Alrightnowyoutellme (6)

Alrightnowyoutellme, what is this? This image is part of a much larger one, my question is what is it part of. I took this photo in Trempealeau Co. here in Wisconsin, it was at a state park. When I was a kid I was very afraid of this.
"No more clues for you!" (I am the clue Nazi)

The Worst of Times

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparisons. 

Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities" (1812-1870)

Have you ever had a time or season in your life that you believed to be the most difficult ever? Perhaps you are in such a time or season. Did you know that in each "worst of times" there is in fact an opportunity to lay hold of the "best of times"; that each difficulty is a lid to a treasure chest? The real difficulty in our difficulties, is pushing past the betrayal, or illness and looking through it all, to open that lid, and push ahead one day at a time. There is a "season of light", even in a "season of darkness", and there is hope in your "season of despair". Don't give up, you can make it through the difficulties. It may take weeks, months and even years to see it through, but you can make it.

I have come through a difficulty just recently and I am better for it, much better. It has lasted over a year, and at times all I could do was sing "Jesus Loves Me". It was the "worst of times" yet looking back I can connect some dots and realize it was a good thing, a very good thing. They say that hind-sight is 20/20 vision. I can look back and connect dots in my life and realize that even though my life is hard at times I am still growing. When we allow resentment and bitterness to grow in us it is like a cancer. It grows in us but it does not belong in us; it will steal your health (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) and kill you.


We cannot look ahead and connect dots; only behind. There are too may variables for us to be sure how the future will turn out, which is why we must continue to be and love ourselves, do what we love, and move ahead one dream at a time. Yes there will be times when we are walking in the dark, but even that time can be a "season of light.

A Great Music Video; God Will Take Care of You

I do not know where this family is from but the song has such a powerful message, and this little guy does a great job of singing.

God WILL take care of you.

French Fries and Coping With Grief

 

This is another recipe from my "Peanuts Cook Book" published in 1970, (I was just a little kid).This month we are looking at the way Mrs. Brown made french fries, and the way that Snoopy copes with love lost.

Do You remember what Charlie Brown's dad did to earn a living? 

French fries are real comfort food, we had some oven baked french fries last night for supper. With this recipe you will be able to warm up the house a bit and sit down to a plate full of hot, salty goodness. Be certain to dry off the potatoes before you try to bake them.

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy them.

Back in 1970 we would go to McDonalds in Schofield. I would ride my bike down Grand Avenue, cross over to the east side of the street, which was a rather scary endeavor, because of the traffic. The McDonalds had golden arches and ceramic benches attached to the side of the building where we would park our bikes and eat our fries, and Coke. I think the price was 19 cents for an order of fries and 29 cents for a hamburger. I remember how exciting it was to go there...funny.

The McDonalds in Schofield looked almost identical to this one from Pensacola Florida.

A Question To Ask Yourself...It Could Change A Life (1)

What can I do to make a difference?


Everyone, and I mean everyone wants to feel like their life matters somehow. Your life matters to you and everyone around you is living a life that matters to them. I will say up front that I do not have all of the answers to all of the problems in my own life, much less, the answers to the all the situations that people around me face. But I can make a difference.

I received a call from a very close friend. I have set across the table from this guy many times, and together, we were able to hammer out the problems of world. Simple, actually nothing was at stake for us so it was easy. Tonight he called and told me of a tragedy in his family and how his wife and daughter are really struggling with the mess. When it all hits a little closer to home the problems get a bit more complicated; the trite, "hang in there" sentiments actually seem a little thoughtless and almost insulting. What can I do to make a difference in that situation? I am not sure, but I am working on it.

It seems that the longer I live the less I really think I know, when I was younger I pretty much knew it all; but I don't now. But I do understand this, that going the extra mile matters to people. You do not need to have all of the answers, people around us simply need to know that we will not bail out on them when the going gets difficult, and that we are willing to do what we can.

If you really want to make a difference in the lives of other people, go the extra mile. Jesus spoke of walking two miles with a friend even if they ask you to only walk one. Just do something!

