Through our travels we have seen a number of “little libraries.” These are sidewalk structures used to house a “give and take” book collection to help encourage reading and literacy.
Sharalee Armitage Howard turned her century-old dead cottonwood tree into a free lending library.
See the video below:
From the YouTube webpage:
This is an awesome project. A Coeur d’Alene artist found a unique way to repurpose an old and decaying tree in her front yard. She has turned the tree stump into a Little Free Library. It’s a free book exchange designed to encourage reading.
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Those of us who live in the Phoenix area get kick out of watching our northern friends deal with freezing temperatures and large snowfalls. Of course many of them flock to the desert for the winter months and we are glad to have them as our seasonal friends.
In the spirit of good humor and a bit of kidding, I am passing along the following humorous video. Of course, humor is a very personal thing!
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
As we reflect on the religious holidays just passed and look forward to the celebration of a new year, a demarcation created by man, there can be no better time to reflect upon our humanity or lack of it!
The video below points out what a speck of dust in the universe our earth actually is and how, in the vast scheme of the cosmos, we and our actions are so very insignificant. While everyone on earth shares the same planet, our species acts so foolishly toward our global neighbors. As Rodney King so profoundly said: “Can’t we all just get along?”
Watch the video and think about the message as we move forward to the beginning of new year.
From the YouTube webpage:
Carl Sagan gives the best speech ever about humanity and how foolish we behave. Pale Blue Dot is one of the most important and reflective speeches about the human condition and our place in the Universe. The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers from Earth, as part of the solar system Family Portrait series of images.
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
“I came here to get a PhD in American literature, and here I am, with pictures of American writers on the wall—a chess vendor.”
In my teenage years, through high school, I was an avid chess player. We would spend hours playing chess, reading chess magazines and competing. Believe me, chess can add a lot to one’s life. Unfortunately after the Fischer-Spassky match, my interest waned. The video above is an inside look at another era when a quiet game like chess could affect lives in profound ways.
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
Paddle contact with the ball must be below the server’s waist (navel level).
The serve is initiated with at least one foot behind the baseline; neither foot may contact the baseline or court until after the ball is struck.
The serve is made diagonally crosscourt and must land within the confines of the opposite diagonal court.
Only one serve attempt is allowed, except in the event of a let (the ball touches the net on the serve and lands on the proper service court; let serves are replayed).
#2 – take step forward after serving and sometimes they are caught moving backwards trying to hit the return of serve. It is more difficult to hit the ball forward while you are moving backward. Taking a step backward while hitting the ball will result only in an arm shot which is difficult to hit precisely and usually will not have much power. Stay back waiting for the return of serve, but be ready to move forward if the return is short!
#3– are facing the net, i.e. parallel when hitting a groundstroke even if they have time to set up. This is known as an open stance; not generally good for a ground stroke. A groundstroke, either forehand or backhand, has more power when you can set up with your shoulder perpendicular to the net.
#4– when not receiving the serve, partners are waiting near the kitchen line and they do not watch the ball as it is served to the receiver. I have noticed some facing completely forward without ever turning around, but just waiting to see the ball hit the opponent’s side of the court. The non-receiving partner should watch the ball as it is served to the receiver.
a – The ball may be out and the receiver may not have called it. You then call it.
b – If the receiver hits a bad shot, you have time to react if you are watching the ball. If it is a pop-up and it will be coming back hard, take a few steps back to gain more time to respond.
c- Watching the receiver hit the ball may enable the non-receiving partner to determine where the ball is headed and prepare for the return by facing in that direction with the paddle up.
I hope beginning pickleballers and perhaps others find some of these observations and associated links helpful.
Have fun on the courts!
**********
More Pickleball Videos and Information
To See additional Pickleball Videos & Information Click Here (primarily for beginners and less experienced players)
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
Nature shows us the very best of the struggle for life as a very small bear cub tries to follow its mother up a snowy sope. This youngster has guts and perseverance. It struggles agains the laws of physics about which it knows nothing. Mama bear stands helplessly by as the cub struggles to reach her.
