February 27, 2024 a thought for today, When you can't find peace within yourself, it's useless to seek it elsewhere. French Proverb

A photo a day upload for yesterday was “awesome flowers”. It’s now quite spring yet so here in Ohio we don’t have any “awesome” flowers blooming right now. So this one is from my archives of last spring.

The next upload for yesterday was “starts with the letter X”. I used the xerox machine from the church for this model. 

The last upload for yesterday was “spring”. This is coming right now in Ohio. The beginning of some daffodil flowers. 

Life today. The bulletin is done and sent to  the readers. So I think I am ready to print the two bulletins and the insert on Thursday. Now I am taking whatever free time I have to work on the photos for the annual report. I think there may also be some other adjustments to make. Patti is checking it for any other updates. 

I took time to finish those up along with the birthday card for this week and the shut in envelopes. 

The first upload for today is “culture”. This one was difficult for me to imagine. As I was coming home from church, I caught sight of the graffiti/mural and felt it is one kind of culture. 

Then I had some time to start on this letter before I got ready to go to food pantry. It was a much slower day. We had one client come in who asked if he could bring his dog in too since he didn’t want to leave him in the car alone. They did come in. The dog is a French bull dog. He was so well behaved. He only got restless when he had to wait about fifteen minutes. It turns out he is a support dog of sorts. 

While I was at the food pantry I got a message I have been hoping for. I was afraid I might have said something that may have been discouraging a while back. I had sent a text asking and hadn’t heard for a couple of days so I was concerned. She contacted me today let me know all is well. I am so relieved. It had bothered me enough to cause some loss of sleep. Now I can catch up. 

Now that I am home from pantry I will finish this letter and the photos. I shot some on the way home now I need to process them for uploads.

The second upload for today is “machinery”. There is some major construction going on down the street from my house. Actually there is quite a bit of construction going on in the neighborhood. I decided to use this one since I went right past it on my way home also. 

The word today is apply. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation. Plato.  He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator. Francis Bacon.  No man who is not willing to help himself has any right to apply to his friends, or to the gods. Demosthenes. Prudence is but experience, which equal time, equally bestows on all men, in those things they equally apply themselves unto. Thomas Hobbes.  One always has time enough, if one will apply it well. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  They that apply themselves to trifling matters commonly become incapable of great ones. Francois de la Rochefoucauld.  Common sense is calculation applied to life. Henri Frederic Amiel.  The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary. Charles Caleb Colton.  Common sense is calculation applied to life. Henri Frederic Amiel.  No man can be subject to any laws, excepting those which have received the assent of himself or his representatives and which are promulgated beforehand and applied legally. Marquis de Lafayette.  Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision; it is calculation applied to life. Henri Frederic Amiel. 

The last upload for today is “handwritten”. Another photo opportunity for today’s assignments as I was on my way home. This is on the door of the pizza shop at the corner of my street. 

The article. It’s always interesting to me on how to make the air around us cleaner. This article kind of touches on that as well as other interesting activities. This one is a bout E-bikes and how they can “cut carb emissions” along with extending health benefits, financial concerns and promote clean air. It was written by professors of engineering, transportation and economics. Some cities and states, up to 100 at present, are encouraging more e-bike use. Apparently some encourage its use by helping with the purchase of them. The idea to offer incentive for their purchase and use are, in some cases, being studied on how to approach this plan. Beyond this feature of the e-bike movement is that “mobility is easier and more affordable” which includes older adults and folks with disabilities. According to the article this movement also encourages “investing in bike paths and infrastructure, which produce economic, safety and mobility benefits for cities”. The article relates that the “clean technology” from other forms as new types of air conditioners, insulations and other forms of generating electricity (wind and solar) differs some from the e-bike idea. The e-bike offers the other benefits also as with health and finance. Transportation is “largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Electrifying’ as much of it as possible is an important strategy for slowing climate change”. Reduced traffic congestion is a favorable by product as well as lower fuel consumption, reduction in parking costs and an increase in physical activity. People who don’t own cars get around by walking, buses, and Uber/Lyfts. The article relates that e-bikes would get there faster. Some suggestions for increasing their use are an e-bike “lending library”, employers providing e-bikes to their employees, and partnering with community organizations in their purchase and use.  Another way would be to make payments for biking to work. 

