Closing out

This is Bonnie's sister making a final post on the blog for Bonnie. We hope you have enjoyed her blog.

Blogging will be sporadic for a while--Snow in March

My blog posts will be sporadic for at least a while longer.  
Here are some pics of the snow we got a couple of days ago.
The crepe myrtle provides winter interest in the landscape.

My neighbor's ornamental pear is blooming while the snow is on the ground.

 

Taking a blogging break

For those who check in here regularly, I want to let you know I will be taking a blogging break for at least 2 more weeks.  Hopefully, at that point, I will be able to update my blogging plans.


For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

Late winter blooms and birds

It's still winter by the calendar, but we will have a succession of blooms from here on through spring.  My daffodils showed their first blooms Friday.  The little red maple in the front yard is full of blooms.  It has attracted the birds.  I saw a cedar waxwing in it as well as some yellow-rumped warblers.  The waxwing might have been drinking sap, and the warblers were flitting about for insects.  The warblers are in their subdued winter plumage.  Here is one near the treetop.

 

Here are the first daffodils.



Youtube videos

Have you ever thought of producing Youtube videos to make a little profit?  There are a couple of homesteading channels that I like to follow which have a large number of subscribers and make income that helps support their efforts.  I also have friends who started Youtubing a while back to help make a little income on the side.  Just when they were almost to the threshold of collecting a hundred dollars, Youtube has changed the game on them.  If they get enough views before the rules change later this month, they can still collect, so I'm going to post one of their videos of their son and grandson at the beach in hopes that a few more views will help them make their goal.  It's a sweet video of a normally very serious minded kid who has found his element.  The video is made up of still photos shot by Viktoria Eaton "You've Been Snapped."

 

 

I'm not sure how this works.  I'm assuming if I embed the video here, and it is watched, it will increase the number of views, but it might be that one needs to view it on Youtube (just click on that at the bottom of the video if you are trying to increase their number of views, and if you are a Youtube subscriber, be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you like it).

Bluebird rescue

Yesterday, when I took a walk up the street, I heard a noise in a mailbox.  I wondered if someone had played a prank and stuffed a small critter into that mailbox.  I don't know the person who owns that mailbox, so I was a little cautious about my inspection.  When I heard the familiar and somewhat plaintive call of a bluebird, I stepped closer to the box to inspect.  The mailbox was on a vinyl post with a missing cap.  About 18" or so down in the open post, I could see a bluebird that seemed to be trapped.  I tried to put my walking stick down into the opening to get the bird to grip it.  Then when a young mother across the street came home, I tried to enlist her help.  By that time, I realized there were 2 birds inside the post.  We tried scooping a bird out with a grill fork to no avail.
Finally, the first bird grasped my walking stick.  I gently drew the stick out, and the bird was able to fly off.  The second bird was a bit weaker.  As a last resort, I actually stuck my hand down into the post and brought the bluebird gently out.  It was also able to fly off.  It was late afternoon.  I hope they were able to recover sufficiently to make it through the night.  That was an interesting experience.

First crocus

I took this picture yesterday--first crocus of the season.

An evening at the "Listening Room"

Last Friday night, darling husband and I had the opportunity to attend a little concert in the Wake Forest Listening Room series.  The band was Drybread Road, a duo consisting of our musician acquaintances, Rick and Bette Newsome.  Rick and Bette are wonderful people who can entertain and educate at the same time.  They have a gentle, understated way about them and their show is smooth and polished, thoroughly enjoyable.
The venue was the Sugar Magnolia Café & Emporium, a very lovely little shop in downtown Wake Forest.  The manager, Mike Allen, livestreamed the show and has posted the VIDEO on the Listening Room page.

Legacy

Last Friday, my husband and I attended the funeral of a dear man who had lived to be 98.  He had been in reasonably good health most of the time.  I wish I could have spent more time with him.  He was such a pleasure to be around.  He had left a legacy of love and kindness and positivity.  He had been a hard worker and a loving family man. 
It gave me pause to think of the legacy I'm leaving.  I'm sure I won't measure up to the man who just passed from this life, but I'm certainly inspired by his legacy. 

