May 24, 2025 a thought for today, Be kind to everything that lives. Native American Omaha Proverb

My first upload for yesterday was “t is for....” tomato. I was caught in the striking color of red on black when I was ready to upload this one. 

The next upload challenge was “flower”. My outdoor flowers for the early
spring have passed their bloom but I saw this one at my neighbors house. 

The last on for yesterday was “my choice”. This one is from my series of “partials”. It is one of the solar wind chimes my daughter gave me. The blue sky and white clouds add to the image. 

Life today. Yesterday I met Dorothy at the church to finish the newsletter. It’s always nice to get back with Dorothy and our little “gab” sessions. We are close to the same age and “station in life” so our thoughts and memories reflect together. We only see each other once a month. She was recovering from an accident for several months.....I missed her. 

The rest of the day was full of lots of small catchup work with back burner things and small clean up tasks around the house. 

Here is a nice quiet and comfy Saturday morning and one where I don’t have much planned. I may even have some time for day dreaming.

The first upload for today is “music”. I felt this one should be my choice today. I was in the car waiting at a traffic light when I got the ides of using it. 

There is the grocery pick up and put away.  While Sweet Pea and I were out and about for that Saturday chore we were on the look out for photo challenges. We captured two of them. When I got home and had the groceries inside I got to my darkroom (Photoshop). Everything was sized and uploaded then “filed” to the calendar and archives.      

The second upload for today is “a flock of birds or animals”. I don’t have the opportunity to see “flocks” of wildlife very often. But when I do I capture the image. This one is from my archives. 

The word is attempt.  What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Vincent Van Gogh.  Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt. William Shakespeare.  Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. William Carey.  Those who plot the destruction of others often perish in the attempt. Phaedrus.  Love is the attempt to form a friendship inspired by beauty. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  To attempt to advise conceited people is like whistling against the wind. Thomas Hood.  Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster. William Tecumseh Sherman.  I attempt an arduous task; but there is no worth in that which is not a difficult achievement. Ovid.  A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap. Abraham Lincoln.  It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate. Quintilian.  The attempt and not the deed confounds us. William Shakespeare. Either do not attempt at all, or go through with it. Ovid.  Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not... We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them. John Henry Newman.  

The last upload today is “doorway”. I shot this one at the back of some businesses.  

Article: I wasn’t sure when I was drawn to the title exactly what this article was going to delve into. The title is “From furry friends to fish, turning up the heat helps animals fight germs − how Mother Nature’s cure offers humans a lesson on fever”. It started about by asking why do people get fevers? Then says that it is a “misconception that pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 or the flu, cause fevers”. It goes on to describe the purpose of fevers. Pathogens do cause fevers but “only indirectly”. When the body detects “harmful microbes” the temperature raises to “create a hostile environment”. It goes on to talk about fever’s in animals and so called “simple creatures,” such as lizards, fish and insects” whose systems use fever to recover from illnesses. When the body senses a pathogen it raises the temperature which then “muscles contract, causing shivers, and blood vessels constrict to retain heat”. I re-learned that all mammals can develop fevers. Signs in the lower mammals may be loss of appetite, be lethargic, even my shiver. It goes on to describe how “cold-blooded animals” count on environmental warmth. For instance lizards move to warmer spots when they are sick. Another example is Zebra fish who move to warmer water when ill. Even insects are affected to temperature. An interesting part of the article was the mention that honeybees are “among the most sophisticated”. They can keep the temperature in their hives by “contracting flight muscles and cool it by fanning wings” or somehow by “spreading water on the comb to induce evaporative cooling”.  It mentions that fevers can reach dangerous levels where it is necessary to seek medical help. According to the article “evolution has favored the fever response”. Moving back to fevers in humans the article relates that “instinct is often to bring it down” by aspirin and cold compresses. It goes on to say the mild to moderate fevers often help more than they hurt. The article ended with “all these organisms faced the same challenge − infection − and arrived at the same solution: fever.”

I think it will be homburgs and potato salad for dinner. 

Joy

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