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 |   A Journal to impart knowledge and facts |
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July 22, 2015 I'm going to start today to record on a daily basis whatever happens to strike my fancy. So, it is a very cool breezy day. I just posted 5 short book reviews to The Monthly Reading Challenge. I'm suppose to put away some winter wood today from the woodpile outside but I'm playing hookey from work to write so starting this blog will get done. I'm having a daily fight with a flock of English Sparrows that are trying to take over my barn. They are making a terrible mess so they have to go. I have destroyed several nests so far they don't leave but they get out of the barn when I am around. I'm just starting the fight so I guess I don't know how far I have to go to discourage them. I'm trying not to spread myself to thin on WDC because I find so many things that are interesting here and I am trying to work on a new story. I really enjoy sitting at my desk with a cup of tea and reading blogs on WDC. |
Fact! Today is 's birthday! *ConfettiB* *GiftR* Write something to celebrate the dedicated Head Judge of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge"  ![Merit Badge in Celebration
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Congratulations on completing your reading goals in [Link To Item #monthlyreading] for May 2018 *^*Bookopen*^*!
~Minja](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Celebration.gif)  Since this is suppose to be Fun Fact Friday: I found some fun facts about Bananas. Two references: https://www.thefactsite.com/top-100-random-funny-facts/ www.Wikipedia.com One of my relatives were warned not to eat bananas at one point in time so I decided to find out what I could. 1. a wart can be removed in about two weeks by running the inside of a banana peel onto it once a day. 2. The banana is an herb and a berry. 3. Bananas have a level of potassium which can lower your risk of stroke or heart attach. (according to a U.S. A. study) 4. Bananas have the K-40 isotope of potassium, which emits a naturally occurring small dose of radiation. You would have to eat about 400 a day in order to notice any damage. Other vegtables that do the same thing are Brazil nuts, potatoes, carrots, beer and some others. It's, a technicality since all foods and humans contain some isotopes with radiation as part of the makeup. 5. There are several biological classifications for bananas. One of them, Musa sapientune = is Latin for Muse of the wise. 6. Green bananas have a lot of starch which turns to sugar as the banana ripens. 7. The banana was first domesticated by farmers in southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. 8. Bananas came to the Americas with Portuguese sailors. 9. Fiber from the plant is used to make paper and textiles. 10. Banana can be dried into chips, frozen to eat later, made into flour, and made into jelly. Happy Birthday Suma1  |
What is the farthest you've ever been from the place you call "home?" The poetic quote that follows is from ZOE ATKINS (1886--1958) This poem is taken from the book: A Treasury of Great American Quotations.So much do I love wandering, So much I love the sea and sky, That it will be a piteous thing In one small grave to lie. ..The farthest I ever traveled was to the Panama Canal Zone. There was an Airforce Base there. My first husband was stationed at the Airforce base. We lived in a one room apartment while I was there. It was a really great place to be. This was in the 1960's. I actually loved the climate. In the mornings there was a fish hawker who ran his hand pulled cart down the alley behind our apartment and cried fresh fish to each house as he moved along. There was a small zoo. With the kind of animals you would expect to see in the jungles of Panama, parrots, monkeys, flamingos, etc. I remember to get boat or car permits there was a long line of people waiting but, to grease the right palm with the proper amount of cash worked faster than waiting in line. Panama city driving was a noisy affair. When the light turned red the cars stopped. Drivers began to honk their horns until the light changed to go again. It happened at every traffic light. I've also lived in Florida, North Dakota, and Texas. I like to travel as long as I can stop and see the sights. I have to count travel online with the 30-Day-Challenge because we have done some really in-depth traveling. I learn so much each place we traveled. When we camped in Yellowstone, I learned about modern tents and camping equipment. How to take care of campgrounds and make reservations. In Europe, I learned all kinds of things about different types of farming, different types of foods, and especially how the cities have become more modern since the devastating destruction of WWII. Cyber travel in South America made me aware of the modern day problems of Countries below the borders of the USA. It also showed me how every day life down there can rise above a lot of the situations you hear on the