Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 13 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.
My, how time flies. In truth, I have not been steadily blogging since I registered with WordPress on April 9, 2007. I “paused” my blog for a few years (and much later for a few months), but I’m happy to be chugging away steadily at it now … despite the new Block Editor.
Monday (March 29) we went for a bike ride at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. As you all know, the Refuge is my favorite part of north Florida. It’s a magical place full of birds, insects, flowers, trees, marshes, swamps, turtles, and alligators, to name a few of my favorite things. Without further ado …
Insects were enjoying them too. I guess you could say there was a lot of pollinating going on.
Other wildflowers and creatures were in abundance as well.
We took the long way around, over the farthest dike which I don’t believe I had been on before. We’ve traveled these trails by foot many times, but usually taking the dikes more inland. As we went back inland, more thistles.
A bald eagle on *his* tree. The majority of times we’ve come out here, he’s perched on that branch.
More water. I know there’s alligators in those waters, but often I wish we would ply our canoe around the marshy area.
It looks serene. Not too far from this spot, there is a primitive camping area. My husband said he’d like to camp there someday. Lovely idea … if only we didn’t have bad knees and bad backs and I wasn’t afraid of gators on land.
I could see he had a big grin, as if to say, “Come on in. The water’s fine!” No, thank you.
I think this guy was playing hide-and-seek. No matter where I walked, his head was hidden by the reeds. Fortunately, he’s too large to be completely hidden.
We saw a couple of other gators on our ride, but they were actually ON the trail so there was no stopping for photo ops. We just kept spinning our wheels and holding our breaths until we were clear.
Ah, life in North Florida. Even Raji likes St. Marks.
Ha ha ha … I LOVE photography apps! I made this photo of Raji at St. Marks with the Superimpose Classic app. It only costs $1.99, and this is the first photo merge I’ve done. I’m so happy with it, I had to put my name on it ;)
I hope you enjoyed the trip. Another one will be coming up soon!
I hope you all are well, healthy, happy, and vaccinated (if not now, then soon).
You know the day goes by pretty fast when I affix myself in front of my computer. I was going to wax all poetic about the flowers I’ve been photographing lately, but, my, it’s late in my day. Pretty soon the four amigos will start checking in on us as we work away in our separate rooms and make clear that dinner time is near.
I’m happy to say that I believe I’ve recovered from the dreaded UTI of last week. I do have some fatigue occasionally from the pollen that blankets our house and cars (and somehow finds its way into our dining room and kitchen). My fingers are crossed that April’s showers will wash that pollen away and the oaks will stop (please!) releasing the pollen.
As my time is short (far be it from me to keep the fur beasts from their evening meal), I’ll simply share a couple of photos of the Blue Flags that can be found at the pond (or stormwater facility that it truly is).
According to the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Florida, these are Anglepod Blue Flags or “Prairie Iris” (Iris hexagona var. savannarum). Whatever they are called, they are pretty and a delight for the heart and soul.
I hope everyone is well, happy and safe, and that more of you are getting vaccinated every day.
XOX
Freedom means:
Freedom means being able to just live without the fear of being shot.
In the roughly two weeks I’ve been retired, I haven’t done a whole lot. I know some of you are probably rolling your eyes at that. I did say I would take a break, but even I didn’t take myself seriously. Nature did, though, so she put out the pollen–nice and thick–to get me to slow down.
My first few days and nights of freedom were surreal. I couldn’t sit still during the day, which was fine with my husband because that meant I was doing most of the cooking and cleaning; at night, I dreamt about work. Horrors. The nightmares dreams have pretty much stopped, thank goodness.
The pollen might have slowed me down, but I could still enjoy the scenery, even in my own front yard.
Things weren’t too shabby elsewhere in the neighborhood.
The pollen didn’t keep me from walking and taking photos. But then my body turned on me.
Last Monday we went for a bike ride, about 21 miles round-trip. Although I am a bit out of shape, I was surprised how sore my undercarriage (a euphemism I’m stealing from a British women’s cycling magazine) became. I thought I had plenty of padding going for me: cycling tights with a nice thick layer of chamois, my underpants, and a panty liner because, well, the restrooms are far between on the trail.
That was Monday. Then Wednesday night at 11 pm, just as I was settling into bed, I felt a burning sensation around my undercarriage and lower abdomen. Although it had been decades since I last experienced that sensation, I knew what it was immediately: the dreaded UTI.
For the next 6 hours, I had to pee about every 15 minutes. After the first hour, blood started to appear in my urine. I sat on the toilet with my iPad, reading up on UTIs and bladder infections and kidney infections. With the blood, I figured I had a bladder infection and I was in trouble.
