February 28, 2021 a thought for today, Every year after fifty brings ten ailments. Sicilian Proverb

This is Sunday so I don’t have much on the agenda. It looks like that worry I was having about the forced change in my diabetes meds is coming to fruition. My blood sugar count is going wacky today. 

We have a visiting minister at our church who seems to give a meaningful sermon (almost) every time he visits us. It always seems to be perfect in subject matter, in presentation and even in bulletin set up. It was exactly that today. 

The photo challenge for February 27 was “life is...”. That’s a wide open subject sense life is all around. I was making a typical stop at McDonald’s and made a shot of traffic on the street and businesses across the street and the side of the McDonalds building along with all the city cabling and poles. That is life...

I don’t have anything else on my agenda list but I should put some more time in the annual report and pay bills. I took a couple of photos today that I will add, one will be the cover of the report. I will be spending most of the week getting it ready. I haven’t received four of the reports I need so it looks like I will have to wing it.

The word today is shelter.  Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow old, Lord Chesterfield.  Be your own lamps. Be your own shelters. Hang on to the truth as a lamp. Hang on to the truth as a refuge, Gautama Buddha.  A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food, warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to those who wield an axe to cut it down, Gautama Buddha.  In a storm there is no shelter like the wings of God, Thomas Brooks.  Do not ask the name of the person who seeks a bed for the night. He who is reluctant to give his name is the one who most needs shelter, Victor Hugo.   Friendship is a tree to take shelter from the storm, to find shade from the blazing sun, to climb its branches to get a better view, and to swing from when we're happy, Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet.  That little bird has chosen his shelter. Above it are the stars and the deep heaven of worlds. Yet he is rocking himself to sleep without caring for tomorrow's lodging, calmly clinging to his little twig, and leaving God to think for him, Martin Luther. I now first began to inhabit my house, I may say, when I began to use it for warmth as well as shelter, Henry David Thoreau. Happy will that house be in which the relationships are formed from character,  Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

The photo theme for the day is “ what I am reading”. I read all of my fiction book on the ipad, ebooks. Also, do most of the research that I look up on Google. So it is mostly electronic. This is an image of a couple of pages on my ipad. 

This article fits two of my major interests, animals and human health. It is titled “Why Having a pet is Good for Your Health, Studies in the science of zooeyia have discovered multiple positive effects of being around animals”. One of place mentioned in the story was the Columbus Police Therapy Dog unit. Dogs are used to help witnesses, victims and officers. They help when processing trauma of all sorts which offers a diversion and calming effect. There are times that children, especially, talk to the dog and that can give officers information that will ultimately help. The canine unit visits schools, recreation centers and city events. I learned from the article that during the pandemic the dogs have been used at the Ohio Emergency Management Agency to aid in allowing the employees moments to relax from the stress they face daily. Some of the other areas that pets’ comfort humans is in several areas of health benefits,  physical, biochemical, social, behavioral, emotional, mental or psychological. Oxytocin is produced with the animal-human connection along with the slowing of heart rate, lower blood pressure and lower stress levels. Going on with the list of benefits of such relationships are the psychological effects such as the need for touch that builds trust, affects the immune system and further reduces stress. The presence and contact with pets can help with recovery of heart attacks and strokes, added to this is the easing of anxiety, depression and loneliness. A point mentioned in the article was that of assisting in the routine and stability of daily living. Owning or living with an animal requires the human to be responsible for another life. Feeding and exercising offers a source of organization and control. Owning a pet stimulates conversations with other people. Pets don’t care what you look like, what you are wearing, what your house looks like, where you live. They love unconditionally, are loyal to a fault and don’t judge. Sometimes homeless people survive due to an animal’s, mostly a dog, love and companionship.  Dogs, and sometimes other animals,  are used in hospitals to bring comfort to patients and allow them to cooperate more readily with nurses and doctors. Here is something interesting in the article—some research claims that “exposure to dogs and cast to infants, babies and toddlers can greatly decrease the risk of developing allergies”. And another ‘pearl’ from the article is that “dogs.....are natural born listeners”. There is the other side, folks who “feel no connection” with animals. 

This is the last day of the month so I am adding an image of my composite of photos for the month.

This is Sunday so we are going to have tacos for dinner, maybe we’ll try something else another time. 

Joy