Invasive species
23/4/25 08:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jhetleyTwo mourning doves under the feeder now. I expect endless coo-ah noise. Doves, mockingbirds, and the cardinals have extended their range in recent decades, disturbing the peace.
Days of future past
23/4/25 06:56jhetleyAir temperature 44 F, wind west about 5 mph, cloudy. Squirrels still gnawing away at the acorns paving our front yard. Hope the oak isn't as bountiful next fall -- that area is going to be dangerous when the mowers start to run. Projectiles.
Parental Unit News: the Short Version
22/4/25 22:15mousmeI am *wiped*, so you are getting the tl;dr version tonight and I will post a more detailed entry tomorrow.
1- My mother is fine, apart from a fine goose egg on her neck and an impressive blood stain on her bedroom carpet.
2- My father is less fine, but is home from the hospital. He has fucking Covid, because he seems to labour under the misapprehension that wearing your mask firmly under your chin is an effective strategy for avoiding infection. *headdesk* He has a bunch of stuff going on all at once (digestive, some sort of kidney/UTI thing, plus the 'rona) and has been given antibiotics to help fend off the infection, but nothing else of immediate major concern.
3- My mother, who has COPD/emphysema, is freaking out about potentially getting Covid, because she doesn't mask reliably either (the masks make her feel like she can't breathe, because of the aforementioned COPD, which as I understand it is quite common).
4- My father is NOT freaking out enough, and insists he wants to go grocery shopping with me tomorrow with his active case of Covid. *headdesk* He has been exasperated with my refusal to let him go spread infection around the city. *rolls eyes*
Luckily for me I have been masking the whole time around him with my N95 (well, not so much "lucky" as "fucking cautious") and I was vaccinated a few months ago, so the odds of my getting infected are much lower. Not zero, but lower. I've given them pointers on quarantining once I go back home (probably tomorrow), but I have little faith they will stick to the guidelines, so I've also been priming my mother on what to do if she starts feeling symptomatic. She already has a medical action plan from her pulmonologist, so this is just to reinforce that with her. She also did a rapid test at home today, which was negative, so that's something.
I am going to load them up with groceries and easy meals tomorrow morning, and then I have to go back to Ottawa to my very neglected night shifts.
Okay, detailed account tomorrow, I promise. Right now I am going to go pass the fuck out.
1- My mother is fine, apart from a fine goose egg on her neck and an impressive blood stain on her bedroom carpet.
2- My father is less fine, but is home from the hospital. He has fucking Covid, because he seems to labour under the misapprehension that wearing your mask firmly under your chin is an effective strategy for avoiding infection. *headdesk* He has a bunch of stuff going on all at once (digestive, some sort of kidney/UTI thing, plus the 'rona) and has been given antibiotics to help fend off the infection, but nothing else of immediate major concern.
3- My mother, who has COPD/emphysema, is freaking out about potentially getting Covid, because she doesn't mask reliably either (the masks make her feel like she can't breathe, because of the aforementioned COPD, which as I understand it is quite common).
4- My father is NOT freaking out enough, and insists he wants to go grocery shopping with me tomorrow with his active case of Covid. *headdesk* He has been exasperated with my refusal to let him go spread infection around the city. *rolls eyes*
Luckily for me I have been masking the whole time around him with my N95 (well, not so much "lucky" as "fucking cautious") and I was vaccinated a few months ago, so the odds of my getting infected are much lower. Not zero, but lower. I've given them pointers on quarantining once I go back home (probably tomorrow), but I have little faith they will stick to the guidelines, so I've also been priming my mother on what to do if she starts feeling symptomatic. She already has a medical action plan from her pulmonologist, so this is just to reinforce that with her. She also did a rapid test at home today, which was negative, so that's something.
I am going to load them up with groceries and easy meals tomorrow morning, and then I have to go back to Ottawa to my very neglected night shifts.
Okay, detailed account tomorrow, I promise. Right now I am going to go pass the fuck out.
Tags:
in some solitary midnight Starbucks Golgotha
22/4/25 19:18musesfoolToday's poem:
I Have News for You
There are people who do not see a broken playground swing
as a symbol of ruined childhood
and there are people who don't interpret the behavior
of a fly in a motel room as a mocking representation of their thought process.