You see, I was scheduled for a COVID-19 vaccination that Friday. The Johnson & Johnson one-shot. No way was I going to miss that! I was devastated, worried that if I called my doctor about an infection, they would delay the vaccination, but also worried that if I didn’t do anything, the infection would only get worse.
I exhausted myself and shortly before 5 am, I fell asleep. The cats woke me up at 7:30 because, you know, they don’t care that I was up all night. They were up all night, too, so it was nothing to them. After their feeding, I went back to bed. When I got up again, it was the strangest thing: my symptoms were gone.
So I kept my mouth shut and on Friday got my vaccination. I was still tired but it usually takes me a couple of days to recover from insomnia. By Saturday, I was getting suspicious. That burning sensation never completely disappeared and now I was bloated. Oh, how much I hate being bloated! It brings back all those awful memories of that time of the month and how miserable I would be.
I looked it up. Yup, bloating is a symptom of UTIs. And, by the way, bicycling can also cause UTIs. It’s the friction and pressure down there and, in my particular case, the fact that I was sitting on too many layers. Apparently, it would be better to go commando with nothing coming between me and my chamois.
So off I went to the doctor, peed in a cup, and got a prescription for antibiotics because yes, indeedy, I had plenty of white blood cells and even a bit of blood floating around in my urine.
Now I’m still tired but I’m improving. My husband has been the best, chauffeuring me to the doctor’s office (twice), the pharmacy, the grocery store and the bookstore (okay, that last one was an indulgence). I told him how I couldn’t have done all this without him, and he said, “Of course not. You’re sick.”
Wow. The irony. First two weeks of freedom and I get hay fever and a bladder infection. Still beats working, though!
I hope you all are safe, healthy and happy. If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, I hope you will be soon.
If you want to read more about the early days of my retirement, check out my essay in Crow’s Feet on Medium: https://medium.com/crows-feet/spreading-my-wings-fe162c4aaa4d?source=friends_link&sk=d65997596c720b262f0108f7ce3fa0f1
Now that I’m retired, I need a vacation. I need some time to move the furniture around in my brain as well as my house. I survived my last week of work. I survived a lovely surprise retirement party via Microsoft Teams. I was both humbled and thrilled by the outpouring of well wishes and gifts.
I did not realize I was so well-liked and for a brief moment (very brief), I was tempted to say “I’ll stay.” Good thing I didn’t because I am liking my new life.
I want to to spend the next two weeks getting reacquainted with you and your blogs (if you have one) as well as developing some kind of schedule so I can resume my writing and maybe even eventually publish that dang novel.
Comments are closed because I’ll be visiting you and we can talk at your place.
Here’s a photo of me feigning surprise at the delivery of presents by one of my coworkers. (She was kind enough to send me a text ahead of time.)
See y’all soon!
My husband doesn’t like my math. He’s argued that, with respect to a countdown, this should be week 1, not week 0. But it is the week in which I become untethered, set adrift. To me, it’s a 0.
In a perfect world, it would be a relaxing week, the last three-and-a-half days of employment spent tidying up my desk (or my desktop as it is), having casual chats with coworkers over Microsoft Teams, skipping down memory lane during a phone call or two. But we all know it’s not a perfect world.
I will spend most of my remaining days in meetings, either assisting in kickstarting new assignments or transitioning old assignments to new people. I will likely put in a bit more than my regular hours, but will stop on Thursday shortly after my surprise retirement party.
By the way, if you want to surprise someone with a retirement party, do not display “Marie’s Retirement Party” on your Outlook calendar, especially since Marie is often responsible for setting up meetings and, thus, is likely to see it.
About noon, I will shutdown my laptop, gather it and all its necessary peripherals and make the commute that I haven’t had to make in almost a year.
With any luck, the only person I will see at the office will be D. to whom I’ll hand over the state government property and engage in a brief exit interview. Then, weather permitting, I plan to take a walk around the ponds and see if there is any trash to pick up.
After that, who knows?
Well, I do know that I’ll be studying iPhone photography again, tending to my plants, and taking walks in my neighborhood and beyond. For now, there’s plenty catching my eye around my hood, starting with my front yard which hasn’t been mowed in months. (Greg wants to sweep for insects before he mows.)
Some might call this delicate flower a weed but I call it … a delicate flower.
Our azaleas are starting to bloom but in fits and starts. We’ve never taken the time to shape our azalea bushes as some do. They’re a bit scraggly right now but only for now.
A nearby neighbor’s Dogwood is in partial bloom. Years ago I was driving along a road lined with Dogwoods in full flower, all snowy white and surreal. This Dogwood has a ways to go, but it’s early yet.
Now, if anyone knows what the bush below is, please tell me in the comments! I think it’s gorgeous but I don’t know what it is.
