Cindy Warns of Danger

I was doing morning exercises when neighbor Cindy called me on the phone. She said a raccoon with distemper was wandering around her yard, and she wanted to let me know not to walk near her house. Hers is the closest to the stop sign. I really appreciated that, because I would have had no idea that danger was lurking there. She said she hadn’t noticed my walking, but she knew I often passed by. I looked it up, and I’ve walked in front of her house 17 times this month.

As Cindy talked, I heard her two dogs barking. She interrupted herself to say a car had just hit the ‘coon, and it was lying in the road. I really appreciated her thinking to warn me.

I told Joyce about the danger before she came out to walk with me. We went a few steps beyond the RV park before turning back. We could see nothing on the road. Either the animal was able to drag itself off, or someone removed the body. In any case, we got home without incident. I’ve lived here almost 12 years and have never been so aware of wildlife threatening us. I’m glad I haven’t seen the bear from yesterday. I realize humans are intruding on the animals’ territory. I would apologize to them if I could, but meanwhile I’ll stay out of their way.

Frozen Moat for Hummingbird Feeder

There had been a frost warning during the night, but I didn’t hear or see it. When I woke up and saw the thermometer on the deck registering one degree below freezing, I took one step outside and retrieved the hummingbird feeder, along with the moat that keeps ants from getting to the sugar water. The plain water in the moat was frozen!!

Hurrying to the feeder on the front porch, I found the moat had not frozen, but the birdbath had!! It is very shallow and responded to all that cold air swirling about.

The feeder beyond the back porch was the last and most exciting. I took down feeder and moat, neither of which had frozen. As I turned to take them inside, I heard a hummingbird right beside me and saw a flash of movement near the hand that was holding the feeder. I think that bird would have taken a sip if I hadn’t been moving! I didn’t stop in time and went on to take the things inside. As soon as I came in from walking, I put everything outside again.

I was about five minutes late going out to walk. Having these two photos, I sent them and a group message to four households. They would know their feeders were probably OK. When I came home, I found a message from Cindy that included a photo of a bear. Her cam had taken it during the night. I checked my cam videos, but only little flying creatures were active near my front walkway. We live in an exciting place!!

The Grapefruit Story

The last time I had grapefruit was before 2020. That’s when John had only one food that was totally off limits. Because of a heart medication he was taking, grapefruit was forbidden. We had eaten it from time to time, but we never bought it again. I am so used to not considering the fruit that I haven’t had it since John died almost four years ago. I saw in the weekly flyer from the supermarket that it was on sale. Not only was it a good price, but it was organic pink grapefruit! One went in my cart, and Sunday was the special day I would cut it.

I never wondered if I could find the grapefruit knife I’ve owned for donkey’s years. Supposedly it moved from New York to North Carolina, and perhaps I’d used it here. It’s a serrated knife with a bent tip, meant to cut the fruit away from the separating membrane. I had used it when we had company, because grapefruit is not a user-friendly fruit. Each small section, cut with this special knife, is easy to remove with a spoon. I was so sure I knew where the knife was that I cut the grapefruit in half before opening the drawer.

It took me all of one second to find that knife in the drawer. Did the suspense get to you? Were you sure I would turn the kitchen upside down for it? There was no need for a search, because it was in the knife section, exactly where it should have been. It worked like a charm, as always.

Because I am not company in my own house, I put the sections in a bowl, and after the photo was taken, squeezed out as much of the juice as I could. There was enough to cover all the sections! Oh! What a treat it was! If you really want to appreciate a food item, wait six or more years and consume it as slowly as you can. I would suggest a better way. Have the food as often as is practical, but eat it with concentrated attention. You will have immediate gratification with prolonged appreciation.

Rearranging Pollen — Sweeping Change

I always wipe off the table where I eat on the back porch, but this is yellow pollen season. It not only accumulates, but the wind leaves its mark with swirls. For the first time, I used the leaf blower instead of a broom to clean the porch. That started the faulty thinking, to blow everything to the screen door. I realized it worked well with the leaves. Most of the leaves that blew up through the floor are now outside. The pollen was simply scattered.

I changed my thinking for the second sweep of the day. I reasoned that the pollen could jolly well exit the way it came in – through the screen that wraps the porch. I’m thrilled that most of it is now outside. Mercifully, I can’t remember how long the pollen will continue to plague us. Since using the blower is so quick and easy, I won’t mind repeating the process a few times.

Trapped Raccoon

Neighbor Shawn called to me from her porch as I was going out to walk. They had trapped a sick raccoon, and she knew I would want to take a photo of it. People in the neighborhood had been talking of one with distemper wandering about. When Joyce and I came back from walking, we went to see it. Bob was there, having gently turned the hose on the ‘coon to cool it down. It had been lying still and drooling from its mouth.

Shawn talked about distemper, saying it is communicable, and there is no cure. People can’t get the disease, but unvaccinated dogs can. Bob arranged for someone to take the animal, and I think I saw the car that took it away. It should soon be out of its misery.

Scatterbrained!

There were a number of things I had in mind to do, so my mind was going in all directions when I came home from walking. I started the coffee maker and sent myself outside to water the bushes and trees grandson David planted last week. My new routine includes topping up two birdbaths at the same time. Neighbor Joyce was able to make the doorbell ring (most people can’t). She had parked her car here so that it wouldn’t be in the pictures when the photographer came.

