WORK WITH IT

I woke up this morning to people shouting “hounds need to be unleashed – kill it! Kill it!”

Apparently there has been another cougar sighting.

The sighting was in the upper hills of Longview – I drive this route sometimes when I want to avoid downtown traffic.

Cougar spotted this morning, on Cedar Place, Longview-WA

Reported cougar sighting.

This is reported to be a third sighting … probably the same one seen in different locations of the area. Maybe. The cougar seems to mysteriously disappear into thin air: yet the video background remains the same. The cougar is in the frame – then {poof!} it’s out of the frame; suspiciously.

While I will agree that cougars (I have actually seen a cougar in the wild, slink across the road in front of our pickup and fade into the roadside foliage: it was beautiful!) will melt into the background as if they had never been there at all – they do not just walk into a hidden time warp window; as this one seems to do.

The cougar could really exist.

Or …

But whatever the truth of the matter may be, it does not deserve to have hounds set on it: it can be captured and released. If it’s the real deal, it’s no doubt a yearling looking for a place to habitate. It does not deserve to die simply because humans keep pushing themselves into wildlife habitats.

People that choose to live in forested areas, choose to live with the wildlife there … and they need to work with it. MPO

I jetted off a few comments, and got off of FB – you simply cannot talk common sense with bloodthirsty hysterics.

I was going to Fellowship this morning, and picking a friend up along the way. I wore my red-white-& blue skirt to honor the 4^th of July Holiday, tomorrow – and the only top I had in my closet that was “workable”. I wasn’t really happy with the outfit, but it was what it was. Workable.

Skirts are not my friend, no matter what top I wear with them. I do what I can with what I have to work with (clothing items and physical shape), and hope for the best.

When I pulled into my friend’s driveway, I spotted a doe in her front yard.

Doe seen; my friends and her fammily are working with the deer crossings.

She told me she saw three bucks walk through her front yard the other day, and we had a good laugh when I and said her yard must be a deer thoroughfare, like the sky over my house is a geese freeway 😉

Fellowship was enjoyable. And I’ll be enjoying a 4^th of July Celebration in the country tomorrow 😊

After I got back home this afternoon, I changed my clothes and watered the garden area. It seems like no matter what I pulled out of the closet to put on today, it was {workable}, but not appealing on the body. But, what are you gonna do – except roll with it. It is what it is.

Finished with the veggie bed area, I watered the front flowerbeds as well as the hanging planters along the carport eaves. And I noticed that one of the cacti pads I had repotted in May, had babies popping up 😊

This is exciting to me because I have never tried this with cacti pads before; it’s a good feeling of accomplishment when something new prospers 😉

The Bunny Ear Cactus pad has rooted - 2 baby pads sprouting.

Back inside, I got busy making little vest & beanie sets for premature babies. This is a volunteer work close to my heart: a friend in high school had a premature baby girl (1-pound, 6 ozs.: grew up to be normal sized, and is still thriving) my younger brother and his wife had a premature baby girl (just barely longer than a Barbie Doll, with a little head the size of a tennis ball); Jamie Lee grew up … and is no longer ‘little’ in any sense of the word.

2 to 3 pound Preemie Vest & Beanie Set; crochet - mint green.

These little things make up very quickly, and they are perfect for the babies who have to stay incubated until they are physically strong enough to go home – they are tiny warming items of loose clothing that work great in helping these little babies stay warm; and help the parents keep hope alive, when they see their little bundles of love wrapped in items that have some semblance of baby clothing appeal … while not complicating the tangle of life sustaining tubes, ect. I am glad I found this pattern online 😊

So far, this week has gotten off to a good start; now I’m going to do a load of jeans: I have lots of tops in the closet that work perfectly with those 😉

‘SPRINGY’ ACTION

The predicted thunderstorm did not show up last night.

And all day, today, was quiet too.

We did get rain though – but not enough to keep me indoors 😉

I’ve been awful sleepy though; deep yawns, and practically sleeping on my feet. No joke.

ALL I want to do is sleep: this may be a result of being stuck indoors 25 days out of 30/31 days a month … or it could be an age-related occurrence. I’m claiming the gray clouds, overhead.

I slept in until 10 AM this morning; but I didn’t get to bed until after 3 A.M., so I didn’t feel like a lazy peel when my eyes focused on the digitized clock. Seven hours of sleep isn’t “wasting the day”.

I noticed that a clear and dry 2-hour window was available: so, I got dressed, tied my hiking boots on, and planned a short 2-mile walk before the afternoon rains arrived.

