Day 4400: What Did I See Today? TBT, and TMI Update,.

     

"Diminishing Returns": collage, ink, digital.

 

 

 

  

Want music?

    

Click : Hall and Oates, Sara Smile.

 

  

 

 

WHAT DID I 

SEE TODAY ?

As I was driving to my Opthamalogist appointment, at a stop sign, an elderly (younger than me) gentleman walked his big yellow Retriever in the crossing.  I noticed the dog had one big wheel for his back legs which didn't touch the ground. It seemed a good solution and both seemed satisfied and used  it well. It was 8:30 am but there was a lot of traffic, moving inching up to the next light.  

So when my car got to the next corner, so did this pair, but now the dog's long tail was wagging near full speed. He saw that they were approaching two men, one with two dogs, the other with just one, but that was enough to make the Retriever very happy. He was going to be at social hour. As I drove away I looked in the rear view mirror and the men were smiling and talking, the dogs were sniffing and tails were wagging. Nice start to a day, and just a short observation.

Throwback Thursday ...

After Class with Demura Sensei

Honbu Dojo, Santa Ana, CA  1985

Evidently last Wednesday when I had my contacts in as usual, the left eye got scratchy and seemed irritated, so I removed both lenses and put on glasses. I then noticed the left eye contact had the tiniest cut through the lens, so I threw it out. I hadn't put "2 & 2" together yet. I wore glasses all day. Thursday everything seemed better so I wore contacts, and as the day went on, the left eye began to feel scratchy, and again I changed into glasses, Sunday I wore glasses and was watching the men's US Open final when I noticed that my left eye was closed and I had been viewing with just the right. I took off the glasses and covered my right eye and found that I couldn't see out of the left. Actually I could make out some shapes but it hurt to try. I called Kaiser, and thought they might send me to Urgent Care since it was the weekend. But when I described the left eye, he transferred me to a RN who asked some question and said I should go to Emergency right away. She asked if I had someone to drive me, and I explained that I live alone, but I could drive myself. She said no, I would need to be driven.

I sent a text to Jake (GH#2) to call me, He did immediately and was soon at my house and we were on the way to Sand Canyon Hospital ER. We had anticipated a long wait and we were right, but not because they were busy. It was a ghost town. We were given a room and finally saw "nurse Jackie" after 75 minutes. 

GH#2, Jake went over and put on gloves! I asked what he was doing? He said so he could "be ready to help". I said "they are going to think you are nuts" and he said, "I am". I told him stories about his Mom, when young, and how she used to make the most out of doctor wait time too. Luckily Nurse Jackie thought he was funny, as did the doctor 35 minutes later. Next a Rx @ $5 and ER visit @ $135 and we were on our way home with a scheduled Monday morning Opthamolgist appointment.

It wasn't all bad, we had so many laughs, when they tested my eyes, which were pitiful, Jake wanted to test his so the man did and said "Brother your eyes are bad". Jake said he knew, but he was waiting till November for enrollment.

 

  

 

A 6 minute video, Beloga,  here

 

 

 

  

 

Just because ...

  

 

Motmot

 

Tuesday's Smiles ...  

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

   

   

 

 

Day 4399: Can Trees Heal? and The Morton Arboretum

     

"Separation": junk mail collage.

 

  

Want music?

    

Click : Lionel Richie, You Are.

 

  

 

 

2GN2S

Can Trees Heal You?

Since I was young, I have always felt that there is  direct correlation between trees and people. It made sense to me that being raised among concrete with few if any trees, made the person hard. 

Now the article, Sonja Sudimac grew up immersed in nature. Belgrade, Serbia, where she is from, is packed with lush forested parks and bordered by the mighty Danube and Sava Rivers. But when Sudimac traveled in Europe and the United States as an adult, she realized many cities lacked the trees and waters of her childhood. Now an environmental neuroscience researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Sudimac was curious how exposure to nature shapes the brain. 

Over the past decade, scientists have published a substantive body of research that suggests nature enhances working memory, regulates our emotions, increases self-reliance, and fosters creativity. Yet most of these studies rely on participants’ subjective reports about their feelings after exposure. Sudimac and fellow researchers Simone Kühn and Vera Scale wanted to see if there was a causal connection between nature and well-being. “You can’t fake the results you get from the brain,” says Sudimac.

In 2022, the trio of researchers published the results of an experiment they ran in Berlin, looking at how a walk alone in the woods versus a stroll in the city affects activity in the amygdala. The part of the brain linked to fear, anxiety, and other emotions, the amygdala is typically monitored with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. A previous study had shown that the amygdala is more activated during a stressful task among city residents than among country residents, but no study had examined the brain before and after a person took a walk in a natural versus urban environment. The article continues, here.

Nature could help “restore individuals from stress.”

The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum is located in Illinois, in the United States.

It is a public garden, and an outdoor museum with a library, a herbarium, and a program in tree research including the Center for Tree Science! It is has trails to take through, it is 16 miles, and takes 25 minutes to drive through. What beautiful art and a beautiful place to visit in the United States of America.

https://mortonarb.org/

 

  

 

A 2  minute video, Inseprable,  here

 

 

 

  

 

Just because ...

  

Black-headed Grosbeak

 

  

 

Monday's Smiles ...