Wednesday Hodgepodge - March 29, 2017

From this Side of the Pond

For this week, the focus of the Wednesday Hodgepodge focuses on beauty and beasts...a nice tie in to the movie Beauty and the Beast that is in theaters now; and that Sophia, Olivia, and I saw on Sunday.

1. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'  What's something you've seen recently that you thought was beautiful?

The eyes of our pets I find beautiful. Each is unique and, to me, full of expression.

I like the dark brown eyes of the dogs (all our current dogs have brown eyes) and horses.

Eenie, our cat, has hazel eyes. They are so big compared to the other  cats.

2. Our culture and beauty...your thoughts?

I think there is way too much emphasis on physical beauty and not enough on inner beauty and good character.

It's important to feel good about oneself and take care of oneself. It's unhealthy, however, when that desire for beauty is taken to an extreme and/or a person tries to attain an artificial, air-brushed, photo-shopped look that is truly unattainable.

There was a quote that I found on Pinterest that I believe better defines beauty:

This is another quote that I like:

3. Age before beauty, beauty queen, beauty mark, beauty sleep...which beauty-ful phrase resonates with you today? Why?

Probably out of the four options, "age before beauty" would be most applicable.

I looked up what the phrase means on The Phrase Finder and it says, "Older people should be given precedence over the younger and, by implication, more beautiful. This is normally used jocularly, often by the older person in order to flatter the younger."

4. I read here a list of the top ten beasts animals that scare us the most: alligators, coyotes, black bears, birds (but pigeons in particular), sharks, bats, bed bugs, rats, rattlesnakes, and the black widow spider. 

Which 'beast' on the list scares you the most? What is the likelihood of you having an actual encounter with that particular beast?

Alligators and sharks scare me the most because they are large; and the method of injury and/or death is so violent.

The likelihood of me having an actual encounter with these particular beasts? Slim to none.

Did a movie contribute to your fear of this creature? Have you ever had a real life encounter with any of the animals listed?

More than watching a movie, it's reading books about nature and wildlife that have provided insight into what these animals are capable of doing.

Although I haven't had a real-life negative encounter with either an alligator or shark, I have seen an alligator both in the wild and in captivity; and a shark in captivity.

This alligator (below) was sunning itself on an island at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center that I enjoyed visiting on April 30, 2010.

This alligator (below) was at the Estuarium on Dauphin Island on August 31, 2009. The coloring of the alligator was a surprise to me. Perhaps it was its type or youth...I'm not sure why it was so vividly-green.

This Sand Tiger Shark snuck up on Sophia, Olivia, and I as we were observing one of the aquariums at the Minnesota Zoo on January 31, 2008. It came quickly around the corner in the aquarium and scared us all. Just out of the blackness, it seemed to come from no where.  We thought it had kind of a creepy-looking eye.

Check out the teeth on it, though. I was happy that we were on the other side of the glass from the shark.

5. Where were you when you last heard a bell ring? Was it alarming or musical?

The type of bell that comes to mind are the ones my mom used to ring. This isn't the bell I last heard. Rather, the ones I'm thinking about are the most memorable to me.

There was an outdoor bell right next to the deck door. When dinner was ready, and if we were out playing, she would ring the bell. We could hear that bell probably a good quarter-mile away.

Source

The more delicate and quieter bells were kept in the kitchen drawer. These were sometimes used to let us know that dinner was ready if we were indoors - sometimes as a family or if we had company.

My mom also would give us a bell if we sick and needed something. In that way, we didn't have to get out of bed. We could just ring the bell and she would come to see what we needed.

6. What's your favorite carb? How's that for random?

See that far right column with the grains and sugary snacks? Yep...that's the column I would enjoy eating in unlimited quantity if there were no negative consequences. Cookies, brownies, well-made bread...anything along that line.

Source

If I were to choose from the "great carbs" section - it would be the  berries and from the "good carbs" - it would be that pineapple.

So, it looks like I tend more towards sweet carbs.

7. Let's wrap up another month of Hodgepodging and life with an acrostic. Recap your month using the word MARCH.

Migrating birds returning: sandhill cranes, killdeer, and red-winged blackbirds

Announcing Spring are the frogs singing in the pond

Remembering the past by going through photos that belonged to my parents

Competition and preparation for the regional and state 4-H Wildlife Project Bowls

Homeschooling at home and learning-by-doing-seeing-and-volunteering in the community 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I had a weird dream on Monday night. I was driving the car on a very narrow bridge (not much bigger than the width of the car) that moved pretty erratically and widely as the wind blew.

The car could barely fit on the bridge - like this one.

Source

I could see below, the water churning and high waves crashing into one another.

The bridge in my dream was very similar to this one that

Sophia, Olivia, and I walked across at Tettegouche State Park

on June 4, 2013.

Within a minute or so, the bridge broke and fell into the water. The car started going towards the water, slowly filling.

I knew conceptually what to do to escape, but was frozen. I couldn't move.

Source

The water was filling the car and I thought, "Oh, that's just great. I ruined the car....and this is the good one." I started to panic as the water was up to about my chin level.

And then I felt a nudge from Cooper, the dog. He woke me up from the dream.

Cooper sitting on his favorite chair and

looking out the window.

He's done that before - and it's only when I'm on the verge of dying in a dream. I wonder if my body is reacting to the stress in the dream in a way that alerts him somehow.

At any rate, I looked up on Dream Sleep what dreams of drowning mean. The site said, "Dreams of drowning or struggling in treacherous waters may represent your fear of being swallowed by forces hidden in the depths of your unconscious.

"It may be helpful to talk your problems and fears through with a friend. They may be able to throw you a lifeline and help you 'keep your head above water'.

"The dream also shows how you are being overwhelmed by your emotions. You may fear sinking financially or be drowning in your difficulties.

"Do you feel that, in waking life, you are being 'sucked into' something you would rather not be a part of?

"Pause for a while and make sure you have your 'feet firmly on solid ground' before you make any major decision."

Well...I was finishing up on taxes prior to going to bed. Probably shouldn't do that again.

*~*~*~*

Anyway...a final image of something that I find beautiful: sunrises and sunsets. Until we lived at the farm, I didn't see many sunrises because of the direction the home or apartments I lived in faced.

Living on Bass Lake growing up, we saw amazing sunsets - many times enjoyed while we ate dinner together as a family.

At the farm, I've been incredibly blessed to be able to see both beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

A sunrise on September 29, 2007.

The cloud formations and colors were spectacular that morning.

I try to take photos of ones that stand out for some reason as often as I can.