July 14, 2026 a thought for today, An hour of play discovers more than a year of conversation. Portuguese Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge yesterday was “breakfast”. I cooked myself and plate of sunny side up egg and toast just for this shot, well not just for...I was hungry too and eggs sounded good. My eggs don’t always, as a matter of fact rarely, come out this good looking.

The second upload was “my choice” and is one of a series of “weeds”. This one is along my chain link fence, I is difficult to cut down with some of it included in the chain links.  

The last assignment was “stripes”. I was out on the porch looking for a flag one of the neighbors may have left up. I didn’t see any but thought about the awning on the house across the street and decided to use it. 

Life today. I am enjoying these quiet days. I have been “playing” around using searches to find answers to things that seem to pop into my mind as I am writing or “fact” checking some of the quotes I make in parts of the writing. One other area of “searching” is looking up images in my archives that I want to use in my annual calendar. Using the archives also for the photos I want put on the gallery wall at church. In most lot looks that may be “work” but the ones I am playing with are interesting, educational and even relaxing for me. 

With these “quieter” days I have been making a little head way into “spring cleaning”for a few minutes each day, getting rid of some things that should have been “gone” a long time ago. One of the big things has been cleaning out the chest freezer, another has been drawers that are where I have collected storage container lids that seem to have no bottoms and old utensils that I have three or four of the same type. I think I am making a dent but a dent seems to be the extent of it so far. There are some things I don’t need or use any longer. Some are in good condition but I don’t need to keep them any more. I just don’t know quite what I want to do with them. I surely don’t want to throw most of them out. I don’t know how to get them together to take somewhere to donate. There are some that have sentimental value, maybe the next time I come across them I will make a decision and stick to it. 

The weather seems to be a touch less hot but that is just a touch and not for very long. It is supposed to be in the 90 to 100 degrees for the next few days. 

There is noting on my agenda for the next few days. I guess it is a sort of staycation. It certainly isn’t a vacation, it has been so long since I had one of those that I can’t remember what they feel like. They were far and few between. But there are the memories, not quite the same thing but it is what it is.

The word to ponder today is begin. If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties. Sir Francis Bacon. Who begins too much accomplishes little. German Proverb. Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly. Thomas H. Huxley. Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning. John Henry Cardinal Newman. Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew. Saint Francis de Sales. Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. Demosthenes. The beginning is always today. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Charity begins at home. Terence. From the end spring new beginnings. Pliny the Elder. When we are born we die, our end is but the pendant of our beginning. Manilius. Repentance may begin instantly, but reformation often requires a sphere of years. Henry Ward Beecher. Education begins a gentleman, conversation completes him. Dr. Thomas Fuller. Beginning is easy - Continuing is hard. Japanese Proverb. Where the telescope ends the microscope begins, and who can say which has the wider vision? Victor Hugo. The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security. Thomas Paine. 

Article summary. I think most of us know that pets help humans with stress and other moods. This article brings up the point that plants can too. I think we can have a look at this view on the subject. The title is How plants can change your state of mind. Sven Batke, Lecturer in Biology, Edge Hill University. At theconversation.com. It opens by mentioning how people see “pretty flowers and trees” but other than that there is apparently little if any thought to any other kind of connection. The article says that there is “scientific evidence” that show there is a role in how they affect our mental state including depression and other mood changes even touching of how it may decrease physical illnesses. Some studies have shown therapy with plants in PTS symptoms and creativity capabilities. There may be a sense of “well being” with a potted plant on a desk, a houseplant in a workplace that “seems to allow you to think more clearly”. This statistic from one study of plants interested me, it showed a 20 percent increase in recall. They say that can happen due to a reduction in carbon dioxide that improves air quality. As the article moves on it mentions that the “connection with plants” has changed over the last 11,000 years. First the reliance was on food and in many cases medicine. Another interesting point in the article is that by 2050 “seven out of ten people “will be living in cities and access to plants in their natural environment will become more challenging....disconnected from nature”. The article is coming to the point of saying humans have “biophilia” which means an “innate human tendency to seek connections with nature and other living things”, thank goodness to “other living things” in my opinion. So in reality plants increase endorphin a hormone called a happiness hormone. The feel of flowers, the scent and the tastes of edible plants have tantalized “our senses throughout human history”. Toward the end of the article it is mentioned that in recent years there has been an increase in plant sales. Two things in the ending sentence is something to share “plants aren’t a luxury” and in many languages the word “plants” translates to “those who take care of us”.

