I love living on slow Pondering Island – officially named, Drummond Island.You see, Pondering Island is beautiful. It is where nature fills my eyes every moment of the day without TV, radio, or other distractions.
Pondering is a way of slowing down the world and forming thoughts and responses over time. Our popular current culture promotes drama where emotional responses are glamorized in the news media, the FaceBook accounts, and even the sports events.
So, while nature is filling my view of the world, I sit and ponder.
The other day, I even sat and pondered about “Black Lives Matter.”Don’t all lives matter? I grew up in a culturally isolated community,- sort of like the Amish.Our lives mattered and we were taught, from day one, that all lives mattered. The lives of all ethnic groups matter.If we are guilty of innocent ignorance, fix it.If Dixie is an offense word to some – do not use it. For example: Maybe “Dixie Cups” was , I am sure, innocently named but it is offensive to some due to the word Dixie’s tie to the confederacy. If the owners of Dixie cup now changed it to “Great Cups” would they loose a lot of business? Offending someone out of innocence ignorance is one thing but offending them’s once we know better – let’s not do it.
Oh my pondering is complex.
OK, here are a few photos to show you some nature around me so that you can look at them a ponder. Now, do not let me influence you – You ponder your own thoughts – but take the time to ponder say I.
Maybe you did not see the gull sitting on the pole at the end of my dock – I know him/her – that is his pole – no one else is allowed to sit there – I Pondered why only him/her??My other dock – this dock is the daytime sleeping place for this duck family – but other creatures from time to time came share – I pondered why??Finally too many gulls wanted to share dock number 2 – the ducks left and went to my dock number 1 – Here they are – I pondered why the gulls got dock number 2 and the ducks had to get up and go to dock number 1??I seems butterflies like this tree trunk – no flowers here – but this one left and a seconded on landed right here – I pondered why??These are twins – Why does one appear so much smaller – I pondered why??
I love a storm – Gloria sent me a photo of a Florida storm – Look at the contrast of colors – Ponder why a storm creates such a beautiful photo, or a work of art – or ponder why you are hungry or ponder anything – just look at nature (this beautiful Florida storm) and take the time to ponder.Look at these 60 geese -5 days ago I counted them as I chased them out of my front lawn – they eat all the grass and make lots of poop – not good for front lawns. Oh My what about pondering – look at the next photo.5 days ago 59 geese left our bay – Have not seen them since – but this one stayed – I pondered why? did he/she loose his/her mate and stayed in mourning; was he/she a bad goose and the other 59 kick him out of the group; is he/shethe king/queen and told the other 59 to get off this bay; or does he/she have a broken wing and can’t fly with the other 59? Ponder that, and you may not be able to sleep tonight thinking about it.I pondered what drove these people to tell me not to pick a bouquet of wild flowers for my homeThis is a big rock dropped here many years ago by the melting of the glaciers – over time leaves gathered on top – made soil and trees grew straight up from the rock – I pondered how many years that took and I pondered how many years ago the glaciers melted.This frog just sat there looking at me. So I pondered how close I could get to him with my iPhone camera. I lay on my tummy and wiggled up close.I pondered why the camera tinted the shot – bu now I know I could get close and I know what a frog looks like up closeI tried to lay on my tummy wiggle up close to this snake but off he/she went – He/she did not like looking in my eyes. – I pondered the difference between the the frog and the snake.
I truly hope you enjoyed my snapshot of nature – it is OK if you forget all the pondering and just enjoy nature where ever you are.
As you swing through life, Ponder why I never get anything done – why all I do is ponder – See, while you ponder that about me – know that pondering is good for you.
NATURE: Here on Drummond Island, Michigan, we see and accept the way nature adapts every day. It is fun for me to search out these adaptions as I tool around many miles on my bike each day.
Nature is so subtle and I see these subtle adaptions on the Island every day, so I will show you a few photos of my everyday life on the Island.
By subtle, I mean things like some plants like their feet (roots) in water.So, here on the Great Lakes, this year the water level is up and we have a proliferation of Lilly Pads, and Water Orchids. But, others plants are dying because the high water is engulfing their roots. For example, the Tamarack grove by my upper dock no longer lives!
Love wet feet – LiliesLoves waterDie with wet feet
Also, by subtle, I mean the bucks hang out together. They do not really hang out with the does and the fawns.They are waiting for their antlers to loose their velvet and for the does to loose their fawn’s dependency on them – That is when the rutting season comes in Sept/Oct – Let me tell you they hang out together then – making new babies.
Momma busy with fawns – no bucks hereHanging out together now – waiting for rutting seasonReally, he is hanging out with the other two.
