Removing Blinders

We are blind to so many things, sometimes intentional, but sometimes not.  “It's right in front of your eyes,” but because of inattention blindness (when distracted or misled) we can miss the obvious.  Have you ever searched everywhere for your keys, sun glasses, or cellphone, when they were right in plain sight, on your head, or in your pocket?  Your preconceived notion of where it is, where it ought to be, or where it would never be, become blinders as to where it actually is, and we overlook it.

I intentionally wear blinders by not watching movies with violence, sexual exploitation, animal abuse, and excessive profanity.  I don't want to subject my eyes, brain, conscious, and memory to that stuff.  But I also tend to turn my eyes away from (or turn a deaf ear to) the problems our society has with all of these issues, along with racism, poverty, disease, drugs, and war, to name a few more.  These atrocities only become apparent when we remove our blinders.  We can't help towards fixing a problem if we can't see it.  The saying 'You can't see further than the end of your nose,' means that you are so preoccupied with yourself or your problems that you are unaware of, or indifferent to larger issues, problems, or other people.   

Another saying, 'Can't see the wood for the trees' refers to a situation in which a person is so obsessed with the minor, insignificant details (the trees) that they can't see the bigger, more important picture (the wood).  In a sense, they have a different type of blinder on.

Ignoring the obvious 'Elephant in the room' -  occurs when people intentionally put on their blinders and avoid someone with a pronounced problem or who presents a difficult situation that people do not want to talk about or acknowledge.

Blinders also often prevent us from seeing miracles.  This again, is because of  inattention or preconceived ideas.  Removing blinders is helpful (needed) in so many different situations.

Saturday 4/18 - It was Joe's 68th birthday.  At our age, we almost don't want to count another year, so we put on blinders to the aging process.
  
I hadn't checked on the Carolina Wren nest in probably a week because I didn't want to frighten her off the eggs when it was so cold outside.  Well, this is what I saw in the nest when she flew away.


Maggie and the cats (Styx is on the dog bed, but rolled over into the shadows when she had gotten too warm.) were all enjoying naps in the sun.


Babe



Monita







Stevie on the couch.






I decided to join all my fur babies, and read (my body in the sun and book in the shadow).  Soon Stevie came over to join me.

The pink flowers are on the  plant I brought home from the pool last fall.  They were able to survive the winter because it was mild.  A week ago I added the orange marigolds.
I didn't do squat all day, never took off my pjs, only went outside for a second walk with Maggie, no projects and no exercise.  I did make Joe birthday brownies, and then help eat some, while we watched Phantom of the Opera.

Sunday 4/19 - Stevie fell asleep in my lap with her head on my arm while I was here at the computer.  It was almost a totally non productive day again, but I finally went out at 2:00.

Joe had gone hiking, and we had forgotten about our group chat session.  Also, because Courtney was busy, we moved it back (later in time) to it's usual 4pm.

There was not time to start a landscape project with rock or moss garden, so I just continued dredging the creek.


I came in a few minutes late for our 4pm chat, but Joe said no one had joined the group.  So we decided kids were busy or not interested, and assumed it was cancelled. 





Well, as it turns out, Joe had the wrong time zone.  Since none of us were able to coordinated on a time, the chat never happened.  I had made the decision to cancel it, but later felt bad about it.  I missed seeing and hearing my kids, sister, and Mom.

More evening TV time together and I had to take this photo of Monita's cute little feet, the way they were crossed.

Monday 4/20 - The trees are really greening up and the woods getting denser, which makes our house more difficult to see.  The dogwood still hold their blooms and birdsong fills my morning.  I watch chipmunks scamper around and deer, duck, and squirrel come to feed on corn.

I read and napped in the sun for a few hours and then set to work cleaning more muck out of the creek.




I found this crayfish in the process, and turned him loose in a safer spot.














You can see the day's work (the darker, raked area) on the sand bar.  As I pull gunk out, some of it is spread over the sand bar.

I read until lights out because my books is coming to an exciting end.

Tuesday 4/21 - Mr. Hawk was down back hunting just after sun up.  See him/her perched on a branch in the center of the photo?

At 9:40 Joe and I meet Yvonne and caravaned to the trail head in Hebbertsburg and hiked part of the Cumberland Trial.  She brought her big lab Dakota who enjoyed the hike with Maggie.  They raced back and forth on the trail, checking in with us every few minutes.  Seen here, we are looking out over the overlook cliff.














