April 28, 2025 a thought for the day, Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking. Native American Oglala Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was one of the “glimmer micro moments”. This is my Lenten Rose. I thought I had lost it. It is located in a area of my yard that isn’t doing so well foliage-wise. But this one came through. 

The second upload was “kids”. I don’t have any “kids” in the house most days
any more. So I chose to us something that would belong to kids and their dreams. This is a play area in the church for the kids. 

The last image upload for yesterday was “my choice”. It is one of my series of architectural features/detail. This is some of the ornate wood work surrounding the are of the altar. 

Life today. Monday is back again with the usual list of to-dos list. The bulletin is at the top of the list. As is my routine, I have all the back page finished and a part of the inside section. Now I will wait for the rest of the information. Hopefully, for my timing, I hope that it gets here by early tomorrow morning. 

Todays photos gave me a bit of a struggle. I wasn’t planning on going out looking, one of them in particular would have been hard for me to find. So I spent the time that I would be outside searching on the inside of my archives for suitable image for the challenges. A couple of them were from way back in my history. 

The first upload for today is “glimmer micro moment”. It is my snowball bush. I think this is going to be much showier his year than it was last. It was given to my as a “baby” bush a couple of years ago. Last year it wasn’t as full as it seems it is going to be this year. 

This is also the week that my hydroponic garden needs tended to. I also want to spend a bit of time in the kitchen cooking for a change. 

The weather is pleasant today, slightly on the cool side with the sun bright and cheery. I need this, for some reason the death of this pope has affected me more than I expected. I admired him greatly and most of his outlook on people and of Christian lives in general. That’s what I meant by needing the uplift. 

The next upload for today is “sailing or boating”. I’m not around boats or boating often so I chose this one from the archives. It is from way back in my teen years. This pontoon boat belonged to my aunt and used every week end by her nieces and nephews and their friends. We “cruised” and swam around Buckeye Lake often. 

The word is work.  The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. Confucius.  I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man. Alexander Hamilton.  It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it. Voltaire.  Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built. Abraham Lincoln.  Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. Marcus Aurelius.  Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now. P. T. Barnum.  If God can work through me, he can work through anyone. Francis of Assisi.  Work in some form or other is the appointed lot of all. Anna Brownell Jameson.  In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  There is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works: in Idleness alone is there perpetual despair. Thomas Carlyle.  He who shuns the millstone, shuns the meal. Desiderius Erasmus.  Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it. Henry David Thoreau.  Work like you don't need the money. Joseph Joubert.  By the work one knows the workman. Jean de La Fontaine.  

The last upload for today is “handwriting”. My handwriting is more like scribbles so I was looking around the house for something I could use. I found this in my ages old “hope chest”. It is an envelope to my mother from my father when he was in the miliary. (He had beautiful penmanship). 

Article: I noticed in the first part of the article that the window boxes are history related even political at times. So I decided to have a longer look at the whole article. The title is “The hidden history of Philadelphia’s window-box gardens and their role in urban reform”. The author did some research of the 19th and 20th centuries and found that some people of the time “tended to window-box gardens both for charity and to spur urban renewal in rundown neighborhoods”. When she moved to Philadelphia she noticed many the “lushness and freshness of the plants in many of the boxes, and sometimes in sidewalk planters”. She felt that walking seemed to be more “pleasant and interesting”. After some research she learned that there were three categories of window boxes. She noticed that at changes in the seasons they would be re-planted and decorated. There were some that were “derelict and had spontaneous growth of saplings and different grasses”. The third “category” were “outfitted with plastic plants”, possibly because the owners didn’t have time for taking care of them.  She realized that window boxes, sometimes even just painted empty boxes, changed outdoor space and the looks of building exteriors. They served to “break up” plain walls. They “greet passersby”. She learned that in 1903 someone noted that window boxes seem to be enjoyed as much from passers-by at the owners. Early on in the “history” of window boxes in city spaces could be identified by their plant selections, styles and boxes. As the article went on I learned that window “gardening” became popular in “Victorian England and continental Europe in the 19th century”. In 19th century America it was called “municipal housekeeping.” It grew to become a “female social reform during the Progressive Era.” At one period in history as cities grew fast a movement was sought to “improve education, public health and living conditions, especially for poor and immigrant communities”. Plants and flowers, some times even entire window boxes were given to people who could find enjoyment in them. They became “cultural symbols of cleanliness and good housekeeping”. They even seemed to have importance in welcoming new comers to America. They became a political influence in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One plan was called a “Window-box charity”. In this plan plants and goods were sent to the “the urban poor and sick”. Sometimes window boxes were installed when and where they were wanted. The article went on to say that in the 20th century plants allowed “inner-city residents to counter urban decay resulting from racism and public disinvestment”. On specific days garden club ladies brought plants to these areas and “joined residents in planting and installing window boxes to brighten up their neighborhood blocks”. This process helped to create friendships between low income and wealthy neighborhoods. Apparently window boxes are still useful in creating “small versions of public parks and community “gardens”. Another of their useful features is contributing to “green gentrification”. These gardens eventually caught the attention of sociologists and other international observers. The article mentioned that it seemed to have brought white and black residents together during the Civil Rights Movement. 

