If you could erase one event from history, what would it be?
I think I’d rather stick with “the devil you know.” The possibility of preventing one atrocity that leads to a worse one makes me leery of even contemplating erasing an event. There always seems to be another evil lurking in the wings after one’s eliminated.
That’s also why I don’t wish anyone, even my least favorite human, would die earlier than nature intends. Just think about what may happen next. Or not. That leads to disregulation.
Breathe and think about birds, trees, or cute little dogs. I happen to have an example dog. This is a series of Benito playing.
He’s chewed the ear off this one. I love that thing his mouth doesWhy won’t the fleas die?Thinking about mischief I’m innocent Is that toy behind me?Found itGrrDive!Got itToss!Pounce!I’ll get it!Now to sit and chew a while
Who writes these prompts? I guess I can’t imagine anyone really wanting to erase an event. But maybe I read too much science fiction as a youth.
What’s a conspiracy theory you actually find believable?
I’ll tell you. I would not be at all surprised if the powers running all the world’s political entities are a class of people who aren’t citizens of any nation, are loyal only to each other, and just want everyone else to do what’s needed to support them.
Results of my conspiracy theory.
I’m running out of other theories.
Thus, I plan to continue to do what’s needed to keep me and my family mentally and physically sound, until I no longer can.
Hmm. This question brought out my existentialism. I better go find another nature book.
I’m not going to write much today. I’ve realized that being sad about the sorry state of my former employer has taken a lot out of me. Dang that empathy.
Bullfrog, don’t let someone boil you without you realizing it. That’s what happens in software.
I don’t think there are any former coworkers left. The whole documentation team is gone. Many high-level staff I worked with, and consultants I cared about. Ugh.
Do I blame AI just because all the company has done lately is go on and on about their AI acquisition? No. I blame venture capitalists who over-extend themselves and make workers pay.
I saw it coming with the first acquisition. Still it hadn’t been fun to watch. And, darn it, if they’d just put money into the good (ish) products they already had, this might not have happened. But that’s today in a nutshell. The rich treat people like pawns. Duh.
Enjoy these grackles and a dove in a swimming pool.
Write your guide to setting healthy boundaries in relationships.
Always find beauty. We all have it.
DO
Remind yourself that when someone bullies you, it’s because they feel weak.
Lower expectations from unreliable friends and family. Enjoy the good things and just accept them as they are. Griping won’t change anything.
Bear in mind you don’t have to comply with manipulation.
Listen with your heart and empathize without taking on others’ issues.
Love yourself, warts and all.
See the good in everyone but don’t make excuses for them.
Forgive those who hurt you, even if you must stay away for your safety.
Prioritize your needs; you’re as important as anyone else, so don’t always put others first.
Find the humor in situations.
Make room for silence. Meditate, pray, walk in nature. It improves your ability to bring your best self to relationships.
DON’T
Beg anyone to love you. It never works. That only took me 50 years to figure out.
Walk on eggshells to keep the peace/save a relationship/pacify a narcissist.
Believe the put-downs, insults, passive aggressive jabs, and guilt trips of wounded souls trying to make themselves feel better by belittling you.
Try to fix anyone. That’s their job.
Bear a grudge. It hurts you more than the other person.
Make negative assumptions based on appearance — talk to people.
Tease unkindly, pick on, or gossip about people who are vulnerable.
It felt good to blurt that all out. I’m sure you have your own ideas! Me throwing out unsolicited advice may well be unnecessary. Thanks for playing along.
This guy says to take a hike
More book reporting for tomorrow. Hopefully less flooding, as there was another four inches overnight.
Fact: I have no favorite emoji. I think I can express how I feel in words. I do like “lol” though it’s not an emoji and it’s taken me 20 years to come to like it. lol.
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.
No kidding, today started out like nothing was going to go right. My first sight, when I went out to check the exciting .04” of rain we got, was an unpleasant unalive mammal. An hour or so later I stepped in gross septic water because it was draining near the chicken pens.
They do have a new entrance ramp, though.
Next I sprayed cold water all over myself trying to fix the automatic waterer without turning off the water. Bright. I did fix it, and my offspring the handyman built a temporary brace to stop big, clumsy Darryl Junior from stomping on the water hose and loosening the connection. Yay.
There is now another piece of concrete and some wood where my foot is here, to stabilize the hose. Yes that’s my wet shoe. And the other thing is what I put their grit in, and it’s a pig (someone always asks).
Then I dropped stuff and nearly failed in putting mice traps in the tack room (sorry, don’t want to die of hanta virus). I got stuff all over me.
At least I had a good interlude when my Precious Stepsister called and she listened to my anxiety stuff. That’s because I gave her a rock.
Not the rock I gave her, but my message to you!
And finally, I sat down to enjoy Facebook at lunch only to discover this article, detailing how the homophobia in Texas is so bad that a children’s book author whose in-laws I’ve known for decades can be prevented from talking about his charming nonfiction books (I’ve read many of them) in elementary schools because there is one sentence in one book that acknowledges LGBTQIA+ people exist. How low can this place go? Rhetorical question.
Read all about Chris Barton and consider buying a young friend (or yourself) one of his books. As a matter of fact, I bought a copy of every book he’s written for children and sent them to my unofficial granddaughter.
And our US Senator has once again left the state when bad weather is coming. Coincidence, I’m sure.
