November 12, 2025 a thought for today, Falsehood travels and grows. Danish Proverb

My photo challenge uploads for yesterday

The first upload is “white and simple”. It’s pretty self explanatory except maybe for what the white door might be. It is the top of a desk top humidifier. All shot against a white back ground making it a white and white. 

The next upload is “my choice” and is one in my series of “still life”. Three
eggs on a dish towel, a sign of kitchen life.  

The last upload is “brown”. It ended up that I had several shots of brown images. I chose this one for the tone and the textures. 

Life today. What a beautiful morning. It is one of those easy kinds. I haven’t been out of house since church on Sunday.  I decided to go to McDonalds for a fish sandwich and to check out a place for one particular photo that I have in mind for today. As it turned out I got two of the ones I need and the third one when I got home and discovered that my johnny jump up flowers hadn’t succumbed in the snow yesterday so I have the “purple” I need today. 

I had a little time yesterday to open the template for the church’s December newsletter and got a bit of a start on the calendar. Beyond that I was busy with two uploads to Instagram for the church. To get that project done I had to do some photo work to get them ready. 

Yesterday we had our first cold snap for the coming season. About a half inch of snow accompanied the drop in temps to near freezing. I am glad Lowell got me a space heater. I have used it the past two nights. I am in an attached bed room that is small and unheated. It doesn’t take too long to warm it up. Bobbi has become a part time sleeping companion so she appreciates the warmth too. 

I kept things on the to do list for today at a minimum. I do have one commitment I will get done before starting the goulash. I am a few days late again tending to the hydroponic plants so that will get done shortly. 

As I glance out the window I see the sun is bright but having been out and about I know the air has a chill. The next few days the temps are predicted to raise. Nonetheless we are getting a taste and preview of the coming winter. 

The word today is master.  Reason commands us far more imperiously than a master; for in disobeying the one we are unfortunate, and in disobeying the other we are fools. Blaise Pascal.  Wisdom allows nothing to be good that will not be so forever; no man to be happy but he that needs no other happiness than what he has within himself; no man to be great or powerful that is not master of himself. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  Nature is the master of talents; genius is the master of nature. Josiah Gilbert Holland.  Alas! You complain that your soul is out of tune. Then ask the Master to tune the heart-strings. Charles Spurgeon.  Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything. Abraham Lincoln.  The man who gives me employment, which I must have or suffer, that man is my master, let me call him what I will. Henry George.  Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the world. Epictetus.  Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols. John Calvin.  Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master. Demosthenes.  I want to live perfectly above the law, and make it my servant instead of my master. Brigham Young.  A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit. John Milton.  The mind wears the colors of the soul, as a valet those of his master. Sophie Swetchine.  May be is very well, but Must is the master. It is my duty to show justice without recompense. Lucius Annaeus Seneca.  If thou art a master, be sometimes blind; if a servant, sometimes deaf. Thomas Fuller.  We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln.  What worries you, masters you. John Locke.  If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things. Vincent Van Gogh.  It is with our Passions, as it is with Fire and Water, they are 'Good Servants,' but 'Bad Masters.' Aesop.  

Article: As stewards of the earth we should probably be mindful of what people and scientists are saying that concerns our home planet and ultimately each and every human being as well as all other animals who walks this earth. So I decided to read and share this article. The title to the article is “What are climate tipping points? They sound scary, especially for ice sheets and oceans, but there’s still room for optimism?” It opens by saying the risk is a “catastrophic” tipping point”. By saying this they are mentioning that ice sheets and rain forests are changing and that change can be irreversible. The hotter temperatures are leading to melting ice or drier forests. Those changes may not sound overly worrisome but these simple changes can lead to worse and more vulnerable changes. It affects food changes and other “systems” getting out of balance.  There are “virtual laboratories” where scientists use experiments that “generate” climate models studying how air, oceans, and ice interact. They have reached a point of studying “tipping points” in climate activity. I am seeing this as a tool that could be used in reducing the risk of crossing these “catastrophic” tipping points by further learning to and accomplishing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. There are many of these tipping points leaning toward destructions in rain forests like drought and more wildfires leading to killing trees and releasing more carbon into the air. There are alarming tipping points in the sea leading to tropical reefs being wiped out which then affects all species of sea life and the ecosystem on the whole. The article in coming to a close relates how the risks shown by these tipping points are “too risky to ignore”. It does soften the concern by saying that “reducing greenhouse gas emissions slows the alarming warnings and tipping point risks”. 

