Nature, Uncategorized, work

Day Brighteners

35 Comments

I had to go to work an hour early yesterday, well before the agency opened.  My agency is housed in a six story former college dorm. It is surrounded by tall spruce and pine  trees.  I noticed a small hawk in the top of one of the spruces as I approached the front door. It was making a real racket, screeching and flapping its wings.  I heard its cry all day as it harassed the flock of crows that also hang out in the tall trees.  It zoomed past my window a couple of times. I  am not sure if it was a Kestrel or a Merlin. We have both of them here.  Work has been pretty stressful, and that little hawk was a real day brightener for me. I hope it is nesting nearby and I get to see it all spring.

What has been a day brightener for you lately?

35 thoughts on “Day Brighteners”

  1. I’m having a great day brightener today. It’s Bring Your Dog to work Friday. So far there are three dogs in my building and I have plied all three of them with treats. I believe the puppy reception is at 10:30 over in one of our other buildings and I plan to go over for that as well.

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  4. Yes, sunny and 50 degrees is awesome. I’m also finally feeling a bit more energetic today after dealing with a cold all week — and have the day off!

    The real day brightener is my middle son is coming up to visit from Iowa today. Actually, he and his fiancee broke up, so he is moving back to Minnesota in the next week or so. Kind of sad, really. But it’s good to have him back in Minnesota.

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    1. Heartbreaks are always sad, but better a broken engagement than a divorce after a marriage with a kid or two in the mix. Hope it was an amicable parting of ways.

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      2. Yes, it was amicable — they’re good friends. It happened a couple months ago, but they had to finish out their apartment lease until end of April.

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  6. HAd a couple of day brighteners recently. Yesterday, I heard via an intermediary that someone I don’t remember meeting bought my book from me last year and read it. Then he went out of his way to tell the intermediary “Castle Danger was the best book I’ve ever read!” He couldn’t wait for the next one to come out and was disappointed that I wasn’t at last week’s Bowl For Kids’ Sake event through Big Brothers Big Sisters in Owatonna to sign books like I did last year. (But I’ll be signing at J & J Bowling Center in Faribault tonight for BFKS!)

    The second brightener was when an author colleague was so touched by what I commented about her on her blog the other day she was moved to tears when she read it out loud to her husband. I’m glad she picked up on my sincerity in that comment because she’s a remarkable woman and an outstanding author who writes self-help/inspirational books.

    Might have been the first two-fer of day brighteners I’ve ever had in a week. 🙂 Wish it would happen every week.

    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. Way to go, Chris. I imagine that when an author hears that about a book he’s written, it is a huge day-brightener.

      And don’t underestimate the impact of a sincere kind comment. I’ve had a couple of those somewhat recently and, yes, at least one brought me to tears.

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  7. Sorta like Chris, I’ve had two day brighteners this week and one last week. And that’s not counting the sunshine and warm weather we’re having.

    Two days ago, I received notification that I’ve been selected to participate in the Corcoran neighborhood Try-It Program. This means I get 1-2 Saturdays selling my photo products at the Midtown Farmers Market this season; the Try-It program provides the tent, table, vendor fee, and sign. Of course, this brings up a whole lot of anxiety-inducing issues having to do with legal requirements such as the ST-19 form (Sales Tax), which means I need to register as a business and also actually pay sales tax on any sales I make, if any. Eek! I’m not exaggerating when I say this sort of thing ties my stomach in knots.

    And yesterday the volunteer buyer at the bookstore at the Bloomington MN Vally Natl Wildlife Refuge visitor center called me; he had gone to my website (I gave that address to him in a previous phone conversation) and wanted to buy several cards (not sell by commission – buy). And he said that they haven’t been able to sell matted or metal prints at the shop but suggested that I contact someone about having an exhibit there at the visitor center and gave me her contact info.

    I feel like I’ve been waiting all winter for responses to my inquiries and now finally the (positive) responses are starting to trickle in.

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    1. What great news, ljb! Hang in there, get your work out in front of people, and slowly but surely build that venture of yours. As my late friend, Mike, would say triumphantly when he finally had succeeded in something that had given him fits, “Percy got it!” By that his meant, persistence paid off.

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      1. Thanks, PJ. I find it so hard to wait and part of that is that I’m not 23 anymore. If I was 23 and doing this, if it took 10 years to get things to the point of “success,” I’d still be quite young. Now, if it takes 10 years, well, I certainly won’t be young and who know what kind of shape I’ll be in.

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        1. I understand, ljb, patience isn’t exactly my strong suit. I don’t know what you think of in terms of “success,” but whatever it is, that may change over time. Meanwhile, have fun doing something you are passionate about and honing your skills as a photographer.

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    1. She’s adorable, Cb, and has a remarkable voice for such a little girl. She obviously enjoys singing with her dad. He’s no slouch either.

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    1. OOPS! I didn’t mean to post this twice. I copied three links, but even though when I open them on my computer they’re all different songs, the link won’t work here. If anyone wants to watch more videos of this amazing little girl, just google “Claire Myers little girl singing”, I guess.

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  11. Other day brighteners – hearing from a friend by email or snail mail, getting some positive feed back for something I’m attempting (t’ai chi, for instance), and thinking about unearthing my bike.

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  12. I love the Where is Matt videos… Matt dancing with people all over the world. 2012 is my favorite. I’m going to try and upload it from my phone, but no promises.

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  13. Had a funny dream in which I was showing up for work as an election judge. In the dream I had been assigned for only half a day, which is different from real life election judging – I always do a full day. So in the dream I arrived at about 1:30 in the afternoon, and they had these very unusual voting machines embedded in the walls. Sort of like little touchscreens. I was going to vote, and then I realized I didn’t know who was running in the election. Then I started asking the other people there, “It’s April! Why are we having an election in April?” Finally we decided that it was April Fool’s Day and the elections bureau had told us all to show up for work on April first as a prank. I had a chuckle about that when I woke up.

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