I think I am having creamed chicken on biscuits for dinner. 

Joy

                        forever, non stop maintenance

 February 25, 2024 a thought for today, He who lives by the church shall serve the church. German Proverb

Yesterday’s first upload was “3:00pm”. I didn’t a photo of a time piece with the three o’clock time showing. So I gave it some thought. I came up with the idea of tea time, I think it is typically between 3:00 and 5:00. 

The next upload for yesterday was “song birds”. I use to have pet birds. Over time I had finches and parakeets. One time I had a mynah bird, not so much a song bird, he was a character. So I had to take what I could get for a song bird. Most of them in our area of the world have a song of some sort I think.

The third upload for yesterday was “starts with the letter Y”. I picked an easy one to find....yellow. I took several shots of yellow things, street lights, words on signs in yellow. In the end I picked this bag from McDonalds with all the yellow Ms. 

Life today. We had another snow about two inches deep last night. Brian came to clear the cars and my driveway so I could get to the store and to church this morning. I think it would have melted enough by this morning to get to church. The sun was bright yesterday and helped clear it a bit. Lowell and Rebecca invited us to dinner at York for the evening.....always a comfort and smile. 

Church was good. We had a few more people this morning which is always nice. I have had a struggle with some personal ideas that needed some adjustments. I think maybe the message as well as one of the hymns may have started my thinking in a more promising direction.

The first upload for today is “starts with the letter U”. In this case I use the word unlock. As a prop I used the master lock and key.  

I have had a minor problem of a different nature the past many Sundays. I pay to get the local Sunday paper delivered. It has become a sporadic delivery. Many time completely missed, other times in my neighbors, who don’t subscribe to the paper. I have had a virtual contact to complain several times. One of those being again today. It use to be we would get the paper on our porch under a roof. In the past years or so it has been delivered in the driveway, front yard somewhere, or the street gutter. That means going out to pick it up in rain, snow, sleet and heat....Christmas tip time? Hardly.  

Sunday means refreshing the soul and reflection on life’s journeys. So I will be on the slow and easy side the rest of the day. I already found my photos for today too.

The second photo a day upload for today is “pets”. At present I don’t had pets, I have pet. Those of you know me know about Sweet Pet, my pet an best furry friend.  

The word today is anyone.  There is but one Church in which men find salvation, just as outside the ark of Noah it was not possible for anyone to be saved. Thomas Aquinas.  You can learn from anyone even your enemy. Ovid.  The only freedom I care about is the freedom to do right; the freedom to do wrong I am ready to part with on the cheapest terms to anyone who will take it of me. Thomas Huxley.  Anyone who truly loves God travels securely. Saint Teresa of Avila.  No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else. Charles Dickens.  Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it. Leonardo da Vinci.  Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. Publilius Syrus.  Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others? Voltaire.  If God can work through me, he can work through anyone. Francis of Assisi.  My sore throats are always worse than anyone's. Jane Austen.  How sad it is that these great gentlemen should believe what anyone tells them and do not choose to judge for themselves! But it is always so. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  God is not external to anyone, but is present with all things, though they are ignorant that he is so. Plotinus.

The last upload I have today is “garden” . I have my indoor plant “garden” but chose to shoot and chose the image of what my  winter garden looks like now.