I think I am going to make tuna casserole today. 

Joy 

                           one of natures gifts

 April 26, 2025 a thought for today, People's eyes say words that the tongue cannot pronounce. Native American Crow Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “glimmer micro moment”. This was taken just as sundown was occurring. I was letting Sweet Pea out and notice the light in an opening in the clouds. 

The next upload was “a photo I would love to share”. I enjoy seeing how church to the roof of the building. This is one down the street from my house.

The last upload for yesterday was “favorite flower”. I don’t know that I have a “favorite” flower. Most flowers have a particular time that they show their best (don’t we all). There seems to be the time that they are the “favorite”. These Iris were at their perfect  time. 

Life today. It was good to be back with Dorothy yesterday on finishing the newsletter. She has not been able to help with them for about four months. Not only did we work on the newsletters together each month we were able to chat and enjoy each others company for an hour every month, just the two of us. I missed her all those months. It was good to see her looking well. She said she was glad to get out for a while. She and I are close to the same age so our memories correspond comfortably. There aren’t many people left at church in our age group.

The first upload for today is another of the “glimmer micro moment”.  This leaf seemed at it best when this image was created. 

Ok, I thought spring was finally here buuuut....we are back to “cooler” temps today. It’s not cold but cooler and a bit of a let down.

There’s nothing major on the agenda today. I have already accomplished a couple of small tasks that I have let go for a while. We still have curbside pick up and put away. Then I think I will coast the rest of the day. 

This upload challenge was “my choice” one of my architectural design or features. It’s not a part of a building but seems to me a type of a architecture. I chose to see it as the definition of architecture (shelter, security, and function, but also to express cultural identity, create aesthetic beauty, and enhance human well-being). 

The word is within.  Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul. Saint Augustin. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Marcus Aurelius.  Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. Rumi.  Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king. John Milton.  We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves. Galileo Galilei.  What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. Henry David Thoreau.  Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us. Charles Spurgeon.  The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end. Blaise Pascal.  O' What may man within him hide, though angel on the outward side! William Shakespeare.  The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all. Origen.  Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. Chief Seattle.  There is no witness so terrible and no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us. Sophocles.  We carry within us the wonders we seek without us. Thomas Browne.  Adventure is not outside man; it is within. George Eliot.  

The last upload was “potato”. I had no idea how to present a photo of a photo that would have some kind of artistic qualities. This potato was the only one I had on had and has seen its better days. I decided that leaving the “eyes” in tact. 

Article: I figured I could learn something from this one. This story is about a “A Quiet Migration of Millions Is Happening Over Columbus After Sunset Each Night”. There are “millions of birds” flying in the sky. The article mentioned that we are in the middle of a “thick of spring bird migration season”. It went on to explain with radar technology and a tool like “BirdCast” track the “massive nocturnal movements” of 200 to 300 million birds across the US in a single night can be measured. I learned that central Ohio is “part of a major flyway that birds use to make their journey north” at night between late April and mid May. This movement is tracked by Doppler radar. I also learned that they fly “usually between 3,000 and 5,000 feet up”.  We can’t see them but according to the reports they are there. It is said that they “navigate” by the stars, moonlight, and magnetic fields. Apparently lights can confuse and disorient them. This disorientation can cause them by the lights attracting then which can cause to “crash into buildings or become exhausted and vulnerable to other urban threats”. So the article says that experts say to help the birds in the migration “just turn off your lights”. This act not only helps you save energy it make a “real difference” for the life of the migrating birds. 

