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Posts Tagged ‘Abraham Lincoln’

Memorial Day 2023

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2023| 7 Comments »

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday. For some people this day marks the unofficial beginning of summer, but for me, as someone who served for twenty years in the U.S Army, this day has a deeper meaning, a day to reflect on the lives of the brave men and women who died in the defense of this nation. Yesterday, Facebook reminded me of a posting I made on Memorial Day 2018, and I decided to share it again today in this blog posting.

“I was prompted this morning to read again the challenges to us in the Gettysburg Address, which seem so appropriate today as we remember the sacrifices of so many brave men and women. “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” ”

For those of you who might be curious, the photo below is from a November 2014 blog posting entitled “Rescue of an injured Bald Eagle” that documented the capture of an injured eagle by an officer of the Fairfax County Animal Control Services at my local marshland park. Some of the photos from that posting were reprised in Washington D.C. media outlets and the posting has been my all-time most popular posting with 3472 views.

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Memorial Day 2018

Posted in Birds, Inspiration, Nature, Patriotism, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on May 28, 2018| 8 Comments »

I was prompted this morning to read again the challenges to all Americans found in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, challenges that seem so appropriate and relevant as we pause in the United States on this Memorial Day to remember the sacrifices of so many brave men and women.
 “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Bald Eagle
(I captured this image of a hyper-vigilant injured Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in November 2014 shortly before it was rescued. You can learn more about the rescue and see additional images in a posting from that period entitled “Rescue of an injured Bald Eagle.”)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Five-legged horse

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on October 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

“How many legs does a horse have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”

My apologizes to Abraham Lincoln for changing the animal from a dog to a horse in a famous quote attributed to him, but that was what came to mind when I first brought up this image of a horse that appeared to have five legs. The tail is so long that it just about touches the ground and it seems to be almost as rigid as the legs.

Of course, as some of you know, I am a product of the suburbs, so I am happy that I can identify this animal as a horse. Earlier in the day I saw two bulls with horns, but when I took a closer look, one of them seemed to have udders. When we stopped to photograph a farmhouse on the drive home, I could identify sheep and cattle, then suddenly a group of emus came running onto the scene accompanied by a llama (or maybe it was an alpaca).

Is it any wonder I find identifying domestic animals confusing?

Five Legged Horse blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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