I have a virus or bad allergies since yesterday. Not horrible, but my throat hurts and I’m tired. I do seem to have one off symptom, though. I remember things in the wrong color. What?
Lee brought home a loaner vehicle while my car was getting serviced. It was very nice and looked very much like my car. More than once I referred to it as the black car. It was quite white. Just as white as my car (but sadly lacking the snazzy red interior).
My car, which looks like half the cars on the road today.
I also mentioned the pink book I was reading. I went to bed and saw the deer book and the next book on my nightstand. Both are green.
Yes, I’m reading a popular self-help book about a topic I’ve already been working on. This kind of book serves as a good reminder.
I do think the color thing has a non-viral source!
That’s all I have for you, friends. I took NyQuil, so the zzzzzz is calling.
It seems that I’m fascinated by the animals that surround me. I wonder I snapped this book, The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors, by Erika Howsare (2024), the minute I saw it in the bookstore.
I’ve always enjoyed sharing space with deer, from childhood. There were deer in Florida when I was young, only fewer than there are today. Illinois had them roaming to cornfield borders, too. They’re everywhere in North America. And in Texas, whoa, the suburbs I lived in were full of them, too full in some places.
State parks often get over-browsed.
I learned a lot more about deer when I took my Master Naturalist classes and did more reading on North American and world history. I realized deer have been around humans pretty much throughout our histories. Deer have nourished us (and other animals) all this time, yet still survived. And they’ve inspired humans with their beauty and courage, as well.
Deer on our property.
Howsare began the book not really knowing why she wrote it and ended up feeling a complicated kinship with the white-tails. Truth be told, complex is one of the best words to describe the human/deer relationship. We both love them and kill them. We create habitat for them just so they can look better when they lose their lives to us. They can kill us, too, by making a poor choice of when to cross the road. Complicated.
People love antlers
Like the beavers, deer were extirpated in many parts of North America when their skins became popular for clothing in Europe. When it was just Native Americans using their hides, horns, and sinews, there were enough to go around. But those dang Europeans never realized when they were taking too much until it was too late.
Zoo deer
I also learned a lot about the US hunting culture, much more than I knew before, even though I’m surrounded by hunters and benefit from meat they share. I didn’t realize that the trophy antler hunters of farmed deer are looked down on by the wild deer hunters who hunt for sport and food , nor that the culture of crowd hunting is another separate group who hunt to eat.
Lake deer
By the time you finish this book (if you can…it’s not for the squeamish in some parts), you’ll have a much greater understanding of issues surrounding dear, the resilience of the species, and how interdependent we are. If you didn’t already admire deer, you will. You’ll also gain respect for many people who care about them.
There’s a lot on my mind this evening, so I’ll be brief. Today I enjoyed talking to my friends online, finding interesting flowers, noting the return of the Black-chinned Hummingbirds, just letting go and reveling in the flying horsehair while grooming Apache and Dusty, and some relaxing crochet. I have washed off the dirt and hair.
White version of blue-eyed grass“Blue” versionBuckeye on dewberry blossom Many stem evax (Diaperia verna) a type of rabbit tobacco One of my cultivated portulaca flowersFrom the same basketRed oak tree is not dead!
I did not enjoy finding out Star Fleet Academy was canceled, worrying about sick people, conversations that made me paranoid, nor finding out how expensive my car’s maintenance is.
But, hope springs eternal, and the wheel of the year keeps turning.
Every so often you get to enjoy a whole day where there’s peace, beauty, fun, humor, and a little accomplishment thrown in. Today was such a day. Why was it so good?
Walking! I didn’t walk all that far today, but I enjoyed it. On my first walk I noticed all the grass and such is already crunchy and brown thanks to scant rain and that freeze a week ago. But there were white evening primroses, which are even more delicate than their normal pink friends.
These are just pale versions of pink evening primroses, not a different species. Normal. Ladybugs have been chomping.
Later in the afternoon I went out again with Kathleen, since walking is helping her recuperation. I showed her how big the puffball mushroom in the front field has gotten, and we found a thick patch of verbena next to the rye crop across the road. Apache would sure love that field.
That’s big!Can’t wait until it explodes!I love the textureVerbena patchNice to see green!The last trees are budding out
Calves! There are many cow-calf pairs in the field behind us right now. The babies are getting more adventurous and frisky, which is always entertaining. I love the brave and curious ones who try to get the dogs to play. This one with the white spot had a lot of fun with Penney and let me talk to her a while.
Crafts! We watched some television this afternoon and evening, which gave me time to work on my patchwork blanket. I got through all but one square on the fourth row. It looks pretty cute. I have some ideas for it once I join all the squares.