I think we will have hamburgers and fries for dinner. 

Joy 

                        site of communicating

 April 24, 2025 a thought for today, Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. Native American Lakota Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “walkway”. One of my other groups had a challenge called “sidewalk” on the 20th so that photo and this look much the same. That one was of a street a block from my house this one is from beside my church parking lot. Both nice and respectable community scenes. 

The second image upload was “apple”. One of my friends had brought an apple for a snack and let me use it for my prop for today

The last photo upload for yesterday was "glimmer micro moments". This one is a "field of dandelions". This one is so full there is very little grass visible. We seem to be having an over growth of them this year....nature's abundance.

 The last upload was one of this month’s “glimmer micro moments”. This not an unusual sight in our neighborhood right now. I know, they are considered weeds but....kind of bring a smile don’t they?

Life today. This week, now traditionally the busiest of the month for me, is close to coming to an end. The bulletin for the week is done, one week of food pantry is done, and the newsletter is printed and folded. Dorothy is going to meet me tomorrow to finish the ‘packaging’ and get it in the mail. 

Apparently someone didn’t set the alarm last night, it went off when I came in the door. I was able to get it shut off without incident. I was there for an hour or so alone and quite. Then some of the AA people started coming in for a meeting. When I left I was on the look out for the photos I need today. I was able to find all three with a few extra. 

My first upload for today is “nature”. I was driving around taking photos of trees and clumps of grass for this challenge until I saw this guy. He seemed to be calling me. The only thing that makes me sad is that I tried to get closer to him, I think I scared him, he took off, spreading his wing in that awesome wonder. I wish that instead of staring at him with my mouth open in wonder I snapped the shutter. 

I finished my book last night and went looking for the next one. I don’t like to be without at book on hand every day. I have read so many books from three excellent writers that it is now hard to find one of their books that I haven’t already read. So I am trying a new author. I have tried that before. I think I may be spoiled by the writers that I find use their descriptive wording/language that is meaningful and addictive for me. Maybe I will find another that meets the “requirements” to hold my interest. 

After I got back to my computer I worked on keywording the todays photos and cataloging them in the portfolio calendars. After that I got the laundry started. Now it’s back to the letter.  

Next challenge today is one of this month’s “glimmer micro moment”. This group of tulips is in one of the small church gardens. They are about to release their blooms and rest.

The word today is will.  That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise. David Hume.  If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau.  Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. Rumi.  None so deaf as those that will not hear. None so blind as those that will not see. Matthew Henry.  One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived. Niccolo Machiavelli.   Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light. George Washington.  If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. James Madison.  Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants. William Penn.  The fool who persists in his folly will become wise. William Blake. If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. Francis of Assisi.  Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. Saint Augustine.  Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.' Alfred Lord Tennyson.  You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself. Desiderius Erasmus.  I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. Francis Bacon.  Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. Washington Irving. 

The last one today is “in the middle”. It was hard for me to find something “in the middle” so I created this one. 

