August 13, 2024 a thought for today, A person slow to anger has great understanding; one with a quick temper exalts foolishness. Hebrew Proverb

My first challenge for yesterday was “wild”. I’m not in a position to see many “wild” things. One of my grand children’s family have deer in the front yard which would be a great shot but I’m not there when they visit. 

The second shot for yesterday was “photographer’s choice”. Of course this is Sweet Pea. Notice no face forward, she is not a fan of photo shots so to get photos of her it is catch as catch can. 

The last photo upload for yesterday was my “favourite food”. I love food. I just don’t always have my favorites right on hand for the daily photos. I also like snacks and here are some of my best. 

Life today. I have another “relaxed” day. Everything with a deadline is done. I could get started on the newsletter....or not, maybe tomorrow. 

The cleaning lady is here. So the house will be nice and clean and shiny. 

We have another party today. This one is for one of my great grandson’s. Most of the to-do list should be done by the time I get picked up to go to the party. Sue is visiting her great grand daughters so she will be coming to the party from a different direction.  

The first upload for today is “photographer’s choice”. This is from the archives. It was shot when my Christmas cactus was in bloom. 

The weather has cooled off some. This has been one of the hottest summers I can remember. The lawns are not as green as the normally are.

My next upload for today is  “slice”. I didn’t have a lot of time to look for photos today so I visited my archives where I safe them for such occasions and memories. This one was from another birthday party a few years ago.

The word for today is leave.  Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. Benjamin Franklin.  Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  When words leave off, music begins. Heinrich Heine.  Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. Pericles.  Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. Epictetus.  Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage. Confucius.  The aim, if reached or not, makes great the life: Try to be Shakespeare, leave the rest to fate! Robert Browning.  Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they will. Pythagoras.  Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these, they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. Francis of Assisi.  Some books leave us free and some books make us free. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age. 'Tis much better to do a little with certainty & leave the rest for others that come after you. Isaac Newton.  Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. Benjamin Franklin.  

The last upload for today is “beauty”. This is another from the archives. It is one of the iris’ from my front yard “garden”. 

This article title sounded like something to look into.....life and play as it turns out comparisons with Darwin’s ideas. The title is “At its core, life is all about play − just look at the animal kingdom”. It starts out describing a drawing made by a child, 10 or 11 years old, some time near 1857 that is displayed a the Cambridge University Library. This drawing has a name it is called “The Battle of the Fruit and Vegetable Soldiers”.  It shows a soldier on a carrot and a soldier on a grape both sitting on horses as stick figures. The child was the son of Charles Darwin. The drawing was done on the “back of a page of a draft of “On the Origin of Species,” Darwin’s masterwork and the foundational text of evolutionary biology”. Mr. Darwin allowed his children to draw on the back pages of some of his left over drafts. At the home of the Darwin family where the children were raised there was “furnished with a rope swing hung over the first-floor landing and a portable wooden slide that could be laid over the main stairway”. The country side of the home was “as open-air laboratory and playground”. According to the article “play also has a role in Darwin’s theory of natural selection”. Natural selection with “no goal, no direction”. The purpose of the article seems to show a “ contrast to foraging and hunting – behaviors with clearly defined goals – play is likewise undirected”. The article states that animals including humans “constantly adjust their movements in response to changes in circumstances”.  It is mentioned that an animal at play can be innovative so that it ends in “new ways to forage and hunt”. There is competition and cooperation in play. Play-fighting can lead to new ways for animals to “learn about and practice deception” in times of survival.

There is a party this afternoon with food.

Joy

                              fresh out of the shower

 August 11, 2024a thought for today, Truth has a handsome countenance but torn garments. German Proverb

The first upload for yesterday was “a coffee cup”. This is the only “dainty” one I have. It may be considered more a tea cup than a coffee cup. 

This next upload challenge was “hand(s)”. My sister and I were on the way out
to meet with family. She was driving. I glanced over and realized there was a shot I needed for yesterday. 

The next upload for the 10th was “sculptures or monuments”. This one is at a near by church. I miss-read the challenge and was thinking it was statue rather than sculpture. 

Yesterday was one of the days that I had four upload challenges. This one was
titled “event or festival”. The birthday party was a perfect place to fill this image challenge. 