I picked the article because of the title. I hadn’t really delved into it until  now. “Growth in plants – and people – takes time”. The author started by mentioning how became interested in delving in to house plants. She started with a small fern and a small jade plant purchased at a home improvement store.  A friend gave her a money tree plant. Her garden grew. She gradually came into possession of “more orchids than I care to count, a pothos that’s now six pothos-es, some sort of palm tree, two additional jades and probably others”. Later a fiddle leaf fig joined the family. She mentioned that as the fig grew it went through “transformations” like losing leaves and endured some pruning for shaping. Further in the article she talks about how she has taken cuttings of the fig plant and given them to friends.  She get messages from the friend about how the plants are doing. At one point she offered instruction on how to take the cuttings by cutting off a small branch and putting it in water until it grows roots of its own. She says it takes patience. It can take some time for the roots to show. She waited and waited with the last cutting and was about to give up when she noticed some tiny little sprouts at the base of the plant that was sitting in water. She learned that every day and every week the plant was storing energy and “preparing itself so ....... when the roots emerged, they’d be healthy”. She mentioned that she feels that little babies prepare themselves in the same way.....storing energy and preparing themselves to join the “towering specimens (happy families, successful businesspeople, Insta-perfect lives) around us.” She sees it as “without healthy roots ...... we will never produce fruit and never become that towering tree”. In the growth of the plant roots she learned that “it’s good to be patient with myself and others, because every bit of growth is a process”. It means growth need to be given more time. 

Maybe hamburgers and cheesy potatoes for dinner. 

Joy 

                               Thru the ages

 February 23, 2024 a thought for today, It is better to turn back than go astray. German Proverb

A first photo upload for yesterday was “industrial”. We had another one earlier this month. This one is also an “industrial” image close to my home. 

The next upload for yesterday was “starts with the letter z”. There aren’t to many choices for this letter of the alphabet but zipper is a perfect one. 

The third and last upload image for yesterday was “a beautiful sight”. This is an image of a city park close to my home. It’s always a beautiful sight with a city forest of trees with other lines and shapes joining in the sight. 

Life today. This has been another of those “whirl wind” days for me. I received  the information I need for the special bulletin due in ten days. So before I got ready to leave for church I got a bit of a start on it. 

Yesterday afternoon I called Dorothy to remind her of working on the newsletter. There was no answer so I left a message. She must not have gotten the message because she wasn’t there today. I did the finishing touches on the newsletter myself. So it took about twice as long to do it. The biggest thing is I missed her. I look forward to our once a month couple of hours together. We catch up on each others lives. I am going to call her to make sure she is all right. 

My first upload for today is “starts with the letter G”. A green light seems close at hand and fit the “assignment”.

I dropped the newsletter off at the post office and then drove around a little to find some of the photos I need for today.  

Once I got settled in at home I started on this letter then veered off to look at the special bulletin again. So I got sidetracked and took up more time than I wanted to. I have to tie up things I want to get done in this day and start up again on the bulletin tomorrow. 

The next upload for today is “centered”. This is also a “leading line” style. I noticed the light fog at the end of my block and adjusted the camera lens so that was centered in the frame. 

The word today is anxious.  Love is full of anxious fears. Ovid.  Whenever I had anything and saw a fellow being suffering, I was more anxious to relieve him than to benefit myself. And this is one of the true secrets of my being a poor man to this day. Davy Crockett.  True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future. The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Something unpleasant is coming when men are anxious to tell the truth. Benjamin Disraeli.  Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems, Epictetus.  Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths, C. H. Spurgeon.  My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened, Michel de Montaigne. 

The last image for today is “movement”. One that popped into my head as I was driving home from church was the motion of traffic. 

This article is something I hadn’t read about so I’m exploring. I am amazed with all the things that come up to solve problems. Lets explore this one. It’s about flowers grown in a floating manner and the way they can help stem pollution. It is written by a Doctoral Associate in Environment. In an experiment using an “inexpensive floating platforms can help clean polluted waterways, over 12 weeks extracting 52% more phosphorus and 36% more nitrogen.” The article added that the cut flowers they use “can generate income via the multibillion-dollar floral market”. They used different species of flowers to see which worked best for the pollution. They found that giant marigolds “stood out” as the most successful. Further in the article it mentioned that pollution is caused in “large part by runoff from farms, urban lawns and even septic tanks”. When it rains the excess chemicals wash into lakes and rivers. This feeds algae which lowers the oxygen in the water causing “dead zones”. That leads to the death of aquatic life. So this leads to the experiments with this type of floating farm. In some of the early experiments floating rafts were used. As the project progressed the hope was that “not only that the flowers would pay for themselves, but that they could provide jobs.” They used “inexpensive polyethylene foam.....that mirrored water conditions of nearby polluted waterways.” They transplanted seedlings to the mats. After about 12 weeks they tested the water quality and noted improvements. There is still some experimenting with the giant marigolds in particular to determine if their extra roots are of a notable point in their use. So finding other plants with this type root system would be beneficial. 

