June 27, 2025 a thought for today, Soft grass follows the wind. Chinese Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “unread books that deserve better”. I have several old books that could be read again. There were the easiest to get to. 

The next upload is “sandwich”. This is my “morning” stop at McDonalds,
sausage and egg on a biscuit. 

The last upload for yesterday was another of “my choice” and another in my series of “manhole covers”. 

Life today. Yesterday I went to the church earlier than I normally do to get the printing of both the bulletin and the newsletter done before the heat had risen to much. There is no air conditioning in the office. I opened the window and tuned on the small room fan that was there. It was “tolerable”. So I got all of the printing and folding done in about two hours, more than just the bulletin printing time. By the time I had taken the bulletins around and distributed and the newsletter placed on the bulletin board in the lower level the temperature was rising noticeability. I was about done when some of one of the groups came in and turned on the commercial fan in the basement, wow did it ever feel good. I was about finished and would be leaving in fifteen or twenty minutes. The heat is why I decided to call Dorothy about tomorrow and the newsletter so we could both decide on how we wanted to do things. 

Fridays after my “busiest” week of the month is the most “relaxed” day of the week. I had decided that with the heat we are experiencing right now it would not be good for the two of us, since we are “up in years” to spend more than an hour working on putting the finish touches on the newsletter. After I talked to Dorothy I brought all the paraphernalia home to finish it here myself in the air conditioning. That is how I spend a couple of hours this morning finishing it. Then Sweet Pea and I took it to a mail box. 

While I was out I got a couple of my photo “assignments” for the day. Back at home I got back to his letter, I had started it with the research earlier. I plan to stay in the rest of the day. 

I got some light house work done yesterday when I got home from church so that makes things easier today. That way it left most things on my todo list checked off for today.

The first upload for today is “window”. I like to look for “unique” windows. They are not really easy to find. 

The word for today is determined.  Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones. Benjamin Franklin.  I am determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose. David Livingstone.  There is no private life which has not been determined by a wider public life. George Eliot.  If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. Benjamin Franklin.  Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it. Aristotle.  If the Union is once severed, the line of separation will grow wider and wider, and the controversies which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation will then be tried in fields of battle and determined by the sword. Andrew Jackson.  I am most thankful to Almighty Providence for mercies received, and determined still to press the case into public notice as a token of gratitude. William Banting.  There is no such thing as a little country. The greatness of a people is no more determined by their numbers than the greatness of a man is by his height. Victor Hugo.

The next upload is “who put that there?”. This is one of Sweet Pea’s two angry bird toys. She seems to slide them across the floor until they “disappear” under the counters. 

Article: The zoo is always interesting for many reasons. I am concerned about how the animals are able to survive in their conditions in captivity and in this heat. This article explains some of the steps they are taking to keep the animals as comfortable as they can. This article starts with one of the zoo workers dropping a ball in water for a game of rugby, not for humans, for manatees. The “competition on June 26 among Stubby, Sabal, Cobble and Clawford”, the manatee residents at the zoo, went on as they “extended their heads to bite the giant block of ice”. As the participants of this rugby match played they received treats of  “potatoes, avocados, zucchini, sweet potato, cucumbers and watermelon.....ice treat made from (the) produce frozen in a 50-ounce bowl”. These particular treats were made to “cater to animals’ nutritional needs” while adding a cooling affect. Another way that the zoo provides relief in the heat is with shade, ice baths, builds fans and ensures that plenty of water is available. The type of relief that the zoo provides for the animals depends on the “species and their differing needs” in seeking to aid in what ever type of cooling along with “support while imitating their native habitat”. The article mentions that the care that the zookeeper offer the animals leads to personal relationships being formed. The care the animals receive is hopefully related to their living environment that “closely resembles their natural habitat” in the wild. In the manatee example “there are chillers in the pool maintained at about 80 degrees, water misters for the birds, ice treats, an adjustable open roof, and lettuce for hydration”. In the daily operation of the zoo the a caretakers “observe animals to better understand their needs and adjust accordingly”. During the year “we film the habitat for several days, and we can see when the sun moves and how it impacts the shade”. It helps the find the shade points. Polar bear has a pool with a “chiller” that maintains the temperature at “55 to 60 degrees, matching the frigidness of Arctic regions”. Their habitant is air conditioned as well as fitted with mist sprayers and additional shading. The alligators, though they like heat they can cool down in the pool. The seals, they say, are use to “living under hot southern California weather conditions, which prepares them for the hot weather in Ohio”. For animals that need it they “are protected from the heat through options of ice buckets and tons of ice in a dry area for them to lie around”. The zoo also protects their workers by suggesting they check on one another frequently, take brakes, stay hydrated and “make use of available cool spaces”. Certain areas of the zoo are closed in case of possible exposures to the immense heat. 

The last photo for today is "my choice" and another of my "manhole cover" series. This one is kind of scary. 

It’s DoorDash or GrubHub for dinner. 

Joy

                                                  

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