Month: January 2021

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 …

The snow this week awakened memories.  

Earlier in the week it was snowing lightly as I went out to close in the chickens one evening and I found myself just standing there watching the flakes drift down against the backdrop of evergreens.  I almost felt like crying, remembering all the times I’d walked this land during snow.

I remember the year our road closed the day after Christmas and didn’t open again until the second week in March (we were the only ones living this far out).  I remember the times the snow was so deep that you weren’t able to see out the windows on the north side of the house.  I remember the year friends came out on snowmobiles to get Mark and Michael to take them into town so they could go to school.  We didn’t see the boys for over two weeks.  I remember watching George on the big crawler tractor working to open the ten foot deep drift in the road just outside our driveway entrance.  I remember snowshoeing across Eddy Creek over to the neighbor’s place to check their water lines because they had forgotten to shut them off when they left for the winter.  I remember having to go looking for the milk cow because the snow buried the fence and she just wandered out.  I remember the glory of evergreen branches dressed in snow looking like Christmas cards.  I remember the stillness of falling snow.  I remember fields of diamonds when the sun came out on new snow.  I remember the taste of flakes on my tongue.  I remember another time neighbors from across Old Stage Road came out on snowmobiles to deliver religious pamphlets and to see if we needed anything.  I remember snow swirling outside the windows while we snugged next to the woodstove where a pot of soup was simmering.  I remember one time setting out with the boys (me leading followed by Mark with Michael in the rear) to see if the summer house down the road was okay and getting only about a hundred feet down the road before the snow was hip deep and I couldn’t push through any further so we managed to turn around and get back to the house.  We got the snowshoes soon after that.  I remember laughing while watching the boys and the dog(s) doing all the things boys and dogs do in snow.  I remember the year the top broke off the birch tree with a load of heavy, wet snow.  I remember the year a cousin came to visit, went cross country skiing without sunglasses, and wound up sun blind in the emergency department.  I remember George digging and packing steps up from the level of the front walk (after digging the three feet of snow off the walk) to the top of the snow so we could pound down a path to the barn and then doing the same thing out back in order to get out to the television dish to clear it of snow so we could watch PBS.  Those were the days of those really big tv dishes and he had to bend down to shovel the snow since his feet were on a level with the horn in the middle about six feet off the ground.  I remember snow sticking to the icicles on the north side of the house so they were fuzzy rather than crystal.  I remember …

That evening I caught only a couple of flakes on my tongue.  The snowfall was too light.  I thought they might well be the last flakes I ever catch what with climate change (it’s been years since we’ve had real snows) and with my pending new life now that I’m a widow.

Then saturday morning, in spite of the small amount of snow on the ground, my grandson was out with Siku.  I watched from my window as they romped, arms swinging and tail wagging.  Paul is growing so fast … and I am adding memories.

However, A blizzard hit mid-morning yesterday.  It is turning into the kind of snows we used to have.  By tuesday evening it was about a foot deep and the wind was fierce so drifts were forming.  Kamille made it all the way home until she encountered the drift that forms where our driveway meets the road.  Mark had to take the pick-up out to pull her free.  This morning both she and Paul are schooling from home … he with his regular routine, she doing her TA support for the autistic boy with whom she’s been working for two and a half years.

Hwy I-5 is closed from Redding north and parts in Oregon are closed as well.  This is a storm like we were used to having regularly back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  I still don’t seem to be able to post pictures here … yet … but I will post some on Facebook.  My account is “Wilma Dibelka”.

This morning it is still snowing, but the wind has died down.

~~~

Along with who knows how many millions of others, I watched the swearing in ceremonies last week.  It was nice to see three of the 5 past presidents there paying honor to the position.  I can understand the reasons neither of the others were there … one too old to risk weather and the virus and the other one …

I had to leave right after the swearing in because wednesday is my day for chores.  But was able to catch up later.  Rather inspiring …

This wednesday I ain’t goin’ nowhere.

~~~

As usual, my reading has been of mysteries, my form of comfort/easy reading.  The latest one was another Maisie Dobbs post-WWI with the usual engrossing descriptions of 1930s London and counties (shires) south and east.

