Day gazillion and counting


Tomorrow will be 10 weeks, 70 crazy days, and counting, since we've been under lockdown of varying degrees and working from home. I actually don't think we'll all be back at the office until next year unless there's a miracle vaccine before then.


May 8 and 9 we had snow and ice, as you can see below.

My poor bleeding heart! I lost about 1/3 of it, but it's now in full, glorious bloom.





Now we're having a heat wave and my air conditioning is on. From winter to summer overnight, almost.

I've been taking lots of walks down to the swamp, which is where most of the following snapshots were taken.


One of the paths to the water, below. The geese families like to hang out here, so I'm very careful when they're around, don't go close, since they have their babies to protect now.
In the distance, below, you can see two large apartment buildings under construction. It's a busy area, usually quite noisy with traffic and construction, though you'd never know it from the pics.
One family had 15 or 16 goslings! I thought it was 16, kept looking at a few pics of the same family, but it might be "only" 15.


 Wild strawberries blooming now, below.
 Everything is a few weeks late this year, including the lilacs.
 I don't know what these white flowers are, they were on someone's front garden.
 The cherry and apple trees are in bloom now, won't last long in this heat.

 My favourite part of the swamp, early this morning (below).

 
Another rabbit. Only this one from my early morning walk today, but last week I saw three on my walk in the same area.

I saw/heard my first catbird a few days ago!

My gosh, I thought it was a little critter in distress until I saw the bird! Very disturbing call, and I had to Google when I got home to see what kind of bird it was. It certainly put my "maternal" instincts on high alert, when I heard him. LOL.

This past Saturday I went down to the office, first time since March. I wanted to clean up my cubicle and bring a few personal items home. I took the opportunity to snap a few pics, as some of the cherry trees were in bloom, and grounds people have put in tulips as usual, below.



The magnolia trees outside our building (below) fared better than the others I've seen in my own neighbourhood, perhaps because they were protected from the snow and ice we had. All the other blossoms I've seen just...froze...on the branches early in May.




 

So, other than sitting on my butt all day at my kitchen/dining table, working, you can see what I've been doing. :-D

Well, taking pics of the flowers and of green landscape is my "thing," and all the more precious given that life has become even "smaller" than normal for many of us.


Derry seems to be doing okay, at least he's enjoying the garden. The earliest I could schedule a  dental for him, though, is July 23rd. I wish I hadn't waited, but I wasn't keen to try to get a taxi in the middle of winter. Ha. Good luck getting a taxi in a timely manner now; the two cab companies we have each has half their fleet off the road.


Anyway, we'll muddle along until then. I only hope he's not in any discomfort, that he just has tartar build-up, no pain. If he stops eating or starts pawing at his face, I'll call and see if I can get him in earlier. (They have to catch up on spays and neuters, hence the two-month wait.)

In the meantime, he's "hatching" the shasta daisy I planted this year. Good for him, bad for the poor daisy. LOL.
Those poor geraniums in the pots beside him froze in the ice and snow, so I cut them back and am waiting to see if they grow. I know geraniums are hardy, but they were/are looking quite pathetic.

The rest of the garden is doing well, though.


I hope the annuals I potted take and do well, but if not...oh, well! (I have 14 pots out back and 2 planters out front, the most I've ever had in my 20 years here.)

So our little life here continues on, as best it can. I hope everyone is doing as well as possible and staying safe! Take care, be sensible and take proper precautions if/when you venture out, as necessary for your area.

Peace.

Comments

The Whiskeratti said…
I love your nature pictures. And Derry is so cute. I love seeing him napping in his garden.
Maebeme said…
I love all the photos of the park and the various flowers. I noticed lilacs for the first time on yesterday's walk. Spring has definitely come a bit later this year.

