Teachers and Learners

It is time for school to begin in SWMO and around the US, so yesterday's gratitude prompt seemed quite timely.

If you had to teach something, what would you teach? Everyone has something to teach, everyone has something to learn. 

I don't know what I would teach. I tend to think of myself as more a Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none kind of guy. Anything that I have to share is pretty beginner level for a field in which there is much more for me to learn than I know to teach. I don't think of sharing information as teaching; it's really just conversation. Teaching requires planning and purpose, which are not strong suits for me.
For that matter, learning also often requires planning and purpose which is why there is the master-of-none attachment to my description.

Sure, I could teach a few magic tricks, tell some bible stories, point out constellations or stars in the night sky, or propagate hibiscus plants; but we couldn't delve deeply into those things with me as the teacher. I'd love to have conversations in any of those areas (and many more), but as a learner/seeker of knowledge rather than as a teacher.

If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

John

Baseball, Botany, and other BS

This year I purchased a Red Access pass to the Springfield Cardinals, the AA affiliate of the St Louis Cardinals. I've enjoyed going to several games and will probably go this evening. I go to the games by myself and that works well for several reasons.
1)  I can decide at the last minute whether I want to go or not.
2)  I can walk about as I feel like during the game and often end up watching part of the game from the outfield GA area.
3)  I don't feel obligated to talk to anyone.
4)  I can leave whenever I feel like it.

I haven't taken full advantage of the Red Access perks and was in Mexico for a full month of the season, but it has been worth the cost and I think I'll go ahead and get it again for next year. I especially like the day games in the early season when local schools make it a field trip day. Even though I tend to stay away from the areas where the kids sit, it is cool to see kids that get to spend part of their school day at the ballpark. 

     * * * * * 

I'm working on propagating some of my flower garden. I'm starting a few new hibiscus plants from cuttings and looking for some different varieties. My current bushes have pink flowers, so red or white would be great if you are local and feel like letting me have a stem from your plant.
I'm going to do the same with our hydrangeas and peonies. Again, I would love to have more color varieties of peonies.
I didn't think that my rose bush survived the winter and so I mowed it down late in the spring. After being away for the month of June I noticed some new growth from the surviving root and have been trying to nurse the plant back to a decent bush. I dug it up and put it in a pot and will keep it inside this winter and replant it in the spring.  If it is healthy enough to get a clipping start for another plant I will. Again, I would love to have more color varieties, so...
I'm going to need to thin my hostas in the spring, so if you want a few plants, let me know when you are doing your spring planting. I suppose there is plenty of time for them to get established before winter if you want some now. I'll also be thinning and transplanting some purple iris flowers. Let me know if you want some. They tend to propagate quickly so you can have a nice bunch of them in just a couple of years.

I just made a contribution to the Arbor Day Foundation and will be getting some more trees to plant. If you want to make a contribution and don't have a place for a dozen trees, you can send them my way (I have 5 acres and can pick them up if you're local) or opt to have them planted in a forest. The Arbor Day Foundation is one of the few charities that I really enjoy supporting.

     * * * * *

As for other BS...

My daughter in law got me started on a new game on my phone -- Star Battle.
It reminds me a bit of Sudoku and is becoming as addicting. I think it's what you might get if you somehow combined Sudoku and minesweeper. 

Although I still have my daily morning quiet time, I haven't been as purposeful about structuring it as I had hoped to be. I'm not certain that's a bad thing. The time, such as it is, is still pretty good. I have been incorporating some simple tai chi moves into my time and I will attempt to keep that as a regular part of the morning routine.

I also bought some online woodworking plans. 
I think they will come in handy for a few future projects. I'm going to try to start with a few simple things and then work up to more complex ones. 

It looks to be overcast and cooler today with a chance of more rain this evening. Hopefully, there will still be evening baseball, but I think I'll drive the car instead of riding the bike to be safe.

John

Getting Ready for a Long Trip

Not me. The hummingbirds.
I noticed a lot of activity around the hummingbird feeder and checked to find out that these little birds are storing energy for their migration to their winter homes. The ruby red throats will winter in Mexico and will leave here in a few weeks. By the end of September they'll all be gone. Maybe I should join them. 

