Always Squirreling Away For Another Day
We had another light frost last night, and likely tomorrow morning it'll be even colder, but of course, what must we expect when being well into the month of October in Northern Iowa? I can distinctly remember getting first frosts in the early weeks of September where we had to get everything harvested out of our gardens beforehand.
With it being somewhat of a slow day, I decided to play hooky for a few hours, so I went back and changed into my work clothes, and just as I was ready to walk out the back door of my office, a long-time client/customer of mine called and asked if I had time for him, and as chance would have it, he was in his car outside my office, so I greeted him at the door while apologizing for the way in which I was dressed.
He had various real estate questions to ask which I was able to answer, and once I we were finished-up with that, he asked how things have been with me, and since we'd not spoken for well over a year, I proceeded to relay all the unfortunate events that began to unfold in September of last year, and to this day, it hasn't fully stopped. Of course I freely named the ring-leaders and their accomplices, only because he personally knew several of them. He couldn't have been more understanding of it all, and after mentioning how sorry he was that such a thing took place, all I could say was, "Well, I learned once again that nearly no one can be trusted, along with the fact that we can't change things that are out of our control, so all I'm doing is adjusting to it all, but you can be sure, I'll never forgive or forget those who so freely, willingly and greedily put it all into action." Yes, the time spent with him today was definitely the highlight.
Once he drove off, I headed out to get some additional yard work done which I never would've expect to have the free time to do, and for whatever reason, I was able to get far more done than I ever would've expected, and so much so, there were people driving by and doing rubber-necking after the job was completely finished. I think in a past life I must've been a landscape architect. If there'd ever be a part time job opening for an arborist in our City, I'd be fighting with myself over signing up for it because there's no question I'm far more familiar with trees and bushes than most would've ever consider me being.
Over the years, there've been numerous times when buyers and sellers would ask where I became so knowledgeable in regards to trees and shrubs, and the only honest answer I could give them, was my being very much into botany back when I was young and semi-good looking. Of course there've been so many new non-native species and genetically engineered ones that've been planted around North Iowa, I dare say I'd have to take an extended course on those which are new to our area.
There are a few whom I like to teas whenever talking about the close relationship of certain trees which they never knew existed. For example, if you think Box Elders are nothing like a Sugar Maple, you've got it wrong because they're both out of the 'Acer' genus, along with the Silver Maple as well as 157 other species from around our world.? Just the other day, a friend of mine asked me what my favorite tree was, and I quickly replied, "The Hackberry is at the top of my list, and the various oaks follow."
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While out, I happened to spy a trove of walnuts a greedy little squirrel was piling up in part of a hollowed out tree trunk, so I snapped the above photo. I dare say when looking more closely at it, many thoughts came rushing in which centered around the gathering and storing of food for winter use. Of course there's an evil one in my family who used to tease me about gathering my 'nuts' for winter, but I dare say it was more a reflection on her mentality than mine. Yes, our world is filled with those who're always squirreling away for another day which ends up being an unbridled hoarding of assets which I'm sure they believe will offer extensions on their pathetic lives, which in the end, never happens. There's no question after the 'teaser' passes, there'll be a continued rolling over in the grave once the 'offspring' get their hands on that pile of dough. Isn't that the way it usually always ends up?
Speaking of death, I ran into a woman in the store late this afternoon whom I've known for decades, and what I thought would be just a quick little chat, ended up being a long conversation which centered around a recent event where she actually refused to accept a tidy inheritance, and instead, encouraged the bequeather to give it to various charities.? After she finished, I had a chill run thru me which prompted me to say, "From this day forward, I will hold you in the highest esteem because of what you did, and nearly everyone else would never do." Her final words were, "I have more than enough of my own, and believe me, I'm spending it as freely as I wish, and if I should die next week, I'll know I never expected or took something that I didn't work for." With a smile I added, "There's no doubt the gates will already be wide open for you." After today's chat, you can bet my opinion of her will be forevermore changed.
My gosh! I certainly had some pangs of deep and vengeful anger towards those murderers from The Gaza Strip who without cause, carried out the most heinous crimes of humanity by executing innocent Israeli men, women and children. As I began reading the article, I was pre-warned about the content, but after finishing it, I dare say, I have zero sympathies for what's in store for those perpetrators.
I was also in shock when reading where the religious leader of Iran was lauding the murderous actions of Hamas. Being somewhat familiar with the teachings of the Koran, there's nothing in that book that speaks about God or Allah saying it's OK to murder the innocent. These deranged religious leaders all over our world need to be de-frocked!
Tonight's One-liner is: Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.