Middle Of The Road

"Toto, we're not in Kansas (i.e., the city) anymore."

Hardly a day goes by without a sighting, either in person or posted on FB, of some creature or other in the roads in this area.  This morning it was a chicken up at Four Corners, no doubt trying to get to the other side.  I have seen an emu (they're pretty common, evidently seasoned escape artists), and the occasional sheep.  Pigs are frequent travelers, as well as cows and goats.  Horses, of course, and once in awhile an alpaca out for a stroll.  Vultures have enough sense to fly away.  Turkeys do not.  We're all accustomed to watch for deer, it's the others that spice up our country life.  It's another good reason to slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Keep your eyes open!

Stay safe.  Be well.

Full Moon Rising

(Not to be mistaken for 'Bad Moon Rising', Credence Clearwater Revival, 1969.)

The full moon was absolutely spectacular last night, huge and bright.  What never ceases to amaze me is the indication of its orbit.  From the vantage point of my chair, sometimes the moon comes up to the northeast, and at other times, like now, it comes up directly in the east.  The coyotes, those Children of the Night, have moved on or they'd have been howling last night in celebration.

Today is also a day for reflection and celebration.  It is Deb and Craig's (always said as one word) twentieth  anniversary.  Their wedding was held here in our backyard, and rarely to never has there been a happier couple.  The best part is that they are still best friends and share boundless love and respect.  They manage to keep their separate identities while becoming as one.  They're an inspiration and they make me proud.

Be sure to look at the moon tonight!

Stay safe.  Be well.

Moving On

What a difference a week makes.  The wisteria has even gone around the back side to come out blooming in the apricot tree.  Get a gander at that baby blue sky, most welcome after a day of overcast and drizzle.

The wild geese are migrating north, but nothing like the wave after wave we've seen in the past.  These birds trickle by in twos and threes.  Were it not for their honking, I'd never know they were traveling through.

It was a good day.

Stay safe.  Be well.

April Showers

(April Showers, song, Al Jolson, 1921)

Yesterday's light rain probably did nothing for what is purported to be another drought year, but it was welcome just the same.   In the lyrics of the song, April showers will bring May flowers.  One flower I am not looking forward to is that of the awful, awful weed that is proliferate in the spring here.  I've yet been able to find its name.  It comes up as a truly lovely, lacy, fernlike plant, and sometimes grows over two feet high.  It puts out many tiny white flowers, and then shows its true nature.  Each of those delicate flowers puts out bijillions of equally tiny dart seeds.  Those seeds get in your socks, in the dog's toes, and they're not only everywhere, they are difficult and painful to remove.  There seems to be a bumper crop this year and I'm putting out an emergency SOS to Helper Dude to come save me with his weed-whacker before the flowers come.

The flowers on the wisteria have doubled (quadrupled) in number and the light lavender has deepened to purple.  It's really spectacular.  The problem is that the vines and flowers are so heavy that they've nearly destroyed the square-wire fencing around the garden area.  Since I no longer grow a garden, that's not so bad, but it looks tacky.  The price of beauty.

Another flower I'm not happy to see are the little pink guys that come along with the Baby Blue Eyes.  The pinkies grow up to put out the whirligig seeds that screw their way into everything.  Gotta give it to Nature, she knows how to take care of her greenery.

Looks like it's going to be clear today.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Sh-Boom

"Sh-Boom, The Chords, 1954)

Back from The Hall, I started hearing this weird, repetitive sound, exactly like Sh-Boom.  It must be that season again when the tom turkeys face off and/or vie for female attention.  The 'Sh" is when they spread and ruffle their tail and "Boom" when they strike their wings on the ground before the big strut.  It's an amazing sight, no matter how many times you've seen it.  Michael and I decided that right then was not the time for an outing.

There was a minimal equipment failure at Vampire Hall so the visit took a little longer than usual, but no big deal.  The good thing is that this Hall is closer than the one in Cameron Park.  It was strange to be without Michael at a quick stop at WalMart.  It's strange for me to be anywhere without him now.

It was a good day.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Nice Ride

When one is the primary (sole) driver, it's very strange to be a passenger.  Helper Dude normally works alone, so it must have been equally strange to be the designated driver.  It worked out well for both of us on the trip to the hospital yesterday because it turned out he is a talker, a nice distraction.  We were at our destination well ahead of schedule.

Hospital gowns were designed for anything but modesty, not that I have anything left but wrinkles to hide.  The ER minions were doing their thing, and then everything came to a halt.  One of their tests called for a consultation.  "We need the doctor to take a look at this."  Hmmm.  My doctor is a bit of a character and showed up in Scottish regalia, kilt and  barracks cap included.  All that was missing was the sporran.  Ah, well.  He looked at the test and said, "Well, you did it on your own and you don't need us to do anything.  Have a good day!," and with a swirl, he left.  That was good news, but probably the most expensive EKG I'll ever have.  HD and I were back at the house by 8:30 a.m.

