Good morning.

14 March 2025

Do you use a pill organizer? If you do, chances are you’re no longer a spring chicken. I remember when I was first prescribed a daily pill—it was in my forties, and my blood pressure had climbed well past the acceptable range. I was preparing for dental surgery when my dentist, a colonel, ordered me to head straight to the emergency room. At the ER, the nurse who took my blood pressure got quite excited (she did give it back), though the doctor seemed unfazed. And that’s how I ended up with my starter pack of meds. Since then, my daily regimen has grown little by little, to the point where I now struggle to fit everything into my pill organizer.

"I believe in prescription drugs. I believe in feeling better." - Denis Leary

Good morning.

13 March 2025

Thursday rolls around again—just one day until Friday. It's a relentless cycle, don’t you think? The Ouroboros, the image of a snake devouring its own tail, symbolizes the endless cycles of life, but it could just as easily reflect the routine of our daily grind. For those with a traditional Monday-to-Friday workweek, perhaps a flat tire is a better metaphor: the weekdays make up the tire’s rotation, while Saturday and Sunday are the flat part where you coast. My current cycle, though, feels more like a straight line—every day is Saturday. We always wrap up the week on Friday with dinner and a movie; nowadays, we don’t even have to leave the house for that. In its own way, that’s a cycle too.

"Earth, Ashes to ashes and dust to dust in mother earth we place our trust and as we cycle through our years, we water it with blood and tears" - Nancy Holder

Crooning Perch

This morning at the lake, I spotted a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). He was quite vocal, proudly displaying his vibrant red wing epaulets. While I’m no expert on their behavior, I suspect he was trying to attract a mate. I’m fairly certain I saw a few females nearby—though I haven’t had the chance to confirm their identification, they are brown. Unfortunately, I left the house without my hearing aids and missed the chance to hear his song, which I would have loved.

Perhaps this blackbird is inviting you to explore my photo gallery at:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com [swede1952-photographs.pixels.com]

Good morning, friends.

9 March 2025

There was a time in my younger days when I could jack up my car, set it on a stand, crawl underneath, and replace the clutch. I used to handle my own tune-ups, oil changes, and more. Those days are behind me now, and even if I still had those skills, I’d probably take my car to the dealer for maintenance anyway. Just a couple of weeks ago, I realized I didn’t even know how to open the hood of my car. I had to look it up in the manual—which, by the way, is digital and on my phone. Eventually, my wife came to the rescue, figuring it out in about ten seconds. She used to supervise mechanics in the army; now, she supervises me! ;-).

"Money may not buy happiness, but I'd rather cry in a Jaguar than on a bus." - Francoise Sagan

Golden Pine Warbler Moment

This morning, a pine warbler (Setophaga pinus) paid a visit to the old bird feeder nestled in the heart of my backyard. While this is the best shot I managed to capture, I'm not especially fond of the scattered seeds in the background or the view through a smudged window.

I don’t upload all the photos I share here to my Pixels gallery. I only post my personal favorites, while some don’t make the cut. I usually give myself a couple of days to decide how I feel about them before uploading.

Feel free to explore my gallery here:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com [swede1952-photographs.pixels.com]