The first displacement of the virus brought grandson Nathaniel to us for a week after his university closed down. He recovered from his head cold, lowered the mirror the night before he left, and he and John got up at 3 am to get to the airport in Charlotte. His dad picked him up at Newark Airport, and they drove to his house upstate New York. There he will have a room with peace and quiet to do his online classes.
I enjoyed the birds feeding on the deck and tried to refill the bird feeder to keep the show going. I dropped the feeder, attempted to put it back together, and dropped it a second time. Cute though it was, the feeder could not take that abuse. The birds landed on the roof of the feeder and could see all the spilled seeds on the deck. Other birds went straight to the railing to peck at the suet cakes. They adapted quickly, I’ll say that for them. It was almost time to quit feeding them, anyway. Neighbor Joyce is tracking the migration of the hummingbirds and thinks the males will be here soon. None of the birds realize we are not as free as they are.
Joyce was the first to think of perching on the porch. We are not supposed to go in each other’s homes to visit, but we could be in the fresh air outside and stay six feet apart. She was the first to come to my porch. She basked in the sun, while I sat in the shadows, and we had a most satisfying chat. Someone commented that I should take a photo of porch-sitting, but I forgot to do it.
The next day neighbor Connie took a break from packing to move, and she visited with me on the porch. Bless her heart, she was willing to pose, so our visit was documented. Wasps kept circling close to her, which was unnerving. Son John $pencer found wasp spray and hit a few of the critters. Connie and I saw one die on the floor. I was armed with a fly swatter and the spray, but I didn’t kill any of them. At least the spray served as a warning, keeping them away from us. In the photo you can see the spray bottle on the small table and my chair beyond it. Our chairs were over six feet apart at that point. There is nothing like face-to-face conversation, even if your faces are required to be far apart.
I got my revenge on a wasp the next day. Opening the mailbox, I found a large one sitting on some letters. I gently pulled the mail out, but the wasp went toward the back. Using a piece of daughter Lise’s junk mail, I raked at it and poked it. Luckily it was stunned. I swatted it down and ground it to smithereens with my foot. I didn’t know death could bring such pleasure. Oh death, where is thy sting? It’s in the gravel where it can’t hurt me.
Mehrling Muse 
Wow! You sure take pleasure in killing wasps! Looks like you have nice weather. Today is wonderful for us and we spent a good part of it outside. Pond waterfall is flowing. Yay!
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Super! I’m so glad the pond waterfall is going. I hope that means the cats can be on the porch to enjoy it with you.
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They were today but tomorrow is another cool rainy day.
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Yesterday I watched my neighbor across the street dancing in the driveway with her boy friend. It turns out there is quite a lot you can do from home! We have been visiting 6 feet apart too.
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Dancing in the driveway is something new! I would never have thought of that.
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My husband commented “there may be liquor involved!”
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LOL!
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Like minds think alike.😊 . I am doing similar to you in the garden, Sit 2 metres apart and enjoy being able to see the face of your ur friend visiting. It works as long as you keep visiting to one at a time.
You have to adjust in a legal and safe way.
🦋🌼
miriam
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I’ve seen a neighbor up the street entertaining two others. She sits on the steps of the house, and the other two have either a blanket or lawn chair. They are much further than six feet apart, with two of them in the sun. Looks ideal to me.
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Yup and that’s how it goes. My brother went to see the grand kids. They took lawn chairs and sat in the parking lot and watched the kids play from afar. The kids rode their scooters tempting fate at times, but recognizing the limit. lol
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That’s great that he could watch the children from a distance. People are coming up with unique ways to connect.
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Ah that means nice weather when you see those little critters. The Covid is terrible but the displacement and shutting down has forced us to live a little bit slower and appreciate our loved ones. Take care 💗
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Wasp seem to have come out in force in the early spring we are having. And they are really big.
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I don’t want one of those wasps to test its stinger on me.
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Your porch was just made for sitting and shooting the breeze. My grandmother’s porch was not as big, but she had close neighbors who gathered there every night for after-dinner bowls of ice cream and chatter. And how did the squirrels miss the feeder to get seeds without any acrobatic efforts?
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I haven’t seen the squirrels since the feeder broke. Maybe they like a challenge.
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It’s more enjoyable to hang by your toenails to eat the bird seed – I “get” it. 🙂
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I wouldn’t do that, even for chocolate ice cream!
