May 16, 2025 a thought for today, The one who tells the stories rules the world. Native American Hopi Proverb

To start the photo upload challenges for yesterday I have “hidden”. Since we can’t photograph something that his completely hidden I used this vine with parts of it’s growth hidden as it climbs up part of my house. 

The second upload is “my choice”, another of my clouds series. 

The third upload for yesterday was “water”. I used the image I captured of a puddle of water from the latest rain fall. 

The last upload for yesterday was one in the group that I have four photo a day uploads in a month. This on is “orange”. I don’t normally get orange juice with my weekly grocery order but a yesterday I was hungry for OF so I ordered some at McDonald. 

Life today. It has been a nice day. I decided to pick up the groceries today instead of on Saturday as usual. We have a special birthday party to go to tomorrow. I placed the order yesterday and picked up today. 

I got a bit of a start on this months newsletter this morning. Next week is the third week of the month, the busiest for me. So I needed as much of a start as I could get. 

I still have some of the groceries to put away. I put the things that need to be in the frig or freezer away as soon as I get home. I put the rest away in a multi-tasking way, some here and some there as the spirit moves me.  

The first upload for today is “on the ground”. I have seen more of these tiny yellow flowers in my yard this season than I have ever noticed in years before. 

I am still trying to find a way to find some mild shade for my full sun window garden. I am using some gauze raised slightly above the bed. I would prefer a shear curtain mounted on a tension rod in the window frame but I have neither on hand at the moment. 

We had a new AC unit put in a couple of months ago. It was pretty warm when I got up this morning so I thought we should at least test it today before we have more hot days back to back. I wasn’t quite sure how to use the new thermostat but figured it out pretty quickly. It worked great.  Now it looks like we are going to have some rain. Hopefully it is not to hard or to much for the newly planted starts. They are pretty young to withstand something too strong. 

Once I get the rest of the groceries put away I think it will be time for an early dinner so time to check out take out order choices. 

The next upload for today is “silly”. These are my twin nieces. They seemed to get a kick out of watching the clothes dryer in action at the laundromat. 

The word is affect.  To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Henry David Thoreau.  Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst. Thomas Paine.  Little things affect little minds. Benjamin Disraeli.  The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man... It is more powerful than external circumstances. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  The people only understand what they can feel; the only orators that can affect them are those who move them. Alphonse de Lamartine. Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame. Gautama Buddha.  Language, after all, is only the use of symbols, and Art also can only affect us through symbols. George Henry Lewes.  We easily forgive our friends those faults that do no affect us ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble. Blaise Pascal.  It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution. Joseph Addison.  For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions. Plato.  

The last upload for today is another of the “my choice” and one of the clouds in my series. 

Article: Another story about sights to see close to home. Title: “Rock Formations, Caves, and Jaw-Dropping Trails Await at This Underrated Ohio Sanctuary”. The article mentions that there are “beautiful caves, rushing waterfalls, gorgeous prairies, and stunning forests” through out our state. The one mentioned in this article is the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, one I hadn’t heard of until I read this article.  It is a 2900-acre preserve. There is a part of the preserve called the Rocky Fork Gorge where one can see a 100 foot high walled canyon. In the canyon are “rock formations, ancient white cedar trees, wildflower displays, caves, springs, and stone arches.” All of the beauty has been there for centuries. From 1930 to 2005 there was a 7 Caves nature park . It featured a theme park where families could go camping and spend time tour he small caves in the area. It was closed when the “Arc of Appalachia purchased the 7 Caves land and buildings and the land became part of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary”. Four species of bats, one that is federally endangered have come back to the caves. I learned from the article most of the caves are closed to the public. One called Marble Cave can be “checked out” by visitors. It is located in on a trail while hiking the Valley of the Ancients Trail. In the 2,600 acres the best views of the gorge can be seen on the Barret’s Rim Trail where there is a 2.5-mile moderate loop. Along the base of a vertical rock wall is an area called “Jewel of the Rocky Fork Gorge.” Another place with an outstanding view is the  Prothonotary Trail. On this trail you can see the Rocky Fork Creek with  beautiful wild flowers, and interesting rock formations. The article mentions that the “Valley of the Ancients trail is probably the most popular trail at the sanctuary”. Another place to visit is the Appalachian Forest Museum. All of this is located near Bainbridge, Ohio.

It DoodDash/Grubhub night for dinner. 

Joy

        this is from my archives, my pussy willow plant that is long gone