It made me think of the pack of maps I have from when George’s Dad was in the last 100 days of that war.  I may have mentioned the maps before.  They are old (more than 100 years) and fragile.  I offered them to the World War I museum in Missouri, but they won’t take them without receiving pictures first.  And I’m leery of trying to spread them out to take pictures.  I’m not a restorer and don’t know how to handle them properly.

Mark and I had been able to look at one, but put it back right away (that was before I got the request for pictures).  Have I already told you this?  If so … sorry.   

The one we looked at was a map, in German, of the German armament placements during that final battle.

But the reason I’m writing about these WWI relics (again?) is the book I just finished reading.  It dealt with British cartographers during the war.  So I’m thinking of contacting the author and asking if she knows any place which might appreciate these maps and treat them well.  She does rather deep research and so might have a lead for me.

~~~

Chicken hours are getting strange.  I let them out about 0800 when it gets a bit warmer and close them in after 1700 when it is dark enough for them to be back in their house. 

We are down to fourteen hens now.  The one who had been broody began acting ill … staying on the floor rather than on the roost or in a nest … all fluffed up, not eating and I assume not drinking.  Years ago I might have taken her into the house and tried to take care of her.  But this time I wished her well, set food and water where she could reach it “if”, and made her as comfortable as I could given I had no way to tell how she was feeling (she wasn’t talking at all).  She passed so I wished her well and took her out to the old garden area to return her to the ground.

I hadn’t gone out yesterday evening. I had made sure their feeder was full that morning so I wasn’t worried.  Mark went out this morning.  The snow is thigh deep for him.  I would have had a tough time.

Now, with COVID restrictions, there aren’t places to distribute eggs and even with a diminished flock we have more than enough eggs for the family … fourteen hens are plenty.

~~~

Last monday I finally got to see the eye doctor for my “annual” check-up.  It had been two years.  

My eyes are still in excellent condition for someone my age.  Two years ago they were both 20/20.  Today the left is still 20/20 but the right is now 20/25.  I was told I am developing what is called a secondary cataract.  The doctor explained what is happening and told me to just keep close watch for any changes.  He also said this condition responds well to laser treatment.  Everything else (retina, macula, glaucoma, etc.) is great.  

Next appointment … January next year.

~~~

Last thursday Mark and family did a BIG burn pile with household discards and the tree trimmings from the fire prevention clearing he has been doing.  He sited the pile over a stump, which he plans to remove, in order to get it burned down so it will be easier to pull.  That stump was still burning when the blizzard hit but was not a problem because it is in the center of the burned area.

I’d be willing to bet this snow has put it out since we haven’t seen a melt spot so far.

That made me think about how most people don’t understand that when a wildfire is 100% contained doesn’t mean the fire is out.  That is why the mop-up operations after a major fire always take several days, even weeks.

~~~

I was recently rereading a book which had been a favorite of middle son Michael (Illusions by Richard Bach) and came across this …

Learning is finding out what you already know.  Doing is demonstrating that you know it.  Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you.

We are all learners, doers, and teachers.     –D. Shimoda

 So … ‘til next week …  

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 …

Inauguration Day … and most everyone is on edge.  

DC was occupied by security forces two days in advance due to threats.  There is even a suggestion of insider attacks.  

But a solemn occasion.  I was teary listening to the oaths taken and remembering the behavior of the last man to take that same oath.

The first of these ceremonies I remember, however vaguely, was when Truman was sworn in, without any pomp, when Roosevelt died.  Of course no internet etc. so we listened on the radio and waited for the movie newsreel.  And now another memory.

May we all be blessed.

~~~

On March 20th of last year there were 60 US deaths from COVID.  Today the toll is over 4 hundred thousand.  Thirteen deaths in this very sparsely populated county.  More cows, chickens, hogs, deer, cougars, and who knows what else here than there are people.

Vaccines are being administered to healthcare personnel and those over 65 at a drive thru clinic at the fairgrounds in Yreka next saturday.

I don’t usually go to Yreka much and so I think I’ll wait until my local health clinic gets a supply.  I’m not away from home much so my danger of exposure is low.

~~~

Last thursday was St. Hilary’s Day, in British tradition, the coldest day of the year.  Something to do with a heavy frost sometime in the 11th century although St Hilary was a French Bishop in the 4th or 5th century.

