Hisbiscus floral photography + fall pumpkin scarecrow scene setting

I usually take pictures of my grandma's Hibiscus flowers, but I got a start off one of her Hibiscus plants that broke off, and within a couple of months it has already flowered.

And you know by now that I love sunsets, and I got to take a picture of beautiful pink and purple skies.

Here is the fall scene I rearranged as well. I continue to add more stuff to the fall scene. Soon it will become a Halloween scene come October.

Halloween fall scene painting by Cassie K

I hadn't painted since March, and had the sudden urge to do so yesterday. Enjoy!

War business & suppressing revolutions

"The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union left the political leadership of the United States unprepared. Military interventions had been undertaken in Korea and Vietnam with enormous loss of life, also in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and huge amounts of military aid had been given all over the world--in Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia--on the supposition that this was necessary to deal with a Communist menace emanating from the Soviet Union. Several trillion dollars had been taken from American citizens in the form of taxes to maintain a huge nuclear and nonnuclear arsenal and military bases all over the world--all primarily justified by the "Soviet threat."
According to Polifact, "the U.S. has 662 overseas bases in 38 foreign countries, which is a smaller number than the 900 bases Paul cited." And according to CounterCurrents.org, the United States has ,invaded approximately 70 countries as of June 2014. A few of the invaded countries were Kuwait, Panama, and Cuba.

"The fear of 'independent nationalism' was that this would jeopardize powerful American economic interests. Revolutions in Nicaragua or Cuba or El Salvador or Chile were threats to United Fruit, Anaconda Copper, International Telephone and Telegraph, and others."

Foggy evening after rain & sunset by CK

Right now, I believe the only thing that is important is family

Right now, I believe the only thing that is important is family. I went to my great grandmother's funeral today. Her visitation was yesterday, and I didn't feel sad for her--I was sad for my own grandmother because she was watching her mother die, watched her pass, and then watched her to be taken underground for burial. I was not sad for great grandma. I was sad for my grandma--that I held through the visitation and the funeral. I will probably hold her many more times because she is crying out of that sorrow. I was crying for my grandma that deeply felt the loss of her mother. It made me feel what could be the loss of my own mother. How could you live nearly 70 years knowing your mother, and let her go? How deeply does that pain go? In the future I will endure that feeling...who knows when...