We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think.

-- Buddha

For George

Cloud nine gets all the publicity, but cloud eight actually is cheaper, less crowded, and has a better view.
~George Carlin

We are too busy mopping the floor to turn off the faucet.

Big Sky

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.
Frank Lloyd Wright

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw

Old Interstate Bridge

In 1906 A steamer slammed into this bridge, the captain thinking the swing arm was going to open. (it was always slow to open.) The bridge operator was dozing and failed to notice the first signals. The waterway was blocked for days, stranding many boats.
It took 2 years to repair the bridge, but in the 1970's it was dismantled after a new bridge was built. A section of the bridge was left standing and a fishing platform made on it.

Bridges, A Day Early

Tomorrow is the Theme Day for Bridges, but I wanted to show this postcard image today, and another tomorrow.

“The wise man bridges the gap by laying out the path by means of which he can get from where he is to where he wants to go.”
J. P.Morgan


Dream it, and you can do it, is your outline, your business plan if you prefer, to reach your goal. You have to be able to see it, to let yourself see it, dream it. Don't discourage yourself.

This is the aerial ferry bridge, a very unusual bridge and a landmark in Duluth.

Thriving While Dying

I've been watching this tree for a few years now, as half of its top branches have shown no life at all. The bugs and woodpeckers have moved in en masse,and started eating it away. Last summer the tree seemed to give up, and produced no leaves at all. We felt bad, assumed it was a goner, and started talking about taking the top off of it, or total removal, since it's close to the road and an outbuilding. This spring the tree sprouted leaves on half its branches and is trying to look as though it's thriving. Getting energy from its roots after a year of rest I suppose. Meanwhile I look at the intense damage the bugs have done to the lower trunk and to the upper branches. There is no way the tree can be saved, but it's decided to live its last seasons to the fullest I guess. Mighty Oak to the end.

(Click to enlarge)

A Birthday Wish

Rumors have been swirling around the Blogosphere that Kurt celebrated a birthday this weekend. I don't know if this is true or not, since other people told me he wasn't due until August! So just in case, we threw a party anyway.


What I wouldn't give to be seventy again! - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.



Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. - Groucho Marx

Dignity

Be mild with the mild, shrewd with the crafty, confiding to the honest, rough to the ruffian, and a thunderbolt to the liar. But in all this, never be unmindful of your own dignity.

John Brown




I don't need to tell you what the original graffiti was. The overuse of profanity makes the user's true unkind and very pitiable self shine through. A little profanity is totally necessary in this world, though.

On the bright side, this gentleman passed by while I was standing around. I heard him long before I saw him, first a distant hum and then by degrees I could make out the melody and the words of a hymn of praise. He had a beautiful voice and was singing his way across town. I followed him for many blocks, listening to him sing.

Keep Close to Nature's Heart

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

John Muir

Home

Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation.

Margaret Mead

Toast, Coffee, & the Sunday Papers

Home. No matter where I am there are certain things I bring along. My toast, coffee, and the Sunday papers. Sometimes in a remote locale, you may end up reading a Sunday paper from a month of Sundays ago, but that's Okay, as long as the bread and coffee are fresh enough and and hot enough.


Home. With a rural home comes big responsibilities. You want to keep the trees healthy, you need to walk your land often. People will come onto your land and dump old mattresses, appliances, and occasionally an old car. You need to have the patience and the ability to remove the trash that people will dump. You need to keep the woods clean and the wildflowers growing.

why

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings--
I know why the caged bird sings.

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Energy & Persistence

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
- Benjamin Franklin


I find I can't overcome obstacles unless I have the energy, and I don't have the energy unless I keep fit, get some fresh air, and eat right. This viola got stepped on I don't know how many times, and underneath the stone it grows in sandy soil. It gets enough minerals, water and sunshine though, and it blossomed just as nicely as its kin that live in a comfy garden bed.