Webs

There is one thing that bothers me when I go on forest walks in the morning.

Spiderwebs.

It's not as bad as walking into a giant web face-first - not an uncommon occurrence from my chilhood. Usually, these are just baby-webs that the spiders got started on but never got a chance to complete. 

Still, they cling to my face and arms, and I don't love that feeling.

There is enough human traffic on the trails to prevent anything big from being spun, but first thing in the morning, I may be the first one through, and oh boy, those spiders must have had a busy few hours since the sunrise.

So, if you happen to see a person waving arms randomly while walking along a trail - that's probably me, doing preventative arm movements to avoid getting the spiderwebs on my face. Or if you see a person waving a tree branch in front of them - yep, also me.

As little as I appreciate spiderwebs on my face, I have to say - I truly, really appreciate spiders. Anything that eats mosquitos is my friend.

May Updates - Mostly Not Great (But Nothing Terrible)

We had 5 bluebird eggs in the nest a few days ago:

And now there are none. I am so sad.

Not sure what happenned - a predator, maybe? Or could be another bird trying to take over the nest and tossing out eggs.

Kids are done with APs and Keystones. There is almost a month of school left, but all 3 kids complain that school is pointless and they don't do anything. 

There are bunnies in our garden. We set out a trap - will see if we can relocate a few...

Our fig tree has an infestation of some sort - I think we need to cut it down. I guess it could regrow from the root.

There were a few days below freezing in late April, so most of our azalea flowers were destroyed. Our mulberry tree was hit pretty hard by the freeze, too. It is bouncing back with some new leaves, but we won't be getting any berries this year. And I think a lot of fruit on the trees dropped, including pawpaws. 

Fast forward to mid-May: it's hot and humid. We have air conditioning running in the house. Even in the morning, the air is heavy and sticky.

What are your wins and losses this May?

A Walk in the Park

I've been going for walks at a nearby park, following the same loop (up the hill along the paved road, shortcut tthrough the forest path, down the paved trail along the stream, and back to where I started). There are a couple of things I've been noticing.

The path through the forest is always changing. It is is under constant attack from all sorts of shrubs, grasses, and briars - I need to start brining clippers with me, to help maintain the trail.

Today, there was a fallen tree blocking the way, along with a multidue of branches, vines, and shrubs that came down with the tree. My husband (he works from home on Thursdays and usually joins me on walks) and I contemplated turning back but decided against it. We considered going under the tree - but there just wasn't enough room to crawl through. So we had to go over it, which involved lots of hand-holding (literally), pulling each other, holding branches out of the way, and checking for poison ivy.

That adventure added about 5 minutes to our walk. 

I started to recognize the people that I see in the park. There is the man with the beard walking a hunting dog who never says hello or nods. He doesn't seem unfriendly, just deep in his thoughts. There is the man with two giant dogs (long-haired German Shepherds, maybe?) - we nod to each other but the dogs pretend like I'm not there. There is the lady with the dangling keys who is nearly always passing me (she walks fast! and I can hear her coming...). There is S., our neighbor, who recently lost her husband, and walks at least one of her dogs (Casey) in the park. Her other dog (Millie) prefers shorter walks in the neighborhood, so S first goes around the block with Millie and then drives to the park with Casey. We stop and chat for a few minutes. There is the couple who walk their mid-size white-and brown dog (I can't figure out the breed) who always smile and nod and the dog appears super friendly.

Occasionally, I'll see parents with young kids in stollers, but no one that comes on a regular basis.

Some people are running but I studiously ignore them (why does it feel somehow improper to stare at runners?)

There are a few bikers, but they all look the same to me in their helmets and bibs - it's quite possible that I've been seeing the same people riding bikes every day, but I really can't tell. The best I can do is "that one has a short gray beard!"  - which is about half of the men riding bikes. 

Dear Reader: any memorable walks laterly?

