February 15, 2025 a thought for today, Parents can give love but not common sense. Yiddish Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “n is for..”, in this case nests. As I drive through the city street in this season of winter and bare tree limbs we can better see how some critters were very busy making their warm and comfy resting places in spring and summer. 

The next upload yesterday was “couple(s)”. This pair of ducks seemed to be deciding whether to swim or just have a conversation. 

The last upload for yesterday as “smoke or chimney”. I have seen smoke coming from the chimneys' for a while but here is one of more lengthy chimney I could find in a quick trip outside the front door. 

Life today. Well, I was just a little nervous about the weather and my Saturday curbside pickup. We had a covering of ice during the night. There was a few minutes of sleet falling which turned to rain. I needed to spread ice melt on the back deck and steps. I also needed to scrape the car windows. The part of the driveway that is between my house and my neighbors had a thin sheet of ice.  By the time I got the car to the street it was apparent that the street was more wet than ice. 

My first upload for today is “bike”. I have several more images of bikes in my archives bug in sticking with a photo of the day theme I drove through a nearby neighborhood to find with pair of bikes parked together, family maybe?

We are in the process of talking to the insurance company about how we are going to handle the siding subject. There is a portion that the high wind damaged and another portion that has been affected by weather. We have had two service people out to look at it and they both say the whole house needs resided. Both also suggested contacting the insurance company to get their feel on the matter so that is what we did. Now we are waiting for their decision. This is on top of the matter of the air conditioner which definitely needs replaced and has been ordered for the first of March. Two high finance repairs at the same time doesn’t sit well with me but it is what it is. 

The next upload today was taken on my earlier outing this morning, “my choice”, part of my doors series. I chose to use the doors on a vehicle for this one.

We are in for almost two more weeks of below freezing temps. I was hoping the worst was over but no such luck. 

Sweet Pea’s health is deteriorating. She is fourteen and was diagnosed with a kidney problem a couple of months ago. A kidney problem that can’t be “fixed”. Her back legs seem to be getting weaker and weaker also. I am worried for my best friend and companion. Time for goodbye and a rainbow bridge is approaching. 

The next photo upload is “off center”. This is one of the photos for the club I belong to that has four photo a day photos in a month. 

The word for today is sign.  Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. Aesop.  Love, hope, fear, faith - these make humanity; These are its sign and note and character. Robert Browning.  Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen, but his country's cause. Homer.  Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth. Blaise Pascal.  To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete. Epictetus.  The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching. Aristotle.  Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place. Tecumseh.  A dark cloud is no sign that the sun has lost his light; and dark black convictions are no arguments that God has laid aside His mercy. Charles Spurgeon.  The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects. Francis Jeffrey.  The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, and wretches hang that jurymen may dine. Alexander Pope.  The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. Michel de Montaigne. When a man fell into his anecdotage it was a sign for him to retire from the world. Benjamin Disraeli.  It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  

The last challenge upload if “o is for...” This one speaks for itself. It is part of an artistic structure in the neighbor park near the children’s play ground. 

Article: This story came from a site called Curious Kids. A young person asked the question, are animals smart? An Assistant Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences wrote this in answer to that question. The article relates that it use to be believed that the intelligence of a brain required billions of neurons. Humans have about 86 billion neurons, dogs and cats less than one billion. The author went on to say that the more scientists and those who study the processes have   learned about the ability to learn through experience and thinking have arrived at the knowledge “that humans are not very special at all”. She wrote that “Many nonhuman species can do these things too”. Scientists “who study animal cognition have observed that many animals are able to solve problems, use tools, recall important information”.  Elephants can recognize “as many as 30 traveling companions at a time” as well as learn how to “migrate away from drought-prone areas”. This is called episodic memory which is the ability to remember an event and when and where it happened. Rehearsers have learned that other animals as birds, rats, cats, monkeys and dolphins can do the same. The author pointed out that animals may not remember every experience in their lives, neither do people. And goes on to say “they do recall things critical to their survival”. Some can use “tools” such as monkeys’ using sticks to catch bugs or stones to crack nuts open. Crows bend wire to make hooks to gather food. In a study where food was hidden in a log or box bears moved the items so that they could get the food. Some animals as dolphins and chimpanzees can “communicate”. Dolphins have “complex dialects” like “crackles, squeaks and whistles”. Monkeys can use sign language. Many animals recognize themselves in a mirror. One test of that kind was when a chimp with a red mark on its face then given a mirror touched the red spot on their own face not on the mirror. In relating other facts the author said people can’t swim like a fish or fly like a bird and don’t have the “incredible sense of smell a dog has”. To end the article “Put simply, we’re all using our brains”. My own note: maybe we would be wise to observe how the “intellect” of our pets, all natures lives for that matter, is working and why. God gave us each a particular “gift or gifts”  for use not only for ourselves but each other.

Creamed chicken on biscuits sounds good for dinner. 

Joy 

                           along a country road in Ohio