A lovely end of August

post #506
           After complaining lately about Blogspot's failed revision, I feel I should report that, maybe, the recent effort to revise these blog mechanics has gone in for a redo!! Praise be....  But, in another glitch, now that I am using Mpix for my prints for the note cards I make, it seems they have currently been cyber attacked!  
         This viciousness seems to mirror some of the daily outrageous difficulties in our nation's dealings (or not dealing) with the virus, with our leadership, and with our efforts to confront the systemic racism we absolutely have to acknowledge and overcome.

         So, with all that in mind, I have several phone photos to share, and I hope the system works. There may be progress for the blog, but I'm not willing yet to take on anything complicated.. 
          As for the other stuff, we need to stay clear eyed and vigilant.  And everyone needs to vote.

my sweet pond, and house, and cattails

 OK, this next photo shows the makings of a BLT.  In August I eat a year's worth of tomatoes, because they are so tasty and juicy. Also in August, I eat the only pound of bacon that I eat all year. I have a thing about BLTs. I love them.  Today I finished the bacon. I thought I had finished with the tomatoes as well, because they are grown by my nearby family. THANK YOU. But as I sat outside dripping with mayo and bread and lettuce and bacon to go with my yellow tomato, my dear son-in-law dropped by with several more tomatoes. So now I get to gradually separate from the tomato part of August, while going cold turkey with the bacon. (delicious phrasing there.....) 

Soon after I went for a short walk -- after my early dinner..  Here are a few photos.
 

These are joe-pyes below my house. I have never become used to "owning a tree" or even "owning a showy weed" like the joe-pye.

I get to walk on a narrow paved road that has very little traffic. This was the first caterpillar I didn't step on. 

This is the second caterpillar I didn't step on, even though it was harder to see.

 My parting image tonight comes from the lady's restroom in our wonderful local bookstore, CoffeeTree BOOKS and the Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop.  What could be better than this to replace "Happy Birthday"!! I wonder if the whole world can't help recognizing these words. I do know that the whole world can always stand a little humor and 20 seconds by Dolly! Enjoy.

short but sweet, sort of

This Sunday I am NOT going to struggle with the Blogger effort to frustrate us all in every possible way.  SURELY they will soon admit that they have royally screwed up and take us back to where we know how to make Blogspot work.... It has been very reassuring to discover that so many users have chimed in after having similar experiences to mine.

So, as is said, I'm going to give it a rest -- though maybe I will at least try to add a couple of sunset shots from two days ago ---  no secret message intended.  I will also make a brief comment before we have a week where dubious claims nightly will overload our political news cycle.  I hope everyone is a becoming a believer that the virus is real.  Nearby neighbor friends of mine may have tried to hide, but they were found this weekend. It's seriously sad. We all pray for their safety, for their recovery, for their families, and for all of America.   We are paying a high price for not having a national coordinated effort to combat -- via science -- the reality that the pandemic is world wide.  We need to have each other's back.  I have a lot more photos I want to make. And I'm way behind in giving and getting hugs.

facing SSE from my house:

and, last but not least, shared because we can always use a reminder of hope, a recent favorite photo of mine, from dear English friends, of a great grandson with his great grandfather:

What can I do to support efforts for less chaos and sham in the world?

post #506 --- PLEASE NOTE: TODAY (8/16/20) I WROTE ABOUT PATIENCE, AND IT TURNS OUT TONIGHT I NEED IT MORE THAN I HAVE IT.  I DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND PUBLISH MY PROBLEM, AS A WAY OF SHARING MY DISTRESS AND FRUSTRATION.  OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT A BIG DEAL IN THE REAL HURTIN' WORLD BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME TO FIX THIS TONIGHT.  I HAVE NEVER SEEN MY SPACES WITHOUT THE PHOTO THAT HAD BEEN PLACED THERE. VERY STRANGE. IS IT GREMLINS? THE RUSSIANS? BAD LUCK? AN EXCELLENT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY? I WILL TRY TO RESOLVE THIS TOMORROW. STAY SAFE EVERYONE.

            The big question of my day today is both how to handle the need to pay attention to the community work that has to get done before our election AND what is it that one individual, such as myself, can bring to the table. For example, a friend tells me these posts of mine help her keep perspective and give her hope. I'm glad, though I know she is already doing her part to help fellow citizens during these lock downs, in New York state, all the while keeping an eye on the prize. Martin Luther King and other leaders have over and over reminded us of how important it is to keep that big picture in our view. She and I are among many who wish we were able to do more. Every one likes to feel she or he can make a difference.
             Well, one would think that as a photographer I am all over big pictures of any sort! Well, it's not that easy. I love sharing my photos and their story, so at least there's that. I also appreciate the cooler weather we are having and the common conversations that are taking place in many forms -- phone, Zoom, sitting outside 6 feet apart, emails and texts, the Fed Ex driver, friends in different time zones, and in our thoughts and dreams.  (The red wallet I forgot to bring to the grocery store Friday morning made it into my dream last night. Well, well.)
              One happiness is that this is the third week after I kind of freaked out about the new formats and shortcuts that are now used to do a Blogger post. Several revised twists and turns I've figured out by accident, but hey, whatever works. I have always learned best by making mistakes and trying again. However, some times I'm more patient than others.
            Now's a good time to try for the 4th week in a row to get those two photos to transfer to the blog, and to share some photos from exactly a year ago:

a photo from exactly one year ago

 #1 of the 2!

I put this on my rural mailbox.  It's easy to see how long their days are and how many of us rely on their services.

 

a version of #2 of two

This is also from an exact year ago. 

Final note (8/18/20): These photos are NOT totally where I want them to be, and I have only done whatever is showing up by reverting to the old system which is no longer pristine and which is set to be available only for maybe another month.  This breaks my creative heart that after ten years of loyalty to this blog -- and access to all 500 posts - that it has to be this difficult to move to so much unfamiliar territory.  (I must be bringing some of the fear of the unknown that comes from envisioning the impending election to the comparatively simple task of producing a post once a week!!) As always, thanks for your visit -- whenever you find your way here.