Category Archives: Winter at Sonnystone

A Collective Moment

By Posted in 2020, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged , 2 Comments

We’re All feeling it, though some are scared and others defiant.  All of us are affected by the shut-down of schools, libraries, museums.  I still don’t get the run on toilet paper and groceries, but my usual grocery pick-up order from Walmart was cancelled because they ran out of stock.   I made my way down to Schnucks and the IGA today and witnessed for myself the empty shelves.  The workers are somewhat stunned from the long lines and the supply trucks have been diverted to larger stores, so they’re not sure when they’ll be able to restock.  Crazy.

Yes, there have been so many reactions of this pandemic. My heart goes out to the healthcare workers and their families on the front line of this epidemic.  I am so grateful for their selfless service.  Our governor is doing a good job of handling things here in Indiana and I’m hoping that other state governments have stepped up, too.

Life here at Sonnystone has always been a bit like “self-isolation”, so it hasn’t changed much.  Seems to me that it’s a good time to Practice Being Present.  We are fine and so are our loved ones. We are grateful beyond words for our health and wealth.  No dark imaginings, we are distancing from fear or worry. There are books to read, Netflix to watch, music is everywhere.  Right Here, Right Now I breathe in Love and breathe out Peace.  Now Smile.  Really, make yourself Smile…it’ll do you a World of Good.

Since getting back from Florida we’ve planted potatoes, onions, and peas, brought out the over-winters, and started work in the  Peace/Bird Garden.  I’m ready to Revive my Garden Blog this week andsSince you will have a little time on your hands, you’ll want to follow along.

Remember this from “Desiderata”

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams

it is still a Beautiful world.

Be Careful.  Strive to be Happy.

 

Peace, dear Readers

 

Sunday Report

By Posted in 2020, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged , , 2 Comments

This week sucked, didn’t it?  Kobe Bryant and his daughter dying was a helluva start, may their memories be for a blessing.   My soap opera, General Hospital, has been pre-empted for weeks by another soap opera, Impeachment Farces by the Arses…hahaha.  Oh, lighten up.

  And then there was the Dental Disaster.

Wednesday I spent two-and-a-half hours in the dentist chair getting the root canal that wasn’t.  I had the laughing gas jauntily strapped across my nose, breathing in peace and breathing out love, so all I knew was whirring and “open”.  Turns out, something about the canal and he couldn’t get through it, so he finally gave up.  I was a little beleaguered and left without a plan, but called later to schedule the tooth to be removed on Monday (tomorrow).  Friday evening I was minding my own business, reading and eating an ice cream sandwich, when the tooth broke off.   I feel an oral surgeon in my future.

So that’s all I’ve got to say.

People have got it worse, that’s for sure.  But my mood is definitely Disgruntled. dreading the upcoming drama.

Still smiling, though…

Peace

P.S.  Two new posts last week over at All My Ancestors and I hope to stay on schedule despite this…interruption. See you there!

 

Birthdays and Birds

By Posted in 2020, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged , , 2 Comments

It was Birthday Week at the Jose’ Casa in NYC!  My #1 and #3 grandies celebrated Numbers 9 and 14!  Oh, those girls!  My heart just overflows…

Emma Magnolia Mayne Jose’ is in the 8th grade at Towne., where she was awarded the part of Rafiki in “Lion King” (ever heard of it?).  She can sing, she can dance (top Irish Dancer), but more importantly, she is seriously a sweet young lady, kind and caring.

Eliza Belle Mayne Jose’ is in the 3rd grade at Avenues: The World School, where she has started piano lessons.  This summer she started right in picking out tunes and I wonder if she might have the old “playing by ear” thing that my grandmother had.  She’s a Super Irish Dancer, loves to skateboard, and is just generally a funny, loving little girl.

Obviously, I love these babies.  I’m hoping to be in NYC in April for the “Lion King” and I Know I’ll be there in June for Emma’s graduation.

We had the Jr. girls for a couple of days earlier this week, requiring me to wake up at 5am…I”m proud to say that I still have my miraculous inner alarm and was able to wake myself when my outer alarms failed to alarm.  It’s kinda fun to get up in the dark and hear the birds singing a prelude to sunrise.

We’ve got so many birds visiting the feeders that we decided to add another suet.  We had two finch feeders out,  and in years past they’ve been covered with upside-down and downside-up little birds, but I’ve spotted just one molty goldfinch in the last month.  I hope they’ve just found somewhere else to feed.  The suet has been a real draw for woodpeckers.  We’ve seen hairy and downy, both male and female, and even an awkward red-bellied woodpecker that also feeds at the houses.  The indigo buntings seem to favor it over fighting at the houses, too.

The dreaded root canal is Wednesday.  I’ll be fine.  Thank goodness the tooth is still hurting just a tinge, or I’d probably back out.  I’ve got plenty going on over at the ancestry blog, posting on Mondays and Thursdays until I finish.   You’re welcome to visit…All My Ancestors.