Article: It’s interesting for me to picture what Columbus was like in the early years. This story seems to cover a good bit of those beginning years and spaces in the city when it was new with hope. In the original article there are several photos of those days. The title is “These Historic Neighborhoods In Columbus Tell The City’s Real Story”. It talked about the neighborhoods that formed as the city developed. How  places like “Flytown, Franklinton, and German Village were laying the foundations—literally and culturally—for the Columbus we know today”. The “oldest neighborhoods” show the “evolution” one step at time. The first place that the article talked about was Flytown. It got its name from the fact that in this place the “wooden homes” flew up over night, hence flytown. In the 1800s it was a place where Irish, Welsh and German immigrants came here to work in near by factories. It was in an area that is now the Arena District and Victorian Village. As time went by Italian and other families moved in. By the mid-20th century it was “erased by urban renewal”. The next place mentioned in the article is Franklinton. This area was found and developed by Lucas Sullivant in 1797 as the “first non-Indigenous settlement in Central Ohio”. I agree with the article that it “has always been a neighborhood of resilience”. It survived, barely, in the 1913 flood. Then came its trials in an “economic decline”. It seems now it is in a promise and movement of “new life”. There are galleries with artists and developers taking a huge interest in that area. Another of the areas immersing in the growth and development of Columbus was King-Lincoln Bronzeville. This is an area that was developed in the 1900s as an “epicenter of Black culture and business in Columbus”. There was jazz music and “prominent figures in medicine, law, and the arts”. It was “impacted” by urban renewal much like Flytown was. Next on the early places in Columbus was Clintonville. According to the article the “arrival of the streetcar system” contributed to the transformation “into a full-fledged suburb”. In the mid 1800s it was “dotted with summer homes and religious campgrounds for families escaping the bustle of downtown”. The area of Olde Towne “was once home to some of the city’s wealthiest residents”.  In the mid-20th century there was a time of decline but has made a rebound in “artists, renovators, and urban pioneers.” German Village is the last of the areas in and around Columbus that made this city what it is today. The article mentions German Village as “arguably the crown jewel of Columbus’s historic neighborhoods”. It was developed by German immigrants.  It “thrived with businesses, breweries, and churches”. There are still tidy brick homes and cobblestone streets. This area of growth also went through a “decline” and disrepair. But it “fought back”. In the 1960s groups put into work a preservation of the “neighborhood’s architectural integrity”. The article put the preservation work nicely saying, “embracing the present, and it’s one of the most desirable places to live in the city”. In ending the article “not just where Columbus has been, but where it’s going—and who helped build it along the way.”

I’m going out to lunch/dinner. 

Joy

 April 22, 2025 a thought for today, Flowers are for our souls to enjoy. Native American Lakota Proverb

My first upload for yesterday “glimmers micro moment”. This is an image of the “frameo” that was given to me at Christmas. Through the year family have been adding more and more photos every few day. It sits on my desk and is turned on every day so I “keep in touch” with them all the time. 

The second upload is “Easter eggs”. This is the little old lady Easter basket I made for Sue and myself. 

The last upload for yesterday was “black and white”. It was while taking the photo that I picked up the problem my tire. 

Life today. I drove through the park yesterday in an area where they are doing some construction. On my way home my tire hitting the pavement was making a bothersome sound. When I got home I checked the tire on the side where the sound was coming from. I saw and felt what looked like the head of a small bolt or large screw head. I called Lowell to ask for his suggestion. Before that I leaned that AAA won’t “fix” a tire, I mean patch or plug it. The tire was not flat but I was concerned that if I drove it the tire would go flat when I was away from the house or on the street. Lowell said he would come by and look at it. He came this morning, saw the object I was talking about. He proceeded to take the tire off to take it to be repaired. After he got it off we discovered it was a large pebble stuck in the treads. So he put the tire back on . Good to go. I am sorry that it took up some of his work time but glad that there is no cost for repair or a new tire. 

The first upload for today is “Earth Day”. I had several ideas of for this one. One was a newly planted tree but I wasn’t in an area where they might have been doing this to celebrate the day. So I used a tree top instead. 

I got both the newsletter and the bulletin done earlier today. About the time Lowell left it was time for me to get ready to go the church for food pantry. 

We had a full crowd at pantry today. It was almost steady work from start to finish. After I left I stopped at Kroger to get my meds and some gas money....I will stop for gas tomorrow after another pantry. After that stop I went in search my photos. 

My lawn is beginning to look like a field of grass, dandelions and wild violets. Brian will have to come by in the next few days to mow. 

Next for today is “glimmer micro moment”. One of the many tulips that opened earlier to brighten our early spring days is leaving this last bit of her bright color as the season moves on. 

