Photo-a-Day-Challenge

January is Over — Hurrah!

My week in photos

Sunday morning was cloudy, windy, and chilly — so windy that few birds were about. However, this squirrel posed nicely for a photo.

We grocery shop on Sunday mornings. Realizing that Covid left me depressed as well as tired, I knew a change of scenery would do me good. Since I had to work in the afternoon, we couldn’t go far and decided on our old reliable — Paynes Prairie. A quick visit to the Prairie and then on to the grocery. The Prairie doesn’t require much time or energy, of which I had little.

I knew with wind gusts to 25 mph, there wouldn’t be many birds, and I was right. But the gray clouds from earlier were gone, and it was a gorgeous spring-like day. After recent rains, the water level was up but not to last January’s level. Ben, who is not fond of wind, chose to stay in the car.

On the railing above, you can see a line of birds — all Boat-Tailed Grackles. They flew away as I approached.

But one landed on a nearby island of Water Hyacinths. It was a short visit to the Prairie but enjoyable nonetheless.

After grocery shopping, I went to work to complete my last task with a January deadline — reporting for a 401(K) plan. I dislike this task because the online reporting is awkward and often problematic, but I was shocked at how smoothly it went today. Then, I printed the 1099 forms I e-filed yesterday, cleaned up some files, and went home. I realized in the early evening that I’d forgotten to print some requested checks, so I returned to the office for another half hour. Fortunately, that office is only two miles from our home.

Ben covered Syau’s noon and before-bed walks, and I walked her in the morning and evening. I also did a few minor chores and wrote on Medium. It was a quiet day.

Although my energy was low in the morning, I ended the day feeling less tired than during the past week. Maybe I’m getting over Covid fatigue?

Over the last month, I’ve seen Grandad, the large Great Blue Heron, on our lake, but never where I could get a decent photo of him. On Monday morning, he was on Rainbows Pond, a little hunched in the cool air, posing politely for a photo. He didn’t appear to be fishing — just hanging out.

I laughed when a Snowy Egret wanted to pass behind Grandad but was noticeably apprehensive of the much larger bird. The Snowy started to pass behind, stopped, retreated, started again, stopped, and then ran like the dickens to get past Grandad, who didn’t even glance in the smaller bird’s direction.

While Ben was at dialysis, I picked up medications at the pharmacy, walked Syau, and did some housework. A comment on my last Photo-a-Day asked why Ben doesn’t do more to help around the house. These Photo-a-Day pieces are more about my experiences and activities, so I don’t detail what Ben does daily, which may give a false impression that he does nothing. That is far from the truth. If you’re interested, here’s a bit of our story.

When we met, Ben was retired, and I worked 45 to 60 hours a week. When we moved in together, he did everything in the house — cleaning, laundry, cooking, dishes, and caring for our pets — for eleven years. I certainly didn’t have that in my first marriage!

When we moved into our current smaller home, he continued doing the cooking, dishes, and laundry, but our grandchildren and I did the house cleaning. After they moved north, Ben hired a housekeeper to do most of the housework. She generally works one morning every two to three weeks. However, I cleaned our bedroom and bath, and Ben continued with the cooking, dishes, and laundry until he got sick and had a bad fall in 2022. That’s when I assumed his chores.

These days, Ben cooks most of the meat he eats while I prepare salads or other sides. My diet is so weird and limited he can’t cook for me anymore. He does the majority of the dishwashing. He also makes the bed and prepares coffee every morning. I still take care of our bedroom, bath, and the laundry. We share walking Syau, feeding the pets, handling trash and recycling, and grocery shopping. And, best of all, he massages my aching back and legs nearly every night.

Baking is relaxing, and I typically bake three times a week. When working a lot or feeling tired, I choose simple recipes that don’t take long to prepare. Although I bake items that Ben enjoys, he never expects or asks me to bake.

Unfortunately, our housekeeper left the state before Christmas to care for a sick relative. For six weeks, we’ve had no help. Because of Ben’s health issues and poor vision, there are many household tasks he can’t do or can’t do well.

During our housekeeper’s absence, I did most of the work she typically does. Because I worked longer hours during the month, I concentrated on the chores that had to be done and let certain things go, like cleaning the back porch, patio, front sidewalk, refrigerator, and oven. I concentrated on the floors and bathrooms.

Considering Ben is 15 years older than me, has serious and chronic health issues, and spends eight hours in dialysis each week, I think what he does at home is impressive. He also walks at least one mile daily, and I’d rather he be in nature walking than do chores indoors.

I was thrilled when our housekeeper texted today that she’s back in town and will work for us next week. Meanwhile, I’m doing what I can to keep our home clean and tidy.

I ended Monday by working for a couple of hours.

Muscovy Ducks haven’t been on our lake in almost a year. The Whistlers returned earlier in January and disappeared a week later. In their place, I now have American White Ibises, who have learned that I scatter duck feed every morning.

39F this morning. I’m surprisingly happy that the early warm spell is over. Temperatures in the 80s are wrong in January. I want a few more chilly days before we rush headlong into summer. Unfortunately, we haven’t had low enough temperatures this winter to control bugs, weeds, and vines, meaning we will soon be inundated with all three.

The squirrel above was scurrying over limbs and climbing thick vines before stopping so I could take a photo. Our squirrels are camera hogs!

I did some online work from home Tuesday morning before working at a client’s home office for two hours in the afternoon.

Wednesday morning was gorgeous — chilly, with no wind and no clouds. As Syau and I walked on the trail, a large bird flew towards us from the west. At first, I thought it was one of our Red-Shouldered Hawks, but the bird had too much white — ah, an Osprey.

