As we approach a new year.

Looking back, looking ahead. 

First up is this winter.  Snow came and has now gone.  Different levels of cold will  chill and tease with brief warmth.

Personal decisions by each will follow.

Next morning, afternoon and evening.

Next week and month. Next season.

The earth is moving fast.

 Each year the earth makes one circuit around the sun. That means the earth has a velocity. 

The velocity is 67,000 miles per hour.

SNOW STORM -first storm, second accumulation.

 I am writing this in the midst of the snow event. What are tasks for today?

 - - Prepare to go out in the snow.

 - - Once out clear the cluster box, our shared incoming post office..

 - - Walk in safety avoiding snow clearing equipment.

 - - Complete my routine walking weather observation.

dlj/ 17DEC20

Venus left and below the waning crescent moon.

Walk in  the dark to see Venus.  Lower in the sky now,  Venus can only be visible in the hours near sunrise or after sunset.  Why?  Venus and Mercury are the two  planets on an inside orbit.

One way to get a grasp is to use BBs and a basketball  to attempt to create a model.  Venus is zooming away from the earth so will end up in the sun's glare soon.  Then this summer Venus will show up in the evening sky. 

Epictetus - two thousand years ago.

Lose no time in setting before you a certain stamp of character and behavior to observe both when by yourself and in company with others. Enter into discourse sparingly avoid such common topics as gladiators, chariot races and ..

The Book of Daniel - - Daniel prayed.

 Daniel stood up in the face of lies.

No but indirectly, yes he did.

He was a slave to four kings all weaker than this man of God.

Scott (our wandering pigeon) said we are called to 

stand up.

Words matter.

Did Trump imply , I will solemnly denigrate and deny the faithful poll workers in all the states except  the states where I lead. 

  "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I, Dale Johnson, having been appointed a lieutenant in the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear  that I will support and defend the Constitution Of the United States against all enemies, Foreign and domestic, that I bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter.  So help me God.

My first three presidents.

 Looking from a lens of history.

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

(Added note. )

The person of Jimmy Carter, Naval officer.

also

George Bush, husband of Barbara and his history of 

being shot down and rescued. Over fifty combat missions.  Shot down with his two crew members killed.

Waiting - WAITING

 There is always an end game.

This one?

Military serve. Veterans day.

 SERVICE. TO SERVE.  That is what we do. Lt Col Vindman. Age 45. Doing his job. He served.

What's his name vindictiveness. Worse than a junior high bully. When did he ever say he was president to all?

I am sure four star general John Kelly was admired for how he served those in the ranks.

Dale Johnson Lt Col USAF (retired)   11/9/2020

Whoopi Goldberg said suck it up.

 The cry baby President.

The cry baby President. A liar.  Listen to his words. A name caller.

A disgrace to the United States of America.

Dale Johnson 11/9/2020

So who all is drinking the bleach.

Joy ride with Secret service putting them at COVID-19 risk. True or false?

HAPPY DANCE. Name calling prediction.

 Am I accurate to predict the day after day of name calling in February and beyond will be as follows.

"Today I received strong disagreement  from an American citizen.  This citizen is against my ideas but is a valuable critic.  My herd of critics and my supporters are all equal."

President Biden 

Two days and routine counting.

 Ballots from our four year election are being counted. Tonight our president may have dropped to a specific level.

He spoke in a scheduled time praising the gains of Republicans running for Congress. Here in Maine our senator is on the same ballot page as the presidential candidates. 

Somehow he said voters got it right on the same ballot page that there was fraud on his results. 

Am I allowed an opinion? Did he drop to the level of treason?

Am I allowed to assume he is denigrating every poll worker except the one who counted votes for him?

Read the oath of office.  Google it and answer the question for yourself.

Each month has a first day.

 November has a birthday, a rememberance of a birthday and Veterans Day.  And one more thing. Prayer.

Watching Eleanor Roosevelt documentary.

 In the 1930s  eighty six (86) black women were lynched.

Various police and private events in the last couple years have resulted in the deaths of black women and men.

Almost everyone will acknowledge that a white would not have been killed.  I am available to discuss.

Are we as a society still lynching? 

Is our mind set contributing to this reality?

dlj 10/26/2020

FIRST OF THE YEAR

 First:

 - - Day with temperature in the single digits.

 - - Day with two inches of snow in the back yard..

 - - Day with temperature below zero ( degrees F ).

