Birds Of A Feather

This pair of Finches periodically appear at the bird feeder. Isn’t this a great sequence?

These images were made in just a minute or so one morning and I got a kick out of their body language and expressions.

Bird watching is one of the best hobbies because it costs no money and provides hours of entertainment. Personally, I just watch the birds at my feeders and look for them on hikes but you can devote as much time as you like.

There are plenty of field guides, websites and apps to help you get started. I have a book but also use a free phone app where I upload my own pictures for identification.

You also may be happy just watching them for their beauty and antics!

The New Normal

The conversation right now is is all about getting back to normal.

And I get it. People need to go back to work. Small businesses need their customers back. The economy has to start rolling again soon.

For me personally, I’m just inconvenienced and I feel terrible for people who are suffering financially.

There are things I can’t wait to do.

For example, grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities so I’m excited to someday walk into a store without strategizing like a general preparing for battle.

I want to browse a bookstore and see a movie. I want to visit places that I’ve never been.

But I’m trying to make the best of this time at home, cooking and doing chores. I’ve been digging in long neglected flower beds and look forward to transplanting and using plants from around the yard to make things nicer. Small changes around the house sometimes involve simply making something a little more convenient and I’ve been decluttering here and there.

The tv is off most of the time although I have gotten hooked on reruns of The Closer. Reading is the thing I do most – before work, after work and sometimes at lunch.

I’ve said this before and will say it again, life is very quiet. And while my leash is short, I’m still planning some hikes and drives to places most people don’t think to go. Social distancing is easier in rural areas.

When your world changes, you have to change with it.

I watch with interest as Facebook friends exchange Netflix recommendations and complain about spouses, kids, boredom and having to cook. They’re basically killing time while they wait to go back to normal life.

I’m not sure I want to go back to normal – at least, not everything. Some activities, some people, some obligations will get weeded out of my life just like the Honeysuckle that I cut away from roses this week.

It just seems like now is the time to find new hobbies, to eat better, breathe deeper and to build habits for greater happiness and productivity in the future.

The folks in this next picture were in a nice art gallery, a place called the Parthenon, in Nashville last spring. They were surrounded by interesting things but they chose to sit on a bench and look at their phones while others in their party explored.

They’re missing out on everything.

Is this how we want to spend our lives? Sitting on a bench or a couch, staring at a tv or phone? Or complaining because someone dragged us to a museum or some other place that we don’t want to be so we’re just going to ignore it till it’s over?

Here’s my unsolicited advice.

Turn off the tv and go for a walk or do a puzzle. Go for drives. Order some seeds and plant a small garden. You will be amazed at how therapeutic it is to dig in spring soil.

This is a great time to reflect on what you like about your life and what isn’t working. If you’re unemployed or working from home, you may find time to explore new things, expand your horizons, or map a fresh journey for the road ahead.

The photo at the top of the page is from my yard. This battered old apple tree bloomed overnight after a long night of thunderstorms this week. Once the storms moved through, the sun came out and these pretty blossoms filled the branches.

Let’s be like this tree. Weather the storm and when the time is right, we will blossom again.

Adjusting Expectations

Today’s theme is adjusting expectations.

Since the first of the year, I have been living very quietly and enjoying this time of a No Spend Challenge which has allowed for more self care, planning, reading and lots of other activities at home. I’ve been saving money for this year’s adventures too.

Lunchtime walks, upcoming events and the promise of travel have given me something to look forward to. Plans include one of my favorite old(er) movies on the big screen, a weekend trip away, an author talk, and a concert.

And then this little global pandemic hit, containing me to home at least for a while longer. While the last couple of months have been centered on voluntary self seclusion, I’m not thrilled about the involuntary kind.

In fact, I’m downright irritated that my adventure season isn’t starting this week as planned and am already concerned that my summer trip won’t happen either.

That’s why it is time to adjust expectations.

Here in Ohio, the governor has closed schools and banned gatherings of a hundred or more. Limitations have been placed on restaurants too. Churches are cancelled or holding services online. Communities like mine are scrambling to provide lunches to low income kids, and many working parents have no clue what they’ll do with their kids for the next few weeks. Lines are long in stores and people are clearing shelves of everything from toilet paper and medicines to ramen noodles and pizza rolls.

The messaging surrounding this virus has been unclear. We’ve been told to wash our hands and to be smart about germs while we’re watching Italy and China shut down entire cities. No one knows what the future holds but, from what I’m seeing, there’s potential for a lot of bad to find it’s way to this country before it gets better.

From what I’ve seen of my Facebook friends, people seem to be continuing life as usual when it comes to recreation and fun. We’ve closed schools but parents continue to drag their kids to the store, to the movies, out to eat, and basically anywhere else they wish to go because they don’t want to be stuck at home.

