The wonders of a clean house

A friend of a friend has a new house cleaning business. Another friend uses them often. I looked at my sad surroundings and called for a first time cleaning.  Since it's only a one bedroom apartment, I got a deal that I hope they are happy with, and I sure am.

So now all my wood surfaces have been Murphy's Oiled...a well as dusted. I've got a desk that says, come work here, I'm neat and tidy and clean. I am not taking the laptop off the dining room table yet though...because when I sit here I'm able to see everything outside. I get my nature fix by opening windows wide to the 68 degree air and rain falling gently.

But oh the Maples! They're dancing hither and yon.  I can see up to the tops from inside (here at the second story level of these giants.  They have multiple trunks...each of them. A strange version of maples to me, but they seem to do alright. I think I've got 4 right outside. There's the schussing of upper leaves and then the slow murmur of the lower ones, and just a hint of sway from all those uprights.

I'm grateful that my stimulus check allowed me to have house cleaners this one time.  While I was getting more and more sick, I was doing less and less. And this woman and her daughter knew just how to make things right again. I now will enjoy my home, where of course I'm mostly isolated!

And by comparison...

Quote for today:
Present time can be hard, but life unfolds as it will and the universe will wait as we make our way into the unknown. 
Madisyn Taylor

On the problems between differences (in America)

I'm missed a couple of Sepia Saturdays...sorry about that. I'll be reading what you all composed.  In case you missed it (easy to do) I had a heart attack a week or so ago, and spent 5 days in the hospital. Now I've been home a week, and am slowly getting back into some kind of routine. Being alive still is the name of my game. I don't seem to have many physical limitations, beyond low stamina.

Now let's see what SS has to make me dig into archives to share...

Bread and Roses 1912-2012

6 hrs · 

On May 28, 1963, the Woolworth sit-in took place in Jackson, MS. "This was the most violently attacked sit-in during the 1960s. A huge mob gathered, with open police support while the three of us sat there for three hours. I was attacked with fists, brass knuckles, and the broken portions of glass sugar containers, and was burned with cigarettes." -- John Salter, seated in photo with Joan Trumpauer Mulholland and Anne Moody (author of Coming of Age in Mississippi). Photo: Fred Blackwell

The ongoing racism that is flashing now in Mineapolis with the recent police-caused death of George Floyd...it just continues. It's called racism.

But it's part of the hateful attitude that is separating people from each other, which focuses on differences and then is fed by determined people who want to feel better about their identity by blaming any problems they may have on a different kind of people.

I kid you not. It's not just between races. It's between those who have more and those who have less.  Lack of tolerance exists between neighborhoods, or clubs, or especially sporting teams and rival schools. It represents the differences in political parties, as well as those with different ancestral roots.  It's also the basis for many wars between different political divisions called countries. These are the invisible areas that create borders along the ground, which are sometimes fenced off, and sometimes just invisible no-man's-land.

Being angry, and unhappy, and then having these emotions spread into daily life...into violence. An awful situation. What is fair and legal is pushed with that anger into breaking the law.

Only love defeats hate (Dr. Martin Luther King.) Think for a moment of someone you disagree with completely, maybe someone who is powerful and hateful themselves.  And then think of how you might someday be able to forgive that person/persons. This is the challenge of love. It takes imagination for me to even consider someday finding forgiveness for the awful hateful people in our lives today.

Here's a link to a great article on racism in America today, published May 28, 2020. 

"They Too Are America" by Karen Leslie Hernandez 

The daily TV news is focusing on the violence and what they consider worthy of attention, not the many leaders who are working to find justice and a peaceful answer to the situation of George Floyd's death at the hands of a white policeman.

And I'm sharing my post back to Sepia Saturday this week!

How about a quote:

“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives.”
Brene' Brown

Mission Hospital staff with COVID-19

Where I was, before this happened. My stay in Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC started Fri. May 15, in ICU.  See my personal experience following this news that just came out.

