August 25, 2018 - Good Morning. It is 7:00am - Cup of coffee by my chair overlooking Whitney Bay, News headlines fills iPad screen - Oh my, read on.

Hey – Use the click options to the left – In the Photo Page Dave gives some insight to his skill in photographing hummingbirds. – The other options are interesting too.

———————–MY THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ARE BELOW.

Like my homestead – hex signs and all – Old Brethren farmers, like my Dad taught me two things for sure – you better like animals and your better stick to a daily routine.

If the following words of this blog – trigger one helpful thought, I have been successful – the words are to trigger the thought of loving animals and sticking to a routine!

Daily routine – One of the first elements of a happy retirement. Routine, really gives you contact with others, gives you a reason to get up in the morning. For example, In this summer 2018 life, people go by my house and if I am not sitting reading at 7:00am they worry. I feel an obligation to be there – a commitment. – a reason to get up! I have been fortunate to always love what I do when I do it – and I changed it often. In that sense I do what I want to do when I want to do it.- After a while you can change your routine to a new routine – keeps you from getting bored that way.

I retired – yipes – 30 years ago from IBM management – That was my first retirement. But I have lived many lives before that and since then. Been a Brethren farmer’s son, preacher, teacher, Summer Camp Director, volunteer, software designer, rancher, remote island resident, Chamber of Commerce video producer, livestock auction employee, Florida retiree, private business manager, husband, and hopefully friend to many.

I am not the camp director here at the Merritt Island Wildlife Facility, teaching this young girl to photograph wildlife. But for two years, I was Director of a Farm Program at the County own Muscoot Farms, in NY, teaching young folks to love and care for animals.

Throughout each of those lives – even into retirement – two things are common – Daily routine and love of animals.

As I said, you could set your clock by what I am doing, but my summer does not include owning animals – I sold my horse this summer – but looking at my library of photos I see animals photos are a major portion of my library. – so I still have animals around me to enjoy and photograph.

This morning, while making coffee I looked out toward the Bay, expecting to see gulls, ducks, geese, sandhill cranes, and of course deer – I did see them – if they were not there, I worry – see, animals also have a daily routine.

Two spotted fawns munching grass – Momma is off to the left – excuse the my chair reflected in the window!

Even if you must spend a phase of your life on streets like this – enjoy the birds in the trees, – pigeons and animals in the city parks.

Here are a variety of animal photos from my life that I would like to show you:

Florida bunny in lawn each morning at 7:00am

Gull and duck share dock – integrated real estate

While hiking to get photo of a braver house – I look up. Hard to get this close to a Kingfisher.

For two days a month, in Texas, I helped my friend the Auction Veterinarian move cattle through chutes. Many of my Black Angus cattle ran through the auction chute like this one is doing.