Life today. Yesterday there was a birthday party. Some of the family couldn’t be there. Those of us who were there enjoyed the company and the chats. We do not all live within easy and frequent visiting distance for some so whenever we do it is nice to reconnect. It was a good time of the day especially for we “older” folk (senior citizens). 

I think this cold that I have had for the past ten days seem to be subsiding even more today than yesterday. I almost backed away from the birthday gathering because of it. On encouragement from my sister and Lowell we thought it would be ok especially since Sue hasn’t caught it from in ten days.

The first upload for today is “cards”. Instead of using a deck of cards as I have used in challenges before, I used the cards in my wallet. 

Today the church service started out a bit slow as for as people coming in at the beginning but it grew slowly in number. After the service we had a nice and well attended donut fellowship gathering.

I made a stop at Kroger on my way home. I had a prescription to pick up and a loaf of bread that wasn’t in my curbside pickup yesterday. 

Since this is Sunday there isn’t much on the agenda. I don’t have any major things to accomplish today. Next week is on the less stressful side also.

The next upload today is “the elements: find inspiration with either earth, fire, wind, rain”. Since the  weather is calm right now with not much to show to define it I chose these banks of clouds against the blue sky. 

The word today is least.  He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. Socrates.  Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite. Charles Spurgeon.  Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. Saint Francis de Sales.  A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble. Blaise Pascal.  Chance is always powerful. Let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be fish. Ovid.  The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold. Aristotle.  Every one goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent the soonest. Voltaire.  What we anticipate seldom occurs: but what we least expect generally happens. Benjamin Disraeli.  Being no bigot myself to any mode of worship, I am disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in the church, that road to heaven which to them shall seem the most direct plainest easiest and least liable to exception. George Washington.

The last upload for today is “breakfast”. This bowl of corn flakes with a few strawberries seems to fit the bill. 

Article: Boy Scouts have the Soap Box Derby apparently now there is a Card Board Box (derby) for Girl Scouts. I thought it would be interesting to check it out.  Aside from the “sport” it is a way “troop members practice teamwork and crafting”. At a pond in Camp Crook Lane, in Morrow County, there was a “thrilling regatta”. It was a great time that started with a whistle to start a boat race where at the end there were handmade trophies for the top finishers. All in the race wore life jackets not only because the contestants were on water they were also in cardboard, and a little duct tape, boats. They were a troop of Girl Scouts who built their own boats and oars. One of the girls and a leader “collected cardboard from online deliveries and local Facebook groups. They found that not all cardboard is the same weight. The scouts tried out all sort of different designs. Some used a canoe like shape. It was the one the for winner of the race and had very water in the bottom with the race was over. There was also a teamwork award. They had lost a paddle during the race but worked together and found it. Unfortunately their boat sank before the end of the race. The whole project of building the boats then sailing them used the technology of engineering and sailing. The girls worked as teams to build the boats. There was a little help from parents now and then. They tried to keep in consideration the purposes of STEM ( science, technology, engineering, and math). The event is open to Girl Scouts of all ages. They learned from the experience that the paddles may need more experimentation and some of the boats will need to be made of sturdier cardboard weight. 

I think it will be hot dogs for dinner. 

Joy   

                    more road work

 August 9, 2024 a thought for today, To change and to change for the better are two different things. German Proverb

One upload for yesterday was “photographer’s choice”. I passed this flower on one of my frequent drives and decided that that day I should take a photo of it before it starts to wilt.  

The next photo for yesterday was “in the fridge”. This is one corner of mine. It is usually a little messier than this.

The last photo for yesterday was “gooey”. This is a bowl of chocolate ice cream with a splash of chocolate almond milk. It was gooey and delicious. 

Life today. It is beautiful out today, a near perfect summer day and I don’t have much on my agenda. I have found most of the photos I need today so I don’t think I will be going out today. As a matter of fact I am being lazy today. 

Yesterday was the day to get things done. Laundry and dishes are out of the way. I am doing some work on a few back burner parts of the to-do lists today. I am working on learning more about the camera on my phone there are some new features. I had a professional photography friend of mine tell me the other day that cameras on cells phones are steadily improving with each new released version. For some photographers it is an art like all other arts in that there is an “artist” behind the lens when it comes to that side of the craft. For me photos me are records, journals, and sometimes art. Photos can mean so much to so many people. Sometimes sharing what we see and share sparks memories to viewers.