The following was posted to Mountain Express on Fri. May 29 at noon:

"Six staff members at Asheville's Mission Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19. The employees all worked together in the same unit on one of the hospital's pulmonary floors.  

“This cluster of cases occurred in some of our most dedicated and talented staff, staff who have put themselves on the front line of this illness and who take pride and privilege in caring for these patients,” said Dr. William Hathaway, Mission Health's chief medical officer. “They are among the most skilled in regards to their knowledge of isolation techniques and of their use of personal protective equipment.” 

The cases were first identified on May 22. Contact tracing of staff members and patients was conducted before Mission determined it necessary to test the remainder of staff on the unit. As of May 27, no additional cases related to the staff cases had been identified.

As of May 27,  Mission was caring for eight COVID-19 patients, a number higher than the hospital’s previous two- to six-patient average. The hospital’s peak caseload to date, reached last week, was 12 COVID-19 patients, linked to an outbreak of the disease at a skilled nursing facility.

Hospital leaders say they are monitoring supplies closely and have ample supplies for patient care at this time. Hathaway noted that those hospitalized were nursing staff members, not residents."

----------------------

I'm pretty sure "Residents" just means doctors, rather than patients.

To continue a brief version of my hospital visit...

In the early hours of Saturday, (May 16) I went to the cardiac wing, then to an ICU for possible pulmonary problems/cardiac also - in a negative atmosphere room where nothing I breathed could go outside the room. And there was an "ante-chamber" where the staff would go suit up or discard their PPE clothes. I was taken out of that negative atmosphere room after my COVID-19 test was negative, then suddenly I got the stent procedure around 10 am on Sat.  and then I was in a C-ICU (for cardiac patients), May 16 (after having a CT scan which didn't show anything.) After having the stent inserted through my right arm artery, back to the same C-ICU for at least 2 days, cause I saw the same day nurse over 2 days. Then finally I got a bed on the cardiac wing again. And just 2 nights there and home I went on Tues. May 19 around noon.

So I'm wishing all those front line personnel - from nurses to housekeeping, from dieticians to   clerks...that they may all be well. For those who caught the virus, I hope your fortitude and strength will help you heal quickly. You were such fabulous caring individuals who paid real attention to my every need...and shared a bit of yourselves with me also.

Look up as high as you can

My gaze is more often earth-bound.
So I pointed the phone camera to the tops of the maples. Yes, there they are so far above me.

My perspective on life is changing. Something about near death experiences, which of course is only slowly seeping into my awareness.

Loving each new day, each moment, each friendly call or text. Getting such joy from reading the blogs that I have linked here...and missing some of them because I just have chosen too many for one person to read in one day.

It' kind of nice to have a glut of blogs.

Almost like the millions of leaves on the maple trees.

A few tunes for your pleasure: Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi


Today's Quote:

Through me course wide rivers and in me rise tall mountains. And beyond the thickets of my agitation and confusion there stretch the wide plains of my peace and surrender. All landscapes are within me. And there is room for everything.

ETTY HILLESUM

Happy birthday Marty

Nothing to add to those posts where I've already shared baby photos.

He and his wife, Barbara, have just had a long weekend on the beach. I'm glad they posted photos on FaceBook, where I could enjoy seeing their fun. And at least some of the time it was not this cloudy!

For now, I'll just have to share his new swim trunks...because they really are so wild.

And they are no longer on my computer! But I know where to find them again...

Imagine a shark, and a cat cowgirl riding it. Bright colors.

Psychedelic

So I wish you a very happy birthday, Marty. And many happy returns of same...

I'll be calling you this evening ...

Artifacts

This turtle rattle has become important to remind me that my healing must proceed at a very slow pace.  I'm grateful that at least 3 animals are represented. The turtle of course, a rabbit in the fur at the handle, and some kind of leather wrapping handle and holding shell pieces together.

 I don't know what makes the rattle inside, and am not about to take it apart to find out.  I got it at a pow wow or festival many years ago.

