work – Page 5 – The Hermits' Rest

Going to Bed Cooler

What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

The important thing about going to bed tonight is that it’s in my own bedroom, where I can wind down in comfort. Yes, the parts (mostly) arrived and the upstairs air conditioning unit is fixed. I hated to complain, since downstairs was fine and we are very fortunate to have the motorhome to sleep in (made challenging by the malfunctioning slide—those things are a lot of trouble). I’m happy to be upstairs doing my evening things.

Highlight of my day: new conchos for Apache’s saddle. One of his got lost. Let’s see if I can get them on.

To answer the question, these days I head upstairs at around 9 pm unless there’s something interesting on television (rare). I get ready for bed, but then I stay up blogging (as I am now), adding observations to iNaturalist, and reading. It’s nice and quiet and comfy, so I go to sleep when I feel like it, usually 10:30-11.

Here’s the male of the grasshopper I shared yesterday. Roseate skimmer. Or carmine.

Like in the olden days, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and read some more. They say using your phone wakes you up, but I select pretty boring articles. That helps when I wake up concerned about out someone or something.

One concern was that I discovered my very important knitting needle was broken.

I’m usually up around 7 am, except for Thursdays, when I’m up at 6:15 to do open office hours at 7, for the Europeans who might need help with Planview apps. Few do. On the other hand, lots of folks needed help today! It evens out. I’ll really miss all the interesting people I meet once this job ends!

I’ll have more time to ride in the motorhome and look at weather phenomena then.

You may note that I sleep a lot. I always have needed more sleep than many people. I expected to need sleep as I got older, especially since my thyroid medication has bumped up my metabolism a bit. But I sure enjoy 9 hours. Lee sleeps more than me!

I’m yawning like Carlton, so time for bed!

I do fine on less sleep, but I don’t want to keep Lee up. If I could, I’d stay up so I could watch Colbert or the Daily Show. I miss them, but avoiding too much gnashing of teeth over news is healthy for me.

So Much to Be Happy About

Sure. Given the choice, I’ll choose being happy. I don’t think that was always my choice. Sometimes I chose something other than happiness. Melodrama? Ennui? Risk-taking? Emotional masochism? Whatever it was, it’s gone.

More space in my brain for wildflower appreciation.

That leaves so much room for positive experiences, contentment with whatever comes up, and inner peace. Of course, there are moments of wonder and happy times, but I’m loving the contentment I’ve achieved. More challenges will come up, but I have good tools for coping.

Speaking of challenges, I bet baby Hope will provide some, but cute ones.

Work has been fun, because I’m learning new ideas and helping out others. People are just so interesting when you just observe them and help out. I’m out of the office politics game, and love the detachment.

Just observing and noticing is way better than getting emotionally involved!

Horses are still fun, too. Today was Apache’s lesson and I got to go with Sara. That won’t happen much more in the future, so I enjoyed watching her and Aragorn trying new things.

Apache spent more time getting his hooves trimmed. I think he gets his done as much as I do. But it’s his lot in life, being metabolically challenged.

My new helmet matches all his tack. It even has cactuses on it.

We enjoyed our lesson until side passing time. We just aren’t good at that. I guess we know what to work on!

He’s a good horse. And I washed all the sweat off.

The heat is back, so I’m pretty tired. And my back hurts where I fell from Drew last week. Plus, our pool pump seems to have gone out. Always something to deal with, but hey, I’m not hospitalized like poor Kathleen has been all week (another spider bite). Tomorrow will be better, no doubt!

Maybe I’ll see the black mud daubers! No, these don’t sting you.

Career Daze

What is your career plan?

I’m sort of past the career planning phase. I am pleased with what I eventually accomplished in my rambling career path. I helped lots of people learn various things and succeed with their research, parenting, or business goals. I parented two people who grew to adulthood and are contributing to society. And l learned a lot!

I guess I went through all those stages, and became a butterfly whose mission is fulfilled but still wants to fly around some.

Now, as I approach the traditional retirement age, I have no desire to stop helping others or learning. I really have no desire to stop doing my current paid job, but if it ends, I’ve got plenty to do and ideas for more nature education activities.