The first upload for today is “food”. This was an apple turnover I made a few weeks back. It, also, was delicious. 

Somewhat on that subject I am trying to teach my self to make some of my photos in to coloring pages. Which requires time working in Photoshop.

There are changes going on around me. You would think after all my years of life I could get use to “changes” since life is a series of change every day. Some are more subtle than others and a bit more bothersome. They all pass and with faith turn out for the best. Actually the ones I am glimpsing now are so minuscule they are ridiculous. I will be past them in the morning. It is part of my being a worry wart. 

The second photo upload for today is another of the “photographer’s choice’. This is from the archives. I took it earlier in the spring while it was still showy. 

The word today is last. The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it. Horace Mann.  Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams? Alfred Lord Tennyson.  When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon. Thomas Paine.  Old and young, we are all on our last cruise. Robert Louis Stevenson.  First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. Leonardo da Vinci.  In all science, error precedes the truth, and it is better it should go first than last. Horace Walpole.  That last day does not bring extinction to us, but change of place. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love, are the two greatest proofs, not only of goodness of heart, but of strength of mind. William Hazlitt.  There are only three pleasures in life pure and lasting, and all derived from inanimate things-books, pictures and the face of nature. William Hazlitt.  Old age: the crown of life, our play's last act. Marcus Tullius Cicero.  Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last. Marcus Aurelius.  True glory strikes root, and even extends itself; all false pretensions fall as do flowers, nor can any feigned thing be lasting. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last. William Samuel Johnson.  Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson,  Genius always gives its best at first; prudence, at last. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Upon the creatures we have made, we are, ourselves, at last, dependent. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  

The last photo challenge upload for today is “colorful food”. The oranges and apples were the best colorful food I could come up with for this image today,

Article: This is another of the technical items entering our lives.  I don’t know enough about it to make a judgement, good or not so good. Many, many years ago my father said one day cars will drive themselves....I thought he was joking. This article is titled: “Robocars promise to improve traffic even when most of the cars around them are driven by people, study finds”. Some say that these types of vehicles can co-exist with the normal flow of traffic when mixed with those driven by humans. It goes on to say that this can improve “traffic efficiency, safety and energy consumption”.  There are cities around the world now testing this concept. AI was become a part of this growth too. They have found in some studies that “when robot vehicles make up just 5% of traffic in our simulation, traffic jams are eliminated” and further “that when robot vehicles make up 60% of traffic, traffic efficiency is superior to traffic controlled by traffic lights”. The article related that the transition to fully “autonomous” traffic will be gradual and may result in a “prolonged period of mixed traffic with both robot and human-driven vehicles”. 

Pizza night has rolled around again. 

Joy 

                                                  shapes and shadows

 August 7, 2024 a thought for today, Growing old, man’s sight worsens, but this allows him to see more. Latin Proverb

One of the challenge uploads for yesterday was “freshly picked”. These blackberries weren’t picked yesterday but they were freshly picked when I made the image a couple of weeks ago.

The next upload for yesterday was “photographer’s choice”. This is another of the flowers blooming in containers surrounding the outdoor tables at McDonalds. 

The last upload for yesterday was “ring”. I looked through my collection of “jewelry” from years back where I came across rings I had forgotten that I have. One was my mother’s class ring from 1933, not this one. Another was this class ring from one of my kids in 1982 over fifty years later. 

Life today. This is an easy day. All of the pieces for the printing on Thursday are done. I got some information back from the draft copies that I sent out. There were a couple of typos to fix. Those were quick fixes. 

I did a little house work in the kitchen on a brake from the computer. While I was on the “brake” I looked around for photo ideas to fit the challenges for today. It seemed a good time to fix myself a little lunch then also. I hard boiled an egg in the air fryer while I got the rest ready for a tuna salad sandwich. There is a bit of a problem with the iced tea bottle....I can’t seem to get the cap off. So I made my iced tea the “old fashioned” way brewing it in hot water. 

The first upload for today is another “photographer’s choice”. This sunflower is from one of the gardens in the park.  

We have a couple of engagements coming up in the next seven days. There are two family birthdays in that time span. 

