community – Page 5 – The Hermits' Rest

So Far, Retiring Is Heavy on the “Tiring” Part

And that’s good, really! I just hope not all future days are quite this busy, because I’m tired! I can really come up with things to do given the opportunity. Let’s see what this hermit got up to today.

A big dog with a yummy stick is a highlight of any day.

In the morning I went to our beautiful local bakery to meet with the folks who helped Lee get his Medicare supplement so I could get mine. They are pretty funny folks, and the poor wife can get confused, but I got something reasonable from a reputable company, plus a sticky bun.

When we finished, I had an hour before my usual friends’ lunch. So, since I hadn’t talked to Anita in over a month, I dropped by her house. We had a nice chat, just our normal conversation between two people who know each other very well. I need to have relaxed conversations more. I don’t have to explain what I mean when I talk to her. She knows my biases and idiosyncrasies so dang well.

Old but good photo. Anita and I have also stuck through a lot. Still are.

After our talk, I went to lunch. It was a small group, but we had so much fun. One member shared some of her late mother’s jewelry and it was like we were little kids trying the various quirky and beautiful items on. It was so kind of her to share her mother’s taste and personality with us.

Two items I got were these incredible handmade scarf slides. Both have snakes on them. I can’t wait to wear them with my Western clothing.

After lunch, I drove out to the place my phone always thinks I live, Burlington, a very small community north of here. I went to visit with some folks who are clients of a relative of ours. We supposedly had things in common.

For example, we both like rough-leafed dogwood.

That turned out to be very true, and I had a fine time with the woman I met looking at the plants on the property where camp and are adding a storage building. We talked about birds, photography, native plants, and other similar interests. Then she asked me what I did for my job, and when I said technical writing she burst out laughing because she’s also one. Ha!

I left all the fun plants and many migrating monarchs and was able to rest a half hour or so before heading out to Tarrin’s training facility again, this time with Sara and the lovely Jhayati, who is almost two years old now.

Glamour shot. I got to groom her, and you know how I love a thick tail. Hers has gray in it, like her face. She’ll eventually be all gray.

It was a special day, so I went along to take photos of Jhayati’s first experience with saddling. So exciting for us all! Sara and Tarrin have prepared the filly very well, and as a result, she handled the saddle well.

They practiced the saddle falling off, too, to teach her to stop and look if someone or something falls off. That’s good safety! I learned a lot about how to get a horse off to a good start.

Jhayati did very well walking and trotting with the saddle on, though I think she got a bit tired.

Finally, she got to jump a little (not too much, since she is still growing). I enjoyed watching how well Sara handled her and how you could see the concentration in Jhayati’s eyes.

In the end, she even walked back to the trailer like a good princess. I was so impressed. Even the continued dust and wind didn’t phase her.

I’ll sure miss those two when they move to the new farm in Wisconsin. If you want to follow their new venture, here’s a link to the blog.

By the time I got home and did all my horse stuff, it was time for dinner. Whew. I didn’t even have the energy to crochet much! I’m pretty sure tomorrow will have fewer trips and visits.

Pay Attention and You’ll Learn Stuff

Here’s what I learned today. This morning, a fellow birder and I watched the Red-winged Blackbirds in a feeding frenzy at the bird blind.

We also watched two beautiful Long-billed Thrashers as they stayed above the hubbub and got their food and drink. These are interesting, because they have a limited range and are sort of in between Brown Thrashers and Curved-bill Thrashers.

They have cool golden eyes and those long bills.

They weren’t as flashy as the Green Jays or Great Kiskadees, but it was fun to watch them pop in and out of view.

As you can imagine, all these birds were loud. Very loud.

The thrashers never made a sound.

Later in the day, I walked the bird trails that led to the unimaginably named 75-Acre Lake. There weren’t many birds to be found most of the way, one exception were Ling-billed Thrashers. They were always rustling in the leaves and hopping up and down in the trees.

I enjoyed the lake which had recently been cleared of cattails, and did hear a White-eyed Vireo pair singing, and lucked out to hear a Roadrunner making its eerie song. All was not lost.