So, no plan. Just possibilities. As a pretty healthy person in early old age with enough income to support myself, I have the luxury to wait and see what’s next.

Time to be strong as I can and fly, like a tiger bee fly.

What shall this privileged person do to improve her world? We will see. I just need to stay positive and open to possibilities.

Enough drivel for one night.

If I Could Do a Job for a Day

What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?

The first thing I thought of on this topic is something I’d probably do for many, many days. I’d like to work at a State Park as a nature interpreter and do guided hikes to help people see what they don’t realize is all around them.

I have to admit it. Most of this blog is me doing just that.

Look, a sad ground crab spider, purportedly!

Well, it’s my blog, so I might as well do what I enjoy. I’m sure you’d rather read about birds and butterflies than about my self confidence issues and internal struggles, of which there are many right now. Zzzzz.

The best Nature news today is that it didn’t rain much. Maybe some of the water can head down to the aquifer. After removing much mud and hair, I tried to walk Apache some today, but everywhere we went had standing water. But, hey, we walked briskly and he was fine with it! He’s better at last!

No horse picture, so look! A green heron!

Same deal with Drew, sans grooming, but we at least spent time together and bonded. He bonked his head on mine in an unfortunate gate/wind incident, but we both handled it well. He did get Fiona’s leftovers out of the deal. She didn’t eat because I’d wormed her. Everyone else took the wormer just fine.

Look! Something shaped like a worm! It’s a checkered white caterpillar. Those guys have been busy.

I thought I’d share with you what I encountered after getting the mail today. Dozens of snout butterflies. The soundtrack is dickcissels.

A few butterflies

And that’s it for today. I hope we all get to do our dream job, at least for a day.

Same Work, Different Tools

How has technology changed your job?

I’m a technical writer/trainer/instructional designer as my paying job. I also do a lot of editing. This kind of profession has probably been around since there were jobs. Someone has to teach others skills needed in various professions, and someone has to record information accurately.

Someone had to pass along fence building skills on ranches, so birds could poop out seeds and create rows of trees on fence lines. These are Eve’s necklacepods (*Styphnolobium affine*)

I’m pretty sure there are technical manuals in hieroglyphics. No doubt scribes hand-wrote instructions for doing things correctly. Certainly people have shown others how to perform tasks (weaving, sewing, carpentry, brewing, and such) without need for writing. Maybe they drew pictures. Teachers have always had to be there to pass down necessary skills, whether formally or informally.

So, while I don’t work in the world’s oldest profession, skills like mine have always been needed to pass on traditional skills. Teaching may be the second oldest profession.

Technology has affected what I do like it has any form of teaching. It’s provided new tools to create material and given us options like videos, which any of us can now use (to either teach or confuse, judging from the videos on knitting I’ve seen).

I need a genetics teacher to explain how the white versions of flowers come up.

Of course, what I teach about is software, which wouldn’t be a subject if we didn’t have computers at our fingertips. Sometimes I wish I could teach something more tangible or timeless. Software comes and goes in a flash. No one needs my WordPerfect teaching skills today!

I figure no matter what new technology comes up, I’ll be using it to share knowledge with others. That’s my passion.

Conversely, I’ll also keep wanting to learn. It’s why I enjoy my journey with trying to ride my horses skillfully and care for them appropriately. No matter how old I get, I want to keep moving and learning. Just look at my posture! I hardly recognize myself.

I’m glad to have a job that’s always relevant, no matter how times and technology change. I’m just as glad to have hobbies that have been around a long time but remain relevant, like equestrian skills and crafts!

End of ramble. Here’s another picture of me and Apache, this time looking medieval.

Complimented and Content

What was the best compliment you’ve received?

I’ve had some much appreciated compliments during my life, though like so many others, I tend to discount compliments (oh, that can’t be true!) and dwell on criticism. That’s not a healthy pattern!

I took this photo before we left the state park to remember when I need to settle my mind.

