Connecticut and Back Again

We left here last Sunday morning--later than I preferred. The  main reason for the trip was to attend a memorial service for Jeff's sister Melissa. 

We decided to stay in Norwalk for two days and meet up with some friends for lunch and dinner. We had to stop at our favorite Asian Fusion restaurant. We had an early birthday dinner for our friend Cynthia there. It was delicious.

The next day we stopped by our old condominium and ran a few errands before lunch with friends Elaine and Marti. Monday night was dinner with our friend and ex-neighbor Diane.

The next morning I visited the birds at the New Canaan Nature Center: Phoenix, Archie, Tupelo, and Gus. I even asked Gus if he remembered me.

There was a fifth bird I didn't recognize. I couldn't get a picture--he seemed to be hiding in the dark. I figured he was a new arrival and was uncomfortable.  

Next, we picked up some Bridgewater Chocolate and our favorite bison grass vodka. It's hard to find in Maryland; when I can find it, it's about $10 more than in Connecticut. 

Wednesday was Melissa's memorial service. It was tough. She had said no one would come to her funeral. There were at least 50 people there. After the service, we had some of Melissa's favorite food and drink in the fellowship hall: Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, cheeses, fruits, and  Mimosas. Our nephew's in-laws hosted us for dinner. 

We drove home Thursday--a good drive despite a crazy detour courtesy of Goggle maps. It was good to see Jace and return home. 

Wildlife Sightings, Lunch on the Beach, and More Furniture

Last Friday morning, I was excited to see a bald eagle. It was soaring too high for me to even attempt a photo. I immediately grabbed my phone to verify that they're native to this area. Of course, it reminded me of Glory from NCNC. On our afternoon walk, I saw a crane on the pond closest to us. I took several pictures, but none were worth keeping. 

The same day, the three of us tried a new restaurant Bowleys. Jeff and I had been there for drinks before. We sat at a table on the beach right on the water. We had sandwiches, fries, and beer. Jace was pretty good. We'll continue to explore the area restaurants. We've been to Carson's Creekside three times, Schultz's three times, and Loonasea twice. More to come.

We'll be getting our dining room set and coffee table from our downstairs neighbor in one week. Yesterday, I started moving things our of the dining room. I can always put stuff back in there later, but I want to see how the room will look as a traditional dining room. I've been looking at an end table in the living room online; it's different from what I would normally get, and it's fun. We also need an entertainment center for the sitting room. Slowly, but surely. 

Two Weeks

I clicked on this site and saw the last title, "A Month Away," and thought it hasn't been that long. Just two weeks. 

Last week was bad, and the week before it had its own issues. Jeff was in a lot of pain last week; it was hard for him to even walk around our apartment. We cancelled all his appointments even the physical therapy that he needed; just walking from the car to the PT office would have wiped him out. At least he's feeling better--his normal level of pain. It sucks to have a normal level of pain on an everyday basis. He got back to PT yesterday and goes again tomorrow. We booked PT sessions through March. 

About two weeks ago, I felt like I had too many things that I needed to manage. It was if I were juggling and was losing some of the balls in the air. I pulled out a notebook and made a to-do list. Nothing earthshaking here--I just wanted to have everything in one place rather than scattered across my planner. I had nine "to-dos" and was thinking about how/when to do them. 

I quickly realized that I had forgotten two vital items: income tax prep, and health insurance research (Jeff is losing his Cobra coverage in April.) I added two more items. Over the last two weeks, I crossed off five items. That's not good, but not too bad considering. 

Anyway, time to make a new list. A new priority: my grandniece Daphne will be one in two-and-a-half ways. I'm buying her (and my other grandniece Ella) a book my cousin Deb wrote. I also have a copy of Go, Dog, Go! for Daphne. One of my favorite Cooper family photos is one of Daphne's father Kurt with his grandfather who is reading Go, Dog, Go! Unfortunately, that photo is in storage now. Recently, I've been displaying fewer photos, and put several good ones away. Oh well, I need to continue with my decluttering anyway.  

Bad news from the New Canaan Nature Center: the black vulture Mort has died. It might have been the Avian Flu. Mort was easygoing, vocal, and always hungry. Sad: NCNC just lost Ralph in February.

It's not all bad things recently. We had a week of nice weather. First the winds died down, and then it warmed up. Countdown to spring is progressing. We made it to March and are watching the Mets. This weekend we spring forward.

I went to a program on Rails to Whistlestops and made a contact with a Housatonic Railroad historian. This helped me get back into my Merwinsville work after a slow February. I'm also back in a good exercise routine. It helps with the stress and keeps me going. 

RIP Ralph

This is Ralph a turkey vulture from New Canaan Nature Center (NCNC). She died last Thursday at the age of 21. She arrived at NCNC in 2004 when she wasn't even a year old after suffering a partial left- wing amputation.

