Just a quick hello from my fancy new phone to say I’m about to crash. I had many errands to do today, since I am not allowed to work this week. All but grocery shopping occurred but everything took longer than expected thanks to a nice rainy day.
I could fit in my birding station to watch the rain until it got windy.
First I indulged myself and went to Michael’s, the craft store. I try to go as seldom as possible but I needed a few things, like spray sealant for my silly painted rocks, more paint, and embroidery scissors, because I lost my RV pair. I had a good time looking at odd Christmas ornaments and such.
After the rain were cool clouds.
Next got my phone, which is an iPhone 17 Air. It’s very light. I still liked my other phone but it had some issues, so here I am with this golden one. This camera is a little better, too—not as good as the Pro, but I’m pleased. The new phone also came in very fast. I’d ordered it Friday evening and it arrived today. I let the young man at the store put the front cover on. I always screw that up.
Then I headed off for my mammogram. I’m a good person who occasionally does hard things. The new machines don’t hurt as much but I forgot that I have an allergic reaction to either their disinfectant or the machine, so I got an unpleasant boob rash. The technician gave me antihistamines. I was fine.
I quickly went home to set the new phone up, but it refused to comply when asked to download from the cloud. Since I got partially started, I had to spend HOURS unable to text, get calls, or check Facebook. Argh.
Sunset calmed me down, even though I was on my horse.
Nonetheless all is well. I made it to Apache’s lesson though he was filthy with mud and still damp from the rain. I just took out his burs and loaded him up. It’s good we went, since I was dying to see Tarrin’s new arena cover. It’s great, and didn’t scare Apache at all!
Riding in the arena.
Ooh, the other thing I did today was iron on my bird patches I got at the Master Naturalist conference. My Scissortail on my jeans is perfect. You can see the heron on a denim shirt in the horse photo.
It’s gorgeous.
Whew. Not working is tiring.
(I’m glad Tarrin took pictures for me today, or I’d have very little to share!)
Oh, you’d suspect I found metaphorical heaven here on the ranch in the beautiful sunset light.
Front pond at sunset with no clouds.
That is a nice thought! It was a beautiful day, and my sunset walk was pretty darned heavenly.
Same view. Other side of pond.
However, the Heaven I found was not for me. It was for Lucky here.
Hi, I’m Lucky.
You see, I went to feed the chickens and noticed the feed bag was rather well chewed. So, I picked up the bag. I was not surprised to see that there were little creatures in my sealed food bin. At least four tiny mice running around on a layer of chicken feed. That could be Heaven for tiny rodents!
I had trouble getting mouse photos. I was kind of grossed out.
That’s when I saw that the mice weren’t alone. Lucky was in there with them. Now, being in a safe warm box full of tasty morsels is any rat snake’s idea of heaven! Lucky is young, but climbed well enough to get in!
At least four mice here.
Well. Yuck. So, I took out all the food the mice hadn’t gotten to yet. One big bag I took out and emptied onto the ground. That’s where Lucky was hiding. That’s when I picked her up and took her over by the hay bales and let her go (former caregiver for a rat snake, so I have the skills).
Thanks, Suna.
I was able to go back to my violated storage container and create an exit for the mice. If they are still there tomorrow I’ll eject them when I clean and disinfect my storage box. I sure hope it hasn’t developed a hole in it. I’m pretty sure all these creatures got in when I had the lid up.
I’m outa here. Thanks for the hay and food!
Anyway, this was all kinda icky. Heck, I was a suburban band mom not all that long ago. I’m not always the tough rancher gal I’d like to be. That’s why I went on that sunset walk. I needed to breathe fresh air.
Ah, a beautiful clasping coneflower that thinks it’s spring.
I did discover multiple spring flowers starting to grow. I assume the next freeze will slow them down, but right now it’s spring-like.
Go back to sleep, little paintbrush!
Ah, before I forget, I got my “furniture” set up in the birding station. Two low stools are a table and footrest. They were a pain to put together because the legs are slanted, so I had to smoosh them together to get the bottoms to fit into the tops. I just about didn’t have the arm strength. But I prevailed.
See what I mean?
I also got another weatherproof storage box that was easier to put together because it was cheap plastic. I will not store mouse food in it, just my binoculars and cushion in case of rain. It also can serve as visitor seating. So far, the only visitor has been Harvey.
I need to figure out what to do with the leftover wood. I’m not sure if there’s a plan to use it.
Notice that the inside walls are also finished. This is one classy outdoor folly. My friend Tandy says it looks like the stand where Lucy in Charlie Brown comics used to dispense her mental health advice.