Halfway to my destination, a squirrely thought passed through my brain – and I altered my route. I have some things that I need to get around to dropping off at the Caring Pregnancy Center – but first, I needed to know how the heck to get there. That squirrely thought was prompting me to figure it out this afternoon.

So, I sprung into action 😊

I pulled over and punched the address into GPS (I’m still learning the streets of Longview). After going down several zig-zagging rabbit trails that included one-way streets, and four-way stops where everyone engaged in ‘blind man’s bluff’ and ‘chicken’ maneuvers, I finally “arrived” at the building.

Caring Pregnancy Center.

Pulling into the old Medical Strip Mall parking lot, I knew where I was (by the surrounding landmarks), and was shaking my head and wondering why GPS had taken me on such a convoluted zig-zag route – it would have been much easier to lead me straight through Nichols Boulevard onto Tennant Way, and hang a left at 11^th street. That is the route I will take next time: it is much simpler for me, and will take me right to the building without all the overhead stop lights the GPS route weaved me through. Landmarks are recognizable; addresses throw me.

Backtracking, and still hoping to get my walk in, my attention was snagged again. By a vehicle in front of me – with a sentiment I understand all too well.

A recognizable sentiment ...

Passing Safeway on Ocean Beach, I had noticed earlier that there appeared to be intensive work happening there. Since this is the place, I use to refuel, I thought I’d nip in there and ask what is going on (this was a pre-planned side excursion: no squirrel involved 😉). I was told that the Fueling Station is undergoing a replacement of the underground fuel wells; and an upgrade on the pumps. Estimation time of completion is two weeks.

Guess I’ll be gassing up elsewhere for the next month.

Safeway Fuel Station is getting an overhaul.

When I got back home, the rain was still holding off, so I decided to pull my over-wintered Geraniums out of their bins and get them prepped for display on the front steps/front porch. I had to replace six plants – that’s why I always keep spare plants, over-wintered in the house, on hand 😊

Pulled the geraniums out of storage and got them cleaned up & set in place.

My Bunny Ear Cactus (I’d always called it a Teddy Bear) needed repotting, too: so, I did that after the Geraniums were set in place.

I got my cactus plant when we moved back to Longview, 27 years ago. We were enjoying a Sunday drive along Westside Highway and I noticed a Garage sale sign … so Bob pulled over and I hopped out of our 4x truck. I’m a sucker for terra cotta pots; so, when I saw the dried-up cactus in the pot that caught my eye (it was so dried up from neglect, it was brown and dead-looking), I asked the woman how much she wanted for the pot. She said, “you can have it for free: the plant’s dead.” I snapped that pot right up 😉 And, just to see what would happen, I watered that cactus every time the soil looked like it needed a drink. After a while I noticed life was fleshing the pads out, so I babied it back to life.

The original cactus plant thrived, and blossomed in about a 15-year-timeframe from the time I brought it home; a cute little yellow flower blossom 😊

My Bunny Ear Cactus blossomed; Aug. 3rd, 2009!

Bunny Ear Cactus bloom 15 years in the making - Aug. 3rd, 2009

I transplanted the cactus into a large clay pot, and eventually it grew to be a sizable 2-foot plant, with a 4-foot spread that I babied and hauled with a hand dolly, from the front yard to the garage every Fall to over-winter in safety – but it never blossomed again. A few days before we moved here, to Heron Pointe in 2017, I gifted it to the lady across the street who asked me what I was going to do with it. She was excited to get it. I hope it is still thriving.

But before I let her husband haul it away, I snipped a hand-sized chunk off to bring here, with me. It has flourished these four years here, but it has outgrown its pot … so, this afternoon, I upended it, loosened its roots, and repotted it in a roomier pot. I hope it blooms this year. A few pads fell off, so I potted those up, too 😉

I reshaped my Bunny Ear Cactus, and transplanted the clipped pads.

I also called Dr. Tack’s Office and asked to make an appointment for prescription sunglasses. I was told that I didn’t need an appointment, since they already did an eye exam for the every-day-glasses I am now wearing. She quoted me the price of polarized lens and frames – then she said, “if you have a specific frame you’d like to use instead, we could accommodate that.” As soon as I heard that … I sprung on the suggestion: I knew I’d use the glasses frame that Bob inadvertently chose for me four years ago 😊

I like them.

They fit my personality.

And I was keeping them anyway – I may as well utilize them, instead of keeping them in a drawer 😉

Aren’t they cute?

They're colorful ... and are special to me.

Now, I’m going to head down the hallway to bed, tomorrow is Food Distribution Day.