I am heading to Boston this morning and will not be back until early afternoon. Upon my return, heady with the experience of visiting the big city, I will write today’s Coffee. I would appreciate your coming back to visit!
Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
Whither She Wanders
January 13, 2014“I don’t feed the birds because they need me; I feed the birds because I need them.”
January 12, 2014This morning was a busy one. Gracie and I went to the dump, out to breakfast, and finally to the store to buy a few grocery items for my friends who are house-ridden. I figured I’d get everything done in one fell swoop so I can loll the rest of the day. It was pleasant driving around this morning with the sun shining and the day warm at 48˚. I think a ride would be nice later today.
The birds are back in force, most are house finches. I watched them for a while this morning. A few chickadees dropped by the largest feeder and the gold finches staked their claim on the thistle. I saw birds drinking from water along the side of the road, water leftover from yesterday’s tremendous rain storm. The roads are still damp in places, mostly under the shadows of the trees. One bird was singing this morning from a tree behind the window, and I thought it glorious like on a spring or summer day when the birds greet the morning. Maybe it was just thanks for the seeds.
Festivities are in short supply after Christmas. January, except for New’s Year’s, is a dull month. Valentine’s Day is the only February highlight though when I worked I did have a week’s vacation. March has St. Patrick’s Day, always an excuse to have a few friends over for corned beef and libations. April is my hopeful month when I look forward to a few warm days and a feeling that spring is not so far away. My friends and I go out to dinner on Easter, a wonderful tradition. We go to the same restaurant every year, right on the water, where the food and drinks are delicious. We take our time and enjoy each other’s company. Usually the sun is shining and the day warm, or warmer by comparison. I think of it as the harbinger of spring, hence the hopefulness.
“I like it where it gets dark at night, and if you want noise, you have to make it yourself.”
January 11, 2014The only snow not yet melted by today’s warmth is in piles left by the plows from last week’s storm. The rain hasn’t started yet but is on its way. It will rain here most of the day, sometimes heavily. The wind is strong. My feeders are spinning like a carnival ride, the swings maybe, the sort of rides which always make me sick. The birds, though, don’t seem to mind and hold on when the feeders are being thrown about by the wind, by the strong wind. That dump run I didn’t make yesterday is on the dance card for today if the rain holds off long enough.
Gracie woke me up this morning by ringing her doggie bells. Yesterday she had an upset stomach so I figured she was going out to graze. Eating grass or my spider plants make her feel better. When she came inside, Gracie wanted a treat, and I obliged. She, however, turned her nose up at everything I offered until I gave her a piece of chicken meat from the deli. Once that was finished she ate all the rest of the treats: the cheese slice, the beef tidbit and the dog biscuit. I figure she was holding out for the best she could get. She knows the treats escalate in quality because I worry when she doesn’t want her usual.
Winter is a lazy time for me. I am content to stay inside. Hanging around the house doesn’t usually get boring as I have books and movies and the occasional dusting chore to keep me busy. I venture out only when I have a list of errands or I need animal food, coffee or cream, essentials in this house. I avoid main roads, supermarkets and parking lots. Rainy days are the best days for errands as people choose to stay home. I don’t care if I get wet. It is easy to get dry.
My house is quiet. I can hear only Gracie’s deep breathing as she sleeps beside me on the couch and Fern’s quiet snores from the pillow behind me where she sleeps. The lamp here is lit staving off the gloom of the morning. I like today.
“Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.”
January 10, 2014The alarm went off at eight as it is breakfast Friday, the once a month get-together of women I worked with for years. I turned off the alarm, looked out the window, saw snow and went back to bed for another half hour. The breakfast is a come-if-you-can sort so I wasn’t expected. I’ll go next month.
The day is dreary. The snow, only a dusting, covers everything. Even the pines look sort of nice with their branches layered in snow. The birds were missing from the deck feeders during the coldest days, probably holed up in tight clumps of bushes or branches somewhere, but they returned in yesterday’s warmth, a word loosely used here, but they aren’t around again today. Only the red spawn was at the sunflower seeds. He does his trick of jumping from the deck rail to the squirrel buster feeder (note the feeder’s name), grabs a seed in flight then lands back on the rail to dine. I get crazed and usually chase him off the rail into the yard. I think I have him so paranoid that the door opening scares him right off the deck away from the seeds for most of the day. Banging my feet on the deck as I run at him probably helps too. I suspect the birds will return tomorrow when it is supposed to be 50˚.