Call someone just to encourage them or just listen
Drop a little card in the mail, or send a text or e-mail just to say, "Hi"
Look an elder in the eye and thank them for their friendship and for being a good example
Tell someone that they are doing a good job
Pat someone on the back
Buy a fast food "Happy Go Lucky Meal" and give the toy to a nephew, niece or neighbor kid
Say something nice about someone else
Find someone to go with you to get a Chicago style hot dog (at Mikes) and spend an hour being together
Visit someone
Cook a meal for a shut-in, or a sick neighbor
Try to restore a broken friendship

I think that is what Jesus would do...Who will be Jesus to them?

(The hot dog was great Mark, in a couple of weeks let's go look for a good burger)

Alrightnowyoutellme 5 (reveal) Northern Crescent Butterfly

Yes thank you very much. For letting me know that my clues meant absolutely nothing. I was wrong in my  guess of what type of butterfly this was; it was Mary's fault...thats my story and I am sticking to it. Thank you Hank and Leah for pointing out my mistakes, I am certain that I am a better person now because of you.

The butterfly is somewhat of a question in butterfly circles. Even people who know butterflies (and I don't) have difficulty determining between the Northern Crescent Butterfly and the Pearl Crescent Butterfly.

I found another photo of this butterfly

"The Pearl Crescent is one of the most common and widespread butterflies in the eastern United States. It is also one of the hardest butterflies to identify with certainty, because of two very similar butterflies, the Northern and Tawny Crescents. The Northern Crescent was only separated from the Pearl Crescent in the last 25 years, and therefore distribution maps where these two overlap are somewhat suspect. In Michigan, the distribution maps in the 1999 edition ofMichigan Butterflies & Skippers show the Northern Crescent as mainly a northern species, while the Pearl is a more southern species and there is little overlap. In Wisconsin, I think that there is a much broader overlap of these two species and throughout central Wisconsin their identification brings many headaches." 
Wisconsin Butterflies.org http://wisconsinbutterflies.org/butterfly/species/77-pearl-crescent


See in central Wisconsin "their identification brings many headaches." Yes this butterfly identification has given me a rather embarrassing headache. What is most embarrassing is that I did not confuse it with a Pearl Crescent but a completely different type of butterfly.


The Northern Crescent is fairly new butterfly for identification. It is classified as a True Bushfoot type of butterfly. The other types True Bushfoot Crescents are the Pearl Crescent, and the Tawny Crescent butterflies. These butterflies cover a rather large area of North America and it appears that central Wisconsin may part of a range that overlaps the species types.


You should have read the post about the Painted Lady Butterfly, which is what we thought this was; it was an awesome article, but I tossed it out. So anyway thank you, the name of this series of posts Alrightnowyoutellme; and you did. I am smarter because of it. Really, thank you.

Pileated Woodpecker Video

This is a very poor quality video out our patio door but I am telling you that birds love suet in the winter. This a pileated Woodpecker, we generally have at least one daily, some days we have two at a time. They will usually be knocking on the trees or tearing up the suet bags. We bought the suet bag at the grocery store in the freezer section of the meat department. To hang the bag I simply tied a small rope to the top of the bag and threw the bag over a tree limb which seems totally natural to the birds. Tie the other end of the rope to the trunk of the tree and there you have it. In the summer all you need to do is untie the rope from around the trunk and take it all down. Easy as pie!

Many different types of birds will go to a suet bag in the winter because they need the fat in the suet to power up their furnaces so they can stay warm.

The Northern Flicker State Birds (week 9)

A Flicker in our yard. We have a lot of ants, and Flickers love ants.

Wow, I have forgotten all about the State Bird posts. It has been a long time since I have written about any of them. So this week we are going to talk about the only state to have a woodpecker as a state bird. It has a rather unusual nickname; the Yellowhammer. We know the bird better by it's more common name; the Northern Flicker. A beautiful and colorful speckled woodpecker.


Alabama is the only state to have a member of the woodpecker family as a state bird. According to Civil War legend, a company of new soldiers from Huntsville was spotted with bits of brilliant yellow cloth on their sleeves, collars, and coattails. This resulted in some of the older soldiers comparing their appearance to that of the bright and cheerful yellowhammer bird. In time, all Alabama soldiers became known as "Yellowhammers." 


