Getting Better All the Time, Another First and A Critter Day

The Ridge

It was 5:45 when I first woke and checked out the time on Tuesday, May 12^th and was sure I’d dropped off again for at least half hour. I started to uncover and told Bill that I was hopping in the shower. He said, “You’re getting up already?” I checked the clock and only 10 minutes had passed. “Geesh, no, I thought it was later." I curled back up next to him until 7:30 when we both exited the bedroom.

Looking like a decent morning

We have a couple of things going on this afternoon so we wanted to get the best out of our morning. After showering, I joined Bill downstairs and had my tea. With the temperature stretching to reach 0C/32F I read blogs before venturing out for a walk. It is the wind speed that determines whether I walk more than anything and it appeared to be less than 4 mph.

We are taking Black Beauty in to Hanover this afternoon for her repairs so Bill took advantage and drove to the Acreage for another water fill up. I bundled for a nice walk in the cold but under a glorious sunny blue sky. As I rounded the turn at the end of our lane onto North Line I was hit was a nasty wind. Where did that come from? LOL I pulled my scarf up over my nose and had to put both hoods up to protect my head and face. I didn’t wear my hat since I didn’t think it was windy.

Turned out to be a nice walk too

As I neared the corner, eyes watering, glasses steaming up from having my nose and mouth covered, I decided to walk towards the north, the direction that Bill would be coming from. I was wimping out at that point. When he slowed, I would hitch a ride home. However, the winds were no longer in my face and as I walked down the hill on Baptist Church Rd. things improved and I could put my hoods down. Good thing, since I was home before him anyway and had enjoyed the walk after all.

Yup, we were going to start using the new bladder after losing the closure valve but I wasn’t at all surprised when Bill told me he searched over at the Acreage for the lost valve. Then he showed me that he found a stick that worked to plug the hole. He kills me yet I wouldn’t expect any less from this ‘retro-fit’ man o’ mine. We make a good pair as I’m not one to just toss something and buy new. I like to see if we can make it work with a quick fix first. So, we’ll continue to use the old bladder – for now. 😊

Bill's quick fix

Now that I was back home and since he was puttering with the water, I figured that I would toss the orange halves I’d set out for the orioles. They had visited the tree once but never the oranges on the metal stand.  I noticed the oranges were still juicy so I re-skewered them. As I was doing so, who should flit by but Mr. Oriole! That’s crazy! So, I set the skewer in the nook of a tree branch near the finch and hummer feeders.  Bill said that maybe they don’t like the metal.

Then I went to watch the entertainment as the oriole returned and started sucking on the oranges! My day has been fulfilled already and it isn’t even 10 o’clock! 

Finally, the oranges are appreciated

The critters were out in great variety today. I’d seen a second family of geese with 5 babes in our front fields. The finches are around, the chickadees, blue jays and even Chippy was fun to watch eating the sunflower seeds. I need to get some peanuts for him.

Someone likes the sunflower seeds

Bill took the heater down to the Hangar with a thermos of coffee and inside I made one as well and sat in the warmth of the sun coming in the windows. Our fresh water tank is full to the brim. At 12 noon, I made bacon and scrambled eggs for lunch and after clean up we decided to go to Hanover earlier than originally planned. I followed him in Black Beauty and we drove to Hanover. The news wasn’t particularly good when Trevor told us the repair ‘could’ be a month. ☹

Gotta love little Chippy

Even if he doesn't clean up after himself

He explained to Bill what was going to be happening and we left there headed for Donna and Gerry’s home. We’d checked ahead of time and knew we were welcomed inside for a nice visit. It was nice to see the changes inside as they’d spent the winter painting all of the rooms. It is looking lovely and refreshed. Great job! When we left there, we drove out to the edge of town and stopped at Walmart. This was another first for us since we’ve been home.

Bill went one way and I went another after a short wait at the door for entry. The store was busy but other than following the floor arrows, it almost felt normal. I would usually stop to check out the Clearance racks in the clothing section but instead got the food and other items on our list. Bill needed shoes for everyday and he found a good deal on some runners. Checking out was easy, since we took our own bags in, we packed them ourselves. We like that better anyway!

I got a kick out of this Downy woodpecker in acrobatic stage

He really wanted to make it work!

But soon realized that this was his place

The sun had warmed the day up to 5C/41F, just as it was supposed to. It still felt cooler than that with the wind but we aren’t complaining too much. We believe there are better days around the corner. We emptied the bags inside and we each felt like having a snack. I had some Lay’s chips left in a bag that we shared with some cheddar cheese to tie us over until supper. I worked on my cross stitch and Bill watched some tv beside me.

This is the family of 5 swimming away

At 5:30, I started supper. Tonight, is Instant pot chili and rather than just throw things in the pot, I actually followed a recipe. Sometimes, it is worth the extra effort. Chili always tastes yummy no matter how I make it but this is a little bit of a different yummy. I made up a batch of 6 dinner rolls to have with it and we were eating shortly after 6:30. It was a bit runny and although I could have cooked it longer to thicken it, I didn’t tonight.

Following Black Beauty into Hanover

We had it in a bowl and ate it with a spoon. It was G00----OOO----D! As Bill was washing the last of the dishes, he drew my attention out the dining room window to the bottom of the hill. Ma, Pa and the 5 baby geese were making their way out to the laneway. I could just watch them waddle forever. One parent led, the little rascals run helter-skelter behind and then the second parent follows. Both adults on constant look out.

Supper was good and we even had leftovers

I slipped into my layers and vest and took a walk. Well, the geese had disappeared. As I was walking down the lane though, another reward. Just at that time, this little guy decided to venture from one pond to the other, right in front of me. 

His look was like "oh, I didn't see you there!"

I startled him as much as he spooked me. I almost stepped on him; we were that close! He stopped. I stopped. We stared at each other long enough for me to take a couple of pictures and then he turned tail and went back the way he’d come, into the water. 😊

And then it was a look of "what do I do now?"
Such a cute little face on him!

I carried on my walk, cut across the front field and came back along North Line and up the lane. It was cold out but fresh. 

A couple of blurred Mallards in the front pond

It felt good and allowed me to get over 3 miles walked today. Back inside, I showed Bill the picture of the little animal which we’ve pretty much determined to be a mink. I’ve looked at pictures of otters, muskrats and minks and that is our best guess. This is who I see swimming across our pond occasionally. 

What do you all think?

Today was a good day. More shopping got done and the weather was at least sunny and bright for the most part. Into the evening, the sun hung around indicating a clear night which means another c-c-cold overnight. I hope you’ve had a good day too!

Good night from inside our Suite

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