His Grace Blesses our World ~ Mandela at 91 ~July 18th, 2009

South Africa Former President Nelson Mandela celebrates his 91st birthday in Houghton, Johannesburg. Mandela, South Africa's first black president, celebrated his 91st birthday with the launch of a special day for good deeds to be done in his name.

(AFP/HO/Debbie Yazbek)

Nelson Mandela launches a global tradition I hope will live forever in celebration of his birthdate.

To honor him, for his ninty first birthday, his world wide admirers were encouraged to give one minute for each of the sixty-seven years he spent in prison, in volunteer service on July 18th.

A volunteer, right, leads children from the Children of Fire organisation as they sing 'Happy Birthday' for former President Nelson Mandela at their shelter, in Johannesburg, Saturday July 18, 2009. Mandela called on people to donate time (67 minutes) to good causes in celebration of his 91st birthday. Mandela spent 67 years fighting apartheid in South Africa. The Children of Fire cares for children who have been injured and disfigured by fire.(AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

A volunteer, right, helps a child translate a braille birthday greeting for former President Nelson Mandela at the Children of Fire organisation shelter, in Johannesburg, Saturday July 18, 2009. Mandela called on people to donate time (67 minutes) to good causes in celebration of his 91st birthday. Mandela spent 67 years fighting apartheid in South Africa. The Children of Fire organisation cares for children who have been injured and disfigured by fire.(AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

Volunteers exercise rescued dogs at the Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), on the edge of Soweto, Saturday Saturday July 18, 2009. Former South African president Nelson Mandela called on people to donate time (67 minutes) to good causes in celebration of his 91st birthday. Mandela spent 67 years fighting apartheid in South Africa.(AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

Volunteers load apples for redistribution to programs serving hungry families as part of Mandela Day in New York. Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, celebrated his 91st birthday with the launch of a special day for good deeds to be done in his name.(AFP/File/Don Emmert)

More Lessons from The Nature at It's Best File~

“These little bunnies, about 6 days old, were attacked by a dog and orphaned. Two out of the litter of five did not survive, and these three were not doing very well.”

“Noah is a non-releasable, one-legged homing pigeon/rock dove that is in the rehab center. Noah kept going over to the bunny cage and looking in—even sleeping in front of the door to the cage.”

”Then suddenly, there were only two bunnies in the cage. To everyone’s surprise there was the tiny bunny under Noah’s wing sound asleep! That little bunny rabbit had crawled through the cage, preferring a featherbed!”

When one of them moves and they start sticking out here and there, he gently pushes them back under him with his beak! It is a beautiful and amazing thing to see.”

“Now, they are all together and the bunnies are doing GREAT. When the bunnies scoot underneath Noah’s feathers, he carefully extends his wings out to surround them and then they snuggle.

Condi Gets a Namesake!

....Or...Would it be a Namesnake?

A couple in Beirut, who have no children but are living happily with their 13 snakes in a two-room apartment east of Beirut, have named one of their snakes 'Condoleezza' in a tribute to former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, seen here in January 2009.

(AFP/File/Mark Ralston)

Sibling rivalry at it's best! A Lesson from the Pros

I love Venus' last statement about her sister, in the article below~

Sept. 2008 at the U. S. Open

Serena Williams Wins Wimbledon 2009

Serena Williams serves during her victory over her sister Venus in the Wimbledon final.

Williams beats her defending champion sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 to win her first singles Wimbledon title in six years.

By Chuck Culpepper 8:55 AM PDT, July 4, 2009

Reporting from Wimbledon, England --

Heightening a second, separate phase of Grand Slam dominance in a long and still-burgeoning career, Serena Williams won Wimbledon today and completed a Serena Near-Slam.Six years after she held all four Grand Slam titles at age 21 and fully six years after her previous singles Wimbledon title, Williams holds three of the four most coveted prizes -- and almost the fourth -- after defeating her two-time defending champion sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2, on a sunny, blustery day on Centre Court.

Her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam title came an hour and 27 minutes into a quirky match with funny bounces and inconvenienced service tosses, when a fourth match point found Venus ripping a backhand into the net. As Serena prepared to answer from behind the baseline, she instead fell to her knees and bent over backward in the elation of a wait curtailed, before rising to run up and hug her older sister.



"I feel like I shouldn't be holding the trophy," Serena said on court afterward in an allusion to her sister's five-title dominance here, yet her intent across the last 12 months has suggested otherwise.