I suppose since it’s on the street side of the fence, I could steal a snip and take it to my local nursery for ID. But I’d rather not. Usually there’s two yappy dogs in that yard. They put up a ruckus even when I’m way over on the other side of the street. I hate to think what noise they’d make if they saw me so close to their fence.
The next few days will be an emotional roller-coaster. We weren’t able to hire a replacement for me so I’ll be feeling some guilt at leaving my staff with no buffer between them and “the boss.” I know that guilt will leave me as soon as I leave the office building for the last time, but I have to get there first.
My staff are a tight team, dedicated, creative, and industrious. They will be fine. And I will miss them. These last few months as their section administrator was the first time in a very long time that I felt part of something, that I felt I was really making a difference, maybe not so much in the world of public health, but at least in the work lives of these truly wonderful people.
So I do feel some sadness at leaving and a part of me is wishing I wouldn’t leave, that I could stay and shepherd them a while longer. But I’d be breaking my commitment to my husband if I did that. What makes me truly sad is the knowledge that no matter how much my staff feel they need me (maybe not me personally, but the constancy, the continuity of my presence), I just don’t have the mental and emotional will to carry these responsibilities much longer. I’m not a weak person. I’ve proven that.
I just don’t like my job. It’s nothing personal, nothing to do with my staff as I obviously think the world of them. It hit home a few days ago when I was revising the job announcement for my position. I realized that I never would have applied for such a job and yet here I was, doing exactly what I had intended not to do.
And then there’s my husband who’s willing to live as simply as we need to in order for me to retire. Gotta love that guy. And this guy:
That’s right, folks! Time for a Raji update. As you can see, he’s become rather relaxed around us. He drives our other cats crazy during feeding time because he paces and rubs against each of them! He has no fear. Whenever Maxine or Wendy slap at him, he looks at them like, “What? Don’t you find me cute and adorable?”
Raji and Junior are now pals, chasing each other up and down the hallways. At some point over the past week, Junior’s bullying turned into playing. I believe Raji has helped Junior to discover his inner kitten.
My dear friends, thank you for reading. Thank you for still visiting me although I haven’t been visiting you. I might be soon set adrift (in a good way) from my job, but you all keep me moored. Love you to the moon and back. Stay safe, well, and embrace happiness.
Raji spent Friday night inside the house with us. The temps were in the low 30s and we were disinclined to heat the garage again. As you know, Raji has been spending more and more time in our house, eating his meals on the other side of a bookcase from Junior. He had gotten to the point where he’d dash into the house as soon as I opened the door to the garage in the morning. Although he still loves going into the garage and checking out his play cage on that side of the house, you just can’t beat a screened-in back porch for entertainment.
I’m happy, no, I’m thrilled to say that his first sleepover was successful! I was prepared to be woken in the middle of the night by blood-curdling screams and yowls.
Didn’t happen. Nope, I actually slept pretty good that night, and when I woke the next day, all was quiet. Mind you, the cat door to the back porch was open, giving the cats more personal space even if it was cold. And my husband left the door to his rooms open (after making sure they were more or less Raji-proof) so, again, more personal space. None of my cats like closed doors. They see a closed door and they will fuss and bang until it’s opened.
So he slept inside again the next night, and, again, all was quiet until about 7 am when Raji came into my room and briefly mewed. He’s a quick learner. I am the primary feeder; therefore, if he wants to eat, he has to wake me up.
I feel so very, very fortunate that everyone is getting along … or at least tolerating each other’s presence … well, except for Maxine, but she hates all other felines anyway.
I managed to get out for a couple of neighborhood walks this week. On one, I took the time to admire our somewhat small but still lovely magnolia. I love the blooms, but I might love the buds more.
Light is everything when it comes to photography, at least for me as a newbie. Our tree had plenty of buds to photograph, but the light had to be just right to get a good shot. If the light is not good, no amount of editing is going to improve a blurry image. I am really pleased with how the photos of the buds came out.
On Saturday I went for an early evening walk. I had been tidying up the house all morning, then ran a couple of errands in the afternoon. I almost didn’t make my walk because I was tired, but Greg was still out on his bike ride, so I just made myself do it. I’m so glad I did.
It was the Golden Hour and I was walking on an easement between two houses. I had been picking up trash and had a full trash bag; but when I happened to look up and see the light, I dropped the bag and pulled out my iPhone. I love these pictures but they don’t do justice to the beauty of the sunlight on the trees and the half-moon against a blue sky.
I’m down to nine days left at my job. We’ve been very busy so, for my staff’s sake, I’m glad I didn’t take the month off as I had planned. I was able to pitch in and carry some of the load, but at the same time I am learning to let go … as I should.
While I do worry sometimes about being on a fixed income, at least I know I’ll never need to buy expensive cats toys and beds.