Goulash sounds good for dinner today. 

My photo challenge uploads for today

The first upload for today is another of the “my choice” and another of my series of “still life”. It is a few stems of flowers from the bouquet Matthew sent us. 

Next for today is “energy”. I find it difficult to show in an image human energy. So I chose to show man made energy instead. 

The last challenge upload is “purple”. While I was out and about I was on the look out for something interesting in the color purple with no success. When I got home I realized a few of my johnny jump up flowers had made it thorough the first winter snow fall. 

Joy

this bonus image shows some depth and finesse in architecture 

 November 10, 2025 a thought for today, Falsehood never tires of going round about. Danish Proverb

My life in photo uploads for yesterday

The first challenge yesterday was “something metallic”. I was looking for and found another photo I needed to day when I spotted this one. It seemed perfect or this particular assignment.

The second upload was “memories”. Naturally this one is from my archives. This was one of the many family gatherings that I miss so much now. But the memories are a comfort.

The third upload was “bridge”. This is the image I was looking for when I found the one at this top of this page. 

Life today. I seem to be very good at finding something attached to something I am working on that urges me to do some research even though it is to confirm something in my thinking or to add to my knowledge base for future reference. What I am trying to say is it causes me to take a short detour that in turn uses time. By the end of the day I have run out of time on finishing the days list of to dos. 

I have the bulletin done and sent to the appropriate folks for proofing. I got back some small changes and additions, which meant time to go back to work on the “finished” bulletin. That is why I like to get it done early, the earlier the better. 

The photo challenges I had today called for some time for setups or searches for the perfect fit. While I was out searching for a couple of the shots I managed to bring the trash can up from the curb and to remove some snow from part of the back porch and my car. 

So the time for the searches and for the snow removal and the photos and a couple of incoming phone calls has brought me to about an hour before dinner time but before that uploads for this letter and the photos that have been “keyworded”, filed and added to the portfolio and archives.

The word today is lower.  As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Pythagoras.  A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires. Marcus Aurelius.  What is it that distinguishes you and me from the lower animals - from the beasts? More, I say, than anything else, human sympathy - human sympathy. Robert Green Ingersoll.  The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Speak low, if you speak love. William Shakespeare.  I consider nothing low but ignorance, vice, and meanness, characteristics generally found where the animal propensities predominate over the higher sentiments. William John Wills. There's a victory, and defeat; the first and best of victories, the lowest and worst of defeats which each man gains or sustains at the hands not of another, but of himself. Plato.  If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest. Publilius Syrus.  Wit is the lowest form of humor. Alexander Pope.  Hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Freedom has invented every useful machine, from the lowest to the highest, from the simplest to the most complex. Robert Green Ingersoll.  

Article: Here is yet another view of AI. This one about learning a language for itself instead of just a translation for “temporary communication”.   The title to the article is “What AI earbuds can’t replace: The value of learning another language”. The article starts by talking about how as a tourist to a country that speaks a different language than our own we can use a translator in our hand. I think we may have used it just shy of AI coming into being on our cell phones with the capability to talk into the phone, punch a button that used what was said and translates it to the other language. I’m sure AI has expanded that feature. The article went on saying that “despite a sharp decline in formal education settings” we have this application available to us. As the article went on it mentioned that learning a foreign language creates the “ability to follow and contribute to a live group conversation”. Since World War II it has been “recognized” that translations in text form do “little to support real interaction”. Further in the article it is mentioned that though the “digital” means of communicating messages like where is such and such hotel and the like there is still a question about there being a “lasting and transformative value of learning and speaking languages”. In furthering the case of truly learning the language and possibly it’s nuances there is the content of the meaning. Such things as “humor, idioms, levels of formality, tone, timing and body language shape” should be also be  considered because of they are important in conversations. The author of the article says that AI may “fall short” with the “instant” interpretations and translations. It is powerful in a short term situation but in this quick translation there may be “distortion of meaning, loss of interactive nuance and diminished interpersonal trust”. As the article is coming to a close it suggests that truly learning the language brings to the forefront cultural and “cognitive empathy”.

