Sometimes I'm Too Honest ... And An Update.

I was suppose to go in to get my teeth cleaned today.  My original appointment had been postponed due to Coronavirus.  I get to the office, they take my temperature (normal range), and give me a questionnaire.  One of the questions was "Do you have a runny nose?"  It's allergy season.  We have had moderate-high to high pollen counts for a few weeks here in Nebraska.  My eyes are itchy and, yes, my nose runs. I marked Yes.

That honesty killed my appointment.  I'd not mentioned my seasonal allergies to my dentist before so there is no note of them in my record.  So, in the day of covid-19, that was enough to stop my cleaning in its tracks.   *sigh*

My allergies are now part of my record so when I return next week, my teeth will finally be sparkling white.

Also, an update for my last post.  On Mother's Day I talked about the little bunny babies in a hole in our yard.  I'd placed a paver over the hole to keep Iago out.  Well after that post I looked off our deck and noticed the paver had moved nearly a foot off the hole.  Looking closer I saw the hole was empty.  Not sure what happened.  Either Momma bunny moved the paver and removed her babies or Iago move the paver and had a snack.  I think it was most likely the latter.  His farts reeked that night.

Happy Mother's Day ... To All Types Of Mothers

I want to wish My Mom a Happy Mother's Day in a socially distant way.  It's a nice day to remember mothers of all type.

For example, our yard - our neighborhood actually - is being overrun by mother bunnies.  Looks like an Easter Bunny convention out there.  They are starting to dig holes into the middle of out backyard.  Iago found one such hole and pulled out a tiny two inch long furless snack.  I covered the hole with a paver so that he wouldn't get to the other baby bunnies.

A bunny sitting in our front yard probably contemplating
where she will dig a hole to fill up with babies.

I'm kind of torn.  I don't like killing little baby critters but at the same time we have too many rabbits around.  Kind of wish the hawk I saw in out backyard a while back would return and pick off a few.

The Changing Landscape Of Street Garbage

Over the years I have noticed that one of the most common pieces of garbage I see along the streets of Omaha are mini-bottles of vodka and whiskey (notably Fireball).  I have found empty mini-bottles of alcohol in poor neighborhoods and wealthy neighborhoods.  They seem not to discriminate socio-economically.

The all too common fireball bottle trash along the streets of Omaha.

Now, in the age of Coronavirus I am seeing a new addition to the ubiquitous whiskey bottles.  The surgical glove and the slightly less common surgical mask.  They are appearing in parking lots and along the side of the street.

Pink is pretty unless it's a medical glove on the grass.

Just another sign of how some people are slobs and how our world is changing in the time of pandemic.

May The Fourth ... And All That

I couldn't find a Star Wars related picture to post to celebrate May the Fourth day so I decided to post a totally unrelated picture of a cardinal sitting on a light pole.  May the Fourth be with you.

A non Star Wars related picture of a cardinal.

P.S.  Happy first anniversary to B & E !!!

Social Distance Art

On my walks around the city, I sometimes come across driveway art.  Many are the art of children but some are really nice ... like this parrot.

Chalk art Parrot.

It seems social distancing brings out the artist is some of us.

Comfy Chair For Chillin'

We got eight and a half inches of snow yesterday ... in the middle of April.  It was crazy.

A Comfy Chair for Chillin'

Today, twenty-four hours later, all the snow is gone except for a few traces in the shadows.

Photograph: "Praying For April Showers?"

Taken today during an ... April Shower.

"Praying for April Showers"
by Bruce H.

Can this please be our last winter snow?

For Easter ... A Goldfinch

Happy Easter to all today.  To celebrate, here is a picture of a Goldfinch.  Goldfinches aren't that common in our backyard but they are occasionally attracted to our thistle feeder.

A Goldfinch checking out the backyard.

I Expected This ... But I Don't Have To Like It

Having been outside for nearly one hundred seventy seven days while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT), when I got home last October I had no desire to go outside.  I hunkered down playing computer games and watched TV and movies.  I practically became one with my recliner.  With the inactivity came bad eating habits.  I gained twelve pounds.  I sit so much that I hobble around like an old man when I get up.  I knew I should be doing things differently but I was just not motivated.

I tried to force myself to go walking but, again, the motivation wasn't there.  Since 2009 I'd walked a lot to prepare for my first Camino, my second Camino, RAGBRAI, and my two AT attempts.  With the AT and all the other goals behind me I no longer have any goal to push me outside the house.

The universe made it even more difficult when they asked everyone to stay home because of the pandemic.  But the universe is sending me mixed signals right now.  I had my blood tested for my annual exam.  My lipids are high but more importantly my Glucose and A1C are way too high.  As a matter of fact my A1C says that I am officially diabetic.  I'm not stupid (most of the time) and I was expecting the bad news.

So now I am motivated.  Now my body is forcing me to watch what I eat and to get off my butt and do more exercise.  In three months I will be retested and we'll see if I can wrangle my numbers into a better place using only diet and exercise.  If not I will have to add another prescription to the one I already take for my high triglycerides.

Have to say I am not very happy with my genetics right now. *sigh*

P.S. Damn I want a sweat snack right now!

Appalachian Trail - One Final Post

A year ago today I started my Appalachian Trail (AT) attempt at Springer Mountain, Georgia.  I'm not sure I was full of optimism on that day but I was determined to give it my best try.  That I did.  One hundred and seventy-seven days, and one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four miles, later I decided to end my attempt.

When I quit I told myself I was done.  A few days later I changed my mind and thought I would return to finish the last three hundred miles to get to the end at Mt Katahdin. Over the past seven months I have vacillated between completing it and calling it done.  But this week the last vestige of my AT was removed when, with the help of the Wife, I trimmed the long, bushy beard I grew on the trail back to where is was when I started my adventure. Now when I look in the mirror, Little Hill is no longer looking back.

So I have made a decision and I have settled on not finishing the AT.  I'm not getting any younger and those last miles are not easy.  My attempt is officially over.

Not that I don't have my moments when I look up at the night sky and regret and the desire to finish what I started wells up in me and I get a strange feeling in my gut.  But, in the end, I remember how I felt and the reasons I had for ending my attempt and the moment fades.

Despite knowing I did the right thing, these moments will haunt me for years to come and when I look up at the stars I feel Little Hill, somewhere on the AT, looking up at them too.