That tiny little tick on my wrist is where the catheter was inserted to find what was wrong with my heart. I'm told a dye went through my veins until it showed where the blockage was, and a balloon was inserted with a tiny stent, thus opening the LAD artery on the wall of my heart so it would again provide blood to the big muscle. I don't know how much damage had been done to my heart (though I think the doctor told me in his short visit on the day before discharge.

Since the cardiac floor was full, he had to check his notes to tell me what percentage of my heart function had been hurt by the blockage...and his notes covered both sides of a sheet of 8-/12x11 paper...with a line separating each person's details. At least he pulled that out once to refer to it. Imagine then talking to 25-30 people who had just had heart surgery, and who were in different stages of recovery!

Maybe it wasn't that many. But I tend to believe it could have been.

So I have a tiny hole where the catheter, stent and balloon were inserted into my heart. I'm amazed. Many other people had the catheter inserted into their groin. And they often had more than one stent implanted.

Hearts are amazing, and heart medicine is too.

I never felt a heart attack, so I'm even more amazed, and keep wondering whenever I have muscle twinges, is that something like it? I don't know. Yet. And I hope I don't for many more years.

In the meantime, slow wins the race.

No caregiver for me

Well, that's just the way it is, some people have a spouse who's always there, through thick and thin. And some don't.

I long ago found I didn't have the patience to care for more than my 3 sons (and not always that well when I think of it.) And the cats and kittens. That's because I'm not a person who would give my all and then some, no matter how much I loved somebody. I'm a pretty self-centered want-to-survive kind of person.

But being a caregiver would mean being prepared to give my all for another person's needs. I am sure I would certainly find there's a line I could draw in the sand, and say, there, just that much.

But it's so nebulous. When is a couple going to work out that detail, and stretch it beyond where it was...I don't know.

I've been a caregiver in counseling situations, which always meant helping the other person find their own answers.

There's no quick fix to most problems of life.

I am sorry that my sons had to face my possible demise in the last week or two. I'm sure it shook them up a bit. I hope they made any final arrangements they hadn't yet done for their own lives. (And I admit to not having every detail of mine finished.)

View from the cardiac wing, on one of the breaks in the rain.

Did I mention the cardiac wing was full?

There are some corporate types trying to get more elective procedures scheduled so the (new to this hospital) owners can make money while losing some to Covid-19 patients.  But according to the nurse in Cardio-ICU the first night I was there, there were only 3-4 Covid-19 cases in ICU.  Of course he could have been told to give that information.

Anyway, now I'm trying to get used to paying more attention to almost vague messages from my body. I think I'd like to take a break from being 77-3/4 years old and just drink wine for a few days and play some games.

The other day I noticed I had an appetite back. That may be good, because I've just been eating dribs and drabs of the excellent food my friends brought me.

It's four o'clock time

While I was off getting my ticker repaired, it rained almost constantly.

This is the result. One or two seedlings.

I think I need to visit a nursery, or get some good seeds.

So after I throw away all the bad dirt which killed al my little coleus plants...maybe buy another bag of good dirt...then start gardening again. The kalancho, rosemary and lavender have survived a half and half mixture so far. I am so sorry I tried to use last years' dirt. Never again.

The sun will come out...

Tomorrow.

I'm feeling dragged down today. And yet it finally stopped raining and there is sunshine already (with forecast of scattered storms.

No pain. No energy. Blahs.

Boredom.

Wait, this was what I was dealing with BH (before hospital) Home on Tues. last week, thus AH (after hospital).

The big thing was of course being in the hospital. For 5 days I didn't have to make any decisions. I could complain if there was a problem, and people would take me seriously and try to find a solution.

Since AH, I've been provided meals (dinners, once a day.) And thus I don't have to do anything but heat something up. Soup, Lasagna, pizza (all gone now), fruit (a bit too much led to some diarrhea...which you didn't need to know.) Today some kind of wrap that sounds exotic.

