Photo-a-Day Challenge

Covid x 2, Hard Freeze, and Too Tired to Care

My week in photos

I appreciate photography surprises when your photo reveals something you didn’t see through the camera lens. I was taking a photo of the Eastern Bluebird at the top of this tree when my hand slipped as I clicked the shutter. I figured the bird was almost out of the frame, and I’d have to discard the photo. To my surprise, the bird was in the frame, and a second bird, unnoticed by me, was also captured. Surprise!

Sunday was a cool, cloudy day. The temperature only reached 57F. Since Ben had Covid, I did the grocery shopping alone and then went to work for eight hours.

Very congested with an intermittent cough, Ben tired easily and had no appetite, but overall, he wasn’t that bad.

Monday’s sunrise was dramatically beautiful. Unfortunately, within an hour, the sun was obliterated by a blanket of clouds. The temperature started at 46F, was 71F by early afternoon, and stayed in the 60s all night — unusually humid for January.

Did you know that Northern Mockingbirds rarely visit a bird feeder? They are lawn-eaters, preferring to peck through grass for worms, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and even ants or to snatch fruit from mulberries, blackberries, and hawthorns.

I woke up with swollen neck glands and a very hoarse throat. Since Ben has Covid, I was sure I did, too, but my second pharmacy Covid test was as negative as the first one. It’s not unusual for my glands to swell a few times a year with no obvious cause, and my hoarseness could be the combination of wearing a mask while I sleep and not being able to drink anything during the night (part of my reflux treatment).

Ben was noticeably better on Monday — rarely coughing, less congested, normal temperature. He had dialysis, as usual, but in the isolation room. While he was at dialysis, I cleaned and baked Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.

I notified my evening client about the Covid situation in our household, and he was unconcerned. So, I went to work in the evening. My Tuesday afternoon client wasn’t so nonchalant and suggested I skip this week.

At 6:30 am on Tuesday, I awoke to the sound of rain. By 7:15 am, the rain had stopped, and a family of Whistlers was waiting for breakfast. Often, there’s fog over our lake but nowhere else. This time, the gauzy fog was everywhere.

Since my afternoon client called me off due to Ben’s Covid, we had a deliciously empty day with no appointments or obligations, which was especially appreciated since the rain returned several times, often accompanied by thunder.

Thunderstorms in January!

What’s even stranger is that the temperature will dip below freezing tonight — our first winter freeze.

My azaleas have several flowers, and I’ve seen other bushes in full bloom. I wonder if they’ll survive the freeze.

Syau was grateful to have her humans home all day. Here, she is using Ben’s thigh as her pillow. That’s her happy spot.

During our quiet day at home, I wrote, did laundry, walked Syau three times, and baked Popovers. We desperately needed a quiet day like this.

Ben was at least 80% better on Tuesday, so I stopped wearing a mask in the house. My neck glands are back to normal, and it appears I have a mild cold. My reflux is about 90% better, and my doctor scheduled me for two radiology tests on January 31st to see if the pantoprazole did its job completely.

This is the best I could do for a photo on Wednesday. Oh, how wrong I was on Tuesday when I wrote:

My neck glands are back to normal, and it appears I have a mild cold.

About an hour after writing that, I became very congested. After a restless night, I awoke with newly swollen glands, even worse nasal and chest congestion, a raging sore throat, and a pounding headache.

I managed to walk Syau in the morning despite the freezing temperature of 32F, a blustery wind, and not feeling well. However, I didn’t feel like taking photos. Besides going out for my third Covid test, which was positive, I spent the day inside. By evening, the new box of tissues above was almost half empty.

I spent part of the day notifying clients that I have Covid and canceling appointments I can’t keep due to the illness. It’s ironic that businesses and offices can’t require masks or other Covid deterrents, but they don’t want you to show up if you have Covid. It makes no sense. But then, what does make sense these days?

Thankfully, Thursday did not dip below freezing as predicted. It was a cold 37F but with only a slight breeze. And yesterday’s freezing temperature only lasted an hour, so all the early flowers still look lovely.

Before walking Syau, I always feed the wildlife. Squirrels surrounded me as I walked down the stone path, scattering peanuts. A family of Whistlers was up ahead, waiting for duck feed, and another group was flying in from the west.