Soon after we had started out, I heard Dakota racing down the trail behind me, coming towards me.  I stepped to my left to get off the trail and out of her way.  At the exact same time she was going around me on that same side.  She ran right into me at full speed, knocking me off my feet and hurting my ankle.  I ‘walked it off’ for a few minutes and then it seemed okay.  We completed close to four miles of hiking, enjoying the beautiful day and chatting.




The drive through the woodland country side, to get to and from the hiking trail, was pretty.  I took this photo of a dilapidated barn, thinking of sister Carol who posts many such photos on her blog.

Once home, I changed into shorts and tank top and went out to read on the lounge chair in the sun.  Two hours later, I had finished my book.  When I stood up to go inside, I could barely put any weight on my foot.

I had planned to ride and hoped walking would make my ankle feel better, so into barn clothes and boots, and off I went.

I was glad to see the horses were already in, so I wouldn't have to walk far to get Amiga.

Patty gave Zorro a treat and then brought him into the cross ties for grooming.


My ankle hurt so bad, I didn't even mess with Amiga, but came right back home.   I wondered if I had sprained it.




When I got home, as advised by four of the gals at the barn, I took acetaminophen (didn't have any ibuprofen), wrapped my ankle with an ice pack, and elevated it the rest of the evening.  I was really worried my ankle was badly injured and I might have to stay off of it for a few weeks.  It is bad enough being in 'lock down' but to not be able to ride, hike, or do yard work would be unbearable.
A pain sleep aid was taken at bedtime.

Wednesday 4/22 - I had slept well and woke with my ankle feeling a lot better.  I could put weight on my foot without too much pain, although it was still tender.  So I decided to 'baby' it a while longer.


I iced and elevated my ankle while here at my computer and took ibuprofen (which Joe had picked up at the store).




But soon I was restless, I had started a new book and played plenty of games on my computer, but I can only sit for so long.  So mid afternoon I went to the barn.  The geldings were already wanting to come in for their feed.

Once I had Amiga collected and tacked, I rode leisurely around the barn yard and let her graze quite a bit.  About an hour later Jan came and was soon ready to hit the trail.



Jan and I had planned to ride the long trail together.  We hit lots of rock in one part, but proceeded slowly and carefully down the trail.  But at our first creek crossing, there was so much debris in our path and this was just one of seven places the trail crosses this little creek.  We debated working our way across the creek, but could only imagine what obstacles might lay ahead down by Daddy's Creek.  So we turned around and rode back to the barn.



Horsing around in the barnyard area was our only option, so that's what we did.  Amiga was getting impatient, wanting to go to the barn, and started acting up.  She would hop and spin when we started heading away from the barn, or stop dead in her tracks and not move, but when we turned to ride towards the barn, she would start to race instead of walking calmly.  I ended up going back to the barn to get a crop and went back out in the front field.  When needed, Amiga got smacked on her rear end to get her to move forward, away from the barn. 

When I finally got some compliance out of Amiga and had her walking fairly calmly towards the barn and turning and walking away from it, I stopped, got off, and praised her.  I lead her back to the barn and untacked in the cross ties, and then left her to stand there for probably 15 minutes.  She was not going to get the immediate reward of grain in her stall. 

I fixed spaghetti for dinner and Joe and I watched Survivor.  I decided to go ahead and ice and elevate my ankle because it was still swollen and tender.  But really, it didn't hurt that bad.


Thursday 4/23 - Rain had moved into the area overnight and continued off and on all day and through the following night.  I took a trip to town from 8-11 while Joe took advantage of the professional stylist doing haircuts at Wildwood for barn family.

After putting away nearly $200.00 worth of stuff from Walmart, I pretty much goofed off the rest of the day.  I had cut my morning computer time short, so hung out there for a few hours.








I took Maggie on a walk which ended early because of rain.  While trying to make a dash for home, I discovered my ankle was too sore to jog on, so we got wet. 

This large tree had fallen part way down several months ago and I could tell it was hollow.  But now that it is completely down on the ground, I could see how big the hollowed out area was.  It also appears chard and must have been struck by lightening. 

Laundry, dishes, and a kitchen scrub down occurred before, during, and after dinner.  Joe and I watched two episodes of Blue Bloods.

Friday 4/24 - The morning wasn't as cold as the past several, but it was still quite damp out, and actually rained a few times.

My lack of motivation was at an all time high.  I don't think it's because of depression, cause I was happy just to be a bum and read much of the day. 


