Everyday Canvas

December 4 and 5

For: "Space Blog" 

Prompt: From SusanFarmer ’s "Journaling" 
"who am I becoming?" This is a good question. Who are you becoming? Are you the same person you used to be?


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Surely, I am not the same person I used to be compared to the day I was born. Whatever has happened and keeps happening to me changes who I am, sometimes in a huge way and other times, in tiny amounts.

Honestly speaking, who I am becoming is not for me to say. That decision lies with the higher ups. All I can say is that I watch myself, my reactions, my actions, and especially my thoughts. This is because everything stems from thoughts. If I can handle my thoughts, I can handle my reaction and hopefully, along the way, I may become a better person, so that I can be good or tolerable during the calmer, good times and during any drastic changes, slow or sudden.

Change is usually stressful and disconcerting for all living beings. Those who have cats will attest to that. A cat is a very fragile animal that doesn’t take well to change, even when we change the placement of furniture in a room.

As for me, I do like the comfort of a routine, but life has taught me to accept changes, especially those that are a lot harder to swallow. I understand that even a positive change can make a person feel uneasy, but taking things as well as I can and learning to manage stress do help my adjustment. Even when the changes seem to be negative, meeting them with a cool head can assist me in developing new habits for adjusting to those changes.

This is called resilience, which the word reminds me of my high school Home-Ec. teacher Miss Lindsay, RIP, who told us the best defense we can develop for the life ahead of us would be resilience, and I always took her words to heart. Consequently, in my life, all her words have helped me greatly. Thank you, Miss Lindsay!

For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" 
Prompt: What's your favorite holiday movie? Holiday song?

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I am not much for movies nowadays. Among the oldies, though, are: It’s a Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas because I recall with much delight that these were the ones I watched with my children when they were little.

As to the holiday song, I always preferred The Little Drummer Boy, which might have been inspired by a Czech carol called The Carol of the Drum. I think it is a much more thoughtful song than the silly jingling ones.


For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" 

Prompt: What kind of birds visit/live where you are? Did you know the University of Michigan did a study on migratory birds and it was noted migratory birds are getting smaller and their wings are wider due to climate change? Have you noticed the changes yourself?

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Where I am, we have mostly Florida birds, but in winter, we can also spot cardinals, doves, sparrows, some waterfowl, and blue jays. I am not familiar with that University of Michigan study and I haven't noticed any difference in the size of the birds I see, maybe because I didn't look for it. It may be. It is just that I haven't noticed it.

As to the birds here, among our local host birds which visit the golf course at the back of the house, I notice mostly the sandhill cranes, huge flocks of white ibis with one or two black ibises scattered among them, turkey vultures,eagles, ospreys, owls, woodpeckers, wrens, mourning doves, all kinds of ducks and geese, and crows and raven.

Of these groups, Sandhill Cranes go about in families. Several years ago, I made friends with a family of four. They usually come at the porch door and knock on it with their beaks. My late husband used to tell me, “Look, your friends are calling!” When I go out, they don’t escape. I can just be among them, feeding them. They’ve even let me take photos of them, up close.

Now, these are huge birds. The adults are as tall or taller than me, but they are mild-mannered, even if their cries sound like throaty shrieks. Over the years, I had generations of them visiting but I can’t tell anymore which ones were the original four.