But the shock of making all my own decisions for myself again...I had no idea that would be so sobering.

I finally took a shower and put on clean clothes, after a couple of days. I really didn't care how I looked or smelled. Sorry about that!

I asked for help from a friend taking me to the doctors office for a check of my systems (some blood tests sent off) I tried reducing my inhaled Albuterol, using just the puffer. I think that just didn't give me enough of that drug...so I'm going back on a nebulizer treatment again. The nurse practitioner was trying to reduce my feeling of shakiness, but I ended up not wanting to even wake up.  There's got to be a fine line there!

Very few buds on the Mountain Laurel outside my apartment.

And I just want to sleep my life away.

Am I depressed? If anyone isn't these days, I'd be surprised.  But I am about as motivated as a leaf on the wind. Wherever I'm tossed is ok with me right now.

I think my heart is first and foremost adjusting to new and different blood flow. Where it was almost nothing, now it's going at full capacity. It may only be an artery on the heart muscle itself, not the main ones that feed either lungs or the circulation of the body...but it seems pretty important.

So I'm looking at YouTube videos describing how the heart works. It's slow going. Los of diagrams.

When it starts to make sense, and I can feel the pumping working as they describe, I'll take a break.

The LAD artery and emotions

There it is, the Left Anterior Descending artery...

LAD on the right side of this photo, where my stent was placed

I have now learned it's position, but I still don't know much about heart function. Isn't it a bit strange to have such a wonderful organ pumping blood throughout my body, but I don't know much about it?  Guess what this student will be focused upon in the very near future?  But I won't bore you with it.

I will however say that with all the drugs I've been on for the last week (none of which were to either relieve pain or change my mood) I have had the usual deep thoughts. Deep thoughts also come when sleeplessness happens, usually due to various tests that had to be run every hour or so.

The heart is considered by poets and artists as the seat of our passions, our love we have toward others, the emotional center.

But just look at that ...a quivering mass of muscle working to move blood around.

So I thought of how for several years I've been missing any passion in my life. Joy, great and deep compassion, enthusiasm, sorrow...but not much passion. Was this from having that artery get blocked more and more? Was part of my pushy personality from trying so hard to push blood through that little space? (Friends can attest to this truth.)

I remember the first hours of being hospitalized, when they knew something was happening with my heart, but they couldn't figure out where or how. My personal experience was of having difficulty breathing due to the cough, and having many memories in my inner eyes, some of which I would tell to go away. I got many ancestors, and told them I wasn't planning on joining them soon. I let go of all my own decisions and turned everything over to the caregivers, knowing that a greater caregiver was in charge not only of myself but their hands as well.

I also saw the confusion and pain in their eyes as they confronted their own fears of Covid-19. I was given The Test; it meant 3 people in the room, one of whom was apparently being trained. Then the person in charge had to tell me the hospital couldn't run the test themselves because their lab was out of "re-agent." So it would be 24-48 hours after the test was sent to an outside lab. That was just the way it was. (But that changed, as so often happens!)

One of those people had great tattoos along his arm, and while I was being probed through my nose to  my brain for 10 seconds, he told me to hold his hand. Yes, in those crazy "no touch" times, he offered his gloved hand to squeeze. It helped.

And since I told them I hadn't eaten for 12 hours, he came back with some crackers and ginger ale for me a few minutes later. That meant putting on another gown each time he came into my room. I don't know his name, but he was truly a "helper" which I told him. He said he knew exactly who Mr. Rogers was, as he had grown up in Pittsburg.

I told each of the helpers how I appreciated their being "front line" personnel, being out in the trenches doing what they knew how to do in order to help each sick person. I think they appreciated that I took time to discuss the pandemic with them. I made good connections with almost every one of them. What brave and talented people are in the medical profession!

no clue it was my heart!

You've all heard that women experience heart attacks differently than men.

I had shoulder pain, all the time, and it wouldn't let up when I tried to lie down on my side to sleep. I'd finally gone to my general practitioner on Wed. after trouble sleeping for several nights.