Thank you for reading! I hope my friends in all the states that have been hit by these brutal winter storms are well and safe, and that spring will soon be here for you.
It’s almost spring here. We had a few days of warmer temps and the magnolia trees in my neighborhood loved it. I was only able to get out a little bit this week so this post will be light on photos.
Work is winding up instead of winding down, and I guess I should have expected that. The Florida legislature goes into session on March 2, and my department’s leaders have been relentless with demands for data. Fortunately I work with a wonderful team of bright and creative analysts and, so far, we’ve been able to meet the demands.
But I feel too old for this. While my younger colleagues can enter data, format graphs, read and write emails, and carry on a conversation seemingly all at the same time, my brain and my body resist. It’s all I can do to keep from screaming, “STOP!” Instead, I ease tension by making snarky jokes about the powers-that-be. (What are they going to do? Fire me?) If I can make my team laugh, at least smile, I feel a little better.
I’m known (for better or for worse) for noting when the emperor is walking around naked. I’ve always been that way. I’ve always had a difficult time dealing with authority, clashing with anyone who tries to rule me. It’s one of the many reasons why it’s time for me to retire. I’m losing my ability to balance my innate distrust of authority with meeting that authority’s expectations of me to do as I’m told without question.
Meanwhile, as I noted above, the magnolias are blooming. These photos were taken on different days, one with some blue sky and sunshine, the other with the threat of imminent rain.
Redbuds are blooming too, making my husband a bit sad. He had planted a Redbud in our front yard many years ago but it never ever bloomed. Fortunately we have neighbors who have been much luckier. The photo below doesn’t do the Redbud tree justice, even after I tweaked it to bring out the color more. Trust me when I say I first gawked at the gorgeous color before taking the photo.
And I can’t overlook our resident hawk. This guy really likes this particular spot. Pretty much every time I come down that street, he’s hanging out, making the squirrels nervous. I call him Cool Hand Luke. I can stand directly under him (but off to the side to avoid being pooped on), and he pays me no mind.
In my own humble backyard, a bromeliad that a coworker gave me a couple of years ago is now three bromeliads and is flowering for the second time.
I’ve never had a bromeliad before so this plant is a new experience for me. I’m hoping the flower will expand more. The first bloom did not.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of neighborhood nature. On the cat containment front, things are pretty mellow. Raji hangs out with all of us from morning until night. Junior still bullies him but Raji just rolls with it (sometimes literally). He keeps trying to play chase with Wendy but she thinks his sideways galloping is too weird. Maxine just wants to be left alone, as usual.
Recently Raji discovered one of Junior’s favorite spots.
Junior likes to rub his face against a small sandalwood bowl that I put in there for him. Well, now Raji does too. It probably pisses Junior off.
From me, my husband, and our Gang of Four, we hope you all stay well, safe and happy!
Before I get to Raji and cheating, I feel I should explain the math in my post titles. Originally I had planned to make February 4 my termination date, my last day with my employer. But when I told my husband that I had a month of vacation time saved up, he suggested March 4 for my termination date and that I take vacation time for the month of February. By the time I agreed with him, I was already writing these posts about my impending retirement. So I adjusted the math.
And guess what?! I’m not taking the month of February off because, you know, I’m not very assertive when it comes to my own needs. Sigh. Well, I’m taking February 9th off. There’s that. And I’ve got my eye on a few other days so there’s that too. And so that’s the math. Because I should be on vacation right now.
I’m not complaining though because soon I’ll be on vacation for the rest of my life.
Life with Raji is going so well now. He’s spending more and more time in our house. Junior, Maxine and Wendy all take turns hissing at him, but they are tolerating his presence more. He still sleeps in the garage and has most of his meals there. He loves our back porch, as you know.
These photos are from today (Sunday). Raji is straddling the arms of two patio chairs to get a better look at whatever may be lurking in our yard.
And this is what gives me hope.
Raji and Wendy on the porch at the same time, in full view of each other. Granted, I don’t think Wendy was thrilled to see Raji, but she didn’t hiss and didn’t run away.
Even better is this photo from earlier today. Coexisting on the same bed! Hallelujah!
We’ve started calling Raji the Tundra Tabby or Arctic Cat because he doesn’t seem to mind the cold. Our other three will all be nestled on the couch, curled up with their noses covered, and Raji will be on the porch, engaged in watching the birds and squirrels.
Now the cheating part of this blog is I don’t have any recent nature photos so I’m stealing some that my husband sent me during one of his rides in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
The photo on the left is the Pinhook River when the tide was out. The photo on the right is the Pinhook River a few hours later after the tide came in.
Sunset. Need I say more?
And sunset with bike.
I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed receiving them.
Raji and I and the rest of the crew wish you all well. Stay safe, healthy, and happy.
Marie at 1 Write Way 