There are people who don't walk past an empty swimming pool
and think about past pleasures unrecoverable
and then stand there blocking the sidewalk for other pedestrians.
I have read about a town somewhere in California where human beings
do not send their sinuous feeder roots
deep into the potting soil of others' emotional lives
as if they were greedy six-year-olds
sucking the last half-inch of milkshake up through a noisy straw;
and other persons in the Midwest who can kiss without
debating the imperialist baggage of heterosexuality.
Do you see that creamy, lemon-yellow moon?
There are some people, unlike me and you,
who do not yearn after fame or love or quantities of money as
unattainable as that moon;
thus, they do not later
have to waste more time
defaming the object of their former ardor.
Or consequently run and crucify themselves
in some solitary midnight Starbucks Golgotha.
I have news for you—
there are people who get up in the morning and cross a room
and open a window to let the sweet breeze in
and let it touch them all over their faces and bodies.
--Tony Hoagland
*
I Have News for You
There are people who do not see a broken playground swing
as a symbol of ruined childhood
and there are people who don't interpret the behavior
of a fly in a motel room as a mocking representation of their thought process.
There are people who don't walk past an empty swimming pool
and think about past pleasures unrecoverable
and then stand there blocking the sidewalk for other pedestrians.
I have read about a town somewhere in California where human beings
do not send their sinuous feeder roots
deep into the potting soil of others' emotional lives
as if they were greedy six-year-olds
sucking the last half-inch of milkshake up through a noisy straw;
and other persons in the Midwest who can kiss without
debating the imperialist baggage of heterosexuality.
Do you see that creamy, lemon-yellow moon?
There are some people, unlike me and you,
who do not yearn after fame or love or quantities of money as
unattainable as that moon;
thus, they do not later
have to waste more time
defaming the object of their former ardor.
Or consequently run and crucify themselves
in some solitary midnight Starbucks Golgotha.
I have news for you—
there are people who get up in the morning and cross a room
and open a window to let the sweet breeze in
and let it touch them all over their faces and bodies.
--Tony Hoagland
*
Tags:
Regarding Earth Day
22/4/25 06:58jhetleyWe still have stashed away, a bumper sticker from the first iteration that proclaims:
"The Pollution You Breathe May Be Your Own"
Remains true.
"The Pollution You Breathe May Be Your Own"
Remains true.
Gradual greening
22/4/25 06:50jhetleyAir temperature 41 F, wind south 9 mph gusting to 18, fog at the airport station but cloudy here. Roads are wet, cars don't have wipers going. Should be able to forage later.
Night Shift and Aging Parent Woes
21/4/25 21:12mousmeRemind me to stop doing favours for coworkers and taking over their entire night shifts for them. ;) Actually, I don't really mind all that much, but the first night shift always feels rough. I have to leave in a little over an hour in order to get there on time, and at least this week I'm working the early night shift, which means I'll be getting home early enough in the morning to get a fair bit of sleep in before the light and heat of the afternoon kick in. It's less of an issue right now while the weather is still reasonably cool, but it's been getting hotter earlier with every passing year, so I am not super optimistic about the temperatures in May. I can't have air conditioning in my room anymore, which thoroughly sucks, so if the temperature climbs anywhere past 25 Celsius it's not a good time for sleeping. At least there is A/C in the new house, so starting in June I won't have to worry about that.
My mother called me this evening to let me know that after yesterday's little passing out incident, my father woke up completely exhausted this morning. She rightfully insisted that he go to the emergency room, and contacted my godparents for help. My godfather drove them there, and they are keeping my father overnight to run a bunch of tests. It's not an emergency yet, but I am poised to pack a bag and drive to Montreal if I need to this week. It's been nearly three years since his stroke, but he's still at risk for any number of things. I am extremely concerned that his pattern of go-go-go-collapse is going to have some pretty catastrophic consequences. My mother is very dependent on him for most of their everyday functioning, because she doesn't walk well and has really shitty eyesight, and she has a lot of anxiety about going out by herself, even with her cane. So if he becomes incapacitated, they won't be able to live independently.
