Admire them like they’re a dozen.
Last year there was a few tulips. This year there’s plenty of leaves with only two blooms. I think maybe the silver mound crowds them out. Once the flowers are done and the silver mound is taller, I’ll separate them. The bulbs will be farther away.
Maybe later more will appear now that the temperatures are warmer.
In editing pictures, when you flip cloud formations, you not only change
the position of the Sun,
you are spinning the direction of the
wind, how it flows around Earth.
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| Stratocumulus Clouds looking westward |
I do not expect people to be silent if they happen to see a person taking a video. It is a public place. I can mute the background voices in editing.
The problem is editing the film reveals there is more talking than what I thought at the time. A big section would have to be deleted. That is sad because I like the video images. I can’t upload the video as it is. Another video will have to be made.
I now appreciate the value of using a script, a plan of what I want to film.
Know what is to be recorded, the weather, the hour, the location. Take a few videos. Write down notes. Lesson learned.
In life, the fork in the road between essential and non-essential has a zone of sunshine that there are still choices in our control.
When you begin to fear you aren’t as sharp as you use to be, then it is time to engage in regular brain exercise, research a better diet, and/ or talk with your doctor.
Playing brain exercise memory games, matching objects, tells me my short term memory isn’t impaired. (I actually do rather well.) What I sense is worry about old age is increasing the closer I am to 80 years, (a few to go).
Add to aging, there are lots of ads and articles about memory loss everywhere.
How much of what you see influences how you feel about yourself?
In your background, what continues to play even when you know it makes no sense?
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| Tripod position |
Birdseed stations were shut down the end of March.
Transition from Winter to Spring is a cup of seed every other day
As the story goes, Salty Pumpkin Studio is a perfect fit for me, my last name change, my forever name, my brand. Alas, having my own business is complicated. The way the American economy is, I’m thinking more on going back to work to at least pay for medical bills. The problem is my health limits what I can do.
I am not alone. I’m sure many folks are thinking about work. What to do isn’t suppose to be a retirement worry. But it is. I watch YouTubers that sold everything to hit the road as an RVer. You can eventually earn income via YouTube videos. But it isn ‘t, I feel, a gig that can last forever.
Dilemmas are all around us. Doing the best you can with what you have, I believe, is true freedom. What I have mainly, is this blog. Dozens( sometimes hundreds) visit here every day. There is room to build.
So, I start researching just how much income will being monetized bring in. So far, I believe, not enough. Think bigger as in what am I able to do to make big money.
It depends on audience/the market that wants to buy/support my products. Road block right there. As a writer, every time I posted a story or poem, I can hear crickets, coyotes laughing in the distance and feel owls rolling their eyes.
I continue to write anyway. I believe in me. I am sure my writing ability is as good, and, sometimes better than what ‘s out there. As for my art, selling art isn’t the same as folks reading a novel. My biggest problem is depression, having the energy to produce good stories and art. We shall see.
In summary, I am considering a change in this blog’s name as well as my focus. A better move is to start fresh with a new name, a blog.
Salty Maple Arts & Crafts is the new blog.
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| Me at age 3 years |
Think about picnic benches. They are there for folks to sit, rest, have a meal, and enjoy life.
As people watching perches, they provide permission to view. Via technology and creative minds, this is the first time like this in human history where globally, people are sharing and performing for each other.
Having meals outdoors when the weather allows is an important part of summer. As kids, packing up a picnic was always exciting. We were part of something. We were going some place. We were going to have fun. There is no cooking indoors that has that sense of adventure.
Plan summer excursions outdoors where there’s a public picnic bench. Enjoy life.
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Errands done early on a sunny Spring Saturday morning, a stop at Dunkin cheers me up. The wait in line was smooth and fast. So, I decided to have a sit in a warm vehicle and ponder life on Earth at the Dead Creek Wildlife visitor’s area.
A few minutes there taking zoom pictures of the Adirondack Mountains, I decide to travel on to the shores of Lake Champlain in Upstate New York. It has been a while since I’ve been there.
Enjoy the photos
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| A wintery side of the landscape |
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| A Spring side of the landscape |
The mauve shows up well against the evergreens. A bonus are the patches of Chartreuse.
I will post more pictures when Google stops the glitchy blank screen instead of the photos to select.
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| Lake Champlain in Spring |
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| Wind, water & shades of blue |
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| Adirondack Mountains seen from Addison Vermont |
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| Route 17 Addison Vermont |
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| Locust tree pods I thought from a distance was a bird. 😂 |
Recognizing those moments is a skill worth developing.
Here is where I heavily edited this post and deleted my vent because I do not want to vent on this blog.
So instead, I start considering the sides of worth it versus not worth it. By far, not worth it wins.
Karma
Onto storing away winter clothes, going through storage bins, is a drag. I found near empty bins, class notes from over 20 years ago, and stuff that missed the trashcan.