Snow pics

We got snow on Wednesday.  Today I went out with a ruler and measured about 5 inches in a few spots.  It was pretty, though it makes for a tough time for those who have to be on the highway, especially when it thaws a little then refreezes overnight.
Here are a few pictures of the snow.

An answer for the doctor...

...who wants to know why I haven't come to see him before now.  Simply put, it's your hostile environment.  To elaborate, it starts in the front office.  As rarely as I go to the doctor, the last 2 times I've been, I've managed to schedule when there was either a winter weather event going on or coming soon.  That's probably because I've scheduled in January, a time I'm not bogged down with summer yard and garden work, and a time when the demanding pressures of the holidays are over.  I'm sure a receptionist who is worried about the road conditions or who has had a rough morning trying to reschedule patients might not be happy, but at least greet that poor lady who is already apprehensive about being there with eye contact and a warm smile.  Don't give off bad vibes when the patient says she says she is self-pay; she's not thrilled about it either, but it's not contagious.
Then your blood pressure cuff is a menace.  Is it just me, or do other patients also get marked up with broken blood vessels or pinch marks from that cuff?  Here is a pinch mark on my upper arm from yesterday.  When I showed darling husband the mark, his sympathy consisted of reminding me I had gone to the doctor on purpose.

(Trigger warning--a "TMI graphic")

 

I once heard a phlebotomist claiming to be vindictive to patients who complained or who were scared of needles.  I am not scared of needles, but I think I will start being scared of mean phlebotomists.
Then there is the doctor.  If you aren't willing to listen to my concerns, we have a problem.
Then there is the spiel.  Okay, this part is just tongue-in-cheek, but my husband requested our good friend Matt Nelson sing this song at a jam last night.  It seemed appropriate to the occasion.  I should record Matt Nelson doing the song.  Here is a rendition done by Little Charlie and the Nightcats:

 

Then you charge me for the aforementioned indignities and wonder why I don't want to see you more often.

Invasion of the gumballs (and pic from snow)

There are a few sweetgum trees at the back of our lot.  Most are not actually on our property, but the gumballs do fall on our property.  One limb in particular that originates in the neighbor's yard and has grown horizontally over our yard as it reached for the light is loaded with gumballs.

 

Quite a few have fallen already, and I raked up some yesterday and burned them.  The raking was peaceful, but I'm thinking a leaf blower might have made shorter work of the project.

 

There are more to come:

 

In other news, our record breaking cold streak has ended.  The Raleigh Durham Airport recorded 201 consecutive hourly readings of below freezing.  One of the local meteorologists who usually is a straightforward "just the facts" kind of guy, used the word "mercifully" to tweet that the freezing weather had "mercifully ended."  I was amused at his use of the word, but I agreed with his assessment.  Here is a picture of the snow last Thursday while we were still frozen.







Palmettos in the snow

Of all the times one might have to travel southward, ours coincided with a unusually cold spell.  I imposed upon darling son to take a picture of the palmettos in the snow.

Planning for a new year

I admire people who are good planners.  There are a couple of vlogs that I watch regularly in which the posters share their long-term plans for their homesteads.  I like watching how they look at the big picture and implement the actions needed to reach their goals.  The beginning of a new year seems to be a great time to evaluate where you are and what you want to accomplish.  It seems I get bogged down in the day-to-day routine.  But I still like the optimism a new year brings.
I did make some traditional dishes for our meal today.  We had collards, black eyed peas, cornbread, mac and cheese, and green beans.  The collards were from our garden, and they were good.  My son and I also had some pickled beets that my brother made from his garden.  Boy howdy, they were good with the collards and peas!
Even if I can't get accomplished the things I'd like to see done, I know life is good when I'm eating that well.
I hope 2018 is a good year for you.