I have a package of fried ride that I think I will have for dinner .

My life in photo uploads for today

My first image upload for today is “orange in nature”. I knew there were some fallen leaves that still held some of there orange color. I found this one in the newly fallen snow.

Next is another of the “my choice”. This one is one from my newest series of “still life”.

The third upload is “what I am wearing”. This is pretty much my “hand around the house” attire for most days. 

The last image upload challenge today is titled “diagonal”. I wandered around the house looking for something to fit this assignment. Then I landed on this one....perfect. 

Joy 

the bonus piece was created (before AI) with my image of my garden of holly hock flowers

 November 8, 2025 a thought for today, Evil is soon done, but slowly mended. Danish Proverb

Photo uploads for yesterday

This challenge for yesterday was “a bright sign”. I was looking for a neon sign but didn’t spot one in the time I had to look for one. 

The second upload was “wildlife” . I am a city “girl” so I don’t see to many critters considered wildlife”. Here is one of the most common in for city girls. 

The last upload for yesterday was one of the “my choice”. This is one from my series of “architecture”. It is one taken at a strip mall. 

Life today. The last two days have been perfect. It has been easy going with no deadlines and no “extra” problems arising.  On days I get my personally selected and scheduled daily interests under control I have some time to spend on a “dream” project. If it comes to fruition I will talk about it. Until then I will keep it a dream. Telling a dream to soon may not be a good idea.  Although some say it is a good idea to tell about the dream. I’ll see how it progresses first. It may be mute especially if I give up on it at some point. Things don’t happen if you don’t try, maybe just explore the possibilities first, that’s where I am with it. 

Wow, the beautiful golden leaves are covering areas of the ground. I know when homeowners see them they see a lot of work to clear them. On the other hand for the moment it’s like an awesome blanket made by, guess who. Enjoy the gift of the season for a moment. 

The curbside pick up went without incident as usual. The brining it in and putting it away is the work part. As usual, while I was out I looked for the photos I need and found them, all three plus extras for good measure. 

We took care of one of the pest problems now it seems we are about to have another. I found indications of a mouse in the house.  Bobbi may have a chance to  show her talents though she may need some practice since she is still just a kitten. I will give her a helping hand with an electronic trap. 

I am working on the computer taking care of my “daily interests” while I have the TV on. On Saturdays I like to see/hear some of the cooking shows as well as some of the home remodeling shows. The one that is on right now is one of my favorites. I like the couple who do it. I like their work, I like the hints we see of their private lives. This couple seems family oriented with mixed race of children. They seem like good people with a wholesome out look and respect for the gifts of life. This particular show is called Fixer to Fabulous. Most of the time I am “listening” to what is going on. With this couple I stop what I am doing now and then to see what they have done or are doing. ‘Nuf said ..... back to work. 

The word today is loss.  Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight. Marcus Aurelius.  As for reputation, though it be a glorious instrument of advancing our Master's service, yet there is a better than that: a clean heart, a single eye, and a soul full of God. A fair exchange if, by the loss of reputation, we can purchase the lowest degree of purity of heart. John Wesley.  What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy. Voltaire.  Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them. Saint Basil.  Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt. Francis Bacon.  Hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss. Democritus.  The acknowledgment of our weakness is the first step in repairing our loss. Thomas a Kempis.  Our concern for the loss of our friends is not always from a sense of their worth, but rather of our own need of them and that we have lost some who had a good opinion of us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  'Tis not where we lie, but whence we fell; the loss of heaven's the greatest pain in hell. Pedro Calderon de la Barca.  He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. Confucius. Scientific truth is marvelous, but moral truth is divine and whoever breathes its air and walks by its light has found the lost paradise. Horace Mann.  For even in dreams a good deed is not lost. Pedro Calderon de la Barca.  Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form. Rumi.  

