Tag: neighbors to the rescue

First Responders

When I came in from gardening, I took off my gloves and noticed a thorn in my finger. It was on the underside, right at the joint, and snagged on everything I touched. I could feel it, but I couldn’t see it. Of course, I turned to a couple of the best neighbors in the world.

I texted, “I think I have a visible thorn in my finger. Are you home? Will you have time to poke at it if I come to your porch? I could bring tweezers and a magnifying glass.”

Shawn replied, “We’ll come over. We were heading to the bank.”

She and Bob drove over and made siren sounds as they came up my steps. They were acting as first responders for my emergency call, which made me laugh. Shawn took the tweezers as Bob held the magnifying glass. The thorn broke off, and Bob tried to dig the rest out with a sterile needle. It was tiny, so we left it to work its way out by itself. Well, I’ll be here, of course.

As they worked, they mentioned they were going out to breakfast before going to the bank. Now that shows a true neighbor’s love, to postpone a meal they were hungry for to help me. I truly appreciated their sacrifice. They kindly invited me to go along, but I was smeared with garden grime and stayed home for a shower. As they headed down the steps, Shawn suggested they make siren sounds in reverse. If I had recorded it, you couldn’t have heard it over my laughter.

Nature’s Entertainment

For the most part, bloggers have quit complaining about the restrictions placed on all of us to limit the spread of the virus. We’re in the same boat around the world. They are writing about kindnesses done, benefits of family togetherness, and things seen because there is time to notice. I’m sure I would have noticed our freaky weather, with or without a mandate to stay in place. Wind had been fierce for hours, but I didn’t see our Bradford pear tree ripped apart until some time later.

The very same afternoon our day was as peaceful as could be.

View from the deck on the north side

Two days later I took a photo of tiny bits of hail on the front porch.

The sound was deafening. You can hear the rattle of hail hitting the steps and the car. I cut the video short, because the sound remained the same throughout. In the first second, a robin flies from the tree to its nest under the eave. The bird was upset with us for being too close, as if he knew we should be practicing social distance of six feet.

Our kind neighbors, Dawn and Jeff, offered to cut up the pear tree limbs. What a team they were! Jeff wielded the chainsaw, and Dawn piled up the branches. Neighbor Logan appeared, wearing a protective headset for his ears.

A still picture didn’t tell the whole story. I noticed Jeff make a small cut with the saw and lift the saw so that the blade was horizontal. He marked the limb with his eye and made the next cut at that spot. What a neat way to cut firewood into equal lengths! Dawn waited for him to cut the top, which she then pulled to the side. I was amused that Logan, who is often blurred in photos because he moves so fast, was as still as a statue. Who knew he could be motionless?