Sooo That’s what happened..apparently …
Timing is everything
Generally , I don’t get colds flues and such.. Oh I get them often enough , but only because , like those around me where I work , I am exposed to more than a thousand people every day… The same 1k+ .. If one person gets a cold or flu , it is bound to travel through the ranks. I drink echinacea tea most every day which usually keeps the willies away .When exposure is also every day and you get worn down from work loads , eventually your body says enough is enough and you get sick as well.
IN my case, I remember , and the timing fits, a gal turning a corner as I did in the opposite direction and had a coughing fit right in my face. Oh I had the last second” Hold your breath” moment, but , when you are caught unaware, you actually take a breath to hold your breath..oops..
Thursday , literally ten minutes before I had to head out for work , I had an explosion in my head , one of those I haven’t had since the first year dealing with my eye injury .
Now, when I suddenly feel like crap , I always blame myself , going through what stupid things I have done trying to figure out Why I and up feeling like I do.
The headache, which is really too passive a description , I couldn’t come up with anything. I made it to town , and through work , but just barely… Then I had the trip home. Long story short… I ended up with two more violent , devastating migraine plus headaches over the next few days.. They never went away , just the violent hour or so when they renewed , all seem to have come down to how my body now takes on colds and flues.
My supervisor , on Monday , asked if I had a cold. I answered , ” Nah, just working in the shop on Ma’s tools. “ Because I thought I had just messed myself up .. Had to be something stupid I did, not one of the plagues that come through . I knew I had the sniffles and sinuses burned but I was sure it was from the shop , having forgotten about the interaction with the gal.. When the headache hit , I didn’t put it together. When I started having to blow my nose , literally every couple minutes along with the coughing..THEN I had the ” DUH!” moment.
I literally went through 4+ boxes of Kleenex on Saturday . Needless to say , if you have never had the crap..* snort* if anyone hasn’t , the coughing and sneezing and blowing yer nose are Awesome with headaches.
How do you get rid of the crap ? Well , we simply don’t do the over the counter stuff, it is too hard on our systems so , the old fashion way ; echinacea , Valerian root tinctures , I do take ” aspirins” …too often to try to function , lots of liquids.. no , coffee doesn’t count guys..I know Zinc is suppose to help as well .. and just keep up with your vitamins .. If it wasn’t for the raging headaches, it’d only be the inconvenience of blowing my nose every minute or so .If the headaches didn’t literally blind me , that would be helpful too.. * chuckle* needless to say , if Ma didn’t proofread everything I write this would all look like someone’s kitten running across the keys..
Anyway.. so much for that crap.. Tomorrow I’ll put in my two cents, spreading the contagion back at work.. Because you don’t want to irritate people by taking time off when you are sick, unless you go to a doctor , get a note , blah blah… I’m like , sure fine ..Enjoy.. I know I have…As there is no cure for the common , or uncommon, cold .. spending cash for a doctor to simply write a note stating the obvious……..again…Enjoy..
Splitting the sheets
Ma and I? Hardly … Nope , for the most part , my short stories and the actual Sunday Post. Why? Because they are different enough. We are far from being overwhelmed with readers , but the short stories , especially the Hummie stories have seem to have found a following. The Sunday Post is more just a week in the life up here. The Sunday Post , obviously will be on Sundays. No idea how often the short stories will be. Hopefully , we’ll continue to keep readers on both.
Passing the Baton
Limpy, it seems, has put Dennis in charge of the Homestead… I imagine it is more that Ma and I are babysitting the boy rather than he taking care of us.
Oh we see Limpy and the other adults come through here still , but Dennis is on his own little patrol several times a day now. He has learned to check the wood piles for a quick bite as Ma is already in greydigger elimination mode . Dennis has already had to fight with the CawCaws; Hugin and Munin. I missed the picture on that one dang it..
Dennis has already stopped by while I am writing to check on us , or check in WITH us. I imagine Limpy told him to. He is getting better at hunting , though I have to imagine Limpy put him here as it is more of a playground than the hard life.
Bunnies have yet to take him horribly serious , generally just patiently waiting him out if they are playing in the yard when he comes through. I doubt that’ll work for much longer for them.
The Turkeys scare the crap out of him as he isn’t much bigger than they are and they travel in gangs.
Like Limpy , he has a healthy respect for the deer up here. I am pretty sure Limpy got his namesake due to one of the girls.
Dennis is getting better at mousing and moling. He doesn’t actually do a face plant now . I swear , I thought I was going to have to run out and pull his head out of the ground one time…Goof.