You know, on a hunch I just called here, and it turns out she fell and split open her head on a chair, and is refusing medical help. FML. I have convinced her to call my aunt (my paternal uncle's wife) who is a retired nurse. At the very least she might be able to talk some sense into her. For fuck's sake.
I am going to cut short this post and see if I can call out of work for family-related emergency. I think I need to drive to Montreal and take care of this.
My mother called me this evening to let me know that after yesterday's little passing out incident, my father woke up completely exhausted this morning. She rightfully insisted that he go to the emergency room, and contacted my godparents for help. My godfather drove them there, and they are keeping my father overnight to run a bunch of tests. It's not an emergency yet, but I am poised to pack a bag and drive to Montreal if I need to this week. It's been nearly three years since his stroke, but he's still at risk for any number of things. I am extremely concerned that his pattern of go-go-go-collapse is going to have some pretty catastrophic consequences. My mother is very dependent on him for most of their everyday functioning, because she doesn't walk well and has really shitty eyesight, and she has a lot of anxiety about going out by herself, even with her cane. So if he becomes incapacitated, they won't be able to live independently.
You know, on a hunch I just called here, and it turns out she fell and split open her head on a chair, and is refusing medical help. FML. I have convinced her to call my aunt (my paternal uncle's wife) who is a retired nurse. At the very least she might be able to talk some sense into her. For fuck's sake.
I am going to cut short this post and see if I can call out of work for family-related emergency. I think I need to drive to Montreal and take care of this.
Tags:
this picnic is no picnic
21/4/25 18:08musesfoolMonday miscellany:
- So what are the odds we get an antipope this time in addition to a pope?
- Sepinwall gave season 2 of Andor a good review (minor spoilers, I guess) - the first 3 episodes drop tomorrow and it sounds like they are doing 3 episodes a week for 4 weeks, as each one comprises a mini-arc. Trying not to get spoiled on the internet is sure to be a nightmare.
- I haven't done the AO3 stats meme regularly since 2018 because not much changes in my top 10. In 2021, however, I made note of some up-and-comers in the 11-20 slots, and it turns out that as of 4/20/25, Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (i.e., the one where Dick convinces Jason to stop killing through the power of hugs) has crept into the top 10 by hits - it's number 9! (It looks like Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough) (the Steve/Bucky remix AU where Steve finds Bucky working as a barista) is the one that fell out of the top 10.)
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc also made inroads into the top 10 by kudos, landing at number 5! Additionally, 2 Star Wars stories also found their way into the top 10 by kudos: There's Still Time to Change the Road You're On (in which Anakin time travels to the post-RotJ era and meets his kids) at 6, and deep as a secret nobody knows (AU where Leia tells Vader she's Padme's daughter and it changes everything) at number 8!
The 3 Avengers stories that dropped are again, Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough), plus Even a Miracle Needs a Hand (Clint/Darcy fake Christmas boyfriend), and with the lights out, it's less dangerous (Steve/Bucky, then and now).
According to these posts, I did not previously do the full list by comments, but I will note the appearance of deep as a secret nobody knows at number 3 on the comments list, and another Vader-and-Leia AU, Just a Little Bit of History Repeating, at number 10, with the VMars/Avengers crossover we travel without seatbelts on sitting pretty at number 7.
So I guess given enough time, these things CAN change.
- Today's poem:
Nothing Will Warn You
by Stephen Dunn
Nothing will warn you,
not even the promise of severe weather
or the threats of neighbors muttered
under their breath, unheard by the sonar
in you that no longer functions.
You'll be expecting blue skies, perhaps
a picnic at which you'll be anticipating
a reward for being the best handler
of raw meat in a county known
for its per capita cases of salmonella.
You'll have no memory of those women
with old grievances nor will you guess
that small bulge in one of their purses
could be a derringer. You'll be opening
a cold one, thinking this is the life,
this is the very life I've always wanted.
Nothing will warn you,
no one will blurt out that this picnic
is no picnic, the clouds in the west
will be darkly billowing toward you,
and you will not hear your neighbors'
conspiratorial whispers. You'll be
readying yourself to tell the joke
no one has ever laughed at, the joke
someone would have told you by now
is only funny if told on yourself, but no one
has ever liked you enough to say so.
