Humming Bird Fight and other things

I'd love the live action at the feeders while cooking or eating a meal. This year the humming birds and Orioles are arguing over the red feeder.

I purchased a hummingbird feeder and an Oriole feeder last spring just for curiousity.

It ended up being an excellent choice as I find Rich watching and commenting on the birds constantly.

There was a time when the birds didn't interest him. Well now they do and he is enjoying the show.

Charlie and I took a walk to re-hide the toys for the next kid Treasure Hunt. We generally let about 4 days pass. The toys are out in the weather. Rain/dew/sunlight/heat/ and the chill of the night should take care of any lingering virus. Both my household and their household have been isolated since the schools shut down on March 11th. The kids have not gone in to town at all. They are living a life of home schooling and having to play with their own siblings.

The soccer games are not happening so mom isn't on the run all of the time. The kids come down to the little area their dad cleared for them and do play soccer. I can watch from across the field and sit on my porch.

It is pleasant to listen to children playing. Such a welcome sound.

Here Charlie sits next to the clue:

The skull points the way to the next clue. The Zombie Doll!

Yes, we have a creepy looking Zombie doll!

And so it went. Look for the Teddy Bear near an Ash Tree that is losing all of its bark.

There is a blue stegosaurus guarding the big mossy rock!

I hid the rest of the toys and turned around.

What a delightful surprise:

Charlie never smelled the fawn and it was as still as a statue. I used the zoom lens and then backed away and left it alone.

That pretty much made my whole day.

Mother Nature has a way of making a person feel better.

And once more I reminded myself as to how lucky I am to be able to live in this place.

Other hidden toys:

I got an assignment today for my workout. The WOD of the day was deadlifts. A rest and recover day before the Murphy WOD tomorrow. I don't think I will be doing that however I may do it unofficially here at home in a modified version.

My Coach asked me to go around the farm and find items that I could dead lift. He knows I don't have the proper bars so he suggested that I find the odd things a farm person has to contend with lifting and post them.

Here are some:

And how I did it...

And no, I am not crazy really. I just want to stay in shape and maintain my mobility, balance, and stamina.

I want to keep my body moving.

And that helps both my mental well being as well as my physical well being.

New and different

So for my Master Naturalist Class, we had to have a daily...or weekly journal of things observed including birds, insects, wild life, ...you get the idea.

I purchased a nice book with pages of 100lb paper stock weight so I could past photos of observations.
That came to a screeching halt last Sunday as the classes are cancelled.

I glued in the last photos I'd taken and decided to continue anyway and make it a personal journal as I used to keep one from Junior year in high school until I started a blog.

I find that getting OFF the internet is satisfying in so many ways. I won't be pasting any photos in the book for a long time now. I may resort to drawing again!

I think this will be my personal thoughts and observations for the duration of this Pandemic. Just notes, temps, observations, and random thoughts...that is good enough for me...
and it keeps me away from reading all that horrid news.

I've also decided to see what I had on hand and be a bit creative when I have to be quiet while hubby is napping and it is pouring cats and dogs outside.

Eventually spring will appear -- this morning it is snowing and blowing after an inch of rain yesterday.

The daffy's are trying to poke up in the yard and the tulips are making an appearance.

In the woods the leeks are poking up also.

I found some nettles sprouting and will gather them to add to our vegetables or make some tea.

As soon as I get another good sunny day I will be hunting wild parsnips in the valley. They are hard to clean, a pain to chop up and prepare, but taste wonderful when sauteed.

We are practicing isolation here. Yesterday I took Charlie to the vet and he got his shots updated. The vet was wearing a mask and gloves. Her eyes looked tired and wary.
It was an awkward situation. Normally she and her staff are so cheery and outgoing. Yesterday it was obvious that I was seen as a possible infection. I asked her if she was going to close down and she avoided my eyes and said..."It's and hour by hour situation."

I dropped by the feed store and picked up Senior Feed for the elder mules. The Ag guy and I too kept our distances. I said thanks and hopefully I'd see him again..and stay well.

Our community is however doing great things in town. Neighbors texting neighbors, "I'm going to the store? Can I get you something?"
The bike brigade taking meals to the elderly and leaving the meals at their doors.

McDonalds in town giving meals to children between the hours of 11 and 2pm. Free meals.

I'm proud of our rural community.

This afternoon a neighbor will come over and we will hike the neighboring land together. We will be out and distanced but still able to exchange conversation. Human contact is important.

In the mean time. My bathtub is now sparkling! Dust has been banished from all surfaces.
I'm actually trying to plan meals.

I'm looking forward to foraging.

The old mule will be my pack animal.
Life is different, but doable.

Our CrossFit community has set up a Zoom thing? We can all get on line and see each other at 5pm each day? I'm going to try that.

I'm also grateful that my MIL is now in a home. It is the safest place she can be in right now.

And this extra time will allow me to explore some more digital art.

Hope you are all well.

Stay safe.