But let me back up and just let you know what I already had going on...Bronchiectasis...the inability to clear mucous from my lungs which led to chronic coughing. For that I already had 2 kinds of breathing treatments, one of which was a C-PAP to help me breath while sleeping. Anyway, I had not been getting to sleep and had pain all across my shoulders. The more pain, the tireder and the more coughing, of course.

I also already took a blood pressure medicine, and that Wed. afternoon I had the highest reading I'd ever had at the Dr. office. So he put me on an additional blood pressure medicine.

My doctor also gave me Soma, a muscle relaxant, and prednesone, a steroid...for 5 days.  Nothing for the pain. I could tense my muscles, but then they wouldn't relax. My chest was just tense, a bit heavy feeling. No pain there. I finally took some ibprofen on Thurs. night and fell asleep. But Friday was more of tiredness. I didn't feel like doing a thing.

I can sit here at the computer for hours, and so I did that on Fri, but then was tired and tried for about 3 hours to rest. I remember raising my arms while lying on my back gave some relief.

I called the pharmacy to see if I could still take ibuprofen with the Soma, and they said yes.  I may have called the doctor's office earlier as well, but I'm a bit fuzzy about that.  They did say the doctor isn't working today. Someone said, it sounds like you might need to go to urgent care and may need an Xray. But it was close to 5 pm on Friday by then. And the only other option was E.R.

So I called my friend, Helen, who said she'd be glad to take me to ER. And away we went.  I walked into a kind of busy waiting area, after they took my temperature. I already was wearing my mask. I told them I had shoulder pain that went into my chest. A cardio technician heard me say chest pain, and she took me right away to do an EKG.

And it was abnormal, so off I went for more testing.

None of which showed a heart attack.  I had a CT scan, and blood work, and about 2-3 hours into much discomfort, a cardiologist came and stood at the foot of my bed and said:

"You've had a heart attack.  You've had a heart attack."

I never had an acute episode of pain. And so when I consider it now, I don't know when it happened at all. I now am very cautious of shoulder pain...since that was my only clue.

Yes in the next 5 hours I got a catheterization and a stent installed in my artery which was 100% blocked. More on that later...

But this is another patient who was female who had a heart attack without the standard symptoms. Pay attention ladies. I sure am!

The chicken in the hospital parking lot

I was finally feeling well enough to get out of bed and walk around my room. I wanted to look out the window.

 But what is that live little dark thing by the side of this parking lot, across Biltmore Ave from Mission Hospital?

 No amount of phone enlarging could telll me more...but it was dark and too small to be a turkey, I finally decided.

 I had nothing better to do than watch this strange critter. It was sort of drizzling, but  the chicken didn't seem to mind,

 It did flap its wings a bit, and moved into the area with some kind of light vegetation.

And that was that.

However, there's an epilog to the chicken story.

As Helen and I drove home on Tues. I told her about the chicken, and that it had been too small for a turkey, I thought.  An just as we drove up past McDonalds by the Veterans Hospital, there on the side of Hwy, 70 was a turkey. No kidding. Big, fluffy, moving around.

Things just keep changing

Well, it's great that I was so full of inspiration I've been writing blogs ahead of time, because now I've caught up, and can't put much effort into writing tonight.

It's Tues, May 19, 2020. On Friday last week I felt so bad I went to the hospital in Asheville. Turns out I had had a heart attack.

So today I got home, after having wonderful care by such a great medical and nursing staff. I have a stint now in my LAD artery in my heart.

And for all the folks who've already been through this, you know I'm wiped out.

There are wonderful people at my church, my dear friends, who will be bringing me some meals. I had a dear friend take me to the hospital (after all I had no idea it was my heart), and Helen picked me up today.

Have I got stories to share!!!

PS, I missed reading all my blog friends for 4 days, so will be catching up.

Eating and staying safe!

Switching foods around.