Even your wife never warned you.
***
- So what are the odds we get an antipope this time in addition to a pope?
- Sepinwall gave season 2 of Andor a good review (minor spoilers, I guess) - the first 3 episodes drop tomorrow and it sounds like they are doing 3 episodes a week for 4 weeks, as each one comprises a mini-arc. Trying not to get spoiled on the internet is sure to be a nightmare.
- I haven't done the AO3 stats meme regularly since 2018 because not much changes in my top 10. In 2021, however, I made note of some up-and-comers in the 11-20 slots, and it turns out that as of 4/20/25, Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (i.e., the one where Dick convinces Jason to stop killing through the power of hugs) has crept into the top 10 by hits - it's number 9! (It looks like Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough) (the Steve/Bucky remix AU where Steve finds Bucky working as a barista) is the one that fell out of the top 10.)
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc also made inroads into the top 10 by kudos, landing at number 5! Additionally, 2 Star Wars stories also found their way into the top 10 by kudos: There's Still Time to Change the Road You're On (in which Anakin time travels to the post-RotJ era and meets his kids) at 6, and deep as a secret nobody knows (AU where Leia tells Vader she's Padme's daughter and it changes everything) at number 8!
The 3 Avengers stories that dropped are again, Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough), plus Even a Miracle Needs a Hand (Clint/Darcy fake Christmas boyfriend), and with the lights out, it's less dangerous (Steve/Bucky, then and now).
According to these posts, I did not previously do the full list by comments, but I will note the appearance of deep as a secret nobody knows at number 3 on the comments list, and another Vader-and-Leia AU, Just a Little Bit of History Repeating, at number 10, with the VMars/Avengers crossover we travel without seatbelts on sitting pretty at number 7.
So I guess given enough time, these things CAN change.
- Today's poem:
Nothing Will Warn You
by Stephen Dunn
Nothing will warn you,
not even the promise of severe weather
or the threats of neighbors muttered
under their breath, unheard by the sonar
in you that no longer functions.
You'll be expecting blue skies, perhaps
a picnic at which you'll be anticipating
a reward for being the best handler
of raw meat in a county known
for its per capita cases of salmonella.
You'll have no memory of those women
with old grievances nor will you guess
that small bulge in one of their purses
could be a derringer. You'll be opening
a cold one, thinking this is the life,
this is the very life I've always wanted.
Nothing will warn you,
no one will blurt out that this picnic
is no picnic, the clouds in the west
will be darkly billowing toward you,
and you will not hear your neighbors'
conspiratorial whispers. You'll be
readying yourself to tell the joke
no one has ever laughed at, the joke
someone would have told you by now
is only funny if told on yourself, but no one
has ever liked you enough to say so.
Even your wife never warned you.
***
Ghost moon over walk
21/4/25 10:30jhetleyOne of the many forsythia bushes on my morning's route *may* have its first blossoms opening. Yellow spots among the brownish gray. Our personal forsythia doesn't look like it will put out much color -- buds look like leaves, not flowers. No cat friends, no mockingbirds mocking.
Patriots Day (observed)
21/4/25 06:46jhetleyAir temperature 35 F, wind west about 6 mph, sunny. Marathon Day in Boston, along with a ball game. I will react to current trends the way I usually do, by taking a walk. Maybe some more yard work, if my aged body will support such toil.
About that wind . . .
20/4/25 22:13jhetleyMaine utilities had over 13,000 power outages this afternoon. This is just wind-related, no snow or ice or flooding.
Ups and downs
20/4/25 20:16mousmePixie was much improved this morning. She was excited to get out of her kennel and was even more excited to have some plain rice to eat as a snack. Said rice and water stayed where they were supposed to, and while she's not back up to 100% demon spawn levels of energy, she was pretty bouncy all day and counter-surfed, tried to climb the cat tree, and resumed her vigil by the basement gate in case I decided to let her downstairs to eat the quail. So I think she's pretty much on the mend, although I intend to stick to plain rice for at least another day to be on the safe side.
