February 2, 2021 thought for today: If you kill time, you'll bury opportunities. African Proverb

It has been a boring day. I wanted to go visit William but the snow was so thick on my car there was no way I could clear it myself although I did make an attempt. I found an old pair of boots in the closet. Took the dogs with me and headed out to take care of it. The snow quickly went over the top of the boots (they are half boots) so with soaking wet socks I headed back inside. I will be giving Bob a task to do for me when he gets home from work. 

I got the information I needed to finish the bulletin and completed that in a half hour or so. 

Yesterday’s photo title was “today’s weather”. We had a huge snow fall the night before so there was a lot of snow all over the place, trees, fenceposts, grass, streets and piles every where people had cleared their driveways and sidewalks. So that was an easy choice to make. 

Sue and I had our first vaccines last week so I called today to set up a time for our second shot. I was told they would remind me of an appointment within a week of when it was due. We are scheduled for the 18th. 

This cold snap is supposed to last a few more days and is supposed to be the lowest it has been in over five years. 

The word is satisfaction. Whatever satisfies the soul is truth, Walt Whitman.  Well done is better than well said, Benjamin Franklin. No one is satisfied with his fortune, nor dissatisfied with his intellect, Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulieres.  He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has, Epictetus. The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them, Michel de Montaigne. Believe one who has tried, you shall find a fuller satisfaction in the woods than in the books. The trees and the rocks will teach you that which you cannot hear from the masters, Bernard of Clairvaux. Do the best you can . . . enjoy the present . . . rest satisfied with what you have, Seneca the Younger. Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they please, Pythagoras. The fool has one great advantage over a man of sense; he is always satisfied with himself, Napoleon Bonaparte. Being satisfied with little, you can gain much. Seeking much you will go astray. The wise heeds this precept. If it could be so with all people!  Laozi.  I am satisfied that when the Almighty wants me to do or not do any particular thing, He finds a way of letting me know it, Abraham Lincoln. There are three wants which never can be satisfied: that of the rich, who wants something more; that of the sick, who wants something different; and that of the traveler, who says anywhere but here, Ralph Waldo Emerson. We are not satisfied with real life; we want to live some imaginary life in the eyes of other people and to seem different from what we actually are, Blaise Pascal.

Today’s photo challenge is “floral”. None of my indoor garden plants have flowers right now and there is nothing attempting to bloom in the snow covered world around here so it had to be a visit to the archives. This is a frequent happening for me in the winter months, visits to the photo archives I mean. 

This is an interesting article about our city as it relates to Valentine’s day. The 209th anniversary of the founding of Columbus as the capital city is February 14. I like the description of the scene of the future “city”. British forts were seen and controlled access to the major rivers around the state. The Ohio General Assembly was looking for a new home. The first state capital was Chillicothe. Several founders of the state were from there, Eward Tiffin, first governor, Thomas Worthington a politician and brother-in-law to Mr. Tiffin. In 1808 the capital was moved to Zanesville for a period then went back to Chillicothe. Many of the members of the General Assembly wanted the capital moved to a more central location in the state. A committee of three men was formed. They “rode into the wilderness of Ohio” in search of a new location for the capital. Some of the places that wanted to be considered were Circleville, Newark, Delaware and Worthington.  Finally, the committee recommended the capital be moved to an area along the Scioto River called Sells Plantations, later to be the village of Dublin. Another place was also suggested, High Banks at the Forks of the Scioto opposite Franklinton. In 1797 some of the Virginia Military District were located there as was the “town planner”, Lucas Sullivant. The land on the east bank of the river was called Refugee Tract and was “set aside for residents of Nova Scotia”. However, they seldom came to Ohio and they eventually sold the land grants including land from Fifth Avenue to the north to Refugee Road on the south. The article went on to relate that the land was unsettled, densely forested and was the location of a “40-foot-tall Native American mound where the intersection of Mound and High streets is today.” Four men, calling themselves the proprietors,  “acquired” the land and offered 10 acres for the statehouse to the Ohio General Assembly. It is still there today. They also offered 10 acres for a penitentiary where the Cultural Arts Center is located in the old armory today. They also donated money to clear the land, build buildings and then would make money by selling lots to interested new property owners. So on February 14, 1812 the offer was accepted. The article went on, “A few days later, at the urging of local representative Joseph Foos, the assembly chose Columbus as the name of the new capital city.” A surveyor was chosen, and a town “with wide streets” was built to form a “long rectangle that angled several degrees west of true north”. The northern boundary at that time is what is now Nationwide Boulevard. At the other side, south, was what is now Parsons Avenue. The first sale of “lots” was held on June 18, 1812, “the same day the United State went to war with Great Britain.....by the time the war ended, a modest 2-story brick Statehouse stood at the corner of State and High streets.”

It looks like it is going to be chili mac or chili on rice for dinner. 

Joy