Ralph always seemed to be hungry and was usually knocking at the door when I or other volunteers went to feed her. She was very feisty. I can't count all the times she nipped at my shoelaces or pants cuffs.

About two years ago, I was assigned to write a story for a fiction class from the point of view of an animal. I chose Ralph as my narrator. 

I'm feeling guilty that the last time I saw Ralph, I called her a bitch. 

Today was my day to volunteer at the Nature Center. It was weird to see Ralph's aviary empty.

RIP Ralph.

36

Today is Jeff's and my 36th wedding anniversary. We didn't consider going away because we already spent a week in New Jersey and one in Baltimore this summer. 

Today, I cared for the NCNC birds, ran some errands and picked up anniversary gifts for Jeff. As of Sunday, I didn't have a clue for his gift. Then it downed on me--photos. Okay, some wives would give their husband boudoir photos, but not me. I gave Jeff Jace photos. 

I think this is the best photo I've taken of Jace. 

This looks better after I cropped it.

I framed this first two; I put the second two in magnetized plastic sleeves--more refrigerator pics. 

I emailed the pictures to CVS; it took less than 24 hours and under $2 to print. I don't know why I didn't do this before.

Tonight Jeff and I went to dinner at Barcelona. Apparently, the menu online was outdated or was the Stamford, not the Norwalk Barcelona. I mentioned I was disappointed that the heirloom tomatoes weren't available. They comped us a gem lettuce with tomato salad. Nice. We shared a variety of tapas: delicata squash, flank steak, bacon wrapped dates, chorizo and figs, mahon cheese and bread. I love that they offer mini drinks at happy hour and 3 ounce as well as 6 ounce glasses of wine.

We had a great meal, came home and had cupcakes for dessert, and watched the Mets win. A good night.

Off to a Stellar Start--Not

On weekends, I often think about the things I will do when the week starts again on Monday. Honestly, a large part of this is procrastination, but there's also a feeling of optimism--next week will be the time I get it together--writing, working out, cleaning--whatever. 

Even though I had just told Jace, I have to start getting up earlier, I stayed in bed for an extra half hour this morning. Then I remembered Jeff has an appointment with a new acupuncturist--part of his neurologist's practice. Also, I went into the kitchen and remembered that while I had loaded the dishwasher, I had left pans, the cutting board, and knives to clean. I hate to do the night's dinner dishes the next morning. Oh well. It took me most of the day to catch up  Between chores and errands, I still haven't put away all the laundry on the drying rack since Friday. One errand was to take Jace to Taylor Farm; it wasn't necessary, but I felt he deserved it. 

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. I will care for the birds at New Canaan Nature Center as I usually do on Tuesday, but we won't worry about cleaning and chores tomorrow. I do need to pick up a few things for Jeff's gift, and I'll pick up a dessert to have at home.

As I'm writing this, the Mets have beat the Nationals 2-1 in 10 innings. The Braves are losing badly (0-9) to the Dodgers in the ninth, so the Mets will be in line for the third wild card. I'm glad the Mets have a better start to the week than I did. 

 

New Bird Photos

 

This is the new barred owl at the New Canaan Nature Center. This it the first time I've seen him on this perch. He still hasn't been named. I thought of Jem tonight. I'll have to share it. 

This is Phoenix a red-tailed hawk. He was in a separate aviary for months. It's nice that he is finally in the main aviary. Now, we don't have to shlep to the other aviary with a bucket of water and his food. More importantly, visitors can now see him with the other birds. 

An Avian Anniversary

Two years ago today was the first time I cared for the birds at New Canaan Nature Center. The previous week I had shadowed Derick, the Director of Animal Control, and took notes.

When I started there were six birds: Hedwig, Gus, and Jasper--owls, Ralph--a turkey vulture, Glory--a bald eagle, and Tupelo--a red tailed hawk. Since then, Hedwig, Glory, and Jasper died. The center added Phoenix--a red tailed hawk, Mort--a black vulture,  and recently, a barred owl like Hedwig. I'll get pictures of Phoenix and the still unnamed barred owl soon. 

Tuesday Snow Day and Other Miscellanea

We're currently dealing with the biggest snowstorm of the season. Today is my day to care for the birds at New Canaan Nature Center, but I didn't go. I feel guilty about it, but it's better to be safe. At least winter is half-way over.

I made sure to go food shopping yesterday. ShopRite was crowded, but not as bad as I expected. I focused on things for tomorrow--Valentine's Day. we're having filet mignon, shitake mushrooms, scalloped potatoes, and creamed spinach, a gimlet, and Faithful Hound wine. We'll even eat by candlelight. I can't remember the last time we did that. 

It's been over a week since I last posted. That's pitiful if I want to maintain a presence here. I started a post about TV shows that we've been watching. I had been hoping that blogging would kickstart some other writing for me. So far, no good.

