PhotoHunt # 68 Creative

This unique oak tree fell many years ago and in order to ensure its survival the tree adapted a creative way to survive. There are now 5 trees growing out of this one tree.

Adults Reading Less!!!

How can this be!! An Associated Press-Ipsos poll reported that 27% of adults say they read no books at all in the past year. Nearly a third of men and a quarter of women hadn't turned a page. Of those who had read, the typical adult claimed to have read 4 books in the past year. Perhaps our busy life styles and cable TV have made setting time aside for reading less realistic, ask anyone in the newspaper industry. I fear that with less reading the issues of the day will be turned into sound bites where a few will lead the many down the wrong path just because we are not informed enough. Deja vu.

PhotoHunt # 67 Tiny

Ants are the supermen of nature and a perfect fit for tiny. This ant colony consists of three large mounds, located in Oak Openning Preserve Swanton, Ohio.I first noticed this colony 4 years ago and I'm amazed that they have survived the tough winters in northwest Ohio but I shouldn't be, because ants are the supermen of nature.

Show me the Money! The real one....

Well it looks like the United States Mint has changed yet another bill, this time it's the $5 Bill. The United States Mint added, moved and deleted some features of the $5 Bill to make it harder to counterfeit. What they added was the color "purple" and moved the security strip from one location to another. What they removed was the ever popular oval frame that surrounded the President Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial. I was a bit shocked but not surprised to find out that the 5 dollar bills were bleached and then were reprinted as fake 100 dollar bills. Apparently the features of the $5 and $100 were similar so the counterfeiters didn't have much trouble swapping the two. Well let's see how long it will be until the next face lift.

The Toledo Sports Arena

The Toledo Sports Arena is a 5,230 seat multi-purpose arena built in 1947 and is home to the Toledo Storm Ice Hockey team. The Toledo Sports Arena held its final event on April 8, 2007 and the new arena is slated for completion in October 2009 on the opposite side of the Maumee River in the center of downtown Toledo. The image above is a designed drawing of what the new Toledo Arena will look like. With all the development in downtown Toledo, Toledo's light on the map is getting brighter every day.

PhotoHunt # 66 Shadows

My goal for PhotoHunt is to use it as a motivation tool to explore Northwest Ohio to find in nature all the categories as they are listed weekly. This weeks PhotoHunt "Shadows" was challenging and I didn't have a clue until I went out for a walk and came across this interesting affect. I was hoping for a 3D affect with this ariel view of Swan Creek lazily flowing through Oak Opennings Metropark Swanton, Ohio and carrying away these Shadows.

Treating Depression!

Someone I love dearly is suffering from depression and I can attest that the treatment of mood disorders is not a simple matter. It is not so simple as diagnosing depression and writing a prescription for Zoloft or Effexor. The individual causes of depression are diverse and poorly understood. The antidepressant medications used to treat it are just as diverse and matching a drug with an individual is not a clear cut decision. Individual symptoms, co-existing illness, tolerance of side-effects, and other medications previously tried are just a few factors that must be considered.

PhotoHunt # 65 Fake

This fake Owl is used to keep birds from nesting on the Swanton Water Works Building located at the Swanton, Ohio reservoir.

Natures Dam!

On July 4th a buddy and I explored Beaver Creek in Grand Rapids, Ohio and ran into this huge log dam. This dam crossed the entire creek 50' in length and 25' high. The water behind the dam is roughly 1' to 2' high, stagnate and full of debris making walking difficult. There is evidence that the water was high enough to cause erosion around the dam as the top 4 feet of soil was washed away from the south side. This is a fine example of Mother Nature forces at work carving this great land.

Depression!

Several people I love suffer from a devastating disease called depression. Some of the most recognized symptoms of depression include a profound feeling of sadness or loss of interest. If you've been experiencing some combination of the following emotional or physical symptoms for more than two weeks, and it clearly interferes with your life, discuss your concerns with your doctor:

Excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt
Sadness throughout the day, nearly every day
Loss of interest in or enjoyment of your favorite activities
Feeling of worthlessness
Trouble making decisions
Fatigue or lack of energy
Sleeping too much or too little
Change in appetite or weight
Trouble concentrating
Thoughts of death or suicide
Aches and pains
Restlessness

It's important to seek medical help if you think you are depressed because there are treatments and therapies available to help with the symptoms of depression.