no longer profitable.

The Round Towers and former stable block at Nantyglo are all that remain of the sprawling complex that was once Nantyglo Ironworks. Built by the ironmasters in the face of industrial revolt in the first half of the nineteenth century, the fortified towers are an evocative remnant of the industry that shaped the rapid commercial development of a once-quiet countryside.

The Round Towers at Roundhouse Farm in Nantyglo, Wales, were built by industrialists Crawshay and Joseph Bailey, who, by the early 19th century controlled much of the iron resources in the region, including the massive iron works at Nantyglo located about a mile south of Brynmawr. Fearing that their workers would one day rise against them, in 1816 the Baileys built the last fortified tower in Britain as a place of refuge against a potential worker's revolt. Today these ruins stand as unique and important reminder of the region's industrial strife.

The Round Towers at Nantyglo stand as a permanent monument to the tyranny of the ironmasters Joseph and Crawshay Bailey and to the social conditions of the South Wales Valleys in the nineteenth century, which could so easily have developed into a bloody revolution.

Joseph and Crawshay Bailey were remarkable businessmen, but their profits were built not only from their deep knowledge of the iron industry, but also from a ruthlessness with their employees that today seems shocking. They built the Round Towers between 1816-1822 following serious rioting at Nantyglo, in an attempt to protect themselves and their property, and also to act as a symbol of strength against those who would dare threaten ironmasters with violence.

The major ironmasters represented a new class in Wales being English, Anglican and businessmen. Formerly the wealthy class in Wales was generally composed of absentee landlords of large estates living a long distance away from their workers and only seen during the hunting, shooting and fishing seasons. Although the ironmasters usually lived in a mansion close to the works, they were never really integrated into the life of the community and friction between master and worker was never far from the surface.

The period 1800-1900 was one of dramatic change in the whole of the South Wales coalfield area. In 1801 the population of the parish of Aberystruth, which includes Nantyglo, was just 805. By 1831 it had reached 5,992, the largest percentage rise in the whole of Britain. With such a dramatic increase in population and following new industrial developments it was inevitable that problems between ironmaster and workers, and often also problems between groups of workers, erupted into violence from time to time.

The working and living conditions of the workers were for much of the time appalling, with the level of wages rising and falling with the fluctuations in the price of iron. Row upon row of worker's houses were built as more employees were needed at the ironworks. The houses were without even the most basis sanitation. The houses were owned by the ironmaster, so if a worker was made redundant for any reason he also lost his home. Most workers therefore did not dare to rebel individually against the ironmaster.

The truck or company shop was another method of control over the workers, and an extra source of income for the ironmaster. Prices were often 20% higher than in local shops and during the frequent cash flow crisis at the works, goods from the company shop were given to the workers in lieu of wages. On payday the shopbooks and furnace books were checked and the balance, if any, was handed to the men. Debts under the system were almost unavoidable, so to maintain the family income lodgers were taken in, children were sent to work at the age of 7 or 8, or a small shop was opened in the house. In 1830, Monmouthshire magistrates were so worried that they petitioned the House of Commons demanding the abolition of company shops because the country's peace was threatened.

Trade Unions were illegal, but there is a strong tradition of organized workman's associations in South Wales. Friendly Societies were allowed by the ironmasters, so long as they remained benevolent, collecting dues to provide for sickness or death benefit for their members, but in time they inevitably became more radical as tension with the ironmasters grew.

One of the first attempts at an organisation by the workers to protect their trades was the infamous Scotch Cattle who first appeared in Nantyglo in 1822. Their main objective was "to prevent strangers from being taught the art of mining". During the early nineteenth century many Irishmen emigrated to Wales fleeing from the potato famine in their own country. They were so desperate for jobs that they were willing to work for a lower wage than the native Welshman. The ironmasters became very clever at turning the workers against one another, employing the desperate Irish to break strikes. The Scotch Cattle punished the immigrant workers for black-legging with threats to their property and even their lives, attempting usually with some success, to terrorise them into stopping work.

These then were the turbulent events which brought about the construction of the Nantyglo Round Towers, while such social and industrial upheaval was taking place throughout the South Wales coalfield. The Round Towers remain now as a striking monument to these troubled times.

No, it's the Sugarloaf!

Another image from yesterday's ramble up the Blorenge... the stalk with the pegged orange flag is a wind indicator as used by the hang-gliding types.

In the background to the left you can see the eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park and to the right the Sugarloaf, which stands on the far side of Abergavenny.

Thursday morning so nearly the end of the week; it’s cold again today, so wrap up warm if you have to venture out early.

Yesterday I went for a bit of a wander up the Blorenge; the Blorenge is a ‘mountain’ above Abergavenny for those of you that don’t know it.

The Blorenge is a mecca for hang-gliding enthusiasts and hill walkers; it is also a site of special scientific interest. For me though it was just somewhere to go to try and blow away the odd cobweb. A place to make me feel more human.