Work Madness

I've had a rough couple of weeks - overwhelming high-stress, super-urgent projects. I know that once I am done with these - I will be very not-busy, and looking for additional projects. I like being busy and having lots of work. I don't like starting my day and realizing that there is almost nothing on my to-do list. 

Apologies, I am rambling. 

It's not the work that is stressing me out. It's the new clients. It's the lack of a good process that I've come to take for granted when working with established clients. It's the fact that they ignore our advice, our recommended ways of getting from point A to B to C. They throw our entire way of doing things into disarray. 

Like my boss says, the work is great - interesting, challenging... The only problem are the clients...

Dear Reader: In your line of work, what would you get rid of?

What We Saw, With Feelings

C and I were sharing our hammock yesterday, relaxing and enjoying the nice evening.

Here's what we saw:

• Bats
• Fireflies (in early May!)
• Geese flying in formation
• Bluebird sitting on top of the bird house
• Robins
• Tree branches swaying in the wind
• Rabbit
• Squirrels

We read a bit, we chatted a bit.

We had a pretty intense weekend and I'm not back to normal yet. We had a health scare with C - she is OK, everything is OK - but I still have this underlying sense of dread. Even though I know she is fine, that spike of terror at the possibiliy of a major health problem, it doesn't just dissipate immediately. It's strange how emotions play catch-up with facts.

In other news:

• H is done with her AP exams
• E has 3 AP exams coming up
• My father, husband, C, and I went to a Kazakh restaurant - the food was delicious and we chatted with the friendly waiter, whose father served near Baikonur around the same time my father was there as a military doctor
• Mom and E went to see Itzhak Perlamn and other musicians 
• We planted 2 baby fig trees. Our older fig trees show no signs of life - but they typically leaf in pretty late, so we are not loosing hope yet. Mulberry tree is also leaf-less.
• H is preparing for Envirothon competition

What do you notice when sitting and relaxing someplace quiet?

Walks and Talks

When I go on walks, I daydream.

Listening to audiobooks while walking may be tempting, but I already have such a gossamer connection to reality, I'm worried that loosing myself in an audio book means I'll become completely oblivious to the real life around me, including traffic, bikers, holes in the ground, etc.

In the meantime, as I am walking, thoughts drift in and out of my head.  I notice flowers, invasive species of plants, poison ivy popping up along the path. 

• I see you, you nasty multifloral rose, invasive and indestructible 
• Awww, goslings.

• Bush honeysuckle - invasive!
• Loose rocks on the trail - careful on those, don't want to turn my anke.

Random musings and concepts that flitter in and out:

• Kids do not clean their rooms, fold laundry, or help out much.
• Math and English curriculum and the sad state of the current school system
• Perfect school: what would it look like, what would be the dialy structure, what kind of academics it would have, lunch ideas (note to self: ask the kids for ideas about perfect schools)

Other things that keep my brain occupied while I'm walking:

• Imaginary conversations with people I haven't seen in ages, or with fictional characters
• Discussions of books (as a stream-of-conciousness-monologue)
• Remember? Thnking back to embarassing moment that I am still ashamed of
• Remember? Thinking back to fun times I wish I could do again
• Meaning of life, parenting woes, goals (usually together with bullet 1 from this list)

I noticed that if I'm thinking about something that makes me angry, I tend to walk faster. If I'm thinking about books or philosophical matters, I slow down.

What does your brain do when you go on solo walks?

Real Estate Drama

We have a bluebird box in our back yard. 

We'been watching bluebirds hanging out on top of it, going in and out. 

Guess what's inside the bluebird box? This:

This is not a bluebird nest. This is a very cozy feather-lined chickadee nest. 

The bluebirds got scooped. They were not quick enough to move into the box. 

Update (about a week later):

There is a nest on top of a nest.

Bluebirds swooped in to reclaim their home.

We are keeping an eye on this to see if wrens or sparrows try to move in. Last year, wrens evicted the bluebirds (eggs and all...) and built their own nest.

Dear Reader: do you like bird watching? Do you have a favorite bird?