The Last Monday of 2021

 Another lazy day for me.  I did get my step count in and clear the snow off the car.  I also played on Gideon's Switch to do that exercise game.  That game might be designed for kids, but I am feeling it in my arms and having fun.  Other happy things for today include:

• I might have seen a junco.  Even if it wasn't, the thought that the birds are probably around for winter made me happy.  There were birds singing outside, behind the screen and branches, and as I tried to get closer it left my line of vision.  I think the birds in the picture are sparrows.

• The clouds had muted colors and looked like a soft fluffy blanket.

• That game of Gideon's on the Switch?  Gideon is really enjoying it too.  I'm happy that he is getting more, and different, types of movement.  He will be skiing soon and there are exercises that will help him prepare for the slopes.

☮

Currently reading: The Middle Ages: A Graphic History, by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Time Change

 For me, it doesn't seem to matter if the clocks spring forward or fall back, I am still tired the next day.  There was no extra hour of sleep for me,  Aesop woke me up.  Pets don't know time.  Here are some happy things from today:

• The early morning walk around the yard with Aesop, the dog, meant that I got to see the frost.

• There was also a rather large bird that I saw out of the corner of my eye that landed in a tree.

• Yesterday I didn't write for NaNoWriMo.  That means I am behind on my goal.  I did get 410 words today which is good.  
• The big accomplishment for today was getting mulch onto the triangle part of the yard.  It is as done as it will be for this year (unless I suddenly have time and warm weather).

The top of the triangle didn't get weeded or planted
and so it is not mulched.

☮

Currently reading:  Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Small Road Trip

 For some reason whenever it rains I am doing something else so I don't end up staying inside to clean my room.  Today that something else was driving with my aunt to a small town about 55 miles from my home.  She has a niece who lives there and she wanted someone to go with her for the drive.  The rain was off and on and I took very few pictures.  

We also are a travel stop spot for friends who live in Pennsylvania that are traveling between there and  Maine and they were here when I got home.  Getting to spend time with people is a happy thing for today.  Other happy things include:

• My aunt and I took a detour on the way back and drove through a town I lived in when I was very young.  We were able to find one of the houses I lived in back then.  It was neat to find this house that I lived in around 50 years ago and remember little things about living there.
• We saw some birds on our road trip today.  There was a momma duck and her ducklings crossing the street.  Also walking in the road somewhere was a bird I can't quite identify.  My first thought was a partridge because it had the little thing on its head that reminded me of the Partridge Family.  However, when I try to search it up I get too many birds that don't look like what we saw as well as other options.  There was also a raven on the side of the road picking up something to eat.
• All the time visiting and driving meant taking a walk after dinner to get my step count in.  Yesterday marked ten months of getting at least 10,000 steps every day.  That streak did not end today.  I took an evening walk in the light misty rain.  The house down the street had goats out that bleated loudly as I walked by.  

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Thank you for reading, stay safe.

Bird Day

 It has been a long day in which I woke up way before I wanted.  I've decided to play it like I will get the job and prepare myself for the third shift.  It will be a three day work week, about ten hours a day.  Well, night and morning.  I've wanted a three day work week for a while, let's hope I like the schedule as much as I think I will.  Thinking about this as I sat on my hammock swing today I imagined how nice it might be to sleep outside during warm summer days.  Then a helicopter flew over and motorcycles zoomed by.  I'm currently in a how-this-will-effect-my-home-life frame of mind rather than a what-will-the-job-be-like frame of mind.  Daydreaming and the following are my happy things for today:

• I've been trying to come up with names for the different yard areas we have.  I'm having a hard time coming up with anything original.  Where the pool was, the yard by the garden, aren't really names I was hoping for.  Even 'relaxation grove' doesn't quite hit the spot for me.  I'll have to discuss it with the family later.  What I am realizing though, is that ruminating seems to be a happy thing for me today.
• The blueberry and strawberry plants have netting over them finally.  It took some time and mistakes were made, but I think it will work.

Strawberry.

Strawberries and blueberries covered.

• The birds have been enjoying perching on the frame before I got the net up.  They seem to still perch there and I haven't noticed them trying to get in yet.  👍
• While observing the netting and sitting in the hammock swing I had some robins get fairly close while looking for food.

A pretty pair.

• The deer are getting into the garden.  At least I think it was deer.  We haven't finished the fence yet.  The tops of about half the peas are gone.  I did a quick covering of those with netting too.  It will become part of the fence, but for now I hope it will do.  On one of the plants that didn't get the top chomped off there is a flower.

I planted two different types
and don't remember which this is.

