January 25, 2026 a thought for today, Proverbs are the daughters of daily experience. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This first challenge was “a plant”. This is my “baby” fig tree. A person my son Bob worked with had a full grown one by his desk in a huge warehouse like building, a car dealership.

The next is “my choice”. This is one of my “texture overlay”. 

The last upload is “shallow depth of field”. It is one of my wind chimes, the one dedicated to my son Bob, with the background out of focus. 

Life today. Well, as of 1:00 this after noon we have 11.2 inch of snow on the ground and it is still coming down. I don’t know how long it will be before we can get out of the house. I am having a tooth problem and mostly likely should see a dentist. I will do the best I can with “home remedies”. 

My neighbor is using a huge snow blower to move the snow on his drive way. That will be putting a double amount of snow next to my basement windows, maybe there will be a bit of a remembrance when we have the snow thaw. We are all going to have to move it wherever and whenever we can so that we will be able to get out. 

We cancelled the church service this morning. There really wasn’t much of a choice since it would have been unwise and unsafe for many of us to try to get there. I have a feeling it will be at least mid week before Sue or I will be able to get out. 

Twenty-twenty-six needs as little bit of an upturn in direction, for me and for Sue I think. We have each had a bit of unexpected and/or stressful events since the beginning of the year. They have been solvable and turned out on the upside after some worry. I guess we need some surprises to make life exciting. They should of those be less and less of those as we age more and more, smile.

The word today is public.  There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty. John Adams. You should not live one way in private, another in public. Publilius Syrus. Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good. Thomas a Kempis. Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate. Henry David Thoreau. When people have no other tyrant, their own public opinion becomes one. Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Show me the man who keeps his house in hand, He's fit for public authority. Sophocles. A republican government is slow to move, yet once in motion it's momentum becomes irresistible. Thomas Jefferson. The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered... deeply, ...finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. George Washington. Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined. Patrick Henry. No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library. Samuel Johnson. Our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. William Shakespeare. The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius. Oscar Wilde. The time comes upon every public man when it is best for him to keep his lips closed. Abraham Lincoln. 

Article summary. Besides being an animal lover I am a plant enthusiast also. This article is right up my alley. I thought I would read and share it. The title to the article is Owning houseplants can boost your mental health – here’s how to pick the right one. Jenny Berger, Post-Doctoral researcher, University of Reading. At theconversation.com. In the opening of the article it is mentioned that people spend 90 percent of their time indoors. They further relate that affects your mental health which include depression, stress and anxiety. They feel that even small “improvements” can be useful to those kinds of problems. I read that, and with first hand experience, find that houseplants “are an easy way of connecting with nature.” The article goes on to explain some of the several ways they accomplish those improvements. The are calming and “boost” a mood along with a connection to nature. The story tells about a study measured what different house plants offer. Eight plants were used in the study, they were “weeping fig, mother-in-law’s tongue, cactus, prayer plant, bird’s nest fern, golden pothos (or devil’s ivy), dragon tree, and palm.” They named three that they felt gave the “best sense of wellbeing”, they are pothos, weeping fig and palm especially when they were green and healthy. Ones that add to air quality were mother-in-law’s tongue, a ZZ plant, pothos and spider plant. Here is another interesting point, curved objects tend to bring about positive emotions. Therefore, plants with rounded leaves should be considered for  those preferences. Those would be weeping fig, pothos and palm. Another interesting point brought out was that plants with sharp spikes may be associated somehow with danger, but can add to comfort at the same time. For a calming affect plants with “trailing vines” like a pothos. You may want to select plans with patterns and “bold colors”, or ones that stand out as a focal point. One thing that was mentioned is that at some point too many plants may be a distraction. Keeping the plants green and healthy is a must for your enjoyment and well being.

I am having grilled salmon patties with quick and easy beef and noodles for dinner. 

Photos in my life today

The first upload is “j is for....”. I used a jar with some change in it as my upload choice. 

The next upload is another of the “my choice” and another of my “texture overlay”. 

The last upload is “a favorite thing”, my cat of course. This is one of her favorite positions. 

Joy 

    this was taken on another stroll in the alley behind my home