In a one thing leads to another, somehow I tumble down the rabbit hole of updating email accounts. The first one I select, I forget the password. I keep old password books. I suspect one is missing. I find the cover from an old password book. The recent old password book cover doesn’t match the one I found. That confirms one is missing.
Diverted from the winter put away, as worthy as the email account maintenance is, I now prefer putting away clothes.
😂
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| Illustration I made years ago found in some papers during my hunt for an old password book |
Patriot’s Day, is the day of the Boston Marathon, the 3rd Monday in April. Patriot’s Day celebrates the Revolutionary War battles at Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts.
The environment of my early years is attached to Concord. It is the paternal home of my family. It is where my younger sister, father, and extended family are buried. I feel at home there more than any other place on Earth. Concord will likely be my final resting place as well.
Exploring your family history can create a comfort view of family as well as Self. The places where you lived as a child spent with family especially, I feel, have a stronger relationship with the part of our hearts that cares for who we are.
Are there places that you feel are a strong part of you? Is there a special day close to your heart?
As the end of the month approaches, I begin to ponder Reflection Monday’s subject. Focusing on Nature is easy. Staying away from the turmoil in America and beyond isn’t.
The thing that brings that to mind is the time I spend on Instagram. On that platform, when you view the lives of others, a wider angle on what society is experiencing can develop. You can view yourself differently. The fascination in that can be immense or a big blah.
Have a Big wonderful Weekend!
Create an exercise routine
Cook a new to you recipe
Explore local walking trails with
friends and family
Bake pear turnovers
Browse summer pjs online
Read the history of jeans
Watch a comedy film
The lawn is green.
Used as birdseed stations in Winter, when the soil is frozen, planter are beginnng to sprout what might be sunflowers. Sunflowers sprout sooner as well as better than any of the other seeds.
Another bunch of pansies are ready to go outside. The soil in the flower pot will be mixed with new soil first.
As for me, this week has been dragging. However, I’ve got a lot done moving furniture to the summer better air flow arrangement. In doing that, a dilema surfaced after the desk was moved.
In that now open corner goes my wingback chair to create my Summer reading nook. The issue is that clear space is in front of my art easel. It is fabulous! I walk through there feeling very artistic. I’m considering keeping it open and adding a tall palette table.
I found something I’ve been missing without realizing it was missing. My thought was as long as I can see and access my art supplies and easel, then that is enough. No, it is not enough. I wasn’t feeling the art space. What a revelation! 😳 How I missed such an important element doesn’t matter. The discovery of feeling a art space, a creative space is surreal.
Now, what am I going to do first a reading nook!? 🤣
After I redo the upholstery, I’ll figure that out.
I also check the National Weather Service for my area and the USGS Earthquake report map.
To my surprise, there is a significant cluster of Earthquakes going on in Nevada, 13 (by my count) yesterday 2.0 to 5.4, southeast of Silver Springs, Nevada. There looks to be twice that amount on the map today.
Why isn’t that a major headline?
Nothing today on Google news, Yahoo news and Yahoo news Science.
I have bug spray, sunscreen, backpack, water bottle, clothes, first aid kit, walking pole, and rain poncho. What I need is a compass, bear spray, whistle, and jackknife.
Mind you, where I will be hiking has footpaths, maybe even sidewalks. I may not be wilderness hiking, but I will be wilderness ready. Besides, weight when walking is good exercise. 😎
Footwear. I buy new to me on Poshmark by setting a maximum price for a watch and wait that can take months before I buy. I began sandal hunting in late February early March. To my surprise, and delight, I found a pair of Keen hiking sandals, perfect fit, super comfortable and within the set budget.
A compass is the next purchase. I will by a new one.
So, it is beginning to feel like summer to me. What is next requires reading and researching locations. If I really really want to immerse myself in an outdoor experience, then I can pitch a tent in the backyard. 🤣
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| Keen hiking sandals |
This is one of those subjects that feels that I’ve posted this before.
I say stay focused because I’m tired of turning around and bumping into something. It feels as if I move on scroll instead of step by step.
This time if year I move furniture into the summer arrangement. This mid month week of April 2026 has rain forecast for two days. Moving things is perfect indoor exercise. The timing is perfect. I’ll be in better shape by Summer to get outdoors more.
I notice that when I watch travel videos, I want to travel more. Watch home improvement shows, I want power tools. Camping videos, I want to make a coffee outdoors and sit in a tent when it is raining. What we feed our brain digests what we enjoy to encourage us to engage in that activity.
This week I’ll watch exercise videos. See how that goes.
Have an adventurous & wonderful week!
How we got so far away from 2010 is mind boggling. Remember the days of comment glitches, and every time Blogger changed something or added a new feature, things got wonky? Do you remember when the new magazine style templates were added to Themes?
I thought then that they would be very popular. Without statistics, a guess wouldn’t be useful.
Fun question : What are things you remember about Blogspot from 15 years ago?
Than you for visiting
May
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| Dollar General purchase Planting 2 every 4 days to spread out the blooming times |
