I PUT MY SNOW SHOVEL AWAY

     Yesterday, I put my snow shovel away for the summer.

     What does it do today? You guessed it. It is snowing. There won' be any snow shoveling as the snow melts when it hits the ground.

JACK RABBIT REPRODUCTION.

      We  sometimes hear the expression breed like rabbits. Jack rabbits can had two or three litters a year. They can start in March or April. I have seen a young litter in September. 

      Today part of the breeding process was taking place in my front yard.

       We usually think of the rabbit as being a quiet gentle animal. Not so when it comes to breeding. First of all you see a number of rabbits chasing up and down the street at great speed. They are looking for the female who is coming near the time when she is ready for breeding. 

     Finally two to four bucks will find her and keep close to her so that she will not get away or other bucks take possession. If the female moves the bucks become instantly alert . The bucks compete with each other. They punch one another and scream very loudly. It's an interesting process. I have not observed behavior past the pushing shoving and screaming. 

     Usually I notice them at the punching and screaming stage. 

    Finally the deed is done and after a 42 day gestation period the little guys are born. They are hidden in plant growth. The female comes back at night to feed them. One time four little guys were placed in my tomato patch. They didn't like it when I watered my tomatoes but they stayed in place. 

    So today the two bucks and female left my yard so I did not get to see the serious pushing and shoving. I also did not get photos as I would frighten them if I went in the yard or tried to take a photo out of the window. 

SLOW COOKING

      My Mother always told me that if I was smart I shouldn't say that I disliked something. However, I cannot resist saying that I don't like slow cooking. 

      Now I know that I have already touched a nerve with those people who like slow cooking. Slow cooking is popular and is used to prepare food for busy people. 

      I like a good strong meat flavor. I don't like the meat flavor covered up with spices. 

      I liked the way my mother cooked. She had limited resources. So she could roast, fry or boil. She didn't have fancy dancy herbs and spices. She probably had some bacon fat. Do I remember great turkey dinners put on by Mom? You bet! Turkey dinners were common. 

     So most slow cooker recipes are heavy on the spices. Whatever combination of spices you use gives you a special flavor but I don't know what it is.

    As I said , I like the meat flavor.

    One time I shot a caribou with some aboriginals. The butchering began by removing the tongue and rinsing it in water. The tongue was cut into narrow strips. Willow sticks were cut and the strips of tongue put on the sticks over the camp fire. Butchering continued. The heart was prepared the same way as the tongue. By this time the tongue was ready to eat. This was the best tongue I had ever eaten. I will remember it for the rest of my lie. Most people don't like tongue. The same thing happened with the heart. We just kept butchering and eating. 

    And lastly slow cooking makes a mess of the crock container. I don't like cleaning it. 

    Now I probably need some education about slow cooking and I'm sure I'll get what I've asked for. 

A MIXED UP DAY

             I decided to sell my hiking boots since it was spring and hiking season would begin. 

            I advertised them on Kijiji. At one time I had good luck on Kijiji , but not lately. I was also advertising the boots on Market place. Now I'm not that familiar with market place and find it confusing.

         Since I only have the computer , I look at things maybe 2 or 3 times a day. 

        Someone answered and said they would be coming to town on Friday and could they see the boots. Well, by the time I saw this, the guy had sent me 5 different messages. Then I checked on Kijiji and the same guy had several messages.

       I gave him my phone number  and since he was on instant time , he phoned. His name on Kijiji was Ken Hofer. The name given on the phone was Tony Dehofer? This mixed me up more and more. I didn't know how many people I was dealing with. I was struggling with market place, a guy was sending messages on two sites and at a rapid rate. Then a woman emailed and I thought she was with the same guy.

      The Micro Manager started to get worried. I knew from the name that I was dealing with a Hutterite. The Micro Manager is not familiar with Hutterites and was on level 10 anxiety. I couldn't tell her that Hutterites were nice people. 

      So the morning he was supposed to come we had a call from the guy's sister that they would be coming and what was the address. 15 minutes later the woman phoned again and said they were on the way. 

     So finally a time was set for the guy to come to my place. I really didn't know who was coming or how many. 

    So at the appointed time a Hutterite arrived and quietly bought my hikers. The Micro Manager was amazed and said, "He was a nice guy!"

    And I don't know how many messages and phone calls I had. Obviously I had enough calls to sell my boots. 

MORE ON ANOTHER RANT FROM MAR. 28

      On Mat . 28 I wrote about an unpleasant call with my bank's call center. 

       I had been told in a letter to phone a number to give the bank instructions on my account. I had phoned this number before. 

       This time when we phoned they started asking questions for identification purposes. I'm not sure how many questions were asked but enough to catch my attention that I didn't like what was going on. When we said we would answer no more questions, they refused to do the business we wanted.

       We contacted the bank. Our account  did not show suspicious action. 

       So we talked to the bank manager about the situation. The bank manager said that he would pass the complaint forward.

       However , he did say that he thought what was happening is that the bank bought another bank and were having some difficulty with identification so they were updating personal information. 

       I can see that it's necessary to update identification information but I don't like it and the incident I was involved with went too far. 

STEAK SANDWICH

    The steak sandwich is by far the Micro Manager's favorite dinner. In the last 10 years she's had very few steak sandwich's and most were poor. 10 or 15 years ago the suppliers started supplying a different cut of meat for steak sandwiches and it wasn't the same. The MM had only a half dozen steak sandwiches in the last 15 years. 