There are large Spanish Dagger yucca here

My learning about the thrashers concluded around sunset. I began hearing what I thought was a Mockingbird going through its repertoire, but it didn’t seem right. I fired up Merlin Bird ID and was quite surprised to see an ID of Ling-billed Thrasher. All the thrashers got together at sunset and sang their hearts out for about a half hour. It was beautiful! Who knew? They only sing at dusk.

I’m glad I paid attention to the behavior of these birds. I learned something!

Hooray! Suna also can differentiate vultures by their wings. I’m a Black Vulture.

Observation and re-evaluation led me to a new life bird today, too. In the bird blind we noticed the size difference between the little Inca Doves and the others at the feeders.

I assumed the large dove at left was a Mourning Dove. However, Merlin listed a different option first, the White-tipped Dove. I’d never heard of it, but looked at the description. Sure enough, this dove had white wing and tail tips and no other patterning. Not a Mourning Dove at all. I just had to look carefully.

Whew. My head is full from all that observing and learning. Still I found time to see more fun plants, animals and birds today. And I can’t forget learning from fellow campers, most of whom seem to be from Canada or Minnesota. They’re so friendly! The birder guy was local, from San Antonio, and he had great advice on Canon cameras and lenses. I’m glad I found him and that Lee was able to talk to him, too.

Knowledge is power. Well, for the moment. Being smart is not popular among the powerful these days.

We Spontained Today

Rather than doing the usual Saturday chores, Lee suggested we go to Austin and do something different. We call that spontaining. Being spontaneous, but more active.

So we drove to Austin (a thing we usually avoid), visited the wonderful camera store there and chatted with the friendly staff, bought Girl Scout cookies because I support them and could enjoy a few cookies, looked in the comic book store, which is really a gaming store, and enjoyed some memories of my past life.

With my weird attachments to places, I find returning to my old stomping grounds rather difficult. I get very sad, nostalgic, or something. But, I powered through it and checked out all the changes in greater north Austin. I still miss everything about the place except high property taxes and awful traffic.

We ended the day with a nice visit and dinner at my favorite small sushi restaurant (which is still fantastic and patronized my mainly Japanese people), with our friends and former business partners, Carol and Russell.

We had great conversation, supported each other, and enjoyed the food. I’m so glad we are making the effort to see people. Even they aren’t going out as much these days, and they used to be so social.

Consider hanging out with a friend or two. It’s a privilege to be free to do so. And do some spontaining!

It’s Driving Me Bonkers

But I have help staying sane. See below.

I’ve been reading more different social media sites lately. I’m learning a lot, much of it not about political perspectives.

I read a lot of science and nature stuff, too.

The thing is, whenever someone says something good, others (some of whom I suspect aren’t real people) re-post it so many times that it’s quickly becoming pretty boring. I’m not immune to this. I probably re-post a couple of juicy bits of prose (long or short, depending on the site) a day. But I often see a dozen re-posts by the same account all in a row. Then someone else shares the same things.

Like, how many sunset photos will I share?

It’s good to share, but it’s even better, to me, to read original content and new perspectives. That’s one reason I persist in sharing my thoughts on social media. I hope it occasionally gives someone a new perspective, comfort, or a laugh. I’d love to see more of that on these platforms, actual thoughts and opinions of thoughtful people (see what I did there? It’s gotta be thoughtful).

Three. I will share three sunset photos.

I miss the days when Facebook showed me how my friends and family are doing, how cute their pets are, and how the weather is in their area. Some still do share, and I am full of appreciation. And with many going to other platforms, I’m putting out a plea: please share your own ideas, insights, photos or writings, not just the same stuff everyone else shares.

Speaking of pets, here’s Harvey, chugging along despite the liver issues.

The repetition is getting to me! Don’t let me go bonkers. Whatever that means.

Luckily, I have real life friends who I can talk to, share my fears and worries with, and provide support for. I’m so grateful to you all. I’m also glad to have friends in my social media private groups who I can hear from, learn from, and support from afar. And I have some super family members to rely on as well (even if they’re snowed in).

Oh, and there’s Ada, the Finch birb. She supports me from her snow camp, and my friends in the app help, too. Lots of hugging happens.

So let’s get out there are communicate with each other! Be original! You are ALL interesting!

