TV Quote of the Day (‘All in the Family,’ With Archie Assessing His Effect on People)

Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O’Connor): “Every time I come near people they shut up like I was the Spanish Imposition, or something.”— All in the Family, Season 4, Episode 15, “Edith's Christmas Story,” original air date Dec. 22, 1973, teleplay by Austin Kalish, Irma Kalish and Don Nicholl, directed by John Rich

Quote of the Day (Book of Ezekiel, on God, the Good Shepherd)

“I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”—Ezekiel 34: 15-17

The image accompanying this post is The Good Shepherd, created by the German Renaissance painter and printmaker Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553).

Photo of the Day: Pineapple Lily, Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA

In late August, wanting to see parts of the Berkshires I had not encountered on prior vacations over the past two decades, I made it a point to visit the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA. On its 15 acres of cultivated land, this not-for-profit institution has been educating visitors on the great variety of plant life since 1934.

This particular image I photographed that late summer afternoon is the pineapple lily (Eucomis). Only 12 to 15 inches tall, this plant is extremely frost tender. But as you can see, it is most unusual and fascinating to behold—a little bit of the tropics somehow set down in the otherwise rocky soil of Western Massachusetts.

Quote of the Day (‘Zorba the Greek,’ on True Happiness)

"This is true happiness: to have no ambition and to work like a horse as if you had every ambition. To live far from men, not to need them and yet to love them. To have the stars above, the land to your left and the sea to your right and to realize of a sudden that in your heart, life has accomplished its final miracle: it has become a fairy tale.” ―Greek man of letters Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957), Zorba the Greek (1946)

The image accompanying this post comes from the 1964 adaptation of the Kazantzakis novel, starring Anthony Quinn—pictured here—in the title role.

Photo of the Day: Lungwort, Hancock Shaker Village, MA

Lungwort is a hardy, versatile perennial used, among other things, to treat stomach and intestinal ailments. These were among the plants prized for their medical uses, I learned while visiting the Shaker village settlement in the Berkshires town of Hancock, MA, in late August.

Tweet of the Day (Kate Hall, on Her Savings From Black Friday)

“I don't care what anybody says, my six hours of Black Friday shopping saved me at least $7.50.”—Blogger Kate Hall, tweet of Nov. 27, 2015