wednesday and charles darwin

continuing my armchair traveler series this week. (as i desperately search my photo files for color and inspiration). these flowery photos i snapped the new york botanical garden last may. the closest thing to traveling while staying local i think. these flowers are part of darwin's garden: an evolutionary adventure exhibit inspiring. colorful. cheerful. endlessly interesting exhibit, no longer showing unfortunately.

charles darwin's 200th birthday was just last week as you've no doubt heard in the news. ever since 8th grade. when we all had to memorize the last sentence of the last paragraph of his great work, origin of species. since then, i have admired mr. darwin. i have often considered getting those little fish with legs emblems for my car to show my support and devotion.

here is that last sentence:

there is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been orginally breathed (by the creator)* into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

* i learned it this way, with the creator in it although the first edition did not contain it, yet editions 2 through 6 did. lots of religious pressure then as now. his mother was from the (rather pious) wedgewood family (yes, the famous pottery wedgewoods) and he married emma wedgewood, his cousin. apparently he was rather concerned about shortchanging his 10 children genetically, due to marriage to a close relative. even charles darwin worried he hadn't done well enough by his children. happy birthday charles.