I have been battling a chest cold for about a week now. It seems much better but there is still some coughing. I am hoping it will be all cleared up before party time.  

The second upload today is “cold”. This is one of those that for me is hard to find a photo to demonstrate the word and it’s “feeling”. I chose ice cubes in my container of iced tea. 

The word today is judge. Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson.  Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers. Voltaire.  We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started. Henry Ward Beecher.  I am, as I am; whether hideous, or handsome, depends upon who is made judge. Herman Melville.  You can judge the quality of their faith from the way they behave. Discipline is an index to doctrine. Tertullian. Time is the fairest and toughest judge. Edgar Quinet.  We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  A good and faithful judge ever prefers the honorable to the expedient. Horace.  Men judge us by the success of our efforts. God looks at the efforts themselves. Charlotte Bronte. The seat of knowledge is in the head; of wisdom, in the heart. We are sure to judge wrong, if we do not feel right. William Hazlitt.  If you judge, investigate. Lucius Annaeus Seneca. A conscience without God is like a court without a judge. Alphonse de Lamartine.  Human nature is so constituted, that all see and judge better in the affairs of other men than in their own. Terence. 

My last challenge upload for today is “loud”. This is another as the one above that is hard for me to put into a photo with the words. What I was thinking was the noise that construction and maintenance equipment makes.

Article: This is a sadder side of animal life and what we as humans do to try to help. It is about a day in the life of a Columbus Humane agent. Not all calls are of actual willful cruelty and abuse some are for people who can’t care for their pet or have to surrender them. Many people figure when they see the Humane Society van there is an abuse problem. On one call the agent was taking food in the animal carry-on-case to people who could not feed an addition of new kittens. Another was a call from a woman who lived in an apartment and had to “surrender” three of her four dogs. Once the dogs are surrendered they are evaluated and vaccinated. There are 6,000 animal cruelty complaints annually and more than 1,100 animal rescued. Sometimes when animals have to be taken it has to involve getting the help of police officers. Once the animals are taken to the Humane Society building and have been evacuated and vaccinated they have to be isolated to adjust to their new “home”. The mission of the society is “that we fight animal cruelty, we fight for animals and we advocate for their well-being". It is related in the article that it take financial assistance to live up to the mission. Money is needed for vehicles, vet services, legal fees and money when large number of animals are seized or surrendered. Columbus Humane receive assistance from “personal donations, corporate sponsorships, fees for services and grants”.

I think it is going to be hot dogs for dinner. 

Joy

                    resting in the park

 August 5, 2024 a thought for today, Whoever enjoys his life is doing the Creator's will. Latin Proverb

One of the uploads for yesterday was “rule of odds...like 3, 5, 7". As I was on my way home from a stop at Wendy’s, these five posts caught my eye as they fit the challenge for today.

The next upload was “remember”. I cleaned off the desk the other day and threw out a lot of used sticky notes reminding myself of this or that. But I have some grocery lists left. One of those turned out to meet the challenge for yesterday. It’s not very ‘artistic’ but fills the assigned challenge.

The next upload for yesterday was “close up of food”. I am a “foodie” so this one was an easy choice for me. Since I don’t cook much anymore it turns out I used a fast food example. 

Life today. I started out working on the bulletin. I got the information I needed from the pastor yesterday. When I pulled it up to put it in the bulletin I found it was the full sermon, not what I needed. So I sent her a text explaining the problem asking what she would like for me to do. I went ahead to do the other parts of the bulletin, updating the calendar, upcoming events, and prayer list. I uploaded a page to the Instagram from yesterday’s Sunday school. Then I decided to move onto my letter and photos. 

My first upload for today is “motion blur”. What better way to show motion that simmers in a race. This was taken at my great grand daughter’s swim meet. She took four medals by the way. 

As I went on working I checked email often for a response from the pastor. About 2:00 she responded. Now I had the information to complete the bulletin. So I put aside what I was working on to get back to it. I finished it in less than an hour. I will recheck it then send it to readers tomorrow.

It took some thought today for the photo challenges. I think I put an hour or so on just deciding what props to use or what scenes to try to find.

My next upload today is “photographer’s choice”. When I opened the blinds this morning I caught sight of the awesome sunrise. I had the camera in my pocket, opened the door and stepped out on the porch for a capture of the moment in time. 

