January 26, 2025 a thought for today, Every man carries his worth in his basket. Hebrew Proverb

One of my uploads for yesterday was “the weather today”. This kind of photo is easy to find right now, with all the white snow and empty trees. This is a view along the side of the consumer square shopping center. 

The next upload was “j is for...”. Due to my hydrophobic garden projects I have quite a few mason jars on hand. So I used them as my “j is for...” assignment.

The last upload for yesterday was “black and white”. This is a view from my back porch. It is the same view every winter after we have cleared the driveway. 

Life today. Mike did a marvelous job with the message at church this morning. I wish for him that he wold have the time to become a certified as a lay pastor. He would make an excellent one. He seems to know his subject and presents it with sincerity and feeling and simplicity. One of the hymns he picked was right-on when it matched his message. 

I have little on my agenda today, Sunday. I will put the postage stamps on the newsletter for mailing tomorrow. That will be the extent of my “work” for  today. 

The first upload for today is “leading line”. This is a few the street in front of my house. The “leading line” is headed to the park that is a few blocks from my house. 

The weather is more presentable today. The temperature reading is 31°. Things were much more comfortable for last night’s sleep too. Hopefully it is here for the rest of the winter. Or at least freezing or above rather than sub zero and single digit arctic blasts. 

The next upload for today is “my choice” which is another in my series of black and whites. This is one of the two water towers at the park near my house. 

The word today is same. Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. Marcus Aurelius.  When you are laboring for others let it be with the same zeal as if it were for yourself. Confucius.  I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. Galileo Galilei.  A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous. Alexander Hamilton.  When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion. Voltaire.  A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. William Blake. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. Emily Bronte.  We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school. Thucydides.  As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears. John Locke.  Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  There never was a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous. Benjamin Franklin.  God is the same God, always and everywhere. He is omnipresent not virtually only, but also substantially, for virtue cannot subsist without substance. Isaac Newton.  Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance - the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it; better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen. Thomas Carlyle.  Sameness leaves us in peace but it is contradiction that makes us productive. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  

The last upload for today is “a fave breakfast”. This isn’t an everyday breakfast for me, as a matter of fact I don’t always have a substantial breakfast (my bad). This is just one I happened to have near by for this mornings assailment. 

This article was written a couple of years ago. I just happened to find it when I was doing some research in some of my “news fact checking” sites. Zoos and animals seem to be popular with many people, especially me. The title to this article is  Zoos and aquariums shift to a new standard of ‘animal welfare’ that depends on deeper understanding of animals’ lives. It begins by describing a visit to a zoo facility in 1980. The facility at that time was “row after row of bare concrete boxes with jailhouse-style bars occupied by animals from around the world”. It went on to say that the animals were in good physical conditions but were staring into space or pacing restlessly”. Now when we visit a zoo we see more humane conditions with their living conditions more like their “native habitat”. It appears that the “professional zoo and aquarium community has fundamentally altered the way it views the task of caring for the animals in its collections”. This accounts for how zoos are “graded” or qualify for accreditation. The writer believes that this upgrade is due to the “evolution in the scientific understanding of animals’ lives and welfare” and a focus on conservation. The article went on to describes some zoos of the past. It mentioned that in the 13th century until 1835 the Tower of London “served as an animated trophy case”. In Europe “exotic” animals were displayed in garden settings. Some served as circuses that “sensationalized” the “strangeness” of animals. In the US he first zoo opened in Philadelphia in 1974. Early in the 20th century zoos began to be concerned about the animals’ physical health. In the past 50 years landscaping became more of a part of the operations and grew in conservation and involved with education of organizations. There are now more requirements on physical space, temperature ranges and cleaning methods.  Toward the end of the article it is mentioned that “captive animals typically outlive their wild counterparts”. So zoos contribute to keeping some animals from becoming extinct. 

I think I am going to GrubHub or DoorDash for dinner. 

Joy 

                                      old and faded