My friend had a blood workup which showed she was pre-diabetic. Her doctor said she could lose some weight and maybe she wouldn't have to take insulin. She was worried about the cost of insulin going through the roof with all the medical insurance changes.

Buncombe County had 105 Covid-19 cases as of May 13 news...I think these are all that have been identified, out of several thousand tests. (They didn't tell us the death total, but I think it's maybe in the teens.)

So she went on a Keto type diet...all meat, veggies and maybe a few other things...but no carbs. So all baked goods were out...including bread and deserts. And I think even fruit, anything that would raise her blood-sugar. Absolutely nothing with sugar in it. She did it religiously and lost 25 pounds, and went back to the Dr. who said she had things under control. So she's still doing that. And she does have a good friend who also is doing this diet, so they share recipes.

She's going to drop a bag of flour at my house sometime today. I do eat breads, and cookies, and sometimes other things that are carbohydrates. Give me a potato and I'm in heaven.  I've got a cupboard with one that surprisingly enough has started to sprout. How did that happen? I've been eating other people's potatoes, that's all there is to it.

I'm returning a book to her which I borrowed back in Feb. It's hard to believe we haven't done much together since then.  I got her some groceries Tues. a week ago. That's probably the last time I'll go grocery shopping for a while. I keep hearing horror stories of all the people not wearing masks in the stores. I am at risk, y'all. I don't want a tiny little 4 micron size particle (virus) to sneak into my eyes, or hide on my sleeve till I take off my mask at home.  I have definitely learned how to not touch my face. I sure am going to be mad at myself if I get this sickness, because some days I'm not as full of disinfectant as others.

So there's a table on my front porch, which is the staging place for things coming in or going out of my apartment.

My friend just called from a barbeque place where we used to have lunch together. Now she gets the meat dishes, and I get the sides. I'm mostly vegetarian these days, except for fish. And the barbeque place makes delicious brownies. So I asked for one. It's still take-out here in North Carolina.

Today's quote:

There will be something, anguish or elation, that is peculiar to this day alone. I rise from sleep and say: Hail to the morning! Come down to me, my beautiful unknown.

JESSICA POWERS

morning notes

Musings in the morning...
once a week, I gear up right after waking, and combine all my little trash bags around the place into one big one, and smash all the cardboard boxes flat, then take them to the corner of the building where a collecting corral has a bunch of trash bins. There's only one that's bear-proof, which we use for kitchen garbage during the week, but lots that are available to use only on trash pick-up day. This works most of the time.

I was making coffee next...feed the fish...then read my friend's blogs, and comments...both making and just reading what folks say about mine. I'm down to keeping 2, and nobody ever reads the family tree one. It's mainly just a historic storage library about the ancestors.

And this one, I usually have recent photos of things around my life. Plants, animals, and the natural scenes I see. They have become much more limited with less outings in daily doings.

It usually takes an hour - sometimes more - to catch up with everyone I follow. I don't know how many there are now. Lots. And about every week I add another one that made an interesting comment on someone else's blog. I don't know if everyone does that, but as some folks just stop blogging, that's given me some new ones to get to know.

Today has freeze warnings for tonight (it's May 8, Friday). All the plants are cozy inside except the gardenia. It will be given a cover, though it's tucked under the little porch roof also, next to the building.  It's survived several frosts that way.

Today's plans? I don't think I'm going out. I talked with 2 of my buddies yesterday, and texted the other one...so I'll probably just do the texting check-in today. Just do some things around the house, oh, maybe go to laundromat.

So, sipping my coffee, reading other's blogs, I've taken out trash and used the first 45 minutes of my day. I choose to postpone the blogs which are most thoughtful until later, preferring lighter reading first. I used to read comics first, but have given up that 20 minute pursuit for more - what shall we say - realistic communication with real people. And I often get some laughs.

Then there are the rest of the daily things...nebulizer treatments, shower and dress, eat something, take blood pressure, take my pills, brush hair and teeth...this usually takes till noon when I awake around 7-8 am. If I sleep in till 9, lunch is sometimes at 2. Oh well, this is retirement.

