‘Tis the season when I love watching all the drama taking place on our deck. Birds and squirrels (and cats…), OH MY! The squirrels (and, well, the cats…) irritate my soul, though. Squirrels with stealing the birdseed and destroying my deck flower pots, and the cats (Nikki!) for catching birds and bringing them inside to maul and kill and leave feathers and bird parts all over the bathroom. (Why there? I dunno).
Squirrels! My nemesis. (However, they’re pretty cute). Grrr.
That’s a flicker at the birdfeeder (above). I love flickers. I am always so happy to see them. (They’re in the woodpecker family). You can’t tell here, but their underbelly and throat are a scarlet color. They’re just an awesome bird. Often there are two, and they’ll hang out on the deck rail for a while, patiently waiting for all the little finches to fly away, and then they grab on to the bottom of the feeder and partake in one of the seed holes. There is something gentle and wise and graceful about them, even considering that they have to manage the birdfeeder in a rather awkward manner compared to those little finches.
It has otherwise been a trying week. After John’s mom had (apparently?) made a change in attitude about being in the rehab center (with the understanding that it was temporary in order to get her capable and mobile enough to go into Assisted Living, which was her idea that she’s brought up several times this past year but it wasn’t a good time due to Covid), she did another 180° and absolutely insisted that she be released and brought HOME. This was a woman with a mission. It was clear that she wasn’t ready for that. If you can’t get yourself from your bed to the bathroom and then back again, you really oughtn’t be home. She has some friends there to “help” her, but they aren’t trained, and they were not able to get her up after she’d fallen before. BUT, to make a long story short, she signed herself out (against the recommendations of the rehab facility—and John, who is now the “bad guy”—and is now home, via a friend who was willing to transport her.) All we can do is hope that it works out OK for her. I fear another fall, and those accumulative falls tend to be the end game.
John and I have been experiencing some enjoyable NORMALCY now that we’re fully vaccinated. It started when Helen was here and we went out to lunch and then the nursery. The other day, John and I went to Trader Joe’s in Olympia and stocked up on some fun stuff, then Wild Birds Unlimited where I bought a big bag of birdseed (which was expensive and so I’d like a slingshot to aim pebbles at the squirrels…), then out to lunch at Applebees! I’ve had Applebees on the brain lately, mostly because I’ve had a hankering for their famous Oriental Chicken Salad (I’m surprised they still refer to it on their menu as “Oriental.” That’s…rather disparaging!) It was sure yummy, though. Mmmmm.
Then, we were invited to our neighbors’ house for dinner Tuesday evening! And we gave each other HUGS! It was wonderful and so normal! Man, it’s been so long. And so strange. We’ve all been in touch, but this was special and, again, normal. The way we are intended to be. We had a ball. Such a good dinner and such good company.
And, here’s a picture of Quinn at daycare being gentle with a baby chick!
His sweatshirt says, “STRAIGHT OUT OF TIME OUT.”