Luckily, It’s Raining

Finally we are having the kind of rain that might refill our ponds and creeks. We are very lucky to have been only a few miles south of the “wintry mix” section of the precipitation band, and well removed from the snow that has blanketed North Texas.

I meant to get a screenshot earlier today. Oh well, I had lots of meetings today so not much time for extraneous activities.

I’m so glad we just got rain, because that let me get to my Master Naturalist meeting tonight. I always enjoy them and tonight was quite fun. First, I was kind to someone who needed some kindness, and he just beamed with joy and gave me some stew. It’s very good stew.

Pretend it’s this stew, only with olives, not pomegranates. Stock photo.

Then I said something funny and almost made water come out of someone else’s nose. I consider that a triumph, but am sorry she got her drink all over her shirt. We all made the best of a very rainy night.

It makes me feel good to see the group being enthusiastic about our training class, bats, and other activities. It’s taken a long time to recover from the loss of the group’s leader followed by COVID, but I think they’ve done it.

Carlton would like me to stop writing and go to bed. I guess I will.

That’s it for today. Both dogs are healing well. Sending love to friends near the LA fires and to my cousin/friend. So many out there needing support right now with illnesses, stress, etc. send out your spare good thoughts!

Quiet Weekend Other Than Wind, Skunks, and Hippos

I didn’t get a lot accomplished this weekend, but now that I think of it, I got stuff done. I probably got amnesia from inhaling skunk odor from Goldie, who still thinks she’s a mighty hunter despite her cancer and missing leg. At least she didn’t get hit too closely and didn’t try to eat it.

I did finish the first week of the 2025 temperature blanket and even started a little scarf. I hope I can get it done quickly.

I’m sort of glad a huge cold front is here, because I ran out of Caution, the bright yellow that’s 70-75°. I’ve ordered more, and I’m pretty sure the replacements, and a lot more black, will get here before it warms up again. I get a bit over-excited when I get to use green, blue, and maybe purple in my blankets, because it sure hasn’t been cold this year.

The last three days of December (black) and January 1-4. You can tell it was warm yesterday because the high temperature on Wednesday was the low yesterday (lime green).

Today it rained a teeny bit but mostly the cold front brought wind. It was a biting one, too. Still, I’d planned to take Apache over to a horse show friend’s place for a holiday party/riding fun. But the rain made Lee rethink pulling the trailer with no brake controller in bad weather. I resolved to reluctantly stay home.

Then Tarrin texted asking if I was coming and reminded me I could come without a horse. Well, duh. So I jumped in the car and drove over to the nice setup my friend has on her property.

She has an arena and it’s quite comfortable.

They were all waiting for me to get there, so I’m glad I hurried. I sure appreciated being there for the big reveal of the Christmas gift we all chipped in for to give Tarrin. It’s what she always wanted for Christmas but her husband just wouldn’t get her.

She really did want a hippo and one of our horse show group knew where to get this cute and very heavy statue. It weighs over 500 pounds. One help in finding a hippopotamus in central Texas is to know that the mascot of the town of Hutto is the Hippo, so businesses all over there have statues in front of them.

We all enjoyed discussing names for it, potential outfits (how to make a hippo hackamore was an unexpected topic), and whether to paint it or not. And of course, Ziggy the dog had to show his hippo love.

It was lots of fun to laugh and tell stories together, and Tarrin reading her family’s reactions when she texted them the news was just great.

So glad to have made it to the gathering.

Later on Tarrin told me she could have come and got me and Apache. Why does it never occur to me to ask for help? I’m so intent on getting more self reliant that I forget I’m not alone. I guess I need to work on a balance between not being a burden and not missing out on things from not asking for assistance.

Oh well. On to a very cold week. I’m glad I have a lot of warm clothing!

Zoom, There Went Another Year

Years really do zip by the older you get. I like that they’re all a blur now. It makes living in the present easier.

Calendars are human inventions, but years happen regardless of whether people are around or not. Years are “real.” Since this is the time my culture marks the start of another year, then, I’ll go ahead and say that I wish you all the best possible 2025 that our combined positive perspectives can create.

Hey look, Gemini can’t spell. I love these AI things.