Peace

Weekly Wrap-up

By Posted in 2020, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged 1 Comment

On Monday we went down to the library to get our passports.  First off, I realized after we got there that I had put my ID in another purse, so we went back home to pick it up and returned.  We had filled out our applications, but my printer had cut part of the bottom off, so they gave us some new ones and we re-filled them.  We wrote out our checks and they commenced to taking pictures.  She managed to get a better-than-my-drivers-license photo in three snaps.  Casey moved to the white wall, took off his glasses and didn’t smile.  They took several snaps, but the printer could not make out a face.  She took some more, still just a ghost picture to the printer.  We carried on for a while, moving him over to another wall, turning off the lights, turning off the flash…he was just a cloud.  Finally we gave up.  She said we’d have to go to a CVS or Walgreens and get one there.

We set out for the nearest CVS where the handsome young man grabbed the camera and found it needed batteries.  He went in search of and came back and said it had to be charged for an hour, sorry.  We went to the next Walgreens where the cashier said they couldn’t help us until 2pm (it was noon).  Onward to another CVS and I’m getting pretty gripey, but whatcha gonna do?  The girl at the CVS was helpful, but she, too, got Ghost!!  It’s called the Santa Claus effect because his beard and hair are so damn white.  I felt like his cheeks and face were red enough to stand out, but…  CVS girl was younger and knew her camera better than the library ladies.  She adjusted a few things and we got a nice picture of a face.  We raced back down to the library and our applications were submitted.  Finally.  It kinda took the fun out of it…

We are planning a trip to London in June.  I’m there to see the Queen and I hope I’ve not waited too long.  If you know me at all, you know I’ve obsessed with the latest Royal Family news.  It has literally sickened me and I don’t want to talk about it and I wish I’d quit thinking about it.  I will tell you more about our London trip as it draws closer, but I’m currently planning a Birthday Week Jaunt to Florida, leaving in 35 days…   One Trip at a Time.

I’m studiously avoiding Any Sort of News and I’ve read three books, written thousands of words, planted my Wardian Case, played the piano, and listened to music. That’s not just to get my mind off the State of the World Today, but also to keep my anxiety down about an upcoming Root Canal.  Fun, huh?  I dread it with the worst dread of dreads.  I have duties with Olivia and Samantha this week, so I put it off until the 29th.  These little pains are coming way too often to suit me.

The diversion of the bird garden has lived up to my expectations, though I’ve no pictures to show for it.  Our suets are especially popular with the hairy and downy woodpeckers.  We watch chickadees, tufted titmice, wrens, cardinals galore, and a couple of indigo buntings.  We have a warm-water birdbath that they all flock to.  It’s a joy.

Because I had so many appointments last week I didn’t get much done over at the Ancestry Blog and what I did write I am completely re-writing.  We’re to the Revolutionary War, a conflict I always found boring.  It’s much more interesting now that I realize they were fighting right on our ancestors’ land and that many of the Patriots were neighbors.  I love the research, but it doesn’t get the writing done.

 As I slog through all these Patriots, I don’t lose sight of the fact that there were 600,000 human beings being held as slaves in 1776, and hundreds to thousands were owned by Casey’s and my ancestors (yes, even the Maynes had slaves and they sure didn’t free them).  The Founding Fathers saw fit to count them as 5/8 human, as possessions.

I confess to white woman guilt.  I believe the best we can do is Right Now: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself, and Forgive Everybody (including yourself).  The Obamas made MLK Day into a Day of Service to Others.  It’s a Good way to celebrate Dr. King’s Life.

Peace

 

 

Sunday Report

By Posted in 2020, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged , , 2 Comments

As we took down the Christmas decorations and cleaned, I just had to move around the furniture.  Clears the mind…

It’s harder than I thought to buy houseplants in the winter.  I traipsed around town looking in the usual spots– grocery floral departments– and even tried a new place (to me) Fresh Thyme, but found nothing.  Finally I went down the street to my neighborhood store and bought an orchid and a kalanchoe.  Later I went by Zeidler Floral and picked out some tiny plants for my Wardian case and a lovely jade plant just because.

I’m still on the lookout, so if you know a good spot to shop, tell me!

Mostly, though, I have slaved over at the Ancestry blog writing up Casey’s family.  Remember last year when I started my subscription to ancestrydotcom and said I’d use it for about six months and let it go?  Well, my last post was in July and I was just about to cancel it when I decided I should give Casey’s family a shot.  I started seriously studying in October, but there was so much research to be done—300 years of it — and then came the holidays so I decided to wait until Now to write it up and get it published.