 - - Day with howling wind and snow.

Check back please.  

mj / Bartholomew 10/26/2020

An ache in the gut.

 In time this too will pass. Decent. Respectful.

Shifting topic a bit, I have sons who are as above.

They say, "just do the job".

I am smiling as my mind continues in .......

Barber number one changed days.

 Barber number two told of hiking a Mt Katahdin trail to the top in six rather than the normal twelve hours. I was impressed.  We were turned back by boulders and wind.

Galatians 5:22

 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience and self control. Against such things there is no law.

Approximately twenty five words in the top paragraph.  Let me think. STILL THINKING. 

Paul wrote Galatians 5:19 and 5:22.

Doesn't seem to be much of a choice.  

God is Love.

 I picked up a guide book. It happens to contain old and new. In the new is Galatians.

Chapters and verses were numbered. Galatians 5:19.

As always best practices is to read verses before and after.

There is no law against being kind. Jimmy Carter is kind. Barbara Bush was kind.  Barbara Bush demanded kindness from son and spouse. 

How about selfish. Is Jimmy Carter selfish? Is Jimmy Carter a name caller. Day after day after day does Jimmy Carter call people names? 

I think Jimmy Carter prays for everyone. I was going to write that he prays for ALMOST everyone but I like the preceding sentence better.

I guess if I went to anyone for voting advice, I would never rule out Jimmy Carter.

Good just plain good.

 In the title above good people just are.

Sadly, nasty, nasty person brings boos at public time of respect.

A nasty individual seems only to increase the reprehensible behavior.  A bully, a name caller,  a supposed national example.

And some are supporters. Racists bigots. Sad.

Humble, the word and the act of being humble.

 Strong strong person, but humble.  Kind person, strong humble but also demanding, A strength of character. Don't need to be told it is just so apparent.

Support to as above or support to an advocate of treason. In 1969 I did serve after saying I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States. 

Jimmy Carter.  Good? Bad? Kind and powerful with the presence of God evident.

I sigh deeply.  

Annual task complete. The camp water is out.

This year I took the water out in two steps. A week ago I took the intake nozzle out of the lake.  I wade into the water out to the nozzle flotation wood cross.  Anchored by a concrete block, I lift the brick up from the muck and carry everything to the dock.  The water is so low I am only briefly up to my waist.  Quickly I return to thigh, knee and calf depth.

Today I drained all interior faucets and lines.  That still involves crawling under the camp in two locations. Head room is okay yet.  Yet meaning I will reach an age where someone younger should do the work.

Home from camp; forty on my prayer list; walk every day.

 Some of the forty on my prayer list share with their spouse.  Kathy gets a prayer each week.  Sons and grandchildren are more often.  Dear friends recent and from distant past are on my year 2021 season list.  Four days in 2021 once each season. 

Near the date of 20,21,22 of September, December, March and June are the accepted beginning of fall, winter, spring and summer.

I will look at my list and make sure each get a prayer in the fall of 2020. 

A short item.

 We are having a wind event at night. The wind apparently is not at the Rangeley airport. Portland area weather discussion has no mention of our wind gusts.

Letter writing.

 A gift from the writer to the reader.  

Aside.  Today I mentioned to my dental hygienist that my daily task was to write letters. The hygienist related the satisfaction of receiving actual letters.

So I need to get to it. Like now!

Three forths in 363 days.

 One quarter of a century is significant. However the individual is young.  At one half all youthful thoughts and actions are in transition. And then three quarters. 

Thats about it. Options abound but contribution to young is the most uplifting.

Kayak schedule.

 Tuesday evening I paddled in gusting wind under an ominous black sky. The strong west and north west winds blew all Wednesday. I did not paddle last night.

At this moment the water is calm. A contrast from the previous two days.

A morning of reflection.

 I must park midway between the church and the library for best wifi signal. The Rangeley Public Library has four wifi transmitters. Most of the time -after hours- signal strength is strong.

I buy coffee and treat near 7AM and update my NEXUS APPs by the library. This morning Amazon may have sold me an online book in a stealth mode. 

These late August days are mid way between our anniversary and my birthday. As I read from my Kindle upload of my book, "Page Writing and Poems" I think back and I think forward.

Many ancient and current writers recommend thinking of now.

Now?  (Now is only the next few minutes until my bedtime).

As from Psalm 41 AMEN AND AMEN. May it be so.

Cool start again.