I was all set for a dump run today, but now I’m not so sure. The dump is always cold with a strong wind which cuts to the bone, and I’ve had enough of bone-chilling cold this week. I’ll stave off my conscience by doing laundry, but if the afternoon looks better, Gracie and I can still do the dump run.
Christmas gives such color and brightness to the winter that I miss it terribly when it’s gone. I left my outside lights and my fake inside pine tree lit until the day after Little Christmas. My neighbors did the same. Now we have all gone dark except for my palm tree. It stands on deck near the backdoor and is bright green with a yellow trunk. My neighbors love my palm tree.
I crave color in winter. Even my winter wardrobe tends to be drab, utilitarian. The clothes are meant for warmth, not fashion. I could remedy that I suppose, but since my retirement I am seldom inclined to buy new clothes. I did buy a flannel shirt this winter, but that’s it. Maybe I’ll add a jaunty scarf in brilliant pink to my winter ensemble.
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
January 9, 2014The days are getting warmer. By the weekend we should be in the high 40’s and even the low 50’s. That sounds like deck weather after the cold spell we’ve all endured. Gracie is bored because of that cold. She goes out to do her business or to take one run around the backyard. This morning she was staring and growling at some of her toys. She brought a couple to me, and I threw them down the hall hoping for a game of fetch. She just stood looking at me and whining. Luckily she is now asleep, snoring of course. I have nothing to do today. Yesterday I was out and about, but today I am staying home. My groceries are arriving later, I have a few books to read on my iPad and the house is clean. I suppose I could do laundry, but I won’t.
The Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale was the book I just finished. I liked it. The whole novel revolved around three young teens taking the ashes of their murdered friend to Hollywood where she always expected to go and become a star. The trip is on or around the Sabine River. Skunk, the legendary killer who cuts off the hands of his victims, is after them. I won’t give any more of the story in case you’re intrigued, but I refuse to be held responsible if you hate it. Tastes in books vary in as many ways as there are books. I had no expectations for this novel and how much I liked it surprised me. I had to read straight through. At the end I found out that Joe R. Lansdale has written and published hundreds of novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, chapbooks, comic books, graphic novels, and collections. I also found out he wrote Bubba Ho-Tep which I didn’t read, but I did see and liked the movie made from it. IMDb had the best description of this film, “Elvis and JFK, both alive and in a nursing home, fight for the souls of their fellow residents as they battle an ancient Egyptian Mummy.” Okay, that description is more than enough. I’m going to read more by this author. Amazon here I come!
Reading has always been a joy for me. Trips to the library were every week when I was a kid. I’d haul home the limit I could take and read them in a few days. I used to hide a light under the covers so I could read at night after I was expected to be asleep. I’d spend my entire 50 cents allowance on a new book which always caused my father to give me the putting money away for a rainy day lecture. I didn’t take heed. I knew I’d made the best investment with my money. I still have some of those books I bought. They are about Donna Parker and Trixie Belden, amateur teenage detectives. The pages are yellow and sort of fragile now, but every now and then I pick one up and read a page or two just for the memories.
“Nothing burns like the cold.”
January 7, 2014Last night the wind and the heat blasting competed for noise. I woke up around 3, read until 5 then slept in late. My friend who has been hobbling for days with a bad knee called and asked if I wouldn’t mind doing an errand. Her husband, her go-to-it guy, has the flu. I’m thinking the house needs a quarantined sign, but I was more than happy to do a mission of mercy. I put Gracie’s coat on her and we went outside then ran to the car. The cold was pervasive. My car temperature gauge said 17˚ but that didn’t take into account the wind chill. I can’t remember when last it was so cold. My house is nice and warm because the heat seems to be blowing constantly. The back door is closed so Gracie has to ring her doggie bells to go outside. She’s not out for long. Gracie is no dumb animal.
I used to walk to school all the time. It didn’t matter how wet or cold the day was. The walk wasn’t all that long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but we had to pass by a field where the wind swept across in the same way I figure it blows on the Russian steppes. Our clothes billowed in the wind and our faces felt as if they were frost-bitten. I remember trying to fight that wind by walking backwards. I was bundled. We all were, but sometimes it just didn’t seem enough. I can’t imagine walking to school on a day as cold as this one.