    A few months ago a friend told her that there were excellent steak sandwiches at Leah's bar and grill. The MM just had to go. She went.  I wouldn't go with her. Yes, the steak sandwich was wonderful. However, she didn't want to go back on her own.

    So the other day she said, "Since it's my birthday this month would you go to Leah's with me." I 'd be a heal if I didn't go for her birthday. 

    So a few days ago we went to Leah's .

    Shortly after we got our meal , the waitress came and told us that someone at the bar had paid for our food! What a surprise! Of course, everybody is sworn to secrecy so we didn't know who it was. That's the first time I was ever treated to a free meal! 

   So I guess it was a good thing that I went with the MM for her steak sandwich. 

CONVERSATIONS ON DEMENTIA

       Being in my mid eighties , I find more and more that former colleagues, old friends and relatives have someone in the family with dementia. I can understand that people get  dementia. It's a horrible condition which robs people of normal functions. It's extremely stressful for family as they go through the challenges of looking after one. 

     One thing that bothers me around dementia is the conversations we have or don't have about the condition. Some people are in denial and don't want to talk about the situation. Other people don't want to talk about the dementia patient in front of them as it may be very confusing for the patient. 

    So unless there are situations where relatives and caregivers can communicate without the patient in attendance, much needed communication is not done. 

    You hear from people that they feel so alone as they care for someone with dementia. It's very sad. 

     I have a friend who has yet to tell me that his wife has dementia. This dance has been going on for more than 2 years. I hear bits and pieces from relatives and friends. 

   So my question is, how do we communicate and support the caregivers and family of someone with dementia? How do we talk to someone with dementia when it progresses through it's many stages?

    My father had Parkinson's. I can tell you that regular people have great difficulty when it comes to dealing with somebody who is irrational. 

SO MUCH FOR THE ECLIPSE

      There was great hype about the solar eclipse. With 40% coverage here I knew that there would not be anything spectacular. I wasn't prepared to shoot the sun. I'll leave that to the pros. 

     I did take one shot shortly after 11:00 AM . and one at the height of the eclipse. Just looking out the window there was not much less light. the camera shows things a little darker. 

     Don't go by my times on the camera. The first shot is about 11:00 AM. the second shot is about 1:00 Pm. 

     So there wasn't a lot of hoopla at my place. 

2000 POSTS

      I just happened to notice a few days ago that the counter was on 2000 posts. I don't post every day. I make about 120 to 150 posts a year so it takes along time to get to 2000.

     I try to write about topics rather than personal daily events. Yes, I did say that I was a bit of a bumbler and I had some adventures to write about. The adventures have been fun for me to recount. 

     I also notice that I should change some of the things in my introduction as they no longer apply.

     I started Hiawatha House in 2008 when my daughter set up the basics of the blog. She left town the next day.  I spent the next year with Blogging for Dummies trying to set up other things on Hiawatha house. 

    I have enjoyed writing Hiawatha House. One thing I did not realize is that I would make many very good friends. I'm always saddened when a good blogger disappears. There is a tremendous amount that one learns from other bloggers. 

   I will keep on writing and visiting. 

   Well, here I was in 2008!

   

What else is there to do but bird?

                                A good supper

                       I think this was about 2022. 

YES, IT SNOWED TODAY

          When I woke up this morning it seemed brighter than usual. It had snowed overnight so I was waking up to a world of white. We probably had about 2 cm of snow on the ground. 

          It s normal to get snow at this time of year and sometimes we can get a storm with lots of snow. 

          It was foggy this morning so it was a very dull day. 

         However, my blue bells are coming up.

APRIL FOOLS

       The origin of April Fools Day is somewhat unclear. The day and celebration seem to have originated in various places and at various times. None of these origins are backed up by much evidence. 

      Many famous tricks and hoaxes have been done and then April Fools is said to let the person or people know that they have been tricked. The media has long had humor from April Fools day.

      Schools have had their fair share of good April Fool's tricks. I went to a one room country school from 1945 to 1954. It was standard procedure that we try to get something over on the teacher. A hand bell was used to call students to class in the morning and after breaks like recess and noon hour. So in many of these schools the gong was taken out of the  bell and when the teacher went out to shake the bell vigorously, nothing happened. Usually we were nearby so that we could see the teacher's reaction. We stood around for a minute as if we weren't going in the school and then everybody said April Fools. We weren't that smart as we did this every year.

     The past seven days the Micro Manager has not been in good health. Somehow she came down with a stomach ailment that produced diarrhea for 4 days and then another two days to reach normal. Now she kept on a liquid diet for four days and then another two days of being careful what she ate. By days 5 and 6 she was very tired from lack of regular food. So she usually goes to the Casino for breakfast or lunch and she was determined to go. I said no way but she doesn't listen to me. My daughter said be careful and stay away from big heavy meals. 

    So About 11:30 yesterday morning the Micro Manager had her coat ready. She was going out for lunch no matter what. She thoroughly  enjoyed a steak sandwich. 

   So this morning , a while after breakfast she said, "Guess what . I've got diarrhea again." She quickly said April Fools before I jumped through the roof.

    It' been a long time since there was a good April Fool's trick was played around here.