The word is wide.  The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy. Henry Ward Beecher.  The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum. Frances E. Willard.  We must form our minds by reading deep rather than wide. Quintilian.  Labor, wide as the earth, has its summit in heaven. Thomas Carlyle.  With all this wide and beautiful creation before me, the restless soul longs to enjoy its liberty and rest beyond its bound. Teresa of Avila.  The modernness of all good books seems to give men an existence as wide as man. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  The net of heaven is very wide in its meshes, and yet it misses nothing. Laozi.  Sleep hath its own world, and the wide realm of wild reality. Lord Byron.  The door of God’s mercy is thrown wide open, and Christ stands in the door and says to sinners ‘Come.’ Jonathan Edwards.  The soul: a wide listening sky with thousands of candles. Rumi.  For not an orphan in the wide world can be so deserted as the child who is an outcast from a living parent's love. Charles Dickens.  You may travel far and wide but never will you find the boundaries of the soul. Heraclitus.  By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart. Confucius.  Be patient, for the world is broad and wide. William Shakespeare.  

The last upload for today is “bird house or nest”. This is one of my neighbor’s artful birdhouses that is visited often. 

Article: I have a photo of myself with Sue and mom and dad taken directly across the street from the “Red Bird Stadium”. I was, maybe, five years old at the time. A time and a place..... The article title is “Columbus’ Abandoned Ballpark: The Rise and Fall of Cooper Stadium”. In opening the story the memories of a ball game were brought to mind, “cheers, the cheap hot dogs, the crack of a bat echoing through Franklinton”. The park was built in 1931 and was called Red Bird Stadium. Its name was changed over the years from Red Bird, to Jets, to the Franklin County Stadium, and finally Cooper Stadium in 1984". In the history of the stadium there were events like hosting “Yankees exhibition games (with record crowds!) to high school state tournaments”. There were wrestling matches, roller derbies, along with concerts and a giant human American flag formed during Desert Storm. The last baseball group there was the Clippers which as a AAA connection to the New York Yankees. In 2009 the Clippers moved to Huntington Park. In their last game at Cooper Stadium there were 16,000 fans. It’s sad that a place with a history like that is going down in ruin. There was talk over time for a racetrack to take over then an automotive tech center along with other ideas that never took hold. Today it is “half-demolished”. It is in “limbo”.  Maybe there are memories of  joy and excitement floating in the stale air that fills the decaying structures. 

I am having chili mac for dinner. 

Joy

                            behind the scenes

 April 20, 2025 a thought for today, Take your children with you where you go and be not ashamed. Native American Hopi Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “glimmer micro moment”. My neighbor has a beautiful early tulip plant that is beginning to loose its petals. 

The second upload was “food”. I had a invitation to lunch at York Steak House and this was my salad. 

The next upload was “my choice”, one of my architectural details. This is one of he photo at the restaurant against a textured wall. 

Life today. There were a few more folks at church today. It made for a nice Easter Sunday. There were a few children which was even a bit brighter. I hope to see them all back again. I had planned to take some photos of the Sunday School class for our Instagram site but the class had dispersed before I could get to them so I missed the photo. 

Yesterday I dyed four eggs for a small Easter “basket” for Sue and myself. It was the fastest that I have ever put together an Easter basket be it big or small. I “boiled” the eggs in the air fryer in 17 minutes. I put the food color dye, vinegar and water in a 12 oz. dixie cup, dropped the eggs in and left them to color for about twenty minutes. They were ready for the “basket” . I have a hand paper shredder so ‘grass’ I shredded some green grocery list paper I have on hand. Then I “artistically” placed the eggs, some sugary free candy that Sue and I had on hand and voilà an Easter basket for two old ladies. 

My first upload for today is “glimmer micro moment”. This one of the Easter Lilies on the altar at church this morning. 

Yesterday Lowell called to ask if I would like to join them for an early Easter lunch. I said of course. So I arranged to meet them at York at eleven after my curb side pick up. Rebecca was delayed at the grocery story at the time so couldn’t make it and Sue had decided she didn’t want to go out at the time. So it ended up just Lowell and me. It turned out nice. I enjoyed the bonding as well as the thoughts and conversations about family, holidays of the past and Easter and its religious significance for the two of us. For a few minutes in my heart and mind I was with my mom, all three of my children, Ginney and Sue and past warm and heart felt memories and thoughts of Jesus.

The next upload is “my choice” another of my architectural details. This is the rafters and one of the many arches at church. 

