Lovely springtime

 

Derby Day was early this year...the first Saturday in May was the 2nd.

So the pool was opened after Derby Day this time.

That's okay because the water is too cold for swimming. The pool men got everything up and running and put some starter chemicals in it.

A couple days later I noticed a leak at the pump. I called and they came out and found they had left an outlet not tightened down well.  Glad there is no major problem!

Here's a look at the area next door from my upper deck.

Puss is getting brave when we walk back in the field and taking some short forays over there to look around.

I should be pulling weeds but it's so pleasant to sit on the back porch in the evening.

At least I was being productive and got the binding sewn down on this donation quilt.

This racoon wandered up to see if anything interesting was going on.

Sometimes I work on my crochet project while sitting out there too.

It's getting close to being finished. Usually I only work on it at my bi-monthly knit and crochet group at the library.

I need to decide what my next project will be when this is finished.

A cute bunny, a sun rise, a birthday

There is nothing cuter than a little baby bunny!

But why is it in my hand?

Because my vicious killer cat came slinking into the house one evening with the little bunny in her mouth.

It took me a few seconds to realize she had something and right about then she dropped it in the floor.

I grabbed it up, happy to see it was alive. It didn't seem to be hurt too badly.

I had no idea where she caught it and it seemed too young to be away from it's mother.

I stood holding it for a few minutes trying to think of options.

Then, the little thing formed it's mouth into an "O", and let out several long squeals.

That was a bit hair-raising, so I decided to just turn her loose in the flower bushes by the back porch.    Sorry, poor little bunny!

There was a beautiful sunrise one morning.

  

The Soil Conservation agency had their annual tree give-away down at the county fairgrounds. 

They had lots of choices but I chose mostly Tulip Poplars and also got a few pine trees.

I'm planting them in my back field...after The Sasquatch kindly dug some nice big holes.

The trees are small but had a nicely developed root system.  I like the shape of their leaves.

So far the deer haven't bothered them!

My sister had a birthday brunch to celebrate my brother's birthday. They had biscuits and gravy and her husband made omelets to order...with lots of choices for fillings.

I took over some cooked bacon and this cake.

It's pistachio and coconut.  I think I've seen a similar recipe called a Watergate Cake.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pistachio-and-coconut-cake/

I so rarely bake anything I'm clumsy at it now. I overcooked the cake just a bit and the edges were dry.

I made extra frosting to coat the entire cake (and hide those dry edges) and used a lot more pistachios than called for.  They all liked it and didn't mind dividing up the leftovers to keep.

It was a nice meal and nice to gather with family members.

April, but where are the showers?

 So far this month we haven't had many of those April showers which the old saying refers to.

Some really lovely spring days though, and things are blooming!

Sitting in my TV watching recliner I can see my dogwood, full of blooms and lit up by the evening sun.

Iris are putting on a big display.

They aren't my favorite flower but they are dependable...and deer never seem to bother them.

Usually a freshly blooming peony will bring on heavy rains, leaving the blooms waterlogged and wilted.

Not this time, though.

Of course birds are building nests at this time of year. Unfortunately one pair of expectant parents have decided to build a nest behind a piece of loose flashing.

They keep flying back and forth bringing more and more nesting material. As they stuff more in the opening it makes the flashing pull away from the house even more.

I'll wait until the babies have flown from the nest and find someone to fasten the flashing back down. Someone with a tall ladder!

Our library has a reading challenge each spring. Read five books within the three month time frame and receive a coffee mug or a tote bag.

I chose a tote bag. Always handy and has a zipper top.

Here pictured with my tote bag are the reading selections for my two book clubs.

The non-fiction one, "Everything is Tuberculosis" is interesting. Information and history of the disease and different cures that were tried. Even though it is curable, it is still a problem in some parts of the world.

The book for my other club is "The Midnight Library". The main character, who is depressed and suicidal, is given a chance to temporarily experience lives in which she had made different choices.

That's something we have probably all wondered about on occasion.

Here is my report on the activities next door. 

Removing more of the brush close to the property line. Still well on their side though.

Other than that it's been quiet over there.

More of the same

 You are probably tired of me reporting on the changes going on at the property next door to me. Sorry! It's just such a major event for me.

The logging company worked cutting and clearing trees for about 2 weeks.

Truck loads of giant sections of the trees were hauled away...one after another.

Burning going on off to the side of my back field.