Unlike most woodpeckers, Flickers forage on the ground. They think grasshoppers, ants and crickets are a tasty treat, but they will visit your birdfeeder if suet is available. The Northern Flicker is a beautiful bird with easily identifiable markings. They are fairly common throughout the United States with the Red-shafted Flicker to the west and the Yellow-shafted Flicker to the east. 

A Flicker on the prowl

There are two different subspecies of the northern or common flicker: Colaptes auratus auratus (yellow-shafted) and Colaptes auratus cafer (red-shafted). Both subspecies are brown-and-black barred on the back and wings, and a buff-colored or whitish breast with black spots. A wide black “necklace” is also characteristic of both subspecies. Northern flicker’s have a conspicuous white rump that can be seen when the bird is in its deeply undulating flight.
The yellow-shafted flicker has a red patch on the nape of the neck. They have a gray crown. Under the tail and wings, a bright yellow can be seen giving the flicker the name yellow-shafted. The males have a black mustache or line at the base of the bill.
The red-shafted flicker has a brown crown and doesn’t possess the red patch on the nape of the neck. Red-shafted flickers are reddish under the tail and wings. Also, the males have a red mustache.
DISTRIBUTION: The yellow-shafted flicker is found from southern Alaska and Canada south to the Gulf States. They can be found throughout the eastern United States and Cuba. There are migrants in the northern parts of their range.
Red-shafted flickers are found from southeastern Alaska and southwestern Canada down through the western United States to Guatemala. Migrants, usually hybrids may occur in the western part of the eastern United States.
HABITAT: Flickers inhabit areas that are open, such as woodlands and groves that contain dead trees or poles for nest cavities. They will also make their homes in towns and parks.
FEEDING HABITS: Flickers spend a majority of their feeding time on the ground probing for ants. They also eat other insects, fruits, berries, and seeds. Flickers can often be seen at bird feeders where they eat suet, and seeds such as sunflower, or peanuts.
LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: The male flicker chooses the site for a nesting cavity in a dead tree, stump, or pole. Flickers may even use nest boxes. Once the male has chosen the site, he begins to excavate the cavity with some help from the female. It usually takes from 15 to 28 days to complete the nesting cavity. The cavities are typically high above the ground. Breeding season begins in March and continues through early to mid – July. Eggs are laid daily with an average clutch size ranging from six to eight. However, clutches can range from 3 to 14 eggs. Eggs are solid white with a smooth surface and high gloss. Incubation responsibilities are shared by both sexes with the male sitting at night. The eggs are incubated for 11to 13 days. Flicker nestlings are fed regurgitated food from both parents, but are brooded by the male for the first three weeks. The young will begin climbing in the nest cavity at 17 to 18 days after hatching, and are fed at the entrance by three weeks of age. The young will leave the nest at 25 to 28 days of age.
(Courtesy of http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/what/Birds/woodpeckers/nf.cfm )


Check out more info at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/id

Alrightnowyoutellme (5)

I took this picture not far from a little town called Dancey, near a power dam on the Wisconsin River.

Let's see what kind of clue can I give...this butterfly is a pretty little lady. The reveal is next week. So sign in again next week when I will paint yet another revelation to an Alrightnowyoutellme mystery.

(It is not a Monarch Butterfly)

The Ultimate Reveal

Our problem is that we are so short sighted. Unless we are able to put together "all" of the pieces of our lives, we often become overwhelmed and frustrated. Or if we don't understand a few of the pieces, that our puzzle and life is somehow defective. I am just going to face the fact that I will never see or understand the "Big Picture".

I was talking to my wife the other day and we had one of those, "do you remember when we" conversations. No, I did not remember. It was like I had never done that particular thing; but we did, Mary told me we did. I had completely forgotten a nice memory. We can rest assured that any good deed or sacrifice performed for God, or others will be remembered and revealed one day. God never forgets. We would like recognition for the things we do right now. We might do something nice, and it may go unrecognized, but that's alright. Do we do, the things we do, for a pat on the back?