So I’ve been trying to pay more attention to any compliments that come my way, soak them in, and express gratitude for them. One I loved came when I had only been at my current job for a few months. One of the subject matter experts told his colleagues how much he enjoyed my training videos, because I have such a soothing voice that it makes even project management software interesting. That was unexpected! I do think I have a pleasant professional voice, and I had good training thanks to all my singing and tips from a former supervisor who reads books for the blind.

Visually impaired people can enjoy honeysuckle because it smells so good.

One reason I enjoy my current job is that not only do I enjoy the work, but people let me know they appreciate what I create for them. Of course there is criticism, but it’s kind and helpful. I can improve! Win.

Hawthorn looked like a bridal bouquet to me. My compliments to the plant!

Here’s my big takeaway. The thing I find most important about compliments is how good it can feel when you let someone else know something that you like about them. A compliment that’s sincere, unexpected, and insightful can really brighten someone’s day. I most assuredly get more out of delivering a well deserved compliment than receiving one (though both are good!).

What I can do without are insincere compliments that aren’t even well thought out. That’s more like flattery designed to get you to do something or buttering you up for some unpleasant request. Like talking to a poor salesperson. Yuck. If you can’t compliment someone accurately, don’t try.

But I was glad to get home. I missed the horses and Fiona. (And dogs!)

And that’s my advice after a long day of work and travel down roads so bumpy that my watch gave me exercise credit for them!

It was hard to crochet, too but I finished this bag to hold my phone in Seneca. The truck cab lacks amenities like cubbies.

I Learn a Lot

What is the last thing you learned?

Since I fell asleep before I could blog last night, I figure I should answer a question today. If only I could remember the thing I learned at dinner tonight. I remember saying, “I didn’t know that!” But what I didn’t know has fled my brain. I guess that’s another hazard of getting up there in years.

Speaking of getting older, we broke into the tres leches birthday cake last night. Mmm.

But I learn things every day, so I’m not surprised it doesn’t all stick. This week has been particularly “full” of intense interactions at work, along with horse stuff, so there’s less room in my brain today. It’s all good and fulfilling intensity, though. By gosh a lot more people know how to use Planview Portfolios software today than last week.

If only I could train animals as well as I do people.

I’ve been concentrating so hard at work that when Kathleen came into my office to surprise me I jumped a mile. Scared the person I was in a meeting with, too. That’s concentration!

Speaking of Kathleen, we know wherever she goes, scary creatures follow. When we came home from a lovely steak dinner this evening, what appeared in the driveway? A snake. My first sighting on the year. She really seems to attract reptiles and thugs that sting.

I did get out to see some harmless plants and insects today. I get such a kick out of looking at them closely, even if the photos end up not too great.

The spring flowers have another great value: they’ve made the air smell wonderful here. Both the dewberries and the bluebonnets have delightful scents. Today was excellent because the wind was from the north. That means the smells of cow and horse poop were blowing away from me. And the tenants have stopped feeding fermented hay. Ahh.

I’ve been wondering how Drew is doing. Today Jackie was coming to Tarrin’s to do bodywork on him. I keep checking my email for her report. However, she did come here yesterday. She helped Apache deal with soreness from the last few days of hard work. His back feet weren’t moving right when he turned. She sent a video of him turning better.

A horse turning

Most interesting to me is that she also took a look at good old Dusty. He’d been looking painful lately and I wanted to be sure it wasn’t anything serious. And it wasn’t! It’s just his fused spine makes him uncomfortable sometimes. Otherwise he is in good shape and his muscles are working right. I was relieved. Plus Jackie said he was a sweet guy who tried to do everything she asked him to do. Aww.

Aw, Shucks

Today was my birthday, and I expected to spend the day working, then doing horse stuff, including taking Drew to his re-education camp. I did all that, but when I came home well after dark I found birthday balloons on the mailbox, hanging geraniums in baskets on the front porch, and a nice meal being cooked. Then my son and his partner showed up, so we had a wonderful family dinner!

I even got birthday cards and a tres leches cake from the local bakery. It has to marinate, so we got to enjoy a sampler of baked goods for dessert after our tacos and homemade guacamole. It was so kind of my family to do this. You could have blown me over with a feather!

