politics Archives - Holly on the Lake

3 beautiful children in Tanzania — Innocence, love, joy, along a dirt road in Tanzania

I Wish You

Sun on your face, stars in your eyes
Friends to embrace, in gray or blue skies
May Nature abound in this and all seasons
She gives us the reasons 
To seek unbreakable joys
More than diamonds and toys
To make room in our hearts
For every being, domestic and wild
For every elder, grown-up, and child
No matter the place, religion or race
For we are all here on Earth by grace
                                                                                     HJ

Happy Holidays, Dear Friends, Family, and Neighbors Around the World

My 2025 started with a second trip to Africa. I loved every minute of almost three weeks in Kenya and Tanzania. Seriously. So many magnificent animals, fantastic museums, stunning landscapes, and beautiful people. From ultra urban to indigenous communities, we were greeted with smiles and grace. What a privilege to be welcomed into Maasai, Datoga, and Hadzabe villages where they have maintained the cultures they have treasured for centuries, living lightly on the Earth. While they learn from us, we have much to learn from them.

I have finally framed twenty-four of my thousands of photos and hung them at Burnhaven Library, where I also shared videos and insights, (despite my power point crashing ☹.) Stop in or let me know if you’d like me to meet you there to chat before I take the exhibit down on January 3rd. Being in a society so much less materialistic than ours only reinforced my life-long lack of enthusiasm for buying or selling. Yet I am truly honored when people connect with an image that also touched me and want to own it! So yes, my photos, calendars, and cards are for sale. I’ve recently been reminded that my book, Enchanted: Reflections from a Joyfully Green and Frugally Rich Life, is even more relevant and important now. (You can order it on my website or read it from the library.) I’m happy when people connect with my creations in any way. I’m sure I will continue to share online and by exhibiting and speaking when asked. How can I not, in a world in need of understanding, compassion, beauty, and joy?

Do I want to go back to Africa? Yes! But I am determined to focus on getting Greenie’s book out into the world. Have you heard? Greenie was here for an incredible tenth summer with me, and his mate Slimetta for a sixth. They really are miracle fishes whose story must be told. Since my submission to Lerner did not get a response, I’ll now read it with fresh eyes, make any changes that feel right, and start submitting to multiple publishers. Greenie and the Girl: The True Story of a Sunfish and his Human is a chapter book in his voice and mine covering our first nine years together. Since writing it, I realize I have several special stories that would make great follow-up picture books. I always have more ideas than time, but we’ll see what happens in this increasingly (and sadly) unpredictable world.

What is for sure is that I will continue to love connecting with the Earth’s waters, woods, and wildlife, wherever I am, as well as with her people. I will strive to speak truth and show beauty and be sustained by how blessed I feel, despite the weight of fear as unhealthy and irrational forces threaten people, the natural world, the gifts of science, the civility required for peace, the justice that democracy demands, and our precious democracy itself.

You, dear friends, and all people who believe that love is the greatest power and most worthy goal, are my joy and my hope. I wish an abundance of the same to you and all.

Holly

I forgot to take a selfie. That didn’t matter. I found myself in other determined and bright faces. I will remember standing there on the Capitol steps, as I remember standing against the Vietnam war and for civil rights. Flags of all kinds waved bravely in the cool, crisp wind and warm sun. The numbers were too vast to take in with my camera, eyes, mind or heart, but somehow putting all those words on all those signs seemed to loosen their grips on our aching souls. In bold and clever paint, blunt reality replaced promising lies. Creativity built camaraderie. Terrifying boogeymen became hilarious. Profound and profane words worked together for good. Scribbles on cardboard and works of art danced on sticks held high above 25,000 heads. Heads dizzied with cognitive dissonance, anger, and fear were welcomed into a community of kindness, clarity, action, and hope. They – WE – four million people across America and overseas – called out cruelty, corruption, and corporate control and called for compassion and rule of law.