I was pretty mad at the world much of the day, especially when the dogs found something I won’t mention and brought it into the house to fight over. While Penney tried to kill Carlton (she kept going when he stopped at Lee’s command, so Carlton lost), Harvey ate the contested item. All I can say is I’m glad I was feeding horses then. It sounded pretty yucky.
You can sorta see a scrape under his chin, but his leg is worse; he’s favoring it (but it’s not broken).
After all those small things built up, I was about to go crawl under the covers, but then I had a second good phone call of the day that cheered me up about possible not horrible developments in my life!
And we had a Screech Owl today. Yay!
See, there’s always good among the nauseating events. You just have to be patient and not spend all day hiding under the covers.
I have some firmly held beliefs that have caused me deep sadness because I dare to express them. you can be blackballed for these beliefs. And of course I realize my beliefs are aspirational goals.
I expect the following groups of people to be treated with respect and dignity by their community, leaders, and law enforcement.
Women
Children
Black, brown, red, and white people
Gays
Lesbians
Trans people
Bisexuals
Intersex people
Anyone who loves anyone else or presents as any gender they want to
Pagans
Jews
Liberal Christians
Muslims
Any other spiritual path I missed
Descendants of Pilgrims
Native Americans
US Citizens
Legal Immigrants
Undocumented immigrants
People with physical handicaps
People with mental handicaps
Those addicted to or who abuse legal or illegal substances
People who commit crimes
People who make bad mistakes
People of all political parties or groups
Criminals
Poor people
Rich people
Intellectuals
Feminists
White supremacists
Oh, pretty much everybody
I didn’t say I condone or agree with ideas or actions of everyone, but basic human decency means that you can disagree, keep yourself safe, and enforce laws respectfully. I know it can happen. I know it’s never happened 100%, but we’re doing worse now, not better.
At least my animals still like me.
It also makes me unpopular to believe that the following people should be allowed to express their thoughts in the USA:
People who agree with the current US government’s policies and actions
People who like some things about the current situation and not other things
People who disagree with or have concerns with how our leaders conduct themselves and the decisions they make
People who believe what they see with their own eyes
People who prefer to be told what to believe
This state of affairs should not turn us against each other. Please don’t let us keep falling further and further into us versus them. We all suffer when that happens. Our families, friendships, businesses, and communities suffer. We lose the ability to trust.
Kindness starts with YOU. And me.
I’m despondent tonight over losing a friend. I should not have admitted that I’m afraid of things that are happening in the US. It’s becoming more and more clear that if I want to be safe I should not question what happens, do as I’m told, keep my head down, stay inside, and shut up. Damn, I’ve tried to be a good person.
How did my weekend off go? Well, it featured some lovely conversations with dear friends and family. It always feels good to keep in touch, and I look forward to more of that. I guess that’s my current mission, to reach out and connect with people I care about, while I still can.
It’s the sunset in many ways
The governor of the state where I live has given our voting records to the national government. This will allow them to see which primary people voted in, since you have to declare which party’s ballot you want. Oddly, many people I know vote in the Republican primary because no one dares run as a Democrat, so many races are decided then. So maybe some of us wouldn’t be targeted if it comes to that.
Oh look. My outdoor plants joined the Christmas cactus to create a cheerful display while it’s cold.
Yeah, I’m not feeling any better. This whole deal where half the US lived in one version of reality and the other half lived in a completely different world only worked when there were checks and balances. The government now parrots the words of an evil regime and has their own scary police force with no incentive to follow legal process.
My bitter old white woman face
But gee, we still have birds and flowers. Yay!
As I mentioned last week, there has been a Black Phoebe here. It’s stayed for days now, and I’ve managed to see it three times.
Black Phoebe
I was very doubtful that Merlin was accurate on this one, because it’s not usually found here. But, I know what the Eastern Phoebe looks like (ours are medium gray with pale yellow breasts), and the bird I’ve seen is very dark with a very white belly, like above.
Range, which does not come close to my house.
The app also registered a Say’s Phoebe, which at least has a closer range, and I kind of believe since my friend Michelle had one show up in Merlin at her house.
Say’s Phoebe Say’s range
I now feel more confident, since remembered that part of the Merlin app is a feature where it will show you all the birds you’re likely to see on any day. Here are the ones I’m most likely to have seen today in Cameron, Texas. Note the Eastern Phoebe among my good bird buddies.
January 12, 2026
But hey, look what comes up when I type in Phoebe! If I’m going to see the two western phoebes, this would be the week!
The blackbird is there because I only searched for “phoe”
So, this has been fun to observe! It’s been really cold (for here), but the birds have been out, especially the sparrows and wrens. Other than the incredibly windy Saturday, I’ve been out enjoying them every day, along with the horses.
And of course Penney.
Funny horse story. When it got so windy and cold, I figured I should put Dusty’s new blanket on him, since he’s so thin, though fuzzy. I didn’t think it through, though, and when I brought the blanket out to show him, Dusty was scared to death! He shook and ran as far away as he could in his pen. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. I felt like I betrayed him.
On the other hand, Apache thought the blanket was cute.
I’ve left the blanket hanging on Dusty’s gate, and I put his food dish near it. He’s still not happy. I guess the old cow horse never needed a blanket before and doesn’t want one now.
Anybody need a gummy bear-themed blanket for a small horse?
Thank you for reading, for being kind to others, and for cherishing your life.
The Hermits' Rest 