7/10

ATCHING SOME SCI-FI

Im done for the day.,

Second day in a row I went out birding and hiking and to heck with the stuff I should be doing.  That stuff can wait...while the sun is out I want to enjoy it.  We had 11 inches of rain since Jan 1 of this year.  That's not counting all the rain we had last fall and in December.  I tried to find that data and never could get a simple answer or find it..

I took off early to Sandhills, well after the frost was off my windshield...reminds me on Saturday when I went to Bear Island, I had to scrape ice off my windshield...well I tried, my scraper is useless...so I must get a new one.  This is the same one I used in NYC so it's old...heck Ive been back 14 years nearly.  

Anyways it was a chilly day I had intended to go to a different place but the wind and the cold changed my mind.  That place you park you car and hit the trails, and I know I was going to need to rewarm often so I changed to Sandhills so I could drive to various areas and get out and walk around till I got cold then warm up and move to another spot..

I mainly stayed in one area, and birded all sides of it...so I did a fair amount of walking.  Had another owl today! At the photo blind, there is a wood duck box and I heard a little coo- sound come out and at first I wasn't sure but my photos showed me a little Screech Owl, the red morph, in there...some vegetation obscured a good look but it def was  in the box with his face sticking right up out the hole.  OWL power, lets see...it's the symbol of Death,,,Great!! Damn. There's 19 species of OWL in North America so some people shoot for the 19 patch. I have seen only six.  I had tried to see the Snowy Owl on a few occasions and dipped each time.  I did not see the Saw Whet or the Spotted when I went to the PNW, that was disappointing.  Because who knows if I will ever be there again...heck Im running out of time.  

It was a fun day I had 33 species of bird.  I jumped from 70 to 94 species so far this year.  Actually above my number by this time last year.  My birding took a hit with Mom's passing and early Spring of last year I found myself suddenly alone with no family and I went thru some very hard times, crying for hours and just not doing well, depressed and grief stricken. 

Even tho I still cry every day it's not all day now it maybe for 10 minutes, or 1/2 hour but Im handling it better now almost 15 months later.  I spend most of my time alone.  My son has not spoken to me in a week...Im taking a break from  his drama but will contact him tomorrow.  He told me, "my issues are not your fault or your problem to fix, so I need you to stop." So in other words he is DNR.  

Today I went into a Dollar General on my way home and EMS was there getting ready to transport a woman who had a seizure in the store.  I can't tell you how many seizure calls I did where the person suddenly seized while in line in a store or while shopping in a store.  I think the stress of shopping brings it on...and the protocols in NYC is you must be transported, many did not like that. I understand if they have the history of seizure disorder...but maybe they need new meds or a different dosage, in time it does become ineffective. Dilantin was the one we saw on most people's med list.  Watching that call brought back lots of memories to me...mostly bad ones.  PTSD is something I still suffer from.  It goes with the job. 

I pushed this birder named Jason Ward. I was impressed with him...and he had a Youtube channel I watched... I was glad when I found him because he is Black.  There is not many black birders out there.  He was leading the way to a whole new experience for many people especially in urban areas where its hard to connect with nature.  THEN I found out today he has been accused of rape. DAMN....that is not good.  Innocent until proven guilty...but he has already been fired from his ABA position.  Im not sure she filed any charges so we will see.  

I will call the deer Tulip, the one who is in my yard almost everyday she has a bad deformity or damage that healed up weird a broken back ankle, and she now walks on her tip toe on that back leg.  I wanted to give her a name and stop calling her the "deformed deer" she is so much more than her deformity...as we all are. 

So today I came down off my high of yesterday from Ten to a solid Seven. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