Day Something Plus 2: Stay the Fuck Home Edition

We're doing our part! I haven't been to work in a week, self-deeming it a "non-essential business". We hadn't gone out in a few days but ventured out this morning to the local Stop & Shop for "senior hours". Don't ask me how it was; I was truly half asleep and it was snowing. But at least we scored 2 rolls of toilet paper (rationed!) and a lovely pork roast. Bob's got that in the crock pot and it smells great! Something to look forward to for a few days at meal time!*
So it's been strangely quiet here. Very little traffic and no one outside. That I don't understand: it's not like radiation where you can't see it and it will kill you. As long as we social distance, being outside is really healthy. The sun kills the virus and fresh air is good for almost everything, including respiratory ailments. (Re-read The Magic Mountain) And as a friend pointed out, the air is probably much cleaner as so many people aren't driving and therefore not going anywhere.
But the quiet has been filled with animal sounds and movements. The hawks are especially screechy and most likely mating. Last night- when I couldn't sleep in a panicky sort of Corona-induced anxiety attack- I heard coyotes singing. I thought the  radio downstairs had been accidentally left on but then realized the chorus was outside. It was lovely!

Animals don't need to worry about COVID 19. They can't catch it or are immune as we can hope one day we will be, too. Robin the Good (seen floating though space) is so happy that we're at home ALL THE TIME! Hooray! she says... as it should be! The frogs and peepers are singing and Maggie is thrilled to be fed her green slops (soaked alfalfa/timothy pellets) at regular intervals. They notice no difference in the world. All is right. Take a tip from Jane Godall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOkBBMFlTpM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3lzrCIj9TUtrPdLkw4EeoUGmHwTfCawoM_Xv3QnUdLtFf_Vv2KLr3reNQ

*But one weird observation is that people were not making eye contact. I guess there was a Fox news report that making eye contact could turn you to stone... much like the gaze of Medusa.

Things to be Thankful For

November seems to have slithered away from me and here we are, poised to celebrate Thanksgiving. I reflect that this is a good time to stop and appreciate all the many things we have to be thankful for.
How about cheerful autumn berries, adorning a lovely Ilex outside my studio? I am happy that even in the late fall, color abounds in nature. Hell, I'm thankful for the persistence of nature in the face of so much man-made destruction. Melting ice caps, rising sea levels, species being driven to extinction... I could go on and on. But I'm trying to be thankful so thanks Mother Earth!

I'm also thankful for the mammal denizens of nature that surround me and enrich my life. Thanks Robin the Good! Thanks for being a good friend and a generally cheerful all around help. I can't be upset or mad for too long when Robin gives me one of her sublime doe-eyed smiles and steals my gloves and socks and indulges in other canine silliness. What a swell doggo!

And thanks to Maggie the Mexican Pony for not being dead in the field last week. I got a good scare but she's up and around on four hooves and enjoying the last warm days of fall. And thanks to the horses that I ride for my lessons. They seem to have decided I'm okay and worthy of a whinny of recognition when I go to the barn and they haven't tossed me off into a manure pile when I ask them to do something- often incorrectly. Fine beasts!

Thanks for all our illustrious friends! Bob and I know some really entertaining characters (ahem! I understand that we fall well within that spectrum!) like Andy, seen above in festive array. They're all fine artists and swell company. I am truly thankful for friends as they redeem my faith in humanity when it is flagging. (And god knows, there is plenty of evidence as to the stupidity, cruelty and capriciousness of people these days...)
And family; I could have done worse in the family department. They aren't rethuglican reprobates who make me question my sanity or whether we really share the same blood and parentage. I actually look forward to seeing them tomorrow on Thanksgiving day and sharing observations on the impeachment hearings, along with consuming heroic portions of food. No need to avoid politics. Yay!

And I'm thankful for Bob and me (pictured here in warmer times). We're the right kind of nuts!

Sleepless and Pensive in Suburbia

Does not being able to sleep have its merits? I guess I'm trying to find a few... Like I am finally getting around to posting this blog. But it is 2:00 am and I'd really rather be sleeping. (Thanks to our friend Louise! She shared that she had been unable to sleep last night; although tonight is the full moon (obscured by clouds and rain).
Suddenly I find us hurtling towards the end of summer... no!!! Let's face it: it's the second week of August, my "vacation" starts next week and our garden tour is only a short two weeks off. I put vacation in quotes as we're not going anywhere and we will no doubt be consumed with last minute details in preparing our vast estate for touring by the adoring public. With every passing day, I admire the passing of yet another flower and wonder- yet again!- what will be in bloom for that tour. It's a good thing that we're surrounded by flowering weeds and large outdoor sculpture. These will provide a distraction from the rapidly imploding garden borders. It's the time of year when sheer horticultural entropy ensues and ample rain assists in making all available plants cascade and tumble into one another. It's a riotous jungle and a big mess and I secretly like this chaos. There's nothing you can do about it!
This summer I have found throwing myself full tilt into gardening has certainly helped me deal with Mommy's passing. Digging in the dirt is such a healthy occupation for me, despite contracting Lyme Disease and poison ivy seemingly every time I set foot out the door. It's a cliche, but working with Nature puts the whole cycle of life thing into perspective. Things live and then die and there's not much that you can do about that, either, except do all you can to help sustain and nurture them. Gardening is also really good for taking your mind off one thing and forcing you to concentrate on all the bloody rocks that keep burping up from underground...
I have been in plant acquisition mode this year. Not only did I order up and plant a slew of asters, but I discovered lilacs (!) and ferns (!) and we need more trees... I think this is how gardening escalates. There is always another kind of plant and another type of garden to plan. If it wasn't 2:30 am I'd probably be outside, digging.

Catching Up With the Natural World

While the weather wasn't anywhere nearly as dire as predicted, there was still a lot of rain. Our stream actually played at featuring a waterfall. Bob has been dragging old logs out of the stream and rearranging some larger stones to create a walk way bridge (in place of the metal ladder than inelegantly straddles he stream now). But the stream had other ideas this morning and bolstered by the rains of last night, there was a respectable rushing and swelling of foamy white caps as it over topped the wall. The stream has been low this year, so this was a nice change. Very dramatic!
Here's another shot, further down stream, with a much wider channel than is typical:

It's funny. I spend more time with our stream further up the road on my morning walk. Bob's studio is right near this part of the stream, so he checks on it every day and reports to me on what's up with the wonderful world of water.
Both Jules and Maggie were outside today far more than I wanted to be, I kept visiting Maggie and offering her nice dry hay in her nice dry barn, but she wanted to eat and run outside. And roll. She now resembles a large chocolate covered turtle. It will be loads of fun trying to clean her off tomorrow morning! She had leaves and twigs in her mane and tail and looked like a woodland sprite. A fine mess!

Yes, that's hay in her forelock. She enjoys pulling her hay out of the rack, tossing it in the air and wearing half of it. What a gal!
And not to be outdone, Jules moved just as I was taking his picture, so here he is: very wet and for some reason his tongue is sticking out. (Or maybe that's one of his pink and white balls that got run over by the lawn mower. Whatever.) He also smelled like the proverbial "wet dog".

Not a nice day for pictures! No one looked their best; I'm certain I didn't. But here's one more picture for good measure, referencing the previous post about what we stick in our mouths:

Doesn't look so great now, does it? Just something about raw meat... but just wait until Bob cooks it!