Here is a another subtle thing. In this case, I can not explain why nature is the way it is.There are thousands of trees in the woods on the Island.I am sure they are all infected with bugs – mostly ants it seems.But, why did the Woodpecker select this tree to peck large holes in it when no other tree around it was touched? Guess it is advertised as the best restaurant in town (the woods).
The best restaurant on town – oops in the woods
Now , study this subtle invasive of plants come from somewhere else.On the Island there is one foreign plant we call Knapp Weed. It has taken root where no other plant seems to want to grow.Knapp Weed grows right along the edge of the road where the soil is hard, rocky, and packed down when cars drift off the road surface. Yet the Knapp Weed survives. That is a mystery of nature that gives these invasive plants the ability to allow their feet (roots) to take hold in that unless soil.
Invasive and tough and hated by the local people – an example of plant nature and of human nature
Some humans vacation and or live on remote Islands where there is nothing to do and some do not – subtle quirks of human nature – Oh my!
Nothing to do here on the Island
Now think about the subtle things of human nature – Why am I known for wearing Cowboy hats and boots? Why does Christine drive around on trails using an off-road vehicle even while driving the state road to her medical office to stitch up an emergency. Why do people spend hours studying how to do a paintings, collect rocks, sit for hours drinking beer and talking, — and the list of unique, quirky, and fun human nature ways of living goes on and on. So, if you do not have deer, Knapp Weed, water lilies, and woodpecker trees, enjoy the human nature around you, and those unique quirky human nature traits in you.
As you swing thru life, study quirks of nature – especially, human nature because it is most quirky and fun to study, especially if deer, Knapp Weed, water lilies, and woodpecker trees are not a part of your daily life.
Today in the 70’s and bright sun – yesterday in the 60’s and solid rain.
Before leaving Florida – a launch – if you study the clouds you can see images – here are a few dogs or something looking the wrong way – they missed the rocket – it is behind them – Oh myRemember that snake sunning in the tree here on Whitney Bay, Drummond. – back again todayBreakfast with a Duck family swimming by – in center of photo – Honest they are there – lower center..In Florida looking out the front window I see people walking – often with a dog. On Drummond I see things like this Swan couple walking (oops – swimming) with, not a dog, but a baby Swan.Is nature always accepting of color – notice the 3 geese on the left looking at the white Sea Gull among the other geese?Drummond is a lot of nature – I made this garden of rocks and pine trees from the woods on my propertyI see things, not only in clouds – but here in a stone pile I see a donkey with a twig hanging out his mouth.Drummond flowers peeking over Pudding StoneIn velvet – Left one in July 2020 and right one in August 2019. I put 2 photos together, one from last August and one from this July. Same buck – but he was injured over the 11 months? Automobile or bullet? I do not know. But his right front leg stays in the bent position now. He looks a little thinner – but just like last year he will eat corn out of my hand and his jolly good nature has not been damaged. Even when dashing along on three he seems to smile – In fact he seems faster on three than he did on four last year.As you swing thru life – snap a photo – use it as a prop to tell your story – They want to here your story more than want see the photo – the photo is only a prop to help you start your story.
In TGO Florida – If you can not social distance – wear the mask. Took this photo in TGO last week.
Do not forget to go to Dave’s photos on the TGO Photo Club page Click here
I am no longer in TGO, I am now on the Island – The Great Lake’s water level is up several feet.
Looking south into the open waters of Lake Huron beyond the gap in the center.
That makes it even more fun to live on the shore of Lake Huron. The geese families, the fishing boats, the snakes – Yes the snakes!!! I love seeing snakes – not petting them or anything like that.
Mead’s charter boat wake. I really enjoyed my bike ride this morning – checking out a family of geese – Mead, our local fishing charter made a wide berth around them as he waved good morning to me. You can see his path via his boat wake on the other side of the geese.Poor tree with its feet stuck in the water.
The high water comes up around trees growing on the shore. Sorry to say it kills the trees. But I suggest you ponder the ways of nature. Say you, “I pondered it and I see no value in having the water kill a tree.” Well, if you were a Drummond Island water snake, a dead tree is better for sunning yourself than the sands of the New Jersey shore – that is for sure!
This is like the Jersey Shore for this water snake – bet you did not even see him laying there in the previous photo.As you swing thru life – Enjoy the beauty and strange ways of nature – In fact, I suggest you find ways to marvel at them.
Power of suggestion – Subtle most often. But I am suggesting that you never just casually notice the clouded sky. Rather I want you to study the clouds.
