duck, duck, goose

 We had a doctor's visit in t he burbs today

    Julia was gone too, so we wanted to make this trip as quick as possible because we felt sorry for little Beth in her kennel for 4 or 5 hours.

    We were going down 88 at about 70 miles an hour when the semi in front of us hit the brakes and veered left, then right.  Other cars started hitting the brakes.

    Accident?

    No.  A pair of geese and 4 or 5 goslings were crossing the tollway!  They little buggers were in the right lane when they reversed course and went back into the left lane, causing traffic to swerve, slow down, or come to a halt.

    One of the trucks pulled over to the side.  I don't know if he got out to shepherd them across the road or just to get out of all the slowing/stopped vehicles mess.

    I did not see any piles of feathers on the way home, so I guess they made it ok.

    Funny thing.  I have driven this route a lot.  For some reason today I missed 88 on the way home on 355.  Jackie asked if I missed the turn, I said no, then passed Maple Avenue and realized I had in fact missed the turn.

    How did that happen?

    Maybe I was sipping a coffee, or daydreaming, but it was disconcrting to say the least.

    I got off 355, then got back on and made it back to the tollway, but I am still puzzled how I missed it.

    We got back early enough for me to mow.  The grass was pretty long, so I mowed at 4 inches instead of my normal 3.5 or 3.25.  I hope to mow again tomorrow at a lower height and also trim.

    I also got a second coat of polyurethane on the bison and the windmill.  Maybe they will be in  set place tomorrow.  Or maybe not.

    It seems like I am way behind in getting things out for summer.  I know it's still early May, but it seems like I have just not done what I need to do.

    Maybe the warmer, sunnier weather will put me in a better frame of mind.

Peace and Love

now what!

 Something new has popped up

    Robins are attempting to nest on our front porch.

    Normally they wait for the hanging baskets to appear.  Then they build nests in those.  At least they did until I started putting those pointy wooden barbecue sticks in the plants.  They could not land to build a nest.

    But, they are a little impatient this year and have started a nest on top of the pole that holds Jackie's signs.

    When I went to remove the nest, the two robins screeched at me from the sidewalk.  I told them to find a tree, where birds belong.

    When I went to Emily's to let dogs out today, I discovered a robins' nest on top of the drainpipe as it curves in toward the house.  I did not remove that one because it was raining and I was getting wet.

    While scattering more grass seed today, I found 6 ground squirrel holes!  Holy crap!

    I may have to start trapping them and taking them over to the park to release.  

    I honestly thought they were gone after the hawk and heron hung around the yard for a few days last year.  After the birds were here I did not see any of the little furry critters.  

    But this year?

    Beth likes to sniff after them and yesterday got zapped a couple of tines because her nose was glued to the ground and she was not watching where she was going.  There are still blue flags in the back yard, but you have to see them to be reminded of the underground fence.

    At least we don't have a possum in the garage, feral cats under the deck, or a skunk that regularly visits the bird feeders.

    And my brother in law in Florida had an alligator in his yard yestereday.

    There are some things to be thankful for when living in Illinois.

Peace and Love

1 track minds

 We may have a slight dog problem

    I have a little garden area off the front porch.  Some lavender, ornamental grasses, salvia, dianthus and heuchera, which are coral bells, make up most of the garden.

    But Beth has developed a fixation on the garden because of a new addition.

    Baby rabbits.

    Somewhere in the garden, we think under the salvia, there is a rabbit nest and some baby rabbits.

    Beth has discovered them and is determined to, shall we say, make their acquaintance.

    So, when we take her out Julia and I stand guard.  We block Beth from getting into the area.  But she is determined.

    Night time is not a problem because I will put her on a leash and walk her into the grass.  But we are not letting her out the front door by herself until the babies are gone.

    We saw one of them hopping around on the sidewalk today.  It was so tiny and cute! We don't know how many there are because we don't want to disturb the nest.  So for the next few weeks we will monitor their progress from afar.

    The backyard has at least 4 ground squirrels running around.  Beth has not been able to catch them either, but I know a hawk likes to sit on our roof and watch.  I can trap the ground squirrels and relocate them, but I don't want to do that with the rabbit babies.

    Jackie and I made it to morning church for the first time in....well, a while.  Usually we do Zoom or YouTube, but this was our minister's last Sunday with us.

    Getting up at 7:30 drained me for trhe rest of the day.  I ended up watching the Cubs lose a very winnable game.

    The Cardinals are coming to town, which should be an interesting series.

Peace and Love

I know there's rabbits in there!  Let me at 'em!!

ends or beginnings?

 We went to a retirement party tonight

    Our friend Laurie is retiring after 38 years of high school life.  She is a counselor at our local high school and has been for as long as we have known her.

    It was her party, but we saw so many people we have not seen in ages!  I even saw people I very seldom see in person but I see a lot of Facebook posts involving them.

   And it was really great to see former students of mine all grown up and working, as well as kids of friends, and just kids we knew who have grown up and become amazing people.

    As usual, I got stumped a time or two.

    I watched one man get up from a table on the other side of the room, cross through the crowd, come up to me to say hello and shake hands, then go back to his table on the other side of the room.

    I had no clue who he was.  I pointed him out to Jackie later and she told me his name but I am still baffled why he crossed the room to say hello. 

    A few co-workers gave short speeches and some of them were pretty darn funny.  

