I Walk the Line

Well, more time has flown by. Since I last wrote I continue to walk with and without Sirius. It is getting hotter and usually in the 80's now. The smells are so intoxicating as honeysuckle, jasmine, magnolia trees and gardenias are in bloom. You actually feel drunk as the aromas mingle in the air.

I did an exciting thing on the 67th day of quarantine and got my hair done. What a relief and I was completely masked and covered as was my hairdresser. other than that we only venture out to walk or do grocery shopping. I did drive to the beach one day and took a walk in the sand. I go to a little known beach with few tourists. There are no waves or swimmers and lots of shore birds.

Memorial Day weekend came and went. Our community opened the pools and athletic venues and gyms. You need a reservation and there are limits to how many people can enter. I am not ready to take the plunge yet. Inside with air conditioning feels safer. I do have my cleaning gal come in every other week. We stay on the porch while she is here and it seems comfortable and safe.

I continue to take classes on ZOOM and we played online games with friends and Brian  Rori with her parents. Still watching lots of TV and working many hours on genealogy.

Today is Sunday, May 31. This past week has been horrible with the senseless murder of George Floyd and our country coming apart by its seams. I am having trouble coming to terms with the hatred that has been unleashed or at least acceptable to act out in public. I can't understand the hatred and I condemn it. Watching the TV coverage is sobering and sad. The looters and people taking advantage of this horrific situation are just as bad as the murdering cops. I pray that the next weeks see things calm down and we get back to worrying about people dying every day from this terrible pandemic.

So ends day 76 and I'll share some bird photos from our backyard.

Pine Warbler with a mouthful of meal worms.

Blue Jay - an infrequent visitor to our yard.

Juvenile Eastern Bluebird. Our babies have fledged and this could be one of them.

Not a bird, a butterfly outside our bedroom window.

Pileated Woodpeckers keep trying to eat at our feeders, but they are too large. These photos are taken through the screen.

Lazy Day

I am back after missing many days. Even though we are still in quarantine the days go by quickly and always something needs to be done and more to accomplish.

So, back on May 7 we had our new roof installed. It was a clear, cool day and the work was completed and all cleaned up by late afternoon. It is now good for 25 years and, hopefully, something we won't have to worry about again. Best was we had hail damage and insurance paid for most of it.

We continue to meet friends in parking lots and driveways and we sit in our golf cart or bring chairs. It is good to see people in the flesh. On Saturday we had a Glazer family Zoom call. That was fun and good to see several generations. One afternoon we did a Zoom with Brian, Rori and her parents and we played an online game like Pictionary. It was lots of fun.

A big event happened on May 13 as Sirius went to the groomer. Wish I had taken before and after photos as he looked more like a sheep before his trim. Many businesses have opened up here and the beaches are opening too. So far we continue to only go to the grocery store and WalMart, Target or Lowe's when necessary. Terminix came out to do our quarterly service and they will not come inside unless there is a problem. So he did an outside service and we smiled through the storm door. That same morning I arranged a Zoom board meeting for Hadassah and it was great seeing the gals and hoping to reschedule all our events when this is over.

The weekend was very sad as Brian & Rori were to be married on May 17. Everything was postponed and we all stayed home. We look forward to their wedding and hope it can be soon.

Saturday night we sat on friend's patio and brought our own chairs and dinner. I spent Sunday morning insidd at a Zoom Hadassah regional convention. It was good with speakers and lots of valuable information.

This week is quiet with hot weather and torrential thunderstorms. As I write it is May 21, day 66 of our quarantine. I did a few online classes and a meeting set for this afternoon. We have a parking lot visit scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The beaches are open and I may venture out to take a walk. I will avoid the weekends and tourists who are arriving despite the virus.

The newest fad on Facebook is to create your avatar. Here is mine.

House of the Rising Sun

A few more days have passed and we are still quarantined. We are so lucky to be healthy, have a nice house and shady porch and good friends to talk to and sometimes see at a distance.

A few things have been interesting this week. I saw a wild turkey roaming around the dog park. Hope he/she can fly out if the dogs ever return. Jeff was able to buy yeast on E-Bay and made his first     yeast bread. It was very good and he then baked a blueberry cobbler. Developing new talents.

I did the four mile walk again around the back loop of our neighborhood. Feels good to get serious exercise. I usually walk two miles after a mile walk with Sirius each morning. Sticking to the plant based diet too and feeling good. Just trying to keep safe and not get the virus.

Jeff got me a new pendant and I can't wait to go somewhere and wear it.

