Positively Christmas

 by Mauverneen

I was planning on sending out Christmas cards, but when I looked at my calendar I realized it's next week! Too late to send cards, so I am taking this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday season! Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it's spent in peace, comfort, and the company of loved ones. 

Holidays are a time for family. Some families get larger as babies and in-laws get added. And some, like mine, get smaller, as the older generation slips away, one by one. Things are different. Thankfully I've never been one to dwell on the past, and certainly not on loss. I'm grateful that I got to have the people in my past that I did. And although I sincerely miss each and every one of them, I have lots of good memories to remember them by. And that helps. Part of my wish for you is that you remember the good times, and may we all continue to make new memories - good memories.  

By the way, I did the same with my shopping; thinking I had weeks to go. Not so! But the cookies are baked, out of town gifts sent, and shopping accomplished - mostly. Now to figure out a Christmas dessert, and what to wear to dinner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively ... Positive

 by Mauverneen

I wake to a morning that's cloudy and grey

but I guess I'll get dressed anyway.

The sun may shine and the birds might sing

so I need to be ready for anything!

And if it rains and if it pours

there's plenty for me to do indoors.

I'll draw or paint or bake a cake

sometimes our own sunshine we have to make.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Metaphorically

 by Mauverneen

Every morning, like most people, the first thing I do is make a pot of coffee. I still prefer multiple cups rather than the one cup wonders. My coffee maker uses these little paper filters. One morning it struck me how much those filters reminded me of life.  

When they're new, they're all perfectly shaped, standing tall, stacked together for support. As one by one they're taken out, the rest begin to sag and spread. From tall and perky to saggy and wrinkled. And  as always, a new pack, a new generation, eventually will take its place. And it struck me how like life that is. 

When we're young, we're bright and shiny, we have all our friends and family for support. As we go through life that support we have relied on begins to disappear, one by one, leaving us to wilt like that stack of remaining coffee filters. 

The thing is, even the last one still has value, still has purpose, still does the job. A good thing to remember - no matter where in the stack we are.

Coffee filters - a metaphor for life. Who'd have thought?

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

 

Positively Learning

 by Mauverneen  

Learning to fly fish

I like learning new things, trying new experiences, new food... 

A baked brie - look how they've sliced the apple! So pretty.

Learning, in general, keeps our minds active, like reading, or working puzzles. It exercises that mass up inside our heads. 

I tried fly fishing a couple of weeks ago, on a visit to Utah to see my oldest daughter. I just wanted to try it. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope I can do it again some time. 

My daughter and myself in the Provo River

I'm also learning a new language. Czech. Why Czech? Well, next year I am going on a trip to Prague, so I thought I'd try to learn a little of the language. I know in the city most people will speak English, and I probably won't get out of the city to find out if I would really need to know the language, but it's something I want to do. Even knowing how to say 'please' and 'thank you' in the native language is usually welcomed. So, every day I go through my flash cards and review the words I've learned - I'm surprised how well this works! - and learn new ones. Some words stick in my head for whatever reason, and others, well, they just don't want to play nice and will elude me forever. 

I'm already planning on learning another language next year, after my trip. I'm going to learn Spanish. I've been wanting to for some time. I may never be fluent in any of these, but I'll know a few basics, and maybe a bit more than that. In any case, it'll keep my mind active. Now I have to find ways to keep my body active. I'd sure like these joints of mine to be as limber as my brain! That seems to be a lot harder.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively A Hoot!

 by Mauverneen

The local Wild Birds Unlimited store had an event on Saturday that I positively had to go to. Owls. They had owls. Two beauties - a Great Horned Owl and a Barred Owl. 

What gorgeous creatures, so calm and serene. I just wanted to pet them because they looked so soft. But one look at those beaks and I wouldn't dare try! On the information table there were a couple of 'wings'. They were as soft as I imagined. Too bad I can't have one for a pet. 

I have only ever seen a live owl in the wild once. Last year in fact, while on vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was outside my bedroom window one afternoon. I was hypnotized! 

