Yesterday I had finally had enough of annoying notification dings on the phone. There were few things I really wanted to hear, so I tried to turn most of them off. They were canceled at the system level and at the app level. Many still got through that net. David offered to help, so last night he went through turning things off. It seemed like magic. Suddenly there were no offending chirps. Those few moments before I went to bed were very peaceful.

This morning was quiet, also. I woke up fifteen minutes after the alarm should have gone off. What I skipped was the morning exercise routine. I went out to walk at the usual time, to the accompaniment of constant notification chirps. When David silenced things the night before, it coincided with the night hours set to be silent from 11 pm to 6:30 am. I suspect my phone is a compulsive talker, impossible to stifle.

While walking, I saw a large worm-sized creature on the road and took a photo of it. The Lens app identified it as a milk snake, found from Maine to Tennessee and Western North Carolina. I thought it rather cute but would not be tempted to have one as a pet, as some people do.