Eaglets and Other Stuff

I have granddaughter duty today while her parents are at work. She's always a pleasure to have around and, while she's here, I tend to get involved in activities that are not usually on my schedule.  I'd like to think that keeps me young but, alas, it just tends to wear me out.  I've heard it said that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  I wish!

She and I have spent an enjoyable few minutes this morning watching the Decorah, Iowa eagle-nesting site on streaming live video.  I was first made aware of this wonderful site three years ago, and followed the hatching of that year's batch of eaglets. 

I missed that wonderful event this year. The three eaglets were hatched on April 2, 3 and 7, and are already peeking their down-covered heads out from under Mom (or Dad -- both parents tend the eggs and young).

Technology is wonderful.  Pay a visit to that site, if you have time. Just wait out (30 seconds or so) the inevitable commercial that precedes the live feed.  It's worth the wait.

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Microsoft XP -- My desktop computer, which I've had for more than a few years, operates on XP, a system which as of April 8, Microsoft is no longer supporting.  Reading all the hoopla and security warnings about continuing to use XP made me uncomfortable about continuing an Internet connection to my desktop. To upgrade to Windows 7 is not a,  simple task and is more than I care to do.  Although I'm backed up through Carbonite, I'd still hate to have any of my files hacked, or to import some horrible virus that would corrupt my hard drive (that's happened -- not a pretty thing!) So, I disconnected it from the Internet on April 7.

Laptop to the rescue!  Two years ago, I purchased a laptop computer which operates on Windows 7, a system which will continue to be supported by Microsoft for several years -- probably until after I'm dead and gone, if the truth be told. I will continue to work on my desktop sans Internet connection, transferring information to my laptop via Flash Drive as needed, and use the laptop for my Internet activities.

That's all, for the nonce.  Tomorrow is also a day.

Bits and Pieces

Wild Violets - my backyard

Item: First, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for my granddaughter. While not completely free of all symptoms, she felt well enough to return to school on Monday after her release from the hospital. She has been to school every day this week, taking her own home-prepared food for lunch.  Even after all the tests, including the nuclear scan a week ago, no conclusive diagnosis was made. Gardening Daughter says she doesn't know whether to continue to be frustrated by the lack of a diagnosis or just to be thankful that her prayers were answered and there is nothing seriously wrong.  It's still a more than slightly troubling puzzlement.

Item: I had hoped to get some much needed work done in my back yard during my blogging break. Alas, it was not to be. I was first hindered by the onset of cold, rainy weather which lasted for days; I think that, until today, we had only about 10 minutes of sunshine during the entire week.  We had a brief hail storm one afternoon; I could see the effects of it when I finally got outside. The tulip magnolia blossoms  are really tatty looking and a couple of early blooming Irises also showed damage.  The second hindrance was that the older I get the more severe my pollen allergies become and they hit in full force on Saturday.  I chose to exit the church service right after the sermon on Sunday because I was, in my opinion, being disruptive by my almost continual sneezing and subsequent tissue use.  Amen - sneeze, sneeze, sniff, sniff, honk, honk!  I made an immediate trip to a pharmacy for some Claritin; it took a couple of days for that to kick in, but most of my symptoms are allayed and  I'm feeling like a human again.  I have decided that I should never be without some Claritin on my medicine shelf. I probably should start taking it when the trees begin to bloom, and before my symptoms become severe.

Item - regarding the photo above: One of my blogger friends "Mimi Foxmorton,"  The Goat Borrower, posted this morning about wild things, particularly wild violets.  She likes'em!  I'll let you read the details of how much she likes them.   I like them, too, and have allowed them to take over a good-sized section of my back yard.  I don't mow in that area until the violet blooms are gone. I've offered to send her some roots; her neighbors will not be amused.  Can you imagine? -- there are people in the world who consider them weeds!

I can't remember when I haven't liked violets; I like the dark green of their leaves, the variegated purples and violets of their blooms, and their fragrance.  Ahhhh!  

Unearthed from somewhere in my memory is the image of Joan Crawford, fur stole thrown about her shoulders, and wearing violets on her furs.  That memory brought to the forefront another memory, the melody and words of the song, "Violets for Her Furs."  I leave you with this rendition (with a change in pronoun) by Miss Billie Holiday.

