The Wee Hours

Here it is, the wee hours of the night, with no "we," just "me." I've been wondering what has attributed to my lack of sleep, and have determined that the dark chocolate and almond candy Randy received today is the culprit. He's sleeping away so I guess I am the only one affected. The brownies that I took out of the oven probably didn't help. I guess I'm just on chocolate/caffeine overload. I hate it when I do that. (I put a small brownie into my mouth, then quickly took it out and threw it away, thinking this would happen, but hoping it wouldn't.)

It could also be attributed to Leah's trip to Singapore in a few hours, but I really don't think so. We said our good-byes with joy and anticipation for her when we left Orlando Tuesday morning. She reminded us that there have been 4 months in between some of our visits since we moved and we've all been just fine. Many people, all women, have asked if we have cried or are sad. I can honestly answer, "No," up to this point. I was so over-protected as a child that I determined early that if I ever had children I would raise them to be independent, and I think we have for the most part. Doing that involves allowing them to make decisions for themselves which may have negative consequences, but it is worth it to deal with these things while they are still under your roof, rather than have them out in the world defenseless because all their decisions had been previously made for them. I'm wondering if I'm a hard-hearted mother because I am so happy for her.

Friday AM:

And she's OFF! At least as far as we know. We know she made it to LA safely, because we got a picture of the Universal Studio's sign from Hollywood. She's traveling with about 7 males, all of different ages, and they wanted to do something fun with their 9 hour layover, so, since they are all employees, Universal Studios it was. She had a headache all day, which was the only thing that gives me concern about the whole trip. (She inherited terrible migraines from my father's side of the family. They can last for days.) The last call I made was at midnight, and they were trying to find one of the group's ticket on the computer, and it was just not coming up. I am praying she gets a lot of sleep on the plane, so she will be rested...somewhat.

Which brings me to today! Our beautiful old trees are bare for the most part since we arrived back from FL, and that's OK, because the wind has blown most of their clothing away, and Randy has a reprieve from leaf duty until next fall. I love watching him out there, doing everything he can to stay ahead of the next gust of wind. The leaf piles are very tempting to jump into, but I did it our first year here and discovered very hard ground below...enough to jar my teeth! (I still want to do cartwheels that I never could do, but the fear of a cast keeps both feet firmly planted on the ground.)

I think I told you last year that Randy and I are "birders" now. We have bird feeders and houses all over the backyard so we can watch our little furry friends at work and play. The Eastern Bluebird, one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen in my life, is ubiquitous right now. Randy and I keep a pair of binoculars handy year-round so we can observe the wildlife from above. So help me, I think they are condo shopping already for spring. A male bluebird went into the nicest house, then the female shooed him out, stayed a couple of seconds and flew to the next birdhouse. A red-headed woodpecker then shooed her away. Yesterday, I saw what appeared to be 5 hawks playing with the wind. It looked so relaxing, just catching a little gust here and there and just coasting. I love it when I can do that.

I also saw our 4 resident wild turkeys before Thanksgiving. I hope they are still there; and I'm sad to say, there is another lone goose in our yard on the shoreline. (Don't get teary-eyed yet, Latcia. I just looked out again, and it has been joined by 12 of its friends.) It's been there for at least 2 days, so maybe it's coming out of its funk if it lets others into its respite territory, which is what our house is...a respite, but only for the single or hurting geese. I've also seen 2 deer across the pond already and we have the most beautiful Great Egret (so help me, I thought they only lived in Florida) and Blue Herons living just at the end of our pond in what appears to have become a wildlife sanctuary. The only thing that mars my view is an empty white plastic bottle on the opposite shoreline. I am going to wait until a very COLD day, when I am positive the snakes are tucked away for the winter, before I put on my bright yellow, knee high snake/goose boots, and make the trek to the other side. I'm sure that will be a story all its own. In the meantime, I hope you have no "wee hours" you can talk about, but only sweet dreams the next morning.

Lest I forget, WELCOME MATTHEW, my newest follower. (Don't forget to put up a picture!)AND...if you'd like to follow Leah's adventures, let me know, and I will send you the link.