That wasn't the end to the saga, however.  I later got a call to schedule appointments for Vampire Hall, another doctor for a different situation.  It's been several years since I've had to have pints of blood removed.  If it ain't one thing, it's another.  I got permission to bring Michael along today, but I may rethink that.  It's a long wait for my friend.  He may be better off at home.

Having the day off, we spent a lot of it outside, sometimes sitting in the sun, sometimes in shade.  It was a good day.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Overnight Sensation

This is a favorite corner of the now-defunct garden that Michael likes to visit of a morning.  I swear there was not one blossom on the wildly overgrown wisteria the day before, and yesterday it was covered.  We don't hang around there now.  Michael hears one buzzing bee and yells, "I'm outta here!"  It's like he's channeling Steve, who was also stinging-insect phobic.

A lot of my day was taken up with the closing arguments for the Derek Chauvin trial.

Too nice a day to stay inside.  While hot (already!) down in the valley, it was one of those perfect warm spring days up here.  I got to talk with my Kid in Hawaii and Clay.  Okay, fine, I essentially called them...gimme a break.  I miss 'em.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Don't Talk

Once upon a time, long, long ago in the days before there was even one freeway in California (can you imagine?), on our way to the beach we had to pass a rather odiferous fertilizer plant.  My mother would invariably pull out her one liner, "Don't talk.  Just sniff."  What's worse, we did.

I could have used that line yesterday, in the best way possible.  I was just sinking into one of my many naps (sometimes lately I think I've contracted narcolepsy) when I heard a sound.  No, I wasn't wrong.  That yard mower engine was in my yard!  Michael heard it, too, but we didn't see anything, so we went out to see what was happening.  Over the rise in the west field came my smiling good neighbor Joe.  "I had an hour to spare and thought I'd give you a hand."  Omigosh!  The weeds have sprouted up to over a foot high in all the yards and the place was looking ratty.  Kind of like you hope no one notices your slip is showing (do they even make slips anymore?), I'd hoped in vain my hill wasn't given much attention.  Well, I certainly wasn't going to banish him from the property, and could only express my embarrassed appreciation before Joe tootled off again.  That man made the rounds of all the yards before going home unannounced as he had come.  I called him later to express my gratitude.

There is nothing quite like the perfume of new-mown grass wafting in the front door or when Michael and I went out later to enjoy the afternoon sun and aroma.  As I told Michael, "Don't talk.  Just sniff."

There are some very nice people in this world, and I know one, for sure.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Give Me A Minute

I don't know how many times I hit the panic button yesterday, thinking it was Thursday.  "Remember to do this.  Did you take care of that?  Ohmigosh, did you call so-and-so?"  Take a minute here.  Oh for Pete's sake, I'm watching cooking shows so it must be Saturday!  I guess I'm a little more concerned about next Friday's procedure than I'd realized.

Michael and I take a few minutes out of our busy day (that's a laugh) to sit outside in sunshine or in shade to breathe quietly and listen to either the birds or the stillness and enjoy each other's company.  Some of the best moments of our day.

My mental data banks are so full now that it sometimes takes me a minute to shuffle through to pull out that name or word.  It will come to me, I promise, but it may actually take a day or two or in the middle of the night.  Life is full of surprises.

Things to do, no places to go (yay!).

Stay safe.  Be well.

Day Tripper

(Beatles, 1965)

For a stay-at-home, go-nowhere (except under duress) dud, I'm sure on the road a lot lately.  Yesterday's appointment resulted in another scheduled trip to the hospital next week.  Aarrgh.

I took a much more pleasant trip in the afternoon.  I'd received a notice about a package waiting at the post office and I stopped there on the way home.  I knew I hadn't ordered anything and no one had said anything about sending something, so ???  It turned out to be a boxfull of old (really old) family photos from my nephew.  There are many of my oh-so-dapper, suit-and-hat, father.  He hated to have his picture taken and even with this new influx I have only one where he is smiling.  He was in his 40s when I was born, so I only knew him as an older man.  A lot of these pics were taken, I know, with an old box Brownie.  I thought I'd entered a new age when Steve gave me a digital camera, and then zoomed into the future when my iPhone took pictures!  There are photos of my sister as a girl, and lots of me growing up.  My mother was a truly beautiful, dark-haired woman.  I let my nephew know how much I treasure his gift.

It is a bright and sunny day, but the wind is howling and trees are bending.  It's the time of year when the oaks are putting out their seed fronds and I know Michael will bring in more than his fair share.  Oh goodie.

Stay safe.  Be well.

