Sunday in September

Yet another Sunday has come and is half past and our routine remains out of whack. Bruce is over helping Bill this afternoon and I'm delighted to report that there are very near the finish line with the floor. Actually the room is complete, as is half one closet, with the other half on the agenda today along with another smaller closet. While it took far longer to complete than Bill and Fallon were hoping, the end is in sight. While on the phone with her yesterday she said she cannot wait to hang her clothes up once again. Who could blame her? I also confirmed that she is in her last semester of book work with clinicals to begin in January! We are so proud of her hard work and determination! Before we know it, she will be a Nurse Practitioner. 

Will we ever be able to gather for church again? Of course, but right about now it feels like forever. The same goes for seeing Maureen at the nursing home, something I've not done now for six months! The good news is that she seems to be just fine, easing any worries we might harbor. 

One thing I did yesterday was begin to puzzle about the birds on the beach that I photographed two weeks ago. 

Identifying shore birds is not a skill that comes easily to me, especially when they are in a flock. I've learned that there are Terns and Royal Terns, but it was just yesterday afternoon that I learned that there are also Mustard Terns. Say what? Yes, such a thing exists, and the identifying marker is the tip of yellow at the end of their beaks! And while I thought the above would show it well when I chose the photograph, I realize it isn't that great, so here's a better look.Better? I've also just learned that there are 2,059 bird species in North America. While that is an amazing number I think there are more types of insects than birds. Oh nature, how you do cause wonder.

Something else of note, or at least to those of us who have been looking for a new swimsuit of late, turns out those too are experiencing a shortage according to this very fascinating article about the area in China with the most swimsuit factories. If the article is not of interest, I do suggest you at least look at the photographs. Very messy, some of those workrooms are. At the very least, it is interesting to know where our swimsuits come from.

Michelle was so sweet, dropping off a little goodie bag while returning the Tupperware container I'd brought over. Filled with macaroni salad, a dish I've not made in ages. but know that she likes. That container belonged to Bruce's Mom and it looks about as good as the day she bought it, but that's Tupperware for you, it never fails. Did you know that I sold it for a short while during our stint in California 40+years ago? It was a good thing that it mostly sold itself in those days!

Ah yes, pumpkin. It's that time of the year isn't it? More so in other places, but in an attempt to imagine it was Autumn and cooler than it is, I made a Pumpkin Bundt Cake. Looking everywhere, I finally found the recipe I'd been given by my mother in law many years ago. It is both typed and stained. Nearly torn in two, I was just happy to have found it because although there are plenty of recipes online, I know this one is tried and true.

Before I located said recipe, I had looked online and in one recipe it called for toasted pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, to be sprinkled on top. Another one spiced them which sounded appealing. Well, never imagine that all things go as planned in the kitchen because it doesn't. This fail was a first though. What went wrong? You tell me.

Would that be poultry seasoning Gail? Why yes, you are correct. It pays to read the label!!

Is there anything worse than a crummy peach? Of course there is! I was suspicious when the sign said they were from maybe Idaho, I can't recall. My fears were confirmed, and it quickly went into the trash along with the poultry seasoned pepitas.

That's the thing about fruit, you just never really know what you are getting, especially while wearing a mask and cannot smell it for ripeness. Now that seriously complicates matters.

It's been raining cats and dogs here, but you wouldn't know it from the "official count" as reported in our newspaper. Imagine our surprise, having checked our rain gauge the evening before, to see this.

A trace? A veritable monsoon, we collected 4.5 inches! According to the above, 15.87n inches fell in 1945 during the month of September. By our count we are nearing that already as most days we are receiving upwards of 2". I'll be curious what is reported at the end of the month. Before you go and tell me that rainfall is collected at the airport, we are between the two airports, and while it has been known to rain on one side of the street, I'm still not buying these totals.

This is our friend Patti who rocks the pickleball court. Oh my she is good and when I grow up I want to be Pickleball Patti, my nickname for her.

Just like us, she is always up for heading to the court to either practice or play. Nancy sent me a darling Lily tennis dress the other day that came in the mail. I brought my camera and asked Patti to take our photo. Mr. Peck is both rocking his sweatband and his ankle brace. It may be fun but it is not without challenges where our bodies are concerned.

Shopping has not been one of my pandemic past times, thank goodness for Nancy.

I'm not complaining one bit about playing every morning because I do love it for the fun and exercise, but every now and again, I need a photography fix, so I went over to Lake Davis to see what I could see. Turns out I saw a Muscovy family on the move, probably assuming I had food.

Another thing I saw was the very interesting Egyptian Goose. Maybe a month ago we saw a pair along with a few ducklings, a rare sighting at Lake Davis. I don't know where the others went, however this one seems content hanging around.

Perhaps you recall our horror at seeing the lake so low for months on end? Not so these days as evidenced by the mark on the water level sign. Not as full as some years, but pretty darn full.

Showing it to Bruce, he thinks the lake has risen about 2 feet. Guess what? It's raining for the second time today. Gray and gloomy to go along with. 

All the rain has caused explosive growth on our new tree, something I've been mentioning far too often for some folks tastes. Looking through some earlier photographs, I came across those taken when we planted our tree. Here's what it looked like in March 2019.

At the time Pam said it was going to be too big for the space, something that seemed unimaginable at the time. The moral of the story? Pam knows best because, as our friend Gayle said, it is like Jack and the Beanstalk! I had to stand inside our door to get most of it in the photo.

Now you can see for yourself that I'm not exaggerating! I sure wish some of our rain would head over to the Pacific Northwest and quench the raging wildfires. Jackie texted yesterday saying that even in British Columbia the smoke was so thick it was blocking the sun with extremely poor air quality as a result. We get hurricanes, they get wildfires, neither of which are good. Heartbreaking. 

One final sad thing, or at least it is if you are an FSU football fan. New coach, same results. Another heartbreaking loss is in the books. Always another game, right?

your friend,

Gail