But first a few comments on the power of suggestion found on the internet as I studied “Power of suggestion” this week:
Green stands for health – Grocery stores might place a table of green vegetables near the front to set your mind thinking they sell lots of healthy food here and I should eat healthy. The display is only a mental suggestion.
Orange stands for friendship and trust. Grocery stores might place a table of orange fruit near the front to set your mind to thinking this is a very friendly place to purchase groceries. The display is only a mental suggestion.
On the darker side, the power of suggestion can condemns innocent people.
It has been proven that if before viewing a police lineup, you hear someone say “I’m sure that the robber had a beard,” you’re more likely to point out a person with a beard, even if you’ve never seen him before, or even if you were sure that the robber was beardless just a few minutes ago. Suggestion alters your memory in such a way that you forget what you actually experienced.
I think in my last post I wrongly condemned the raccoon. Because I saw the raccoon’s picture on the label – right at the top of the animals.
I condemned the raccoon, even if the teeth marks were way too big for a raccoon
and the first bottle was completely missing.After listening to suggestions made by viewers that the marks are too big to have been made by a raccoon, I now think the culprit was that 12 foot gator that I have seen walk between the lake behind us and the one across the street.I think he swallowed the first bottle whole.
Anyway, the picture of the raccoon on the bottle first suggested to me who did it. Now, I erased that suggestion and never go out in the dark without a light, I now look for gators because Sandy, our naturalist, suggested I study the size of those tooth marks on the bottle – I did and my mind knows the culprit was the gator that I never saw – Or was it?
Now, I will show you the results of a suggestion made by my wife – just to be funny.
Just last week Gloria suggested I do something about my hair (on the left) which was not cut since February due to the Coronavirus restrictions. See, the result of her suggestion on the right.
On to me suggesting you study the beautiful cumulus clouds we have in Florida this time of year. It is impossible for me to look up at those clouds and not see images in the clouds. This hobby of cloud watching is a great way to spend time while being penned up by the Coronavirus.
Here are a few examples:
I see an image of a smiling face and arms reaching out.At least three faces – maybe more.Sometimes my mind adds to the image seen – here is as I saw it.Here my mind added two puffs just for funAs seen.My mind saw a conversation happening.As you swing thru life – Look at those beautiful cumulus clouds – find the images, let your mind be free to shape and add to them – the sky is the most beautiful art museum – and you can enter for free. Let me know if my sky watching suggestion has influenced how you look at clouds.
I spent 20 or so years raising chickens, ducks, emus, peacocks, and other domesticated birds. I, also, spent many years enjoying the outdoors and the wild birds found there.
Dave Cesari used his camera, though, to capture something I never saw – a look of “baffled” on a bird’s face. Sort of saying “What the h… just happened?” Click the TGO Photo Club Page to see his new posting.
Then scroll down to see my story of “What the h… happened here?”
In my last blog, about edgy photos, I told you of the new Blue Daze plants in my rock garden with a hungry visiter. Click “older post” at the bottom if you missed it.I went to a local retail store to buy a bottle of spray to put on the plants to deter the rabbit from eating my expensive landscape. On the label it said it is guaranteed to not harm the rabbit. I sprayed the plants for a couple days and I saw the rabbits avoided the Blue Daze and munched on my lawn. Perfect, “Repels-All” is a success. I stored the bottle on my porch for use every couple of days – I spayed the Blue Daze after each major rain storm.One morning I walked out and saw the bottle was not on the porch. Hey, the bottles is laying out in the Lawn???? – Check it out – Bottle was empty – at least $10.00 of the stuff gone? What you think?
Options:
Rabbit took the top off and poured the stuff on the ground?
I had one too may drinks the night before and somehow poured the stuff out?
The ghost up in the sky that protects all rabbits came down and protected my rabbit?
?? what you think – Look at the label – repels almost every wild animal living in civilized Florida.
Top animal the it repels is a raccoon – even if the stuff smells like fish – maybe a little rotten fish – do you think that raccoons are repelled by a little rotten fish smell?Lots of deer, armadillo, & tweety birds around – I don’t think these teeth marks are made by any of them. Yep, I vote for the top animal – the raccoon – I did see him hanging around last night – think he was hunting for more of the $14.00 product called Repels-All.
I THINK I WAS DUPED BY THE PICTURE ON THE BOTTLE LABLE – The retail trade did it to me! By putting a picture of a raccoon on the label I was duped into thinking I did not need to keep the bottle from them. Yep, I was duped. That is what I think.
Tell me what you think. What happen here?