 This is a date we share on this 47F AM.

A hint. The wedding is nothing without the marriage. Counting one, two, three, four, ...  and more and more.

This is our quarantine complete day.

 We remain healthy. 

Cool morning at camp.

 Near or below 50F for the first two tenting nights. This is compensated by mild afternoon temperatures. Varied outdoor activities include evening fire, kayaking, afternoon dip in the water, and trips for ice cream.

Arrive Sunday off to camp Monday.

The water pump was primed and ready after a 17 day pause.

We then lost power in wind from a transient tropical system.

August First. A bookmark day.

Looking forward, looking back. 

Prayers for time ahead. Do the work looking back. 

More important pick or select a couple tasks and get them done. Get junk out of the house. 

A young worker. Also a supervisor.

We (or I ) watched for less than a minute. The work was getting done. A crew of three very productive. And then later all the work was completed. Pleasingly satisfying for old grandpa. Same  for all three workers also?

Decide, start, stay focused, finish.  FINISH. 

Warm day.

Available time. My goal is to delete thousands of repetitive photos. However it appears I need a continuous connection. In and out shipping of data does not cut it.

Will sorting to albums be more productive? Here goes.

Fewer than sixty on the flight!

I counted twice. We wore both mask and face shield.

Visit at a sister and the same the next day. Now we are en route to a brother and then to eldest son. In this time of national and global stress the only hugs are with spouse.

Connecticut extreme heat - 98F

Here in Maine my thermometers showed values above 90F.  Official jetport report nearer the water was less than 90F.

Matters not. Hot.

Mid summer camp pause.

Most summer seasons we pause.
Our pause will start with a transition at #20. Then we fly a convenient point to point.

For fifteen years we had four small pauses to enjoy Maine State Music Theater musicals.

Stand as in Ephesians

Put on the full armor of GOD. And after you have done everything stand. Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.
Added one day later. Now we have worshiped two Sunday mornings at the near by summer only church.

Oquossoc Union Church July and August

We will find out. Worship here, yes or no?

Updated a day later, yes a small gathering worship. The children's word, a baton. God conducts as we pay attention. When you are not sure look at the conductor. The answer whether from the Bible or from grandparent or stranger is there.
dlj/7-6-2020

And now it's July.

First of the month and routine check-up of various automatic payments. Money in money out.Since the middle of March my bride and I have often said, we are blessed.

WE ARE BLESSED.
AMEN AND AMEN.
Psalm 42

dlj maine7/2/20

An update.

Rain fell all Monday and now Tuesday morning it continues.

Approaching five inches of rain for this system.

I have a policy to burn twigs either during or after a rain. Starting with wet wood yesterday, continuous light rain fell the duration of my fire tending.

Series of thunderstorms finally weakening.

We wanted heavier rain to show the leaks in the roof. Up to ten thunderstorms moved through with either steady or gushing rain.

The holes in the roof all at nails are now exactly marked.

Duration of the rain so far is about ninty minutes.

Talking to myself, I could have (should have )  inspected the  screws or nails each year.

To and from camp.

We need to check mail and set out trash. Kathy needs a pharmacy run. I need to buy repair items such as seals and gaskets for the kitchen sink.

I am also here to do volunteer driving. I will return to camp on Friday afternoon.

Trash pickup is near noon. Our credit union lobby is now open.
Also it is good to wash clothes at times.

So you now see our home and away tasks.

In Maine three days of 90F defined as a heat wave.

The Cupsuptic River feels warm on these consecutive hot days. I postponed dock and water intake tasks waiting on warm water (and weather). I was up to my neck in the river by the intake. That is a good depth. Tomorrow is dirty work moving insulation. An early morning transfer station runs will start with tolerable heat but may end with the opposite.

Today was mostly a down day. I have two library books and Kathy has more. Moosely Bagels was our Sunday breakfast outing one day early.

Piles of decay over decades.

On our Wednesday transfer station run the van was full of mice infested insulation. Thursday we opened an even worse area. One third of a 30 gallon trash can from walls behind one four by eight panel.

Odor and thoughts of the filth so near offset by the knowledge all that is now gone.

Insulation and panels being removed.

Kathy helped her father put up the panels. She was in high school. We have heard and smelled mouse activity for years. Yesterday we removed and observed the extent of the decades of damage.

Housekeeping. Dates today.

On a Saturday in the Virginia countryside Alex and Cathy were married twenty years ago today.