This afternoon we did another birthday celebration in a driveway. We show up in our golf carts or    bring chairs and visit for an hour or so. And the best news is that we are getting our new roof installed tomorrow. We had hail damage and insurance is paying for the new roof. Very exciting! It will be noisy and I have arranged to take Sirius to the kennel for the day.

Like A Rolling Stone

Sunday is day 41 and sadly it was to be our annual Hadassah Starfish Walk on Coligny Beach. This is the biggest fund raiser of our year and, hopefully, it can be rescheduled for the end of summer. I continue to walk and even did a four mile circuit around the back end of our neighborhood. Today's title is for the music I listen to while walking - Rolling Stone Magazine top 500 songs.

Monday and everyday seem to blend into one another. I constantly have to check my watch to see what day it is as I can't tell from the calendar anymore. I have so many appointments crossed out and have rescheduled many doctor appointments and regular tests and dental visits.

Tuesday was a sad day as our new sister-in-law Elaine was laid to rest in New Jersey. She became ill in January and cancer took her life very quickly. RIP poor Elaine as she and Rick would have been married one year in July.

Wednesday is a day I look forward to for my regular class from Mickve Israel. We now meet weekly and discuss a variety of topics including TV and movies. So many wonderful things to stream and watch on TV or my computer. Makes the time go quickly.

On Thursday Jeff and I took a walk at the Pinckney Wildlife Refuge. We were surprised to find the parking lot full and saw a few people on the walk to the pond where egrets are nesting with young chicks. Lots of Little Blue Herons.

Mama Egret with a chick.

Snowy Egret with "Golden Slippers."

Common Gallinule

I was walking around the pond when an alligator began to bellow. The noise was terrifying and I ran back to safety near some other folks.One guy thought it was a motorcycle - it was that loud. Just a giant mating call and we soon saw him swim across the pond to court a lady gator.

Later that afternoon we took our golf cart to visit Susie and Art. It was Susie's birthday and we met two other couples there to sing Happy Birthday from our well spaced carts.

Friday (May Day) was a long day as we drove to Charleston for Jeff to have a CT Scan at MUSC. I dropped him at the hospital and then continued on to shop at Trader Joe's. I had my list and a few requests from others so I brought a large ice chest so I could purchase frozen stuff. I got Jeff and we stopped in a parking lot to eat our bag lunches and then continued home.

Saturday we treated ourselves to dinner from the new Frankie Bones in Bluffton. Sunday we were scheduled to do services at Parris Island, but it was cancelled. There are no recruits on base now. It is amazing to realize how much this virus has affected every aspect of our lives and our country.

Today is Sunday and so exciting as I had a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at our feeder. This is not a bird usually seen here. Top photo is the female and bottom is the colorful male in breeding plumage.

Let It Be

Another Thursday, number 38 and more of the same. I continue to walk a few times a day and so thankful that we have Sirius to snuggled with and cheer us on. He is loving having us home and getting so much attention. It poured  all day and was really gloomy. Jeff enjoyed sitting on the porch in his hammock chair and reading.

A special treat on Friday as we ordered dinner from Jameson's. Just a little change in the schedule. I also made cookies using ripe bananas, applesauce, oatmeal, raisins and chocolate chips. They turned out pretty good and a sweet treat.

Our governor opened retail stores, but no beaches yet. We are staying put and keeping safe at home. I could shop, but have nowhere to go so don't need new clothes or shoes.

God Bless America

Another week has flown by and we are still hunkered down in the house. I'll start with Thursday, April 16. As usual I walk Sirius in the morning and then we come home and he eats and I have oatmeal or granola with fruit. Late morning or afternoon I take a longer walk and much faster. So far, so good as I am tracking my walks, standing and total steps on my Apple Watch.

At night I sadly attended a Zoom service to commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of my cousin JoAnn. She went much too early and it was good to see all my cousins and her family remember her with prayers and stories.

The rest of the week was more of the same with occasional visits from friends. We stay a safe distance apart and enjoy getting to see a face in person. Jeff had a few appointments and went to the supermarket twice. We are doing well with food. When I look at the calendar I realize what an active life we had and missing so much.

Many of our neighborhoods are decorating the signs with thank you's to the first responders, medical staff, military, grocery workers and truckers.

Wednesday morning, day 37, I had my Mickve Israel class online. We are discussing movies and short features. Gives us lots to do to get ready and lively conversations. Tonight I went over to the rookery to see the nesting birds. The great egrets have tiny chicks and the wood storks are very busy building nests.

