Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Small mysteries

First off, the bird in the photos on Wednesday is a Cedar waxwing. I was sitting with Saku in the living room, and we both jumped when we heard a loud thud coming from the sun room. I was afraid when I walked out to the sun room that I'd find a dead or dying bird. Dead I can deal with, dying bothers the heck out of me because I know there is nothing I can do for it and I'm too squeamish to put any wild animal out of its misery. So I was somewhat happy to see the bird was sitting (if not completely upright) with its tail feathers splayed out (the first shot). It appeared to be gasping for air as its beak was open and its chest was heaving. 

I know enough from previous bird strikes to know that if I leave the bird alone, it will often eventually heal itself and be able to fly off.  I checked on it several times through the afternoon, and was a bit worried when afternoon turned into evening and the bird was still there. However, it had moved along the deck and was at least two feet from where it had fallen. I checked again just before dark and it had disappeared. All I was left with were a couple of photos and some bird poop.

To be honest, I had no idea what kind of bird it was at first. I did a quick Google search and identified it based on the yellow fan on the tail and the red on the wings. I've never seen a waxwing in my yard before; obviously they don't eat what I put out in the feeder or I'm sure I would have. In any event, as always I'm amazed at the ability of our bird friends to heal themselves so quickly. I'm certain it had quite the concussion!

I had been hanging out on the couch with the cat most of Monday because I wasn't feeling well. Sunday evening I felt a fever coming on, I felt chilled, a little disoriented, and even in bed I couldn't seem to warm up. Eventually I did fall asleep.  But the weirdest thing was my dreams, or perhaps lack of dreams. I had been working on Ancestry on Sunday and I had gone to bed thinking about a certain individual. I woke several times during the night and every time I was stuck on the same thought about the same person that was in my mind at the end of the evening. It seemed like my brain had frozen in place. Thankfully the fever broke before morning, and though I was tired and felt like I'd been hit by a truck I was feeling much better. I still haven't figured out the puzzle in reference to the ancestor.  He seemingly disappeared.

Since I had no idea what brought on the fever, and I needed to get groceries, I decided to do a rapid test for Covid, just in case. It was negative thankfully, and I headed off to the stores to get what I needed that morning. Curling was scheduled for the afternoon or I might have waited. I know I've mentioned this before - shopping only ever 10 days or so for groceries has made had a positive impact on my budget. I replace what needs replacing and pick up a few sale items, but my impulse purchases have been cut way back. I still get a treat - Easter jelly beans this time. :) 

As for the curling, our Canadian had a slow start with two wins, two losses, but then got a roll and won the next three games, before losing a squeaker to Korea on Thursday. They came back and won their two games on Friday putting them in the play-offs. There were three teams with the same record of 9 wins, 3 losses, so the ranking was done by the total of the measurements of  draw to the button that occurs at the beginning of each game. Canada was .20 of a centimeter (.07 of an inch) being award second place ahead of Korea. So they play this afternoon in a qualifier against Denmark. Their last game with Denmark was close, but I'm positive they'll be able to win again. The next game would be this evening for the semi-finals.

There has been a lot of melting here this week, finally. However, a cold front moved through on Thursday and brought rain and a bit of snow. My brother and I were chatting and of course, this is the weekend he and friend are heading north to go winter camping. The daytime temps will be around -10C (14F), but at least one night will see the temperature drop to -25C (-13F). He has a wood stove they'll use to heat the tent, and with their -40 rated sleeping bags, and layers of clothing they'll be fine. They'll be out ice fishing during the day for trout, and he's taken the ingredients for chili in case the fish are smarter than they are. I'm sure he'll send a photo or two of his adventures that I can share next week.

Thankfully it won't nearly be as cold here. I've been going out every day and chipping away at the ice and tossing snow around to help it melt a little faster. The snow that Eli lost his boot in last week is gone, with a small pond remaining. Of course that doesn't meant there won't be more snow, but at least it won't last for very long.

We did have some lovely temperatures in the afternoon and I was able to open the sun room most days (even on Friday when it was quite cool outdoors). Saku enjoys his naps out there, and likes to tuck himself under the towel. On Friday I took the vacuum out there and rearranged the furniture, and then settled in to read my book, The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, by Fannie Flagg. A very enjoyable read.

I'm off to do a little thrift store browsing this morning, after I fill the car with gasoline.  At $1.689 per litre (about $6.39 US gallon), I know the fill-up will make a dent. But I'm grateful I don't drive a whole lot and this tank of gas should last me several weeks.  Then it is home to watch the curling. And my son has told me he's ordering in pizza this evening so I'm having a good day.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Few words Wednesday

It survived!