I plan a series of a dozen or so posts and I probably should publish them weekly, but I’m in love with the story and don’t think I can hold back.  I tried to post four last night, but it didn’t go well and I was up until 3am un-doing and re-doing.  >sigh<  One at a time will work best…

So I cordially invite you to visit All My Ancestors and follow along as I trudge through another January digging up the roots o our Family Tree…

Start right here with Preface

Peace

First Post

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I have had the most Wonderful Holiday Season, culminating with a surprise visit from the Jose’ Fam and my Entire Family being together right here at the Acres.  It was exquisitely peaceful and loving.

Whilst basking in the Joy of my family, I didn’t realize for a day that our country had started a war, assassinating another country’s leader, acting as if the USA has some sort of moral superiority to judge and attack any other country (or religion) it doesn’t like.  This sort of verbal aggression is to be expected from the bully that is president right now, but to Start A War…and don’t kid yourself, we are now at war…in order to distract from his corruption is pure evil.

I pray for the people in the Middle East who have been abandoned and assaulted by our country.  I pray for our own people who are going to die paying for this sick man’s ego games.  I pray for all of us as we wander around in this dangerous world.

As I have studied history and its wars, I have found that there is no winner, that in fact Everyone Loses. I would be against war even if the other side had started it.  I believe we are all the same and those who fail to see every human as their brother or sister are blinded by their own fear.   I pray that Love can pierce their blindness and wake them.

Remember: we’re All just walking each other Home…(Ram Dass)

Peace

Wild Turkeys

By Posted in 2019, Weekly Wrap-Up, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged , 2 Comments

I’ve written about our resident wild turkeys, how a couple of years ago the bachelors got lucky and the two hens had nine new turkeys.  They were darling as they followed their moms around that summer. I didn’t see any hens or babies last summer, though I did see the three tom turkeys, who are just vile.  They meet up on my picnic table down by the firepit and smoke their cigars and swap lies.   While it may be kind of fun to watch them in the meadow during mating time (so I’m a voyeur), their overbearing, aggressive personalities are more negative than the positive.

Lately, they’ve been up near the house, availing themselves of the fallen birdseed from the feeders.  The other day. Casey happened out the door headed to the garage and I’ll be dipped if those assholes didn’t come at him, garbling and acting all tough.  He went on in the garage, grabbed a broomstick and there ensued a small skirmish, but he called a truce when I intervened.  I was getting ready to drive somewhere and I wanted to be able to get through without a fight.  They sauntered off toward the front of the house and I went out and got in the car without incident…however,

As I drove down our driveway (it’s about 0.1 mile) they decided to attack the car.  Have you ever seen a car-chasing dog? They want to attack the tires, the moving tires? These turkeys were  like that.  I was rolling along slowly and the one was dipping his head right into the tire well, while the others were running along gobbling and giving me large side-eye through the passenger window.  I was forced to turn right to avoid running over the front man and thought I’d outmaneuvered them.

But noooo….Looking in my rear view mirror, there they were!  a triangle of turkeys running their little legs off, gobbling loudly, their snoods bouncing and their wings puffed.  It’s a wonder they didn’t get run over, but traffic coming toward me saw them and slowed to a stop when the turkeys stopped… in the middle of the road…and the bastids proceeded to attack those cars, too!

When I returned from my my errand, they were back in the front yard and left me alone…

The very next day, Casey was working in the garage and didn’t realize they were out there when they attempted to stroll in.  He got the broom again…chased them down the hill swatting and yelling as they slowly and loudly backed off.  He threw a big stick and knocked one of them down, so they finally retreated and Casey returned triumphant…

Turkeys have been known to be aggressive toward humans and pets in residential areas.  Wild turkeys have a social structure and pecking order and habituated turkeys may respond to humans and animals as they do to another turkey. Habituated turkeys may attempt to dominate or attack people that the birds view as subordinates.

Ha!  I hope Casey has proven himself to be the dominant Turkey…

(He also pulled a muscle in his back and has been using the heating pad and ibuprofen…but don’t tell the Toms)

It’s the time of year for these nasty birds to be even more nasty, and right when I was ready to trap and remove them, I got a visit from the milder side of the Turkey tribe…

There were two older guard females off-camera and I am astounded… These are the babies that we saw two years ago and they’re all present and accounted for!  No doubt because the women have been in charge and I hope they’re not teaching them to be jerks like the bachelors…

who just happened to be a little behind them…

Ya gotta let nature be nature, I suppose…  Once they are through mating, they’ll calm some…I hope…I know I do…

And anyway, we might as well leave them the room since we’ll be vacating the premises shortly.  They would be better protection than a guard dog…

Speaking of vacating, we opened up the trailer and have started to load out for our upcoming trek.  We are watching the weather here for good travel conditions and will probably leave a day earlier than we’d planned.  You will, of course, be the first to know when we are on the road again…

The temps are dropping down to the teens for the next couple of days, but there is about an inch of snowcover that brightens up the landscape and the weatherman promised some sunshine…

Peace