Photos in my life today 

The first challenge today is “slice”. This is from the archives since I don’t have and cake or pies around to take a slice from right now. 

The next upload is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “weeds”. This one has taken up residence near my garage doors. 

My last assignment for today is “keys”. My son, Bob, had a “thing” about
keys and for Ohio State so I used a set of his keys for this one. I have kept a lot more keys from his collections as keep sakes.

I think soup and sandwiches for dinner. 

Joy

there is a technique in Photoshop that allows the background in a photo to be changed, I used the technique in this photo. It has been uploaded to a Fine Art America contest and my Fine Art “shop”

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce

 July 12, 2026 a thought for today, Don't leave the high road for a short cut. Portuguese Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge was “a baked good”. This one of my biscuits with grape jelly on it along with, low sugar of course. 

The next assignment was “blue or golden hour”. The night before I made
myself a note to check the sky as soon as I got up. I just made it. Sunrise was 6:30 and I was up at 6:35. 

The last assignment was “cute”. The cutest thing in my house is Bobbi so she was once again my model. 

Life today. The sermon today was scripturally intellectual as always with Mike. Biblical names have always caused me to tend to skip over since for me they are difficult to pronounce and to understand relationships in many cases. Such was the case today. However, the subject matter and it’s biblical references were intriguing. Basically it was a lead into how the stars “symbolize God's power, his covenant promises, and divine guidance”. The stars mentioned with it’s biblical meaning were Virgo (virgin birth), Scorpio (Messiah and the serpent (Satan)), Pisces (multitude of believers joined to Christ), and Leo (Christ as the Lion). I was taught astrology or horoscopes are strongly to be condemned and not trusted, this sermon followed that thought.  It was basically to show that in the beginning all the stars were named and to show some of their biblical meanings. 

I stopped for gas on the way home before there is another possible price increase. Then on for my usual McDonalds fish. 

The rest of the day other than the photos is reset, refresh, restore. 

Today the weather is near comfortable. We are in for another stretch of a few days for 95 and above. I am hoping it is “cool” enough to finish the west wall gallery at church.  We have seven more photos to hang. Other than that it should be one more relatively quiet week. 

The word to ponder today is before. A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward. Jean Paul Richter. I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a full and clear light. Isaac Newton. All things are difficult before they are easy. Dr. Thomas Fuller. Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. John Quincy Adams. Make your bargain before beginning to plow. Arab Proverb. He who postpones the hour of living rightly is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses. Horace. Don't fall before you're pushed. English Proverb. Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous. Sir Thomas Browne. Flowers never emit so sweet and strong a fragrance as before a storm. When a storm approaches thee, be as fragrant as a sweet-smelling flower. Jean Paul Richter. Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good. Saadi. Know most of the rooms of thy native country before thou goest over the threshold thereof. Thomas Fuller. There is surely a piece of divinity in us, something that was before the elements, and owes no homage unto the sun. Sir Thomas Browne. The world is not yet exhaused; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before. Samuel Johnson. Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. George Washington. How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed! Walt Whitman. Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion... or you shall learn nothing. Thomas H. Huxley. Young men's minds are always changeable, but when an old man is concerned in a matter, he looks both before and after. Homer. The end always passes judgement on what has gone before. Publilius Syrus. Be not too hasty either with praise or blame; speak always as though you were giving evidence before the judgement-seat of the Gods. Seneca. The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law. Aristotle.