Derry is so adorable even as he attempts to hatch the plant. Silly cat!
Dearest Kim,
Wow, you are living in Paradise right now with the beautiful weather and all the flora & fauna looking at its best. LOVE the little rabbits and the goslings. So sweet. Yes, we have had wild ducks nesting in our yard and being on our big pond. So sweet and so cruel to see their row of ducklings shrink every day. Nature is very cruel and I've seen the hawk dive at one and under loud screams it got airlifted to serve as a snack to its young. Grrrrrr.
Well, we're making a little bit progress here. Went to Mass yesterday for the very 1st time in over 2 months. With every other pew taped off with yellow CAUTION tape, like on a crime scene! And we have to wear mouth masks. But still, a little step. Both of us went to Atlanta last week for shopping again at Trader Joe's (they don't serve their free coffee!); Whole Foods Market, nothing in their restaurant and usually extensive buffet, hot/cold. You can get some food, a choice of vegetarian entrée, meat etc. with 2 sides for take out. So we ate in our car before heading over to Costco. All was pleasant, no empty shelves like on March 20 when we went last. We both got lots of compliments for our Burberry plaid muzzle. Yep, for male and female and made in Riga, Latvia. Stupid mail took 1 month and it was for 9 days in Chicago? We wonder if there is any airmail as Pieter got a Birthday card over 3 weeks late, from a dear friend in The Netherlands. We have had only 1 death due to COVID in our entire county so that is positive as well. Both of us are still busy with the MS (manuscript) and I've sent so far 3 chapters (out of 12 total and some BIG ones...) to the graphic designer for adding photos and tables before Typesetting. So we make some progress. Looking so forward to holding the completed work in our hands.
Stay well and tell Derry he needs to get on a diet, he cannot run or move much so it has to be by diet. Ours are outdoors a lot. At times it looks like we're just the two of us. Barty the eldest is crazy about the balcony and wants to linger there for as long as he can. We had some drizzle today...
Hugs,
Mariette
meowmeowmans said…
This sheltering in place and social distancing do seem like they've been going on forever, don't they? I'm glad you and Derry are doing well, and that you're getting out in nature, Kim. Your photos are amazing, as always (15 goslings ... wow!). I think we would go crazy here were we not able to get outside, walk and look at nature. Today, we walked by the beach, which was a treat. Most people were socially distancing, but a few were not. So foolhardy. Be well, dear friend.
John Bellen said…
It's hardly fair to have snow and ice when everything is already blooming. I hope all that came up survives. (The tulips look like they are in line for something... Class registration?)

Seventy days already... Wow. I think restrictions will be eased long before the new year. I don't know if that's a ghood thing or bad, but I suspect people will simply grow tired of being safe. Humans are like that.

I think Derry will be fine until July. If he knew what was coming, he certainly wouldn't complain, even if he were in discomfort. But, as you pointed out, unless he shows signs of pain, he is probably doing well. He is certainly looking good.
Poppy Q said…
The gardens and plants are beautiful. Our lockdown was only for 5 weeks, and working at the hospital things continued more or less as normal for us. We have had our shops and hairdressers and vets open for a couple of weeks now, and schools went back to normal last week. We still have social distancing and no huge groups, however NZ has had 5 days of no new cases and no one is in our hospitals with Covid now. A sign that things have worked for us, and our lives will resume. The scary thing will be opening borders to outsiders.

Julie
Kea said…
Thanks! Being able to give Derry (and all my angels) the extra "room" of the little garden has been one of the few pleasures of living here. :-)
Kea said…
It seems, these past several years, that we skip a real spring and go straight from winter to summer!

Derry's something all right. :-P
Kea said…
You've been so busy! I'm glad things are progressing! BTW, my father's parents were from Riga, and my uncle, who lives in northern Italy now, travels often (except under the current restrictions of course) to Latvia. He has friends there and I believe they have some elderly cousins still living.

It's very sad about the ducklings, but of course the hawk has its own little ones to feed. Life feeds off life. It's not pleasant, but certainly is reality.

BTW, I know Derry is obese! Back in December, during Derry's last vet check, I had talked with the vet about it and he'd calculated how much wet and dry Derry would need to lose weight. I think Derry had lost a little bit through the winter, but with my being home it's much harder, it's easier for me to give in to his food demands than to put up with his pestering. So we got off track for a while! Now I'm trying to maintain the amount that the vet had calculated. Derry also has several fatty lumps, one which is quite large (on his right side) and so he looks even bigger than he is. If it's feasible, I will will have the vet remove it at the same time Derry has his dental.

Take care, stay safe.
Kea said…
You take far better photos than I do! :-)

I'm glad you're able to get out and about. I've steered clear of the downtown waterfront parks, as I think there have been too many people about. Too many for my comfort level, anyway.
Kea said…
Ha, yes, perhaps the tulips are lining up for registration. :-)

The campus plants tulips there every year, as well at other spots around campus. It's quite lovely in spring, so I do miss walking all around at lunch times and snapping pics.

I'm not tired of being safe, but I definitely am tired of being cooped up. That said, I'm NOT comfortable on transit unless there are only one or two of us! I wear a mask, and in stores too, but most others do not. I really would rather that mask-wearing was mandatory on transit and in stores; it's basic common courtesy, IMO. Especially given the current circumstances.
Kea said…
Yes, opening the borders here eventually will come, and I'm NOT looking forward to that.