Click to see the whole photos.
Funny things! I have two funny things to share. First happened yesterday. I went to the birding hut to re-start Merlin after it had been running a while. I wanted to write down the new species in my notebook but I couldn’t open it. That was odd. I finally peeled the pages apart, and I really perturbed a bold jumping spider who had managed to build a web nest in the book in just over an hour! I encouraged her to relocate.
But, I liked your booklet.
Second story was from today. When we went to feed the poultry, I once again found no eggs in the boxes. You could see someone had been sitting in them. But none were chosen for egg laying.
You may remember that last week Kathleen cleaned the henhouse. New pine shavings were put in the boxes and on the floor.
Before we went to the horses, I got a notion and had Kathleen wait while I checked something. Sure enough, there were four eggs in the old nest boxes we still have up for when we get new hens. I guess Cindy and Cathy don’t like the pine shavings. I’ll have to get them some straw. No photo because (gasp!) I left my phone in the house!
We prefer the little nest boxes, with no nesting material.
I have been thinking a lot about how I complain about the government here in Texas, but don’t do anything about it other than contribute small amounts of money to candidates I appreciate. So today I went way outside my comfort zone and volunteered to help out at the local level. I met some new and unusual people and also enjoyed time with friends. Whew, that took a lot of psychic energy. I’m proud of myself.
Lee says I’m getting more active while he stays more ensconced in his hermitage. Could be a worse hideout.
I’m glad that I had a chance to go hang out in nature afterwards, as Terri and I went back over to Carolyn’s ranch to get ready for the Master Naturalist field trip. All the signs Terri made look great!
Yes, there’s a Zombie Trail.
I mostly scouted around for plants that weren’t damaged by last week’s freeze or were blooming. I’m afraid wildflower season is delayed. But I found a few things to point out. I hope some of the dogwood blossoms are still around. They were quite lovely.
Click to see them larger
Nature and friends helped my introvert self equalize a bit, but I still needed a nap and some horse hugs when I got home. Now, please enjoy a few more woodland plants
Spring at last! Ostara greetings to all! Maybe no more freezes to kill our grass.
I even painted a rock
Since it was a pretty day, I took a walk at lunch and even read for a few minutes on the porch, next to my lovely petunias that smell so good (white petunias are impressive!).
They are tiny but aromatic!
After work and poultry and equine feeding, I enjoyed some time with Apache, just walking around. My son had come over to get some eggs, so we were chatting, when we noticed what Apache was munching on.
This is good.
Was it grass? No! It was prickly sow-thistle. These plants are like ugly dandelions with big thorns on the leaves.
Don’t step on one barefoot.
Yep, Apache was methodically mowing down all these non-native plants. I was impressed. After my son left, I watched Apache’s grazing pattern. Somehow he was able to avoid all the other wildflowers (other than field madder, which he also liked) and just focus on his favorite greenery. I wonder how they know? Scent? Feel? This is when I wish I could ask my former horse trainer. She’d know.
This is the good stuff.
After we ran out of armored dandelions, Apache kindly switched to weed-eating around the garbage dumpster. He even provided fertilization services (not pictured). It turns out, my new lawn maintenance tool is pretty good! Too bad it costs so much to keep it up and running!
Excellent long grass around the dumpster to trim!
I helped him burn off the calories from all that snacking by getting some good exercise in before returning him to his herd. Our pleasant walk ended the week on a good note!
I had exactly ONE important meeting today where I had to pay attention. That is when some folks off somewhere adjacent to the people across the road decided it was time to break out the rifles and start with the pew, pew, pew. Only it was much louder.
I should have run outside and blinded them with my nails. This stuff is incredibly reflective outdoors.
Of course, while I had my camera on, Penney had to try to insert herself into my arms, Carlton started shaking under my desk, and Alfred stuck his giant head under my free arm. My headphones disconnected, things fell off the desk, and I kept trying to act professional. At least I wasn’t leading the meeting.
Why couldn’t those woods be all peaceful, like yesterday, when it was just me and the orange cat?
Let’s hope they don’t start up again tomorrow when I’m leading a meeting with bosses in it. Apparently, yesterday the blamming was during my lunch with friends.
I’d have been trying to hide like this raccoon was during today’s noise.
The good news is that there was no massacre. Once the meeting ended and I walked past the bridge, I could hear them yelling, “pull,” before shots rang out, so I figured out they were skeet shooting. That’s a new one.
There are the shooters. They also mowed an entire field of bluebonnets.