Here it started out at 34º.  The snow was all gone.  Only icy spots left where shade is day-long this time of year.

High for the day was at about 1400 … 56º.

So much for tradition.  But here the coldest month has usually been February.  We shall see.

This morning the low was 25º at 0600, but the sun is now shining.

~~~

A week now since the attack on the Capitol.  Seeing the entire Capitol under lockdown … all roads closed to general traffic … razor wire topping tall fences everywhere … folding chairs set two by two six feet apart on the lawn facing the Capitol Building … Secret Service, National Guard, Military Police, and who knows who else everywhere the camera looked … three past Presidents in attendance … snow turning to sunshine … maybe the Nation will be ready to get back to the pomp and celebration of eight years ago by time for the next inauguration.

~~~

Book report next week and more.  For now, stay safe … 

By ignoring, rationalizing, denying, and justifying our nasty motivations and unkind behavior, and that of others, we feel worse in the long run, not better. A tremendous sense of relief comes when we can be honest.

 So … ‘til next week … 

Wednesdays are my days in town.

Last week I had left for my rounds after last week’s blog had been posted a bit before 1000PST.  I stopped by the bank, collected fresh produce to replenish the pantry, picked up a senior lunch in Mt Shasta, gathered Paul from the church where his father was doing some Deacon work, did some shopping (Ray’s), picked up some chicken feed, did some more shopping (Grocery Outlet), went by the library drive thru to get the books being held for me, and got home around 1700.  Mark was busy fixing dinner and had his phone radio (?) on as he does when he is cooking … but he wasn’t listening to (watching?) one of the shows he usually has on.  I wondered at that, but didn’t ask. 

Then live reporting about the ratification process of the electoral votes caught my ear and I turned to him, probably with a quizzical look on my face.  It was after 1700 PST which would be 2000 EST which seemed a bit late for Congress to still be dealing with that duty.  I must have said something like “Are they still at it?” because he said “Haven’t you heard?”

He then brought me up to time on the rioting invasion of the Capitol building.

Flabbergasted doesn’t begin to describe my reaction.  I am still trying to sort out all I heard and am still hearing.

I remember seeing my Daddy cry while listening to the reports from Pearl Harbor … an attack by a foreign power.  This was an attack by Americans … by some professing to be doing G-d’s work …  by armed combatants prepared to take prisoners.  

I still have no words to describe how I felt and to a certain extent still feel.

The pictures were horrifying.  I couldn’t imagine it was true.  

I continue to be horrified by the fact that so many Americans support the attack, feel those desecrators were justified, are using weird statements of support for the lies told in the past (like a statement from some small place in Italy that they have proof the election was fraudulent), and are continuing to accept lies told by the President.  Some of those Americans are people I know and knew them to be good, honest, moral people … at least in my interactions with them … but who continue supporting a President inciting sedition and terrorism and those acting on the President’s instructions.  I thought I knew the people I know would never approve of amoral, corrupt, traitorous behavior. 

At least I thought I knew …

I can’t grasp the idea that someone I thought I knew is not only not one of the silent Germans (to use an all too obvious analogy) who stood by watching while doing nothing but is actually, however obliquely, declaring themselves to be a supporter of sedition.  As Arnold Swartzneger, who experienced the fallout from the original night of infamy, has said …

“6 January was our kristallnacht”. 

I have now been alive through two blatant, destructive attacks on our democratic Republic … one foreign and one domestic.

I am angry … I am disappointed … I am amazed …  I am confused … I am frightened … I am hopeful … I am disillusioned …  I am sad … 

~~~

Even the weather has been sad.  It rained , hard, all day yesterday and it has been windy and rainy already this morning.  The Eddys to our south are in clouds.

~~~

 There are those who are up-in-arms at the “censorship” of the President and his followers.  They cite the “Freedom of speech” amendment.  It is my understanding that treason and incitement to riot are exempted from that “Freedom”.  

I think the following statement is appropo in reference to the “censorship” being decried.  I weep for the souls of those being denied a platform. As is said …

Writing is the shaping of letters to represent spoken words which, in turn, represent what is in the soul.     The Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun

As I write this, the US House of Representatives is acting on a bill to impeach based in part on the President’s words, both written and spoken.

