A New Day Begins

On the first full day of the Biden presidency the sun rose in a magnificent sky. The colors poured through our windows and lit the room. We felt renewed. We felt joyous. Our hearts rose as high as the sky. The monster is gone...gone.

Roger received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Thursday as well. So far so good. We are so happy about that. I didn't get it because I'm not ancient enough (LOL!). Here in our county they are inoculating the 75+ age group. They won't get around to us young'uns (65+) for a few more months. Biden actually has plans. He is making sure that production is high and things get done efficiently. It's a whole new world here.

It's still life in the time of Coronavirus, but we are hopeful, renewed, and joyous. We haven't felt like this in years.

 

A Walk At The Marsh

We had a break in the rainy wintry weather, so we took advantage of the sunshine and went for a walk at the marsh. It was so lovely to be out there in the warm sunlight and to forget for a short while the political chaos and nightmare of our country.

We had forgotten how much we love walking here. There was a time not that long ago that we would go to the marsh at least once or twice a week. Now months go by before we take the very short drive there.

There were so many birds out and about. We  just strolled along enjoying their songs and their quiet nap times as well.

I always love when we see these birds resting and sleeping. They always look so peaceful and like they are floating in air.

But what really surprised us is when we walked past the place where we have seen the very furtive bittern, Roger wondered if we might catch a rare glimpse of one that day. We walked along enjoying the views when I looked down into the brambles and vines and saw this.

Yes! The bittern was there, hiding and hunting. I wish I had thought to photograph it before I zoomed in for the closeup. It's really so well hidden. We quietly said our hellos and walked on. 

We do so love the walks at the marsh.

January So Far

We are as rattled and unsettled as it gets. There's no peace. We have no idea what's coming next, but it doesn't look good. The Democratic Headquarters in our county was vandalized last week. Still I run out in the morning to see the sky, and you will not believe the show it has put on already this month. The balance to madness is beauty. Here is what the sky has offered.

January 1

January 7

January8

January 11

January 8 a little later in the morning

 

A Few Words About Wednesday

 

You would think we would have something to say about what happened in our nation's capitol on Wednesday. A truly amazing sight to behold, and yet we have so few words. We are quietly shocked by it all. We went to bed Wednesday night not knowing if Congress would get to vote on our stupid electoral vote counting absurdity and finally accept Joe Biden as the winner. So the headlines Thursday morning were reassuring. Yes, Biden will be sworn in on January 20th. Whew. The fact that we had to wonder if that would actually happen is enough to drive us crazy, but the added armed insurrection and takeover of the Capitol building was a drama of historical proportions. What have we become? I have no idea. The Civil War of our country has never ended. And now the Confederate Flag waving people also wear shirts celebrating Nazis and Auschwitz, or with this little hidden gem 6MWE. Want to know what that means... 6 Million Wasn't Enough. Perfect confluence of the Civil War meets World War II and embrace on the steps of the Capitol to save our country from... what?... me, you, us.

Photo from a different rally in December 2020

With the two Democratic Senators win in Georgia, we have less than two years to maybe fix this country before midterms 2022. Will it happen? We'll have to wait and see. I'm worried, but do have a small glimmer of hope. 

We are living in crazy times, friends. Please stay safe.

A Surprising Look Inside

Blackberry vines growing up and over the roof

For those of you who don't know or haven't read our previous posts about our neighbor, we live next door to an abandoned house. In the 5 1/2 years that we've been here, we've never seen anyone go in or out of there or do yard work, or care for any of it. Then a few months ago we noticed some critter had displaced some of the old wooden roof shingles and gotten into the attic. It was the first time I ever tried to contact the owner who lives 300 miles south of here. We started some correspondence. She had the hole in the roof covered up with a piece of plastic tarp, which of course was torn right away. It's been falling apart ever since. So, I checked in with the owner again and told her how much it had deteriorated. She called a roofer who came and inspected the place last month and said that he could re-roof the house, but first the raccoons living the attic would have to be removed. WHAT??? Raccoons in the attic? It's even worse than we thought. We thought it was just mice and rats in the crawl space under the house. So the owner contacted a wildlife organization who made an appointment with the owner's niece to come over to get rid of the raccoons  One thing led to another and suddenly we had the key to the house to let the wildlife people in. Their plan was to put lights and talk radio on in the attic for three days. They say that that will definitely compel the raccoons to flee. They hate the lights and sound. Well okay, that sounds pretty non-violent. But it hasn't happened yet because they needed electricity and it hadn't been turned on yet, and then it was New Year's Eve, and then the owner has to go out of town for a funeral... so at some point the raccoons will be gone and the house re-roofed. But here's why I'm writing this crazy story... we went inside the house. INSIDE this crazy abandoned house when we first let the wildlife person in (when we discovered that was no electricity). 

It so surprised us when we walked in. We expected cobwebs and filth everywhere. We expected inches of dust and stinky mold. What we saw was beauty. It has not been touched in so many years, but the piano in the living room looked ready for someone to sit and play. There were lovely paintings on the walls, and family photos still attached by magnets to the refrigerator door. It looked like such a well-loved home, full of sweet history. It was such a stunning difference from what the exterior looks like. How is this possible? We have no idea. 

I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover.

PS-- On Sunday Roger saw a cat on the roof. It went on to the tarp and entered the attic through the lowest hole. We're hoping it can find its way out. We think if the raccoons can come and go, the cat will do the same.  Sure will be such a good thing once this house is re-roofed.

The Skies Of December

I thought December was a rather bleak month in so many ways, but when I looked back at some of the photos I was surprised by what the sky actually showed us.

 Happy New Year, friends! Here's hoping that January will be as surprisingly beautiful.