Pizza

Joy

                                    simply a reflection 

 February 21, 2024 a thought for today, The tyrant is only the slave turned inside out. Egyptian Proverb

The first photo a day upload for yesterday way “starts with the letter Q” . I chose a card from one of our playing decks for this prop. I used a couple of filters to enhance the red color and change the rest to black and white. 

The second photo a day upload for the 21st is “poetry”. I think it was supposed to be portrait but I already had “poetry” set up and completed. 

The next upload yesterday was “neon”. I was a day late shooting and uploading this one. I couldn’t remember where I had seen a neon sign lately. I drove around on today looking for it. 

Yesterday was one of the four days a month that I have an upload with this group. The upload is called “frozen”. I took this shot of one of the last piles of snow trying to show the edge that looked grainy and crusty like ice. 

Life today. Things are beginning to look a little less stressful now, like I have passed through an obstacle of some sort. I hope I am not anticipating the relief to soon. The bulletin is done. The newsletter is done, ready for print. The annual report is.....well....done as far as I can go without outside input which is out of my control. “My” part is done. I have in the past and would like to for this issue, put photos in to add interest. But since the deadline time was moved that, as far as I am concerned, is not possible for this edition. I won’t have the time to find photos to fit the subjects and to do the sizing, formatting and placing. Who knows....maybe people will prefer that a totally print document anyway, without further interest. I sill have the ‘special’ bulletin to do for the memorial we are having for a dear friend in a couple of weeks. 

As I was getting things done yesterday, I needed to print the anthem lyrics sheet as well as a few other items. The printer wouldn’t print double sided as it should. So after some attention to that problem I found that I was out of ink, both color and black....no wonder it wouldn’t work. I didn’t have a back up supply as I usually do so I was in a mild panic since this needed to be done today or tomorrow. On my way to a food pantry, I made a stop at a local pharmacy, so that I didn’t have to go to a more distant office supply store to get some ink.....they had what I needed! Problem solved. So this morning I could pick up where I left off yesterday.

The first upload for today is “starts with the letter W”. I had a fresh bottle of cooking wine in the cupboard so that would be my prop. 

Lowell came by yesterday afternoon. It’s time now in the legality of things to sell Bob’s car. We, he and I together, had to make a decision on how we wanted to proceed with the advertising, the price and the sale. 

I read some pretty deep books in my last couple of choices especially with the one “All the Light We Cannot See”. So I decided to switch for a while and read something more historical fiction on a lighter side. The one I am reading is much easier to read. I still enjoy my other favorite authors for their ability to use words so effectively and with such precision so I will return to them. But this is a bit of a respite in my daily reading.

Now it’s time to leave for food pantry. 

The second upload today is “danger”. They are doing some major construction on this corner. It looked  to me like it would be “danger(ous)” to venture into all of the space of the orange cones, heavy equipment and spraying water. 