I was the Greeter for Quaker Meeting today, and it went well. We've had some ruffled feathers in the Meeting of late, because everyone is very much on edge from, well, everything. *gestures broadly* The constitutional crisis in the US, innocent people getting deported to what is essentially a concentration camp in El Salvador (technically it's a prison, but the pictures from there are horrific, with men packed in like sardines, sometimes 80 to a cell, having to sleep standing up, etc.). This is not to say that I believe guilty people should be sent there either. No one, regardless of their status, should be sent to a place like that. Not even the worst, most horrific offenders, because that place is a horror show and even the worst criminals who have committed the most heinous crimes must be treated with a minimum of dignity, because they are human beings.
There's also the Canadian federal election coming up on April 28th. KK and I went to the advance polls today and cast our ballots. There were very few people there today, but CTV news reported that 2 million Canadians went to vote in advance on Friday, which is apparently a record! This is very encouraging indeed. I went over to the Elections Canada website, and of our population of 38,131,104 people, we have 27,642,171 people eligible to vote (i.e. citizens who are 18 years old or older and not the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada). From what I can see we've had a voter turnout that hovers in the 60% range, give or take, for the past 30 years, so I'd love to see more voter engagement this time around. I think I've missed one election in my adult life, although I don't remember which one it was. I have forbears who died for my right to vote, so I'm not about to squander it.
I just had a quick Skype call with my parents, and my mother immediately ratted out my father who apparently passed out today. He tried to blow it off, but I was not having it. I have extricated a promise from him to go see a doctor about it tomorrow. My father had a stroke nearly three years ago, and even though he was very lucky and came out of it with no ill effects, that still puts him at risk for another one. He said he wasn't feeling sick or dizzy, he just lost consciousness for a few seconds. *beats head against the nearest wall* Both my parents are terrible patients, and they tend to be noncompliant with a lot of the treatments they are prescribed as well. To say I am worried about this would be a fucking understatement. I reminded my mother that she had agreed with me that it would be a good idea to get a Life Alert button (or an equivalent, but honestly my research showed that Life Alert is one of the more comprehensive service providers out there), and she once again agreed with me. I don't think I can count on her to get one because I don't think she has the wherewithal to go through the whole process, and my father is pretty resistant to the idea at all. I don't know if I can convince both of them to go through with it, but I am damned well going to try.
Having aging parents is a LOT, y'all.
Okay. I am going to go do a last check on the quail, and then go to bed. I changed out their bedding today (it was *gross*), and they are super happy. They dug and scratched and floofed their feathers and made little nests in the pine shavings and made happy quail noises. It was absolutely adorable. They also laid two more eggs, which is awesome. I think tomorrow I will finally be making a recipe using the quail eggs, now that I have a full dozen (meaning the equivalent of about four chicken eggs).
Catch you on the flip side, friends!
I was the Greeter for Quaker Meeting today, and it went well. We've had some ruffled feathers in the Meeting of late, because everyone is very much on edge from, well, everything. *gestures broadly* The constitutional crisis in the US, innocent people getting deported to what is essentially a concentration camp in El Salvador (technically it's a prison, but the pictures from there are horrific, with men packed in like sardines, sometimes 80 to a cell, having to sleep standing up, etc.). This is not to say that I believe guilty people should be sent there either. No one, regardless of their status, should be sent to a place like that. Not even the worst, most horrific offenders, because that place is a horror show and even the worst criminals who have committed the most heinous crimes must be treated with a minimum of dignity, because they are human beings.
There's also the Canadian federal election coming up on April 28th. KK and I went to the advance polls today and cast our ballots. There were very few people there today, but CTV news reported that 2 million Canadians went to vote in advance on Friday, which is apparently a record! This is very encouraging indeed. I went over to the Elections Canada website, and of our population of 38,131,104 people, we have 27,642,171 people eligible to vote (i.e. citizens who are 18 years old or older and not the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada). From what I can see we've had a voter turnout that hovers in the 60% range, give or take, for the past 30 years, so I'd love to see more voter engagement this time around. I think I've missed one election in my adult life, although I don't remember which one it was. I have forbears who died for my right to vote, so I'm not about to squander it.