I had a couple of phone calls to answer while working on all of the other things that were going on. 

I turned the air off for a while. It was getting too “cold” for my taste. But by mid afternoon I had to turn it back on. I don’t want to mess with it too much since it is on its “last leg”. We were advised to get a new one as soon as possible. I am hoping that it will last for the rest of the season.

The next upload for today is “chair”. This chair has the most “character” of any in my home right now  so it was my selection for this challenge.

The word today is interest.  An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Benjamin Franklin.  The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. William Morris.  Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh. Henry David Thoreau  When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest. William Hazlitt.  To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching. To attain it we must be able to guess what will interest; we must learn to read the childish soul as we might a piece of music. Then, by simply changing the key, we keep up the attraction and vary the song. Henri Frederic Amiel.  Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity. P. T. Barnum.  Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but less interesting than looking. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town. Henry David Thoreau.  The virtues and vices are all put in motion by interest. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere. Edmund Burke.  The excess of our youth are checks written against our age and they are payable with interest thirty years later. Charles Caleb Colton.  The drafts which true genius draws upon posterity, although they may not always be honored so soon as they are due, are sure to be paid with compound interest in the end. Charles Caleb Colton. 

This is one of the days that I have four photo challenges, “hot”. This one gave me some time the think of something I haven’t used before that would fit. This is my meat thermometer that I put in a cup of hot water to give me the 160 degree reading. 

Article: This is a busy time of year, a busy season and this year is at a peak. There is the political realm, the Olympics and county/state fairs. This article talks about the beginning of the early Ohio State Fair 175 year ago. I was surprised to learn that the first one was in 1850 in Cincinnati Ohio, not Columbus”. To top it off I also learned that it traveled to ten different cities across the state before settling in Columbus. The first one here in Columbus was at Franklin Park in 1874 to 1885. The fair ground where it is now located became its permanent home in 1886. In 1845 some folks in Franklin County including Lucas Sullivant’s son, begin to build “an agricultural convention in Columbus”. To start it off Mr. Sullivant, a large livestock farmer, took 30 cattle to the Ohio Statehouse to show them off to delegates of the state convention. From that event a 53 member board of agriculture was formed. They met and decided to establish a district fair. After two district fairs, in Wilmington, and in Xenia, plans for a state fair became an idea. People traveled to the first one in Cincinnati by stagecoach, railroad and canal. According to the article “between 25,000 and 35,000 people attended the first state fair for 20 cents”. Exhibitions were shown by manufacturers, mechanics, florists, live stock and more. There were refreshments sold and demonstrations of machinery and farm equipment. The fair now “attracts nearly 1 million visitors each year”. Now there are amusement rides and national music acts as well as “the same type of agricultural and stock exhibitions of the early fairs”. Over the years the fair has had to be canceled once during World War II and then the COVID pandemic. In 1896 the fair was the first fair with electric lighting. In 1903 there was the first butter cow and calf sculpture. In 1966 the original OHIO Gate was built at the 11th Avenue entrance. In 1969 the Sky Glider was established. Later came the Giant Slide. The OHIO Gate was reconstructed in 2002. Building goes on as the Ohio State Fair continues to grow.

I think I am going to make tuna casserole for dinner. 

Joy

                         curb side adornment

 August 3, 2024 a thought for today, Sympathy is a little medicine to soothe the ache in another's heart. Latin Proverb

 

My first upload for yesterday was “fresh”. This is one of my peppermint plants. The leaves are fresh tastes to tea. 

The nest upload yesterday was “hamburger”. That one is an easy one for me
although I usually get a fish sandwich instead of a hamburger. 

The third challenge upload yesterday was “photographer’s choice”. As stopped at a light on Broad Street I was this piece of construction that is being implemented along the highway. I like the frame it give into a “new world”.  

Life today. Yesterday was a catch up day. It wasn’t my best but it turned out on the productive side. I have a chest cold and took some over the counter meds for it that I have not experienced before. It made me drowsy so it slowed me down more than I am comfortable with. 

I was looking through my digital archives trying to find a photo that I could make into a coloring page when I came across an old photo of the outside of our church. It had some beautiful trees that we have had cut down over the years since I took the photo. For me, it was kind of sad. The trees and the surrounding lawn gave the church a “stately” look. Now there are no trees or bushes, just the ornate architecture of the structure. I sent it by email to the congregants for “old time sake”. 