I’ll rely a lot on small acts of kindness to keep me going. For example, today I was taking my morning walk when a pickup truck approached from behind me. This happens about every ten minutes here. To my surprise, the truck slowed down and stopped beside me. A young-ish man leaned over and told me he’d just stopped to wish me a good day from him and his daughter. A little girl said, “Have a good day!” from her car seat. How kind! I told them happy new year, and the little girl thanked me and waved hard as they left. Ah. That started my day off well.

The day remained good, too. I remarked to Lee that it was the first day in a couple of months that I felt free of anxiety. I’ll take an occasional day like that!

I was so calm I didn’t scare this Mockingbird.

Just little things cheered me up. I got some work done, then I got my journal ready for next year and tallied my December bird sightings. I felt so organized.

Of course I sat and listened to birds. White-crowned Sparrow.

I even got to go out a little earlier to work with the horses, and ended up having one of the best sessions with Apache that I’ve ever had. The stuff we are learning is sinking in! We both had fun and got exercise.

Neither of us wanted to go back to the pens when we were finished, so Apache got to eat good grass and endure my hugs for a while.

Oh, and Connie and the chickens are doing well. I fed them some fresh chickweed and curly dock, and they even stood near each other. I turned on their heat lamp, since it’s finally cooling off tonight. They will keep each other warm.

This has been a hard blog to write, because it’s New Year’s Eve and the locals are compelled to shoot off fireworks. That means Penney is trying to merge herself with me. Luckily she eventually crawled under the bed, so I didn’t have to fake a sneeze to send her away. I love her anyway.

Thanks for being here.

A New Avian Relationship

What relationships have a positive impact on you?

Sure, my relationships with many people have had a positive impact on me. But I don’t know how well I’d be doing right now if I didn’t have my relationships with animals.

Many humans have forged strong positive bonds with their dogs and cats, as have I. Our animal companions give as well as take love and more. Just being with our pack and seeing them interact makes me happy.

Goldie’s relationship with us is very special.

And the horses also have had a huge positive effect on me, as well as leading to some angst and doubt. But no relationship is 100% positive! I’m just glad to have the chance to be a part of the lives of these very different animals.

I think I was under the impression that humans didn’t really have relationships with birds, at least for much of my life. Birds were (and wild birds still are) for observing and keeping my distance.

After getting chickens, I began to see their distinct personalities and let myself get attached to them, which is why losing all my flock but Bianca was so hard. I really was attached to Bertie Lee and her friends.

I’m enjoying Bianca’s new friends, especially Clint, who is the friendliest of the current chickens.

But I’m trying to not let myself get smitten by our newest bird, Connie 182 Gobbler. She’s a turkey, a white meat turkey. 182 was one of a dozen turkeys my friend Heather’s son raised for FFA this fall. She was always very friendly and cuddly, even as a chick (poult).

I told Heather I’d take her when show season was over, since she was too small to show, but so sweet.

Today was the day of delivery, which had to be very confusing for 182. She had never left the barn before, never seen grass, etc. then she rode in the back of a truck! Then she was in a weird place where people kept trying to make her eat and drink.

We wanted to be sure she was okay. Um, and pet her.

Heather explains that she will like it here.

After doting on 182 and telling her that her name was now Connie (in honor of my friend whose mother said her face looked like a turkey egg when she had the measles), we left her alone. The first time I checked she was still in the coop, but walking around and eating chicken seed.

When I went to feed the horses I looked over and saw something large and white in the chicken run. It was Connie! She was walking in the part that used to have a bunch of plants in it when we only had Bianca and she was outside. That turkey was taste testing everything. She discovered millet on the stalk, wild melons, and burs. It was so much fun seeing her act like a wild turkey.

The chickens aren’t acting too upset, but they stay on whatever side of the pen Connie is not pecking away in. I’ll be interested to see if they develop their own positive relationship.

I’m completely charmed by Connie, myself. She’s so soft and warm, and she has such big eyes. I hope she sticks around!

What a Year, with Armadillos

Share what you know about the year you were born.

I was born in 1958. That explains why I don’t have a trending blog and I’m not a social media influencer. I influenced social media when it was a baby.

