Good morning. 🌊🐚🪸

18 January 2026

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I really do need to straighten up my office. It’s out of control again. Computers and stray parts are scattered across my old desk, mixed in with cameras and whatever else has migrated there. Papers of every imaginable origin are waiting for some kind of decision, and a new stack of books has begun forming on the floor beside the bookcase—right where the last one used to be.

I don’t think it’s pure laziness, though that plays its part. It’s more that clutter just doesn’t bother me the way it once did. There was a time when the sight of a messy room would make me cringe and immediately start straightening. Now I look at it and think… eh. The good thing about this new attitude is that there’s always tomorrow, and whatever needs straightening will still be there. The bad thing is that whatever needs straightening will still be there—probably with one new thing added to the pile.

In my defense, I stay pretty busy. Even now, while I’m typing this, I’m contemplating a well‑deserved nap. Charlie usually gives me an hour or so to handle that task; truthfully, I suspect he naps too. And then there’s the TV—if I’m foolish enough to turn it on, I find myself trapped in the recliner, nearly prone and unable to move. That chair is eerily magical, a universe unto itself, with the rest of creation swirling around it. It takes almost cosmic strength to break the spell and pull myself free. The urge to use the bathroom works too.

“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.” — Barbara Hemphill

“You can do anything, but not everything.” — David Allen

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” — Roger Caras

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotography #morning #shorebird #BlackSkimmer #clutter

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Blade Over Water "The image captures a Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) in a moment of exquisite precision and grace. The bird is mid-flight, wings outstretched like twin blades slicing through the air—long, narrow, and sharply angled, with black upperparts and white undersides that shimmer against the rippled water below. Its most striking feature, the vivid orange-and-black bill, is open just enough for the elongated lower mandible to skim the water’s surface. This feeding technique—unique among North American birds—creates a subtle wake, a liquid signature trailing behind the bird like a calligraphic stroke. The water itself is textured with gentle ripples, reflecting soft light and movement, while the skimmer’s reflection flickers faintly beneath it. The bird’s head is slightly tilted downward, eyes focused, body taut with purpose. The composition is symmetrical and dynamic, emphasizing motion, balance, and the quiet drama of survival. The watermark “© Swede’s Photographs” rests unobtrusively in the top left corner, a quiet nod to the witness behind the lens." - Microsoft Copilot

Good afternoon. 🌴🌴🌴

9 December 2025

If I toss my old Visual C++ book, I could free up space for two or three more novels in the bookcase. After all, it’s not like I plan to do any more programming. That chapter has closed. It’s time to let those things go—completely.

I know the impulse to hang on “just in case.” But when we don’t release the unused, it accumulates. Slowly, quietly, until we’re buried in stuff. And then we become… hoarders.

That’s where I am now—or at least, that’s how it feels. We have a lot of things. Over the years, I built storage into our life to bring order to the chaos. But storage is a trickster: if you build it, you fill it. I told my wife I wanted to rent a dumpster and just start tossing things in. I didn’t get a concurrence.

There are boxes we never unpacked after moving here—over twenty years ago. They sit like sealed time capsules in the back of my little work garage. Once, I resolved to do something about it. I grabbed a box, determined to haul it off to Goodwill. But when I opened it, I found my Calvin and Hobbes collection—and just like that, the wind left my sails.

Tossing technical manuals is one thing. But Calvin and Hobbes? That’s sacred. Honestly, those books should be classified as academic texts—philosophy in comic form.

And even now, as I type this meditation on letting go, I glance toward Ben’s bed, still sitting where it has for over sixteen years. Those who follow my blog know what that means.

“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.” — Barbara Hemphill

“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.” — Marie Kondo

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #nature #morning #clutter #hoarding #palmtree #abstract

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Palm at the Edge "A lone palm tree rises boldly into a surreal sky, its spiky fronds splayed like a crown of green and gray daggers. The trunk is thick and textured, etched with the scars and ridges of time, standing like a sentinel between worlds. Each frond catches the light differently—some gleaming with silvery edges, others shadowed in deep green—creating a layered halo of motion and stillness. Behind the tree, the sky burns with an intense orange glow, as if sunset has been dialed to its most dramatic setting. The color is not soft or fading—it’s fierce, saturated, almost molten. Against this fiery backdrop, dark silhouettes of distant buildings or structures loom like quiet witnesses, their forms abstract and brooding. The image feels digitally altered or artistically enhanced, heightening the contrast and drama. The palm tree, though familiar, becomes mythic—an emblem of resilience, isolation, and strange beauty. It stands alone, yet not lonely, rooted in a dreamscape where nature and urban shadow meet under a sky that refuses to whisper." - Microsoft Copilot

www.linkedin.com##div[componentkey="newsAndGamesCard"]

#uBlockOrigin #LinkedIn #cruft #clutter #ads

This post is not an invitation to scold me for using LinkedIn or Microsoft products, nor to suggest I leave it or find alternatives.