NOTE – There is no accompanying sound with this video. Just sit back and watch!
Notes from the YouTube Page:
I was almost snow-go for a cute – and determined – cub which gamely tried to follow its mum up a steep and extremely slippery snow-covered slope.
Video footage of the plucky young animal shows the creature refusing to have a melt-down, despite repeatedly sliding down the powdery surface.
The clip, which has gone viral on social media, had viewers admitting they felt “stressed out” as it was “hard to watch” the cub continually slide down the mountain, towards rocks.
It starts by showing the pair clambering over a rocky patch of ground as the mum guides her young cub towards the top of the mountain.
Both animals initially slide down the slope, but the mother quickly regains her footing and makes it to the ridge, where she waits for the cub to join her.
Plenty of heart-stopping moments follow as the cub struggles to reach her, and it leaves long trails in the snow where its claws have dug in to stop it slipping too far below.
However it slides a considerable distance, ending up on a large rocky patch.
Meanwhile, its mother looks anxiously over the ridge, pacing to and fro.
At one stage, the cub is within just a few feet of its mum.
But at this precise moment, when the cub is nearly beside her, she appears to look straight ahead, and seems nervous about a drone filming her cub.
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
This is a sad, but heartwarming story of three animals that were found in the basement of a drug dealer when the house was raided. The very young animals (lion, tiger and bear) were mistreated and injured. They apparently bonded when they were kept in the basement during this time as they were they only other living creatures to show warmth and kindness.
Once freed, they were brought to a sanctuary where they continue to live as BFFs. The video is interesting and remarkable as these three predators have found a way to get along and survive.
Notes from the YouTube page:
Once kept as illegal pets, bear Baloo, tiger Shere Khan, and lion Leo share a brotherly bond despite how unbelievable it might seem. The trio cuddles and plays in their new home in Atlanta, Georgia.
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
Doubles Pickleball Strategy 103
Don’t Hit Out Balls, Six Easy Rules
by Joe Baker
Joe Baker creates some of my favorite pickleball videos about many aspects of the sport. In the video below, Joe explains several steps to use to learn how to stop hitting balls that would ordinarily be out-of-bounds and thus avoid giving your opponents extra chances.
When I teach beginners how to play, I give them some of the same advice. I explain that they have to learn to use their body as a “ruler” or measuring device to know when to let the ball “fly.”
For me, this is how it goes… When I am at the non-volley zone and the ball is above my chest or higher, I let it go. If I am at mid-court and the ball is around mid-section high, I let it go. If I am standing near the baseline, such as when the other team is returning serve, if it is knee height or higher, I let it fly.
Joe Baker provides a number of good hints and he places emphasis on the fact that you need to develop this skill by playing and assessing the balls as they come towards you.
Do I make an error in judgment once in a while? You bet, but I win more points that way than I lose!
More Pickleball Videos and Information
To See additional Pickleball Videos & Information Click Here (primarily for beginners and less experienced players)
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
This dog named Bear must really like to play catch. He doesn’t even need another animal or person, he just plays by himself as long as he has the trampoline.
This is the narrative from the YouTube page:
Bear the dog from California used his owner’s trampoline to play fetch with himself. After placing the ball on the mat, he ran underneath and nudged the ball into the air with his nose before catching it. The clever pooch never seemed to tire of the game which he invented when his human family stopped playing with him and left him to his own devices.
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
If you have followed JBRish.com for a while, you may have read one of my posts where I describe the difficulty we have with a variety of rodents (and other critters) in our desert garden.
I try to appreciate and respect all of nature and I don’t like to kill any animals if it can be avoided. I was intrigued by the EL GATO live-capture Bottle Mousetrap which may help with some of our smaller vermin.
Watch the video below and let me know what you think.
All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.comare appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
