Things that Swim, Fly, Hop, Run and Crawl

During the Sunday service we attended at the downtown Methodist church here in Murphy, the pastor, who just so happened to be a woman and from Florida, asked us to imagine if we were a tree, what would we be? Immediately Bruce whispered to me that he would be a Maple tree because he is so sweet. I can't argue with that comment! I have to admit that I was flummoxed to come up with an answer.  Too many choices would be my excuse. (As an aside, we have met countless Floridians!!)

On the other hand, she was speaking to me when she proclaimed that we should---are you ready for this description of my blog???---"pay attention, be astonished and tell about it." Yup, she had me pegged! Hopefully there is a little bit of this going on in this space as well.

And so it is that I have some things to report that have astonished me, and to a lesser extent, Bruce. He likes it all, but maybe just a wee bit less than I do? With that in mind, I share some of the titled astonishments. One of the most exciting moments was this beautiful little doe who came out of the forest along Warren Drive as we were leaving one day. Perhaps it was astonished at seeing us? 

Warren Drive is the mile plus long road that the cottage is on and Bruce has learned to drive carefully because he never knows what might present itself.

Pretty much every day there are deer, sometimes in the morning as we are heading out for the day, 

Or in the afternoon as we are returning. One day John texted and said to look outside as there was a buck to view in the front yard! I had to take it through the screen, but not too bad for that.

While we are on property, and allowing for photographs taken through the screens, we are in love with the Goldfinch pair that are eating steadily.

When it comes to steadily, here is a little something comical to report. Bruce purchased some nectar for the feeder with electrolytes advertised as one of the ingredients. He's a sucker for electrolytes. Things were going well with multiple daily visits. Except, there were ants and plenty of them floating atop said nectar. So many, in fact, that he bought an impediment to ants getting into the nectar from Amazon, something he does rarely. When we visited Jim and Karen two weeks ago, she explained that I could make the nectar myself as it is really just water and sugar with a ratio of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. He strained the ants, put the little topper on, followed by dumping in the new nectar I made. Here is the female Ruby Throated Hummingbird.

Who knows why, but the daily visits have seen a dramatic drop which Bruce blames on the lack of, you know what.  I made a new batch last evening that may or may not work. We were gone for most of today on an adventure, so while Bruce is sitting on the couch he is keeping a close eye on the feeder. I may have to concede defeat, but then again, birds are fickle and hard to predict, so we shall see.

One morning Bruce spotted a rabbit out the bedroom window!

It's not the first bunny we have seen though; from a distance while on the river walk we spotted this guy.

Let's remain on the river walk where I spend walking a few days a week while Bruce is working on his goal of becoming an elderly body builder. He's having great success with that, btw. Second ground hog sighting! Could it be the same one? 

Merlin identifies this bird as a Mountain Bluebird and who am I to argue with artificial intelligence?

American Robins are plentiful.

As well, Barn Swallows are plentiful and hard to photograph!! They speed along and as we have discovered, nest under the bridge.

Flying hither and yon, I noticed that, across the park that is adjacent to the walk, they were swarming in a particular spot.

What is happening over there I wondered? Walking across said park, what to my curious eyes should I discover but this:

There was plenty of jostling for position.

Perhaps my clever readers have figured out what was going on, but in the heat of the moment, I was clueless! And yes I mean heat both literally and figuratively, as the heat dome covering the South is reaching here in the mountains. Anyway, once in air conditioning and looking at the photos on my computer, it clicked. Gathering mud for those nests! 

Birds are so cool.

I promised crawlers!

Crawler #2 Rescued by Mr. Bruce from the middle of the road.

Bees, of course, both crawl and fly.

These tiny beetles found on this Primrose plant. which btw, I was delighted to discover because I have driven down Primrose Street more times than I can count, before now having seen the roads' namesake.

Swimmers! Found in the pond at the end of the driveway.

Should you have thought I was done with flyers, well, think again. Let us say hello to an Eastern Phoebe, chilling near the Folk School gardens.

While I have tried hard to learn some bird calls, I would give myself a C at best to date. One bird, however, that I can identify by call is the above because it is kind enough to repeat, phoebe, phoebe, phoebe. Should you care to know.

Purple Martins. Let's revisit them, shall we? For years, mostly on road trips, I have seen the familiar sight of the gourd shaped houses, yet I never once saw a Purple Martin. Now that I have, I cannot get enough of them.

According to this, the above type of housing is not inexpensive. Talk about flying hither and yon. They would be there and next thing you know, they are out in search of food to feed their youngsters.