    It was a good party.

    We were late getting there. 

    Julia had left the house about 15 minutes before us.  At that point I was getting Jackie ready.  We moved from the bathroom to the bedroom where she was going to change from walker to wheelchair.

    We do this by her standing up, leaning on the bed, then me moving the wheelchair under her  so she sits.  We do  that every morning.

    But for some reason, she decided to sit down a little early.  I grabbed her, but it was too late to reach the walker or the chair, so I guided her gently to the ground.  

    I called friend Kevin who came over and the two of us got her up and his daughter Sam pushed the wheelchair under Jackie's butt so she could safely sit.

    No harm.  No hurt.  Nothing damaged.  Just a pain to miss the chair.

    A Cubs win, a great party, old friends, new friends...... it was a pretty darn nice day!

Peace and Love

    

friends from old

 We had a great time with long time friends today

    Although we are all well into our 70s, I don't think of us as old.

    Yes, we have aches and pains and medical issues, but sitting around talking and visiting takes me back to a time when life may have been a little simpler.

    Not necessarily better, but simpler.

    Joe and Marilyn used to live in the city, then Schaumburg and about 10 years ago moved to Webb City in Missouri.  Frank and Barb live in the "old neighborhood."  In fact, they live in the building Frank and his brother John grew up in.  We all went to Lake View High School.

    I spent many hours in their kitchen, in the basenent, and in the alley, where a never ending 16 inch softball game always seemed to be taking place.

    When senior prom came, Joe, John, a guy named Bob and I quadruple dated.  At least that is a memory stored deep down inside, and I think it is a true memory.

    I know it was a horrible experience.

    I went with a girl I did not really like, and to be honest, she was not that hot on me either.  

    When we pulled up to the hotel, it was like people getting out a clown car.....8 of us crammed into a station wagon.  I did opt for the prom picture package and honestly, I had such a bad experience I never gave her her copies of the pictures.

    Anyway, we haed a nice time today talking about the past and the present.  It was great they came out to see us, because it is much more convenient for us.  Meeting at a restaurant is always an option, but that's not ideal for Jackie.  Handicapped accessibility is an issue, and not all places are handicapped friendly even if accessible.

    I cooked burgers and brats.  We had a taco salad and potato salad from Headon's and I made 3 bean salad, under Jackie's directions. Julia organized all the food, cut the buns and tomatoes, and got all the stuff ready while I grilled. 

    We had pie and cookies for dessert  and I made coffee.  My coffee is not very good, because I don't make it often.

    But I have a feeling sleep will not come easy tonight.  I may have had a sip too much caffeine.

Peacef and Love

Like a certain type of battery, still going strong

Even Beth had a good time

A day late

 Sometimes I get too easily confused

    I had a chiropractor appointment yesterday.  Jackie had a hair appointment today.

    But when her hair appointment was changed to yesterday, I forgot about the chiropractor.  So I missed him yesterday.

    I went today for a back crack and it always feels good.   I do a lot of lifting, bending, twisting and sometimes my back swears at me.  

    I have forgotten several appointments.  Yes, I have appointment cards  Yes, I write them on the calendar.  Yes, I sometimes miss, like yesterday.  Luckily he is very understanding.

    Then I went for a coffee and called one of the girls by the wrong name.  Funny thing, I called her by the same wrong name when she first started there a couple of years ago!  For some reason I think she is a Tabitha, but she is not.

    I finished the night by going to see Canryn's final orchestra concert at Sycamore High School.  Jackie has not been feeling up to snuff, so she stayed home with Julia.

    The director said when he came to Sycamore, there were only 15 orchestra students.  He has  a ton of them now, and they recently won best orchestra in the state at competition.

    She plays the violin and I hope she keeps that up after graduation.  It's a wonderful talent to have.

Peace and Love

Exam time

 We are going to see how much Dog Beth has learned

    I have taken down almost all of the blue flags marking the Invisible Fence power lines.

    She has been good respecting the flags.  Now we'll see how she handles no flags.  We will keep an eye on her when she is outside.

    I was mowing today and the little girl was out across the street, riding her little bike.  Julia came out and pointed at my ear protectors.  I took them off, turned off the mower and Julia said the little girl was saying hi to me.

    So I said, "Hi Maddy."

    Now she is about 4 years old.  She waves to me every time she sees me.  She also talks to me, but sometimes I have a hard time understanding her.

    "My name is not Maddy  It's Madeline."  She said that very clearly.

    Actually, I was impressed.  Here is a little one speaking upa to an adult when the adult is clearly wrong.  

    I seem to be a creature with predictable habits.

    Jackie had her hair done today, so I went over th Acres Bistro for a coffee.  When I went  in, the person looked at me and said, " Hi Terry.  Coffee?  Crean and sugar?  We do have cookies today."

    So I had coffee and cookies.

    After supper I took my windmill and bison out into the driveway and gave them a first coat of sealer.  I will give them a second coat tomorrow morning and hopefully get them out to the garden this weekend.

    Which means crossing 2 more items off my list.

    Progress is slow, but I am making progress.

    We also signed a contract with a home care agency to look after Jackie while Julia and I are gone in July.  Mentally, that takes a load off.

Peace and Love

We don't understand how she does not fall off!

Look, daddy!  I brought out my toys and a facecloth!  Play with me!!

Killer bees!!!!!!