211026 Sneaky Turkeys

Oct. 26

The turkeys didn't notice me on the porch and decided to sneak across the lawn from the sisters, the apple trees by the barn, to the wise witch, also an apple tree. Almost every apple on the sisters was eaten. The turkeys and even a deer or two ate every one that fell, except the few that I was able to gather. We might have eaten two dozen. The witch was the same: only a few apples are left. The blue jays seem to spend lots of time in the apple trees as well. I suspect they are eating all the bugs that live in the apples. A lot of the apples have evidence of habitation by some larva so perhaps these bugs are on the trees (and in some of the apples still!). There are a group ? of blue jays that live here. They fly back and forth over the meadow all day long to hang out in the maple or the apple trees or they stop on the lawn and forage for bugs. Even in the spring blue jays have a variety of songs and calls, only one of them really annoying, but in the past few weeks I have heard them making all sorts of calls, trills of music, whistles, and clicking sounds. The bluebirds were still here yesterday; Rain wondered if it was the family from before gathering to go south. There seemed to be five, at least, gathering just before sundown and doing a lot of what I can only call "dancing about" - flitting from perch to perch, flying around each other. Robins - I thought they were gone, at least I had not seen one of our several robins in weeks. Then this morning a handful showed up. They must be, I think, a different group come from farther north making their way south. We had a couple of juncos this weekend too, although none lived here during the summer. Someone on Facebook said they might winter here. I am afraid that last winter seems a long time ago, and I don't remember if there were juncos.

The cows have been staying in the lower end of the meadow lately and only come up as far as the house. Perhaps something spooked them higher up the meadow. There is one yellow cow who comes every day, however, to get a few apples under the wise witch. These cows belong to the farmer down the road. He grazes them here and also in Rain and Tal's fields. They are beef cows, mostly female, for breeding. Just now there are calves almost weaned and one or two brand new late arrivals.

Here they are lying down as per the wives' (witches') tale that cattle lie down when rain is coming. It rained five minutes after they lay down.

*****

I am still struggling with pain. The electric pins-and-needles throughout my torso is the worst of it most days, and a constant band of crunched muscles around the base of my rib cage like a metal ring. But the electric pain is "coming out" the way numbness comes out of one's cheek after the dentist freezes it. The prickles are getting "bigger" and sometimes "sharper" which tells me it is slowly going away. It is still very distracting, and I can't believe I was for weeks in much worse pain. Being able to sleep is a miracle. How is it that our brain can handle the pain while we sleep, and dream free of any awareness of pain? The pains also settle down during sleep and I wake feeling almost new.

Every day my heart goes out to others in pain. It is a burden in a most literal sense, like having to carry a heavy weight around all day. Even the most simple life tasks are challenging while you have your metaphorical arms full with that heavy stone.

*****

Rain and the baby have been coming to visit. She, Tal and the baby have basically become part of our bubble and we part of theirs, since I was part of the birth circle. We are all frequenting the same few shops in town as well, although I cannot explain the algorithm by which I conclude there is some importance to this! I can do very little to help Rain on these visits beyond sometimes cuddling the baby. Still, she doesn't have her own household to distract her - things she would like to do - and she has stayed for dinner sometimes. The three of us plan and scrabble the dinner together between us. She has not abandoned Tal and his father in this as they often don't have a regular sit-down dinner. They are all on such different schedules and errands. For now it is good for Rain to have downtime when she has nothing more to do than look after the baby and herself.

K takes the brunt of this. As designated "able-bodied" member of our team he comes in for most of the housework, dishes, shopping and meal preparation. Though the shopping and meals are new to him, he is keeping everything cooking. (excuse the pun)

*****

October is drawing to an end. The trees are mostly bare. The yellow ones and the orange-red sugar maples are still holding on to their leaves, as if they know that their light gives the world something important just now. It comes as more of a shock to realize that 2021 is drawing to an end! Two months until Christmas and then the new year. The pandemic will be in its third calendar year. Oh, no: it will not be over. While numbers ebb, under good control, in one place, another city or country is seeing peaks in numbers, new variants in play. Boosters are being offered already. We are still IN this pandemic - since we are a world village we have to wait until it is under control most everywhere.

Just finished a book by Michael Bliss about the 1885 small pox epidemic in Montreal. Written thirty years ago, it might have been written about 2021. * The political and economical impacts of the epidemic were the focus of the politicians, their popularity with the right groups. There was the influence of the wealthy business men, whose interests came before the interests of the poor. These wealthy men (all men, in 1885) seemed to be at the table whenever the issue was discussed. It was the poor, who were trying to work to stay alive who were dying or watching their children die. In Montreal in 1885, it was mostly French Canadians who were in this group. There were anti-vaxxers and there was mishandled vaccine distribution, misinformation, the oar of religion was stuck in to further complicate things. It is beyond irony at this point to see the same pattern over and over for centuries. Bliss himself prefaces his chapters with quotes from earlier writings about plagues. Nothing changes. Even though medical science has brought us miracles we are still wallowing in the same mud of wealth and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, politics and prejudice.

I wonder how the climate crisis fits into the pandemic, or vice versa. And I wonder how much we are being manipulated by EVERYONE! Haha. The media, who are wealthy, big industry (wealthy), politicians (wealthy - yes even the lowliest has a car. Everyone should have a car in Canada, just as a symbol of realistic "living" wages. We are that wealthy as a country, that everyone could have a car or excellent public transit, more than that everyone could and should have clean drinking water, a roof, and food on the table.) Michael Crichton's State of Fear keeps popping into my head: he talks about the puppet show that goes on to keep the (US) public worrying about something that is NOT the most urgent problem on the table. ** What are we missing, or neglecting? There is the situation with Taiwan that is knocking at my brain, and the middle east countries that seem to be on fire, and the refugees from dozens of countries trying to escape some horror. They are homeless, more homeless than any street person in a Canadian city, homeless forever, bereft of house, belongings, family, heritage. Brings me back to the poor and homeless, the bereft, the sick and helpless in our very own country. I feel helpless.

But not hopeless. Be well. Breathe. Be kind. Look out the window.

Mumma Yaga

(footnotes follow photos)

How the sun pours into the house in the mornings:

Strawberries are flowering again. To what purpose?

We have had two or three spells of sun. The first was like summer; we had to go find summer clothes already stored for winter. This day, Sunday, was cooler but still the sun shone down like summer "honey". ***

I flew streamers from the porch to celebrate the baby's birth, though there was no-one really to see them except us. I used to fly streamers from the tree in front of #48 for Rain's birthday, so this seems like a good extension of that tradition.