Some of these little guys will fly more than 1000 miles nonstop during migration. Others will take a break along the way. Tracking shows that hummingbirds return to the same places at each end of their migration each year and generally make the same stops, usually within a day or so of previous years. They travel solo so young birds rely on instinct to follow the paths of their ancestors.
The smallest hummingbirds lay eggs that are the size of the mini jelly beans and weigh around 1/50th of an ounce! Maybe I'll look into making nesting spots for them this coming winter.
They only have a 3-5 year lifespan. I figure they probably get to the end of their tropical winter one year and say, "F#*k that! I'm not flying another fricken 1000 miles this year!" and then they die from too much heat in the tropical summer. 
Or maybe they just don't have the strength to make it back and freeze during our Midwest winter.

I'll try to keep the feeder full so they'll have plenty of energy for the long journey. I always wonder if some of them might feed at my son's feeder during the winter since I know he has some red throats that winter in Puerto Vallarta.

John

A Good Question...

I get these daily prompts for an online gratitude journal. I'm not really good at writing everyday and I often just write a short, simple response when I do write. The prompts are a good way of just reflecting on different aspects of life and often remind me of some people that have helped me or been influential along the way.

Today's prompt is interesting--

     What do others like about you that you have never loved about yourself?
     Maybe try believing them a little more.

I really don't know.
As I've gotten older I have also decided that I don't really care what others like or don't like about me. I've also done much more internal reflection and am pretty happy with who I am at this point. Yeah, I've got things that I'm working on, but that's a part of the process of making my way through life.

Sure, I want to be a likable kind of guy -- not too likable, though. I don't want people to actually want to be around me all the time. But I realize that I don't have any control over how people feel about me. I may say or do something stupid and offend someone. They'll decide if that's a characteristic part of my personality or not and judge me accordingly.
We all do that. Some are just more gracious about it than others. 

I don't think I have issues of self esteem or am overly critical of myself. 
If there is a thing that I wish I would have done differently along the way it is that I sometimes wish I would have put a greater emphasis on education. I've done well with the little schooling I've had and I still love to learn, but formal education and self learning are perceived very differently by others. At this point, it's a small thing and I don't worry about it. It's just a thing.

How about you?
Is there something people like about you that you never really cared for about yourself?
Maybe something to contemplate today.

John

Frozen Coffee

I'm going to experiment this afternoon.
Prep for today's experiment began last night when I brewed some coffee, let it cool, added a little heavy cream, and then poured it into ice cube trays and put it in the freezer.

Some time this afternoon (when the temp is supposed to hit 104f, 40c) I'll throw some of those cubes in the blender with a splash of Mexican vanilla, a bit of chocolate syrup, a little cinnamon, and a (healthy) shot of tequila. I may need to add a little milk or cream to get the right consistency, but I'm looking for my own take on a frozen Mexican coffee. If I were making it for guests I'd probably top it with whipped cream, drizzle a little more chocolate on it, and maybe sprinkle some more cinnamon. I don't need all that showy stuff for just me.
Freezing the coffee will keep it from tasting like watered down coffee the way coffee and ice eventually does.
It's 8am and already 82, feels like 97, so I'm looking forward to this frozen drink. I don't know if it will be too hot to enjoy it on the deck with a cigar or not, but I am looking forward to it with or without the stogie.

I'll let you know.

John

Unexpected Shower

It's a quiet morning and I am enjoying listening to the rainfall of an unexpected shower this morning. It is a nice way to end my morning meditation time.

The weather app on my phone only showed a 7% chance of rain this morning and I expect this shower to be brief. But it is nice while it lasts and the gentle rain this morning is far better than the wind and storms of Sunday night. 
I was hoping to take the motorcycle out for the 40 minute ride to the hospital to make my chaplain rounds today, but I think the car is going to be a safer choice today. Maybe I'll ride the bike into Springfield tonight for the baseball game. 

I'm going to use today's unexpected shower as a prompt to make a couple of contacts -- you know, kind of an unexpected encouragement to a couple of people. 
If you were going to drop a -- "Hey, just thinking of you. Hope you're having a great day,"  kind of note to somebody -- who would you send it to?
Why not just go ahead and do that?
Go on. Do it now. Your phone is right there. Just pick it up and send the message. 
You'll both feel better for it!

     * * * * *

I just posted over on my Unhealthy Guy's blog about my August goals. It's too bad I haven't been able to find that stick-to-it determination that I really need to maintain the effort. Writing does tend to keep me more focused so maybe I need to make more regular posts to be self-accountable.

I've got some things to do this morning so I'd better get off of the chromebook and get busy.