The day prior the bride's parents hosted a serene evening on the river for many guests. A boatload of guests. Those guests related to me still recall the generous and with style event.

Thinking back with smiles on the elegance.

Travel back from camp (x one)

I was at camp six nights and Kathy will log ten nights on trip one to camp/ We had three days of hot and two of cool.  Cool means the wood stove in use.

This is a late post. Water in for the summer.

Each year moving lake water through a long plastic inlet to the pump and into the camp plumbing is fun.

As usual I rushed on one step so a pint of water a minute was spilling outside.

Rather than a screwdriver I used socket and wrench. Finally that leak stopped. Now the kitchen hot faucet may drip all summer as well as the under building drip drip ( third year).

Third volunteer Tuesday

Eight, eight, ten and eleven kits.

A count of tasking for Tuesday, Tuesday, Thursday and today.

Searching out an address specifically house or building numbers is a challenge. Before the day of GPS time to deliver the care kits as above would have been near double.

My sheet showed a street name of Leah when infact actual name was Leaha. I saw both streets in abutting towns and decided to go with the listed town and incorrect street name.

I will only do one day this week rather than the two of last week.

Modem replaced

Last Thursday, Friday we upgraded equipment to connect with the world.  I moved the new modem into our cold basement.  That means I must sit in the cold if I want to hard wire into the modem.  Wireless speed throughout the house is also good.  Yesterday morning I spent an hour understanding the Android/windows methods to cast my laptop screen to our chrome device hanging on the big TV.
All this radio energy zooming everywhere is a blessing and has a down side.

Volunteer work has resumed.

Last Tuesday and today Kathy is back as a volunteer. I also drove care kits last week and am on today's schedule.

My haircut is next on the schedule.

Book distribution has begun.

The carton of self published books was delivered Monday. Now I need to send the books to an interested audience.  The audience is family and those who know us.

Over the years I would experience something and sense I should write a page. Later a few free verse thoughts ended up on paper.

I realized sheets of paper here and there would never survive to reach my grand daughters.  The result is Page Writing and Poems.

A garden in a rock patio.

The area is covered in crushed rock about four inches deep. I'm comfortable digging deep down to the clay base. Scallions and tulips are my success crops.  I find a bit of black soil here and there. My tulips will open soon.

History of fasting.

Thirty six hour fasting is familiar. In 2018 and 2019 I do not recall fasting. This April I am on my second fast.

I found one of many journals where I had documented over twenty fasts.

It is mostly a mental exercise. Chewing a portion of a stick of gum or drinking a can of seltizer could be called cheating. Breaking of the fast is key to capture the small weight loss.

Why fast? For me it is to empty my stomach and to dig into stored energy.

Walking notes 2006

Hip and knee twinges were my signal to stop jogging and walk instead.

Now my habit is to walk every day. Toes, ankles and knee feels fine as long as I don't overdo. I am missing the lung and heart exercise.

Waiting on mild spring temperatures.

I recall wondering when April temperatures would increase. With thirty years of temperature data in hand I should know better. April temperatures are closer to fifties not sixties. Colder not warmer.

This is Easter Sunday. We will worship at home.

It has been weeks now and our churches and our nation have all sheltered at home. A tiny invader lurks. We are thankful for a servant of the people. However this servant is not one but thousands. Correct, the true servant is hundreds of thousands most of whom do not speak.  They do. Repeating, almost all are for the most part silent. If they are talking or talking and rambling they are not of Jimmy Carter's stature.

I'm sorry for rambling as above. Thank you to all our real servants of the people.

Nurses gowned up within inches of the invader. Nurses sad, silent and servants.

Yesterday morning near 7 AM I asked a young man running check out if he would have a long day. His response he would be working for the next eleven hours. Servants do the task.

Page Writing and Poems - A Collection

The proof of my book is in the mail back to the publisher. Self published so edited only over years or weeks for recent pages. My book is slim.

Primary audience as I wrote was siblings and people who know me. A number of the pages more or less wrote themselves.  I did not include a story of Kathy's keys jumping onto a peony bush.  As I prepared to phone a lady who prayed I retraced Kathy's steps. Just thinking about prayer resulted in an answer.

AMEN and AMEN

New day, new week, new month

Today we jumped to the next month. When the next month jump happens we pray the curve has leveled. Huge numbers are worked to the bone. Sadly another group want to work but cannot.

No conclusion, no pithy ending just observation and prayers.

