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As I sat, gazing out my family room window, I reminisced, somewhat, about my childhood and adolescent years. I am not one that looks back on, or lives in the past, but I meditate on people’s attitudes — and, mine — to see the connections between what happens in in those lives, ultimately.
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The quick answer is “no”. Shown is the flower of a vine called crossvine. This plant is native to Missouri and places south and east in southeastern United States.
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The butterfly in this photo has a wingspan of about 1 inch. The wildflower it is sitting on is a daisy fleabane, which has several small flowers when it blooms.
This little butterfly is called a red-banded hairstreak. It is easy to see the red or orange diagonal streak on the underside of its...
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I have had an "It’s A Wonderful Life" moment. If you are unfamiliar with the movie, let me briefly recap it.
George Bailey dreams of traveling the world and building majestic structures. However, after his father’s sudden death, he reluctantly embraces his family and community responsibilities...
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Of course, summer is coming. Your summer is coming. There are many different views as to whether summer is a time of joy or is it a sweltering balloon of heat trying to burst and spread its humidity and discomfort throughout the world? I reside within the Southeast Missouri area and there are...
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I took this photo Thursday, April 11. What you see here are tiny berries growing on the limb of a native North American red mulberry tree. In early April the red mulberry tree begins to put on new leaves along with new fruits.
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This is a springtime wildflower native to the eastern half of North America reaching far into Canada. It is called Dutchman’s Breeches because the plant’s flowers reminded the American naturalists who found and documented it of a Dutchman’s breeches hanging on a line to dry.
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I want to speak with you about planning for your future. When someone talks about making future plans, they typically revolve around finances and time management. Certainly, to plan for future you need to have a solid financial plan. In order to make the most of your days you need to practice a...
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Are you someone who likes to sing? I mean sing while you’re working, walking, performing or merely keeping yourself company? Whether we have a melodious voice or not, we can still utter a sound, a note of joy, a positive comment or maybe we just keep our singing, silently within. Regardless,...
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The North American flowering dogwood is a tree that is known for its white flowers of springtime. But did you know that the white flower petals are not really flower petals at all? What is generally considered white petals are actually special leaves called bracts.
At the center of the four...
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The week leading up to Easter is one of the most significant in the Christian calendar. Beginning with Palm Sunday in which a crowd enthusiastically welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem only to conclude with another crowd condemning him to death. Easter, the third day, celebrates Jesus' resurrection from...
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The season for the beautiful redbud tree is about to end for this spring. In Southeast Missouri the redbud blossoms have been especially pretty this year. I've seen many trees with limbs covered with blossoms like the cluster I have photographed here. Redbud blossoms appear up and down the limbs of...
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How can we be on top of the world one moment and down in the gutter the next? That's a question, I dare say, that all of us have asked ourselves a time or two. What do we do about that lost, left out and forlorn feeling? I listened to a friend, Randy, giving a speech recently. He was quite...
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A few years ago, I talked with a friend who works with a group tasked with protecting the black bear population in Arkansas. For several years they have surveyed the population by tagging select female bears with locator chips. This allows for seeking out the chipped female bears when they are...
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The most terrifying combination of letters are C-H-A-N-G-E. Change ignites feelings of losing control and sparks fears of an unknown future. In your organization, change can kindle concerns over a loss of your job or the opposite: more work on top of what you are already struggling to complete....
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Shown here is a cluster of tiny flowers attached to a limb of an understory bush called the eastern spicebush. These little flowers are one of nature's earliest to bloom in spring. They often appear during cool weather before butterflies and bees begin to fly. These blossoms are easily mistaken for...
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This is a tiny wasp called a sawfly. It cannot sting you. There are many kinds of sawflies in North America. I am not sure, but I think this one is called a black-headed ash sawfly. Sawflies are common even though you might not recognize what one is even if it sits on you. An adult is only about an...
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Psalm 20:4 is a prayer of blessing; "May he (God) grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!" (ESV.) This blessing prayer is from one to another, hoping they will experience a better tomorrow. I've thought a lot about this verse and how it affects me as a husband, a father and a...
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This might look like a domesticated cow to you, but it isn't. It is a young elk I guess to be 1 or 2 years old. Once eradicated from the Missouri landscape, elk have been successfully reestablished here in recent years. Today you can find wild elk in the counties of Shannon, Reynolds and Carter in...
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Are you one of those people that says, "I'm a loner, I am with people all day and I want to get away from everyone. I want my privacy?" I have felt that way many times and I still crave alone time--but not all the time. Until we experience loneliness when we aren't needing it or desiring the state,...
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I have been reading a book about being "indistractable." According to the author, the ability to focus amongst a sea of distractions is the next superpower distinguishing you from your peers. The ability to pay attention is really worth paying attention to...
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The quick answer is: no. It's a growth on a limb of an oak tree called a gall. It is made by a tiny wasp called a gall wasp. I found this gall on a dead limb on Sunday, Feb. 11. There was not an exit hole anywhere on the gall. I knew that the gall should have a small white grub inside, but I...
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The feeder was empty except for some dry seed on the ground, and the weather was crisp but bearable. My morning was brightened by the sight of a bird lingering on the almost empty bird serving tray outside my window. The wren pecked around as he glanced sideways to see if he was going to have to...
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The morning of Sunday, Feb. 4, was pretty cool for a honeybee, with temperatures in the upper 30s. I was surprised to see this bee setting on the cold hood of my truck. It could crawl, but kept falling over and couldn't fly. There was no wind and the air temperature was rising. ...