The word today is ancient.   The same thing which is now called Christian religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call 'Christian' the true religion which existed before. Saint Augustine.  It is better to imitate ancient than modern work. Leonardo da Vinci.   If any man cannot feel the power of God when he looks upon the stars, then I doubt whether he is capable of any feeling at all. Horace.  The world owes all its onward impulses to men ill at ease. The happy man inevitably confines himself within ancient limits. Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Some are so very studious of learning what was done by the ancients that they know not how to live with the moderns. William Penn.  Society therefore is as ancient as the world. Voltaire.  The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture, their amphitheaters, for wild beasts to fight in.  Voltaire.  If we steal thoughts from the moderns, it will be cried down as plagiarism; if from the ancients, it will be cried up as erudition. Charles Caleb Colton.  Primitive times are lyrical, ancient times epical, modern times dramatic. The ode sings of eternity, the epic imparts solemnity to history, the drama depicts life. The characteristic of the first poetry is ingeniousness, of the second, simplicity, of the third, truth. Victor Hugo.  Ask counsel of both times of the ancient time what is best, and of the latter time what is fittest. Francis Bacon.  All sober inquirers after truth, ancient and modern, pagan and Christian, have declared that the happiness of man, as well as his dignity, consists in virtue. John Adams. [Our] plan is to follow the example of the prophets and the ancient fathers of the church, and to compose psalms...so that the Word of God may be among the people also in the form of music. Martin Luther.  On every hand we observe a truly wise practice, in education, in morals, and in the arts of life, the embodied wisdom of many an ancient philosopher. Henry David Thoreau.

The last upload for today is “lucky”. It said that pennies in the heads up position are supposed to be lucky. And the number three is a strong feeling for many.

This article is about free time. Everybody would like more free time maybe this article will help with that. The article was written by a professor of modern history. The article began talking about how there has been “massive gains in productivity” in recent years. It is determined that outputs have increased by 300% from 1950 to 2017 in the US. Work hours were compared with 1,767 work hours in the US compared to 1,354 in Germany. Some economists say people want to make more money, “so they prioritize work over free time”. In 1930 it was predicted that a normal workweek would decrease to 15 hours. But “Americans in their prime working age are still on the job 41.7 hours per week”.There is another side to consider. They don’t really have much of a choice. Most everyone works 40 hours a week because they have to to keep their jobs and pay their bills. The article mentioned that many people “forego” their “earned vacation time” for fear of losing promotions. The 40-hour work week was established in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The article went on to say that this act was to “help the nation emerge from the Great Depression.” So where there are two people in a house hold working it amounts to an 80-hour work week. Having and raising children have to be considered. So there is a thought of “reducing the standard workweek, perhaps by transitioning to a four-day week, could ease stress for overworked families”. The article states that “changes require political action, not just individuals making the personal choice”. That seems to be a problem when, according to the article things are, “measured mostly by economic growth, .......quarterly economic growth data, with increases deemed “good” and decreases deemed “bad.” The idea in the article asks “why shouldn’t free time and its benefits be included in the equation?”

I am having some of my homemade tomato soup for dinner along with Hot Pocket Deliwich Cheese Melt on pretzel dough. 

Joy

                                   free ride          

 February 19, 2024 a thought for today, An hour may destroy what an age was building. English Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “starts with the letter A”. I chose to use arrow for the assigned upload for today. I took several shot of arrows of all sorts and chose this one after pulling them up in Photoshop. 

The second upload for the 19th was “F is for....”. I used the reflection of a fork in a mirror. 

Another upload for yesterday was “industrial”. There are a few types of “industrial” in this part of the city. This one catches my eye every time a pass by. 

Life today. I got another wonderful virtual call from Lexie and Drew last evening. It always does my heart good to hear from them. It has been a while since I have had contact with the others. I will try some more after I get the next couple of weeks out of the way.

What a day this has been. I had a nice neatly arranged list of things I wanted to get done today. It actually turned out to be null and void. I had a good start. Then all of a sudden it went to pot. I would complete part of one thing which led to another thing completely off the list, at least in the path I wanted it to take. I accomplished one of the things on the list. A couple of things on that item on the list led me to something on one of the other parts of the list. So I suppose I could say even though not in my proposed order I did get things done.

The first upload for today is “starts with the letter T”. The closest ‘T’ I had on hand for a prop for today were some tomatoes that I was slicing for my BLT at lunch time.  

The bulletin is done and on its way to the proof readers. They may send it back with suggested changes/corrections but they should be simple and quick. 