I need a sign that says, “The birder is in” perhaps.
Sorta like Lucy. And I AM crabby.
Thinking of all of you, especially those dealing with health challenges.
I don’t know what to do but laugh. This month has just been chock full of unpleasant stuff, but like one of those clown toys from when I was a kid, when I’m hit I just fall down and pop back up.
It the right image but the toy looks best up. Image from Pexels.
That’s new for me. I used to fall apart. Now I react, but deal with it better. The bad news isn’t everything in life, I realized at last. There’s always good, too. Here’s an example.
Yesterday I’d been thinking how proud of myself I was. I’d paid my credit cards down and could see them being all gone in a few weeks. Ha ha. Wishful thinking! I’d only get that feeling for a few hours.
I’d been looking forward to yesterday for a long time. My friend Lynn Hagan was receiving an award from Texas A&M, and she’d invited some friends to attend the reception and banquet. We had to wear nice clothes!
Lynn on a big screen
I went to pick up my friend Pamela, who defied all the odds and was not late. We were enjoying a trip down the back roads of Milam County, on our way to get Phyllis, when I got a phone call from the contracting company I work for. as I tried to navigate unfamiliar roads I was informed that Dell has decided to end my contract next week. I’m out of work!
I’m impressed by how well I handled the call. I’d had inklings something was up, though I won’t know for sure until I talk to my supervisor Monday. I’m more annoyed that they couldn’t wait until the contract ended so I’d have time to get Social Security set up (if I do get it…times are uncertain). But I’m just fine. I’ll wait to see what the story is there, and in the meantime I’ll see what’s out there. It will be okay.
I admit I was not feeling great as I drove to College Station, but I ended up meeting many fascinating people and making friends at the reception and meal. It felt so good to be in a room full of humanities and science majors! I miss being around people of my background sometimes, though I feel like an intellectual elite person when I say that. It was fun violently agreeing on many topics and making everyone feel welcome.
Centerpieces were all white. Lovely.
I’m glad we were able to go support Lynn as she got her huge framed award.
I couldn’t sleep last night but I did not lay there and blame myself for the job thing or panic about loss of income. I just couldn’t sleep.
But today I did just fine, got all animals at least partly groomed. Mabel kept asking to be brushed more. By the time she decided to leave, her mane was gleaming. And Fiona let me work on her, too. Yay.
Then we left.
Today we are at Inks Lake State Park, which is too crowded for me. But our friend Jen is here, too, which will make it fun to do bird stuff. I’m going to work on my resume and try not to kick myself for dyeing my hair ends purple. Makes me look eccentric.
All the ideas I got from reflecting on my tarot reading last night swirled around me today. With the nudge I got that maybe I CAN get through these times and help others if I do what it takes to keep me centered, I decided to up my grounding ante.
I got enough time in today to enjoy nature, meditate well, and really see the big picture of what I’m surrounded by—the natural world and its order. Not always peaceful or perfect, but adapting as things change. Thanks, birds and clouds!
The clouds and sunset were gorgeous today.
After all the warmth and grounding I got from Apache and Dusty yesterday, I decided Mabel from the Stable needed a turn. She’d been looking at me with kindness and interest lately.
She looks happy, not worried.
So, after Apache did his workout, I haltered Mabel, which is her least good skill, and gave her some extra alfalfa while I groomed and de-burred her. Neither was easy. She had mud dried into clay on her coat, which even with my nails I couldn’t completely eliminate. And while her tail is a breeze to get smooth, her mane is another story. For one thing, it’s way up there. She’s a tall Thoroughbred-style mama. And it’s very fine. But I did it, and noted that she was pretty patient.
At least her tail finally grew out.
As her “reward” I took her on a walk, and just for fun, did some longe-line work in the round pen. She was fine, other than getting a little excited toward the end. Her ears were always forward and she stayed focused. I got her to back up and side pass a bit. Well.
That was a lot more fun than working with Drew has been lately. I think we will pivot and play with Mabel while Drew gets a break and maybe finds a home with someone who can work with him the way he needs. If not, he may be the pasture ornament for a while. An expensive one. But I still love him! He’s just too much for my skill set.
I’d look much better without the burs. Yes, I’ll working on him tomorrow.
On the other hand, I feel very calm and centered working with the other three, so that’s good!
Another bucolic scene of nature and peace, brought to you by our back pond.
To me it was exciting, anyway. I finally heard, saw, and sorta photographed a Red-headed Woodpecker in Texas. I knew they were here, but they’d been eluding me all this time.
There, in the tree! A round head!