We can rest assured that God sees and knows every sacrifice and effort we put forth and He remembers each one, I mean every seemingly insignificant detail. It matters to Him. He remembers, and will not forget; like I do. One day all of the things we have done will be revealed and there will be a reward for them. So keep on doing your best, not because you want to be promoted to the top of the heap, but because you are trying to please the Lord in every aspect of your life.

Good works, sacrifices, and giving bits of your life away, do nothing to add to your salvation, but it is a means by which God can bless others through us. Those may be some of the pieces of the puzzle we don't see or understand. So it could be that the "missing" pieces of our lives the things we perhaps think of as a failures may be some of our highest achievements; we just don't know what God is doing in us and through us.

He will never forget a single detail. He sees everything and it will be revealed one day in heaven. When you finally understand how your life touched the lives of so many others, you will be amazed. But it won't matter that much; all that will really matter is Him.

It's My Popular Fault

I wish I was better than I am. There is room for improvement in all of us, myself included...but really, I am pretty close to being well (in my own modest way) awesome. I have always said, "The nice about being me is I do not need to be anyone else." Truthfully the humor in the comic in my previous post is; I am with Calvin. I am awesome! Alright, so I aint. Thanks for popping my ego bubble.

I came across a list while reading a book and it had very helpful advise in it. If you love lists and neat little packages of advise you will love this. I got it in the "How to Improve Others" section of the book store. I am an expert now; so here is what my  your problem is. (Really I am just kidding)


The most popular time wasters. From a book called "The Time Trap"

1. Attempting to do too much
2. Unrealistic time estimates
3. Procrastinating...(ouch, my bad)
4. Lack of specific priorities
5. Failure to listen well
6. Doing it all yourself-failure to delegate or ask for help
7. Inability to say no
8. Perfectionism-focusing on needless details
9. Lack of organization
10. Failure to write it down
11. Reluctance to get started...(ouch again)
12. Absence of self appointed deadlines
13. Not doing the first things first

Wow, can I ever see "your" defects in this list. try working on some of these will you please. Alright I will.

One Day At A Time

I am so glad to be in January. Yes I know that the temps are cold, and going anywhere seems like a monumental task, but at least Christmas is over. It is time to resume the daily grind and I am happy to do so. Did you notice that the days are getting longer. Please do not look at any gardening books or seed catalogs, it will only make the winter and spring seem that much longer. Let's just take it a day at a time.

The new year is generally a time to resolve to do better, to be better, lose weight, and quit smoking or drinking. The list goes on. When I was a kid everyone always talked about how their life was going to change because of a New Years resolution; no one really does much of that any more. Perhaps we are all tired of breaking our vows after only a week or so of being good, and feeling like a failure. I don't like to break vows, but I am not sure that goal setting should become a thing of the past either. I would like to tell you a story.

Charles Schwab was the president of Bethlehem Steel, (I am pretty sure that there is no connection with the Christmas story). Ivy Lee was a consultant. Lee was given the task of formulating a plan that would help Schwab, "Show me a way to get more things done with my time." Schwab agreed to pay Lee "anything within reason" if the plan worked. Lee at a later date handed the president of Bethlehem Steel a sheet of paper with a plan to help get more things done with his time; the same amount of time given to all of us.

It went something like this. Write down the most important tasks that you have to do tomorrow. Number them in order of importance. When you arrive tomorrow begin at once your number 1 task and stay at it until it is accomplished. Re-check your priorities and begin with number 2 on your list, then move on to number 3, and so on until you have accomplished your goals for the day. Make this a habit for every working day.

The plan turned Bethlehem Steel into the largest independent steel producer in the world within five years. How much did Schwab pay his consultant? Several weeks after receiving the note Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000, admitting that it was the most profitable lesson he had ever learned.

I know not every one works well from a list. Maybe you are a "planner" and not a "doer" but regardless of your type we need to live life one day at a time and really try to get as much living in as we can. Not just living for ourselves but doing what we can for others as well. You can do it.