Most of the snow is gone, melted by yesterday’s warmth. Piles left by the plow sit by the sides of the road and snow lies on lawns sheltered from the sun. The snow is crusty, and I crunched my way to the driveway to get the papers. It is one of my favorite sounds.
The birds must be sheltered somewhere as there are none at the feeders. Usually all four feeders are filled with birds, some holding on to their spots, like the gold finches at the thistle, and others flying in and out. Yesterday there were many.
I am going out this evening to have dinner with friends. The paper says it should be around 10˚ once the sun goes down. I’m going to bundle even though it’s house to car and vice versa. My phone is charged just in case. Knowing my luck sometimes, I like to prepare for any contingency.
“One winter morning Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see.”
January 4, 2014The snow fell all day into the night yesterday. The plow didn’t come until quite late and did only one sweep on each side of my street. My car and house are still buried. I can see my paper, but the snow is just too deep to make the trek to get it. My factotum, Skip, said he’d be here by nine but that’s nine Skip time so he’s not here yet. I need to be out in the next couple of hours so I hope he’s on his way.
Yesterday Gracie was smarter than I am. I let her out back and then noticed the snow had forced the back gate open and Gracie, being Gracie, went out. I called her and she came right back into the yard and the house. It was snowing, and the snow was so deep it was up to her belly so leaving the yard and walking in all that snow wasn’t attractive to her. When she next needed to go out, I attached two leashes together and let her out front. She wasn’t too happy as she never goes out there so it took a while for her to find the right spot. I held the leash and waited. My sister suggested that maybe I ought to try and shut the gate, and that’s where stupid comes in for me. I put on my shoes, rolled up my pants so they wouldn’t get wet and went out. I never gave a thought to my legs from the tops of my socks to where the pants started. The steps to the yard were covered in snow, and I had to hold on to the underneath rungs of the wooden handrail so I could use my foot to clear off each step before I got to it. When I got to the bottom of the steps, my legs were covered in snow as were my shoes and even the rolled up pants. The gate wouldn’t shut because of the show blown against it. I couldn’t get to the snow outside the gate because of the Christmas light wires so I reached with my leg as far as I could and cleared the snow with my foot. One section was beyond my reach so I shut the gate as far as I could and kicked it. The gate moved a little at a time until finally it shut. I worked my way up the stairs to the back door, but I couldn’t get inside: the button you push to open the door was frozen and wouldn’t move. Gracie went in the dog door and stood in the kitchen watching me. I banged that button with my fist so many times my hands were sore. I knew my only other recourse was to go out the gate, walk through all the snow to my friends’ house and get my spare key from them. No, I couldn’t bear it so I kept banging and cursing. Finally the button gave way, and I got into the house. I was covered with snow so I took off all the snowy stuff right there and then hung it up to dry. I put on warm socks, slippers, pants and a sweatshirt and was warm in no time. I think it will take me a lot longer to smarten up. That was about the dumbest thing I’ve done: bare skin, no hat, no coat, no boots and no gloves. What an idiot!
“January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.”
January 3, 2014The first thing I did when I woke up was check to see if the clock radio was still working. When I saw the red digital time, I knew I had electricity. After last year, that had been my biggest fear, but we are warm and cozy.
Some windows are so covered with snow I can’t see out. It is still snowing, and the storm won’t end until mid-afternoon. Everywhere else the snow ended this morning. My street isn’t even plowed. One plow went by early last night but none since then. I had trouble getting my back door open for Gracie who didn’t want to go out, but I pushed and out she went. It was then I noticed the back gate had come open and Gracie had run out of the yard. I yelled and she came right back into the house, a first for Gracie the runner because even an open gate wasn’t enough to keep her outside in the snow. I’ve decided to attach a couple of leashes to each other then to Gracie so she can go out the front door if she has to go. The snow is so deep it reaches to her belly.
The snow flies from all directions blown by the wind. We are still in blizzard conditions. The birds are at the feeders, including a woodpecker at the suet. I am glad I filled all those feeders yesterday. When Skip finally comes to plow, I’ll have him shovel a path to the feeders so I can keep them filled.
We are warmer than Boston by eight or ten degrees. I guess that’s the silver lining, but not one I’ll enjoy as I don’t envision leaving the house for any reason. The roads here on the Cape are not treated with salt, just sand, because of the water table so they usually have a layer of snow even after being plowed. It takes a sunny day or lots of traffic to melt that snow. Driving around corners is tricky.
I have everything I need to wait out the storm. It has to stop sometime!