Yeah, only I could know that’s what’s in the photo. But Merlin identified it, and we all saw it flying between a live and dead tree. Tarrin sees them often. Now I have!
The dead tree, with a moody Black Vulture.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we saw Sandhill Cranes flying over on our way home. They must have been looking for a pond to land on. They are always a seasonal highlight.
The sunset heading home.
Another bird highlight for me was getting to watch our local Belted Kingfisher do a big dive. It then politely sat on a limb in the back pond so I could practice using my new binoculars. Dang, they are good, even though smaller and lighter than my other ones.
At least you can tell this one is a Kingfisher.
Besides all the birding, it was a busy, busy work day followed by a busy horse lesson, where Apache made some progress. I was pretty tired from chasing my horses around, because though I’d successfully moved them from the front pasture but neglected to check if the gate behind the pens was closed. That was not fun, especially when Mabel tried to get in the trailer with Aragorn. I didn’t see that coming.
No photos of that action, so enjoy this morning’s sunrise. Huh. I took photos of both sunrise and sunset today!
I thought way too much about adult topics like real estate, bills, car maintenance, and such. Then I started watching two old men call each other liars with no way to verify who’s telling the truth (US Presidential Debate).
Then I left to watch the sunset.
I’m done. Just done. Back to concentrating very hard on the beauty of the world around me and the goodness that’s everywhere.
Like this! Whoever thought they’d see a Great Blue Heron at the top of an electric pole!
For example, we got help with a broken air conditioning unit so fast it made my head spin. I’m ever so grateful to have caring people in my life. That’s a good part of adulting.
Halfway through the year. It’s getting hot, but still no 100° days yet.
I leave you with bunnies. I saw at least three today, but I think these photos are the same one, morning and afternoon.
Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.
I do have a to-do list. It’s my bullet journal. I get pleasure from checking off things I’ve done. Here’s a confession. There’s one thing I rarely even put on my list, because I hate doing it.
Looking at clouds during sunset rarely gets omitted.
Yes, I hate hanging my clothes back up in my closet. I have always hated this, since childhood.
There’s no reason for me to dislike it. I have a huge closet with windows and a fancy light fixture. But it piles up. Maybe admitting this will inspire me to get I. There, grab a stack of velvet hangers, and file my clothes where they belong. I should have space after recent purges. Maybe. (No, I’m not posting a photo of my closet.)
Enjoy some shiny leaves, instead.
I did get many items on my to-do list done today. I dutifully attended the Master Naturalist Board retreat and took notes. It’s always good to listen to the group’s ideas and get excited about possibilities for field trips and activities. Even though I wasn’t feeling well, I got through it. (Yeah, my health has me puzzled — my joints have started hurting in my hands, and my knees and back are unhappy with me for no reason I can figure out. Plus I suddenly have ringing in my ears, which has never bothered me before. Time for a checkup I guess.)
Linda Jo found an excellent insect during our break, during which she and I looked for flowers. Naturally.
After checking that item off, I took the horses over to Tarrin’s for an unscheduled visit. (Make that “we” since Lee drove.)
Apache was the easier horse to deal with. Tarrin and her hoof consultant picked out some boots for him to wear while his abscess heals. I’d say they cost more than any shoes I ever bought, except I have some really nice cowboy boots.
I was relieved that she got him to pick up both front feet to get cleaned and treated. He let her put the boots on, too. They will stay until Monday, when the farrier comes. It took him a while to adjust, but I think this will help him. Now he just needs to shed all that long hair. He’s so hot!
They will never be this clean again. They are also reflective!
Drew was acting less weird today, but I was very glad to get her to look at him. He just hasn’t been himself with all that snapping and kicking. Plus today he had blood on his legs. He’s been getting into something!
Quickly, Tarrin figured out his neck hurt. He had a huge knot in it. No wonder he didn’t like being groomed or having his mane brushed. She worked hard on this neck, and even Lee could see him relaxing.
Push pushTwist twistThere are always helpful dogs.
She then had him stand on the special pads that are supposed to make him feel better. He kept pawing at them and sniffing them. We don’t know what that meant. But he seemed less tense and grouchy. I’m interested to see how he is tomorrow when I groom him and pay special attention to his neck.
Hmm. Let’s see if this works.
I sure am glad I have such a good trainer who cares about my animals. The horses have certainly benefited! Me, too!
I’d give her real flowers if I could. It’s Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis) and is tiny.
There’s a lot to be thankful for, even if I don’t get all my chores done every day. Those clothes are waiting patiently.
Today I was thankful for many interesting cloud formations.