As you swing thru life – read the labels then use your own good logic – I think the smell of dead fish will seem like a good meal to a raccoon – Oh well, future interesting labels will entice me to pull out my credit card, I am sure. And, who knows, I maybe be wrongly accusing that raccoon anyway.
Did my mind wonder or wander? It pondered a stressful word pronounced “Edgy.” Read on. I wonder if you might understand.
Everyday a very talented artist explains to me her latest work by discussing the various aspects of the creation. Just as a baby learns his or her native language from the conversations in his environment, I learn the native language of art from these discussions with the artist.
But last week a new term crept into the discussion. It was the “art” term – “Edgy.” Ask I of her, what does it mean when my PhotoShopped photos are not edgy enough? Does it mean the art is blurry – edges not sharp. No, no – said this artist – It has to do with the dictionary’s definition of edgy when “edgy” is used as slang: “Socially dangerous, daring, intellectively provocative – tending to induce unease or stress in viewers.” She went on to say you can put edgy into art with a splash of bright red where viewers do not expects it.
I just smiled and my mind said to me, “Be nice now and just pretend you understand” – I did exactly that, I pretended. Then I went to each picture I planned to show you – added a splash of red. I had a lot of fun doing it – and in my opinion it made my pictures a lot more interesting. But, I sure was not stressed and I hope you are not stressed when you look at them – I really need to go back to that artist and get an Edgy education that I understand! The first question I will ask the artist is: “Why do I want to stress the viewer?”
Gloria, of course, is the artist I am talking about. She doesn’t know I did not get it but I plan to keep asking her for more edgy conversations until I do get it. In the meantime look what I did with my version of edgy in these photos:
When out and about there are so many interesting things to see and wonder about as I wander about – No edgy red here ’cause I showed you this beautiful mushroom in my last blog. I put it here again just to show you the before version of the next photo..As it ages – Look at it – Oh no, ignore the mushroom. Look at how strong a few blades of grass can be. Did you expect to see the little red ladybug on one of them? More reds in the following photos.Nothing really special here unless you happen to like to see armadillos and enjoy the edgy red – They are very special creatures – between my years on our Texas ranch and here in the Great Outdoors in Florida , I could write a book of them. Go out and about in Texas or Florida and you my enjoy them too.Nothing really special about snakes unless you happen to like to see them when out and about – They are very special creatures – between my years on our Texas ranch and here in the Great Outdoors in Florida – I could write a book on them too. Some very funny experiences I have had would be included. Like me sitting on one 5 footer curled up on my tractor seat – I will tell you, I still check before sitting down anywhere as a result of that experience.Shadow at a Great Outdoors Parade.Good friends of mine take such good care of their dog. – I think the dog is sniffing it’s red mask that it dropped. That is not the story here though – Check the dog in the clouds in the upper right quadrant!New Blue Daze plants in our rock garden with a hungry visiter. This rabbit caused me to be duped by the retail business. In my next blog I will tell you, with photos, how that happened.
Hey, did you notice the red in each photo? – A little color in each made me smile but I was not stressed.
As you swing thru life – be a little edgy. Well at any rate, add a little color to what you do each day.
First go read Daves words and see his photos – remarkable. Click on the Photo Club Page or just click here.
Second, here are my words and photos. In the cool of morning and the cool of the evening, I have been getting out on my bike for miles and miles, Always with my cell phone camera and always dodging rain drops – my goodness I found out it rains a lot in Florida this time of year.
But, rain creates a lot of photo opportunities and the Coronavirus, with barbershops closed, create a hair mess worth photographing. Ha Ha!
Rain – Beautiful photo op while on a bike rideRain – By someone’s driveway – not a lizard, but a baby alligatorBy someone’s driveway – not a rock but a turtleRain – By someone’s driveway – beautiful mushroomsLets look closer – to me it is very nice to see as I ride along in TGO – Rain produces beautiful natureOh my – not a golf ball – I once hit a golf ball just as a fly landed on it – never did find out what happened to the fly. Anyway, I blamed my wild shot on the fly!Rain makes swamps everywhere here in Florida – Oh my – not a rock – a turtle that just came out of the swamp with it’s back loaded with vegetation.Rain makes green every where here in Florida – Speaking of vegetation – growing on the back of this landscaper’s creation of a rock frog, calf, or whatever.Just put my bike in the garage and walked out on back porch to anticipate the sunset – yes the 12 footer loves the high water produced by the rain. .Very interesting sunsets and reflections – suspect they are rain cloud produced.Now an interesting impact of the new way of life! A hair mess worth photographing. Ha Ha! I do comb it neat every day – maybe I will show you that next time.As you swing thru life – enjoy your cell phone camera, your opportunities to be out and about, and the rain – but be careful of the virus – MASK, SIX FEET, LOTS of hand washing and other common sense changes to what you do.