On The Road Again

Not that I want to, but I'm hearing Willie Nelson's theme song (1980) again.  Today I'm off to see, not the Wizard, but the cardiologist for the second time this week.  I should have read the fine print about guarantees because it seems I'm right back at the start after that briefly successful hospital procedure.  Ratchafratch..  It's discouraging because I'm feeling ever so much better and have lost all of the edema that was causing so many problems.  Ah well...one step forward and two steps back.  Onward is the word of the day.

This doctor does not permit dogs, even such well-behaved dogs like Michael, ro accompany patients, so Michael will once again hear, "You stay.  I'll be back."  Not his favorite phrase, nor mine.  He is a Support Dog to the nth degree and I've come to depend on his calm demeanor.

Looking back in memory and in photos, I realize Celeste is a little quirky, even for a cat.  She has a real thing for dogs.  So many times I would find her curled up next to Bessie Anne.  She's not as physical with Michael, but when we come back after one of our walks, she is inside crying for him and has to touch noses when we get in the door.  I don't know how Michael feels about this cross-species affection, but he accepts it.  It's not in Michael's nature to offend anyone.

It's just getting light and this is an early morning appointment, so I'd best get moving.

Stay safe.  Be well.

I Don't

Once upon a time and what seems like long, long ago, I glommed onto every new craft project like it was a lifeboat, always have.  When I was a kid, my mother taught me how to crochet.  She didn't knit, so I taught myself and ended up making sox for boyfriends and those dice that hung from the rear view mirror in the 50-60s.  Knitting was a good skill to have later in life when I took up spinning wool and had a lot of yarn.  Spinning led to a loom, but that didn't get much use...too much math.  It's been years since I've picked up one of the hooks or every sized needle known to man.

I went though the polymer clay phase, making ornaments and jewelry.  Now I don't.

When I had milkers, I made goat-milk soap...lovely, creamy bars.  I still have all of the equipment.  Haven't used it in years.

I have the screen for making paper from scraps and even dryer lint.  I even think I know where it is...or not.

Beading.  OMG the beading.  Jewelry, ornaments, purses.  Not too long ago I gave Deb all of the pounds of supplies I'd garnered so the passion can continue.  (She's her mother's daughter.)

My mother-in-law introduced me to the Donna Dewberry technique of painting and I was off and running.  I painted walls, fence posts, cards, gates, the well house, you name it.  Steve used to tell Bessie Anne to keep moving or she'd end up like a walking flower garden.  I'm pretty sure all my paints are dried up by now.

I don't know when I lost the inspiration.  I only know it's gone.  I used to do all these things and more.  Now I don't.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Not Forgotten

Something I didn't  mention yesterday is something precious I hold in my heart.  When Stan was ready to  leave here after our hospital sojourn, masked, both with inoculations, we hugged.  Not only is Stan a great, heartfelt hugger, it has been so long since I've had a hug that I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be in the arms of someone dear and how life-affirming that is.  Love can be felt at a distance, but there's nothing like the up-close-and-personal of the real thing.

I've seen an uptick in the number of ground squirrels bounding or racing across the yard lately.  What I'd not forgotten, but had not heard for awhile was the monotonous vocalizations of either Yip Yip or Shaddup.  They were on duty yesterday.  They've not been missed.

Here's to a time when hugs are everywhere.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Good Morning, Good Day

As these things go, yesterday was a piece a' cake.  Dear Stan arrived early, we got to the hospital early, and we were home by 10:30 a.m.  I was out for the procedure, but Dr. told me it had gone perfectly and there were no problems.  How's that for making my day?  One big bonus was getting to share time with Stan...good guy, good company.  We were back before Michael's second walk, so I wasn't the only one pleased.

I'd like to thank those who sent good wishes and held the good thought.  I'll admit to some trepidation, but found you can take courage from others.

The agenda is clear this morning.  It's going to be another good day.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Timing Is Everything

It should be no surprise that Looney Tunes Ralph has some wires crossed.  I have yet to figure out why he runs zoomies through the house, brrrp-brrrping as he goes.  I do feel bad for him, though, when he decides it's time to sit on my lap.  Inevitably it's just at the time I've decided, for whatever reason, to get up out of my chair and he only has a minute or two before being displaced.  Celeste has no problem...if there's a lap, she's in it.  He must feel like the proverbial 'redheaded stepchild' as I push him (them) off with appropriate apologies.  Celeste is never flustered as she immediately takes my place, but the looks of confusion I get from Ralph.

My aversion to going to town is pretty well known by now, and yet, here I go again.  I cannot get everyone on the same page to coordinate doctor visits, pre=op stuff, and medication runs for the same day.  Yesterday was a have-to run.  Again, timing is so important.  I have to leave at just the right time in the early afternoon so as to miss the strobe effect of sunlight through the trees on the roads to town, and the same coming back.  Michael enjoys these outings more than I.  First stop was at the cookie store to get gas and then off to Walmart for another new med.  Keep in mind this is someone who, if I took one pain pill a year, it was a bad year.  Right now I'm up to eleven pills a day.  It's almost funny.  Taking all these meds is an exercise in timing by itself.  Once a day, twice a day, these before meals, these with, two of these, one of those.  Good grief!

