Amalfi, Italy (CNN) — Above the green hills of the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy, an agile farmer leaps across terraced lemon groves overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Balancing between one wooden pole and another, the not-so-young acrobat defies gravity, bending to pick lemons and transport them in crates weighing more than 55 pounds between vertical gardens more than 1,312 feet above the ground.

A strong aroma of the unique bittersweet scent of citrus surrounds him. The sound of waves below masks the hum of car traffic.

“Not blood, but lemon juice runs through my veins,” says 87-year-old farmer Gigino Aceto, whose family has been growing lemons here since the 1800s.

He was even conceived among these plants.

“In my parents’ old days, the lack of space and intimacy meant that love was made outdoors, underneath the citrus trees,” he says with a smile.

Many of your attributes dictate how you are perceived by others.

PERSONAL GROOMING-This attribute indicates how much pride you have in yourself and your appearance.

Taking an extra minute to check yourself before going out the door is important.

WARDROBE- Do you dress appropriate to the occasion? Do you have good taste when purchasing apparel?

Does your choice of clothing add or detract from your appeal?

YOUR BODY- Do you watch your diet and commit to regular exercise? Diet and exercise must complement one another in order to bring forth the best of you.

ATTITUDE- Do people want to be around you? Or, do you turn them off?

I hope this checklist helps you identify areas that need improvement.

If not today, when?

Many of us have things we’d like to own.

Or, people we’d like to become.

In order to attain either objective, we must be prepared to take risks and work intensely.

About risks, have you not been a risk taker in the past?

Many people don’t live a fulfilling life because they always “play it safe.”

And you won’t fulfill your dreams either if you’re unwilling to reach and struggle.

Also, nothing is ever accomplished without hard work.

Are you a hard worker?

Do you have the perseverance to keep going despite the setbacks and disappointments that lie just around the corner.

One more thing.

If you try and fail, it is still worth it because at least you gave it your all!

If not today, when?

CNN) — South Africa’s viniculture industry employs around 270,000 people, producing some of the world’s most sought-after wines. But not all jobs are best left to humans. In some cases, it’s better to get your ducks in a row — and then put them to work.

Outside Cape Town on the banks of the Eerste river, Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate has repurposed a centuries-old practice by marshaling a battalion of ducks to keep its vineyard free of pests.

Inspired by ducks used to remove pests from rice paddies in Asia, the winery calls on the services of some 1,600 ducks as part of its effort to make wine production more sustainable.

“I call our ducks the soldiers of our vineyards,” says managing director Corius Visser. “They will eat aphids, they will eat snails, they will eat small worms — they keep (it) completely pest-free.”

There is always something to learn every day!

When we were little, my brother and I went over to the the railroad track one day.

We found a lot of polywogs swimming in the dirty water next to the tracks.

We caught a bunch of them and brought them home.We filled some new jars with clean water so you could see them swimming around.

We set up a card table on our front lawn and began selling them to the kids in the neighborhood.

We were sold out in twenty minutes.

One hour later, all the kids returned and wanted their money back because all the polywogs had died.

I guess they couldn’t live in clean water.

So, my first business venture was a flop.

Other new startups followed over the years.

Some were successful.

Other, not so much.

That’s the life of an entrepreneur!

Cheers!

Today is the day!

Yes, our wonderful grand daughter, Hannah, marries the love of her life, Jacob.

Having met during their college years at the University of Michigan, they’ve been in love ever since.

They have planned an elaborate ceremony beginning in downtown Detroit and then a ride on the bridal bus to the beautiful botanical gardens where they will be betrothed.

As grand parents, we have watched her grow up from a little girl to the beautiful young woman she has become.

As I look out my window this morning, I see bright sunshine.

That is appropriate because Hannah is the bright sunshine of all our lives.

May Hannah and Jacob remain close together as they encounter the challenges ahead.

May God bless this marriage!

These on-water bungalows are the latest way to pamper the rich among us.

Rich people have many choices including:

Where to live

How many homes to own

How to spend their leisure time

Who their friends will be

Which social groups do they want to join

How many and what brand of cars will they drive

Will they give to charities or keep their money within the family

Which doctors will they chose for their medical needs

Where will they send their kids to school

Unlike the rich most of the world’s people ask; “How will I make it through the day?

Seoul, South Korea

A US Navy destroyer sailed near a disputed South China Sea island chain on Wednesday, challenging the restrictions imposed by China and others on transit through the area.

Lt. Nicholas Lingo, a spokesperson for the US Navy’s 7th Fleet headquartered in Japan, said it was the second so-called freedom of navigation operation in the Paracel Islands.

They are known as the Xisha Islands in China — so far this year, and is the third targeting Beijing’s “excessive maritime claims” in regional waters during the same period.

Wednesday’s operation by the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold.

It is challenged not only China but Vietnam and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which also claim the islands.

As all three governments require military vessels to seek permission or give advance notice of “innocent passage” through the area, Lingo said. (CNN)

The dangerous, ongoing game of “cat and mouse!”

Let’s hope it remains just that.

We are all imperfect.

Many people try to be perfect, to do everything to the absolute best of their ability, in their personal lives and in every other aspect of their being every single day of their lives.

We might call them perfectionists.

It is a very difficult, challenging and exhausting way to live your life.

And you know what? It is impossible!!!

We are all a work in progress.

God is not done with us yet.

There is still more to do and become.

Work on eliminating your faults and shortcomings.

Get rid of those bad habits.

You can become a better person tomorrow than you were today!

As you begin to peel away those flaws, you’ll like yourself more and it will be easier to live with yourself.

If not today, when?

CNN) — When the engine on his small plane failed three times, Vincent Fraser had no choice but to make an emergency landing in mountainous terrain just south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

GoPro video of his perilous landing in western North Carolina shows Fraser maneuvering his single-engine plane under power lines and into a highway’s center turn lane, with cars traveling in two lanes on either side.

Fraser, who was flying with his father-in-law, spoke about his harrowing July 3 landing Monday morning on CNN’s “New Day.”

“The only thing really going through my head was I needed to keep my father-in-law safe, and I needed to keep the people on the ground safe.

I was just trying to do it the best that I can without hurting anybody,” Fraser told CNN’s John Berman on Brianna Keilar.

They were over Fontana Lake when they first had engine failure and Fraser didn’t see any roads because of the trees and mountainous landscape.

You don’t know what you’re capable of until you are confronted with a seemingly hopeless situation.