When I was a baby, Eisenhower was US President. Much good music was being made, as rock music was also in its infancy. Cars were really huge. Most adults smoked cigarettes, including pregnant women, who would then feed their stunted babies home-made formula. Hmm. I’m lucky to be alive and not mentally stunted.

1950s giant car in Florida, it appears. Stock photo.

Other than that…many of my friends were also born in that year, mostly my high school friends. And of course, there were armadillos where I lived (Florida). They were introduced in the 1920s, the same time when my mother was introduced into Florida by birth. Coincidence? Maybe.

Since that’s all I know about 1958, being a semi-aged Boomer and therefore useless and all that, let’s discuss armadillos in Texas, where I find myself in late 2024. It turns out that they brought themselves here, migrating slowly northward from South America.

We’d have gone faster, but we only run in short bursts.

They are so popular here that they are the official state small mammal as of 1995. They are also very populous in some parts of Texas, including here in the Junction area. They don’t live in the Trans Pecos area to the west, though. Anyway. I’ve seen over a dozen since I got here, since they are out more in the daytime in winter.

Geez. So many little armored guys, all of whom were born as identical quintuplets. I saw some young ones playing last year at another state park. Darned cute.

But, did I see any birds today? Why, yes. Here’s one now.

The most exciting birds didn’t get photographed, but I did see as well as hear them on Merlin. They were a fine dark Canyon Towhee and a Western Bluebird. Yeah, I’d never spotted one of those before when I was out west!

The bird blinds still entrance me. I went to the fourth and final one today, which is where the new birds turned up (actually, in the nearby trees; the bird seed was all gone).

Cardinal wants Bewick’s Wren’s peanut butter.

I kept meeting friendly people and not judging them today. I enjoyed telling a woman from Florida about how the bird blinds work. She told me about messing up their Airstream on a narrow bridge. Eek.

No photos of the injured trailer, so enjoy my petunias.

And at a store we visited to get Christmas stuff, I talked to a woman who was cleaning the sink area. She said now she’d have to wash her hands again. I asked why, and she explained that she’d seen someone tidying up a sink area for the next pets, and decided to pass on the kindness. I told her now she’s passed it on to me! That’s the spirit of the season!

It’s also Dallas Cowboy spirit time. They played so hard last night that I put out their flag today.

I bet both those woman were born in 1958! They were cool, on first impression.

Fun Up North

That’s north of Dallas, Texas. My pseudo-granddaughter had her third birthday party today, which provided an excellent excuse to visit her actual grandmother, my friend Pouri.

I drove up yesterday afternoon (still no fun driving through Dallas) and made it in time for a fabulous Persian meal. She overdid it as usual. I’m not complaining, of course. So many herbs, so much flavor. Saffron rice, salad with figs, nuts, and pomegranate…beef kebab and chicken with tasty potatoes. Wow. And there were persimmons for dessert.

Mostly this was a great chance to catch up and talk in a relaxed way. What a wonderful thing to do. That makes two nice talks with old friends in one week! This is the perfect thing to do in uncertain times, be with people you care about.

After a nice sleep in the cute guest room, Pouri gave me a “light” breakfast of many kinds of toast and exquisite preserves, like quince and sour cherries. Pouri is really a great hostess. I tried to take mental notes, but…

She put cute birds in the bathroom for me.

After breakfast, I took a walk around the neighborhood and heard 22 birds. There was a Great Horned Owl and a Cooper’s Hawk, and many overconfident crows.

Apparently this suburb is crawling with wildlife, including multiple bobcats. I saw enough squirrels to scare Anita for life, plus some rabbits, but no bobcats. I’m as intrigued with suburbs as I was last year.

The party was this afternoon at Ellie’s new house. It made me so happy to see how well she and Jimmy have done in their careers and with their daughter. I mean, Ellie just went with it when a vampire theme was requested for the party. All the dripping blood mixed well with the Christmas decor. So cute.

All the children were cute and I got to chat with the extended family some, too. Ellie and I plan to talk next week, when she’s relaxed.

Face painting went over very well. The painter was quite skilled. Pouri and I got flowers. Why not?

I drove back home this evening. So I’m pretty darned tired, especially since I hit a lot of rain. But I’m glad I went. I can’t wait for more catch-up sessions. I’ve been hiding too long.