If you ever see an owl out in the wild - consider yourself lucky!

The owls were provided by Wings and Talons, an organization that provides and cares for raptors in their care, and those in the wild through education and conservation.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Testing

 by Mauverneen

I guess you might call this a public service announcement - with a bit of history.

On Wednesday, October 4, 2023 a test is planned of the nation’s Emergency Alert system, to ensure everything is working correctly in the event of a national disaster or an attack. Every cellphone, TV and radio in the US should blare out the jarring electronic warning of an emergency alert, accompanied by a notice something like: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.” On cellphones, it will come as a short text message: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” Phones on which the main menu is set to Spanish will see the message in Spanish. 

The message will go out at the same moment across every time zone in the U.S (12:20 p.m.Central time). It will go out only once, and will last about a minute. Should there be “widespread severe weather or other significant events,”  it could be postponed to the backup testing date of Oct. 11.

The first national emergency broadcasting system in the U.S. was created in 1951 under President Harry S. Truman. CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was intended to allow continuous broadcast of civil defense information using radio stations to warn the nation in the event of war, threat of war, enemy attack or other grave national crisis.

 CONELRAD was replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) in August 1963, and was later replaced by the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in 1997.

 The first nationwide test of the EAS took place November 9, 2011. That check revealed problems that could have meant not everyone would hear the alert in the event of a real emergency. The system was subsequently improved and strengthened. 

The upcoming test on Oct. 4 will be the 7th nationwide test sent to radios and televisions, the 3rd to consumer cellphones and the second to all cellular devices. 

Although the system was never used for a national emergency, it has been activated more than 20,000 times between 1976 and 1996 to broadcast civil emergency messages and warnings of severe weather hazards.

Mistaken messages have occasionally been sent out that triggered false alarms at local levels, especially in the 1950s when the system was new. The most recent false alarm was  in 2018 when the  Hawaii Management Agency system sent an alert warning of a ballistic missile threat. It took 38 minutes to clarify that during a shift change, someone had selected the wrong item on a computer.

As always, the words are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively WET!

 by Mauverneen

After the dry summer we've had, it's nice to be getting this rain. It rained most of last week, and looks like the same is in store for us this week. Mushrooms are sprouting up all over! 

This grouping caught my eye. You can see that they are holding water. The biggest one is about 5 - 6" across. I think I'll get out there and take more pictures.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively on a Tuesday in August

 by Mauverneen

The past few mornings have been wonderful. Back in June I was running the AC, this week I've been wearing a sweater when I go out in the morning to feed the birds. Of course it quickly warms up, but the cool feels good. 

Yesterday I decided I needed to get rid of a jar of cherries I had brought back from Wisconsin a couple of years ago so figured I should bake a pie - if the cherries were still good. They were. And so was the pie. I took a slice out to the deck with my coffee and enjoyed the early morning. Mama deer brought her fawn out this morning, so that was an extra treat. They see me, but if I don't move, they're okay with my being there. The dogs of course would like to go play with them, so in the house they go so I can enjoy my coffee, the pie, and the deer, in peace. 

There's always something going on out here. The other day I watched a coyote chomping on the apples that fell from my neighbor's tree. I didn't know they liked apples, but this one was sure enjoying them.

My newest neighbor has chickens now and has built a coop - or I should say a hen house. It's a good sized little shed - well built and sturdy. Solid wood. Nice and heavy. He built it on his patio. I doubt that they're going to let the chickens live on the patio, so I'm sure this structure is going to be moved out to the yard at some point. He may have a plan, but I've not seen any lumberjack or body builder types over there, so I hope he has enough help to move the thing. I keep watching. This could get interesting. 

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively August

 by Mauverneen

It's August 1. 

Have a POSITIVELY Marvelous Month!

I'm looking forward to the Super Moons, fresh veggies, road trips and ?? 

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

POSITIVELY ZOO FUN, BUT...

 by Mauverneen

My friends and I decided to go to the zoo. It's been years since any of us have been. Some things change. Some things remain the same. It was a fun day, but...

Oh my! 

Running through the spray on a hot day is so refreshing

It rained on and off, so we checked out a building or two. 

Looks like these two checked us out too!

The Hippo wallowed. (I don't think it's moved in 20 years!)

The Rhino paced

The Giraffes were entertaining

It was a fun day, but.... having been to Africa and seen these animals in the wild, I swore I'd never go to a zoo again. And of course not everyone will be fortunate enough to have that opportunity. On one hand, it's a good thing that the rest of the world gets to see some of these animals, but it's sad too, to see them confined.

Some things are getting better for zoo animals - more realistic habitat, larger spaces for some, etc. but on the other hand, not much has changed. The spaces are still too small, and they are in cages. At Brookfield Zoo, where we went, there are no elephants. Sad in a way, yet, I was glad there weren't any. 

The zoo is expensive! $17. to park and another $25 - $29 per person admission. The butterfly house was an extra charge, the safari train was another charge, and I'm not sure what else was an additional fee. 

So, it's fun to go to the zoo, but...

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Let Freedom Ring!

 by Mauverneen

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~  Abraham Lincoln

The Secret Of Happiness Is Freedom, The Secret Of Freedom Is Courage.  ~Carrie Jones

“Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.” - Kahlil Gibran

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”  ~Aung San Suu Kyi

"Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt, that you can set upon the freedom of my mind."    ~Virginia Woolf

“For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?”   ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."   ~Pope John Paul II

“For everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom.”  ~Albert Einstein

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”   ~Nelson Mandela

“Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else." ~Epictetus

“Independence is a heady draft, and if you drink it in your youth, it can have the same effect on the brain as young wine does. It does not matter that its taste is not always appealing. It is addictive and with each drink you want more.”    ~Maya Angelou

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”    ~William Faulkner

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”   ~

Here is the link to my previous freedom post  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7975895715125837101/7744410871685329246

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Pterosaurs

 by Mauverneen

A Heron

Every so often I see a Heron flying past, and I look up and think how much like a Pterodactyl it looks. And then I imagine what it must have been like to have these giant birds flying past, and possibly swooping down and grabbing whatever it can (like yourself) to dine on, or maybe take back to the nest to feed it's young. We've seen it in the movies. 

I wondered if they really were that big and that scary. So, I looked it up. (If I were a bigger fan of Jurassic Park I might have already known the answer, but, oh well...)

First off, Pterodactyl is not actually a dinosaur, but a pterosaur. Pterosaurs were airborne reptiles and most specimens have been about the size of hawks and eagles. Nothing to worry about. But wait! One of those creatures WAS actually very, very large - about the size of a giraffe with a wingspan of 23 feet or more! And you think pigeon poop on your car is bad?  

Anything with a wing span the size of a bus would have me worried - and not just for my car.

There were actually several of these huge flying reptiles (flying reptile sounds worse to me than flying dinosaur and nobody ever says pterosaur) - the Quetzalcoatlus, Pteranodon, and the Hatzegopteryx. Even the names are scary. I can't imagine running from one and trying to warn your neighbors that it's coming. Before you could spit that name out you'd be a goner. 

The first specimen of that last one was found - you're not gonna believe this - in Transylvania. Really. Go look it up. 

For further reading:  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-studies-unveil-details-about-the-largest-flying-creature-to-ever-live-180979193/#:~:text=Quetzalcoatlus%E2%80%94a%20member%20of%20the,a%20whopping%2040%2Dfoot%20wingspan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteranodon

https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Hatzegopteryx

See what I mean?

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint. However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it! Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Positively Content

 by Mauverneen

I have realized that I am - for the most part - 'content'. By no means do I have everything I want (I don't), and being content does not necessarily mean I am happy all the time. I'm not. Contentment is something else altogether. One definition says it means being satisfied and at peace with yourself, another says if one is content, one is more likely to be grateful for small pleasures. That sounds about right. 

