This good feel for the campus where my family came every summer and just outside of which I am now staying.

We’re on extended break now with my fathers burial service and several other things to tend to, so blogging will be catch as catch can–KSH.

Selimah Harmon is a freelance photographer and vet student at Tufts University beginning Fall 2016 where she will focus on wildlife medicine.

Check it out from our youngest daughter.

Check them all out.

A look at scenes from around the United States on Memorial Day, May 30, 2016

Take a glance at them all.

After a spike in reports of sexual extortion, or “sextortion,” across the Navy, including at the Naval Submarine Base, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is warning sailors not to engage in sexually explicit activities online.

Sextortion is a crime in which someone requests money in exchange for not releasing sexually explicit images or information.

Both the number of cases and incidents is growing, according to NCIS, which says that since August 2012, perpetrators have targeted at least 160 sailors and marines across the country, resulting in the loss of about $45,000.

Typically, perpetrators will request anywhere from $500 to $1,500.

Read it all from The Day (Hat tip:MY).

Enjoy them all and you can read more there

Any resemblance by actual personages to those in this photo is currently under dispute.

Hilarious–enjoy it all.

Enjoy them all (Hat tip: VM).

‘Harmonic produced this show exclusively for NASA TV UHD, using time-lapses shot from the International Space Station, showing both the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis phenomena that occur when electrically charged electrons and protons in the Earth’s magnetic field collide with neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere’ more

Use cogwheel lower right for higher definition video playback

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o’er me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time,

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
And tonight I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have a power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And comes like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882); this was one of Dad’s favorite poems which he used to listen to on the radio before he went to bed when he was growing up–KSH.

Francis Stuart Harmon Jr., affectionately known as “Stuart” or “Stu” by those closest to him, died at the Village at Summerville in South Carolina on April 2, 2016. He was 83.

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1932 he was the son of the late Francis Stuart Harmon and Waverly (Harwood) Harmon. His sister, Virginia Jameson, passed away on March 14, 1988.

He was married to Mary Ann (French) Harmon for 46 years until her death on March 8, 2007.

Following an education at Horace Mann School and Princeton University, Mr. Harmon served in the Navy on the Air Craft Carrier U S Hancock in the Pacific from 1955-1957, and later as an instructor at the Naval Academy from 1957-1959. After marrying Mary Ann French in 1959, he earned a Masters in Science at the University of Illinois in 1960.

He then taught chemistry at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey from 1960-1981, and afterward at the Charlotte (NC) Latin school from 1981-1989. He also wrote test questions for the Education Testing Service for the College Board Chemistry Achievement test and Advanced Placement exam.

As a boy Stu fell in love with the Silver Bay Association in the Adirondack Mountains in upper New York State. He and his wife became permanent residents there in 1995 after spending many summers in the area with his own family. He served the association in many capacities including as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Stuart was a well-loved father, grandfather, community servant and outdoorsman. He will especially be remembered as a passionate chemistry teacher who combined wry humor with a desire to coax a great intellectual curiosity out of those under his care.

Survivors include two sons, Kendall S. Harmon of Summerville, SC and Randall H. Harmon of Gaithersburg, Md., a nephew, John Jameson of West Chester, Pa., and a niece, Ann Jameson of Alexandria, Va. He also has three grandchildren, Abigail Harmon, Nathaniel Harmon and Selimah Harmon.

A memorial service followed by a reception will take place on April 9, 2016 at 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Summerville, S.C. The Rev. Craige Borrett will officiate and the Rev. Gary Beson will preach. A further service to give thanks for Stu’s life will take place in the summer of 2016 at the Silver Bay Assn. Chapel in Silver Bay, NY, at a date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that gifts be made to the Silver Bay Assn. Emp Alumni Fellowship Scholarship Fund.

A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jamesadyal.com.

ARRANGEMENTS BY JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 SOUTH MAIN STREET, SUMMERVILLE, SC 29483 (843) 873-4040.

My father died suddenly on Saturday morning, April 2, 2016. He was 83. The family would be grateful for your prayers.

In parallel, I got to know Kit’s parishioners who worship at St James’, as well as the group of people who support Kit – all full of faith, kindness, generosity of spirit, care and consideration for each other (and a knowledge of the Bible that puts me to shame!). I saw and experienced, first hand, the positive differences that the church can make in a local community, and the value of community that the church can offer to those that seek it.

And I found myself being steadily drawn back to God and my faith. There wasn’t any ”˜sudden moment’, just a growing recognition that I wanted this to be part of my life again. I now attend Kit’s church every Sunday when I remind myself to be considerate, loving and helpful to others; to be kind; to be generous”¦and I find this weekly reminder a very helpful ”˜pause’ in my busy life. And I have also experienced, first hand, the value and power of prayer.

I have enjoyed immersing myself in supporting Kit’s church, seeking to bring my business experience to bear to the PCC and our Finance and Buildings committees. We are currently wrestling with the usual realities of a roof that needs a major overhaul, and a need for funding!

Read it all and do not miss the photo and the further link for more.

Look through all.

Read it all.

Take the time to look through them all.

Members and visitors at All Saints, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife celebrated 125 years of worship in the lovely Church on the north of the island on Sunday 13 March.

The parish has a fascinating history. When the Church was opened for worship in 1891 it was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Sierra Leone, who also looked after the Gold Coast, the Yoruba District of modern Nigeria and other territories in West Africa! Today it is very much part of the Diocese in Europe, but aware of its history in the Canary Islands, once a crossroad of the world in the 19th century.

Read it all and do not miss the fantastic pictures.

Remember when we wrote about Iris Grace, the incredibly talented 5-year-old girl with autism who paints beautiful pictures? It turns out that she has a behind-the-scenes helper who’s also worthy of praise ”“ that’s Thula, her therapeutic cat.

Thula, who is almost 1 year old, is a Maine Coon. This breed is known as the intelligent and gentle giant of the cat world and though she’s still small and young, Thula does not disappoint. Her gentle and compassionate character is especially important for Iris, a young girl growing up with autism; “Thula has lowered [Iris’] daily anxieties in life and keeps Iris calm,” Iris’ mother, Arabella Carter-Johnson, told Bored Panda, “but equally has the effect of encouraging her to be more social. She will talk more to Thula, saying little phrases like ”˜sit cat.’”

Carter-Johnson, had almost given up on the search for a therapeutic animal companion for her daughter. When Iris happened to connect with a Siberian cat that her family would up cat-sitting for Christmas, however, she realized that she “just hadn’t found the right animal yet.” For more info about Thula and Iris, read more of Carter-Johnson’s interview with Bored Panda!

Fantastic photos–do not miss them and read it all.

These are lovely–look through them all.

Many Christians around the world are celebrating Epiphany and Theophany ”“ the day when the Three Kings of Orient arrived in Bethlehem to present Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh; and the celebration of the Baptism of Christ by John in the Jordan River ”“ while others are preparing to celebrate Christmas.

Read it all and enjoy all the photos.

Read it all.

“We’ve been praying for this little guy since October when we were matched with him for adoption from China. Since that time, the adoption process has been steamrolling along and we are now all set to travel and pick him up”¦on December 23!

It has been a blur these past few week, but we are ready and excited to make the trip across the globe and pick up the newest member of our family. And, yes, we are all going ”“ Tyler, Lanier, and all the kids, along with Tyler’s parents ”“ for the two week trek to China!…”

You can read the rest here and there.