Today is a normal Sunday with reflection and the refreshing-of-self as well as the special meaning of this particular time of celebration. 

The weather is perfect for Spring....early in its presence and full of anticipation.  and I am ready for it.  Very hot days in the summer will be another story though. 

The next upload is “sidewalk”. This one of the quite and peaceful walks in near my home. This is one of the images for an upload to my photo group that has four photo a day uploads a month. 

The word is whole. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. Lao Tzu.  Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Saint Francis de Sales.  An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. Henry David Thoreau.  One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. William Shakespeare.  The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well. Horace Walpole.  Sometimes, only one person is missing, and the whole world seems depopulated. Alphonse de Lamartine.  Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week. Joseph Addison.  In the morning a man walks with his whole body; in the evening, only with his legs. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power. Alexander Hamilton.  He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it. Herman Melville.  We cannot tear out a single page of our life, but we can throw the whole book in the fire. George Sand.  One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning. James Russell Lowell.  I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvellous Presence. Christopher Columbus. 

The last upload for today is “looking out my door or window”. This window is my desk. I glance out frequently when I want to rest my eyes. From the computer screen. 

Article: Here is a story of more growth and advancement with new knowledge and maybe more 3D printing, this time involving the sea. The title is “Miami researchers are testing a textured seawall designed to hold back water and create a home for marine organisms”. According to the article there is a plan in  a neighborhood of Miami called Morningside Park which overlooks Biscayne bay “an innovative approach to coastal resilience”. It is a “3D-printed modular system designed to support marine life and reduce wave impact along urban seawalls”.  This system comes in the form of 3D printed tiles. The plan has a name, Biodiversity Improvement by Optimizing Coastal Adaptation and Performance. These is a team of architects and marine biologists from the Florida International University working on this project. They hope to restore an “ecological balance along their shorelines”. Seawalls have been in use as a “primary defense against coastal erosion and storm surges” for a long time. The construction at this point has been of concrete and are 6 to 10 feet high. They block waves along the sore line that cause erosion and flooding. According to the article they also come at an “ecological” cost that disrupts the shoreline “dynamics” as well as “wipe out the complex habitat zones that marine life relies on” due to their type of construction of the flat and “lifeless” surface of concrete. With use of 3D printers new “swirling shapes, shaded grooves” can be included in the design. They have crevices and “pockets” that “mimic natural shoreline conditions” for marine live that filter and “improve water quality”. They also reduce the impact of the waves. Due to the shapes of the 3D designs they deflect the waves “away from the seawall, reduce direct impact and help minimize erosion and turbulence around the wall’s foundation”. There will be an evaluation period where underwater cameras will be used to watch marine life to help “aid in documenting species diversity and habitat use over time”. It will also measure pH and oxygen levels along with other effects on the use of this system. The article ends with “we’ll be watching with hope as the new BIOCAP tiles begin to welcome marine life” and lead to how “nature might reclaim and thrive along our urban shorelines.”

Maybe chili for dinner. 

Joy 

                        roof top garden in downtown Columbus 

  

 April 18, 2025 a thought for today, If you wonder often, the gift of understanding will come. Native American Arapaho Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “a dozen or so”. This is a bakers dozen or a dozen or so. I thought it fit the season....eggs I mean. 

The next upload was “spoon”. The spoon alone looked a little lonely so a added the tangerine (for the bit of color too). 

The last upload for yesterday was “glimmer micro moment”. I liked the look of these two tulips against the dozen or so tulip leaves. 

Life today. Since the bulletin and Easter dedication sheets are done and dispersed I have a “free” day. With that in mind, I put a little more concentration into the newsletter. I got the calendar pages, page 2 and the top of page 3 completed. I have one more page that is left to me as the “editor” as well as information from three people to get it completed. I am certain I will be getting one of those pages early next week. The other two are up in the air. If I don’t hear from them by Tuesday afternoon I will have to find “filler”, at least I have two fillers in mind as possibles.   

Sue left for a visit with the twins. Then Sweet Pea and I went out in search of photos. We found all three for the day with a couple of extras for the archives. When we got back home I went to the “darkroom” and keyworded each of my shots, cataloged them,“formatted” the ones I chose to use and  placed them in the calendars for the portfolio. 