Article: This is not the most exciting kind of story but it may open thinking to what scares people and how it could be constructive to over all growth and how to handle it. The title is “Evil is soon done, but slowly mended”. It began by talking about Halloween and the fact that “fairy tales, the gothic and the macabre have held a fascination for children”. In the fairy tales they hear about  grandmas getting eaten, witches after kids, stepmothers poisoning step daughters. It goes on to suggest that in the long run fairy tales “intimate” a good life even when there is “adversity” when struggles are by shied away from. These days there are new ways children are open to experiencing such fright as “violent video games”. The article named some folks whose children were familiar with the “violent” fairy tales and yet went on the vocations like doctors. When interviewed as a successful adult the doctor said “far from leading me into a life of crime, [Penny Dreadfuls] made me look for something better”. The article said that as children wondered into these “new worlds” of  “Fearful creatures and events” at least they were able to “develop a love of reading”. I gathered from the article that even though Halloween is scary it is seen as “as scary in a way that kids can control, enjoy and even learn from”. In ending the article the author mentions that adults allow for “a glance at streaming or podcast rankings and they are full of gore, true crime and horror”.

I think maybe hamburgers for dinner. 

Photo uploads for today

The first photo challenge today is “something pink I spotted”. I spotted this in a neighbors yard as I was walked around the front of my car in the driveway and glanced over the gate near the car.  I had had a hard time finding anything pink on my way home. This presented itself perfectly.

The next upload today is “triangle”.  This one was harder to find than circle or square. This one is on the dashboard of my car. I think it is the button to push when you want to turn on the flasher lights. 

The last upload for today is “color green”. One of my photo friends titled it
“Oscar the grouch”.  

Joy

bonus art created (not AI) from my image of side walk chalk

 November 6, 2025 a thought for today, If you cannot get the bird, get one of its feathers. Danish Proverb

Photo uploads of yesterday’s life 

One of the uploads for yesterday was “something pastel and soft”. My grandson sent me a mixed bouquet of flowers for Halloween. This is part of them.

The next upload challenge is “a cup of tea or coffee”. This is a cup of hot tea.
My “normal” beverage is iced tea but I broke down for this photo shot and had hot tea. 

The next upload is “penny for the guy”. I had to look this one up. Here’s what I found “Guy Fawkes Day (November 5th) where children make an effigy of Guy Fawkes and ask passersby for a penny to fund fireworks”.

The last upload for yesterday was one of the “my choice” and from my series of “architecture”. I chose bit of modern neighborhood architecture. 

Life today. Here it is Thursday again. The bulletin is printed and disbursed. It was food delivery day for our food pantry so I got to chat for a few minutes with some friends. Meds have been picked up along with something I have been wanting and couldn’t pass up when I was in Kroger (probably another good reason I do curb side pick up for my groceries). I picked up a package of butter croissants. When I worked in the florist many many years ago there was a bakery across the street. I would go over when I got my break for fresh baked butter croissants. 

Once at home I got the laundry started, started a baked potato and took care of kitten things. Oh and while I was out and about I took the photos I needed for today. Speaking of photos, one of the groups I belong with were in the process of getting together our list of challenges for the next year. There are 249 choices. We can vote and the 365 that we will need will come from that list. Some were still life, architecture, faceless, and so on. There was at least one that I haven’t tried yet. I am eager to try it, mirror image, an image back to back. I will play with it. I am more observant of life around me when I am looking for photos. That in itself leads to new experiences in life, surprisingly enough, some become spiritual on a personal level. I am glad and thankful for this particular hobby.  I think perhaps I may have had a Guide to it.

Things have slowed down a bit now. For the next few days I should be able to take a relaxed journey in my daily activities. We had folks other than family in on a couple of days this week so that stirs things up a bit for kitten and human. Next week looks clear.