Have a grand day!
John

Nature vs Nature

The storm that came through last night did some damage to our flower beds around the yard. I don't know if you can really call our flower beds natural since they are there because of our design and construction. Maybe it's more like nature vs nurture with our gardens being the nurture part.
In any case, many of the sunflowers are bent over almost to the ground, the cosmos and zinnias are also damaged, but all appear to still be rooted. The arbor with its wisteria is blown over and many of the delicate buds are off of the hibiscus plants. 
That's the visible assessment from a distance. I'll see what it looks like when I get out and up close.

We lost power shortly before midnight, but it was back on around 2am. I doubt most of the neighborhood was aware of that until they woke up this morning. 

And maybe it isn't so much Nature vs Nature or Nature vs Nurture, but more a battle between Nature and humans as we continue to exploit the earth and her resources for our immediate benefit without thinking of the consequences of refusing to live in harmony with the world around us. The unusually severe weather patterns of this summer are no doubt connected to the climate change we are experiencing. We went from severe thunderstorm warnings last night to heat advisories for today. 
While it is true that we do our share of driving cars, consuming energy, and using paper and plastics, we are trying to reduce our carbon footprints. 
Our thermostat is set relatively high in the summer and low in the winter. We recycle plastic, paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, and aluminum cans. I often wonder about the benefit of recycling vs the emissions of driving the 35 miles to and from the recycling center. I try to combine my recycling trip with another needed trip into Springfield, but still...
I still need to look into getting solar panels for our home.
My new Ford Maverick hybrid is built and sitting in a plant in Mexico. I wonder if it will ever offset the carbon emissions of being shipped from Mexico to central Illinois and then driven home. Like many things, the actual cost of energy savings may be a more costly way and the best way might just be to do less driving or use less plastic or paper vs recycling what we do use.

I'm going to try to make peace with nature today and see how much of my flower gardens I can restore. 
What's your plan for the day?

John 

Did you know ... ?

Did you know that our alphabet used to have 27 letters (or characters)?

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z &

Yes. The symbol we use for "and" was the 27th letter.
But when reciting the alphabet, kids were not supposed to say "...X Y Z and," or "...X Y Z and and."
They were taught to say "...X Y Z and per se, and."
"and per se and" became ampersand, but was later removed from the alphabet.

John

I missed it! Blogoversary #17!

It was Tuesday, July 25, 2006 that I posted my very first entry at Out of My Hat. 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 marked 17 years that I've been posting. The blog, its content, and its personality have all changed to reflect my own evolution throughout the past couple of decades. There are a couple of fellow bloggers that have been here since the beginning or at least the early days. Many more have moved on to other platforms or just disappeared into the virtual cloud.

If you're interested in that first post, you can find it here.
That book has never been written, although I occasionally think about it.
I have written more than 2600 posts over the years, made a few virtual friends, and even managed to meet a couple of fellow bloggers in different parts of the country. 

I expect to keep writing for the time being. It's more therapeutic than anything. I don't keep track of readers like I used to. For a while I was getting regular hits from about 30 countries and around 100 or more hits per post. I lost a number of readers and friends over the years from posts that didn't sit well with them. It seems to be the way of things now. Some made a big deal of the differences, others just quietly disappeared. Some of them I miss. Most of them I don't.
Now I write for myself and am happy with the few regular readers that I have.

If you are here and read Out of My Hat regularly (or even occasionally), thank you. 
I generally share my posts on Facebook and Twitter (now X) if you want to follow me there, or you can subscribe directly to the blog.

Retired ATC
Deconstructed Southern Baptist Evangelist
Former Magician
Struggling follower of Jesus
Curmudgeon in training

John

Early to rise...

My sleep pattern has been off this week. Part of it has been intentional, but it is a little more extreme than I was looking for. Typically I go to sleep between midnight and 1 AM and then get up around 7 or so. I have my coffee and quiet time and make a slow start to the day. Since it's been getting hot early, I thought I'd go to bed earlier and start my day a little earlier. This morning I was awake at 4:30, up at 5, and sipping coffee on the deck by 5:30.
The sun is up now and it is already starting to warm up. I need to get a little yard work in before it gets too hot -- watering and more weeding of flower beds. I'm also going to try starting some new hibiscus plants from clippings. Mowing will have to wait for another day.

By the time it gets too hot for a fat, old guy to be working in the heat I will be relaxing with a cold beverage and either smoking a cigar or playing around with my ukulele. I may skip the More Than at 425 tonight. I'm still recovering from all the people-ing on Sat/Sun/Mon. 
We'll see how that goes.

It's not yet 7 AM and I'm ready to get to work. 
Have a great day and keep cool. It's triple digits for SWMO again.

John