A Plethora of Species

 I was standing on the porch, enjoying the low forties temperature, and watching the steam on the pond, when a calling red shoulder hawk caught may attention as it flew over. I glanced over to the bird feeder, and started examining the number of birds either at the feeder, on the adjacent tree, or on the power line. I was a little amazed. 

A single common grackle was in the feeder. Cardinals were waiting in the tree, along with pine buntings, and Inca doves. Blue jays soon came to chase away the grackle and feed. On the power line was a kingfisher, a starling, and a few bluebirds. Crows were out near the road, and the call of a red belly woodpecker told me it would soon be at the feeder. A few wading birds flew over, and although it wasn't there, the cormorant that feeds in the pond will probably arrive this afternoon.

We have a lot of species that gather in the yard during the colder months. It won't be real long before the cedar wax wings will arrive, along with the blue buntings. Carolina chickadees, and titmice will occasionally come to feed, along with a number of smaller brown species like wrens and sparrows. Meadowlarks come and go in the yard. In breeding season, they will make ground nests in the yard, which may yield a few fledglings that look like cotton balls on soda straws. 

Watching the birds is an enjoyment that's hard to describe. All are interesting, and have a purpose. Being where I can observe is a blessing.

Four Weeks

 I had the cyst removed from my wrist on Monday. Everything went well, and much better than any surgery I've had before. The anesthesiologist gets the attaboy for her better than good skills. Whatever she did didn't lead to hours of loopy behavior, and from a conversation before the surgery, she was sharper than many I've dealt with before. 

So, four weeks with a wrist brace, some super glue instead of stitches, and what appears to be a very healthy wound will lead to a return to normalcy. That's a good thing, because typing is a little awkward at this time.

Quick Deluge and Temperature Change

 This morning, it was mostly cloudy, light wind, and a temperature in the upper seventies. A quick trip to the nearest big town for errands was shortened due to spotty rain, and a look at the radar. After a stop on the way home, we ran into the leading edge of the front, and were soon twenty miles below the speed limit in poor visibility. This lasted all the way home, and road ditches were overflowing. 

The wind must have been ferocious for a short period of time, when the front first arrived. Pine straw, small branches, and leaves covered our road, and the water was running over in the usual spots. Arriving home showed the porch furniture had blown over, and the yard was flooded. 

After going in, checking everything out, and returning to the porch, I looked at the rain gauge. It was around four inches, and the rain was still much more than a sprinkle. Over the next hour, it tapered off; leaving a steady light rain, and a temperature around 60 degrees. 

There's still a steady rain, and the radar shows we'll have this over the next few hours. With the rain gauge now only about an inch from the top, I'm wondering if we'll end up with six inches before it's over.

Matters of Conscience and Logic

I read what I can. In my reading, I've found many articles about the inoculations currently being pushed for a virus that is widely accepted as being created in a laboratory. That, and how the inoculations have many undesirable side effects that can lead to death in some. There's tons of information on both sides of the push for inoculations, but the elephant in the room is how there's no legal consequences for those manufacturing the serums used for Covid 19, and all the variants. Regardless of the final outcome, those that may have, or not, reacted to the possibility of riches, or reacted to the threat of losing their employment, have a free pass to do just about anything without any punishment. This leads to a dead-end for compensation, or justice, unless you take it to the limits of what either mean. The courts of law are now closed to those harmed, and what will be the reaction when enough finally realize they only have themselves to find justice?

Medications usually take years of research, experiments, and trials before being accepted for human use. There are many reasons for the time required, but the most important is to determine the long term effects of introducing something into the human body. One of the most important effects to be studied is the effect on pregnancy, and the subsequent children born to the parents given the medication. If the medication causes defects, miscarriages, or sterility, the ultimate effect may be a substantial loss of humans due to attrition. If enough are treated, millions will be affected. 

I'm not a doctor, so I can't speak for the medical profession, but as a layman, with the material I can find for information, I don't see how a doctor could recommend - and much less prescribe - a medication that hasn't been tested enough to make a logical determination of the effectiveness, or of the long term undesirable side-effects. This takes years, and the current push for inoculations borders on madness, if not a willingness to exterminate millions for a reason incomprehensible to healthy thought. Those that were so quick to push the inoculations are now the focus of those harmed. Without the societal buffer of legal remedies, those that promoted what could possibly be near genocide become the focus of those wanting redress. 

So, we have some in society that want to disregard logic, and their conscience (if they have one), for whatever reason. Detractors to the narrative are ostracized, research that contradicts what is being presented as fact is ignored, or hidden, and the economies of the entire world are being destroyed by the efforts.

Time will eventually determine how this all ends. One thing is for sure: Liberty should never be traded for temporary safety, or removed because of the whims of those that can't be trusted. Most of all, making an effort to prevent this from happening again should be paramount in importance.  

Mild Days and Nights

 I was sitting on the front porch, listening to the sounds of the night, and thinking about the blessing of our current weather. Some are probably disappointed, and others not really noticing, but it's rare. 

Right now, at midnight, it's 72 degrees, with a pleasant wind out of the south. It's cloudy, but it's the thin stratus, which can turn into a heavy fog near daybreak. According to the wizards, we'll see this for the next three days, with breaks in the clouds and daytime temperatures around 80 for the highs. 

We've had a number of days with this type of weather, with cold fronts only breaking the cycle with a few days of colder weather. We haven't had a frost, and nothing even close to a freeze. I know might find it doesn't remind them much of the Christmas season, but digging into my past memories, this isn't a first for me, and we had a few, where the air condition was running to keep the kitchen from being too hot on Christmas day. 

I'll take this. It allows running around in shorts during the day, and pleasant evenings on the front porch without insects, and the beating sun. Sooner, or later, we'll receive a strong front, have days of blustery cold weather, and have the opportunity to complain about the cold. Until then, I'll enjoy the best our weather can offer, and sip my coffee on the front porch in a thin bathrobe.