I am now a little obsessed with these birds, having just read all of this factual information on the Cornell website. How have I never seen one before??

Today we hiked up nearly to the top of a waterfall and while heading back down I said to Bruce, "Bruce, don't you think it always seems shorter once you have traversed a trail?" I continued, "Isn't it the unknown part of it?" Heading into the unknown is pretty powerful when you think about it. Especially at our age! Sort of what we are doing here in North Carolina, encountering unfamiliar, well, everything really. 

The unknown rather than the familiar. 

Earlier in this post I mentioned the visit with Jim and Karen; while there she gave me this mug which I have placed on the windowsill beside a gigantic pine cone I picked up on our way to Murphy.

She claimed that I was the most curious person she knows. Whether that is true or not, I will take it as a compliment. The world is so full of curiosities and wonders I will continue, probably until I die,  to "pay attention, be astonished and tell about it."

your friend,

Gail

Exposure

One of the things I always loved about taking x-rays was my exposure to people of all ages. Unlike a nurse who often spends days with the same type of patient, pediatrics, geriatrics, surgical, that type of patient, during my days of taking general x-rays, my patients were from newborn to in their 90's.  Of course, once I began only doing mammograms, that changed somewhat, but stil,l the ladies, and occasionally men, were extremely varied.

You might think that my job was boring, and if not for the age differences, it might have been. Every morning, arriving at the hospital by 7AM, I started by checking the day's schedule. Oftentimes I could guess my patients age by their names; Margaret, for instance, usually meant the woman was in her 70's. Debbie, on the other hand, was a dead give away for someone my age. Hearing life stories from woman in their 80's, and even 90's, gives one perspective on life's struggles.

I couldn't help but think of that time in my life after chatting with Corrine after they finally returned to their home after four days. Unlike a younger person who might be complaining about the cost of the storm damage, she only wanted to be back home. Here's what the back of their house looks like with the new power box, which, by the way, cost $1,100!

I had no idea that the power company did not pay for that! Plus, the part of Wanda's tree that fell into their yard was their responsibility as well--another $750. At their age, 87 and 84 respectively, Corrine and Herb have experienced it all, and just as you do, they have keep going. In our younger years, someone mentioned to us that if you can fix a problem with money that's a good thing; at the time I did not realize how true that statement is. Losing a spouse, a daughter, your hearing, those problems are not so easily fixed nor forgotten.

In the last few days I've had some super wonderful experiences, from seeing a bunny during our bike ride in Baldwin Park,

to meeting a super cool 80 year old woman named Dee.

Although she insisted she didn't look good enough for a photo without her makeup, I disagree--she looks great! On my way to Roger's house, Friday afternoon, a bench on what I later learned was Dee's front porch caught my eye.

Knocking on that pretty red door to ask permission, I was slightly startled to see the Christmas tree, covered in what I estimate to be 1,000 ornaments, just inside the front door. After explaining that she is a collector of loads of things, she invited me inside to take a look. The robe? Baking Easter cookies and cupcakes all day. Guess what? She has a daughter named Gail, who I immediately knew had to be close to my age--see above.

Seeing only the bottom floor, I was impressed with how nicely she displays all her various collections. Here's another look at that tree:

Simply astonishing! Remarkably, because her husband has undergone three brain surgeries, she manages everything by herself, including the yard! Our vist was cut a little short because she had to take him to the doctor for a shot, with only 45 minutes to get dressed and get her makeup on. Before I left though, she insisted on showing me all the rooms, including the guest room. Much to my surprise she has a Kermit the Frog obsession as well.

My sister Lisa would appreciate one thing she said to me, "I'm a thrift store, garage sale, and pick up by the side of the road shopper." I feel pretty confidant that her open invitation for a repeat visit was genuine.

Then too, earlier in the day, while on my bike ride I saw both eagles again!

Day after day I've been watching and waiting; finally after maybe four months my wish came true!

Thursday, while riding with Bruce on the Cady Way Trail, we ended up in Baldwin Park, riding along Lake Baldwin,

we continued until we got to Fleet Peoples Dog Park. Although we've read about dog parks, this was our first exposure to one in person. This guy was quite the instigator,

racing around with the other dogs, and even swimming!

Bruce's comment about having "lost touch with reality" rang a little true. Working non-stop for years and years has a way of insulating one to what is happening out in the world. Although I'd never stopped to check the park out, at least I knew it was there!

Returning to our car that morning I asked Bruce if he knew how far we'd ridden--he was most surprised when I told him 12 miles. Good for him; I've had time to work up to that, he's just a newbie, however, he enjoys riding as much as I do so I see lots of it in our future.