The word today is long.  Things of this world are in so constant a flux, that nothing remains long in the same state. John Locke.  The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk. Joseph Joubert.  All men profess honesty as long as they can. To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse. John Quincy Adams.  Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth, and it lies close by, But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it. Hesiod.  The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. John Stuart Mill.  It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live I should live honourably. Immanuel Kant. Life is short, the art long. Hippocrates.  If Confucius wasn't born, the long night would have no bright lamp. Mencius.  The ingredients of health and long life, are great temperance, open air, easy labor, and little care. Philip Sidney.  If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word - prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell. Charles Spurgeon.  The aged love what is practical while impetuous youth longs only for what is dazzling. Petrarch.  Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his grief. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite to the sun; short at noon, long at eve. Did you never see it? Henry David Thoreau.  There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not. Francois de La Rochefoucauld.  The eye by long use comes to see even in the darkest cavern: and there is no subject so obscure but we may discern some glimpse of truth by long poring on it. George Berkeley.  Now I begin to be a disciple... Let fire and cross, flocks of beasts, broken bones, dismemberment... come upon me, so long as I attain to Jesus Christ. Ignatius of Antioch.  Let them hate so long as they fear. Lucius Accius.  If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. Lao Tzu.  

Article: I found a place where I gather information on any number of subjects.  It is a site where there is a combined  “academic and journalist” touch. That along with what I see as an exciting and realistic belief is that “curiosity has no age limit”. For me it is a place with information I like to know and share. This article is called “Why can’t every country get along with each other? It comes down to resources, inequality and perception”. The question has been a subject of study  even though like the first sentence says “Countries often share similar goals, such as peace and prosperity for their citizens”. Beyond that lies the differences. Some of the problems suggested are scarcity of food, oil and other necessary resources. Another suggestion is distribution which means as the article says, that things needed in life by most aren’t always available to some. This can result based on “levels of power and capabilities”. Perception is a third possible reason after scarcity and distribution  why all peoples don’t always get along. Perception can lead to misunderstandings since it is how people view the actions of others. These three possible reasons can also be tempered with the fact that leaders of countries have “personal experiences and backgrounds”. As the article is coming to an end it shares that cooperation is an important ingredient but each of us as with nations need to protect ourselves and our interests. Problems come up when there is competition for the same “resources”. As the article further relates that a “power balance” comes in to play.  The competition can become so strong that mistrust happens. The author of the article ended it by stating that “understanding these realities can help countries to build trust and work toward a shared respect that makes peace more likely.”

I am having creamed beef on toast and baked potatoes for dinner. 

Photos of uploads from today’s life

My first upload for today is “something green that grows”. This weed seems to be hanging on regardless of the debris around it’s roots and the changes in weather temperature recently. 

Nest is “street photograph”. I caught sight of this one as I was pulling out of a
parking space. The motorized bicycles have become a regular sight on our city streets. 

The last photo challenge upload for today is another of the “my choice” and another of the “architecture” from the series. This one is a bit of architecture from a strip mall. 

Joy

bonus art image created from my photo image of a farmers field with silo and barn visible 

November 4, 2025 a thought for today, Fair words please the fool, and sometimes the wise. Danish Proverb

Photo a Day upload for yesterday

The first one for yesterday was “a yellow car (or anything yellow that stands out)”. I didn’t haven’t seen a yellow car recently so I chose the first image that had some yellow that stood out a bit.  

The next upload was “my choice” and one of my series of “architecture”
examples. 

The last challenge for yesterday was “purse”. My cleaning lady had put her bag down as she was leaving so I asked if I could use it as my capture for today. 

Life today. I seem to be a magnet for unexpected projects popping up. First of all yesterday I completed most of a bulletin for the wrong person. I realized the error when I was checking some of my old email. The pastor for this week had sent her information two weeks early. To boot the other lay person who I thought would have done this week was assigned this date in October which is the one I had noted and used this month as well. Anyway, it’s all straightened out now, and completed. 

I went to vote early because I had an appointment scheduled for the pest control service to be here at eleven. He came an hour early, I had gotten home before that. He was such a nice young man and very informative. Through some questions and answers I found many of my ideas on the pest problem were right on the dot, so I was pleased with myself. I was also pleased with the way it has all been solved. After he left the man who has been mowing lawns in the area showed up and agreed to do mine too. I had no idea he was coming today. So now I have a new yard maintenance person at a much better price than I had been paying.         

