August 1, 2020 thought for the day: Treat the small in the way you would want to be treated by the big. Spanish Proverb

Rainy days and Mondays....this was the rainy days part. But oh, how we needed it. We could still use a bit more I think. There is a beak this afternoon giving Bob time to mow the lawn before we get the next round.

To close out July the challenge for July 31 was “nature”. Looking out my front window was a perfect image of nature with the trees, blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

I got a new cell phone yesterday. I spent some of the evening yesterday and most of this morning “playing” with it. I am trying to get comfortable with all the bells and whistles, and setting it up the way I want it. There was a software program I needed on it that would  download some work I was doing to my computer external hard drive. So I had to learn to use the program and download and/or set it up to both the cell phone and the computer. I am so lucky to have a generous son who bought any type of cell phone I wanted.

One of my dogs is showing her age more and more each day. It is something there is no cure for, old age. All I can do is make her life as problem free and comfortable as I can. But my heart sinks a little as I notice that she can’t see or hear well anymore and stumbles easily.

Today’s photo theme is “I woke up here..”. So that was an easy decision with only one outcome. So here it is.

I am going to use my phone for my photo of the day today. I played around with it a little and love, love, love the focus it shows. But there are pros and cons with it as there is in most decisions in life.

The word today is kindness. There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life -reciprocity, Confucius. Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation, Henry Ward Beecher. Kind words are the music of the world. They have a power which seems to be beyond natural causes, as if they were some angel's song which had lost its way and come to earth, Frederick William Faber. Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away, George Eliot. It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do, Moliere. To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is God's kindness to terrify you in order to lead you to safety, Rumi. If we always helped one another, no one would need luck, Sophocles.  

Yesterday was the end of the month so I generated my typical end of the month collage of photos of the day for that month.

I like all animals. I am more comfortable around some than others. But I treasure them all. They were put on this earth by a power we can’t know totally and for some purpose beyond our capability to ascertain. All in all we are their steward and guardian. This article is about hedgehogs as pets. The first part of the article mentioned that they are solitary, nocturnal animals that don’t particularly care to be cuddled. They take special care to stay healthy. One little boy had a hedgehog named Betsy. He says that giving her a bath calms her and makes her more loveable. Before the bath she ‘cops a bit of a ‘tude.....and huffs....literally blows out puffs of air and shakes her head.” To bathe her he used a toothbrush then snuggled her in a towel.  She also seems quite happy when she “burrows” into a little pouch that the boy loops around his neck to carry her wherever he goes. According to the article the hedgehog is native to Europe Asia and Africa. Their “signature” move is to curl into a ball that can fit into the cup of someone’s hand. They have become more popular as pets in recent years. People enjoy watching them and their actions. The article stated that “some can run (on an exercise wheel) as much as nine miles a night). A shop owner said that they are like humans in showing their emotions. If they are scared or in pain they get poky. Owners should be aware that they can get mites and also respiratory or neurological disease that will require a visit to the vet. They need to be kept warm, heat lamps help. Some can be trained to kitty litter. They weigh less than two pounds and are considered exotic animals. Some states don’t allow them as pets, Ohio does. (Side note: Lowell had a pet ferret that wasn’t allowed in some states either as he and his family traveled to bases around the country). Another owner lets Henry who roams freely around her apartment near Ohio State University. Once he got stuck under her couch. She says he is “happiest when she lays on her bed and he rests on her chest. ...he kind of uncurls out of his ball and begins to explore.” Both owners in the article seem to agree that once you see and watch them you may want one too.

When I was cleaning out the freezer I found the chili I froze a couple of weeks ago so I think that will be our dinner tonight.

Joy