No Ospreys live in our neighborhood, although I often see them at Paynes Prairie, La Chua Trail, and Sweetwater Wetlands Park. But one or two Osprey will visit our area a few times a year, sometimes fishing on Rainbows Pond or Unicorn Lake. The bulk of an Osprey’s diet is live fish.

The Crows were fully aware of the Osprey. One perched on a nearby wire, cawing loudly to four others in the trees on the other side of the trail. They did not like an Osprey invading their territory and kept a close eye on the interloper while also raising a raucous.

Not far away, Valencia was on a rooftop. She glanced around nonchalantly, as though she was hanging out, until she slowly turned her head to the left, staring fiercely in the direction of the Osprey, remaining in that position for 15 seconds or more before returning to her detached glances. Yep, she knew the Osprey was there.

That was a lot of drama on a Wednesday morning!

I had several barium swallow tests at the hospital on Wednesday morning. My doctor ordered the X-rays as part of my acid reflux treatment. Unfortunately, he didn’t discuss the tests with me before ordering them, so I didn’t know the whats, whys, and hows of the procedures. The two radiology technicians were so helpful, explaining how the tests work and what they may reveal. You can read more about barium swallow tests here:

They also let me see my X-rays, which showed evidence of my reflux but no obvious or alarming reasons for it — i.e., no masses, hiatal hernias, ulcers, or structural problems. Of course, a radiologist will read the X-rays and send a comprehensive report to my doctor. I have an appointment with him next week.

The radiology room was so cold that I took a warm shower when I got home. Afterward, I laid down on our bed and read for 30 minutes. I was surprised to look up and see Syau and Sébastien sleeping side by side. Syau does not like Sébastien and definitely knew he was there because she woke up, looked at him, and went back to sleep. Amazing.

Thursday was colder than predicted — 36F. But the chilly air didn’t keep this young Wood Stork from searching for crayfish in the ditch beside the walking trail.

I often write about my heroes, the American Crows. Yesterday, they were keeping an eye on a visiting Osprey. They often chase away Hawks and even Bald Eagles that harass ducks and squirrels. Wednesday morning, they were policing a Turkey Vulture.

However, their motives were not so heroic this time. The Crows were trying to chase away the Turkey Vulture so they could eat the dead squirrel he found in the street. As Syau and I approached, the Vulture was hopping near the deceased squirrel, trying to avoid passing cars. Two Crows swooped down and chased the Vulture to a nearby tree before positioning themselves on a limb above him.

Crows are opportunistic eaters, consuming living and dead animals and berries, nuts, corn, and seeds. Turkey Vultures are trash-eaters, feeding on dead animals and human garbage. Sometimes, Crows and Vultures compete for the same carrion. Vultures are not aggressive and can easily be bullied by Crows. However, had there been more than one Vulture, I doubt the Crows would have harassed them.

I watched the birds for a few minutes. The Crows made a few attempts at getting the dead squirrel but were annoyed by the traffic and eventually flew away. The Vulture, who’d been waiting patiently in the tree, floated down to the street when there were no cars around, grabbed the squirrel, and dragged him to a ditch, where he ate in peace. Later, another Vulture joined him.

Sébastien had his annual checkup on Thursday morning. He was extremely stressed when we arrived, so I released him from the carrier to explore while we waited for the vet. I knew he’d need teeth cleaning this year, but I was shocked when the vet pointed to a tooth that needs to be extracted due to resorption, a dental condition singular to cats.

From the website for Cornell University’s College of Veterinarian Medicine:

In a condition known as a tooth resorption –formerly referred to as feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL) or cervical line lesion — the dentin in a single tooth (or several simultaneously) erodes and eventually becomes irreparably destroyed.

Cleaning his teeth, which requires general anesthesia, would have been about $400. With a tooth extraction added, the cost jumped from $600 to $700. Sigh. I scheduled the surgery for the first week of March, the vet's first availability that worked with my schedule. That should give me time to save some of the money. Fortunately, the tooth isn’t bothering Sébastien.

Ben and I ran errands in the afternoon, and I did laundry. Although my energy improved this week, Thursday was very busy, and I was exhausted by evening.

As Syau and I walked on the trail Friday morning, I saw two white things atop a very tall pine tree. Sometimes, I see waders in trees, but seeing a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret together at the top of such a tall tree was surprising and odd.

After delivering Ben to dialysis, I walked Syau, vacuumed, and went to work for a client. I worked again in the evening.

I saw plenty of birds Friday morning and tried to take several photos, but Syau was frisky and kept pulling on her leash. Almost all my photos are taken one-handed while walking Syau. Believe me, that’s a challenge! Most of my Friday photos were blurry, but I did get a good shot of the Mourning Dove above.

I worked for my biggest client all day and longer than I intended. As I was finishing up, I discovered a series of errors that my assistant made in January. Correcting the errors was complicated and time-consuming. It took almost 90 minutes to undo what she did and redo everything correctly. I was irritated, annoyed, and very tired when I left that office.

In the evening, I baked pumpkin donuts using a mix because I was too tired to make them from scratch. I buy most of my baking supplies from King Arthur, and I always have a few of their baking mixes on hand for days like today. Even a quick bake with a mix is relaxing for me.

I filled Ben’s pill organizer for next week, prepared a salad for his dinner, and worked on Medium pieces.

Today, I took my last Pantoprazole pill for acid reflux. I’m curious how I will do without the medication and what my doctor will say on Wednesday.

© 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.