Article summary. I had two dogs that I trained with as therapy dogs. I never thought of cats as being in that tend. So I thought I would have a look at this article. I feel miy cat has a therapy presence for me. The tile is Do cats make good therapy animals? The new trend showing felines may be more complicated than we realize. Grace Carroll, Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast. At theconversation.com. It opened by saying how dogs have been in the therapy animal for a while, now the thought of cats seems to be “emerging” into the that field. It is said that it is handled in “media and inconsistently within the scientific community” with some period of thought. As an explanation to those theories there is this sentence... “animal-assisted therapy is a structured activity delivered by health professionals with clinical goals”. I feel they are saying they are being considered for the area of relieving loneliness and stress. They are used in prisons, hospitals, care homes and hospices. They are used in cases were there is a fear of dogs and larger animals. Problems do arise in this effort due to the known fact cats are “unpredictable” with unfamiliar people and places. In many ways they are like their “wild ancestors”, they are prone a feeling of  “priorities territorial security.” They heavily rely on scent to “navigate” and feel secure. They tend to mark what they feel as safe spaces with their face as they rub against places and people, they have scent glands on their cheeks “creating a kind of olfactory map of their home range”. Some cats develop a way of tolerating in environments that animal experts “assumed were too stressful for them”. After some scientific testing it was found that a trusted human was needed in “unfamiliar or potentially stressful environments”. In the testing when “reunited with their owner” they felt a reduction of stress and were encouraged to explore. The cats that would be used in the field of therapy would be the household variety that would be those looking for being more sociable and  attention seeking as well as less “ resistant to being restrained”. They are planning on more testing to find the traits of sociability and tolerance. There would have to be handlers who could work with the cats as they develop the socialization needed ofa therapy cat. In some early testing it was noticed that the cat seemed to need to develop a relationship with the handler. In choosing which therapy animal would be best for a situation their “social needs”, temperament and tolerance have to be considered. One thing to be considered in an individual situation might be if the person in question were a “cat person”. Dogs may be better where physical interaction is considered and cats where the sound of a cats purr offer therapeutic benefits. In a 2001 study it was shown that a certain decimal in a purr can promote calming and healing in humans. In ending the article it is said ‘dogs might be the traditional therapy animal, but cats have shown they too have what it takes....cats can offer something different to those in need of comfort.”

I think I need Welsh Rarebit for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first upload is “I made this”. I had a photo ready to upload when I realized it was supposed to be food related. I had this one uploaded in yesterdays file so I used it here, my beef and homemade noodles. 

The next assignment is “a summer time thing”. This is one of the fane we used keep cool at church. 

The last assignment is “skyscraper”. I haven’t been downtown so I took this
one from my archives. 

Joy

the bonus was is a white rose in a golden vase uploaded to Fine Art American for a contest and my on line shop 

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce

 July 10, 2026 a thought for today, Thinking is not knowing. Portuguese Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge for yesterday was “a meal on a plate”. This is a lunch meal, tuna salad toast with Swiss cheese slices, a green salad and tea.

The next assignment was “my choice”, my series of “black and white”,
poles, wires and railroad tracks. 

The last assignment is “time”. I have more digital time pieces than clocks, windup or battery and one with a short pendulum. I also have a vintage Mickey Mouse clock, I was going to use that one but this one was quicker to get to. 

Life today. A fine Saturday again. Since Bobbi came to live with me, I have been to bed earlier than before and up earier than before. It is probably my imagination but I think she knows when it is breakfast time, I think she can “tell time”, really, there are other circumstances. She seems to try to wake me about 6:00. She is more active about that time, up and down off the bed with soft meows, and some gently “digging” in my toes areas under the blanket. This morning I was able to ignore them until 6:30. 

After “opening the house” .... opening drapes and blinds to the morning light, I went through all my “first thing” computer checks, emails new checks and answers, facebook, news headlines. Then I made a start on this letter. Then I took time to set up a Kroger account that Sue had been wanting since she is getting better. 

I called to see if Sue’s meds were in yet. They said they were. So I took her to pick them up. Then I was going to get us fish sandwiches on the way home. She said she would rather have chili cheese burritos from Taco Bell so we went there then McDonalds for my fish and a pie for her. As we were coming from Taco Bell to McDonalds I stopped for a couple of photos. Then on the rest of the way home I drove by the park for one more photos. 