Wimbledon 2008

Ever since a loss to Venus in the 2008 final left her reeling, she has blasted to a U.S. Open title, an Australian Open title and a Wimbledon title in which she became only the second player in the Open Era (after Venus) to win after running across a match point, the one she dug out in a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 semifinal win over Elena Dementieva. She also came within shots here and there of surpassing a French Open quarterfinal with Svetlana Kuznetsova that would have left Serena a favorite to win the title from there.

Venus wins the Wimbledon crown in 2008

Yet as Serena found her sister in a second straight Wimbledon final and fourth overall, she found a player whose tear through the tournament had been so sublime that it had extended her consecutive-sets run to 34. In a semifinal on Thursday, Venus roared through Dinara Safina in the most lopsided win over a No. 1 player, according to WTA Tour records, requiring only 51 minutes.


After 51 minutes today , Venus found herself embroiled in a first-set tiebreaker with an opponent considerably upgraded from the thicket against Dementieva, and one who beat Venus in two tiebreakers to win a stirring U.S. Open quarterfinal last September. Adding to her usual role of big-point prowess, Serena played exceptionally well in the tiebreaker, dominating most points and winning on a backhand lob that curled across the court and smacked down in the corner.


It ranked among the 25 winners Serena hit to Venus' 14 to go with the unexpected 12-2 edge in aces, plus the winning of 31 of 33 first-serve points.


"She had an answer for everything," Venus said on court afterward.

Williams sisters take opposite routes to Wimbledon final rematch

Reporting from Wimbledon, England --

With stunning precision and the gutsy survival of imprecision, respectively, Venus and Serena Williams roared into another all-Williams Wimbledon final today in semifinals that awed the Centre Court crowd for contrasting reasons.

Where Serena Williams fought through the longest women's semifinal since pros began playing at Wimbledon in her 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 marvel against Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams blasted through the most one-sided women's semifinal in 40 years in her 6-1, 6-0 demolition of No. 1 Dinara Safina.

"I have so much experience on this court," Venus said, a matter that will extend on Saturday when she plays her eighth Wimbledon final against her younger sister's fifth in their fourth final together and second in a row.

Her semifinal with Safina took 51 brisk minutes and featured such ferocious accuracy that Venus wound up with the dreamy ratio of 16 winners to one unforced error. She extended her consecutive-match win streak at Wimbledon to 20 and her consecutive-set streak to 34, just six behind the 40 Martina Navratilova strung together between the 1982 final and the 1985 final.

When Safina's last hopeless return plunked into the net, Venus pumped her left fist gently and trotted to the net, her understated demeanor reflecting the severity of the romp. She had spent most of her afternoon not playing but watching her sister's 2-hour, 49-minute tussle with the upgraded, 27-year-old Dementieva, the Beijing Olympic champion.

Said Venus to the BBC immediately thereafter, "To watch all that drama was so difficult."

`The Williams Way' still rules Wimbledon

By Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
Updated: 06/30/2009 11:47:41 PM PDT

WIMBLEDON, England -

Her 19th consecutive victory at the All England Club already wrapped up, Venus Williams grabbed a seat and watched younger sister Serena win easily to reach the semifinals, too.
Afterward, Venus and Mom, Oracene Price, strolled out of Centre Court arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing.

Sure is fun to be a Williams at Wimbledon.

Five-time champion Venus beat No.11-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-1, 6-2, before two-time champion Serena defeated No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-2, 6-3, a pair of overwhelming performances in 90-degree heat Tuesday that moved the siblings closer to another all-in-the-family final at Wimbledon.

"They are both playing super-well. They're playing `The Williams Way,"' said their father, Richard Williams, who kick-started their careers in Compton. "And when you're playing `The Williams Way,' it's very difficult for anyone to touch you."

Particularly at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, where a Williams has won seven of the past nine championships.

If No.3 Venus gets by No.1 Dinara Safina of Russia in Thursday's semifinals, and No.2 Serena eliminates No.4 Elena Dementieva of Russia, the siblings would meet Saturday in their second consecutive final at the All England Club and fourth overall.

It also would be the eighth all-Williams Grand Slam championship match; Serena leads, 5-2.

"I would love it to be a Williams final," Venus said, "and so would she."

They are competitors, of course, but also form a team in many ways: The sisters are sharing a house during this tournament, practice with each other and have reached the women's doubles quarterfinals together.

"We've got it all figured out at this point," Venus said.

She is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles; Serena wants to add to the trophies she earned in 2002-03 by beating her sister in the finals.

At least one person has no doubt there will be a rematch Saturday.

"It will be. I'll go home because I can't watch," their father said. "I think they both definitely make it to the final."