Mary Beth Writes

Covid Diary #703 What are you seeing where you are?

2/15/2021

Is it safe to come out now? Are we peeping our heads out of our burrows to look around? The omicron surge is waning. Yes, Covid in all its iterations is still out there, still dangerous for many, and we can catch it. I don’t understand going out not wearing a mask. (I assume I’ll be wearing a mask in public the rest of my life.) But still, it’s beginning to feel safe enough to go some places, with mask, with happiness.

Grocery store? Yes! Len had created a grocery order for pick up, but then it got lost in the computer so I said I’d just go to the store. His list had totaled $100. I spent $150. I had not impulse shopped in a grocery store in so long it felt like Christmas.

We saw grandkids this past weekend and are going to visit the other set next week. Len and I made reservations for an Airbnb vacation in the spring.

A couple things to consider:

1. This website (Thanks, Rick) is easy to negotiate and helps one see covid infection rates exactly where you live. Covid Act Now

2. I bet another variant will come along in a few months so don’t stay inside waiting for it. Put on your super-duper mask and step out a little bit. I’m not recommending getting together in inside spaces, without masks, without everyone doing a negative home test first.

…

Okay, this is just cool. Len and I drove to Madison on Sunday. Remember Sunday? Here in SE Wisconsin, it was very cold and very bright. We left the house around 10, drove west on 94, and I am not kidding, we saw SEVENTEEN HAWKS! Most were alone, several were in pairs sitting in the same tree. I guess this is hawk mating season so we saw hawks looking for a date, or on dates.

Never have we seen so many hawks over that fifty mile stretch of road.

Sometimes being alive is amazing.

…

Are you seeing hawks, or peregrines, or sandhill cranes, or other awesome birds where you live?

 

Tags

Covid-19
hawks

Comments

Submitted by Karen K on February 15, 2022 - 12:38pm
Hawks do seem to be out and about - I read that they mate in late winter to early spring. It seems they are more visible in winter with the leaves off the trees - just easier to spot them hanging out. I often hear owls calling in our neighborhood. Years ago, I was walking in the woods at dusk, and heard owls. At a nature program, I learned that if you imitate their call, you can sometimes get them to fly close to you, because they are very territorial. I decided to give it a try. I did my best to imitate the call, and much to my amazement, an owl silently landed in a tree next to where I stood. He swiveled his head and looked down at me rather disdainfully, and immediately flew off. The accuracy at which it pinpointed where I was, amazed me - the whole incident amazed me, actually. It was an experience I'll never forget.
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Submitted by Mary Beth on February 15, 2022 - 12:56pm
Cool, cool story! When we lived in Racine there was a line of huge pine trees close to where we lived and along where we walked our dog. Often there was an owl high in those trees and often I heard an owl and often that hoot was from Len, trying to get the owl to hoot back at him. And sometimes it did. Wild birds wake up a part in us that usually isn't paying attention.

Submitted by Kathryn on February 15, 2022 - 7:00pm
17 is a huge number to see on your trip! I am seeing more hawks lately. I saw a Cooper’s Hawk right outside our kitchen window near the bird feeders this afternoon and a couple hours later my neighbor alerted me to a pair of Bald Eagles in the tree between our houses. I’m going to try the owl trick. I hear them regularly, but rarely get to see one.
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Submitted by Mary Beth on February 15, 2022 - 8:34pm
Eagles??? That's crazy cool!

Submitted by Franc on February 15, 2022 - 7:06pm
I’m in Osage Beach Missouri until Saturday and there just isn’t a shortage of hawks in the area, they are everywhere and constantly flying over the lake here… It’s as common here as robins in the spring in Wisconsin (Speaking of robins I saw one on a tree stump in front of the house this morning) made my heart happy… this morning alone I saw a red headed woodpecker, a cardinal, a blue jay, a crane, a hawk, and a robin all within a half hour… So cool…
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Submitted by Mary Beth on February 15, 2022 - 8:36pm
Awesome! What a good use of the state of Missouri. Birds!

Submitted by Fawn on February 24, 2022 - 10:21pm
It will be a very long time, if ever, I am comfortable in a large group, shoulder to shoulder with people. But come to think of it, those events weren’t top on my list before covid. Masking will likely stick with me for quite sometime. It’s more about respect of others than it is anything else. I saw a cardinal (I think) while in FL. It made me smile. We see bald eagles from time to time on our river. Majestic

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Len’s Birthday

11/30/2023

Last week I mentioned that Monday of this week would be Len’s birthday. A friend remarked to me ever so kindly later that day, “I thought his birthday was the 30th?”

It is. Len’s birthday is the 30th. This same friend has commented to me, over the years, about how much I remember.

Covid Diary #1350 Thanksgiving

11/22/2023

Today is 1350 days since the that March Friday in 2020 when we all went into quarantine.

…

Today is 60 years since JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963. I remember that day, so does Len, so do many of you. Here’s a scary truth. We are as far today from that day – as that day was from the Wright brother’s first flight at Kitty Hawk on Dec 17, 1903.

…

Quarantine Diary #1349 Sci-Fi & Prophecy

11/21/2023

We both took Covid tests this morning and both of us still have pink lines. I asked the internet what this means and it says I might be pregnant.

I have a call into my doctor’s office to discuss. I feel so much better that if I didn’t know I have Covid, I wouldn’t know it. I’ve been sicker than this after too much pie.

Covid Diary #1347

11/19/2023

A few of you might realize yesterday we were 1345 days since March 13, 2020, and today we’re at 1347. Yup, I used a different calculator. Just a fun reminder that precision depends as much on asking the right question as doing perfect math.

…

I’m in day #4 of having Covid. No more chills. I have a fever of 100.4 which is more impressive than the 100.2 that Len achieved on his Day #4.  I’m taking various OTC meds and I keep track of them in my phone’s notes because, wow, it’s so easy to have no memory of the last time one took something. I’m good. Enough.

Covid Diary #1345

11/18/2023

I thought I was done with the Covid Diary but guess what? Len and I caught Covid this week! Actually, Covid caught us. We have continued to wear masks in stores, library, meetings, and our church so we will never know for sure where Len encountered Covid. And since I got it four days later, I guess we know where I got it…

My New Substack for Short Stories

11/11/2023

Let’s call this “Old Dog Versus New Tricks.” Does it feel to you as if I’ve been extra quiet these past months? It does to me. One big reason is that I’ve been figuring out Substack.

Here’s the deal: In addition to this blog, I’ve been writing more creative fiction. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I’m finally taking it seriously. I’m not giving up this website, but substack is going to let me concentrate on short stories and other stand-alone pieces.

What’s Substack?

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