After we got here and before I got back to the computer I showed Sue how to use the Kroger account. She is not too computer savvy. I suggested that she practice on the ipad how to make her choices. 

We are supposed to get some rain today. We had one short down pour. I think there is more to come. 

It has been a good day with easy things on the agenda and no “deadlines” or pressing obligations. 

The word to ponder for today is been. It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. Abraham Lincoln. The Romans would never have found time to conquer the world if they had been obliged first to learn Latin. Heinrich Heine. I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly. Michel de Montaigne. Silence propagates itself, and the longer talk has been suspended, the more difficult it is to find anything to say. Samuel Johnson. Some have been thought brave because they were afraid to run away. Thomas Fuller. My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary. Martin Luther. Wait until it is night before saying that it has been a fine day. French Proverb. Don't make use of another's mouth unless it has been lent to you. Belgian Proverb.  As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand. Josh Billings.  It is pleasant to have been to a place the way a river went. Henry David Thoreau. I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. Henry David Thoreau. Emergencies have always been necessary to progress. It was darkness which produced the lamp. It was fog that produced the compass. It was hunger that drove us to exploration. And it took a depression to teach us the real value of a job. Victor Hugo.  Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. Benjamin Franklin. He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before. Homer. Never has a man who has bent himself been able to make others straight. Mencius. The friendship that can cease has never been real. Saint Jerome. 

Article summary. If you have followed me along my written journeys you know I am a dog and cat lover. Really I care deeply about all animals/creatures and their purposes here with us. We can learn from them. We can enjoy their special given gifts of existence....if we allow ourselves the pleasure and understanding. The title is Hold up, humans. Ants figured out medicine, farming and engineering long before we did. Tanya Latty, Associate Professor in Entomology, University of Sydney, Chris R. Reid, ARC Future Fellow in behavioural ecology, Macquarie University. At theconversation.com. The article started by brining to mind how we feel when we move a couch, how heavy, where to place it, and it seems simple. Then we realize how heavy it will be. In that line of thinking we don’t often think about an ant moving an object relative to our couch in question. As we move on in the reading there is a description of ants in general, 20 quadrillion on earth, ‘most successful organisms on the planet’, live in “complex societies” that are “remarkably co-operative”. When they need food they “mobilise teams” of others. They work together to move the food to the nest. In some cases, according to the article, there is a Longhorn crazy ant (known most for its erratic, rapid dashing movements) that have been known to “clear debris for the path before a heavy object arrives” to help “prepare the way” as the others move the object. I was interested in the sentence that there could be an experiment that might explain what would happen if a set of humans was pitted against a set of longhorn ants. The humans would not be allowed to speak or gesture. The ants preformed better. It was called ‘collective intelligence’. The article talked about how ants are ‘expert farmers’. It says 12,000 years ago humans ‘invented’ agriculture. The leaf cutter ant preformed agriculture tasks “55 million years ago”.  They moved fresh leaves to ‘feed’ the fungus that was their food source and fed their colonies. Then the worker ants “patrolled” the “garden” area. They could use antibiotics from their own bodies to save infected parts of the fungus of invasive bacteria when necessary. Continuing the farming aspect, some ants can “farm” with aphids. The aphids produce a sugary liquid when they eat “plant sap”. The ants collect in turn then help * protect their “livestock” (aphids) from birds. The aphids are compared to human pets in the article. The article goes on to mention how ants can “cure” themselves of some injuries and infections. They have “antimicrobial secretions from specialized glands”. Further on we find that ants are “maser builders”. They can join their bodies to form structures. They can join together to form rope ladders to gather leaves from treetops. They can “glue” leaves together to form nests. In talking about fire ants the article explains when their nests are flooded by rain they join their bodies together to form “huge rafts” that float until they reach dry land. As the article ends it says they had achieved in “agriculture, medicine, engineering and building civilisations” millions of years before humans as they worked together in complex societies. Aren’t their inborn gifts awesome. My suggestion, watch where you walk (smile). 

We may do a DoorDash pizza for dinner....I am careful about that due to acid reflux (darn!).

Photos in my life today

The first upload is another “my choice” and another in my series of black and white. This one is from the park near my house. I wanted to get a little more of the reflection in the pond. I was at the section of the pond for a longer line of reflections.

The next challenge was “a treat to share”. I found one of the tins I had kept from Christmas and added a few cookies and candy to share. 

The last upload is “full”. I was getting ready to fill a glass with ice cream and
soda when I spotted this full jug of iced tea. 

Joy 

the bonus image is the red rose bud on a black cloth uploaded in a contest to Fine Art America

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

** they protect aphids by “actively herding them, physically fighting off attackers, and releasing specialized chemical deterrents from their feet”.

 July 8, 2026 a thought for today, God gives clothes according to the cold. Portuguese Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday 

The first challenge was “a meal on a plate”. This was my doorcase from K.C.

The next assignment was “my choice” from my series of “black and white”. This is a tiny bit of my neighborhood. 

The last upload was “a road sign”. I was not out and about so I decided to use what I could see from my front porch. 

Life today. I usually have a week or two each month where I don’t have an obligation listed in my calendar. This is one of those weeks. So I am “rolling’” along on the “lazy river” this week. 

I have been trying to pick up Sue’s medicine. I called Monday, Tuesday and today....it is not ready yet!!! 

I have got the material I need to complete the bulletin and the mailings for tomorrow. I have been working on this letter with “research breaks”. Those “breaks” have become a regular part of most any work I do on the computer now including photo techniques I get wind of. I love learning and a lot of the “research” takes up a good part of the day....don’t know if that’s “bad” or “good”, I’ll choose “good”. 

My “kids”, they still are my “kids” even though they are grown and well and nicely established as adults, are both in interesting places in their lives right now. Lowell is on a moving adventure with one of his sons. Tami is in a new adventure with a new furry family addition. We are all animal lovers so when a new one joins the family it is cause for celebration. This one, a young dog, was abandoned on the streets and up for adoption. She is taking some time to become used to being safe and loved and “bonding” with her new “brother” who is a bit excited with the new addition too. 

The weather is taking a very welcome turn for a more livable temperature range. After all, it is the good old summer time. My rose garden is presenting me with a few colorful blooms. I have it set up in two window boxes, actually “rail boxes” on a fence rail on the back porch. One of the boxes is producing beautifully the other not so much yet, hope it perks up soon. One set are a peach color the other are yellow. 

The word to ponder today is beautiful.  I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. John Constable. The most beautiful adventures are not those we go to seek.  Robert Louis Stevenson. Money, which represents the prose of life, and which is hardly spoken of in parlors without an apology, is, in its effects and laws, as beautiful as roses. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. Henry Ward Beecher. Whatever is in any way beautiful hath its source of beauty in itself, and is complete in itself; praise forms no part of it. So it is none the worse nor the better for being praised. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. James Russell Lowell. How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward. Spanish Proverb. A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden. Buddha. The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music. Jonathan Edwards. There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. Sir Francis Bacon. Don't waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good. Ralph Waldo Emerson. I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections and the truth of imagination. What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth - whether it existed before or not. John Keats. The pride of youth is in strength and beauty, the pride of old age is in discretion. Democritus. Beauty in things exist in the mind which contemplates them. David Hume. 

Article summary. I was looking for something else that I had in mind when I came across this title and decided to have a look at it. “The history of animal companionship” caught my eye. The title is Pets & their People explores the long, strange history of human animal companionship. Philip Howell, Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge. At theconversation.com/us. In the first sentence some calculations were mentioned about numbers of pets as companions existed as close as could be monitored, as in 2025 thirteen-point two-million dogs in the UK. This was compared to around 11 million cats. It was even more difficult to count the number of fish as pets. Then they began thinking of how the relationships pet animals leads to the many different ways people through the ages have expressed their feel for the companionship they offer. There was a naturalist who looked into how far back in human history did people “enter(ed) the life worlds of other animals”. As the article moves on, it mentions that in the 19th century there were calling cards to remind visitors that “pets are us”. This led to how people used “pets to tell stories about ourselves”. In the 1970s there were tamagotchis, handheld digital pets. In 1975 there was the pet rock craze. In this day and age there are digital pets. It does seem the love of live pets and the grief that is attached to the end of their lives was the same in the days of ancient Egypt as it is to the pets in our lives today. The article touches on the subject of money spent on our companion animals as well as how there beings are embedded in our emotional well being. As the article was winding down it related to the word “pets” is hard to define but the term “companion animal” accounts for the “variety of relationships people have had with animals over the course of thousands of years and in innumerably different cultures”. The article ends with a lukewarm expression that the researchers can’t quite figure how some peoples through all the ages love pets and others don’t. 

I have been slowly clearing out the chest freezer. I am finding some of the things I have frozen for later use and have forgotten. I will most likely find something good for dinner. I think there are some meat balls in there somewhere.

Photos in my life today

My first challenge today is another of the “my choice” and another of my “black and white”. There are vines of what I call morning glories on my chain link fence. 

The next assignment is “a drink”. I wanted to use something different from my iced tea drinks that I have used several time. I used a Pepsi ice cream float instead. 

The last upload was “6:00pm”. I remembered last night that I needed this for
today photo-a-day images so I made my self watch for 6:00pm. I happened to be reading my most current ebook on my ipad so I used the tablet’s time. 

Joy

I uploaded this flag iris to Fine Art America contest and to be used on many household products available to anyone who would enjoy them

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 July 6, 2026 a thought for the day, Everyone speaks as he is. Portuguese Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first upload was “a vegetable”. This was a bunch of radishes in one of the Food Pantry offerings. 

The next challenge was “boats, canoes or kayaks”. I took this shot
sometime ago. It is a replica of the Santa Maria that had been docked in our downtown river as the river traveled through our city.

The last assignment was “sand and surf”. This one to was taken many years ago. I haven’t been near the ocean in a long time. This is my grand daughter marveling in the sand. 

Life today. Mondays seem to be a “wake-up-for-the-week”, for me as least. The person giving the message at church, this week is always on the spot with getting the information to me usually ahead of time.  So I was able to complete the whole bulletin this morning and get it out for proofreading. I found in church yesterday that during the hymns we had one of the voices overshadowed the rest of the congregation, which, the hymns, to me are suppose to be sacred and soft sounds reflecting a “deeply traditional view of church music.”

I spent a big part of the morning researching interesting things that popped up as I worked on not only the bulletin also on parts of this letter. In that respect it is a form of “school days, school days, good old golden rule days” for me. 

I played around with the ideas of my photos for the day and finally got what I wanted with a few modifications. 

I also dealt with a call from the pharmacy on the readiness of Sue’s current medications. 

When I went out searching for setups for a couple of the photos I had a chance to chat with one of the neighbors. He is not happy about restrictions we all have on outside activities right now with the hot temperatures. He is an avid home garden person.

So it has been a pretty “full” day. I am at a point now where I am beginning to slow things down to call for dinner and “close” for the day. 

The word to ponder today is bear. Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit. Aristotle.  Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing. Abraham Lincoln. Content thyself to be obscurely good. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, the post of honor is a private station. Joseph Addison. I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. Abraham Lincoln. The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit. Moliere. Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear. Marcus Azurelius. Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast. Epictetus. Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts, and will always bear up against falsehood, as oil does above water. Miguel de Cervantes. Sorrow is a fruit. God does not make it grow on limbs too weak to bear it. Victor Hugo. To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character. Aristotle. The things hardest to bear are sweetest to remember. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Learn to bear bravely changes of fortune. Cleobulus. A mind without instruction can no more bear fruit than can a field, however fertile, without cultivation. Cicero. A heavy heart bears not a nimble tongue. William Shakespeare. It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship. Henry Ward Beecher. The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forebearing. Epictetus. 

Article summary. I am interested in photography and in art as more of us can be with cameras available on cell phones now. I am interested in what “academics” and other researchers have studied and report about it. The title is How photography evolved from science to art. Nancy Locke, Associate Professor of Art History, Penn State. At theconversation.com/us. It started by mentioning some famous phonographs that are considered “art”, Ansel Adams black and white landscapes, a bell pepper by Weston, and Doisneau’s famous photo of romance in Paris just after the war. The author says some people may question them as art. Photography isn’t quite 200 years old and in all this time there has been debate on whether it is art or simply a form of documentation.  All those years ago when it first appeared most who considered its form were “scientists and engineers – chemists, astronomers, botanists and inventors”. In the same era there was a man named Louis Daguerre who saw it more as an “entrepreneurial inventor”. He was a painter who painted scenes with what was called a diorama. Later he invented the “daguerreotype (an early form of photography on a silver-coated plate)”. Another man of some fame who eventually began “creating photographic portraits” once had built the largest gas balloons ever made. The two works suggested above weren’t thought to look like “art” to on-lookers. When the daguerreotype was first on the market and seen it was described as “exquisite minuteness of the delineation cannot be conceived”. A painter commented on a photo he saw of a hay stack saying he couldn’t possibly produce a drawing or painting with such precision. The texture of the bricks, shells and stones seen in photographs of the 1840s and 50s seemed so vivid that they appeared  like applications reminiscent of  “archaeology and botany”. Still some folks felt photos were formed by light and came from a machine” so they were not art coming from the human hand. Finally at the end of the 19th century multiple negatives were “artistically” used to create a single image. Photographers in the darkroom could soften the focus from a negative. They could use “toning” effects to create a blur or painterly look. All of the darkroom techniques could “reject the mechanical look”. So in ending the article it is mentioned that there are still some who feel photography is not truly “fine art”. Personal note here, I like to keep the capture of the moment as close to the true moment as I can. I do sometimes use the image as-is then in the “darkroom” (when I was a teen in my personal and real dark room”) use an enlarger and filters to make adjustments and “clean up the image. I still can do that in the Photoshop darkroom minus an “enlarger”. Phonographs capture a moment in a realism that can’t be precisely copied. Photography is a “relative medium that depends entirely on the artist's vision” just as a painting or a drawing  “depends on the artists vision” while at the same time capturing an exact moments motion. I guess the “art” of it can be said to be a matter of opinion.

I am thinking of using DoorDash tonight for dinner, maybe KFC or Bob Evans. Sue wants green beans. KFC doesn’t do them anymore so I guess it will be Bob Evans. 

Photos in my life today

The first challenge today is “a spoon”. This belonged to my mother. She had it for years. As I was getting ready to use it for this image I looked it up to see exactly what it was called. It is a “vintage German slotted spoon”. 

The next assignment is “my choice” and is one of my series of “black and white”. It is the latest store bought bouquet that sits right by my desk. 

The last assignment for today is “where are you from?”. I decided to show a
place closer to my home rather than the downtown skyline. 

Joy

the bonus image today is another entry in a Fine Art America contest. The contest was to be an image of where the photographer is most comfortable this is my home

Want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 July 4, 2026 a thought for today Little chips kindle the fire, and big logs sustain it. Portuguese Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge for yesterday was “my choice” “touch of color”. This is a whirligig stuck in one of my window gardens. I separated it from the back ground that I then turned to black and white. 

The next upload was “something savory”. I used the spaghetti and meat ball
that I had from last night’s dinner for this one. I added a small bunch of yellow grapes for a bit of sweet also. 

The last assignment was “waiting”. Bobbi was waiting to make sure I was coming down the stairs instead of doing something else while I was on the upper level.