I just had a quick Skype call with my parents, and my mother immediately ratted out my father who apparently passed out today. He tried to blow it off, but I was not having it. I have extricated a promise from him to go see a doctor about it tomorrow. My father had a stroke nearly three years ago, and even though he was very lucky and came out of it with no ill effects, that still puts him at risk for another one. He said he wasn't feeling sick or dizzy, he just lost consciousness for a few seconds. *beats head against the nearest wall* Both my parents are terrible patients, and they tend to be noncompliant with a lot of the treatments they are prescribed as well. To say I am worried about this would be a fucking understatement. I reminded my mother that she had agreed with me that it would be a good idea to get a Life Alert button (or an equivalent, but honestly my research showed that Life Alert is one of the more comprehensive service providers out there), and she once again agreed with me. I don't think I can count on her to get one because I don't think she has the wherewithal to go through the whole process, and my father is pretty resistant to the idea at all. I don't know if I can convince both of them to go through with it, but I am damned well going to try.
Having aging parents is a LOT, y'all.
Okay. I am going to go do a last check on the quail, and then go to bed. I changed out their bedding today (it was *gross*), and they are super happy. They dug and scratched and floofed their feathers and made little nests in the pine shavings and made happy quail noises. It was absolutely adorable. They also laid two more eggs, which is awesome. I think tomorrow I will finally be making a recipe using the quail eggs, now that I have a full dozen (meaning the equivalent of about four chicken eggs).
Catch you on the flip side, friends!
Tags:
The blustery day
20/4/25 11:14jhetleyWalk achieved/survived. Wind 26 mph gusting to 47 at the airport. No cat friends, few birds. Though I did hear a song sparrow tweeting defiance from his firm grip inside a hedge. Spring does advance, slowly -- have flower buds showing on our tulips.
Not deported yet
20/4/25 06:55jhetleyAir temperature 47 F, wind northwest 26 mph gusting to 46, partly cloudy. Temperature was in the mid-50s F when I got up, so the trend is negative. No point in trying to do more yard cleanup today. Should be able to survive a walk.
Oops! Almost missed my update today.
19/4/25 23:31mousmeI completely forgot that I hadn't made a post today. In my defense, I've been preoccupied. Yesterday KK told me that Pixie had vomited a couple of times, and when I got home there was more puke on the stairs. She ate her dinner seemingly without issue, but all evening she was restless and couldn't quite settle and kept whining intermittently. When I put her to bed in her kennel, she vomited again almost immediately, and then spent the rest of the night puking. So neither she nor I got much sleep. It sucked.
Today she spent the morning trying to drink her weight in water and then throwing it up in a passable imitation of a really malodourous Niagara Falls. We finally had to leash her to prevent her from drinking too much, too fast, and she spent most of the day being the picture of misery. She kept trying to lie down under KK's desk until we figured out that she wanted to sleep on the blanket that KK keeps there. We actually have a bunch of blankets specifically for the dogs, so I pulled one out for her and she immediately curled up on it and went to sleep.
She's shown no interest at all in food all day, so I've made her an appointment at the vet on Monday. Hopefully she'll be better by then, but better safe than sorry. I don't think we're at the point yet where it warrants a trip to the emergency vet, but we'll see how she does tomorrow.
It is long past time for me to go to bed. Catch you on the flip side, friends!
Today she spent the morning trying to drink her weight in water and then throwing it up in a passable imitation of a really malodourous Niagara Falls. We finally had to leash her to prevent her from drinking too much, too fast, and she spent most of the day being the picture of misery. She kept trying to lie down under KK's desk until we figured out that she wanted to sleep on the blanket that KK keeps there. We actually have a bunch of blankets specifically for the dogs, so I pulled one out for her and she immediately curled up on it and went to sleep.
She's shown no interest at all in food all day, so I've made her an appointment at the vet on Monday. Hopefully she'll be better by then, but better safe than sorry. I don't think we're at the point yet where it warrants a trip to the emergency vet, but we'll see how she does tomorrow.
It is long past time for me to go to bed. Catch you on the flip side, friends!
Tags: