Trying out old things isn't always easy

Lake Saint George State Park, Liberty Maine - click to enlarge
Photo by Linda Grant

  Why the title?  Well, this morning I am going to coffee, again.  I tried last Monday and it was uncomfortable driving.  I tried driving yesterday, a short distance, so now I'll give it another whirl.  My condition continues to improve and I walked around the neighborhood short distances 3 times yesterday, 2 of those were unattended.
  Today is a Hollie Day but I won't attempt that, getting in/out of the car many times.  Mama will have the job today.  She's done it before and does good at it, all you need is a wallet, and patience.  They will have a good time together.  I'll watch something on TV, the NBA Channel maybe, often they show last nights games.

Another Lake St. George shot - that splash out there looks maybe like
a boat but it's really a Canada Goose taking off. - click to enlarge
Photo by Linda Grant

What to do

Done earlier this year

  Well, the Giants won another game, makes them up 2-0.  I also make a couple of us happy.  Wait and see the finish, then see if we're still happy.
  Given my recent physical condition there isn't a lot I can do.  I don't really know if I can paint because leaning over a table is next to impossible.  I could paint if I can find a way to raise the work, have to think about it.  Ouch, I can feel the headache from thinking already.
  Below are two photos, the top one is work done by an artist of the start of winter in a swamp or bog.  The bottom is a photo taken by either my wife or myself of the Orono bog, the white flecks are cotton grass.
  What I would like to do is make winter come to the bog.  We will see.

Click to enlarge, hmmmm.

A little movement

Oct 24 2012 The geezer hisself on the
Kenduskeag footbridge, Bangor Maine - click
Photo by Linda Grant

  We had errands to run yesterday about 6:15 in the morning.  The sun was just coming up and the light on the leaves was terrific.  We rode along the Kenduskeag Stream in both directions for the mile or so a street runs alongside the stream in Bangor.
  We stopped for pumpkin doughnuts and coffee at Campbells Bakery (highly recommended) and I had molasses doughnuts, oh so good!  Driving through a nearby parking lot we could access the footbridge over the stream.  We took several photos on some the light wasn't as good as others.  It was just beautiful.
  My lovely wife, Linda, took the photos, she does an excellent job!
  Eye doctors today and just in time too. 

Sticks and stones on the Kenduskeag - click
Photo by Linda Grant

Favorite of the day - click to enlarge it's worth the effort
Photo by Linda Grant

All those critters

Stream Road, Winterport, Maine - click to enlarge
Photo by Linda Grant or the geezer

  When Hollie lived on the Stream Road in Winterport I always used to see the critters in the fields.  The photo at the top is a Spring of 2011 photo of sheep, adult and lamb, and one llama.  This farm has quite a number of sheep, the one llama (that I'm aware of), a couple of head of beef.  Whether food or fiber these are important animals.  They're good for photo subjects too.
  The next photo of cattle on a family farm on the Newburgh Road in Hermon.  This farm has a herd of Angus cattle for one year ,most of the time.  The Ayrshire bull is a family pet to the best of my limited knowledge, he's a beautiful animal.  In this photo there are a couple of beef that aren't Angus.


The 'big guy' is in charge of this herd. - click to enlarge
Photo by Linda Grant

Petra "Atlantis in the sands"

Through the al-siq a wonder - click to enlarge
www.wikipedia.org photo
See the Treasury Building inside

  Back in 1812 a Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was in present day Jordan; he slipped through an al-siq (a narrow opening) and saw the wonder of Petra.  Hidden from view the city date from 312BC (that's a long time ago).  The City of Petra was inhabited by the Nabataeans, a nomadic tribe that all of a sudden settled in one spot.
  How?  They were the first recorded "speculators".  They made most of their money with Frankincense, gold, and spices.  They alone could manipulate the price because they controlled more of those goods than anyone else.  Just like "oil speculators" of today they controlled the price of goods in high demand.
  The City had streets, gardens and tombs (a cemetery).  They had little regard for the dead but did keep track of the bodies.
  Traders. High rollers. Successful and rich.
  Is there a lesson here?  In Petra, on the the "New wonders of the world", protected by the United Nations, and scientists for the US, England, Jordan and others are actively working the site.  Interesting in deed.
  Read in www.wikipedia.org or ABC News using the search boxes for "Petra".

And I thought Petra was just a girls name in Dutch!

The Monastery - click to enlarge

The Umm (tombs) - click
 

All photos from www.wikipedia.org

Truth in advertising, or not

www.beerfinder.com photo
Don't think it's too hard to find myself

  Now I've got that subject and photo up here, but I really want to talk about ageing, and if advertisers are afraid of us geezers.
  It's 12:30AM and I am up and wide awake thanks to something called "thrush", that's a fancy word that means I turn bright red and tingle and burn.  Thankfully it last for only 20 minutes or so.  I get that because I take massive doses of niacin to fight tri-glycerides (whatever the hell that is).
  I have the TV on ESPN catching up with the scores of NFL and the Baseball Series.  Cardinal fans may feel uneasy this morning.
  The ads on TV for beer:
1.  No one under 35 drinks beer except that one old guy who much be wealthy because he always has
     3 or 4 young women with him (he drinks that beer from Mexico - but not often).  The ads never
     show anyone get drunk either. Huh?
2.  One ad for a beer with lime juice added (gag!), shows a truck in a business district when people     leave the office.  Notice that men in shirts and ties go down the water slide but the young women have found a way to change in to tiny halters and short shorts.  What's up with that?
3.  The geezers sell life insurance and reverse mortgages.  Other geezers work for companies that take
      advantage of the Medicare money to sell second-rate stuff to diabetics and others.  Especially up
      for the "Go to hell" award are the motorized wheelchairs, scooter stuff.  Can you spell rip off?

You know there's not a lot of truth in any of those ads, but some people believe them.  Scary isn't it?

A visitor to Bar Harbor and visitors to a corn field

The Yacht Rising Sun shown in Germany where it was built - click to enlarge
www.wikipedia.org photo

  Mr. David Geffen, a Hollywood bigwig has his yacht moored in the waters of Bar Harbor.  The 453 foot long traveler has a crew of 43 and can host 16 guests plus the owner and his family.
  Some people just come to Bar Harbor in a Ford or Chevy; and some people like to show off.

  I am continuing to do better, walking without implements around the house, still need a cane to get out of the chair.  I am hoping for some freedom tomorrow so I can have coffee with the guys.  I have coffee mornings with the guys in Bangor at McDonald's.  They might miss me.

Turkeys in the cornfield.  Kelly Road, Glenburn, Maine - click to enlarge
Photo by Linda Grant