In Ontario, most of the COVID cases are in the greater Toronto area, but so far the premier has nixed any regional plans to open up (as opposed to a province-wide plan). Municipal leaders keep pushing, though. I feel like we're all being punished for the GTA stupidity, but I suppose if we opened up, everyone would flock here and bring COVID with them. :-/
Linda said…
May has been such a mixed up moth for weather, now it is so hot we don't want to go outside. Yet this morning while driving home from shopping I saw lots of people standing in line at Homesence in the sun!! Ridiculous. We also noticed much more traffic on the roads. Too bad we have to suffer for the ridiculous behaviour of some in Toronto, which is where most of the cases are. Oh well, such is life. They do feel Toronto is the only place in the province that matters. oops, little rant there!
Kea said…
I'm "ranting" along with you, frankly.

Our bus service still is greatly reduced, though they've increased service on the busier routes now. When I went to the grocery store on the weekend the bus driver told me things are getting much busier now, we're all becoming complacent, I think, given the low infection rates in this region.

Anyway, as much as I always enjoyed browsing in stores like HomeSense, I don't feel comfortable being around a lot of people. I wear a mask in stores and on transit, but few bother. :-/
we had 23 degrees here about two weeks ago, yesterday it got to 92 I think; it's a wonder anything is growing . as always the photos are amazing; I liked the "swamp" photo as well, the water is an amazing blue; or maybe it's the reflection from the sky. lockdown here is now into "stage 3" with
just about everything open to some varying degree and it's a free for all as to whether one wants
to wear a mask, stay an appropriate distance away, etc etc....

derry; dood....good ta see ya buddy; we hope ewe will sendz fotoz oh de hatchlingz :) :) :)

we cracked UP !!!! ♥♥♥
Kea said…
Tell your food service girl to stay safe. I know every State is doing its own thing, but a "free for all" is a recipe for disaster until there's a vaccine, IMO. Stay well!
The photos are beautiful! It makes me forget, for a brief time, of all the craziness that is going on these days. Life is so unsettling now.
I hope you are doing OK. I miss the same old same old!
Derry is looking content. Sweet boy!
Kea said…
I miss the same old, same old too. I heard there were lineups at various HomeSense and Winners stores as they reopened yesterday. There's no way I'm ready to get back to that, much as I enjoyed browsing in HomeSense (as an example). I've often thought of my two favourite thrift stores as well, and while Talize is open (not sure about V. V.) I'm not eager to go there, either. The "same old" is a long, long way off.
Katie Isabella said…
I loved each picture. You never fail to capture all the scenes we want to see. By the way, I saw my first cat bird up North a few years ago when I had to travel there because of one of my brothers. I too had to look that gray beauty up.

Derry looks so cuddly and adorable there with his little paws folded downward. I have always loved seeing them out in their garden. Are the chairs out yet so that he can rest in the seat of one? Nothing like the pleasure of a sun bath while reposing in your chair.

We had late cold snaps here bit not to the extent YOU did. Snow has fallen often in April, but never any longer than that. It hurts to see our newly bloomed flowers and trees hurt by the cold and snow.

Derry, sending you loving smoochies! XXX
Kea said…
Yes, Derry has his lawn chair in the corner by the gate on the nice days. I tuck it away when rain is in the forecast (like today). He likes to lounge in it, especially in the evenings. :-)
stoppin bye ta say hi ~~~~~~ ☺☺♥♥
vic said…
Just checking your blog. Is everything okay? You haven't posted for awhile.
Kea said…
Thanks for checking in, Vic. I just don't have anything to post about, I'm still working from home and probably will be till 2021. I do post on Instagram, usually once or twice a day, and if you're on it, you can find us under "fuzzy_tales". (It's private account, you have to request to follow.)

Take care and stay well!
Katie Isabella said…
Kim, you may not see this. I wanted to say that the blog is my only way of visiting. I am rarely on Instagram. I may close the account as a matter of fact. If I don't see you it's not because I don't want to.
Kea said…
I'm not giving up on the blog, Carole, just not posting often at this time. I really don't have anything to write at the moment! I probably will pick it up again, and also probably will do an occasional post, just not often right now. Take care!
derry...dood....whitefish wavez buddy....we wanted ta say HI, bee happee, stay healthee, get in trubullz, order sum pizza pies and have a grate week oh end { we iz knot on any other media but blogger, de food servizz gurlz a butt N willna let uz join any ~~~~ ;) ♥♥