June 9, 2025 a thought for today, If brothers disagree, the bystander takes advantage. Chinese Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “backlit, silhouettes or shadows”. I think this one had a bit of all three. This is my beautiful daughter. 

The next upload was “world ocean day”. This photo was taken quite a while back. It is one of my precious grandsons playing in the sand as the wave come and go. 

The last upload for yesterday was “something SUSS (shrewd and wary)”. Not really, it is just the left over of Sweet Pea’s breakfast.

Life today. It has been a surprisingly productive day, so far. One thing started the day off with a bit of worry though, it has turned around but was a concern for me for a little while. Sweet Pea didn’t seem to want to wake up and be active as has been usual. I coaxed her awake and went outside with her. Then things seemed to get better. Today was the day for her monthly shot, I wondered how that would go. I was wondering if she would be able to get in and out of the car, she did. I took her at her appointed time. Then, at the vets office and after we got home things seemed back to our “normal” for this time in her life. I plan on hiding her join health supplement in her food. She absolutely refused to take any meds by mouth any more except her phenobarbital. So I will grind it up and put in her food along with her vitamin. 

While we were out and about for her appointment I was able to get all three of my photo a day shots for today. 

I worked on the bulletin, since Tom sent me his information this morning I was able to get it completed and sent out. I also got the Sunday School photo and information uploaded to Instagram and Facebook. Then when I recheck the email, I had a couple of responses to the bulletin draft and attended to those.  

The first upload for today is “where my keys should be”. I was on a roll with taking my photos of the day as I noticed the keys in the ignition. So I took this shot for this challenge. 

I have been holding off clearing out the frig until the day before the trash goes to the curb. So I got that chore done today (the trash goes to the curb tonight) along with tending to the dish washer. I also worked in some minor straightening tasks here and there.  Now I have to find the time in the next few days to clear the chest freezer.

Today is the indoor garden watering day as well as checking on my new “senior” outdoor window box garden for anything they need. Most of the seedlings are beginning to sprout in both gardens now. I am waiting of the lily of the valley and the moss rose seeds to open and begin their sprout.

We just had a rain for about half an hour. The temps are staying lower than they have been for the last few days. 

Next is “my choice” . This on is from my series of reflections. Note the McDonadls logo in the window. 

The word today is brother.  If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius. Joseph Addison.  Son, brother, father, lover, friend. There is room in the heart for all the affections, as there is room in heaven for all the stars. Victor Hugo.  Accuracy is the twin brother of honesty; inaccuracy, of dishonesty. Nathaniel Hawthorne.  The men who learn endurance, are they who call the whole world, brother. Charles Dickens.  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. King Solomon.  If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother. Epictetus.  A man will speedily sit down and sympathize with a friend's griefs, but if he sees him honored and esteemed, he is apt to regard him as a rival and does not so readily rejoice with him. This ought not to be; without effort, we ought to be happy in our brother's happiness. Charles Spurgeon.  Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong. Francis of Assisi.  A sympathetic friend can be quite as dear as a brother. Homer.  Never make a companion equal to a brother. Hesiod.  When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life. Antisthenes.  If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother. Epictetus.  All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers. Francois Fenelon.  

This last upload for today is “stop”. I have used a single stop sign for this kind of upload before. I wanted a little something different and with a little more to it this time. I saw this one as I left the vet’s office this morning. 

Article: Here in Columbus we are proud of our Zoo and animals are always a favorite with me. So I am sharing this story of our zoo and the care of two of the elephants. The title is “in Pursuit of Sustainability, What two elephant pregnancies mean for the zoo’s herd and the species”. The story begins with mentioning that a normal sized ultrasound probe is used on a 7,400 pound pregnant elephant to see how the developing baby is progressing. It is difficult to see the whole baby elephant that is so much larger than a human developing baby. So a probe has to be used and moved around. The zoo’s vet has to use a long pole with a tennis ball on it to direct the elephant to move when he needs to change the view. At this point the baby weighs about 200 pounds. This spring there is a second elephant at the Columbus zoo that is pregnant. There will be two new baby elephants at the zoo this year. The second one is named Sundara called Sunny. This is the first time she will be having a baby. The one mentioned before, Phoebe, has had five other calves. The article mentioned that Asian elephants are pregnant for 18 to 22 months. The two will “contribute to the sustainability of the elephant population in zoos nationally”. Female elephants live together their whole lives and help each other raise the calves. There is a group called the Center for Species Survival in India that helps wild Asian elephants in 13 countries to survive. It has been noted that deaths “outpace” births in the elephant population in zoos. Male elephants can be used by different zoos for up to two years for reproducing the herd. It is said the procedure of moving bull elephants to different zoos mimics “what happens in the wild” and this helps the effort of trying “to make the zoo population of elephants sustainable and genetically diverse”. Both “Asian elephants and African elephants are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List”. It seems the Asian group of elephants survival rate as a whole is in worse condition. They are “considered endangered because they have lost 50% of their population over the last three generations”. This condition may be caused by “deforestation, human encroachment, and poaching”. In treating our two pregnant elephants “a series of exercises to keep (them) limber, which the keepers jokingly call elephant yoga” is used regularly. I read that the “care team” pretends to draw blood from the elephants ears so that they are use to the procedure when the “real thing” is needed. This procedure happens daily as the pregnancy is coming to an end to show when the progesterone hormone has dropped. This indicates that birth will take place within three days. 

I am having salmon patties and corn fritters again tonight for dinner. 

Joy

                         local mini mall/shopping plaza