The first upload for today is “lines”. This is another image challenge where there are a lot of choices all around us. I took make several captures. I chose this one from my selection. I like shadow. 

Spring is still “struggling” to come in full force. Today, so far, is one of the good starts, but rain and cooler temps are back in the weather men’s conversations. I am enjoying what there is right now. I still haven’t taken the electric blanket off the bed though I haven’t used it for several weeks. I am also eager to open some screens. I like at least a month with no furnace and no AC, only screens fully open. 

The second upload for today is “glimmer micro moment”. It is really a bit of a minute when this “basket” is in the air for its useful purpose. 

The word is who.  There is nothing impossible to him who will try. Alexander the Great.  To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. Thomas Aquinas.  We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln.  Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees. Rumi.  Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire.  He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything. Thomas Carlyle.  He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. Sun Tzu.  The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury. Marcus Aurelius.  Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind. Henri Frederic Amiel.  The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity. Ulysses S. Grant.  A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. Charles Spurgeon.  Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't. Blaise Pascal. 

The last photo challenge today is “pointing at the sky”. These tree limbs reach for the sky every hour of every day. 

Article: This is a little on a public relations kind of story. Maybe a little lighter than some of the articles I have shared.  The title is: Jack Hanna pet sits aging dog at Columbus Zoo in documentary coming soon to theaters”. It’s a story about a man who learned that his dog only had a short time to live so he decided to take her, Abby, on “a bucket list trip across the country, including Disney World, a Las Vegas casino and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium”. While they were at the zoo Abby met Jack Hanna, the trip was made before Jack retired. This story is now coming out in the form of a documentary. The trip was planed for a three week journey but turned into a three year journey. Abby’s health issues changed and her life was extended from the first prognosis. On the stop at the Columbus Zoo Abby’s owner asked Jack Hanna if he was pet sit Abby. He asked Jack if he “has any experience watching animals”. Jack answered "Well, I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’ve worked at the Columbus Zoo for 40 years, almost, so I have a little bit of experience, yeah". From another article I found that Abby and her owner, Mark, went and Abby got to experience things...“from captaining a yacht to riding It’s a Small World, making friends with a dolphin and a deer, even peeing on the world’s tallest trees”. In the related article Mark said “we realize that all they really want is quality time together...... Abby starts aging in reverse”. Their three-week bucket list trip “morphs into the three-year journey of their lives!”  

It’s DoodDash or GrubHub for dinner tonight. 

Joy 

                           all alone and feeling lonely

 April 16, 2025 a thought for the day, Give me knowledge, so I may have kindness for all. Native American Plains Indians Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “leafy green tree or bush”. Right now the trees aren’t in “full leaf” so they are not to “green”. I went to my archives for pull this shot.   

The next upload is “periwinkle”. I don’t know where we might have a periwinkle near by so I used a plain ol’ violet for its “clone”- like image. This was in my front yard yesterday morning.  

Three of the separate photo-a-day challenge images for yesterday seems to be nature related. This “low level shot!” was taken this morning from underneath one of the evergreen trees in my back yard today.  

The last image upload for yesterday was another of the “glimmer micro moment”. This is one of my ‘air plant’ (Air plants, also known as Tillandsias, are unique plants that absorb water and nutrients through their leaves, not roots. They survive without soil). 

Life today. The cleaning lady was here yesterday so that is out of the way for a month. After she left Brian came around and got the yard work done. The grass is growing steadily now that we are having so much rain. That is another reason we are having so many dandelions too. I think they are kind of pretty, all of that yellow in the green.

I was surprised when I checked my email the first thing this morning and found that I had the rest of the information to finish the Easter dedication sheet. I woke around three this morning worrying that I wouldn’t get it in time to finish it today for printing. I worried for nothing the rest of the night but there was a little bit of a reason for the concern. Anyway, I got to it first on the to-do list this morning and it is done in about and hour and a half. Now I am ready to print both documents tomorrow. 

After that was done I could get on with the rest of the Wednesday to-do list. I started the letter than put some thought into what I wanted to find for my photo a day list. I set up and shot for the three plus photos. I put some time in the darkroom choosing the ones I will want to upload. 