First go see what Dave wrote about his Scarlet Tanager photos. Click here
Then scroll down and see the photos I created from many photos, mostly taken with my cell phone over the years. Florida, Michigan, and Texas are just three places I have lived – With each state came a unique way of life – each with as much fun as the other:
On Drummond Island, Michigan in our driveway in front of a bay on Lake Huron. I am sitting on the Ford tractor that my Dad purchased in 1948. I have been a driver of it, off and on, for the last 72 years. Nope, not while sitting in a rocking chair – I added that just for fun. On the screen I practiced making other tractors emerging out of the ground. Of course I distorted the old Ford just to make it look different.On Texas the J Bar G ranch, We enjoyed raising many animals over the 15 years there. Angus & Belted Galloway cattle, Horse, dogs, cats, emus, peacocks, llama – That is all I can think of now. Of course we had many other animals around. Some uninvited like rattlesnakes, brown recluse and black widow spiders, scorpions, coral snakes. But then we had many I liked having around because they were new to me and were enjoyable to watch. Road runners, armadillos, are just two of many critters running around the ranch that I never saw in Pennsylvania or New York. WOW – What is this all about? Actually it is the newly re-paved road in front of our current Florida home in Hidden Lakes. But I brought a little old history in to it – For example, behind the upper right window in the white house is the room I was born in a little over 84 years ago. I worked in the barn and silo ’till I was 20 years old, almost every day. Oh, you want to know about those two tough looking dudes in the center. That photo was not take with a cell phone – It was taken about 50 years ago. I love them very much and am proud of them as adult people – They are great family people – kind & responsible as can be – and each accomplished executive responsibilities in corporate America.Oh my – as you swing through life – Look at your history and marvel at the fun times. Since the Coronavirus imposes some travel restrictions, use that time to marvel at your history documented in your collected photos.
Then Read On: You know, our minds are complex things. Thinking one thing makes us think of another, then that makes us think of another.
For example, seeing the big road equipment in front of our house made my mind go back to our Texas ranch.
My road looks good
The Texas ranch road was over 1/2 mile long and I cared for that road by myself with just a simple Allis Chalmers tractor. Here in Florida, the big equipment and 6 men were only doing 100 yards of road.
From there my mind jumped to thinking about all the animals I kept and trained on the Texas ranch. I was always asking them to do something that “made no sense” to them.
Next my mind jumped to my flight instructor – he was a smart man. He told me, I am going to do something that “makes no sense”. I am going to cut the engine on a perfectly good airplane.Legal or not, I’ve notified the airport of your airplane’s condition. . Your going to have to land with with no power. To prove that I learned by his doing something that made no sense. – I am still here. The instructor went on to say, next week I want you to practice using a glider.I know going up in a aircraft with no power “makes no sense”.But, we learn by doing things that “make no sense”.
Next my mind jumped to the Coronavirus restrictions. I was thinking, To keep from getting housecrazy I ride my bike a lot. Then I return and empty-out boxes stored in my garage. Now what should I do? Maybe I should learn something new. But, what shall I learn? How about new language? I tried French, then German, and then decided I needed to learn how to write better in English before I tried one of the foreign languages.
So, next my mind jumped to this blog. Maybe I can learn by continuing to write the blog – something that makes no sense – but I love doing it. Maybe I will learn to write better in English and learn to create better fake photos.
This fake photo makes no sense. See, I started with the photo of the big road equipment and practiced with Photo Shop – Practice, practice – making no sense.More no sense – I like showing you all the different animals I cared for at the J-Bar-G Ranch in Texas. This fake photo makes no sense. But, I got my reward by showing it to you. I did learn how to use PhotoShop better.
Regarding the view point of the animals: I trained each of them, with some success, in each case. However when I ask them to walk beside me, backup, get into the stock trailer, or in the case of the dogs, to sit, jump through hoops, weave through poles, and more. I know it made no sense to them. But by doing it over and over they learn that each time they did what I wanted, they got a reward. You know, I even put Christmas lights on the llamas and taught them to walk in the Fredericksburg Christmas Parade. – All that for a reward – not because it made sense to them.
Bottom line is, we animals and retired people learn for the reward – not because it makes sense.
As you swing thru life – Do something that makes no sense – Go for the reward. Enjoy the limitations imposed by the Coronavirus situation. Do something that gives you a personal reward.