Due to the shifts in directions I did get a bit accomplished on the newsletter. There are still things to be done but it’s a step in the right direction.

We still have snow on the ground and the temp is still in the thirties but the sun is melting some of it.  

The next upload for today is “hot”. I have this candle with three wicks. I decided to use that one for this image upload. I am pleased with the background color of the body of the candle against the yellow of the flames.  

The word today is among. Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish. Quintilian .   The spiritual virtue of a sacrament is like light; although it passes among the impure, it is not polluted. Augustine of Hippo.  There is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbors good. One person I have to make good: Myself. But my duty to my neighbor is much more nearly expressed by saying that I have to make him happy if I may. Robert Louis Stevenson.  Among mortals second thoughts are wisest. Euripides.  Before the palefaces came among us, we enjoyed the happiness of unbounded freedom and were acquainted with neither riches, wants, nor oppression. Tecumseh.  Count not him among your friends who will retail your privacies to the world. Publilius Syrus.  It is a maxim among these lawyers, that whatever hath been done before, may legally be done again: and therefore they take special care to record all the decisions formerly made against common justice and the general reason of mankind. Jonathan Swift.  There is an electric fire in human nature tending to purify - so that among these human creatures there is continually some birth of new heroism. The pity is that we must wonder at it, as we should at finding a pearl in rubbish. John Keats.  There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents. Thomas Jefferson. The doctrines & miracles of our Saviour have required nearly two thousand years to convert but a small part of the human race, & even among Christian nations, what gross errors still exist! Robert E. Lee.

The third upload for today is “diamond”. There are no diamond in my jewelry collection so I decided to use the diamonds on playing cards. 

This article may be of interest. Many in this family like to “bargain” shop in stores with unique items so I thought this article would be of interest. There is a new shop moving into Clintonville. It will be a shared business.  It will allow them “to grow both brands and offer more community events and experiences!” There will be “boutique” clothing, trinkets, and gifts. Tigertree will be merging with another “concept, Cub Shrub.” There larger floor spaces which will allow for more products and “new categories”. “Tigertree features a variety of unique finds, ranging from cool stationary to independently owned apparel and gifts”. There will be “children’s apparel and accessories.” This new space will also allow for community events and other business to off their wares “such as a Custom Flag Making Bar, Mothers Day Photoshoots, and N/A Popup Bars”. Another good feature of the shop is more parking behind the store at 3301 N. High St. 

We are having meat loaf and baked potato for dinner. 

Joy

                                                                   the shadow knows

 February 17, 2024 a thought for today, Be sure that the candle is lit before you throw away the match. Native American Creole Proverb

The first image a day upload yesterday was “hobby”. This is my crochet bag full of yarn with two projects on top easy to get to each evening at hobby time (before reading time and “brain strengthening exercise” on the tablet). 

The next upload for yesterday was “spider’s web”. It had collected some dust to give it more of a lace affect before I knocked it down.

The last upload for yesterday was “starts with the letter R”. I happened to be hungry, was tired (temporarily) of fast food, and had this stored in an ice tray from the last time I made it.....Welsh Rarebit (the R in the rarebit, get it?).

Life today. We got another snow fall. There was a little more to this one than the one we had last month. One of my neighbor’s cleared the front part of the drive for me. Then I called Brian to finish by doing the back. I needed both of them to be able to get my car out so that Sweet Pea and I could do our curbside pickup. Brian was late getting started so I got a late start on the outside chores. 

I got the groceries home and in the house but not put away yet. I put them away in between working on other things on my Saturday-to-do-list. 

The first upload today is “starts with the letter I”. Perfect for the day like today with icicles all over the place.  

(I just got three new photos digitally sent to my “Frame” slide show picture frame. Two of my great grandsons....awesome how technology can help keep up with “away family” in this day and age.....not as good as hugs but as good as it can get.)

I have been putting in some concentrated effort and push on getting the annual report done just in case the date has been changed to earlier than expected by two weeks. 