If you liked the melody, but Billie Holiday is not quite your cup of tea, you might enjoy this YouTube instrumental rendition by the John Coltrane Quartet.

I hope you've had a wonderful week, and are looking forward to a great weekend.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Update on My Granddaughter

I thank everyone who has expressed concern for my granddaughter.  She was released from the hospital this evening; not fully recovered, but much better than when she was admitted.  A small pharmacy accompanied her trip home. Her parents are hoping that they can keep her out of the emergency room/hospital for the foreseeable future. 

Some specialized 'nuclear medicine' tests were performed on her today, but the results will not be available until Monday.  Her physicians now suspect that a problem with her gallbladder, which was not clearly indicated at first, may be the culprit.  One does not think of a seventeen year old as a prime candidate for that sort of thing, but all things are possible. It will be a relief to all concerned to have a final diagnosis, and to learn what the next steps are to getting her completely well.

She's always been a slim slip of a thing and now, having lost eighteen pounds since the onset of her symptoms, she can only be described as "gaunt." It will be a long while, I think, before she regains the lost weight.

Unless something unexpected occurs, I do not have Sweetie-duty this weekend, so will be back to my normal (whatever that is) routine.  

Thank you, again, for your concern and well-wishes.

Tomorrow is also a day.

A Response

In the comments section of my "Full Plate" post, a regular visitor (thank you, rhymeswithplague) wrote as follows:


"Just what all did y'all have at the picnic? I see what look like tomatoes (unless they are strawberries), but I'm having trouble identifying the other foods. English peas? Chick peas? Apple pie? Potatoes? Corn fritters? Inquiring minds want to know."

I started to reply in the comments section, but when my response began to reach 'post' length -- well, here you are:

Dear Rhymeswithplague,


That was not my picnic, not my photo. In other words, I have no idea.   The photo is as close as I could find on the Internet of a plate that's running over -- the way I felt when I got home last evening.  These days, I don't handle very well any interruptions to my normal routine.  Can I say "set in my ways?" Or, worse: "Lazy?" 

In the past ten years of retirement, I have become a creature of habit and voluntary solitude, which I choose to call 'Peace and Quiet'; not necessarily a good thing.  I would be perfectly content to follow the same (slothful?) routine day after day after day, doing only what suits me -- when it suits me.  I never (or hardly ever) protest anyone's request for my time and efforts,  if asked; I just don't handle it very well after the fact.  

Granddaughter is still sick, still hospitalized, without a conclusive diagnosis. The physicians will not release her until she is able to retain some nourishment, preferably some solid food,  which she has been unable to tolerate (read: keep down) for almost three weeks. Her mother, Gardening Daughter, is almost at wits-end.  I know that you're a praying person; please add Jessica M. to your prayer list, and add her almost frantic parents, too. 

In the absence from home of Gardening Daughter and son-in-law, who are taking turns at the hospital so as to have one of them with her 24 hours a day, I am pulling more than the usually-sporadic Sweetie-duty.  While I love my granddaughter dearly, it's been a long time since I've had to spend more than a couple of hours at a time in full charge of a six year old who has enough energy to wear the horns off a brass billy goat.  "Please sit down and be still for a while" is not on her agenda, as it should not be on mine.  Ah, well. What doesn't kill me will make me stronger, or so I've heard.  

If I feel like my plate is currently too full, I also remember that "my cup runneth over,"  but that's another thing entirely,  for which I'm very thankful,  and which  makes my perceived overly-full plate a pauper's portion in comparison.  

Image:free-christian-wallpapers.blogspot.com

Tomorrow is also a day.  

Spring is Here & Nesting Eagles

Spring Beauty
Claytonia virginica

My front and back yards are covered with these pretty small flowers. Until I read the information at the the link, I didn't know that most of this plant is edible.  

Spring-like temperatures have been around for a few days, although it was cloudy today. I spent nearly all the day indoors since I had Sweetie (granddaughter) duty today from nine to five.  We had a good time together, as always.  

The reason for my all day duty was that Sweetie's older sister, age seventeen, has been suffering from gastric distress of an unknown origin for over a week.  It's been severe enough to warrant several trips to the emergency room and yesterday afternoon's visit resulted in her being admitted as an in-patient. She will have several procedures done over the next couple of days to try to ascertain the cause.  Mom and Dad are with her, in shifts, 24/7, so Sweetie and I will be spending more time together until sister gets to come home.