At least I've done some creative things. I've been working/playing in my art journal. I may not have much to show for it, but it makes me feel better.

Tuesday Miscellanea

After a week of sub-freezing temperatures, it's warming up. The "January thaw" has stopped the "Arctic blast." It's so nice to shed the snow boots and the heavy winter coat.  At least for a while. Temperatures will be flirting with 60 at the end of the week. The thaw is timely as one-third of the winter is now over. 

I returned to the New Canaan Nature Center after missing two weeks. I was sad to learn that Jasper died. I thought he was one of the younger birds there. I'll have to get more of the story,

Then Tupelo flew at my head. That was a bit of a shock; he's never done anything like that before.

Today we watched Murder on a Honeymoon (courtesy of TCM.) It's a fun mystery and the third of the Miss Withers/Inspector Piper movies and the last one starring Edna Mae Oliver. The cast includes Leo G. Carroll and Lola Lane. It was horrible to see Willie Best credited as Sleep 'n' Eat. 

I'm almost done with my book American Brutus. My next book will be Bette's latest.    

An Off Week

I always feel a little off-centered or off-kilter in weeks with a holiday. I have trouble keeping track of what day it is. This is especially true for this week bracketed with the major holidays of Christmas and New Year's Day. 

I expected to do a lot more blogging this week but didn't manage to do that. I focused mainly on going to the gym. I've been working to reach my goal of 150 gym visits for the year: I needed six visits this week to make it, including tomorrow. 150 has been my goal for several years. It was only last year that I got close with 143. 

I took care of the NCNC birds twice this week--Tuesday as usual--and I picked up a day for someone who was traveling for the holidays. Everything went smoothly unlike last year.

I spent a lot of time walking with Jace. Most of the week has been bleak: rainy, foggy, overcast, raw. Luckily, we avoided the worst of the rain and even saw a little sunshine. 

Today was the highlight of the week: we visited friends we hadn't seen for in several months, due to health problems. We need to work more at getting together. 

For the Birds

Today is the day I volunteer to care for the birds of prey at New Canaan Nature Center. In March, it will be two years that I've been volunteering there, but I haven't written much about it. 

Basically, I rake up the poop and leftover food, refresh their water, and give them new food. By giving them food, I mean I put down the food for them. I also prep food for the next day. That involves getting a meal together of frozen rats, chicks, mice, and/or quails with specific weights of food for each bird. Most times, I have to chop up some of the frozen animals. It can be difficult with the rats. If I had been told when I first called to volunteer that my duties would include chopping up rats, I probably would have declined. But I had already seen the birds and the other duties before I learned of the rat chopping, so I accepted. 

Currently, there are six birds in residence. I have pictures of five of them and have posted them before.

First, here is Ralph, the turkey vulture. She can be feisty; she's gone after my pant cuffs a few times and even untied another volunteer's shoelaces.

This is Mort, a black vulture who is the newest resident. He seems mellow, but always hungry.

Here's Jasper. I'm fond of him even though he tried to fly onto my head. 

Next we have Gus. In his new aviary, he hides near the roof. I haven't actually seen him in a while, but still talk to him.

This is Tupelo, he's usually very vocal. You can see his open beak here.

Phoenix is kept in a separate aviary, and I keep forgetting to get his picture. Maybe next week.

Here are two birds that we've lost since I've been a volunteer.

This is Hedwig.

Here's Glory. 

My feathered friends.

A Photo Post

A few weeks ago, my cousin Deb sent us a few goodies, including a stuffed dog for Jace. I texted her that Jace was playing with it, and she asked for a photo. This was the closest I could get. 

The week of Halloween Jace was dealing with a scratched cornea and needed to wear the dreaded cone for five days. 

Here's a more restful sleep.

Finally, here's Mort a black vulture who's come to live at the New Canaan Nature Center. He has an injured wing and is missing a few toes. He always seems hungry. 

Hawk Sighting

For the last few days, I've been walking Jace from Mathews to Oyster Shell Park in the mornings. I was psyched to see a hawk the other day. This isn't the best picture, but I think it could be a red shouldered hawk.

This is Tupelo, the red shouldered hawk at NCNC.that I help care for.

Here's a bird at Oyster Shell Park that people at the Carolina Raptor Center identified as a red shouldered hawk .

This season, I've only seen a few seabirds at Oyster Shell. I had wondered where the hawks were. I was happy to see one.

A Photo Post

When Dylan and Jack are in their yard, we stop to say hello as we pass by on a walk.

As usual, Jack barks and howls at Jace when we pass by his house. I like this photo; it looks like a rainbow is nearby. 

Here's a whimsical take on the usual legal warning.

Last month, I went to a session of Birds of Prey at the New Canaan Nature Center. Here's a shot of Derrick (head of animal care) with Jasper a barn owl.