When I started my January No Spend Month, I jotted down a list of things to that didn’t involve spending money and most of them were things I could do at home. For me, that list included household projects like organizing kitchen cabinets and weeding my clothes closet. I had a list of recipes to try and a list of fun things too! Taking my camera for a walk, puzzles, movies, books, playing the piano, and long bubble baths are just a few things on that list.

This is a great time to spring clean and to freshen up your house by rearranging things you already own. If you have kids, give them art supplies and ask them to make cards for residents of nursing homes and hospitals who aren’t getting any visitors right now. That should entertain them for a few minutes anyway!

And remember, you’re still able to go outside. I’m making a mental list of work that needs to be done in my yard and there’s a shed that needs cleaned out and torn down.

Yesterday, I experimented in the kitchen, making up my own potato soup recipe, tried making tomato jam, roasted broccoli, chopped up some salad veggies and made a few biscuits. I read, did some laundry, began researching cruelty free companies (this has been in the list for a while), strategized for the week, and watched a little tv.

Exciting? Hardly. But I was busy, productive and completely disconnected from the mass hysteria that has caused so many people to lose their minds. 

It was a good day.

So I am going to dig in and devote this time to getting some stuff done and getting back to basics. If nothing else, I’ll be well read and rested by the time this madness is over.

I have an inner old lady who survived the Great Depression who believes in the Depression era mantra – “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” She sits in the back of mind every day but I’m hoping that I don’t need her services more than I already use her.

Look at the bright side – we may find some wonderful new hobbies, authors, recipes, family traditions and habits! Meanwhile, stay calm, avoid people when you can, and wash your hands. This too shall pass.

And one more thing – our communities are filled with people who are older, who have mobility issues or who have weakened immune systems. If you’re healthy and able and going to be out anyway, offer to run some errands for them. They might really appreciate the helping hand!

Have a good day, friends. It’s all going to be ok.

 

 

Santa, a Biplane, and Something To Be Excited About

Little kids like planes so I was pretty excited to hear that my barnstorming friend Dewey was helping with something special for kids in his community this Christmas. You see, he picked up Santa and gave him a lift to the airport in Springfield, Ohio on Sunday.

Santa and his elf spent that afternoon visiting with youngsters and learning their fondest Christmas wishes.

While Santa was tucked away with a line of kids in a warm airport terminal, Dewey was outside visiting with the kiddos and their parents. He fitted them all with aviator caps and goggles before lifting them up into the plane for photos.

Despite the cold, biting wind you only experience in western Ohio’s flat farmland (I’m from the hills where the wind can’t get up that much speed), groups of kids and adults came trooping outside for their turn with his 90 year old open air cockpit biplane.

I swear that many of them were just as excited to see the biplane as they were to meet Santa. The pilot seemed equally thrilled to give people the opportunity and to talk about the lost art of barnstorming.

He’s good with people and you can tell that there’s little he loves more than sharing his passion with others. It was fun to watch and I was happy to play a very small part that day.

A piece of me wishes I had something to be so excited about. I’m enthusiastic about lots of things and interested in almost any topic but there’s never been one thing that captured my enthusiasm so dramatically. Although, if I did something so cool as barnstorming in a fabulous old biplane, I might be singing a different tune.

Here’s a thought for today. If you have kiddos and you see a spark in them, you see that they’re excited about something, try nurturing that spark. Encourage them to learn and grow with that thing they love so much. It could turn into a career or maybe just a lifelong hobby. Either way, I’m guessing they’ll be happier than the rest of us who just bounce around from interest to interest.

And if Santa is coming to an airport near you, friends, go see him. There’s nothing cooler than seeing Santa climb out of an airplane.

I’m Trying To Learn Guitar

Music is one of the best things this life offers. Today I mostly listen to records and play around on the internet looking for old tunes time has forgotten.

But I took piano lessons when I was a kid and also picked up alto sax, flute and clarinet. It’s been a lot of years since abandoning most of those but I kept up with the piano sort of half heartedly until just a few years ago. I still have a piano in my home but life is busy and it’s been so long since I played regularly that I’ve pretty much lost my way.

A pal, who is an expert guitar player, suggested that I give the guitar a try and was kind enough to help me get started, trading me a guitar for some records. I demanded that he teach me a few things as well.

So for the last few weeks I’ve been working with what he showed me as well as with a nice little Hal Leonard book. My approach is to practice a little every day and now have some really sore fingers to prove it.

Sadly, my technique is not improving. I’m attempting to learn “Ode To Joy” but the results aren’t very joyful at this time.

I’ll keep trying.

It’s fun to learn new things although I really hate being bad at something. That should be incentive to keep working at it but it’s easy to become frustrated. My friend tells me that every time you see someone who is good at guitar, that person has spent a period of time – maybe even a lifetime – living with their instrument.

If that’s what it takes, my job and other interests will probably interfere with my future as a rockstar. Nonetheless, it’s good to try new things.