Sweet Pea and I picked up the curb side grocery order earlier and then drove around in search of some photos I need for today. 

The first challenge today is “it’s all about the detail”. To me the sad plight of this person is in the detail. It alone tells much of his story.
 

The groceries are all put away now so I am getting ready to make another set of meat balls for Sweet Pea’s treats. The treats last about a month and she likes both one ground chicken and one  ground beef (they’re small). It use to be just ground beef but when she had the ACL tear her diet was off. She didn’t want to eat or spit up when she did so I started giving her chicken. 

The weather has been ‘up and down’ of late some rain, not the kind we need since we have had a near drought but some down fall at least. The heat has been pretty steady though along with some “stuffiness”. 

The second upload today is “party”. I haven’t been to a party lately so I chose this one because it is a place for parties all day long.

The word today is improve.  Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Look not mournfully into the past, it comes not back again. Wisely improve the present, it is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a manly heart. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Catch, then, O catch the transient hour; Improve each moment as it flies! St. Jerome.  I hold that while man exists, it is his duty to improve not only his own condition, but to assist in ameliorating mankind. Abraham Lincoln. Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. Soren Kierkegaard. Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Benjamin Franklin.  He who asks of life nothing but the improvement of his own nature... is less liable than anyone else to miss and waste life. Henri Frederic Amiel.  The great object of the institution of civil government is the improvement of those who are parties to the social compact. John Quincy Adams.  Human improvement is from within outward. James Anthony Froude. 

The last upload for today is “a busy café”. This is a well known stop for many people and seems popular place to visit 

Article: I think this article presented itself at the right time since our Olympics are going on right now.  I was interested in the part of the title that said “believed they were more than sport – they were a religion of perfection and peace” particularly the word religion grabbed me. And especially because it was researched and written by two professors of religion. So I decided to see where it took me in one of my life lessons for today. I don’t watch the Olympics every minute, only in glimpses, but I do admire that it is so many countries of this earth together in one place in some semblance of peace, freedom and friendships. The founder of the modern Olympics said it “was a new type of religion – one shorn of gods, yet transcendent all the same”. He also called it “global harmony”.....and pronounced it “unachievable through politics or sectarian religion”. Pierre de Coubertin desired “to resurrect the Olympic Games after 1,500 years of dormancy”. He was concerned about challenges and changes in the 20th century. The article mentioned that he was concerned that “industrialization was rendering young men physically and morally weak....and that traditional religion was relied on less and less as a panacea for the world’s ills”. He considered the “ancient Greek ideal of mind and body in harmony”. He hoped the renewal of the games would bring some of the “enchantment from ancient Greece”. It’s a goal “of the U.N. and the IOC is to make the world a better and more peaceful place”. The article mentioned that no god or God are featured but the Olympics are designed for a “kind of civil religion that binds”.  The article further relates that Mr. Coubertin didn’t foresee “the role that money and politics” would affect the games which is “in clear violation of Coubertin’s vision”. 

I think we are having taco salad for dinner. 

Joy

                                   sign to be replaced

 August 1, 2024 a thought for today, Don't sell the sun to buy a candle. Latin Proverb

One of my uploads for yesterday was “journey”. For the most part, this is the extent of my journeys these days. It is a trip to the church, the store, a neighborhood photo excursion or a quick trip for fast food. I don’t like to compete with traffic so I stay close to home for the most part unless I have a “journey” with family. 

The second challenge upload for yesterday was “a path”. There are several paths in the near by park each with its own shape and attraction beside its edges. 

The last upload for yesterday and for the month or July 2024 was “photographers choice”. This yet another of the flowers found at the park near my house. It will soon be like the “last rose of summer” but there will still be some colorful autumn bloomers.

Life today. This seems to have been another busy week, not quite as full as last week but almost as tiring. Maybe I was still coming down from the week before. The rest of the week is “free” of obligations on the calendar.

I got to the church early to get the printing done. Patti was already there. Her laptop was already open on the desk so I worked around it to get the printing set up and started. Before I was done Patti and I had a chance to chat and catch up on things. There is an interview for the choir positions. I am hoping the people will be accepted and will want the job. The printing was simple today and was done and done in about an hour.