Today's Quote:

“The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button.”

Casandra Brene' Brown

Springtime lovely food dishes

I fixed one of my favorite dish combinations for the spring. Salmon, roasted garlic and asparagus, and sticky rice. Silly camera got the plate upside down, but I'm leaving it that way. The food is just a memory now.

Today's Quote:

May we never forget the crippled, wind-beaten trees, how they, too, bud, green and bloom. May we, too, take courage to bloom where we are planted.

BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

Al fresca

Eating outdoors.

We've been relegated to eating anywhere but inside a restaurant for the last 2 months. I didn't write down when it started, but everyone switched to "take out" pretty quickly.

So we would call the restaurants (I chose only the local ones that I wanted to help stay in business) and then go park at their door, and they would call us back when our order was ready.

But here are a few "pre-Covid-19" photos. They may not be sepia, but they do mean we enjoyed fresh air with our meals.

Oh, not Manet's 1863 Luncheon on the Grass. (I'd probably be the woman in the stream.)

I didn't get to join my son, Marty, at this inside/outside venue (in Florida.) It looks good, and I hope to eat there when I visit him again!

 Our local brunch favorite is Louisa's Kitchen here in Black Mountain NC (before the shut-down.)

In Santa Fe NM last summer, we enjoyed "cocktails" on a roof patio before going to dinner in the best restaurant in town.  We went to a couple of bars having cocktails until it was time for our reservation for dinner.

Having a dog with us, it was extra special in Taos to have breakfast on a patio as well...though it was a bit chilly.

We waited for a buzzer to let us know our table inside was ready...here my friend Teresa shows Helen something on her phone at the Pisgah Inn last spring. It's still closed this year.

Before all the social isolation, this porch was available for us to sit and rock and talk when the weather was right. However at this point all the rocking chairs have been locked up.  We are still being urged to wear a mask, and of course stay 6 feet away from each other.

Living in a neighborhood with seniors, I'm hoping we all weather this pandemic over the next whatever time it lasts.

And this is the Sepia Saturday prompt for this week. I think my meals outdoors meet the criteria~!

Today's Quote:

He said: "I don't quite understand about understanding poetry. I experience poems with pleasure: whether I understand them or not I'm not quite sure. I don't want to read something I already know or which is going to slide down easily: there has to be some crunch, a certain amount of resilience."

by poet John Ashbery 

Older ducklings

As I walked along one side of Lake Tomahawk the other day, I saw another family of Mallards, with ducklings that were a bit older than the first ones I saw (on yesterday's post).

 Mom Mallard led her 10 ducklings (I think) from the bank of the dam into the water.

 There was a male napping on shore...

 He didn't want anything to do with these kids, and chased this one back into the water, then disappeared somewhere else.

 The sluice that drains the water must have been full of goodies to eat, but I was worried that a duckling might get swept away. They didn't seem to have a care, and neither did mom Mallard.

I didn't watch for long, because I was actually there to capture a photo of the National Guard plane that was about to fly over. I did get some photos of it, and have posted them already.

Today's quote:

We often think that vulnerability is a kind of weakness, but there’s a kind of vulnerability that is actually strength and presence.

RAM DASS

Some ducklings

I had just arrived to walk around Lake Tomahawk the other day. But I put on a mask, and noticed nobody else had on one.  Only one woman was running apparently, and one was dog walking. I stopped and let her pass me by. For the jogger, I moved 10 feet off the path upwind of her. I'm at high risk of catching Covid-19 - so I'm really staying as isolated as I can. (I've heard 15 feet is normal for those jogging to expel their breaths.)

Then there were these little fluffy things floating around with male mallards. I didn't see a female anywhere nearby.

 They were very interested in eating something underwater. Good for them!

Quote for today:

We feel like separate water droplets but we are also ocean.

JANE HIRSHFIELD