Joyce called my attention to raccoon poop on my steps. When she left, I tried to clean it and found it was as hard as concrete. No telling how long it had been there. Just in case we sat on the front porch, I wiped down all the rocking chairs to get rid of the yellow pollen.

I cooked liver-mush (local delicacy) and a fried egg for breakfast. Something grabbed my attention, and I came back to find one last bite of breakfast on the plate. It was cold, but it tasted good.

Joyce came to sit with me on the back porch while the official photos of her home were being taken. It included a drone to show the house from above. We could see the photographer moving around the porch through her surveillance cam. She’ll be able to see the photos and videos in 48 hours, several days before the house goes on the market. Yes, I’m sad she is moving, but she is going to live near her daughter and family. As she pointed out, she wants to watch her two granddaughters grow up, and NOW is the time to be there.

I thought my brain had quit spinning, but then I couldn’t find my cell phone. I’d had it with me while Joyce was here. It was in the kitchen, not in its usual place. I found it before the call came that a relative was in a quandary about taxes. Today is the deadline for filing personal taxes. It will get done somehow.

It’s probably better that I stay seated long enough to finish this post. Playing with words is a very calming thing to do. I’ve done enough rushing about for one day.

Hummers! Yes!!

The day after neighbors Joyce and Dawn said they had two hummingbirds on their feeders, I hung out my feeder. I was shocked to see a bird sip from mine outside the back porch within two hours! A little later I put the other feeder on the front porch for the first time. While I was sitting in a rocker, up came a hummer for a quick sip! While I was filling things, I put water in the shallow birdbath on the railing. The sun was shining on the water, instantly reflecting a shimmering circle on the porch ceiling. What a marvelous day of firsts! I do believe Spring is actually going to come here this year!

Oh! Magda! How I wish you were here to see the hummingbirds!

A LONG 10 Minutes!

Grandson David and I met in the parking lot of the new restaurant we wanted to try. We got out of our cars and were walking toward the place when I realized I could not hear David with my left ear.

“Oh David!!” I exclaimed. “I’ve lost one of my hearing aids!”

He began to look with me inside my car. His eyesight is much better than mine, and he couldn’t find it. I sternly told myself not to panic. For once, I looked at the bright side and thought one ear was better than none. Common sense said I should check with the company and see how much a replacement would cost. No! Look at home first! There was no way I wanted to drive all the way home to look and decided to make the best of the situation. Maybe I had flicked the aid out when I put my pocketbook over my head.

As we looked near the car, David asked what the hearing aid looked like. I realized he’d never seen mine, because they were always in my ear or resting in the charger. Reaching for my other ear, I discovered there was no hearing aid there! It was highly unusual, but I realized I must have entirely forgotten to put them in before leaving the house. I told that to David and explained that I thought I could hear him with one ear and not the other, simply because one ear was closer to him. What a relief! David was very kind and spoke clearly toward me so that I could hear him. He served as my ears while we ate lunch, picked up a T-shirt for Lise and took my glasses back to the shop for an adjustment.

The first thing I did when I got home was to put in those hearing aids. Oh! My! Can you imagine how long 10 minutes can last when your entire hearing history passes through your memory??? I don’t want to do that again any time soon!

Visual Impact

Neighbor Joyce has had a number of workmen in her house recently. Needing her driveway for their trucks, she has parked her car at my house where there is plenty of room. She always asks in advance, and she did warn me that it would be early one day. Of course, I forgot. I opened the door of the garage to go walking, and all my eyes could see was a car parked right in my face! I laughed that it made such an impact. I think it was gone by the time I came back from walking. One of these days, my car and hers are going to have a chance to visit.

Bus Ride to Sylva

My retina specialist is no longer using offices in nearby Clyde and I had to go to Sylva, about 20 miles away. The bus company requires that I be ready to leave the house an hour and a half before my appointment. Luckily I was ready early and was about to sit near the living room window when the bus pulled into the driveway at 9:06, nine minutes earlier than I expected. The driver and I exchanged about three sentences, and then came 20 miles of silence. I was at the office an hour early and was taken quickly The eye injection was easy, the unusual thing was having bubbles float to the top of the eyeball rather than sink to the bottom.

When I called the bus company to be picked up, no one answered. I left my name and went blank when I was supposed to supply my phone number. How embarrassing! I mumbled an apology and immediately called back. Injection day messes with my head!!

The bus arrived shortly. I never thought to look to the back of the bus, assuming since I had been alone before, I would still be the only passenger. The driver replied to my comment, then I thought he said “good morning” to me. Why? Who was he talking to? Was someone greeting him through his connection to the base? I ignored it, and another 20 miles of silence ensued. I was shocked that we got off the highway near Walmart and meandered through residential streets. The driver pulled into a driveway, got out, and opened the rear door. I could tell by the sounds that he was lowering the platform. Only then did the other passenger come into sight, as he used his wheelchair to get to his house!

I told the driver then how surprised I was that someone was in the back. I said next time I’d look both ways before boarding. He laughed and said not to worry about it. He said the man said “good morning” twice after I boarded. Aaauuggghhhh!

I realize now that my hearing aids are aimed forward. I always turn my head toward someone speaking to me, but I didn’t know to turn toward the back of an empty bus!