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Ha ha – they are more like “the daring young man in the flying trapeze.”
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Thank goodness for outdoor visiting!
I think I missed something – Connie is moving? You’re going to miss her!
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Connie and Marla are moving to the town where Marla works. It’s going to be a good move for them, and they won’t be too far away. I haven’t written about this because deals fell through several times.
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Oh I’m glad you’ll still be near enough to visit:)
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I was so enjoying your lovely, lilting rural-toned post until I came upon the dreaded word… WASP!! Argh, as you may recall from a couple of my previous posts, they are the bane of my existence!!! But you got him where it hurt (him), so that’s good! Yay! 🙂
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I’m not overly allergic to stings, but I dislike the pain. I hope we’ll both be sting-free this season.
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I was stung by wasps and bees four times last year, and two caused small allergy reactions. I still knock the paper nests down with water. We don’t kill them unless it’s necessary. I’ve learned over the years that there are certain species of bird that actually depend on wasps for nourishment, so I guess even mean old wasps have a purpose! But I do think protecting yourself is quite necessary. It sounds like you pack a walloping blow with that fly swatter of yours! Ha ha!!
Your porch is a lovely one. I have visited with a couple of neighbors outdoors in their front or back yards recently, when I’m on an egg delivery. You’re right, even if we must sit a distance apart, those visits are a relaxing and wonderful way to connect.
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The wasp I killed was in the mailbox, and the killing blow was with my foot. When the wasp went to the back of the box, I knew I had to get it out. What if it had stung the unsuspecting letter carrier?
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You’re outside already which is hopeful to us housebound people up north. I like how you did in your wasp enemy. Desperate times call for clever ploys.
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I understand there are some birds that eat wasps, but until I know which bird does, I’m not going out of my way to get stung. That is desperation speaking.
We have doors and windows open for the first time this season! You’ll get there eventually and probably enjoy it more.
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Anne,
Great post- I felt good reading this- we are inside essentially – it is a near curfew situation here- everyone being extra cautious. Daughters are in their college place and well- no lockdown there as it is a hospital, though patient numbers have gone down.
Wasps!!!
Susie
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That’s something that hospital numbers have gone down. I don’t listen to news, but I have seen some statistics on the virus in the US. I haven’t seen numbers for other countries. Are there many cases in your area? Our county still does not have a confirmed case, but our restrictions are being tightened.
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We do have a lot of cases as it is an airlines hub for onward journeys to the East. The airport is still open and only residents of this nationality can come into the country though- today one died. In NY there are a lot of cases, they say and perhaps where I was too.
All classes have gone online- it is difficult to negotiate the time difference. We are asking the university to pass everyone and not conduct any more classes as a lot of the students are going through stressful times and cannot concentrate on studies.
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This virus is certainly far-reaching.
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It’s good to hear that the birds adapted to the tipped bird feeder – though it sounds like it would have a bit of a mess. Hopefully the birds found all the spilled seed.
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There are a few scattered seeds on the deck, but not much is left.
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Your post reminded me I need to refill my bird feeder, which usually feeds nothing but squirrels, lol!
I hate that this is going on, I guess we all are finding different ways to cope.
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These are strange times.
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I have placed a bench in the garden for our neighbours to sit on when they visit. We stay the required distance apart and it works well. The porch sitting/yard sitting phenomena is a great way to still have that precious face to face contact. Interesting how folks seem to nee dit. I am not one of them but I do see that others have that need. You said,
“None of the birds realize we are not as free as they are.” – how true and ironic!
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That’s lovely that you have a bench for the neighbors when they come to visit. I’ll bet they really appreciate that.
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They have already popped over to try it out. Worked well.
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Porch visiting sounds awesome 🙂
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My youngest came home from her university as did Nathan. The online work has been grueling! As for those wasps…one down, a million to go!🦟
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I didn’t realize that online classes could be much harder than going to lectures. Nathaniel said there was a lot of reading for him, and he had to figure things out for himself.
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Yes, it’s the amount of self instruction and schools need to provide enough work to prove “seat time” to retain their accreditation status. That usually equals considerable work for online students depending on the university.
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Haha! Good for you Anne, grinding the sting(er) under your heel. I am not looking forward to wasps emerging again in the warm spring sunshine. I don’t usually kill too many bugs, but I make an exception for wasps! 🙂
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I have a healthy respect for wasps. I’m glad you do, too.
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