So … ‘til next week … 

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 … 357k US dead as of yesterday.

According to Newsweek, “the best thing about 2021 will simply be that it isn’t 2020”. 

~~~

The wheel of the year has begun it’s rotation.  Today is Epiphany, Wise Men’s Day.  That brings back some memories.

When we had small children in the house, George and I would set up a creche before Christmas, usually when the Christmas tree went up, but without the Baby.  Then on Christmas morning, one of us would make sure the Baby was in the manger by the time the boys came down for opening gifts, but no Wise Men anywhere.  During the day, the Wise Men would be set up someplace in the house (the boys would help select the starting place) and each day until Epiphany they would be moved closer to the creche until, on the morning of the Twelfth Day of Christmas, they would arrive at the manger.  Each day would provide a chance to retell part of the Christmas story.

I had memorized the Luke version when I was attending church with my Nana, and I can still recite it along with any reading.

Later, when we were living in Northridge, Christmas with family/families became complicated.  When did we go to Grandpa and Grandma Tyler’s?  When to Grandmother and Pop Dibelka’s?  When did they come to us?  When did we open gifts … Santa’s on Christmas morning and the grandparents’ when we were with them? 

So we decided to try establishing a new tradition.  Gifts from family, other than our immediate family, would be opened when we were with those from whom we received the gifts.  Gifts from Santa would be opened Christmas morning, before breakfast and leaving for the grandparent house for which we were headed (or when they arrived at our house).  But gifts within the family (George, the boys, and me) would not be brought out of hiding until the Wise Men and their gifts arrived at the manger.

It was a good idea, but we started too late.  It was not a success and lasted very few years (three or four as I recall).  By the time we started, the long-practiced traditions were already too strongly entrenched to be changed.

Oh well …

So now we are in Epiphanytide which will last until 2 February (Candlemas/Imbolc) when Lent starts.  Then it will be time for everything purple, green, and gold.

~~~

Weather has been a real mix … rain, wind, snow, ice … name it, we had it.  All the colour, with the exception of the brown pine needles and the year’round evergreen, is gone from the land.  It is a quiet time.

The latest snow is nearly gone but there is ice under the patches which are still on the ground.  As a consequence, I use an old ski pole when going to and from the chicken house.  

At 90+ it is unwise to risk a fall.

~~~

Am playing tag-your-turn with one of the County librarians.  We are currently reading a couple of series (one mystery and one fantasy).  I’m a book ahead of her so I let her know when I’ve finished and am returning the book so she can have her turn.  

Rather a strange set-up, but it seems to be working.

And I just ran across a new series about England in the time of the Tudors.  First book about Catherine Howard.  Second based around Elizabeth I.  Historical fiction.

My problem is … do I binge on them all in a row, or do I space the enjoyment out so the series lasts longer?

~~~

Last week I mentioned the electronic drum set Paul received.  It triggered memories for two readers.  One whose father got so tired of the noise he slashed the drum head “to let out the demon or whatever which was making all the racket”.  The other who played in a group during his younger days and is now thinking of finding a way to get back to playing drums.

Drummers and bassmen … gaga time for me.

~~~

I recently had an interesting head-on with hypocrisy.

In November she labeled me “toxic” and “destructive” in my role with a group to which we both belonged, so I eventually decided to withdraw rather than risk constant confrontations. Yesterday I received a letter signed by the same woman (who has replaced me in my role with the group) which states “Due to your many years of participation in and your extensive knowledge of the organization, … you have been a true asset and are greatly valued and appreciated. (We) will always be indebted to you for your service and your countless contributions over decades.” 

I have not made the November labeling common knowledge (nor my attempts at apology in order to smooth the situation, all of which were rejected). I gave a vague reason when I resigned, having decided it might truly be destructive and no longer worth my time to continue, so she and I are the only ones who know the comparison.  

As I have said before … I have little trouble forgiving.  My problem comes with forgetting.

Oh well …

~~~

Found this on the blog of an author I follow.  Not a quote of hers, but from her own reading.  Thought  it was worth repeating.

” Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break, and all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So … Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”      – L.R. Knost

So … ‘til next week …