My friend, Paul

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

I don't know what more I could add to this sentiment, also the title of this beautiful painting. I find it comforting that a man who lived from 1848 - 1903 had the same questions that we do today.

Circumstances of life have definitely changed. But whenever I find myself about to become unglued, I remind myself not to sweat the small stuff, and basically, except for a couple of very specific tragedies, it is all small stuff.

As a side note, Paul Gauguin thought this painting his masterpiece and he resolved to commit suicide at its completion. Fortunately, he was unable to accomplish his own demise. Life is really too good to pass up! Enjoy yours. Paul went on to live another 7 years after this painting was completed.

Have another beautiful day in Paradise!

Water, water everywhere.......

Give me a nice, crushed gravel or crushed clam shell driveway any day.

I have always disliked black asphalt driveways. In addition to their being aesthetically very unpleasant, now I have found another reason to dislike them.

When the ground is left in an unpaved state, rainwater seeps into the ground and replenishes the aquifer beneath us. Rainwater running off blacktop and other paved surfaces, runs into the streets and down into storm drains and out to sea.

In addition to diverting water from our aquifer system, this runoff water is the biggest source of pollution to our precious and beloved oceans.

In my town of North Kingstown, diverting even one inch of rainfall and allowing it to seep into the ground would save 52 million gallons during just one rainstorm! Incredible! If your roof gutter downspout flows onto your paved driveway, try using a downspout extender and diverting it to a landscaped area instead. Just keep it at least 4' from your house foundation.

Like every summer, soon we will be on odd/even watering system. So, please, get yourself a

rain barrel to catch some rainwater for watering gardens, maybe even start a rain garden in your yard, and whenever possible - no more blacktop!

Thanks to the North Kingstown Water Department for the info!

I started thinking about all this when, on the news recently, I heard that the next big shortage on earth will be water. A very sobering thought.