I have to allow time at Walmart for Michael to visit his favorite bushes, going and coming.  Walking through the store cannot be rushed because his fans are many and talkative.  Yesterday a gentleman and his wife told me about traveling in Germany with their dog after properly admiring my boy, and a little girl petted Michael the whole time we were in line for the pharmacy.  No wonder Michael likes our outings.

He's not going to be able to go with me today nor Friday.  Hospitals are funny about letting dogs into their hallowed halls.  Michael is a Certified Emotional Support Animal, and I cannot think of a place where his support would be more needed.

We'll see how today's trip goes.  I have to be in town by 10;15.  I wonder where the sun will be.

Stay safe.  Be well.. 

Different

Jealousy is not an emotion I indulge, but I'll admit to a twinge yesterday.  My neighbors had a large gathering with a lot of kids laughing and cheering.  PPM (poor pitiful me) was taken back to "the good old days" when our Easters were just like that...egg hunts and competitions and laughter...oh, how I miss the laughter.  Even were it not for the Covid, it will never be like that again.  Kids grown up, grandchildren gone, traditions gone by the wayside.  Drat.  All good memories, though.

I'm trying to gear up for Friday.  Even though I wake early, my mornings are spent leisurely at the computer and I ease into the day.  Michael always sleeps in late, so we're on the same schedule.  Stan, my generous transport, will be here at 6:30 so Michael will get his morning walk in the dark.  I wonder how that's going to go.  Camille offered and I accepted, so he will get another walk around noon.  There's not a lot for a guy to do in P'ville, so I'm going to suggest to Stan that he go to Poor Red's in El Dorado...a good, upbeat place for lunch, and they have outdoor seating.

There's fog out there this morning.  Nice it held off for the holiday.  After the lovely days of this last week, the overcast sky is certainly a change.

Ah, well.  Nothing stays the same.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Near Miss

 

It was only a week or so ago that I posted a picture of this then leafless oak, and now look at it.  Michael and I were enjoying the morning sunshine when I looked up and around.  I'm still wearing a jacket in the house, but outdoors, it's spring.  I'm all for it.

In the afternoon, my ever-present companion and I usually sit on the porch, and lately we've not been alone.  My totems, the lizards, appear seemingly out of nowhere to join us.  They climb on the stacked firewood or just hang out on the cement nearby and show no fear even when Michael or I change positions.  There can be four or more at a time.  These guys range from tiny two-inchers to the big six-inch ones.  I know it's strange, but I find them somehow comforting.  As totems go, they could be worse.

Helper Dude said he's going to be bringing me some of his mother's ranch eggs, fresh from the coop.  I've got to make a trip to the grocery store because I'm out of cheese (and a lot of other stuff) and I've been thinking about a quiche.  Haven't made one in years, but you know how it is when an idea takes hold.

Here's to another beautiful day.

Stay safe.  Be well.

Watch Out

The darndest things happen when one's attention is elsewhere.  I almost missed the blooming of the remaining plum and almond trees here, and wouldn't that have been a shame.  I often think of the orchard I'd planned and planted in the northwest field, and all for naught.  At least twenty fruit trees dead from my ignorance of the ground squirrels that ate the roots, leaving a forest of skinny dead trunks as a sad reminder.  I've had to get my blossom fix on the trips to and from town.

I'm on constant watch for deer these days.  There were four in the back yard the other afternoon.  They seemed to know that Michael and I were no threat.  They stood like statues while they checked us out and then went on grazing on the growing green grasses.  Six crossed back and forth on Irish Acres across the way last week.  Such graceful creatures.

My mother was born on Easter in 1904 and they named her Esther.  Her birthday has fallen on that holiday only four times in all those years.  I thought she might make it this year, but missed it by a day.  I guess it's like those kids born in a leap year.  Easter is going to go by the wayside again this year.  No family gathering, but Deb told me that Craig wants the exact menu for their dinner.  Nice to see a tradition carried on.

My brother-in-law Stan is coming to my rescue next week.  I have an in-hospital procedure scheduled for Friday and was getting a little desperate for a ride to and from.  It's an in-and-out thing, but those in charge insisted I could not drive myself.  Stan volunteered to give me a whole day, coming up from the valley to be here by 6:30 a.m. and waiting around until afternoon.  That is a true act of kindness.

Helper Dude is coming tomorrow.  If Fu Manchu cooperates, Dude will mow down the west field.  That always improves the view, as well as lessening fire danger.  This place needs a major cleanup.

Stay safe.  Be well.