There’s a certain glow here at the ranch house, and it’s not a tree or a menorah. Nor is it the glow of my cheeks from hanging out in the woods listening to birds.
Two red-shouldered hawks bonding.
The glow is from the uranium in the gift from my spouse that was procured today. Yep.
Where we went
There really wasn’t much going on here today, but since we’re going out of town Monday, we didn’t want to camp. So we went for a drive and ended up in scenic Waco, Texas, an hour north of us (though we wandered around to get there.
Now, it’s not like nothing happened. I did my nails. Reindeer Whisperer and a bow.
When we got to Waco we bypassed all tourist attractions, even the ones I like (mammoth remains, cute zoo, wetland park) and just explored different neighborhoods from poor to gentrifying to comfortable to fancy ones by the lake.
I guess it’s pretty sad that my first highlight of the trip was eating at Bush’s Chicken. It’s my favorite, crunchy on the outside and hit and juicy in the inside. Plus there’s fried okra.
I’m about to lose my cup here.
After we ate, Lee decided he wanted to go to an antique store, so searched out the closest one. It was a good idea.
Where we ended up.
We went to an old neighborhood with lots of restored houses, where Show and Tell Antiques is located. (Link is to Facebook page.) This place is great fun for antique lovers and those interested in old houses in need of restoration.
Landing on second floor.
I was too busy looking at stuff in every nook and cranny to take pictures but loved the old kitchen and bathrooms in the 1908 house built for a Doctor Pepper founder (another Waco claim to fame).
Check out that stove and floor in the kitchen!
This place is extra cool. Since I love glassware and china, I had a blast. I also enjoyed talking to family members, who shared lots of history and may have been making sure we didn’t shoplift.
I was amazed at this collection of very old needlework magazines, which I did not get, because, well, I already have a lot of this kind of thing.
I honestly wasn’t going to get anything until I saw two tiny purple hobnail glass containers, probably for matches or toothpicks. They are just perfect t for my window display of purple glass in my bathroom.
Tiny but cute.
Then I went in a dark corner under the stairs. What did I see? Vaseline glass. Not fake. And by gosh there were things shaped like logs. Even the little legs on the items looked like tree stumps.
Little logs
So, if you aren’t a collector of art glass, you might not know how cool this Vaseline glass (with bonus opalescence) is. It has uranium in it! I know a couple of collectors with many interesting pieces that I’ve enjoyed looking at, but I never had anything. This little set is so perfect for a nature lover…I glowed with love.
The log is a sugar bowl and the pump is a creamer, I learned. By the way, it’s safe to display.
Lee thinks I’m weird but got it for me as a Yule gift, a bit early. We didn’t get much bargaining, but I was ok with it. I’ve checked the prices online. You can pay more or less. But look, it glows in black light!
Now I feel extra justified in buying that black light flashlight!
I’m not sure where I’ll put the little keepsakes. I have them in my bedroom but they disappear against the yellow walls. I’ll put them I. My corner hutch, where I can see them from bed, perhaps. But this pleased me a lot. I always wanted some Vaseline glass, but never found exactly what I wanted. It was this. (The set is not particularly uncommon but not overly plentiful either—it was made by Northwood probably in the early twentieth century.)
Me, thrilled, Lee dubious.
As a bonus, I got to enjoy clouds and the sunset on the way home. So good. The sun also glows with scary rays, so it fits!
Daily Bird
It was rather quiet this morning when I went out, but I ended up with 38 birds heard, and some great viewing experiences. The two owls at the top of the post were impressive, but I also enjoyed watching the antics of a teeny red-eyed vireo. But the bird of the day is one I hadn’t heard here until today, the red-breasted nuthatch.
It’s officially cute.
I didn’t see this one, but I heard it. I saw one in Buescher State Park, though, and it was cute as heck going up and down a tree. I’m fond of birds that climb like that, like the brown creeper.
Time for more of that honesty that people either like or have become tired of lately.
Sometimes life feels like an unpleasant amusement park ride. I hate Ferris wheels.
I’ve been dealing with some painful consequences of mental illness for the past few weeks, both my own and the issues of others. I wouldn’t wish some of the struggles I’ve seen on anyone. It’s particularly hard, because it seems to come from innate struggles (along with “nurture” problems, many of which stem from being raised by people whose mental illnesses caused them to inflict pain on those around them). And I got so down that I managed to forget what caused it until a friend reminded me there’s a name for what I deal with.
Somewhere among my mother’s maternal ancestors, some powerful genes that make life hard for those who inherited them got wedged firmly in the family line. I don’t know how far back it goes, or which part of my grandmother’s family passed the issues on to her and her siblings, but wow, it left a strong legacy.
