325: Sunday signage

It’s not exactly a sign, but then again, one could take it as a sign.  A positive sign.  I found these (and other words) on the hat of one of the gnomes at the Holden Arboretum.  Want to see the gnome himself?  Of course you do…

Gerome, the Recycled Gnome. Artist: Keri Gortz.

Meet Gerome, the Recycled Gnome.  Gerome is made up of many things that used to be something else.  Now those things are part of a work of art.  Gerome has many messages placed within the bottle caps on his head.

The congregation

I have a confession to make.  I’m not sure it’s something new.  I may have touched on it once or twice in the past, and I do mention it in the Bogs Blog FAQ.  I have phobias.  And worries.  And anxieties.  I am not by any means crippled by them, but they are there, sitting in the background waiting for me to try to push past them in some way.  It should be noted, however, that I do not have an ice cream truck phobia.  I mention this because it is a popular search engine term that brings folks to my blog.  I still do not know the why of how it started.  However, the more I mention ice cream truck phobias, the more it makes sense that it would bring people here.

So.  I’m a bit of a nervous Nelly.  I try to hide it, but those near and dear to me can’t help but be aware of it when I’m uncomfortable about a situation.  I bring this up because I figure it’s time to stop  hiding it.

In the glow. Sunflower at sunset.

Yesterday’s canoe trip was fun.  We paddled 7 miles along the upper Cuyahoga River.  And I mean paddled.  The river has dams here and there, slowing it down.  The portion we canoed had very little current or flow.  Add to that a headwind, and we’re talking work rather than a leisurely drifting.  Work was a good thing for me because, you see, I’m not entirely comfortable in a canoe, especially when we get caught on logs or rocks or go through those ripply areas where you know there are rocks causing the water to ripple.  This was by no means white water canoeing.  Not even close.  Yet I still found myself thinking ahead, worrying about what was to come.  It’s not a good way to enjoy such an outing, much less life.

It isn’t all anxiety and worry, though.  I do have moments, sometimes long stretches, when I relax into the adventure and fun.  It’s something I keep working on, bringing my mind back to the now rather than looking ahead.  That’s one of the reasons I keep pushing myself to do things that might make me feel uncomfortable.  The fun and play are there.  I just have to remember to focus on it, to be in the present moment.

Coming out of the woods at sunset

I don’t have photos from yesterday’s trip.  Taking a camera along on a canoe trip doesn’t seem wise unless said camera is waterproof (and mine is not).  It might be time to look into getting a relatively cheap, waterproof camera.  It was so beautiful out there on the river.  Peaceful, too, once we were out of the crowd of kids who were celebrating someone’s birthday with a canoe trip.  The weather was perfect.  Warm, but not hot.  Sunny with very few clouds.

Goldenrod in the grasses

We stopped at a peach orchard after our canoe trip, and came home with two pecks of lovely, juicy peaches.  The plan is to can some of them, but we’re eating them pretty quickly.  We might have to take a drive out that way again to get some more.

Peaches for you

It’s raining here in the Bogs today.  A good day for canning.

It has been a good day for getting caught up with household chores, too.  Clean sheets on the beds.  Clean floors to walk upon.  The daily decluttering and deep cleaning project.  It’s been a productive day.

As for today’s outdoor adventures, I took a walk around the pond in between the bouts of rain.  There was some thunder booming off in the distance, but the rain held off for the full thirty minutes I’m required (by my commitment) to be out there.  Back in the woods, on the path that leads to the creek, I encountered the biggest snapping turtle I’ve ever seen.  He was almost tortoise size.  Since he was taking up a good portion of the width of the path, I decided it would be wise to turn around and leave the visit to the creek for another day.  I did take a few fast photos, but they are what I’ve come to expect when I rush.  Blurry.

Vincent Van Gnome

We have a winner from yesterday’s Guess the Gnome’s Name game.  Marie (also known as GardenFreshTomatoes) from My Little Corner of Rhode Island guessed correctly.  Good job!  I liked some of the other guesses too.  Merlin, a popular choice, wasn’t bad at all.  I thought Joe was pretty good, too.  Alfred was one of my favorites because it made me chuckle.  He does sort of look like an Alfred.

Today's glimpse of the pond

That’s about it from the Bogs for today.  Thanks so much for dropping by.  🙂

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