Arrivals and departures

It's been a busy week! The Brier ended Sunday evening with a win by the Brad Gushue team out of Newfoundland. The team was our representative at the Olympics in February, and the thought was they'd be tired. Well, they certainly didn't show it winning all their games in round robin play. They did lose in the 1 versus 2 page playoffs but came back and beat the winner of the 3 versus 4 in the semi-final to reach the final. What was even more impressive is their third player was diagnosed with Covid on Saturday and the three team members played the remaining games without him. Mark live tweeted through the game and it was clear he was stressed not being on the ice. :) The team will be off to the Men's Worlds in Las Vegas later in March.

With the curling out of the way (for a few days) it was time to tackle the housework that was somewhat neglected over the past ten days or so. I spent the first few days sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing and tidying in preparation for my visitors on Thursday. D and Eli arrived in the mid- afternoon. She had planned to leave right after school ended at 11:30, but a friend let her know there was fog on part of the highway. She still ran into fog for about 20 minutes but it wasn't too bad.

Eli was able to get his first Covid vaccine on Tuesday, with the second to follow in about 8 weeks or so. He was very brave little boy; there were some tears but D made it up to him with a trip to Tim Hortons for a doughnut treat and some time at the sledding hill. 

No sledding to be had at Gma's. I might have taken him to the park but the street was a mess and because of the ridges the grader made the sidewalks were ponds as well. Though I'll take the ridges of snow - were the snow still on the street it would be tough going with our smaller vehicles. There is a good reason why most of our neighbours drive trucks and SUVs. This is what the first week or so of spring looks like around here. We're forecast to have daytime temps over freezing so with a little wind it will clear up in the next week or so.

Eli and I did spend some time in the back yard, first on the deck and then he convinced me he could dig a path in the back yard to the bird feeder. He started his little dump truck and a rake and soon was marking out a path. At one point, he lost one of his boots in the snow, and turned around and carried it back to me to get help getting it back on. Silly kid! I grabbed the shovel and cleared out a wider path behind him.

Other visitors to the yard this week included the hare out front on Monday. It was enjoying snacking on the evergreen and then settled down to rest. At least it did until my son pulled out of garage. Then it took off in a big hurry. This next photo is of a little redbreasted nuthatch. For many weeks I've seen this wee bird when I go out to fill the feeder. It sits in the tree close by and talks to me - truly! It has a sweet call and I like to think it is saying thank you. I've tried several times to get a photo and each time it's been camera shy and flown away. Since I got the photo, I haven't seen it at the feeder. Hopefully it's okay and I'll see it again soon. (This was a cellphone photo and I cropped it to see the bird more clearly.)

On Thursday morning, I looked at the kitchen and spotted Hoover at the feeder. I thought the lighting was pretty - it's furs all aglow. 

Of course the camera focused on the branches but I didn't want to take the time to manually focus. I was right, as it spotted me and headed down the fence line.

While Eli was here on Friday morning, he got to see the downy woodpecker as well as the squirrel at the feeder. He told me they have a squirrel in their yard too, named Squirrely. D says it climbs on their neighbour's room and chatters at them.

They both had doctor's appointments Friday afternoon, and headed home once those were complete. D brought the paperwork from the pyschologist for the doctor to add to his file. It was confirmed last week that Eli has ADHD. We're lucky he was diagnosed early as the supports are being provided even before the official diagnosis. Dr. J pronounced Eli a physically healthy little boy and noted he has astigmatism. Not a surprise as we all have it in my family. The three of us, D, C, and I all wear glasses, though my son C has a tendency to only wear them for driving.

Before they left, Eli turned to me and said, "G'ma - you're the best!". I do so love that little boy - he is so sweet. Our visits are always fun, though tiring. I did a couple of loads of laundry after they left, did a little clearing of slush and ice, but did little else for the rest of the day.

Today I've been puttering around this morning, doing a few chores, setting a batch of buns, and catching up on blog reading and television programming. The Women's Worlds curling starts this afternoon at 3 p.m. local, with Canada taking on Italy in draw 1. Next up, is Norway at 8 p.m. I expect both games will be fun to watch. So you know what I'll be doing for the much of this week. The sports network will only air the games Canada is in, until the weekend when the qualification games begin. Fingers crossed, our Canadian team will be in the thick of it!

Of course, I can't forget that the spring equinox occurs tomorrow. It won't be truly spring here for a few more weeks, but I'm happy that the long winter is fading.  Happy Spring everyone!

Friday Funny