I picked a new spot to sit and read, up in the balcony.  It was a nice change of scenery.  I am reading a Karen Slaughter mystery - Faithless.  I learned that edamame (which I like to snack on) is young soybeans, picked while still green and tender.  I knew it was soybean but didn't realized they are just immature, young ones.

I moved down to the couch in the sun room because I was getting sleepy, and sure enough, I took a nap.

I did some dusting and vacuuming, along with the daily chores, and each cat got a good ear cleaning, but that was it in terms of being productive.

A gratitude jar is a good way of removing blinders and seeing all the blessing we have.

Courtney accidentally locked herself (and phone, wallet, and keys) out of her condo, but this enabled her (made her) have to go meet her neighbors, which actually turned out to be a good thing.  She has many nice, helpful people living near by.
I am very thankful my ankle injury was no worse than it was and that I will be back to normal usage of it in no time.

Who Not What

It's not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters. 
During this time of social distancing, I am so thankful that through technology, I can still stay connected with family and friends.

It has also been a blessing to know that God is in control, and I need not worry about the future. 
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us: "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand."



Saturday 4/11 - Up at 3am, I finished and posted my blog and started laundry.  I took a nap from 5:30 to 7:00, and then had a good morning gaming.  In this photo I had finally completed a difficult 260 piece jigsaw puzzle.  I had great success on all four of the advent games I usually play every morning - I found the eight differences in 18 seconds, got 15,030 points in ornament smash, completed the memory game in 28 seconds, and won the solitaire game in 7 minutes 22 seconds.


This is a view out back from inside on our second floor balcony.  It had gotten down to 31° overnight and was slow to warm up.  I folded the second load of laundry, loaded and ran the dishwasher, had lunch, and then went to the barn to ride. 







Patty (on Zorro) and Karen were ahead of us tacking up.  You can see Cash and Amiga in the cross ties.





Jan, Patty, Karen and I rode around in the front yard and across the street.















Patty took these photos of Cash and Amiga, who Jan and I usually let greet each other with a little nuzzling. 




Once home I did a little work down back, and then my usual chores.  Every evening I clean all three litter boxes and Babe usually uses this one, up on the balcony, before I can add new clean litter to it.










Babe and Monita playing (video).







Mama Styx is the only cat who plays too rough with Babe.  I have not seen Stevie or Monita hurt or cause the kitten to cry, but Styx has.  However, it usually ends with mom giving her youngin a tongue bath.


Later in the evening, long after the corn was gone, I noticed this deer laying down back and chewing its cud.  I love that she felt relaxed enough to rest back there.


While reading in bed, three of my four cats joined me.  Stevie only likes to visit and snuggle if she has me all to her self.  

I had gotten word and photos from Courtney of the progress she made with her big move.  I was glad she seemed to be coping just fine without any of us to help her, although she reported being exhausted.





Easter Sunday 4/12 - This will definitely be an Easter to remember.  With the Covid-19 lock-down, there would be no Church, community egg hunts, or Easter dinner at any restaurant.  No Easter parades, picnics, or parties.  We would all have to celebrate on our own through various on-line services and activities.  Gwen sent me this photo (a good reminder of this year's Easter).







The rain started at 5am, an hour after I had gotten up and walked the dog, and continued ALL day long.  It came in waves of storms and then sprinkles.

I played games on my computer, read, napped, read, ate, and went back to my computer.  Stevie and I watching the birds and the rain.





The bluebirds were busy at their house, maybe doing some spring cleaning?  I don't know.




Joe made another good batch of chocolate chip cookies, but also a bit of a mess in the kitchen.  I couldn’t get motivated to do ANYTHING.  Each time a thunderstorm hit our area, Maggie would hide in our closet.

From 2 until 3:15 we did a Google face time / chat with the kids, including Patty and also Mom and Jean.  Much of the time was spent talking about and showing off our pets.  LOL







I cooked two frozen dinners for our Easter supper... I know, it's lame.  But that is all the motivation I had for the day.  Joe and I watched two episodes of Blue Bloods and I fell asleep listening to the pouring rain.  We had flash flood warnings through the following morning.

Monday 4/13 - We'd had heavy rains all night, but it let up at 5am, just as I was heading out to walk the dog, but the winds were still quite strong.  After bragging Saturday about all my gaming success, I had the worst game ever of single suit Spider Solitaire.  I was not able to get even one stack (Ace - King) out on the board.



