Diary of my unplugged day

The garden at sunrise

"IF YOU CAN'T UNPLUG FROM YOUR TECHNOLOGY THEN THAT IS THE KINGDOM YOU SERVE" (see Unplug from Technology)


The rules:  No cell phone, television or internet from wake-up until 8:00 p.m.


My Unplugged Day:  At 4 am I woke up and checked my iPhone for an email from my friend who lives in Cairo.  I didn't consider this breaking the rules - I hadn't gotten out of bed yet and it was important.  Things had escalated there and I was anxious for news.  No email.  I turned off the phone and went back to sleep.

Downy woodpecker

I woke up the second time to the sound and aroma of the coffee brewing itself in the kitchen and then spent nearly two hours reading the newspapers with multiple cups of coffee.  There wasn’t much positive news about anything.  But it was very peaceful.  I watched a few birds on the feeder outside and saw one of the neighborhood hawks flying overhead, checking the bird feeder for snacking opportunities.  He flew on.

Son #1 and I departed mid-morning for an estate sale and a walk along the C&O Canal at Great Falls, Maryland.    At the park, it was stark and beautiful on the drive in.  Tall, straight trees were plastered with snow and it was very quiet.  We noticed and welcomed the recent road repairs and those still in progress and were pleased that there was no admission fee that day. 

Maryland snow family

The walk to the falls was treacherous with snow packed down to ice on the trail -  4” deep and not yet slushy enough to keep from being slippery.  The cloudy day, however, had turned sunny.

Great Falls

On the ride to the park, and continuing on our walk, we talked.  First about how it was freeing not to have the cell phones (my son forgot to bring his).  “Yeah it takes us back to the old days, like the 1960’s.” he said.  “Imagine, we would be riding in a really sweet car with fins and going to get a malt after the falls!”  We chuckled about time travel and I cherished the time as we talked and neither of us checked emails, took calls or worried about communicating the rest of the world.  We couldn’t remember a time in recent years when we were together without at least one cell phone.

Great Falls

We decided if we needed to call anyone we would be out of luck since you can’t find a pay phone anymore.  “Everyone has a cell phone now,” he stated, “and they are all busy talking on them but they don’t really communicate.”  We talked about how we talk to others by phone when we are with our friends or we communicate by text, giving useless updates, facebook status that nobody really cares about and tweets.  "All substitutes for real conversations like we’re having right now," I thought.  There is hope for the younger generation if they wise up like this one has.  Yup he’s a keeper.

Great Falls

Great Falls

C and O Canal National Visitors Center

It was quiet and very slippery at the falls.  I asked the keeper if he might want to go see “The King’s Speech” at the theatre later that evening.  “Not my kind of movie,” he replied.  “No explosions, car chases or boobs.”  I made one of those disapproving Mom noises, and tried to convince him it was a movie worth going to and got nowhere.  Perhaps I gave him too much credit for widsom earlier.

Old dog in the snow

Sampling of the downed limbs

After a stop for lunch and more conversation, we headed home.  There, we entertained the dog by throwing snowballs, then spent an hour moving several large limbs from the mighty pine trees that flank the garden.  The recent snow and ice were too much for some of the huge old limbs.  Son #2 agreed to take the limbs to the dump for recycling.  He's a keeper, too!

Williamsburg Husk teacup

Instead of checking email and wasting time on the internet, I enjoyed a pot of tea using a teacup from Mother’s china, purchased while she and Dad were on their honeymoon in Williamsburg.  Because I had the time, I simply sat and enjoyed my tea.  

After that, I listened to the radio and sorted through old family photographs, organizing them and puzzling over many without labels - I had no idea who was in them.  Labeling photographs is very helpful for future generations. 

bonsai

amaryllis

orchid bud

Jack the Jade

amaryllis bud

I watered my bonsai, Jack the Jade, and Sham the Shamrock.  I admired the beautiful bloom on the amaryllis and the buds that will soon be blooms on the orchid.

Sham the Shamrock

With paper and my favorite fountain pen, I outlined an article, enjoying the feel of the pen and the flow of the ink.  As much as I like the speed of writing on the laptop, I am really old fashioned about the power of the pen.  

After dinner the sons turned on a movie and I ignored it.  When 8:00 rolled around, I was a little disappointed because I felt I had an obligation to check email.  First email check was for news from Cairo; unfortunately there was none.  

It was a great day.  I didn't waste any time.   I relaxed between activities and spent much more time communicating in a very positive way.  I think this is going to become a habit.  Good things happen when you communicate in person.  

Try it.  Let me know how it goes for you.  I hope your day is as enjoyable as mine.

Unplug from Technology

My favorite quiet place - no television, telephone or internet

This Sunday sermon message has been floating through my head all week: 

"If you can't unplug from your technology then that is the kingdom you serve."  

Ouch.  

Montpelier, Vermont - a lovely, quiet town

It's time for a break from technology.  On Sundays, for example, how about unplugging the cell phone or opting not to check email?  Reading only the printed news and not the babble online?  Ignoring the telephone and letting voice mail handle it?  

Great Falls - a good afternoon getaway

I  am going to try it next Sunday.  So don't call or email or text.  In the afternoon,  I will go out for a long walk instead of going to the gym where everything is electronic and I have a tendency to plug into a mindless television show while I work out.  I can do it.  Can you?