news broadcasts in the USA. Australia was a lot of fun. Such a beautiful country. I was always aware of environment when traveling there. I liked the zip line rides I rode while we were there. If I ever travel again I will be well prepared. In each country, I spent time reading the local news each countries media posted online. It makes a lot of difference to get opinions, from the sources that experience the news, where it happens. Travel for me is through time. I'm pretty sure in the last 40 some years since I was in Panama City the city itself has changed. I have been in touch with people who have been in Texas more recently and I know it has changed, more people, more cars. The same for Florida. Plus, parts of Florida is going through building renewal because of massive storms the last few years. ![Merit Badge in Welcome
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Welcome to Writing.Com!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/achievements-Welcome.gif) There is a storm brewing here. Must be a big one because the wind is brisk today. I'm charging my kindles and phone, in case the electric goes out. Maybe it will just rain. Looking out my window the woods are turning green. Have a great day. |
In the future, if space travel became possible, would you want to go? What would most influence your decision whether or not to leave Earth? “A still more glorious dawn awaits Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise A morning filled with 400 billion suns The rising of the milky way” ― Carl Sagan, Cosmos  Will it be soon, I'm 74?  Does it matter if I go or stay? Where is the world I would travel to? Is it green like the earth? Does it have wildlife I can communicate with? Are the native inhabitants friendly? Do they understand that humans that migrate try to take over from the local inhabitants? Will I gain the physical ability to live for eons of years if I leave the earth? Is there adequate food on the new planet, so I don't have to depend on the earth to supply me. If there is war on the earth will supply ships continue to bring the colony food? Do I get my own parcel of acreage? About 500 acres might suffice. Do I get to take my dogs, cats, parrots, and pony? What kind of housing is there? I'd like my own villa with lots of solar and WIFI. What about the sun? Is there lots of light? How about seasons? Is there winter? That's my worst season so I have to know how long winter is if it has winter? How about water? Is there a river or a lake on my 500 acres? Do I have to live in a dome or wear a suit with a breathing apparatus every time I leave the villa? Will I have to fight a war with native inhabitants in order to keep my 500 acres? Are their weapons as good or better than Mine?  AW heck. I guess I don't have any money for a ticket anyway. Maybe I'll just stay here and wait until a lot of other people leave. The earth will quiet down then anyway?  ![Merit Badge in Courage
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Congratulations on an honorable mention in WDC Scavenger Hunt 2011! Attached is your GP prize. Thank you for your participation. *^*Smile*^*
Wishing you all the best in future endeavors!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Courage.gif) Out of curiosity, how long is the trip? |
They say art is subjective. What is art to you?  "EVERY ARTIST WAS FIRST AND AMATEUR" by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803--1882) From: A Treasury of Great American Quotations I like scenery pictures or artistic paintings of animal life and nature. I found a painting of a tall ship in the salvation army, which I brought home and hung on our wall. I found a painted bird picture of a cross-billed bird on a piece of barn board at a yard sale and a chickadee painted on sandstone at a flea market. I hung them both on my walls. And, a huge ring of grasses (looks like African Art). My daughter-in-law is an artist. Actually, An excellent artist with a degree in art. She gave me a charcoal drawing,a characatur of A lion lying down with a lamb. It really is an interesting picture. When I was in college I took a course in Art Appreciation. I wish I had also taken the Music Appreciation course. In the art course we were subjected to all the masters who painted in European Cathedrals and other paintings as well.Art taught on a time line so we saw cave drawings down to more modern ideas. Where we live there are lots of chain saw artists. They carve things out of tree stumps. Another kind of newer art is welded art. Pieces of discarded metal welded together to make a ???? Down the road from us is a large piece of acreage that changed hands after the elderly gentlemen who owned it died. The new owner is not well liked. But, he put one of these chainsaw carvings in his front yard of a pioneer with a coonskin cap and a flintlock rifle, It"s kind of  . It kind of speaks of what he believes. Over the years TV detective and other kinds of shows have tried to mingle crime stories with gross art. Mm? Not sure how that works. So, I looked up the word subjective just to be sure. It gives me a way out of this discussion. Whatever trips your trigger, as long as it is not exploiting the subject of the picture. Art is art. Pornography is pornography. They are not done with the same voice or reasoning behind them. This is a long video so if you are interested, you can skip ahead to see the finished pieces after you get the jist of the piece. Badges are also art.  has some artists as well, as writers. |