This first upload for  the 16th day of this month “glimmer micro moment”. I used one of Sue’s tangerines as my image model for this one. 

There is nothing more major on the agenda today, so the rest will be slow and easy going.  

As I was coming home from our session meeting last night I noticed that there was a sound like something hitting a window as I was driving. As I looked closer I noticed that there was a strip of some kind loose around the front wind shield. When I got home I checked it out more and found it is some kind of liner-type rubber strip between the glass and the metal on the car. A portion of it is loose and flapping as the air hits it. I figured I should find some way to secure it before the whole thing was pulled off. I had bought some Gorilla glue a few weeks ago. I thought I would apply just a dab to the loose end. I have misplaced the glue. It seems there is a groove that the strip fits in. I pushed it into the groove as hard as I could. It seems to be holding but not tested with blowing wind yet. If I think about it when one of my kids come by I will have them look at it.

This next upload is “something blue”. We were having prefect blue skies for this one today. 

The word is while.  Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Lao Tzu.  I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. Abraham Lincoln.  Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to me will ever take command of me. Walt Whitman.  A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines. Benjamin Franklin.  The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire.  While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. Francis of Assisi. There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense. Thomas Hobbes.  No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring. Samuel Johnson.  Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music. Diogenes. While we are postponing, life speeds by. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

The last upload for today is “refreshing”. I had the tangerines on hand so I used them for this one along with my tuna salad for lunch. 

Article: Lazarus was THE place in Columbus for many years, before the malls. I can remember taking the bus to spend the day “downtown” with Lazarus being the main attraction. My dad had a second job parking cars in one of he Lazarus’ garages at Christmas time. I had a “self improvement” class there with the Girl Scouts. Every time we would go I would have lunch there and had the chicken dressing with gravy, yumm. My kids shopped in the Secret Santa shop. The Thanksgiving day parades were the best. The title is “Lost History of Columbus: Lazarus Was The Department Store That Defined Downtown”. The article began with “Once upon a time—not that long ago, if you wanted to shop in Columbus, there was only one real answer: Lazarus”. It was more than a department store and a place to be. It began as a “humble” men’s clothing shop in 1851 by Simon Lazarus who was a German immigrant.  It grew from back-to-school shopping to the magic of the holidays with “ties to the city’s culture”. Later as it expanded and the family grew and were active in the stores many functions. By the early 20th century Lazarus was an innovating influence in the retail business. They were the first story to allow returning items including everything that sold, clothing and household goods. They became know for their “incredible window displays, fashion shows, in-house restaurants, and escalators that felt like a ride in and of themselves when you were a kid.” Along with the stores growth is so many areas one that was “magical”.,... Christmas at Lazarus. That included the “elaborate holiday window displays” which were changed each year to “the whole city block into a winter wonderland”. To add to the excitement of the holiday window was the Lazarus Talking Tree. It drew kids from all around. There were blinking light and it even “talked” to the kids. Santa was a huge draw also during the season. The upper floors of the store became “SantaLand”. There were trains and “twinkling light” leading to a visit with Santa. After the shopping there were the restaurants one being the Chintz Room where a sit down with Santa, not to mention the wonder food served, could be arranged. Those wonderful experiences were not the only thing that made it magical especially for kids. There was the bus ride downtown. The whole day was an adventure. The beginning of end of those particular adventures began where shopping malls “popped up in the suburbs”. Lazarus merged with other “retail giants under the Federated Department Stores umbrella” which included Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.  Lazarus continued go b a big part of the “retail landscape”. Fred Lazarus Jr. was “instrumental in creating Black Friday”. Slowly and into the 1990s and 2000s the downtown shopping had begun the “decline”. The floors in the downtown store decreased in usage. In 2005 Lazarus was retired. In 2007, 156 years after its beginning, the store closed for good. The Lazarus building is still standing. It has become space for offices, apartment and small retail spaces. There are bits of the memories recalled as the Talking Tree and the Chintz Room “resurface” through social media. The article ended with this: “Lazarus wasn’t just a store—it was an experience. A generational touchstone. A big part of what made Columbus feel like home.”

Hot dogs for dinner.

Joy

                               what’s behind the wall?