Suddenly, my Whistlers flew to the water, the squirrels disappeared, and the ducks in flight made emergency crash landings on the lake. That’s when I saw the Bald Eagle pursuing them. He dive-bombed both groups of ducks before circling at the end of the lake and dive-bombing them again. I wanted to scream and scare him off, but with a hoarse and sore throat, the sound I made was more like a weak creak.

As the Eagle flew west to circle and return to the ducks, my heroes, the American Crows, came to the rescue, squawking loudly as they chased him out of sight. I didn’t have a camera, so the drama was only preserved in my memory.

I heard dozens of birds when Syau and I walked but saw very few. I didn’t hear Valencia, but there she was, quietly perched atop a light pole.

I didn’t go outside for the rest of the cold, drab day. I read, wrote, baked chicken breasts for Ben, made gluten-free pumpkin doughnuts, and took a long nap.

My Covid is a little better. I still have an intermittent headache that can be severe at times, and I still sneeze a lot, but I’m coughing less, my sore throat is easing, and my congestion is slightly improved. My mood, however, is not good. I obsess about all the work I need to do and can’t, knowing that when I can, I’ll have to put in very long hours to reach the January IRS deadlines. My temper is short, and I’m unusually sensitive to loud noises (Covid-related?), so the ear-splitting TV volume that Ben prefers was like a knife thrust into my brain. Even listening to music with my earbuds, something I do every day, was uncomfortable. All I wanted was silence.

Friday morning was cool and gray. This is our lake at 7:15 am. See the light green on the lake’s surface? That’s pollen. It’s about a month early. Many trees are already leafing out.

This is one of my morning squirrels, munching on a peanut. I named him Tiombé, which is of African origin and means shy. He waits for peanuts alone, away from the other squirrels. Once he grabs a peanut, he runs around the stand of pine trees to hide as he eats. I’m not sure if he hides from me or the other squirrels. I managed to sneak up on him this morning and was surprised he didn’t sprint away.

Due to Covid, I couldn’t work for my afternoon or evening clients today. While Ben was at dialysis, I vacuumed, mopped, and cleaned bathrooms.

On our afternoon walk, Syau and I came across this Tufted Titmouse. He was too high for a good close-up photo, so I chose a silhouette effect.

Ben had dialysis in the isolation room again. No one has told him what he needs to do to leave isolation, but he says he doesn’t mind being there, and he will not pay for another test to prove he is negative.

Saturday morning, Syau and I walked quickly in 35F weather. This is the neighborhood that intersects the walking trail. We must leave the trail and walk down this street to get to the boulevard leading to our townhome circle.

The managing partner at my biggest client said he cares if I’m coughing or sneezing, not about a negative test. I feel very tired, but I’m not coughing or sneezing anymore; still, I have no doubt I would test positive. After all, my positive test was only three days ago. But he didn’t care, so I went to work because there was so much to do and many looming deadlines. Of course, there were also several problems waiting for me. In fact, I spent my first hour dealing with problems. I only planned to work three hours; instead, I worked six. I sprayed Lysol around my office and the copy room before I left, which was more than anybody did for me or each other at the start of the pandemic when everyone in that office refused to wear masks, and most chose not to get vaccinated.

Arriving home exhausted and with a headache, I took a quick nap. Then, I prepared Ben’s pill box for next week and made dinner. I planned to bake but was too tired.

Due to an expected hard freeze tonight, I covered plants as this American Crow kept me company. I didn’t cover as many plants as I have in the past, only a few potted ones and nothing in the ground. I’ve decided that plants must be able to survive extremes or not be in my yard.

Plus, I’m just too tired to care.

© Dennett 2024

If you don’t already participate in the Weeds & Wildflowers Photo-a-Day Challenge, I hope you will join us. This is our third year sharing our lives, neighborhoods, activities, travels, and experiences through photos and short narratives.

Here is a list of our Photo-a-Day storytellers:

Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Anne Bonfert / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita / Susan Alison / LensAfield / Barbara Radisavljevic / Diana Lotti / Barbara Dalton / Kim Zuch / K. Barrett / Sandra Barrett / Shruthi Sundaram / Gustavo Mendez / Olive Wilson / Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms) / Jillian Amatt / Scott Younkin / Penny Grubb / Shell Parsons /Ivy Shepherd / Lynne Nardizzi / Ken Martin / Amethyst Qu / Beth Bruno / Julia A. Keirns / Krasi Shapkarova

Please let me know if you’ve participated in the Photo-a-Day Challenge and don’t see your name here.