Homer's Travels: March 2020

Monday, March 30, 2020

And The Cupboard Was Bare ...

I do my shopping on Mondays.  In this time of Covid-19 it is the only time I get out of the house.  Today I went to whole foods to purchase a couple items I use for homemade trail mix.  I add the trail mix to cereal and fruit and eat it for lunch.  Two of the items I was looking to buy in bulk were slivered almonds and pumpkin seed.  Here are the bulk bins at Whole Foods:

Empty bulk goods bin at Whole Foods.
At Sam's Club I am still amazed that there is no toilet paper.  What are people doing with all of this paper?  Paper mache?  I suppose this tells you how many people do their duty at work/school instead of home.

Empty toilet paper isle at Sam's Club.
Walmart is trying to keep things stocked but it may become a losing battle against all the people panic buying.  Soon grocery shopping may become a scavenger hunt.  The times we live in ...

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Blackbirds ... Everywhere.

While some people mark the coming of Spring by the sighting of the first Robin, in our backyard it's the return of the flocks of Blackbirds and Red Wing Blackbirds.  They swoop in and empty our birdfeeders several times before moving on.

Blackbirds in and near the suet feeder.
While they are visiting, our backyard is full of the trill of birdsong.

A Red Wing Blackbird.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Book: Margaret Atwood's "Testaments"

My one and only read so far this year was Margaret Atwood's sequel to "The Handmaid's Tail".  "Testaments" takes place a few years after the events of both the original book and the Hulu streaming series.

"Testaments" is a collections of recollections and ... testaments ... from various girls and women in the theocratic authoritarian nation of Gilead.  Many of the testaments are from characters in the streaming series as well as a few from the original book.

When I started reading this book I had a difficult time trying to put the story together.  The chapters, while interesting, seemed disjointed.  This changed as you progressed and the various stories began to weave together to a satisfying cohesive ending.

While the original Handmaid's Tale was a bit dark and dreary, Testaments tried to end the reader with some hope.  I read this before the Pandemic exploded but I would say the ending is a good one for the times we live in teaching us that all bad things, through the work of many, will come to an end someday.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads because it was interesting and had an uplifting message at its conclusion.

Friday, March 20, 2020

A Bird ...And Not A Bird

Here is another visitor to our backyard feeders.  A Downy Woodpecker at our suet feeder.

A Downy Woodpecker on our Suet feeder.
A new visitor to our backyard was not a bird.  It was a squirrel but not just any squirrel - a black squirrel.  I've seen them in other parts of Omaha and Council Bluffs but this was the first in our backyard.  It's not the best picture but it's the best I could do before he scurried off.

A black squirrel looking for fallen bird seed at the bottom of a fence.
If I get a better picture I'll share it.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Happy First Day Of Spring?

As I sit in the basement watching movies during the Covid-19 social distancing, I would like to wish everyone a happy first day of spring.

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in winter.  We had very little snow and unusually warm temperatures - not the type of winter I like.  I like the crisp air and the purity of a freshly fallen snow.  This winter was just drab and dreary.

Now winter is ending with a pandemic that is trying its best to mess up our lives.  The social distancing isn't really changing my life.  Since I returned from the Appalachian Trail I have been a hard core homebody social distancing before it was cool ... or necessary.  The Wife, though, is having a tougher time as all this staying at home is not normal for her.  For her sanity I hope this subsides sooner than later.

I can't wait for this already unending year to be over.  Maybe spring will bring an improvement.

Monday, March 16, 2020

Chilean Patagonia: Magnet Edition

Well, I have no excuse for the delay but finally, over two months after we returned from Chile, I finally photographed and posted the travel magnets from the trip.

You can find them all on the Travel Magnet tab at the top of the blog.  Here are a few favorites:

The local Selknam figure common in the Patagonia area.
A fury rhea.
Torres del Paine national Park hand painted embellished with sand and crystals.
From the protests in Santiago, the Cacerola.

Sunday, March 08, 2020

The Endless Jerking Around Of Time

If you haven't already, set your clocks ahead an hour for daylight savings time.  This has become less relevant in this world of cellphones and clocks that set themselves.

End the endless back and forth cycle - take back our time!
Frankly, I wish they would pick a time and just stick with it all year.  This switching back and forth twice a year seems silly.

While we are talking about time, how about eliminating two time zones in the US?  Merge the Pacific and Mountain time zones and merge the Central and Eastern Time zones.  This would simplify a lot frankly.  Heck, if China can have one time zone for the entire country surely we can reduce ours from four to two.

Now I just need to find that lost hour of sleep.

Friday, March 06, 2020