Alligator Story (Louis Armstrong)

Thursday is day 24 with no end in sight. Things are good here with plenty of projects and things to do.  This morning I had the telephone visit with my primary care doctor. We went over my blood test results and hurray - another  year without taking any prescriptions.

Sirius and I walked at Lake Somerset before it got too hot and then I planted flowers in the pots in front of our house. Hope it rains soon, though none is projected. A lazy day followed with reading on the shady back porch and watching the bluebirds fly in and out of their house with seeds and food for the babies. I can hear them chirp, but don't want to open the box to look.

This Great Blue Heron is perched on a log stuck in the lagoon and then moved over to the shore.

 Late afternoon I lazed on the couch and The Windermere Children that I had recorded on PBS. Lots of tears and happiness at how well some of them matured.

In the evening I watched the second night seder online from our rabbi's home while I enjoyed matzoh ball chicken soup, charoset and gefilte fish. Went to bed before 10:00 which is crazy for me.

Now it is Friday and I got up before 6:00 and spent two hours cleaning up my email account and deleting old messages. I went to Walmart Pharmacy right at 9:00 to pick up my Vitamin D Rx. The store was empty and very clean. A good time to go as later in the day they manage the number of people and you have to wait in line outside. Sirius went with me as it is much cooler and we took a walk on the way home. Since the weather was still lovely I took my walk as soon as we got home.

Saturday is Shabbat and I attended online services at Mickve Israel. It is a welcome change to the usual routine. I continue to play online Mah Jongg and getting pretty familiar with the new card. I am reading a good book The Orphan Master's Son. It takes place in North Korea and gives a good insight to life there.

Sunday is a very special day - Sirius's birthday and he is 8 years old today. He is such a good dog and maturing so nicely. Still doesn't want anyone to come to our front door, but we cope with that. We were supposed to be at Cirque du Soleil today which is Easter Sunday. The show was cancelled a while ago and we are sad since we had front row seats. Spending a lot of time on the porch listening to our bluebird chicks in their box. We don't dare open it and take a peek as it may scare the parents away. They should fledge soon, fly away, and maybe the parents will have another family to occupy the box.

Monday we are still enduring Passover and matzoh, Day 28 and we are having torrential rain and wind.

Luckily we did not have the tornadoes that hit states west and north of us. Spent most of the day in the house and walked Sirius in the spots that occurred between the rain. It cleared up nicely in the afternoon.

Tuesday was gator day. Glorious sunshine and I saw a large gator sunning as Sirius and I took our morning walk around the Towne Center. He was lounging near the pedestrian path which is becoming a new habit. In the past one or two gators would be on the opposite bank so I felt safe walking there. Now the walkers were busy watching the gator and walking out near the road just in case he decided to move.

It is so deserted on the path and the parking lot is empty.

On the way home I stopped on Landing Lane which has a busy lagoon. There are up to eight gators living here. Today I saw five and a turtle all catching the sun.

When I got home I took my oatmeal out to the porch and noticed two gators on the lawn. One is huge and had visited last week. It is mating season and they do act differently than we are used to.

They stayed for a while and then swam to the other side where they usually hang out.

Later I walked to Hidden Cypress and saw the momma gator who lives by a tiny island off the boardwalk. There is hardly any water there, but she has made this her home for several years now and I love seeing her babies crawl around.

No babies today as it is very hot and I was thrilled to get home and into the shower after three miles. Later Jan and Harvey came over with their chairs and sat a safe distance away on the porch. It is good to see friend's faces and chat in person. We heard a huge splash and an osprey had dived out of a tree and into the water. Then he flew off and another osprey appeared and chased him. I was loving the nature!

And finally it is Wednesday and little chilly and rainy. Sirius and I walked at Hidden Cypress and then I spent some time on the phone taking care of things that needed to be done. My Wednesday class with Rabbi Haas met on Zoom. We usually meet monthly, but decided to meet weekly now that we are all looking for something to do. Did some cooking and made "nice cream" from some ripe bananas that I had frozen. Watched some TV to get the news on the virus.

After dinner Sirius and I walked near the dog park and then went over to the rookery on the 18th hole of Hidden Cypress. It is gorgeous with so many birds sitting in nests and getting ready to start families. Anhingas, Cormorants, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Great White Egrets, White Egrets, Wood Storks, Ibis and Little Blue Herons. A treasure trove of birds.

On the drive home we had another treat as an adult and baby eagle were in the nest. The other adult was sitting in a nearby tree. The other eaglet was probably hidden in the nest.