Day: 03/21/2020

NEW BABY ORCHID – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 19 Comments

A NEW BABY ORCHID AND MORE WILL BLOOM – FOTD – MARCH 21, 2020

Life isn’t very exciting around here. I’m sure it isn’t exciting around your place either.

Never have I been more grateful for books, streaming TV, flowers, birds, cameras, and software of all kinds.

Before the flower comes the bud

Today I scored the last package of 24 rolls of Charmin on Amazon. I won’t get it until next week, but that’s okay. I think we’ll survive until then. Every time I use a paper towel or some TP, I feel like I need to be very wary of how much I use. It is very weird.

See the baby orchid?

The full branch

I feel like I did while recuperating from some major surgery or other. We can’t go anywhere and in this case, there’s nowhere to go anyway. As the weather warms a bit, we might take cameras and go to the parks. They, at least, are still open.

The orchid was opening as I took pictures

I also want to know who told the grocery store owners that old people get up very early. I don’t get up very early. Garry doesn’t get up very early. In fact, if he had a choice, he might just sleep around the clock. After announcing the super early-morning for the elderly shopping hours, they did some on-the-street-interviews with the over-60 crowd. Every single one said they didn’t know about other folks their age, but pretty much nothing on earth would get them out of bed at 6:30 in the morning.

You can actually see the difference between the pictures

As of right now, the only thing that gets me up that early is Bonnie on a nonstop barking spree, needing something to drink because I feel thirsty all the time, and the bathroom.

I was awake at around 10 this morning, which is a little on the early side. I used the extra time to listen to more of “Earth Abides,” discover Amazon had one package remaining of 24 rolls of Charmin toilet paper. Now no one has to get up at the crack of dawn to raid a grocery store.

The garden

Overnight, the last big bud on this branch of my orchids opened up. There were a couple of new blooms on the cactuses, too. I took a few pictures of flowers. I also took some bird pictures. And processed some really cute raccoon shots.

We vacuumed, changed the covers on the sofas, I realized I need to re-pot three plants and decided to throw a pizza in the oven tonight. Life toddles along. Even the dogs are sleeping late these days.

I TOLD HIM HE DIDN’T HAVE TO GET UP, BUT HE GOT UP ANYWAY – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 7 Comments

Even the dogs are sleeping late. They woke me briefly at 7:40 because Bonnie demands cookies in the morning. If Garry doesn’t give her cookies and while he is at it, clean out her eyes, she will keep barking. Forever.

One morning she barked continuously for more than three hours, but to be fair to me, she started earlier than usual. I thought four in the morning was too early to wake Garry. He can’t hear the barking because all his hearing equipment is off and the batteries are charging. If I want to make the barking go away, I have to wear headphones and listen to music.

I have headphones that block noise, but it’s really hard to roll over in bed with big, blocky headphones, even if Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is playing.

After getting her cookies, she didn’t start barking again. I woke up around ten, which is on the early side these days. Garry woke up and I told him he didn’t have to get up. We had nothing to do. Well, we did, but nothing that was scheduled. I wanted to vacuum and change the furry covers on the sofa. I also had a plan to sweep the dead seeds off the deck and refill the feeders. Maybe take a few pictures. Write something.

Garry got up anyway and so did I.

I discovered 24 rolls of Charmin actually available on Amazon and bought it, even though it was 50% more expensive than before the plague hit America. I know it’s not like the Black Plague or even the Spanish Flu, but it’s bad enough. It may not kill quite as many people, but it’s doing pretty well and destroying the world’s economy.

It took a freaking plague to get people to forget how much they hate each other and begin to work together. And the moment the plague is over, they will all be at each others’ throats again — if not sooner. I’d like to think the peace could last a little bit longer, but somehow, I doubt it.

There will again be politics and primaries and elections. Everyone will hate everyone again and eventually, life will be normal. Whatever that means.

FURRY BANDITS HITTING THE DECK – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 9 Comments

The other night when the dark-of-the-night camera decided to go bonkers, it took 1012 pictures. Nine-hundred and ninety-nine of them were flying squirrels sitting on the feeder. After deleting about 600 of the ones that looked essentially identical, I got a few in which you could actually sort of almost see the little flyers.

That left another couple of hundred pictures, all of which are our raccoons.

C’mon baby, you can do it!

Two have finally gotten to the food, one on the deck …

We seem to attract the same set of three masked banditos each night. They are getting awfully fat and are having trouble clambering over the fence. I can practically see them gasping for breath as they haul their bulk over the railing.

Looking out to see if there’s any more food they are missing!