I took this photo as I approached the top and thought I’d share it with you, by way of a change from all those boring bits of beach I keep bothering you with.

I don't know if it's my imagination, but there seems to have been a change in the sort of rubbish you find on British beaches these days... or maybe I just don't remember the beaches being covered in bottles and cans when I was a child?

Even so, other people's waste can sometimes make a nice study.

I'm so tired these days... getting past 9:00 o'clock seems to be a major problem.

Have a great Tuesday evening all.

Here’s a nice thing...

Well I think it’s a nice thing...

You might not think it’s a nice thing...

After all it is just a piece of wood...

But I think it’s a nice thing...

Well? What do you think?

I've heard th term 'fish-face' used as both a term of endearment and an insult...

How about a slap in the face with a wet fish? I'll leave you to decide which that might be....

Get a grip people!

Mind you don't fall off...

No, not the great Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton on this occasion, but a small jellyfish of some description caught and preserved for all time in rock at Ogmore beach.

What do you mean, who the hell is Jelly Roll Morton? Jelly Roll was a seminal figure in the birth and development of jazz in the early decades of the last century. You’ll find loads of stuff about him on the net; you might want to just check this out.

Goodnight all

I really wasn't going to blog today; no particular reason, I suppose I'm just feeling a bit on the low side and don't have anything much to say.

Anyway it's been a wonderful day here in the Principality, weather-wise and I took myself off to the coast to walk on a beach and suck up some ozone.

I rarely go anywhere without a camera and today was no exception; perhaps unusually I only took 80 odd photographs. Things being as they are I've been sorting through and thought I'd just share the odd or two with you before I head off for bed.

Impossible for me to have a day at the seaside without finding something rusty.

Salt is a basic necessity for life. We all need it to exist... without salt we die.

Recently, Michelin-starred chefs proclaimed Welsh sea salt one of the world’s top five products... this raises a question in my mind. If Welsh sea salt is so good, wouldn’t it make sense to reopen the old salt works at Port Eynon?

Of course it’ll take a bit of renovation and investment, but the rewards could be considerable....

Anyone up for a partnership?

So many beautiful shapes...

It's another horrible morning here in Wales so it doesn't look as though I'll be going anywhere much today.

I've been having a lazy morning; instead of being productive I've been stooging around reading blogs, checking news, looking at interesting things I'd like to buy if only I had a bottomless money-pit...

Anyway I guess it's time I posted something here and since it seems some of you are enjoying my coastal images I thought I'd share one of my favourite places with you.

This is the most photographed part of Gower apparently. The image shows The Worms Head from Rhossili bay; The Worms Head, stretches out to sea and becomes an island when the tide comes in.

I've always loved this part of Wales.

I plan to spend the next hour or so in the kitchen concocting a delightful meal before settling in to an evening of slobbing out in front of the TV... so why did you need to know this? Because it means I’m not going to be here, that’s why.

Anyway I thought I’d end my Blog-day the way I started by posting a second wavey/beachy image.

Have a lovely rest-of-Saturday folks... I’ll catch up with you all tomorrow.

Well fame anyway.

I'm just blowing my own trumpet here really because Kiki has chosen some of my photos to include in her Photos of the Day blog. Am I feeling pleased as Punch? You bet I am.

Thanks for the lovely compliment Kiki.

Come on then, let’s be having you, rise and shine. It’s a brand new day.

Here’s a little something to freshen you up on a Saturday morning.

Right, I’m popping off to post you a weekend teaser then I’ll be back to check our blogs.

On these cold, wet winter days we all need a bit of cheering up don't we... I find thinking thoughts of warm, sunny summer days help a lot... especially when I can picture beaches like this one on Skiathos.

I wonder if it's warmer there now than it is here? Anyone fancy finding out?

Unzip a Banana!

Did you know the banana plant is a herb?

Did you also know that like people, the banana has a head, eyes, hands and fingers?

The banana is a sex symbol, a star of slapstick comedy and a sign of madness.

Bananas are one of the most delicious tropical fruits, nutritious and easy to eat.

The banana plant could provide you, if you needed, with shelter, a dinner plate, a sun-shade and a basic raft.

Not quite all things to all men, but not far from it...

So whatever happened to that wonderful slogan, "Unzip a Banana!"?

Gotcha!

I posted an image this morning in my piece Usky's Wildlife Pond of a section of the 'lake' at Tredegar House in Newport.

While I'd love to have the space to create a really large wildlife pond, I'm not at all sure I'd want to be the owner of this house.

Tredegar House

This is Tredegar House, home to one of the greatest of Welsh families, the Morgans - later Lords Tredegar - until they left until 1951.

The Morgans were present at Tredegar House for more than 500 years; perhaps the most famous of the Morgans was Sir Henry Morgan, the privateer who made a fortune in the Carribean as a leader of buccaneers. Sir Henry may be the best known Welsh 'pirate'; who said crime doesn't pay!