I have to get back to putting up groceries and get a couple of other things on the list crossed off. 

The second upload for today is “refresh”. I believe lavender scented candle are suppose to “Brighten and Refresh” me and my space. 

The word today is after. Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. Henry David Thoreau.  After all is said and done, more is said than done. Aesop.  A youth, when at home, should be filial and, abroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these things, he should employ them in polite studies. Confucius.  An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men. Charles Darwin.  We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne. Marcus Aurelius.  The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists. Charles Dickens.  Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession. George Washington.  What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy. Voltaire. Whoever is detected in a shameful fraud is ever after not believed even if they speak the truth. Phaedrus.  The best effort of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with short steps. Hans Christian Andersen.  Our best successes often come after our greatest disappointments. Henry Ward Beecher.  Be slow to speak, and only after having first listened quietly, so that you may understand the meaning, leanings, and wishes of those who do speak. Thus you will better know when to speak and when to be silent. Saint Ignatius.  

The third and last upload for today is “fog”. There was no fog around today so I took a trip in my photo archives and found this one. 

The article. I think urban farming sounds interesting if it is handles with common sense and consideration for neighbors.  It is an article that explains that urban agriculture “is expected to be an important feature of 21st century sustainability.” The first benefit on the list is that it can provide food to people who would otherwise have a hard town finding and buying fresh food. An off shoot is that is helps to control “transportation’s greenhouse gas emissions”. However, there is a question of how they can be “carbon intensive” (The carbon footprint of homegrown foods is five times greater than produce from conventional agricultural practices). However there is a helpful aspect that can be used to lessen that factor. Some of these are aquaponic tanks, rooftop greenhouses or vertical farms”.  The article suggests by considering “life cycle emissions of more common low-tech urban agriculture.” Raised beds to sheds and concrete pathways gardening infrastructures means more carbon emissions per serving of produce than the average wide-open fields on conventional farms. After some studies were conducted, it was determined that some: practices for shrinking the carbon footprint of urban food production are:  use recycled materials, including food waste and water. Use old building materials for making the infrastructures, such as raised beds. The use of old material can cut “site emissions” by 50% or more as opposed to using new wood and certain other materials. Using composted materials to replace 95% of synthetics. This avoids methane emissions from food buried in landfills as well as the need for synthetic fertilizers. Careful “compost management could cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 40%.” Using rainwater saves on using water treatment and distribution tools. Growing food that is helpful to nature like tomatoes that “cut emissions” growing in “low-tech” urban gardens. Grow asparagus because due this lessens transportation emissions to their short life use they have to be flown from larger farm areas to city grocers. As cities grow, they take over farms...urban gardens are not as “vulnerable to development pressures”. As mentioned before urban agriculture “provide ecosystem services and social benefits, such as fresh produce, community building and education”. The article went on the mention other benefits the urban gardens offer such as: homes for bees and urban wildlife as well as “offering some protection from the urban heat island effect”. The article, written by professionals as a  Ph.D. Candidate in Resource Policy and Behavior, an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Systems and a Professor of Environment and Sustainability, ended with “We believe that with careful site design and improved land use policy, urban farmers and gardeners can boost their benefit both to people nearby and the planet as a whole.”

Taco Salad for dinner. 

Joy

                                       high lights

 February 15, 2024 a thought for today, Just scales and full measure injure no man. Chinese Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “2 is company, 3 is a crowd”. This is from my substantial archives of photos for photos of the day. This is Tiger and Timmy from long ago. They got along very well as long as each minded their manners. 

My second upload for yesterday was “door”. I drove through the neighborhood looking for a unique door to present to you. But none struck my fancy yesterday. So I chose the lines and shapes on one of the doors on my Toyota. 

The next upload for the 14th was “couples”. What better photo than one of a pair of hearts on this Valentines Day. Also there is the image is a pair of shrubs. 