I had a couple of stops to make on the way home. One of the stops was to pick up one of Sweet Peas medicines. As I was leaving, I saw Donna taking Arthur in to the vet for a visit. I got to meet him personally.  He is a gorgeous and very friendly Basset Hound. After I went on to drop off the mail I have from church, I thought about going back to the vet to get photos of Arthur for my blog and photo archives. But decided against it feeling I might be interrupting their appointment. 

One of the challenges and uploads for the new month is “unedited/edited”. I chose to use a photo of one of my hollyhocks from my archives. I used that image, the one shown, to create the other image. I copied the original blossom to three images. Then I used a filter to give the three connected copies a twrilled looked as an art piece. 

Brian came by today to do the lawn. It probably didn’t really need it although the back seems to grow faster than the front. We also discussed a couple of other things he will be doing for us. We are going to “spruce up” the basement stairway with a new and brighter paint job. Brian will be doing that. He will also be helping to renew the back deck for me. Hopefully both of those projects will be done before autumn. 

After I got home and stated on this letter and set up for my photo archives for the next month, I started the laundry. I got a later start than I typically do so I will be finishing later. This is the first time I have been down stairs since the “crew” finished on Saturday. It looks “unfamiliar”, good, very good, but still “unfamiliar” and something I will have to get use to after so many years. 

I am fighting off a cold right now I think. I don’t catch colds very often. I think maybe it was from over the week end when I was going in and out of the heat to the air condition. 

Now to get the rest of my agenda done and get ready for a meeting at church this evening.

The second upload for today is “photographers choice”. Here is another of the scenes in the park near my house. To me my way of thinking this one gives me the impression of a very beginning of a small forest or the edge of an opening in a small forest. 

The word today is image.  Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life. Aristotle.  Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite. Francis Bacon.  A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome represents conquest; Faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art. Benjamin Disraeli.  Send forth the child and childish man together, and blush for the pride that libels our own old happy state, and gives its title to an ugly and distorted image. Charles Dickens.  Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image, but thee who destroys a good book, kills reason its self. John Milton.  What we have in us of the image of God is the love of truth and justice. Demosthenes.  Science is but an image of the truth. Francis Bacon.  I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. Charlotte Brontë.  

The last upload for today is “on my plate”. I did this “assignment” during the morning and early afternoon so I did have much on a ‘plate’. So I went to my archives for this image of a lunch I had a while back. Spanish rice and a mixed salad was the food fare for that day. 

As the stalwart animal love I am here being another story about animals. This one not such a happy one but one we should be aware of. Remember “all creatures great and small,.....the Lord God created them all”.....we need to protect them all. This story is on a sadder side of the coin. It is about dognapping. It started out with the time of day being late at night, a dog is sleeping on the porch inside a fenced yard. There is a strangers just outside the gate. He “softly calls” to the dog and pets him. As the stranger looks from side to side he opens the gate. He clips a leash on the dog and leads him away. Gone forever. The article goes on the say “it’s a crime that has repercussions that go far beyond the animal’s financial value”. In many studies of pets it has been reported that in many cases the “loss of a pet can have a similar emotional impact to the loss of a loved one”. This article explains getting a better understainding of dognaping and dognappers along with ways to.”keep their four-legged friends out of harm’s way”. In the study of dog napping it was learned that some of the napping is done by one or two thieves. It seems the theft takes some planning. In a bout a third of the cases a vehicle is used to transport the stolen pet. Some even use a bicycle, the rest are on foot. Some of the thefts involve violence on either the owner or property. The pets are hidden in pieces of cloth or bags. They are usually small dogs and ones that will sell easily for higher prices. The pets have acted differently during the robbery, biting or barking, some have been calm and even friendly to the thief. I think that it should be noted that not all thefts end in a sale, they are sometime used to train other dogs in dog fighting. There was an increase in thefts during the pandemic. People seemed to want the closeness of pets during the lockdowns. The article goes on to say as a preventive measure maybe to make the pet less visible with a higher fence.  Microchipping may help to recover the pet. A GPS collar may help to make the theft “less attractive to thieves”.

To end this, another busy week, it is going to be something from the freezer for dinner.

Joy 

these are composites of the photo a day challenges I have had for July 2024