Bobbi and I are becoming much more use to each other. She is also becoming much more comfortable in every corner of the house. She is going up to the second floor now, she shied away from that for the first few weeks. It seems she has found a way into Bob’s room and what more fitting, he is her name sake. 

The weather is still acceptable. It is beginning to move into the roller coaster up and down in temperature. What an exciting time. Believe it or not I am happy to hear to talk of OSU games (it brings Bob to the forefront every time) and sounds from close by school of football.       

The word today is like.  Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress. Napoleon Bonaparte.  Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame. Arthur Schopenhauer.  People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die. Plato.  Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day, which must be done, whether you like it or not. James Russell Lowell.  I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise. Montesquieu.  Patience and Diligence, like faith, remove mountains. William Penn.  This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it. Ralph Waldo Emerson.  There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. Jane Austen.  The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them. Confucius.  Society is like a large piece of frozen water; and skating well is the great art of social life. Letitia Elizabeth Landon.  Friendship at first sight, like love at first sight, is said to be the only truth. Herman Melville.  There is no instinct like that of the heart. Lord Byron.  Good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture. Michelangelo.  I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. Emily Bronte.  Everybody likes a compliment. Abraham Lincoln.  Nobody likes the man who brings bad news. Sophocles.  There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought. Charles Kingsley.  Children can scarcely be fashioned to meet with our likes and our purpose. Just as God did us give them, so must we hold them and love them, nurture and teach them to fullness and leave them to be what they are. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  

Article: This is a story closer to home than some I share here.  I had no idea that this “tower” was in existence let alone with such a history. It looks like there are a lot of places in my State and even city that I know little to nothing about even though I have lived here all of my many years.  The title to the article is “This Mysterious Stone Tower Sits In The Heart Of An Ohio Metro Park”. This tower was built in 1940 but there are “rumors of witchcraft to Civil War ghosts” surrounding it. It is located in the center of a metro park in Dayton Ohio. It was built with stone from condemned buildings. It is 56 feet high with walls 3 feet thick in places. The early name, Frankenstein Castle, was given because of its “spooky appearance”. It started out with a “happy endeavor” for “local boys” then things turned “tragic”. Legends began spreading. The tower has had other names like “Patterson’s Castel to Witch’s Tower”. The tower is “turret-shaped and over looks the ground of the part where it “lives”. There have been stories of mystery surrounding it. One of the legends from the beginning was that at this “Civil War-era building” a woman whose husband died “flung herself from the eaves of the tower”. Other stories began to grow. One said “it was a haven for local witchcraft”. One of the documented stories is about the “tragic death of a 16-year-old girl” that happened there in 1967. Her name was Peggy. She and her boyfriend were in the park during a rain storm so she and her friend “took shelter” in the tower. Lightening hit the tower. She was killed. Her boy friend survived. After that tragedy the tower was closed. It still stands in the park in Dayton Ohio. 

I am having baked fish for dinner. 

Photo a Day uploads for today

My first upload for today is “a tone of brown outside”. At this season in Ohio there are many areas of “brown in the area”. I realized as I was looking for this photo that it’s kind of pretty, all of the brown around. 

The next upload today is another of “my choice” and another of my series of an example of architecture. I shot this one when I went to vote.

The last image is “macro”. It is of Bobbi as close as she would let me get
with the camera. 

Joy

bonus art created (not AI) from an image of the guerilla cage at the Zoo

 

 November 2, 2025 a thought for today, No and yes cause long disputes. Danish Proverb

Photo a day in my life for yesterday and from archives

The first photo challenge upload for yesterday was “something blue I saw today”. I see this “blue” everyday as it rests on the dining room table. 

The next challenge for yesterday was “something metallic”. I was going to use a car or truck but decided to be a bit more subtle by  using the metal posts in the scene. 

The last upload for yesterday was “reflection”. As I passed some of the stores in the strip mall I caught the reflections in some of the windows as I passed by. 

Life today. There were a few more folks at church today than most recent Sundays. It was nice to see everyone. I finally got the right size in a lace face mask. So I wore it to church this morning. Now I am thinking that maybe I should get pair of lace fingerless gloves to go with it (just joking).  