Our nation is shut down.

Three years from now some of the impact will be revealed.

In five years we may see change of habits. Are people saving more?

Bare lawn followed by typical snow banks.

Late March and April snow is common. Lawns were bare and then six inches of snow overnight.

For all careful drivers impact should be zero.  I imagine a couple of drivers wanted to give Moody's collision some dollars.

 Slow down. Think. Don't be rude.

Buckets of honey.

We have traveled 160 miles round-trip a number of times in the last six years.  Why? We buy two buckets of honey. Forty eight pounds. The creamed style honey does not sugar out. In ten months the consistency will be unchanged.

Kathy uses the honey as a sugar replacement in her coffee.

To Connecticut - return this evening.

Two weeks, five months and eight months.

Two weeks out we will see steady or increased virus numbers. Five months is a special event and eight months is an election.

Dates for me to look back.

God Friended Me - Sunday night TV

We watch this weekly.  An interesting cast with various story lines.

Miles the atheist has a pod cast. A God account sends texts to Miles recommending people who need to be helped. In his pod cast he talks to the listeners telling the story of those God friended.

It is also fun to pray as such.  Dear Father thank you for friending me.  Many many of us do not need a text, we hear (sense the Holy Spirit).

A walking habit - review

Five weeks ago I said my sidewalks should return by April.  Rain, temperature above forty and sun angle has cleared some of my path.

My walking route is in a quiet traffic association. Over a couple years the most cars on the road numbered under fifteen. Median number of moving vehicles is six in my twenty five minutes in the neighborhood.

So sidewalks clear, yes or no, is a toss up. I do not walk in the dark.

It remains, I feel best out of the roadway.

Two flat roof surfaces at camp.

Mr James Turner put together a building called a camp in Maine. The camp location is special. The various buildings serve their purposes. Two flat roofs on the residence building may be subject to a collapse from excessive snow. I have been the recent laborer responsible to prevent collapse.

That means a 113 mile drive one way, various hours of shoveling and a drive back home. In the Maine summer the camp is home.

Clean snow off a flat roof.

Feb 16, 2019 my blog mentioned less snow depth than expected.  This snow season I shoveled two days ago.

February 25, 2020. Depth on the front porch was near 22inches.  Obvious layers of snow meant about six to eight separate snowfalls.

Today's storm had a radar pattern of rain mixed with snow. Shall I pray for only one additional storm?

Gathering of neighborhood.

She said we need gatherings.

A newsletter, a plan and a core of people made it happen. Fun time for all.

Growing up family vacations.

I only recall one out of state vacation.
Dad bought a 1955 Oldsmobile hardtop. We then traveled to Utah to visit with a cousin of my mother.

Six people in a car with no air conditioning traveling before the Interstate system existed. On the return we went to Mt. Rushmore. That was it.

Years later with wife and sons we lived in a number of states and traveled to Maine often. We did not travel out of the United States other than passing through Canada.

Now third generation son and family have traveled so often details of place and year are fuzzy at times.

One week later.

From last Tuesday to today we have seen temperature change from 80F to near zero. True the high temp was in Texas.

A few inches of snow are forecast for tomorrow.

Our Texas loop - To and from Padre Island

We now have seen eastern portions of Texas.  Meeting in west Texas nearly fifty years ago, we heard about humidity in East Texas.

Tonight will be our fourth night in the Corpus Christi, Victoria and Galveston/Houston vicinity.

At the coast humidity and windy conditions prevail.

An all afternoon temperature yesterday of eighty degrees was pleasent. No mosquitos, no knats or black flies just warmth.

Sidewalks covered with snow.

I lost my sidewalks in December then warmer temperatures cleared my path.

Now the snow depth is significant.  I expect covered walks until middle April. That should give me seven months of sidewalk rather than street walking.

Second snow and expected third on Saturday

Today we had over five inches of snow with more expected Saturday.

The fluffy snow today was pleasantly easy to throw.  Our fire hydrant must be free of snow.

Walk walk each day walk.

Build a habit by always doing the same thing.

I feel good and need to get out the door every day.

Early years of this blog.

In 2007 I started this weeklyabcxyz blog.  At some point I found google search would find the unique name.
Later,  I ran into corrupt entries. With luck I downloaded 2007, 2008, and 2009 postings so did not lose those  years.

All the other years are as shown on the right.

That makes this blog a journal.  A long look back.