Regarding your craft of writing, is there something specific you want to improve on or give more attention? What steps will you take to motivate yourself?  A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. Steve MartinRead more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/funny  I don't think I need motivation as much as I need space. My computer is in the same room as the TV. It's difficult to compete with the sound. My earphones are not sound deadening types. I have lots of writing how to books where I can actually seek good advice. I have tried to stop and say OK now what? When I do, I can write. I'm actually thinking of moving my desk and computer which will be a major job. And, I have not figured out where to move it which will be a beneficial space for more privacy and quiet. I think better when it's quiet. Sound drives me nuts. I can't type with a lot of intrusion from background noise. I never read in a room that has a TV or music playing. I've discovered technology on Amazon which would assure me of WiFi, wherever I move, in the house. In the meantime, I just keep plodding on. I have to consider both summer and winter seasons as the house is at different temperatures in different rooms. I really don't want to lose my window to the outdoors while I compute. Just lots to consider. The end. ![Merit Badge in Point of View
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Happy Birthday! Belatedly. I like your point of view *^*Bigsmile*^* ~Adrienne](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Point_of_View.gif) Bye all.apondia#1781748 |
Happy Sunday! Take the time in your blog today to reflect on your week. Share one thing you accomplished this week and one thing you hope to accomplish next week. “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”― Anthony G. Oettinger https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/time Sometimes, time seems to be flying faster than I can keep up. This was one of those weeks.  I really had given up on Spring but, this week it proved me wrong and came waltzing in with green grass, warm weather, and summer birds at the feeder. I accomplished ordinary things like, feeding dirty dishes into the dish washer, putting clean dishes away,cooking and eating regular meals, finished reading a book and started another. Vacuumed floors, changed sheets, took out the garbage. Special things I accomplished this week: Organized my guitar music into a portfolio, blogged with the 30-day everyday this week,and bathed the dog and started his flea meds for the season ahead. Cleaned away branches under the maple tree in the front yard and put them in the brush pile to be burned. Practiced yoga two or three days, played fiends on my kindle, and shedded out the pony hair; (this time of year winter fur comes out in gobs and the gobs seem never ending; until she has this slick shiny coat left for summer.) Next week: I hope to continue cleaning downed limbs, K put the mower in order, so we need to start mowing lawn. The lawn is already 6 to 8 inches tall. We have a lot of trees close to the house, in the yard and high winds in April. So, lots of shed branches to dispose of before we can adequately mow . I also need to spend some time filling a couple cooky jars full of cookies. It will probably be peanut butter and zucchini chocolate chip. I need to take some advice and start to write every day to finish some stories I started. And, I need to finish a Udemy Course on Medicine. The course is short. I started it in April and it is half finished. I will do a lot of these listed items, but the one I hope I really take time for is the writing part. It is a case of just do it. I read a book about doing 500 words a day to make some progress, but I soon found out that if you really sit down to write 1000 words a day is just as easy as 500. I need to get up earlier. I really need another set of hands but, it takes money to hire someone and alas, no money just lots of things to do.Truly, I'm never bored, are you?  You asked, I shared! |