I am grateful for small pleasures; the smell of lilacs and the wonderful scent of those flowering trees that I do not know the name of. I am grateful for the birds that come to my yard and my feeders. I am thankful for the warm air and the sunny days. Grateful too for the rain that nourishes my garden. The gentle rains are best. I can sit under the eaves and enjoy the feel of the mist on my skin, the cool breeze on my cheek, the scent of damp earth; listen to it as it lulls me to sleep at night. 

I am also grateful for the bigger things in life, like my daughters, and having a house to live in and a car to drive, thankful and blessed that I can afford to have them. 

I sometimes think of the things in my life that I've missed out on, things I never had, but I try not to dwell on them because I have so much. And I truly am grateful. And on days when I'm not so content? Mostly I make travel plans. Grateful of course that I am able to travel. And while I may not have the means to travel round the world, I am able to do some traveling. It nourishes my soul.

I'm trying to decide where my next trip will be. There are so many places to see. Maybe I should toss a coin, or throw a dart at the map. Or just decide where I would feel most relaxed, a place I can take lots of photos. Some days I am content to think about it. But that is not action, and that will never get me out of this chair. 

Content I may be today, but tomorrow I will be antsy, and bored, and in need of a change of pace. I'm good with that too. It keeps life interesting.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Available at Amazon.com,

 Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville, 

Bookshop.org

https://www.threestorieslemont.com/

https://bookmarketjoliet.com/

Ugly Ducklings by Kathleen

or request it at your favorite bookstore!

Positively Birds of Spring!

 by Mauverneen

We always get excited to see that first Robin of Spring, but I get excited when I see some of the other seasonal visitors returning, too. 

One of my daughters texted me the other day asking if I'd seen any Hummingbirds yet. No sooner did I reply that No, I hadn't, then lo and behold one stopped by to visit! I've had the nectar out for a week or more knowing they would soon be here. The Orioles too have now returned. I'm going to have to get to the store and stock up on their grape jelly. That and oranges. I also had a Rose Breasted Grosbeak at the feeder! Now I'm anxiously awaiting the Indigo Bunting. Spring will be complete!

I have an old bird house sitting atop the a/c unit and someone - not sure if it's a Sparrow or a Wren - has been cleaning it out. I can't catch sight of them, but they sure are doing some major remodeling in there. Hopefully they will find some nice new nesting materials and we'll have some baby birds to watch. 

I hope your week goes Positively well. Take a little time to watch the birds. They're fun, and their happy little attitudes always perk me up. I'm sure they will do the same for you!

Grosbeak

Although the Orioles have their own feeders with oranges and grape jelly...

...they like to raid the hummingbird feeders for the sweet nectar.

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Available at Amazon.com,

 Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville, 

Bookshop.org

https://www.threestorieslemont.com/

https://bookmarketjoliet.com/

Ugly Ducklings by Kathleen

or request it at your favorite bookstore!

A Positively Tuesday

 by Mauverneen

A terrible pic but you can see how handsome he was! Admiring himself in a mirror.

I had a sweet little dream last night about birds - of all things. Someone was selling parakeets and I was looking at them wondering if I should get one. I spotted the cutest little green baby bird and decided that was the one. However, my aunt was there too and it became a bit of a competition as to who would actually get to take the bird home. We both wanted it. 

I actually had a green parakeet once, when my girls were little. His name was Gizmo and we had him longer than we should have, as he lived to a very old bird age. He was adorable. And quite smart.

Sometimes, a thing tears you in two directions. Such as owning a bird. Are they meant to be caged? As much as we love them, is it fair to them? Of course, a caged bird knows no other life. And sometimes, an injured bird will be taken in to heal and end up staying a captive creature for its own good.

I'd really like to have another parakeet. But I have all the birds outside my window to enjoy. 

Hmm, maybe I need to try and figure out if there was a message in that dream. 

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.

However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!

Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

See more photos at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-mauverneen-blevins.html

Available at Amazon.com,

 Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville, 

Bookshop.org

https://www.threestorieslemont.com/

https://bookmarketjoliet.com/

Ugly Ducklings by Kathleen

or request it at your favorite bookstore!