The house, together with ninety acres of parkland, was purchased by Newport Borough Council in 1976 and is now open for public tours.

I thought I'd give you all a special treat this morning; aren't I generous?

As you may know, old Usky has a bit of thing for cold water fish. My pride and joy are my family of Ghost Koi, which seems to have increased in size this year... and I don't just mean the bigger ones have expanded, although they have!

For colour I have various Comets, Orfe and Shubunkins... there are Tench too, but they just look like large black submarines lurking in the depths...

I refer to my pond as a mini-wildlife haven. Birds of various kinds use it daily and there was a hedgehog who used to come and drink, but I haven't seen him for a while.

Oh and the amphibians; a family of Common Toads moved into the rocky bank last year and the pond is shared by Smooth Newts and the occasional passing frog. There used to be a resident frog, but he seems to have moved on since the toads moved in... I think they beat him up!

Of course my pond is only a few thousand gallons and makes a lovely garden feature, but if I had my way (and money was no object) I'd have one that looks like this...

Have a great day y'all!

I've blogged these guys before, but thought them worth of another outing so decided to post a couple more images of this sculpture.

Three Romans and a Celt

Entitled Three Romans and a Celt, the sculpture appears to show three men and a dog or small bear. I've no idea what it's all about, but one of the Romans is carrying wine and another a loaf of bread... they all look very friendly though... especially with the animal!

Christmas. People either love it or loathe it... Or maybe like me you’re one of those odd folk who are indifferent to all the commercial bullshit and just enjoy the simple side of Christmas?

Commercialism aside, the one aspect of Christmas I detest is the movies that are dredged up year after year for our tele-visual pleasures...

I know it’s a classic and something many of you may enjoy, but a particular pet hate of mine is the Wizard of Oz.... so in the spirit of the season and by way of a pre-emptive strike...

Come along now, I expect everyone to join in....

Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road Follow, folllow, follow, follow, follow the yellow-brick road Follow the yellow-brick, follow the yellow-brick Follow the yellow-brick road You're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz You'll find he is a Whiz of a Wiz if ever a Wiz there was If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was the Wizard of Oz is one because Because, because, because, because, because Because of the wonderful things he does You're off the see the wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Phew! Thank God that's over....

...so I'm off for a long soak in a hot bath before bed.

G'nite all!

...a Maritime Usky moment...

But what is bloody big hook like this one doing in a field next to a sheep farm?

I hadn't originally planned posting these, but somehow it seems remiss to leave Tretower without posting at least a few images of the outsides of the building.

As you can see the external timbers are in almost as good condition as the internal structures. Some have obviously been replaced, but most are original.

The brick and stonework is quite impressive too.

And how about these windows? Beautiful...

A few images from inside Tretower Court. Not hugely interesting unless you're into old buildings, history, etc.

Standing against the splendid backdrop of the Black Mountains, this remarkable medieval country house is one of the rare and glorious survivals that Wales has to offer.

Restored courtyard house with origins in the fourteenth century. Rebuilt by Sir Roger Vaughan in the fifteenth century. Magnificent timberwork survives in the northern and western ranges, with later Classical-style windows dating to the 1630s.

Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

I thought this was interesting, if not exactly seasonal. The photograph (below) shows a display table inside the fourteenth century house at Tretower Court and depicts 'typical' fare for an Elizabethan meal.

While there is no meat displayed (for obvious reasons) I was surprised by the amount and variety of herbs and spices on the table. It hadn't occurred to me for instance that our Elizabethan forbears were eating so much garlic.

There were herbs I’d never heard of, like Avens, Dittany, Orach and Pellitory and many more that I’d only come across in medicinal context previously.

All-in-all it seemed to me those Elizabethans with a little spare cash ate very well and extremely healthily, rather like the well-heeled of today; nice to know some things don’t change isn’t it?

The weather here yesterday was wet and windy... thunderstorms, hail... the lot.

Thoroughly miserable! A really great start to December...

This morning’s not much better. No hail today, but torrential rain and strong winds. The lid from the dustbin flew past the dinning room window a little while ago so I was forced outside to retrieve it.

That’s when I noticed the strawberries...

Yes that’s right, strawberries... outside... in December!

How crazy is this?

All images are clickable for a closer look should you wish it.

Moonlit monuments bring peace
Standing quiet beneath the trees
In ghostly shades of black and white
Stolid sentinels in the night...

In moonlight death descends to stand
In regimented rows on land
Once used to grow the staff of life
Now monument to father, son or wife...

"And a youth said, Speak to us of Friendship.
And he answered, saying:
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own
mind, nor do you withhold the "ay".
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all
expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as
the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not
love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know the flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

This extract is taken from "The Prophet", by Kahlil Gibran