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Don’t walk around with blinders on.
Enjoy a good draft once in a while.
Take the time for a closer look.
It could be a place, an idea, a book, a piece of art or music, or a person.
“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”
That’s from the King James version of Proverbs, often restated or paraphrased as
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
Or even shorter, “Sometimes you gotta wise up and put a cork in it.”
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Cobble something together with what you got.
Recognize the value of family groups.
“Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anyone.”
(Mark Twain)
Take the stairs.
(Establish a national holiday to celebrate Nathan Ames, Leamon Souder, Jesse Wilford Reno and Charles Seeburger.)
(The guys who invented escalators, so that we can tell people we took the stairs without involving ourselves in all that nasty exercise.)
Reuse. Recycle.
Don’t forget to put your bike away when you get home.
Warn others that bicycle-eating trees are a real thing.
Try to look at things from a different angle.
(Museum snack bar from overhead.)
Look for something interesting in the old and worn.
Be aware that the thing you’re focused on may not be the most meaningful.
Celebrate the moments of happiness.
UpState & Away - - - - Waterlooseneca.com 
Your photos always inspire me to stop and look at everyday things in more detail Robert. Sounds like a good resolution for 2023. Have a good one.
Fabulous! I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for bicycle-eating trees 😀 Happy New Year, Robert!
Haha, thanks Liz. It reminded me of the kite-eating tree that used to get all of Charlie Brown’s kites.
And Happy New Year! Getting ready to eat some snacks & treats we always make, absolutely none of them healthy, but delicious. Best wishes for a great 2023
Excellent advice, from stem to stern. Particularly like the warplane (and its escort).
All the best for ’23, Robert.
Thanks, Bruce, cheers. I’ve enjoyed your album reviews all through the year, and you’ve introduced me to some interesting new music. Or at least, new to me, even if it’s audio archaeology from the ancient ’70’s. 🙂 Best wishes for a great time in 2023.
You’ve assembled a good and funny collection of photographs and words. May that continue into the new year, which begins only hours from now.
Or which, going by your GMT time stamp, has already begun.
Oh, interesting, it’s 8:30 PM still I’m in NY visiting my family.
Just say that the land of the Finger Lakes is timeless.
Thanks Steve, best wishes for the new year!
Happy new year good sir and loved this! Appreciate you and your sharp, kind-hearted wit. Always take the stairs, indeed. Peace out! ✌️
Very good advice, Robert. A Happy New Year to you and yours.
haha thanks GP! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year. I like the way you think!
Thanks, Neil, Happy New Year!
Look at that! Only the first day of the year and already my hope for more of your witty, amusing, and on-point posts has been fulfilled. Here’s to even more in the year to come. I wonder how many of your readers have draft horses as friends; that was a great pun. I like the photo of the cobblestone building in that warm sunlight, but I’m dying of curiosity about the photo of the trees reflected in the old window. What are the two rectangular white places? I thought tape at first, and then I considered some sort of odd artifact created by the camera lens. Inquiring minds want to know — clearly, curiosity has lived on into the new year. Here’s to a happy one for you!
Thank you, Linda, that’s so nice. The old window is on one of the few buildings left at the former Army depot in Romulus, NY, and I think the two white rectangular marks are windows on the far side of the building. I had to take the picture through a chain-link fence so I couldn’t get as close as I wanted.
2022 had its challenges but I’m looking forward to a great year for all of us. and more great essays and photos from you.
These are all good resolutions. Happy new year, Robert!
Thanks Jason, happy new year!
Thank you, Robert, for your New Year’s wishes.
I wish you a good 2023, most of all in the best of health,
Pit
P.S.: for many years now my only new year’s resolution has been to have none at all. That’s the easiest to keep. 😉
😄
Very nice, Robert, and a good wish, too! I love the bicycle-eating tree. 🙂
Thank you, Lynn and Happy New Year.
Good advice, all around. I’ll continue to look for something interesting in the old and worn – every time I look in the mirror. And I’ll definitely keep an eye out for trees with unusual appetites.
Hope you have a great 2023!
Thanks, Dave. We should warn people about False Cypress. And the Monkey Puzzle Tree can be a problem for some of us.
Your first line works for me, Robert 🙂
A brillant sparkling outstanding New Year to you too!!🥂✨️🎉
PS Never rest against a tree 😅
Thanks Hanna 😃
What a great and funny New Year’s post. Wise, too. I’ll remember to enjoy a good draft in a family group…
Oh that’s nice, thanks Tom!
Happy New Year! Love these pictures–and reminders for the times ahead. Cheers! 🙂
Thanks, Cecilia, cheers and best wishes for 2023!
I love this collection and the images you placed with them, Robert. Happy New Year to you and those close to you…and those at a distance too. 🙂
Thanks, Steve, best wishes for 2023.
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