Since Sweetie is home-schooled (as were all her siblings), there are various educational activities to be done each day.  She practiced her printing today to write a short note to big brother who is in the Coast Guard.   All this is new to me, so I probably will learn as much (if different things) as she does.

LIVE VIDEO - NESTING EAGLES -  I know this site is making the blogger-rounds right now so you may already have seen it.  I've sent to the link to all my family members and close friends.  If you haven't seen it and would like to, I invite you to visit  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/decorah-eagles.  The eagle pair is nesting at a fish hatchery outside Decorah, Iowa, a few miles south of the Minnesota border.  I've found it fascinating.  Don't be off-put by the introductory advertising; it lasts only 30 seconds or so, and it's worth the wait to see the eagles.

Tomorrow is also a day.

A Fine Evening Out

Photo - Shogun Japanese Steakhouse

My son, who lives nearby, called me yesterday to invite me to a birthday dinner for his youngest daughter. One of her favorite places to eat is the Shogun Japanese Steakhouse in Little Rock --  and that's where we dined earlier this evening.  Amidst flashing knives and spatulas, flaming oil and much showmanship, we were served delicious food, and plenty of it.  I have a take-home box that will provide a generous lunch tomorrow.

My granddaughter married a fine young man from northern Arkansas, and she moved there a couple of years ago. They live in a small, rural community not too many miles from the University of Arkansas Fayetteville Campus where she is studying.   It's a moderate commute, but she seems not to mind at all.  It was wonderful to see her and her family (her husband has a lovely young daughter who came down here with them.)

I drove to the home of  my son and daughter-in-law about 30 minutes before we needed to leave for Little Rock for the express purpose of meeting their two newly acquired dogs; five year old greyhounds which they adopted. They are beautiful male brindle greyhounds named Heart and Luke.  Huge dogs, but quite social. I was greeted politely, then mostly ignored. 

These are not the first greyhounds in their home. They had an adored female named Hope who lived with them for a long time before she died a couple of years ago. She, too, was adopted.  They have been looking for another greyhound for some time, and originally thought they would take only one, but fell in love with both dogs and couldn't leave one behind.

I had an extremely pleasant evening, made even more so by viewing the beautiful super perigee moon on our way home.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Liquid Sunshine

There are no dry bones around here today!  The part of town I live in received 1.5 inches of liquid sunshine in a willy-waw (deluge with high wind) that lasted only about thirty minutes.  We need the moisture, so I didn't mind it raining, but since it fell so fast and furious, I was a little bit concerned that the street on which I live might experience high water.  I shared a photo of what my street looks like after a downpour in this post.  However, since I wasn't at home to watch the water rising, I didn't spend much time thinking about it -- I was on high ground at Gardening Daughter's home. 

I had "Sweetie"- duty this afternoon. My daughter and other members of her local garden club have been working for the past two days at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, making preparations for their participation in the 2011 Arkansas Flower and Garden Show, which begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday.   Since my son-in-law works the second shift at his place of employment, when she has to be away from home in the afternoons,  I gladly stay with my granddaughter (nick-named "Sweetie," - not to be confused with Sweetie Pie, my cat). She and I have a great time together, although today she was feeling the effects of a tummy upset and took a long nap.

Sweetie's older sister, who is a junior in high school, is very active in the school's Junior ROTC,  which is assisting in a community event at the Senior Citizens Center tonight. They were to report, in uniform, at 5 p.m., which time just happened to be in the midst of the deluge. We had to dart between the raindrops to get into my car, which was parked under a deep carport, sheltered on three sides. The wind blew the rain from the entrance of the carport all the way to the back door of the house.  Wooie!   Getting her to her destination provided me with a thorough washing of my car; I don't think a paid power-wash could have done any better.  The rain all but scoured the paint.  It should gleam like liquid sunshine tomorrow.


Gardening Daughter got home around 6:30, and I got back to my house around 6:45.  I could see no evidence that high water had been in my yard;  I must remember to thank the city fathers for improving the drainage system. 

Tomorrow is also a day.