Life today. I had two wonderful virtual surprise calls last night. One from Drew and Lexie. Another from Tami. Then I had my evening touch-base call with Lowell. All of them made me smile and on the sugary-side “warm and fuzzy”. There was only one other that I thought about and would like to have had along with those. I would like to have seen the beautiful faces of William and Benjamin, maybe, soon, I hope (they just get to see the wrinkles on my face that way). I also need to do another virtual call with Gideon and Serenity, I haven’t talked to them for over a week. I do see them on my frameo and my heart melts as with all the others.

The first photo upload for today is “starts with the letter V”. I used some vegetables. Just to give them a touch of character placed them in a stemmed wine glass. 

I was up early putting the finishing touches on the bulletin. I got so involved that I was a little later leaving for the church than I wanted to be. Nonetheless, I was there before anyone else got there. The printing went well and everything was done and out within an hour and a half. By the time I was leaving there were several volunteers helping to get food from the Mid Ohio Food Bank to our shelves.

The second photo upload today is “minimalism”. I used a Christmas bow that sneaked its way out of the storage container. 

I left there to drop off mail and cruise around looking for a couple of more photos for todays uploads. I had gotten one of the shots at church.

I got the laundry started late so it will make for a late day. It’s a small load so there won’t be too much to fold. 

A third upload for today is “church”. While I was at church this morning as I
walked through the quiet Sanctuary I stopped to get this and a few other captures.  

The word for today is activity. True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united. Wilhelm von Humboldt.  To live well is to work well, to show a good activity. Thomas Aquinas.  Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight. Thomas Carlyle.   Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Justice is rather the activity of truth, than a virtue in itself. Truth tells us what is due to others, and justice renders that due. Injustice is acting a lie. Horace Walpole. A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. Confucius. Well done is better than well said. Benjamin Franklin.  The quality of life is determined by its activities. Aristotle. Hang that question up in your houses, "What would Jesus do?" and then think of another, "How would Jesus do it?" for what he would do, and how he would do it, may always stand as the best guide to us, Charles Spurgeon.  To live well is to work well, to show a good activity. Thomas Aquinas.  Observation - activity of both eyes and ears. Horace Mann.  It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement. Isocrates.  

This is one of the days of the month for a forth photo a day upload. This one is “bike”. I looked for a bicycle as I drove from the church. I saw two with riders but couldn’t stop in traffic to get the capture. So I drove through a neighborhood and found this one. I had seen a motorbike at one stop I had made and nearly got a shot but I was thinking it was bicycle only.

This article makes suggestions on the best ways to recycle. I think most of us take part in some kind of recycling so this article may have some interesting information. Most items are easy to separate like cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and glass jars. There may be other items not so easily categorized. The article suggests that some folks may send items hoping that they will be acceptable. According to the article this is called  “wishcycling”. It went on to suggest that some of the questionable items may cause problems. Some may be contaminated in some way others may damage to equipment and/or be hazardous to the workers. The “Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio developed the Recycle Right program, launched in 2018, as a way to provide useful intervention and resources for communities to get it right”. They provide “consistent specifications surrounding what is accepted locally”. This is more efficient in allowing for items to be made into new products as well as creating more job opportunities. These items can “lead to equipment failures and costly repairs”: wire hangers, hoses and clothing. Plastic Bags, wraps, and film also cause problems. I saw that not all plastic can be recycles. Batteries are totally unwelcome in curbside recycle containers. Needles and sharp items are unacceptable and a health danger. Lists of acceptable items are available. According to the article there have recently been drop-off sites established for some items other than paper and cans. One such site is the “Waste and Reuse Center (2100 Alum Creek Drive, Tuesday to Saturday) accepts yard waste, clothing, furniture, bicycles, electronics and food scraps”. Another site is the “SWACO’s Recycling Convenience Center (2566 Jackson Pike, Monday to Saturday)” that takes those things, as well as batteries, used oil and antifreeze.

Maybe hamburgers or cold cuts with mac and cheese for dinner. 

Joy

for my trash or treasure shot for the day I picked this abandoned and boarded up drive-through restaurant