Maine - listen to the waves and not the ring tones

My goal for this year is to have at least one electronic-free day each month.  I can do this.  I am excited already about all the time it will save and how much quiet time I can enjoy.  

City of smart phone obsession

Signs of Dependency on Electronic Devices

• Can't get to sleep because your brain is still playing games on your iPhone (the one on the night stand, still warm from the last game).
• Check email more than 5 times per day when away from work.
• Can't set aside quiet time for prayer or thoughtful reflection.
• Prioritize incoming email or cell phone calls over other activities.
• Leave the house with the cell phone but wearing mismatched shoes.
• Talk on the phone when you are in the restroom.
• Spend more than an hour surfing the web and forget why you were surfing in the first place.
• Read the Best Buy ads before the news in the Sunday paper.
• Don't read the paper because you skim the news online between emails.
• Try to board the wrong airplane while texting.
• Can't turn off your smart phone, cell phone, laptop, desktop, television...
• Can't concentrate because it is too quiet.
• Own more than two cell phone chargers.
• Think disaster has struck when the electricity goes out for an hour.
• Walk into a restroom for the wrong gender while checking email. 
• End a cell phone call while while you are stopped at a red light.  Without thinking, assume that means the light is green and step on the gas - causing an accident and ruining someone's day. 
• Use annoying ring tones that alert everyone when you have an incoming call.
• Dream about a vacation where the cell phone doesn't work but never take one.
• Pick up your phone to make a call every time you get in your car.
• Ignore your body's cries for exercise and stay in front of your computer.
• Check your email on your smart phone before you get out of bed in the morning or if you wake up in the middle of the night.
• Stub your toe while walking and typing on your smart phone.
• Fall off the curb at an intersection while typing on your smart phone.
• Walk into a street sign while typing on your smart phone.
• Send a text to avoid making a phone call.
• Check email at restaurants or when you are with a friend or loved one.
• Email your regrets to avoid making a phone call.
• Talk on the phone when you are spending "quality" time with your children.
• Email or talk on the phone when you are out in nature and could be enjoying its beauty.

Visit a museum - the National Gallery of Art's Arcimboldo exhibit

How many of these are you guilty of?   I am guilty of all of them except the annoying ring tones (it is just one of my pet peeves). 

Frog-watching is far better than email

Now I have realized my addiction and I plan to set that iPhone and MacBook aside more often.  I hope you can, too.  Just maybe you will find a little more time for prayer or meditation or both.  Good luck and God Bless!

Photography Lessons

Sandhill cranes in Citrus County, Florida

As I have advanced in my photography skills, I have also realized that I have not only learned more about how to use my camera and lenses, but in the process gained valuable life lessons.  I now know there is also a lot more to learn. Some examples and illustrations from my weekend in Citrus County, Florida follow.

Make sure you have all your equipment before you leave the house.  I rushed out the door to photograph the sandhill cranes when I heard them flying over the house.  Unfortunately, I left my flash card indoors and found out when I raised the camera to shoot and it wouldn’t cooperate.  Missed opportunity.

Sometimes when you mess up you get a second chance.  The cranes came back again the next day.

Wait.  Patience pays off.  I sat on the dock for 20 minutes without taking any photographs, just watching the moves of the sandhill cranes.  Sure enough, they came closer and closer until they were only 6-8 feet away. 

Clean up your files so you have room for new ones. There I was with the sandhill cranes almost close enough to touch them.  I had waited and I had the best opportunity ever to shoot great close-ups of them.  This time I had the flash card but it was full.  Instead of getting the perfect shot, I spent time deleting photos from the flash card to make room for a few more photographs.  

Sometimes a new angle makes all the difference in the outcome.  Photos of the same bird, same location, different angle do not alike. 

Get out from behind the camera and take in the whole view – you might otherwise miss something.  I was so busy photographing the sandhill cranes that I didn’t realize that other birds were all around me.

Don’t be in such a hurry that you miss what you were looking for.  Rushing to the spot where I thought the cranes would be, I nearly walked right into them as they strutted down a driveway.

Sometimes a view from a distance is worth more than being up close.  It was such a thrill to watch the fly-over of the whooping cranes behind their ultralight “mother”.  Up close the view might not have been as dramatic.

Share your joy when you see something special.  A woman on her motorized wheelchair, with her little dog riding where her amputated legs should have been resting, stopped to admire the sandhill cranes.  We spoke about them and their amazing beauty and grace.  I walked on down the trail and she and her dog stayed a bit to watch the birds, then continued their journey.

Your mind is the best photographer.  It was impossible to capture the beauty of the sunset.  These photographs are nothing like the real thing that is still etched in my mind.

A close look sometimes gives you a different perspective.  Who knew a weed could be so beautiful or interesting?

Nature and sunlight pair to create exceptional beauty.  These cypress knees in the morning light were hard to resist and moss in the trees looked pretty in the late afternoon sun.

Opportunities present themselves in the most unusual locations.  The Citrus County dump was a good place to see lots of swarming birds.

Be careful where you step.  Wild orchids grew in the grass and I almost crushed them.

Get out and Walk.  You are bound to see something interesting.  The Withlacoochee trail in Citrus County, Florida offers endless photo opportunities.