Stand outside for two minutes. Make a list of ten things you can smell, ten things you can hear, and ten things you can feel . The older I get, the more I appreciate my rural childhood. I spent a lot of time outdoors, unsupervised, which is a blessing. Barbara KingsolverRead more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/outdoors I took my facts from the time I spent doing Pony chores in the barn this morning. Ten Smells: 1. Fresh mowed grass = The neighbors are mowing already. 2. Hoof dressing from painting the ponies hoofs before she goes out for the day. 3. Kerosene from the kerosene can on the back porch. 4. Hay, from when I put out hay for the pony for the morning. 5. Daffodils from the yard. 6. Pony manure from pitching waste into the trailer. 7. Freshness of the air, just from leaving the enclosed space of the house and walking into the back yard. 8. Wood from the pile of cut wood by the shed door. I think it is cherry. 9. Auto exhaust as k left with the car. 10. Diesel from the tractor. Ten Things you can hear (I have perfect pitch) Sounds can be distracting or unidentifiable 1. Peepers on the pond: yes even early morning on a rainy day they sing. 2. The honk of a blue heron also on the pond. 3. Canada geese flying over, headed for the beaver dam. 4. many different kinds of bird calls welcoming the day 5. The pony yelling hi when she hears me come into the barn. 6. A squirrel scolding from a tree. probably mad I'm on its porch. Um. I mean my porch. 7. Dogs barking. Neighbors and mine. 8. lawn mower starting. K trying to get it ready to mow. 9. telephone. early morning call from my daughter. 10. Electrical sounds in the air / probably from the electric lines or someone saying a rosary. Ten thing you can feel? 1. Dampness from the fog. 2. Wet grass 3. Coarse mane on the pony while brushing her 4. Smoothness of the old wooden handle of the pitch fork. 5. Cold metal on the barn door lock. 6. Softness of the hay when I shake it out. 7. Char's dog leash in my hand is crocheted 100 percent twisted nylon twine. It has wooden beads embedded in the weave. I can feel the weave and the beads as the leash slides through my fingers and then is gathered up again when he runs forward and backward smelling the ground as he goes. 8. Cold of the metal when I hold the Barn door open for Char. 9. The rough texture of hay twine that I use to tie the stable door leading to the paddock open so the pony can move in and out of the barn for the day. 10. Coldness of the air, which caused the fog, when the cold air rolled over the ground, which was warmed yesterday. The quote above from Barbara Kingsolver made me remember that being in tune with the outdoors gives people a natural awareness of the surrounding environment. You may not realize that you smell, hear, or feel things until you think about what you are feeling, seeing, smelling or hearing. ![Merit Badge in Golden Reader Award
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Congratulations on finishing your [Link To Item #2174465] for 2018 *^*Bookopen*^*!
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| Tell us a fact about one of your ancestors. Where does your family come from? How far back can you trace your ancestry? Today's prompt has an added Blogging Tip. Kudos to Emily. Some relatives on my father's side of the family produced a documented ancestry. I had a copy for awhile. When my oldest son was still living at home he requested to study it and I gave it to him. Since I haven't read it for some time (30 years is only a time estimate). Anything I remember may be subject to change or possibly wrong. Anyway, I seem to recall something about English relatives, and Relatives who came over on the May Flower. My grandfather once told me a story about his relatives who were chased out of some town, in a different state, for an unspoken reason. The story goes that they packed up wagons and possessions sent the women and children on ahead while the menfolk doubled back and burned all the crops and fields. MY grandmother was disgusted at him for telling me the story. He just laughed. Grandad liked to tell some odd stories while grinning like a Cheshire cat. I once thought about looking up the relatives on my Mom's side of the family. I especially would like to know my Mother's, Mother's maiden name. I went as far as to find out, that if you can't afford Ancestry.com you can do research for free, from the USA Government. I never bothered to follow through. There is an Oriole at my feeder this morning. Spring has Sprung. Pre-environmental class showed me how to go into cemeteries and read headstones to find historical facts and figures. It was kind of fun because the cemetery we used for field work had a lot of civil war veterans buried in it. I like life time stories of ancestors. How they lived. Where they settled. What made them tick. What would they think of the way we live now with high powered cars, drug wars, WIFI, Kindles, online shopping? Land ownership is a big deal around this part of the country. For some reason people have a wild idea that they should take possession of property that may have been sold out of families 50 to 100 years ago. (here is a story for a fact checker): I was told that the farm I own was bought by my great grandparents and given to my grandfather and his sister when my grandfather married. So, the land was split between the boy and his sister. My grandmother was college educated and taught music. MY grandfather's sister was a Doctor and sold her share of the land to my uncle, my dad's brother. Uncle was a farmer who farmed dairy cattle. When his