It was just one of those very full days. I enjoy days with challenges that take work to solve, but you can cope. Work was that way today, with laughter on top of it. Wow, it’s great to have a good job and supportive team!

I have no work photos, so here’s a willow branch covered in dew.

Horses were also challenging but do-able. Apache was a mess when I got him from the pasture so I had to wash him off. I think that helped. I was also able to get Drew haltered and ready to go to Tarrin’s safely.

Once at Tarrin’s he was back in his old pen, but he was jumpy at construction going on, new horses, and mares next to him. They also got excited and ran around their pen dozens of times. We kept wondering if they’d ever stop!

Aragorn and Apache managed to do their lessons, though. I got a lesson at putting on Apache’s new saddle pad, and we changed out his straps so he’s all green now. Snappy.

I am pleased with the progress my fine gelding and I are making. Tarrin purposefully got Apache annoyed so I could practice settling him down. Maybe this will help when he’s at Sara’s again. Still, he’s doing trot transition work very well and I’m proud of him (and me—lots of butt bouncing). Bonus: Tarrin gave me chocolate ale to take home! And nail strips!

Tarrin took this picture to show how straight he was standing, just as he was going to shake his head.

The last couple of days have given me much to be grateful for! Hoping it stays this nice!

My Next Challenge

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?

The next six months bring a lot of challenges. There’s no way to avoid changes at the macro and micro level. My main one will be to decide whether to retire or keep working. If I retire, my income goes way down, so I’ll have to change a lot. If I keep working, I’ll still be dealing with changes made by the company where I work.

I guess the good thing about being a “senior citizen” is that whatever happens, the consequences won’t last too long, because neither will you. Ha ha. Elder humor. And yes, I do realize I could drag on another 30 or more years. I plan to be ancient.

My fingernails will keep me alive by being so loud.

Today was fine, other than human beings disappointing me (vandalism at the nearby cemetery and getting a weird email from the city saying the Red House on Fannin had been reported for…something).

I saw the first bluebonnets on our road, had a nice ride on Apache, and enjoyed the moon for the second evening in a row. Lee and I watched it rise while we sat by the pool discussing our challenges.

Tomorrow should be fun, so I’ll just leave it there.

I Like Candy?

What’s your favorite candy?

Weird question. I’d say my current fave is a salted caramel milk chocolate square thing you can get from Costco. One is plenty.

I needed a Milky Way bar this afternoon to give me energy to do chores after work. I wish it had helped me realize my Master Naturalist meeting was tonight. I wrote it down on the wrong Thursday in my calendar. Buh.

Before spacing out, I had a long but fun day, especially when a nice woman taught me how to build a chat bot in MS Teams. I’m not sure if it’s what I actually need, but I had fun messing with the technology.

Then I headed out to horse world without a care in the world.

Drew walked right up to me and indicated he was not interested in working with me, so I put him in his pen and had fun with Apache. He was very interested in getting some fun and exercise in. He acted thrilled to be groomed (I was thrilled to groom him, because he’s shedding! On time! The medicine may be working!

When I took him out to do some slow walk and trot loops (adding more straight walking in), he decided to jump the cavaletti. After a try or two he was trotting over all the logs with vigor. When I sent him the other way after a bit of a rest, he got the zoomies and literally flew over everything at a canter, three times. When I stopped him, he had that look on his face he gets when he knows he did a good thing.

So we left all the other horses to wait for supper while we had a nice walk over to some old grass that won’t kill him, as a reward. I’m glad I had that Milky Way bar, because he had me zipping with him. It was fun.

Daily Bird

Today I heard yet another sound I’d been missing since summer, the sound of a mockingbird going through its repertoire of songs. All winter they’ve just been chirping, like the cardinals and blackbirds also did. I reveled in my mini concert this morning!

Other birds are singing more rather than just giving short calls. The tufted titmice are now bellowing their shrill song, and to my surprise, the brown-headed cowbird has a very pleasant tinkling chiming song that I heard a lot today. See, they aren’t all bad.