Moonrise in the night. Like a light in a dark time.
I’m going to say this: I love my children, but I’m sorry that I passed on the tendency to have severe depression, bipolar, learning disabilities, and narcissism on to them. I am truly grateful that they are not extending this line forward, even though the good parts (intelligence, artistic gifts, and the ability to write well) won’t move forward to future generations, either. That’s difficult to say but seeing how my family inflict pain on each other and how deeply it affects the two of us plagued by RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria) I just don’t want it to continue.
I don’t blame any member of my mother’s family for behaving how they do and making the choices they make. A combination of inherited instability and “abuse” (for lack of a better word) can make people do weird things to try to bring peace into their lives. My sister has cut off the rest of her biological family from her life. I do understand how, from her perspective, it’s what she needs to do, but I can still wish she’d gotten the help she needed and enabled the family who love her, warts and all, to be a part of her life.
The view from my Rapunzel Tower at sunset
On the other hand, those of us who have had to try to find ways to deal with how members of my mom’s family treated us are probably better off ending that pattern. My insane drive to not be rejected or abandoned has led me to try way too hard to please people who can’t be pleased, and that’s not helpful to any of us. Anyway, the struggle is real, and I’m back on track to managing my own issues better again, and I wish everyone else well as they deal with their issues.
I’d actually gotten pretty darn good at not blaming myself for every single thing people close to me say, do, or seem to do in my messed-up brain. I just slipped, and as I was trying to express this morning when talking to a therapist friend, you can intellectually know there will be setbacks in mental health recovery, but your limbic system still gets all out of whack. Repeat after me: other people’s actions are their responsibility.
There’s where I sit.
Dealing with all this while holed up in a tiny room like a short-haired Rapunzel in her tower is not ideal. But I can always find ways to cope. At least I can watch Amazon Prime without worrying Lee about using up all our bandwidth. So, I watched three nice movies yesterday and that helped a lot! I watched Air, 80 for Brady, and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. All movies with strong women who made me smile.
Nice random people!The other side of sunsetA tiny bird who flew very high
Plus, there’s always random people you meet, along with the sunrises, sunsets, birds, and bats. This Rapunzel really isn’t trapped in her tower at all.
This entire weekend I did stuff I wanted to do, when I wanted to. Now, that’s relaxing! Even sweeping the chicken house and getting rid of feed bags was done on MY time. I didn’t breathe poop, by the way. Lesson learned.
I’m glad you wanted to pet ME!
I do have a funny horse story. I was out in the pasture heading to bring in Apache, who still likes to play hard to get. I know I’m sending off good vibes, because every other horse comes right to me. And that’s what was funny. Fiona had already latched on to my side as I walked to Apache. Suddenly I heard thundering hooves, then in a puff of dust, Drew’s head appeared directly beside my face. He was just SURE I was looking for him and he was concerned he was late, because he had to pee. Obviously I have no trouble catching Drew. Eventually I once again had to maneuver around three horses and a donkey who were dying for me to take them off to be groomed.
They are all right there. Happy to see me.
Now, once Apache decides he’s ready, he is no trouble at all, and seems to enjoy walking around, being groomed, and riding. He just wants to be the one to decide it’s time to go do stuff.
I’m working on letting Suna be the boss.
He’s so much fun, though. I’m not complaining at all. We have had many years to develop this relationship, so we’ll keep working and I’ll enjoy the ride, literally.
I got a bath, so I could roll and get all dirty again five minutes after this picture was taken.
The rest of today, like yesterday, was spent knitting, floating in the pool, napping, and hanging out. Lee, Anita, and I even got to go out for dinner! My sour cream enchiladas were great, plus they didn’t mess with the temporary crown I need to keep in until Friday.
Naturally, ha ha, I took some nature pictures. This little garden spider got quite a catch!
The aviary kept me all excited again today, though. We got to watch the wren feed her brood and enjoy all those fledgling barn swallows darting and swooping along with their parents. They seemed pretty proud of themselves to be able to sit on the light fixtures.
Sitting and swooping.
And to top it all off, there were more genuine clouds in the sky tonight (there were some yesterday, too, but no rain).
Last night’s clouds
That led to an amazing moonrise and sunset. The moon was pretty such a short time. I’m glad I was taking my time and enjoying everything that came along tonight and the rest of the weekend.
It may be time for a new Facebook cover photo.
I hope you have a good week and that the weekend refreshed and renewed you, even a little. I certainly needed some time to reflect and treat myself kindly after beating myself up a bit last week!
The Hermits' Rest 