Random Musings

Pandemic - while our local count of the virus has dropped and is holding steady, things have only slightly opened back up. Groups continue to sue the governor for the right to open and attempt to abide by guidelines (churches sued two weeks ago and won the right to meet and social distance; bars, gyms, and bowling alleys were supposed to partially open this past week along with hair salons and restaurants but instead were told they could not. Those groups are now either suing or investigating their options as appeals for help and guidance go unheard.) Many restaurants are continuing to only have curbside and drive-thru as the measures required to open the dining halls are financially unfeasible to do. Several quilt shops have opened but one of their many precautions is that restrooms are closed to customers. So that basically means I won't go. I'm not willing to drive 40 minutes one way to then spend half an hour shopping and then drive another 40 minutes home without having ac...

Last night was a bit of a roller coaster. I went outside to get the chickens' feed out of the car and into the bins, only to discover a) we have a broody hen...in the garage   and b) there was a black mouse in one of the feed bins. Do you know how much I hate mice?  Do you know how frustrated I am that half of our hens are now setting instead of laying eggs AND collecting the eggs of the other laying hens? So we deal with the mouse, feed the chickens, start supper, halfway mop the kitchen floor while cooking (so while it looked semi-okay, it sounded sticky when walking...ugh), had Mrs. Bryan for supper, then watched church online. Went to bed early because Bobby had an online and phone conference this morning. This morning was the upside of the roller coaster. I found toilet paper at the Dollar Tree!!! SCORE!!! I didn't find the coloring book or crayons I wanted for the kids' back to church packets, but I was able to order them online when I got home. I am woefully b...

I just finished the book Galileo's Daughter . It was a surprising and an interesting read for a biography. I will say it was way more about Galileo than his daughter, but it really made me stop and think about the dangers of overzealous religious leaders and the desire for the control of thoughts within any group of people. One of the startling things was the discussion of the plague outbreaks (it interrupted the publishing of one of Galileo's works as well as his heresy hearings). Considering the protests in Raleigh (to reopen the state) were starting about the same time I hit that chapter, it was equally interesting. People were allowed to keep working in one city as long as none of the workers (the owner and his apprentices or servants) showed any symptoms of the bubonic plague. Many workers would try to hide any symptoms of the disease so they could feed their families or keep their jobs. If people were caught doing that, then their hands were tied behind their backs and ...

 I forgot this photo was on my camera until I downloaded pics today. We don't normally see a bearded heron (I assume this is a heron). He stayed in the yard for quite some time. Haven't seen him since. And this. I have no clue what this is. I was trimming limbs this afternoon and at first thought it was a very large piece of bark. I put the handsaw on the limb and realized it had eyes and a leg. I've never seen a bark-looking tree frog before. Guess I need to research them a little more and find out what it is.

 Debris removed from yesterday evening. I was worried what I would find this morning, but the water had drained enough today I could see the entire drain, as well as the "fortress" dam the beavers had built around it.  Morning of day 2.  I started with cleaning debris from the drain itself, then started attacking more of the side walls. I think this picture shows a little of the depth of their wall. Stopping for the day.  The shovel was not very helpful so mostly used the hoe. If the water drains enough tonight (and the beavers don't return and rebuild) then I'll wade out in my rain boots and start attacking the far side.

The drain to our pond has been stopping up more than normal the last two weeks. I knew it was slightly clogged with debris, but not so much so that one night of rain should have totally covered it and stopped it up. I cleaned enough around it two days ago to get us through the forecasted rain. When we got home today and I mentioned the rain would start soon, Bobby remembered to tell me that the drain was totally covered and looked quite bad. So I headed down there to see what I could quickly do before the rain started.  And I was amazed at what I found. Normally there is one or two sticks with a lot of leaves and pine straw and the occasional piece of trash.  I pulled so much debris off the top of the drain and from the sides of it that I could have filled up half a wheelbarrow. A layer of pine straw, a layer of sticks, a layer of mud, a layer of leaves, a combination of all of the above, and then it repeated. There was an entire buildup of sticks and mud in a circle aroun...

Bobby is scheduled for a follow-up procedure tomorrow at Rex Hospital. It will be outpatient, and this time I will be allowed to stay in the waiting room. (If I leave, I cannot return.) Since this time is a scheduled procedure and not an emergency procedure, we've had a few extra hoops to jump through. He had to be tested for the virus (he doesn't have it), his pre-op appointment was done over the phone, and we have to arrive three hours early instead of two (I'm starting to think we're taking an international flight or something) so the tests that would normally be done during pre-op can be done before/during the regular check-in and pre-op. We will both have to wear masks the entire time, and will have to answer the "safety" questions for the umpteenth time tomorrow. Talking through a mask is not fun. Thankfully this time he is not running a fever so the admitting personnel won't be in a state of trepidation.  And I've already changed out the van s...

In some ways, I feel that I am busier with the stay at home order. Cooking every night requires cleaning the kitchen every night. I'm somewhat enjoying it, though on the days when I have outside work to do the last thing I want to do is come in and cook and clean. We did eat take-out a few nights this past week. I was so looking forward to being at home for six weeks. Yet with it hitting at spring time when the yard needs work and the garden time begins, my schedule has not been quite as free as I had hoped. The riding lawn mower tearing up hasn't helped my to do list any either. And yet, between the yard work and health issues, we did have some down time. We watched five movies, which is what we might normally see in a year, and have read some. We're still having church online, and it's been nice to be able to have lunch cooking and check on things not long after church is over. We had two small chicks hatch in the last few days and we still have three setting h...