When they finished, they disassembled their set-up and loaded equipment on trailers and left

Walmart has a big display of packaged plant starts. Irresistible when one is so anxious for the spring growing season. I bought two snowball viburnums.

These look healthy...already with some green leaves. Maybe I'll pick up one more.

One morning, early, while it was still dark, I glanced out the front window and saw a man up on the telephone pole. I only noticed because I could see the bright light of the head lamp he was wearing.

That was weird. Then I found that I had no internet. Hmm.

I waited a few hours to see if it would come back. Nothing.

I called Spectrum (three lengthy calls...one in which they wrongly told me i needed a new modem) and they couldn't come out and check for the problem for 2 days.

Meanwhile no internet and no television (I only have streaming...no antenna or cable).

So it turns out that they had just disconnected my service because of "noise in the line".

Sheesh! It seems like they could have had someone here to repair the problem instead of disconnecting.

It took the service man a while to figure everything out. Everything is in working order now.

It makes me realize that I'm so dependent on this technology!

Early March

 March started off with me scrambling around trying to get tax paperwork organized and to the accountant.

I had my Dad's final tax return info to take to the accountant he used last year too.

Glad to have all this in the hands of the professionals now!

At home, I'm dealing with hundreds of Asian Lady Beetles...in the house.

I don't know if you can enlarge this photo and see just how many there are. This room is the worst. It's on the sunny south side of the house.

They come in every year...some years worse than others.

I can vacuum them up with the shop vac, then at couple days later there are this many again.

In December, I mentioned that I was prescribed a Holter monitor to wear because my heart was beating too fast.

So it was recommended that I have an ablation procedure to see if that could correct the problem. I was eager to get that scheduled...hoping that it would help me feel less tired all the time.

It seems to be successful! My heart rate is down to a normal healthy rhythm!

Because the procedure is done through a vein and an artery in both sides of the groin...an overnight hospital stay was required.

(Yep, that's Golden Girls on TV.)

One might think that the hospital medical staff would follow up by listening to my heart.

Nope, everyone that came in the room wanted to check the incision points in my groin.

 Except the custodian...I tried to show him but he wasn't interested. (Just kidding, lol.)

But I was glad to have them there when later in the evening, when they unclamped the incisions, a huge gusher of blood came pouring out!

They applied pressure until it stopped, then I had to lay flat and still for a few more hours.

Whew!

Next door, a logging company has set up lots of equipment. They are cutting trees throughout the woods to the side and also behind my property.

They bring the cut trees up to this area, where they saw the limbs off and cut the trees (mostly pine) into sections then load them on a truck.

Meanwhile, burning piles of branches and small trees.

So sad to see the cut off stumps where trees stood at the edge of the property.

Puss is curious about this change of scenery as well.

One thing is certain...one has to be ready for change.  I plan to plant more trees in my back field now and also let some of the area grow up naturally by not mowing.

I know I'll see Sassafras, Redbuds, and Maples coming up volunteer.

I'll end with this funny picture.  It's members of my non fiction book club in front of a giant screen during a Zoom meeting with an author.

The book was "The Martians" by David Baron.  Our leader, LaDonna, brought in alien eyes sunglasses for us to put on and surprise Mr. Baron. Funny!

February flew by

 February started out with snow still on the ground.

This is a weird photo because I took it through the window and it's also through the screen porch.

Deer up close to the house and making a meal out of an Azalea bush.

Not a good time of year for pruning that! 

Another day...a small group of Eastern Bluebirds stopping in at my heated birdbath (dog bowl).  Hard to make them out in this photo.

Here they are, back on a later day.

I know...not a great photo but I didn't want to scare them.

More activity next door. Tree cutting and brush burning. 

I did get an official letter in the mail. There was a meeting to decide if a local builder would be approved to build 48 condos there.

The answer is yes, it was approved.

I've lived here since 1986...so that's 40 years of privacy with that big open field on that side. The change is upsetting. I started looking online at homes (for me) for sale on Sattelite Beach Florida, but I know I wouldn't really make the move there.

Well, let's replace those depressing thoughts with something more pleasant.

My Witch Hazel is blooming.

One of the first things to bloom each year, it is a delight.

My quilting group, Crazy Quilters, met for the first time in the library. We'll be meeting there for several months while the extension office gets a big remodel.

We share the room with another group, Sew Busy, which works out fine. They do a different project each month and they said we are welcome to join in and do the project too.

This month, though, we were trimming and arranging blocks for our group donation quilt. With blocks made by all our members, we have enough for 2 small quilts.