Around 8am I heard loud noise next door, so took Maggie out for a second walk to see what was going on.  


The flooding had washed out this culvert at the dip in Lakeview, so the road crew was fixing it again.  This occurs once or twice a year.

I then wandered down back to see what the water had done, flooding the creek.




The water had gotten higher than I ever remember it getting in the past six years we have lived here.






Branches, sticks, leaves, and other debris had been left, caught behind trees, shrub, and other more permanent structures.



Most of the mulch had been washed away from this lower bed where all the shrub now have leaves piled up behind them.  Also my drainage ditch had left a bunch of sand piled at the bottom of it.







And you can see that the water was up over the oasis and left a bunch of leaves here.





Also, as the raging current of flood water was washing everything out into the pond, debris was left caught in the tall grasses on this high spot.

It was reported that we got between five and six inches of rain in a little less than 24 hours.  It is amazing what mother nature can do in one day, that will take days for me to 'undo' or clean up. 

I again sat here at my computer much longer than necessary.  At one point I took a nap on the couch and I could tell three cats had joined me, one warming my legs, another at the small of my back, and one on my head (which was under a blanket).  I always pull a blanket up over my head to keep the light out of my eyes and to prevent Monita from licking my face.  It was probably Monita on my head, that's where she likes to sleep.







The contortionist cat is really Babe up on top of the cubbie and Monita inside of it, looking out.  They were again playing with each other (video).





I noticed the golf crew working down at the dam.  I wondered what damage the water had done at that end of the pond.



Neighbor Allen gave Joe a few of his weights, after hearing that Joe had been trying to get some.  So when Joe went on the porch to 'workout' all four cats were watching him.  By the time I got my phone to take this photo, only two cats were still watching.

Mid afternoon, Joe, Maggie and I walked the back nine of Druid golf course.  We went up Library Trail, rather than #18, so I could check on it for downed trees.  It was in good shape.




These pretty flowers, which I do not ever remember seeing before, were on vines at the edge of the woods.  Some were hanging quite high up in the tree canopy. 






It was cold and overcast all day, but felt good to be out and get some exercise.  I love looking at the spring colors and people's pretty landscape.










Once we got to our #17 Turtle pond, I looked for damage, but only saw a sinkhole in the back of the dam that has gotten bigger, and all this debris left washed up on the bank.



I love mama Styx's white feet.  If you look at the underside, only her toes are white.  Her pads are black.

Joe and I watched two more episodes of Blue Bloods.

I fell asleep feeling very concerned about Courtney, who was overwhelmed with stress, but not wanting to talk about it.  I know the move, some home repair issues, work, and friends were all on her mind.  

Tuesday 4/14 - I was awake at 1:00 and on the couch reading by 1:40.  I don't know how long I lasted, but judging by the number of pages, probably about 2½ hours.  Next thing I know, Joe is emerging from the bedroom a little after 7am, which woke me up.











I laid on the couch waiting for the cobwebs to clear while Joe took Maggie for her first walk of the day.


Monita in the corner, faces off with Babe who went up the ladder to go to the hammock probably, one of her favorite spots.  They stopped to look at me when I got my phone to take photos.  It was not nice of Monita to bite Babe on the ear.  The standoff ended when Monita bopped Babe in the face, so the kitten turned around and came back down the ladder.




I went to the barn at 9am to help Judy clean stalls, since she is working extra, because Kaylah is on furlough from the barn.  There weren't many more stalls to muck out by the time I had gotten there.  After the stalls were done, I decided to ride Amiga.  She was way out in the back of the pasture, so I rode her in.  The livery horses were enjoying the sunshine on this cold day.


Amiga stopped to get a drink on our way back to the barn.


I tried these new splint boats on Amiga, that Polly gave me, since she no longer needed them.  They fit and worked well.

We didn't ride long or far, and just maneuvered around the barn yard and garden.  Things were still quite soggy after all the rain we had had.

And as always, I did let Amiga graze for quite a bit.


Amiga's mug shot, what a cute nose my sweet girl has.

I got home after 1:00 and was cold, so I heated up a frozen dinner and then laid on the living room floor in the sun, and read.  A few of the cats joined me.


Late afternoon was spent messing around outside for three hours.  I worked at debris clean-up down at the pond and oasis.  I was stunned, and felt defeated by the amount of crap that had washed down stream and been deposited in the creek at the entrance to the pond, just with the last flood.

This flicker was glad I had cleaned and re-filled bird feeders.  I did see my first hummingbird earlier in the day, so was sure to put clean sugar water in that feeder.