The shots sounded really close from our house, and my neighbor said it sounded like it was in her back yard. Her dogs were also terrified. The shooters were very close to her property line. Well, I hope they got lots of skeet.
Bluebirds were not purturbed
I also enjoyed banter about skeet and what they could be hunting in response to my Facebook post about the noise. That made a weird day a bit better.
Getting to enjoy the bridge turtles on their new sunning log also cheered me up.
In the end, I enjoyed writing for most of the day, and had a nice rest on the porch with all the flowers after work.
Lee got me these violas today DianthusKolanchoe? I cannot remember the name. All the hanging baskets now cover the window wall.
Then all but one horse got some vigorous currying, because it’s shedding time. Mabel, as usual, also has mud clods that I’m gradually scraping off. She can really collect mud. I’m in charge of the horses for a while, since my helper has had a setback, but I’m on it! I just want no nearby shooting during horse time.
I’m only writing to keep a blogging streak going. I was so boring yesterday that only 36 people visited the site. It’s a good reason I just like to hear myself talk, or read my writing, or something. And I’m only going to get more and more boring if I keep working so many hours.
I’ll still try to take a few nice photos when I can get outside.
To put a positive spin on things, if I’m being boring, it means I’m not letting outside events upset me, I’m enjoying my family/pets, and my dull hobbies are satisfying me.
This could be a painting.
So if you got this far, feel free to suggest something interesting to write about, or I’ll do the wise thing and not blog until I have something blog worthy.
This could be a painting, too. So many greens.
PS: don’t watch Lost in Space (new version) if you’re one of those people who expect their science fiction to be at least somewhat plausible.
This was yesterday’s blog prompt, but I waited to address it until today, because I really had to think hard about the answer. I dutifully ran my mind through a long list of people I know, trying to figure out who could be the most confident.
Just a pretty fern. I hope it stays healthy.
Every single time I thought about anyone who portrays an air of confidence, I’d stop myself and say, no, not that person. I know all their struggles and feelings of inadequacy. Or I know they have imposter syndrome, or they put on a confident shell to hide under.
And in every case, I realized how much I admire them. How impressive it is that they go out and do what needs to be done with an easy, confident manner. That takes strength and most important, self awareness. Anyone who knows themselves well can see their strengths and weaknesses and choose how to behave in ways that bring out their best.
I also admire those who don’t act confident but try anyway. I value their insights and contributions, too. There are lots of us out there!
This stink bug introduces the bad side of confidence.
It seems to me that the only people I know who act confident when they really shouldn’t be are those who really don’t know themselves well, either because they’re incapable of it or don’t care to try. They always want to tell you how interesting they are and are extra fond of the sound of their own voices.
I can do without those over-confident types, whether they hold high political offices or stalk you on Facebook.
This fine wolf spider stalked me on my chair. I let it be.
What’s my conclusion? I guess it’s that acting confident in what you do, even when you have nagging doubts, is the kind of confidence we need more of.
My mom would have been in a tizzy by today’s end. She really hated wind. She said it made her hair hurt. I’m not fond of it either. Fine old lady hair and wind are an aesthetically unappealing combination.
Artistic rendering of annoyed me in wind
The wind wasn’t as horrible as yesterday, but since it was uncharacteristically cold for mid March, going outside was a brutal experience. Even the birds were hiding—only 26 species today were heard over the wind by Merlin. Needless to say, my exercise goals were not met!
This little friend is safe indoors.
The best thing about today was that it made for crazy colors in the temperature blanket. Yesterday was red (90s) and Kelly green (low 50s). Today the green was the high temperature. Tonight it might freeze! This is not usual.
Yesterday and today. Sweat followed by chills.
Being indoors all day left me a little grumpy. It didn’t help that I spent 2.5 hours trying to get my monitor situation for work under control. Two IT guys and much brainstorming later, I’m all set, though I changed to a different monitor. It turned out that it didn’t need new drivers (but has them anyway). Instead, the setup I had where each monitor was attached by an HDMI cable, which had worked since last June, suddenly was no good. I guess a recent update changed it. So I had to find a Display Port connector and use it. Lucky for me I have many extra display cables gathered over by the extra work monitors. The right one was there.
Stock photo of correct cable.
I have to give IT guy #2, who was in Oregon, credit for troubleshooting with me. I sent him many photos and screenshots for diagnostic purposes. He liked that I understood all his questions.
He promised not to laugh at my docking station. But it showed the problem. That empty slot should be attached to a monitor.
I’ll spare you the story of how I muddled up my web-based training file. But at least I had two giant monitors to screw up on!
The Hermits' Rest 