house burned he moved his family to town and opened a paint store. My dad bought my grandfathers share of the land from the family when grandad died. The story goes that originally, the land was one large piece that was owned by relatives of my mother? I never verified any of this in anyway. Grandma told me her and grandad did not want to be farmers. Sometime in their life, they moved into the nearby town and the farm was the place for family gatherings on thanksgiving until my dad brought my brother and I here to live after my mom died. Sometime after I married and moved away, my Dad and step mother moved into town. When my dad lived here he had a few dairy cattle for awhile but always worked in town at a local factory. when I moved back here we wanted to turn it into a horse stable. Eventually, that turned into raising sheep, dairy goats, children, and fowl. Personally, I don't want to go anywhere else. I hope this is where I will be. Winters are not easy but watching spring return and summers make up for winter. It is wilder land now. More forest and less pastures. More wildlife. The road out front is still dirt. K tells me if he outlives me he will have me cremated and throw the ashes on the land.  The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space... on the infinite highway of the air. Wilbur WrightRead more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/wilbur_wright apondia#1781748 |
| Remember bringing something from home for “Show and Tell” at school when we were little? Today, I want you to do the same in your blog. Pick an object that means something to you and describe it. What does it remind you of? How did the object come into your life? Does it bring you comfort? What is the story behind the object Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/tell  THE SAGA OF CHEECH The story behind the object: On July 3rd my daughter, K and I were on our way to a grocery store to pick up 4th of July yummies. We passed a cornfield that was already waist high. (old farmers saying: a good field of corn will be knee high by the 4th of July.) A dog sat on the edge of the field and when the car rolled by he jumped onto the road and followed us for a ways, (this is behavior indicative of a dumped dog). I started to proclaim about the dog. Why did it follow us? Is it lost? should we stop? K was all, "no, no leave it there. We don't need any more dogs." My daughter and I agreed if it was there when we returned we would become involved. Well. He was there when we returned. Again he followed the car aways, but we kept going. At home we unloaded shopping bags. Then Rachel and I got out the spare leashes and got back in the car. When we stopped at the corn field the dog would not approach all the way, just hovered when we called. He was very skid-dish. Rachel was determined so when he disappeared into the corn field she followed. We did all this tromping through the corn field with trepidation. We were not personally acquainted with the farmer and did not know how he would feel about someone walking up and down the corn rows following a dog. Eventually, Rachel was able to drop a leash loop over his head. He was frightened and fought the leash some until we got to the car and opened the back door. At that point, he dropped down panting from the heat. The day was oppressively hot and worse because the ground was dry and dusty. He was bony and underfed. I just held the leash and let him rest. In a few minutes he got up and jumped in the back seat of the car by himself. Just before we left I noticed a bowl of dog food and water at the end of one of the corn rows. Then another car stopped. An elderly lady rolled down her window and asked us what we were doing. She said we should leave the dog alone because the township would sent down a game warden with a gun. He would know what to do with the dog. At home the dog wasn't fighting the leash anymore he followed docilely into the house. I settled him into a crate in the family room with water and kibble. In the next two days the food bowl was empty every time I went down to check. He went out on a leash and was glad to return to the family room. ON day two I just opened the crate so he could roam around. In the meantime, I was able to speak on the phone, to the owner of the corn field. He said there were two dogs roaming the area for about two months. One of them came up missing and he was trying to make up to the one we took but, it was too frightened for him to approach. He wanted to know how we managed to catch it and what we would do with the dog? when I told him I had an appointment with the vet to have it checked out and neutered, then it would be living with us. He said it was OK and the corn field was not any worse for the wear. I stopped at PET-SMART one day to buy a harness and collar. Every once in awhile there will be one awesome thing there, that is just right. Today was one of those days. Usually, I don't think of rhinestones in the context of a male dogs collar. But, when I saw this one I knew it was for Cheech. It