I thought the sky over Maple Street looked beautiful on a recent walk.

Thoughts for a Thursday

It gets confusing when there are holidays mid-week. I have to keep asking myself what day it is. 

HHH. I don't think it's an official heat wave until three days of 90 degrees or more. It's only been two days of 90 degrees, but it's been bad for several more. Just for fun, we're also dealing with bad air quality--first because of Canadian forest fires, more recently because of ozone. 

I had planned to go to the gym on Monday but got wiped out by a walk with Jace. Tuesday, I took care of the birds at the New Canaan Nature Center and a few mammals as well. I had a small window to get to the gym (it closed at 1 for the holiday.) I don't remember if I forgot it or blew it off. Yesterday, I was too mad. Today was the day--it felt good to get back to the gym. 

Yesterday I realized, I'd be going by The Little Kitchen--one of our favorites--and decided to get take-out. That's an easy way to keep the kitchen from heating up. We ordered two entrees (chicken with crispy spinach and dry sauteed Szechuan beef) and an appetizer of sesame noodles. It's not particularly frugal, but we got dinner and lunch from the two entrees. We had the sesame noodle for dinner tonight; I also made an arugula salad.

At best, my food saving efforts are a wash. I used a can of opened beans, but tossed a bunch of green beans and spinach. And so it goes.

Happy Pi Day

How did I forget the date? I went to New Canaan Nature Center this morning and wrote the date down several times. It didn't take. 

Jeff suggested a pizza pie for dinner. It sounded like a good idea to me.

Last Week of the Year

I extended my quiet Christmas into Monday. I feel like I've been running ever since. Jeff had two doctors' appointments and two physical therapy appointments. I had a doctor's appointment and took care of the NCNC Birds of Prey twice. On Tuesday one of the aviaries was locked from the inside, the Visitors Center was closed, and the staff was off. Luckily, I managed to find a key so I could care for Jasper. I also had my normal chores and errands, and Jace walks. 

I realize that I've been resisting writing, blogging, and working out for the past few weeks. Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way) writes, "Resistance always has meaning." I need to figure out my meaning. It's beyond being busy or preoccupied. 

I had a skin cancer removed about two weeks ago. I returned to the dermatologist yesterday so the surgeon could remove tissue around the margins. I'm not supposed to lift weights for two weeks. I had planned to hit the gym today and (maybe) tomorrow. I'm bummed I only made it to the gym once this week. I had hoped to be on a roll to start the new year. 

Cooking a duck breast for dinner tonight. I'm not hungry at the moment--we had a late lunch at Sedona Tap House--but will start prepping after I take Jace for his late afternoon walk. We do have all night after all. It's another quiet New Year's Eve for us. I don't need the parties and the fuss. No pressure. 

A Photo Post Featuring Jasper

I've posted photos of the birds at New Canaan Nature Center. But I could never get a photo of Jasper--until recently. He liked to hide in his "house" in his aviary.

Here he's out of the cage to go for a walk. 

This photo marks one of the few times I saw Jasper out of his house. I guess he was hungry that morning.

Jasper is one of the few birds at NCNC that is capable of full flight. He is at NCNC because he imprinted on a human and wouldn't survive in the wild. 

In sad news, Hedwig recently died. She had been living at NCNC for 21 years after her right wing was partially amputated.

Topics for a Tuesday

Today was my day to care for the birds at New Canaan Nature Center. All went smoothly despite the recent escape of an Argentine tegu (I don't know if the NCNC one is black and white--I don't know much about lizards.) 

I recently took pictures of two of the three owls; I still need a photo of Jasper, but he likes to stay in his house.

Here's Gus, a Northern Saw-whet owl. He's been at NCNC for two years. The organization that  rescued him determined he was non-releasable after a brain injury from an auto collision.  

This is Hedwig, a barred owl. Her right wing is partially amputated, and she's been at NCNC since 2001.

 

I left NCNC, went grocery shopping, and had lunch. Then I kept dozing off; I ended up sleeping for about two hours this afternoon. I didn't realize I was that tired. Later I managed some housework, but I wish I had exercised. 

My summer writing class ended on Monday. As I predicted, we had some wonderful true crime stories.

We start up again in four weeks. I want to prove to myself that I can do some serious writing of my own during the hiatus. 

I had a new anxiety dream last night. This time I was doing laundry at my sister's place. Then I couldn't find a load of laundry to put into the dryer. A friend of my sister's had arrived to go to lunch, and I delayed them when I looked for my laundry. The friend eventually left. It was unusually low tech for one of my anxiety dreams--almost charming (not really.)

I had planned to go to lunch with a friend tomorrow, but we rescheduled to next week. That gives me more time to get to the gym, do the laundry, and maybe write. (I should never say "maybe write and expect to be a real writer.) Okay, go the gym, do the laundry, and write. That's better.