Thursday morning when I ordered a refill on one of my prescriptions the voice on the machine said it would be ready after 3:00 that afternoon. When I stopped to pick it up today the cashier said it wouldn’t be ready until Tuesday.  

Rebecca just called they are going to lunch and ask us to join them. 

I took my photos for today here at home and at church and I don’t have much else on the agenda since it is the day to refresh. I will have to catalog the photos and upload but that should be all to do. 

The word today is lie.  We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter. Denis Diderot.  Half a truth is often a great lie. Benjamin Franklin.  Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those that lie beyond. Hypatia.  People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election. Otto von Bismarck.  By a lie, a man... annihilates his dignity as a man. Immanuel Kant.  Never chase a lie. Let it alone, and it will run itself to death. Lyman Beecher.  If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. Epictetus.  The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education. Plutarch.  A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire and intention, by false speaking, to deceive and injure your neighbour. Jonathan Swift.  There is no sickness worse for me than words that to be kind must lie. Aeschylus. A good portion of speaking will consist in knowing how to lie. Desiderius Erasmus.  A lie has no leg, but a scandal has wings. Thomas Fuller.  A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies. Alfred Lord Tennyson.  The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces. Thomas Aquinas.  To me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears. William Wordsworth.  And, after all, what is a lie? 'Tis but the truth in a masquerade. Alexander Pope. The greatest talents often lie buried out of sight. Plautus.  You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. Moses.  

Article: I find it interesting to learn all we can and how animals lives affect ours so articles like this is one of them. We may learn how to use them coupled with human reasoning. The title is “Social distancing works – just ask lobsters, ants and vampire bats”.  The beginning of the article mentioned some of the animal who have the capability to know when to stay apart from others due to diseases. Some of the animals listed are “monkeys, lobsters, insects and birds”. They can “detect and avoid” sicknesses and survive. The article  goes  on to mention that the animals have “evolved a variety of behaviors that limit infection”. One of the main ways they have found while they live in group-living is by social distancing. According to scientists humans may be able to learn with studies of how this occurs. The article began by mentioning how ants that naturally live in “tight quarters” of thousands of lose relatives are “the most extreme practitioners of social distancing”. It likened the living conditions much like humans in day care centers, college dormitories and nursing home. Further on it said that when disease is felt in the ant community they scene or recognize a contagious disease in the group and they “rapidly change their behavior in ways that slow disease transmission”. The sick ants “isolate” themselves and the healthy ants “reduce” any interaction. They even “close rank” around the “most vulnerable”.  Other animals find other ways of social distancing. I found from the article that human “behavior” when there is disease in their nature of “altruism” helps in evolution. Some of this came through in the COVID pandemic. Humans can practice the social distancing while caring for the sick people in the community as a whole. While animals “rely on subtle cues to detect illness” humans can communicate health threats globally in an instant” and can “maintain social connections without direct physical contact”. The article ended by mentioning that “social distancing can be profoundly disruptive to our society, but it can also stop a disease outbreak in its tracks. Just ask ants.”

It will be snacks for dinner since we went to lunch with Lowell and Rebecca. 

Photo a day in my life for today 

The first upload today is “something red in my home”. This is a cover for my filing cabinet. It has also become a resting spot for Bobbi in her explorations .

Next I made the shot before service began when I stepped down to the hall to the “crib room” in the church. 

Last is “light”. I took this one also while I was at church before the service
began. For some reason my eyes seem to be strongly  attracted to this particular light when ever I sit or pass through in the sanctuary. 

Joy

the bonus art image was created (before AI) from my photo image taken of venation blinds opened to the neighbor hood outside the window

October 31, 2025 a thought for today, Distrust is poison to friendship. Danish Proverb

Photo a day of my life for yesterday

The first unload for yesterday was “pumpkin(s)”. This is part of a decoration at the McDonalds where I often stop for iced tea. They put something similar to this up every year. 

The second upload was “my choice”, an image from my series of “black and white”.

The last upload yesterday was “love”. It is love all the way around, hers for a forever home and me and mine for her as a part of our family 

Life today. So far it has been a great day. There is a memory of yesterday spending with my daughter as we took Bobbi to the vet to have a checkup on her eyes. My worries on her eye was for naught, she is fine though permeant damage is manageable. The memories part is our conversations and just sending some time together and all that is part of that. 