is 21 inches long, 1 full inch wide, and black. The whole length is dotted with quarter inch rhinestones embedded with silver keepers. Between each rhinestone are two metal silver dots lining the outside edges of the leather. Eleven rhinestones, 24 silver dots. Cheech had been wearing a hand me down collar. When I returned home I showed it to him and said, "This is your new collar." He laughed with a lolling tongue and licked my hand. He always was glad after a bath to have his collar back on. By this time, Cheech had been neutered, had all his shots and was exhibiting some great characteristics. He loved all our other dogs and cats. He instantly became the leader of the pack. When I went to the barn in the dark he followed behind me and sat at my back and watched for ??? while I unlocked the barn door. My son came over to the house one day without any knowledge that we had a new dog. Cheech chased him out the door. MY son managed to get back into the house and lock the dog in the bathroom. Cheech ripped the bottom of the door off trying to get out and finally managed to chase my son again. Nobody actually got hurt but I had to promise to let my son know if I got any more new dogs. I never worried about the house or other pets, he always took care of other creatures. We had him 13 years. I don't know how old he was when we brought him home. He actually helped raise the little dog I have now. He died one night of a stroke. I keep his collar on my big yellow stuffed bear. I always thought I would use it on another dog if I get a large dog. So far there are no candidates that need a rhinestone collar. P.S. The color of the collar was black the dog was gold. In the last two weeks we have had two dogs running in the neighborhood who don't seem to belong to close neighbors. I'm sure they must belong to someone because they look well fed and clean, wearing plain brown leather collars. I hope who ever owns them realizes how many bad things can happen to dogs that get loose and run wild in the country.   Write On! apondia#1781748 |
Crazy as it may sound, we are now officially 1/3 of the way through 2019. Write about some of your goals and plans for the remainder of the year. What are you looking forward to? I knew we were deep into the year but I didn't know the percent. I have goals for this year. I'm still cleaning out miscellaneous things from the house. I need to clean downed limbs out of the lawn and somehow get something running to mow it. I've been reorganizing my music for my guitar. I want to play it more. We started to re-insulate the living room 2 years ago. I want to finish it this summer. A plus about cleaning out the house is; there are quite a few things that need new homes. I'm looking forward to a complete rout of unused objects. My Goodreads goal is 50 books. I don't know if I can finish that or not. My little dog gained to much weight over the winter so he needs lots of walks to wear it off. I am writing. Does anyone else welcome the reminders from the staff on ? It keeps me motivated to write on a regular schedule. I also like to review and don't do enough reviews. Depending on how long I have to be online I will try to do more reviews. Also, I took the review course from New Horizons Academy so, I was sorry to hear they are closing the Academy. I extended my writing knowledge with the courses I took from them. I want to assure us a way to heat the house better next year. We never had the seriously low temperatures in our house that we had this year. On the other hand maybe we did and I was to young to notice.  I don't like heating with wood. Besides being an environmental tragedy it is a strain on me to keep the furnace filled. We have a perfectly fine propane furnace. When the price gouging started, oil refineries that had been near for years closed. I'm under the impression that propane is derived from refinery practices. The electric company is pushing electric heaters. I'm still looking into the possibilities. The first part of the year went by so fast I don't want to blink I will lose the rest of 2019. I'm looking forward to summer weather. I insulated the balcony summer room last fall. It has lots of windows and view. I hope I can do some reading out there during the summer. Everything is changing again. Companies in the area are selling to new owners. The internet seems to be in crisis because I have to constantly change passwords. I closed one email address in 2017. It was positively closed, then I received a message, that it has 12 messages in it? How can that be? O.K. I'm looking forward to reading other blogs. How well are you managing the coming months? I will keep busy. It isn't can I find things to do. but can I keep the mountain of to do's from crushing me. ![Merit Badge in Job Well Done
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Congrats for the most creative entry about the Iditarod! Norb and Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Job_Well_Done-1150.gif) keep on keepin on! |
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