Small, because we will donate them to a nursing home and they need quilts that can be used by someone in a wheel chair.

My friend Izzy took one home to sew together and I brought home the other to do the same.

I have a few rows sewn together.

So the month started with cold and snow but ended with a couple of nice warm days.

I sat out on the back porch a couple of afternoons and crocheted.

I put a patio cushion down for Puss to have a little snooze nearby.

We're only 3 weeks away from first day of spring!

Part 3 cruise

 Day 3 we sailed into Port at Grand Turk. This has always been a favorite port but it has changed over the years. 

The good part is that you can walk off the boat and the beach is right there. I was going to rent a clamshell like I did last time I was here...but then some nice young men said they had chairs with umbrellas, close to the water, right up the beach.

That sounded good, but it turned out to be sort of a long walk. Then when I got there, the area was crowded and unappealing. Not worth what they were charging.

So I walked back to the free chairs. There were a few trees but no umbrellas. I had a hat and plenty of sunscreen though.

I really like swimming here! When I say swimming I mean just floating and paddling around.

Late afternoon I was back on the ship and watched sail-away on the balcony.

That evening I tried out another eatery on the ship I didn't get around to last week...a barbecue place.  Waiters bring your order. I had brisket, shredded pork, macaroni and slaw.  It was all really tasty. 

I didn't really like eating from the big square pan though. I'd prefer a regular plate.

They had 4 different BBQ sauces to try...all were good.

I passed this area on the way back to my room. Cooking classes with a chef are offered. Probably a fun thing to do. Maybe next time!

Early on Day 4 we sailed into port in Dominican Republic.

A small port area, but scenic.

Here's the harbor pilot.

One thing I like about this cruise is nice long port days...most being 8am to 4pm.

I have been confused in the past, thinking the island of Dominica was the Dominican Republic.  Nope, that's wrong...they are two different islands.

I'm not so sure I have been here.  This is the island where much of the movie "Jurassic Park" was filmed.

I chose a beach trip for the day, which included a bus tour through the town and the waterfront and then past the jungle covered mountains.

It's really beautiful scenery.

The beach was nice too, although as we were driving in, the surrounding area looked run-down and seedy.

Lunch was included...chicken, rice, salad, and fruit.

The surf was rough here. The waves weren't big, but they were strong and close together.

Even though I had already seen one older lady get knocked down and washed to shore, I made an attempt to get out past the waves to the calmer area.

Of course I was off my feet and getting tumbled around within seconds...and it's hard to get up again when the waves just keep coming.

I could not get further out at all. By the time I stood up, my swimsuit was loaded with sand...very uncomfortable as I staggered out of the water back to the safety of my beach chair.

There was a short rain shower then later, just as it was time to leave, the clouds started moving in.

Back on the ship, I picked up a chicken basket again to eat on the balcony.  Then I was in the shower forever trying to get all the sand off my body and out of my swimsuit too.

It was so much!

Day 5 was a day at sea. I was feeling tired when I woke up in the morning but figured I'd feel better after some coffee.

I had breakfast then went to a craft class. I started feeling worse instead of better so I headed back to my cabin. 

I told the room steward to just skip cleaning my room today. I napped a while then sat out on the balcony, ate some pizza then napped again and woke up with chills and fever.

Day 6 was a stop at Nassau. I was feeling really terrible so just stayed in the room all day, sleeping and watching TV.  I had some room service food delivered.

Day 7 was a stop back at Celebration Key. Still feeling bad though.

I sat out on the balcony a lot and more sleeping and TV.

I did leave the room later to buy rum cakes to take home for the Sasquatch.

Got my bag packed since it was the last day of cruising.

Goodbye Caribbean. I'll be back soon!

Still feeling bad on my trip home. Just focusing on getting through one step at a time.

The Sasquatch had texted me that extremely cold weather and a major winter storm was moving into the area at home. There were advisories to stay off the roads unless necessary. I was worried that the airport might even close...or that my car wouldn't start!

Everything turned out okay though, and the car started and I headed for home.

People were taking the no-driving advisory seriously and very few vehicles were on the road. Here's I65.

Here's Highway 44...

So different than the lovely blue skies and warm weather of my vacation!

It was so nice to have this enjoyable trip. A fun time - a fun break in my regular routine.

Puss had a little "welcome home" present for me on the bedroom floor.

Eeeek!  A mummified mouse!  The head was a couple of feet away. Thanks Puss!