Today I have been taking care of my daily plans in a leisurely manner, that is a relief after a period of projects that have deadlines. 

I didn’t’ get the bi-weekly care of the hydroponic plants done earlier this week so I will do it today. Then there is pet care to tend to, a mothering kind of thing to do and cherish. Then take care of things like ordering furnace filters and groceries for pick up. 

The weather looks good but there is a chill in the air. I don’t recall having a “second summer” or Indian summer yet this season. I guess I may have missed it. 

A word for today is liberty.  Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty. Plato.  All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions. John Locke.  There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism. Alexander Hamilton.  Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power. James Madison.  Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. George Washington.  The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves. William Hazlitt.  Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Abraham Lincoln.  Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it. Frances Wright.  Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. Edward Everett.  Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers. Tecumseh.  Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few. Wendell Phillips.  Enslave the liberty of but one human being and the liberties of the world are put in peril. William Lloyd Garrison.  

Article: At first this may seem on the morbid subject at least from the subject in the title. However, there is knowledge and wisdom in the story matter. There may be “Easer egg” messages found here for other uses.  Check it out.  The title “Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried beneath”. The article starts by mentioning that as you stroll through most cemeteries you will see plants along with all the other expected icons and symbols. It goes on to say that the plants “are planted with purpose, often serving as symbols for the physical and spiritual realms”. The history part of the story begins by saying that in the 1800s in the US growth of cities “boxed in burial grounds”. That led to cemeteries being established outside city limits. In one of the early cemeteries mentioned the “natural state” of the sight was kept in mind as the space was laid out. In the first cemetery mentioned the developers were inspired by the English landscape gardens. I was interested in learning that early rural cemeteries were linked with horticulture societies. Eventually they also became  “green spaces to visit to escape the pollution and crowds of the cities”. In one cemetery there were 175 species of plants and a guidebook was produced. Plants were chosen for the climates they would grow in and also for “the symbolism of their shapes and historical associations of their species”. For instance Weeping willows may have been chosen due to “emotional and visual effects”. Evergreens for eternal life, deciduous trees for the cycle of life. Plants that re-grow each year for immortality. In the time of plagues and wars during the Victorian ages there was a movement called “floriography – “flower language” that led to symbolic meaning for, according to the article, “ almost every flower known”. There was a time in history that other symbols were also prominent on headstones. Symbols would vary with “time and place”. When came to plants that may have been used some would lend to the person’s “ancestry or birthplace”. The article mentioned a thistle on the stone may be a Scottish symbol and a shamrock an Irish symbol. The article said that Yuccas because the live for hundreds of years may have been grave markers themselves for “enslaved people”. There are many plants that are associated with religious symbols grapes, wheat and palms are a symbol in the Christian faith.  Marigolds are used by Mexicans as a path. Victorians use dandelions as love and grief. Daisies for innocence and purity. Magnolias and carnations are often symbols one of strength and one of affection. Red Poppies were popular in the World War I as a remembrance. I learned that herbs also have meaning, for instance fennel is for praise, garlic for courage, mint for protection. Something that was mentioned in the article made me think twice, some cemeteries offer gardening classes. Even beekeepers have an interest in the idea of flowers in the cemeteries. Some cemeteries have become arboretums. I was also surprised when the article mentioned that there is even talk of growing edible crops in cemeteries in area where food is scarce. 

It’s DoorDash night for dinner. 

Photo a day in my thoughts today

The first upload challenge for today is “goodbye, October”`. This is the view of the last day of October 2025 as I sit on my porch swing watching the golden leaves still left on the tree about to give their swan song and the fallen leaves by the curb. With the shadows seemingly offering a so long.

The next photo upload is in keeping with the season, “cemetery”. This one is from my archives. It was taken when my sister and I along with her great grand children use to visit are long ago families surrounded by the peace and tranquility.

The last upload is “my choice” and once more one from my series of “black and white”. Another image I see from my porch swing.

Joy

my composites for photos a day for October

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