After dinner I went back out to cover all of my flowers.

Wednesday 4/15 -I finally had a good night of (from 9-5) sleep.  It was 29° during our first walk.

I was in no hurry to go anywhere, waiting for the day to warm up.












At one point I was playing fetch with Babe.  I wanted to show you how she runs up to the corner shelf to get her fuzzy ball.



Well, as soon as I start filming, I couldn't get the ball up to the corner, Monita joined in and disrupted the action, and then Babe dropped the ball.  The game of fetch was an epic fail (video).


To brighten and warm the day, I cut some fresh flowers from the yard.


Finally by mid-afternoon I decided it was warm enough to work in the yard.  I started on the steps to the big rock where the bench is because I hadn't liked the last step (too small) and had found a better rock in the woods.  This photo shows what the last two steps looked like, but I will show a progression of this project later.

What I wanted you to note in this photo, are the two maple trees (farthest left in the photo).  I had put the step on hold, to help Joe with removal of the second (closets to the creek) maple tree.








This photo (taken a month ago) shows the first maple tree gone.  It had been closest to the dogwood (which has the drain pipe around it).  And there is now grass growing over where the first maple had been.


Lastly, this photo shows the second tree gone, which opens the view and is one less tree for Joe to mow around.  It was also shading the dogwood and the taller branches were competing for light with the big pine that is to the far right in the photo.

Cleaning muck from the pond occurred until dinner time.  Joe grilled the chicken I had marinated.  I also enjoyed my first beer since Lent.

Thursday 4/16 - A beautiful Goldfinch set off by red leaves in the background.  It was another morning spent here at my computer too long, but I did do some household chores.

My outdoor project primarily involved replacing the bottom step down back, with this new, larger rock I drug over from the woods across the creek.










The smaller rock was a bit awkward to step up on.  I dug a larger spot and placed this bigger rock where the other had been.

Then I hauled over several other rocks to find something that would round off the end of the triangular step and help hold the dirt onto the hill side.










It took several tests before I found a rock I liked. 



Then I went back into the woods to harvest moss to put around the new rocks and add more moss along the edge where the wood chips had been.








With this section finished, I now need to focus on the top step which is also awkward.  I had to add a row of rocks to keep the wood chips from washing down onto the moss and steps.  However, the retaining rocks are located where your foot wants to naturally fall, but you have to step over them.





I had about 90 minutes before our 'party' so worked at pond scum removal.  (A progression of photos on that will come next week.)

With Brian's permission, Joe had set up our fire pit on his rock area in back, a nice level spot.  Patty came to join us.  We took part in libations, chips and hot dogs, conversation, and Joe his cigar.







I enjoyed a Caymin Jack and a beer, since I was feeling so festive.



 We ended about 8pm.

I took a late shower, not only for dirt and sweat removal, but also to de-smoke.  I had to stay up longer than usual to let my hair dry.

Friday 4/17 - I had a hummingbird at my feeder.

I sat here all morning, a new norm for me which I need to break away from, because I am wasting way too much time.  Why with this 'stay at home' order has all motivation vanished?  I don't get it.


Courtney has been stressed all week with trying to get settled (and moved) in to her new place.  And to top off the chaos, they were re-roofing her building.  Her kitty Wash is watching the action. 





I was at the barn by noon for a wonderful day with my Saddle Sisters.  We had a picnic lunch together, out on the lawn, keeping at least six feet from each other.






Then some of us saddled up to ride.  I helped Patty hang these noodles for another challenge in our little obstacle course and several of us tried it and other stations we had set up.









Once we got bored with 'horsing around' (video) out front, five of us set off on a trail ride.







There was some picture taking by Judy and I.  Most of the good ones (all but one to follow here) are what Judy took. 

Judy on Levi.








Jan on Cash.







Cheryl on Velvet.







Patty on Zorro.








And I on Amiga.



It was a beautiful day, perfect for riding, and we all had a fun time.  It was an opportunity to forget everything else going on in this world, and enjoy what God has blessed us with.


























Amiga was quite wound up, so I needed to keep reminding her to slow down.  She is a lot of fun though, even when she is a handful.  LOL










Who Not What - The material things in our lives are not near as important (although TP is certainly handy) as our relationships.  Some people treat their fur babies as things, and this is where abuse can and sometimes does occur.  Our pets and even livestock, are living beings, with feelings and love to give us and for us to love back.