Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
It’s Friday And…
Hello everyone on this last day of March. And it’s Friday. Okay, maybe I’m not too excited about this being Friday. That’s just me. But I was sitting here this afternoon and looked out the window to see that it was…SNOWING! And not just a few lazy snowflakes. It was snowing heavily. It was hard to see across the street. This is spring.
At least, that’s what the calendar says. This is actually our third very late spring in a row. That does not normally happen. Normally the snow is gone by about April 7. At the latest. That poor robin I saw must be wondering why he bothered to come back. It is normal for robins to be back now. But there is usually some ground showing. Okay, there is a few patches of ground showing. But not much. Sigh.
Dreaming…
Of warm weather. Palm trees. Sand. Ocean. Definitely not snow. I have been talking about winter since early October. Why? Because that’s when winter arrived with 9 inches of snow. That doesn’t usually happen. Our winters seem to be getting longer and colder. Sigh. But perhaps it makes summer even more enjoyable. That’s what I try to tell myself anyway.
Muffin has…
Gone from cabin fever to spring fever. I think the spring fever is worse. She wants that door open. I gave in a couple of days that were nice and sunny. But, when the sun doesn’t shine, like today, she still wants the door open. She doesn’t understand that it’s too cold on cloudy days. I try to explain it to her. Doesn’t work out too well. So I’m wearing shoes inside now. Better protection. Except I discovered her sharp teeth can go right through my jeans. Easily. I’m running out of bandages again. But I’m doing my part in keeping that company prospering. Sometimes I think Muffin is working for them.
My questions…
Don’t seem to be going over too well. Odd. Only one person was brave enough to answer this last one. It was a good answer. It wasn’t correct, but it was good. Oh well.
I tried. Maybe I should try singing. Forget it. You definitely don’t want to hear that. If I try that when I’m alone, Muffin covers her ears. Or she gives me something to scream about. She’s always thinking about me. Unfortunately right now she has her days and nights a bit mixed up. I go to bed. She wakes up. 1 am, she wants to play. I want to sleep. So we play for a while. That way I get to sleep. Last night I refused. She played extra loud. Normally she just plays quietly with her toys. Last night she was a terror. Running, jumping, crashing, scratching (on her scratching post and the mat by the door, which is allowed). So I didn’t sleep. Until she quit. Sigh. One of those days, I mean, nights.
My mind keeps wandering.
Hard to stay focused today for some reason. So I think I will keep this short.
And add a couple extra pics instead. I am really looking forward to spring. Real spring. With no snow on the ground kind of spring. And hundreds of birds singing. It does happen. Honest. Just seems like such a long time ago. Sigh.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
Sir George Is Back!
A big hello to all of you on this beautiful spring day! I hope everyone is enjoying the return of spring. At least, those of you who have spring, as I know some of you enjoy nice weather year round. And…he’s back, as you probably noticed above! Sir George is my friendly herring gull and he showed up this afternoon for a nice helping of food. He is one big bird and he can really pack away a lot of food. And he is still friendly, though I wasn’t able to get quite as close as last year. But that will change soon.
Several birds…
Have now returned to join us for the summer. The Canada geese are back, of course the crows and bald eagles returned a while ago. There are two bald eagles circling over my deck as I type. Beautiful big birds they are as well. Plus today a junco arrived and was happy to dig into the sunflower seeds on the ground. Or, I should say, snow.
There is ground showing in many places now however. Mostly on hillsides. But even here in the yard. And, there are at least 3 male purple finches here now. The first one showed up yesterday. It has been a bit hard getting a good pic of them though. Sigh.
And…
Yesterday afternoon the first chipmunk showed up! Yay! He isn’t one of my normal chipmunks though. This fella lives across the street and he only showed up last fall so I didn’t have much time to make friends with him. Maybe this year.
I will have to think of a name for this one too. Yes, they do learn their names and will come when I call them. I hope the others managed to survive the winter as well. They certainly had enough food. But…they do have enemies. The worst one around here is the weasel. And they come into town too, though I haven’t seen any evidence of them around here.
I forgot on Monday…
The answer to my question. Can a person be up and down at the same time, physically? Surprisingly I only received four responses to that question. Was it really that hard? There was some good answers, even no was a good answer. The answer though is yes. How? Here is one example. I am half way up a ladder going up to the roof of a house. Someone on the roof looks over and says, what are you doing down there? And a person on the ground says, what are you doing up there? There you have it, up and down at the same time. Okay, groan all you want. I think those who answered my last question knew it would be like this, which is why they didn’t want to answer this time. Last time I asked, can a person be here and there at the same time, while being in the same spot? Oh well.
Try this one…
If I was standing in front of you I could prove that I wasn’t there. Do you believe that? Yes or no, plus an explanation. No need to play along with these questions if you don’t want to. I know what you’re thinking. But really, it has been a long winter, and I tend to think a lot. Sigh.
Ideas…
I get ideas sometimes. Again, that is because our winters can be rather long. So I think. I probably shouldn’t think. Then I wouldn’t get ideas. I should really do a survey.
If I knew how. Since it would need to be anonymous. Otherwise people might not want to participate. And I certainly need participation. Before I go through with my new idea. Sigh. I should stop thinking. But it can be fun. Especially when my ideas work out. And sometimes they do. Honest.
Speaking of shopping…
I’m always amazed at what can happen to me while shopping. I needed to get cat litter. The bucket is on the top shelf. Naturally. But, there is one right at the edge. Perfect. Wrong. I tip it over and…the lid is broken open. In case you don’t know, that means cat litter starts spilling out onto the floor. And I’m trying to stop it from falling into the cart as I usually want it to do. Without getting cat litter all over the place. I manage to succeed without much loss. Except for throwing my back out. Supposed to ask for help, I’m told. They don’t have anyone working in the pet section, not enough employees. We have high unemployment here. Stores can’t get people to work. Starting wage is $15.15 per hour. Not a fortune, but not bad for a single person. Then I go to pick up some peanuts. The bag had been ripped open by someone. Peanuts all over the floor. Why me? Pick them up and put them on the shelf. I’m on my way to the checkout. Just going into the checkout, no one ahead of me. A young lady runs past me and gets ahead of me. It wasn’t my day. She didn’t even say anything. Sigh.
It was a fun day though! It all gave me a good laugh. Even with a sore back. Which is even worse now. Sigh. I hope you all enjoy your week and I will see you again on Friday, God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (who spent most of her day by the door enjoying the sun and birds)
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 