Life today. This has been another of those days where there were unexpected moments. For one thing I had the tv on as I usually do. This time there was activity that pleasantly caught my attention more so than usual. First there was news of Taylor Swifts wedding which was a big event. Then there came the 4th of July celebration taking place in New York. I stopped what I was doing to watch part of that. It was amazing. There was a parade of the tall ships and the fly overs by military air craft, around 120 to 200 at separate time. As I understand it there were 41 ships from 21 countries. It was impressive. The festivity of it put me in mind of the Thanksgiving day parade in New York. 

I picked up the groceries and got Sue and me McDonalds fish sandwiches on the way home. Just as I was getting it all put away and back to the computer Lowell and Rebecca stopped to finish up on the meds for Sue. 

With all the starting and stopping on my momentum of computer and photo work, I am well behind on my “schedule”. It will soon be time to start some dinner. 

The word to ponder today is back/backward. To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable. Oscar Wilde. It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward. Lewis Carroll. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Ralph Waldo Emerson. To know the road ahead, ask those coming back. Chinese Proverb. The man who backbites an absent friend, nay, who does not stand up for him when another blames him, the man who angles for bursts of laughter and for the repute of a wit, who can invent what he never saw, who cannot keep a secret - that man is black at heart: mark and avoid him. Cicero. Love flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and nothing can hold it back. Thomas a Kempis. It is as hard to see one's self as to look backwards without turning around. Henry David Thoreau. A small rock holds back a great wave. Homer. The man who in view of gain thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends - such a man may be reckoned a complete man. Confucius. He who is carried on another's back does not appreciate how far off the town is. African Proverb. If you look back, you'll soon be going that way. American Proverb. Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box. Italian Proverb. We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects. Herman Melville. It is equally wrong to speed a guest who does not want to go, and to keep one back who is eager. You ought to make welcome the present guest, and send forth the one who wishes to go. Homer. Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. In is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and a manly heart. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind. Malayan Proverb. 

Article summary. I honor trustworthy people. I like the feel of being able to trust someone. It is a comforting feeling and shows me a worthy friend whom one can feel safe with. I thought I would have a look at what this philosopher/author had to say about it. The title is On Trusting: is it naïve or wise to trust? Laura D'Olimpio, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia. At theconversation.com/us. It starred by pointing out that trusting is a vulnerable position, a place of wide-open feelings. Trust is also a value to be “cultivated”. It is something we should cultivate in our own lives. Here it is called a “relational attitude”. People feel differently about expectations on relationships. When they are not “met” there may be a feeling of “betrayal”. In conversations about trust some may tell about how they have been hurt by trusting someone then when the trust didn’t happen as expected there was a feeling of betrayal. The article goes on to say that it would be sad to never be able to trust anyone once there has been a betrayal. It relays how we cannot do almost anything without some kind and level of trust including business like banks, restaurants and more. I was surprised to read that based on one research project “it appears that fewer and fewer people think that others can be trusted”, that makes me sad. One of the reasons suggested for that was the decline in “media sources such as the 24-hour news cycle that generates fear and feelings of mistrust”. It is mentioned in the article that social interactions help to” generate a feeling of belonging and well being” also helping in protecting the rights of minorities builds trust. Those suggestions can result in “happier and more trusting citizens”. Another important factor in building trust is “role modeling done by parents”. Children need to learn about trust because it should be a “fundamental *prosocial attitude” developed early in childhood. Trust makes us vulnerable yet is “still better to trust than to not”.  “Knowing who and when to trust is a matter of practical wisdom”.

I think it will be creamed chicken on biscuits for dinner.

Photos in my life today

The first upload for today is “something crunchy” . A bowl of potato chips seemed like it would fill the bill when I was trying to come up with some ideas. 

The next assignment is “sparkles in the sky”. For this one and for the next I used images from my archives since I wasn’t awake for the fireworks shows (only the distant sound of ones in the neighborhood). 

The last challenge for today is “fireworks”. I used a filter on this one
to give it a “dreamy” look. 

Joy 

the bonus image for today is  "play on colors" uploaded to my Fine Art America in a contest and in my shop 

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

**(prosocial behavior encompasses any voluntary action intended to help, benefit, or comfort others)