• Earlier this week when I was pulling up bittersweet I thought I might be near a bird nest.  Today, I might have found it.  I was getting ready to pull more of the autumn olive tree away and there it was.

Fairly sure it was built after the tree came down.

• Also pretty sure a hawk flew overhead.  

It was being chased by another bird.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Thanks for reading, stay safe.

Happy Rain Day

 Last year, our first in this home, the deer, other animals, and insects consumed more of the garden than the humans.  Today we began the process of putting up a deer net around the garden.  I had visions of getting some pretty wood posts to attach the netting.  The price of an eight to ten foot pole, plus the labor to place it, meant that wasn't going to happen this year.  We used metal conduit pipes that we already had to get almost half the garden enclosed.  We need more conduit, but they are way cheaper than wooden posts.  So it is a bit of a hack job, but I think it will work.  

Zed and I, putting up the netting.
Photo courtesy of Keziah.

The netting is really hard to see.

• Within minutes of us walking away from the garden, birds flew in.  They didn't get caught, but they were mad that the netting was there.  The happy part of this is that they seemed to learn that it was an obstacle and flew around it fairly quickly.  Later, I tied some ribbons randomly to the net, hopefully that will help them see it.
• Keziah and Zed had chiropractor appointments this afternoon and their second vaccine this evening so Gideon and I got to spend time together.  In the afternoon I wanted to go to the bank so we stopped at a park nearby to play Pokemon Go.  It was raining so that seemed like a good plan.  Unfortunately Gideon couldn't get the game to work on his iPad.  Instead, we walked around the playground.  I think that was more fun.

• In the evening Gideon was playing on the computer.  I was playing with the cats and had a Disney song stuck in my head.  Instead of stumbling over the words I found the movie, Sleeping Beauty, and put it on.  So I danced to the songs while playing with the cats.  
• After feeding the cats I sat down to watch the movie.  With no prompting, Gideon joined me on the couch and we snuggled and watched the rest of it.  

It was a lovely rainy day.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.
    And suddenly I am at the chapter on growing grains and now I want to grow grains.  🤣😜🚜 Who even am I??

Stay safe.

Other happy things for today:

And Then the Rain Came

 Somehow, I slept in today.  Just after nine this morning I woke up hearing Gideon talking excitedly with his dad.  I was not awake enough to remember what caused the excitement, probably just morning.  When I finally got outside I worked first for a short time on the triangle part of the driveway.  I only weeded out a small area there today before I started to weed out the area where the strawberries are.  When I came in for lunch I started looking at some of the Google Map and Google Earth views of the house.  I was hoping to find some clues as to what the property looked like over the years.  There used to be a way to search the history, but that is only using the Google Earth Pro version, so I had no luck there.  All I found was a very unkempt property with the images from 2019.  Eventually, perhaps the images from Google will start to look a little better.  Getting outside and working on the yard is a happy thing for me today.  Why?  Well, all the little happy parts that include:

•   The feeling of accomplishment I am getting as things start to look neater and grow.  There are things that I planted-like the tulips in the front; and things that are just growing-like the bluets in the back; and things planted years ago-like the daffodils, roses, and fruit trees that will hopefully benefit with less competition for resources.

Varigated tupip.

Pink tulip.

Someday there will be a tulip.

• When I came in for lunch I learned that Keziah and Gideon were planning out a playground for the property near where the pool used to be.  The pool has been gone since before we moved here, but the deck for it is still there.  They have some fun ideas and I look forward to seeing them work on this over the summer.
• After lunch I put the SD card back into the wildlife camera.  I doubt I will get out to check it again for a few days.  I did notice that even more bluets seem to be popping up.  One set in particular though looked more blue than others nearby.  I wonder what causes that?  A nutrient, DNA, or maybe just the lighting?

So many bluets!

These looked bluer in person.

This patch was maybe one foot away from the patch above.
The blue is far less striking.

• Oddly enough, I feel like the blue on the bluejays is more vibrant this year too.  I also saw sparrows, robins, mockingbirds, and a goldfinch.
• While digging up weeds near the strawberries I found more rocks.  I vaguely remember coming across them briefly last year.  This year I decided to investigate closer.  

The rocks were under a layer of dirt and grass.
They seem to have been placed there...
I pulled them out.

Other things I found along with the rocks
include a hinge and perhaps a gate latch?
There is also some glass, brick pieces, and
maybe a piece of porcelain.

Digging the weeds up turned into a minor archaeology dig.  I like rocks and these will probably end up on top of the dirt when I am able to get back to this area.  And then it started to rain.

Dark cloud rolling in.

• There were also strawberry blossoms on two of the plants and some of the peas are starting to sprout.

Strawberry blossom.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Wash your hands.