Anyway , we get to watch the young boy grow.
Watching the grass grow
It really sucks being down , again , this time of year. Every year something happens.. At least this time it isn’t acid in the eye or pulling my back trying to pull fence posts or Ma crushing vertebrae trying to help me … Just the Spring Plague
We don’t have a lawn, we have meadow grass . If I don’t want to to go crazy though , I still need to mow it. The tractor is still down , and the smaller tractor needs the Spring tune up. The mowers need the blades sharpened and I am sitting here blowing my nose and eating aspirin like cheerios .
The rain comes through every day yet, which is great . Even I can see the dang grass growing every day. I need to get out there before it gets so deep I burn it. The smaller tractor , even the the mower for it is only a foot smaller than Lil Red’s mower , will still be a challenge to get through the acres I have to cut down… Especially if it stays damp .
We haven’t even gotten into the gardens yet, with one thing and another but Ma has plants under the lights and more in the covered porch so it is just a couple days of work when the wind isn’t quite raging and the rain isn’t quite pouring and we actually have the time to get out there.. oh and I can get away from the kleenex. The headaches, well…. they never stop , so just when they calm to a level 7 or less. Soon..
Final Thoughts
It sucks being under the weather , but it happens to us all . I just hope Ma isn’t next in line. I know I am on the other end of this though driving will be interesting and working under the fluorescent lights. Those are nasty to me on a good day.
No storm lasts forever.
Watching things green up is always fun for us up here. …of course, that will all change again come Summer when things go back to sleep due to winds and lack of rain, but for now , we’ll watch the grass grow. Being two weeks behind the lower hills and flatlands, we can see the flowers opening , heading up Zen. It wont be too long before wild flowers pop up here.
We got Ma’s Shetland Hap shawl on the new stretching frame yesterday and it looks amazing. The first time we used the frame I just finished last weekend. Took me long enough. Now Ill have to start on the next batch of spinning and knitting tools for Ma. I need to find a lathe for not too much out there somewhere so I can do some of the work. I’ll have to get some eyes out there for me. I have the tools ,and experience, just not the wood lathe.
We also did some wool dyeing . This was our second go round with trying some dyes. Ma had some pink/rose colored wool that just wasn’t going to get used so trying the Plum dye again we came up with a great variegated lighter purple color.
I need to get eyes out there for a 5′ bucket for Lil Red.. I need to get out and take pics of the big one so people know what to look for other than ” fitting a 53 Ford Jubilee
*LOL* I am literally sneezing and blowing my nose in between each paragraph… and during the longer ones… including this one.
Zen the sun peeked through the clouds
The mornings are getting lighter sooner every day now making our morning sit and chat with the kids earlier each day as well. Being up all night with this cold or whatever, makes the nights so long and short at the same time for us both. Ma is not getting any sleep as I am up and down all night. I jump out of bed the moment it is ” late” enough..so shortly before 5am
” Finally!” I think , as I see the latter part of four am come around . Ma up , right behind me , as I am sure she is just waiting for me to get my plague ridden body up and about , we head through the house to grab a cup of coffee and my camera to head out to visit with the kids as they come in.
Hummie hears the storm door open and close so Ma and I barely sit down before he is coming in , in the predawn to visit. Chattering as he hits the feeder while we sip at our coffee , Hummie tells us about what is new in his world. We all say good morning , then he sits on the fence below his feeder to listen to Ma tell us about what is new in the knitting world.
Bunnie and the ” Bunnies” make their way in shortly afterwards. Bunnie sitting by herself next to the junipers , listening to Ma talk while she munches on the new grasses. The pair of bunnies come tromping out as I talk to Bunnie. They are smaller but they are , in fact, a mating pair… Don’t ask how we know…
Liam whips in , hovering over Hummie , saying good morning to his dad and seeing if it is ok to hang out. The two of them sit listening to us, whispering back and forth as they make plans for protecting us from evil for the day. Mrs Hum shows up and off the boys fly… Not wanting to move furniture or wash windows in the Hummie Cabin.. She always has plenty for them to do if they look too relaxed.
Syrah shows up shortly after Mrs to try to catch the boys from a different angle . She has their own little nest set up for her and Liam and curtains still need to be hung..
If things weren’t getting busy enough , Saran , Liam’s little sister pops in to see what all the hubbub is about . Being the youngest hummer up here , she is always a bit nosey and a little chatty.
Ma and I sit , watching the hummingbirds straighten everything out for the day . The boys suddenly far too busy to be bothered with house chores , take off to patrol.
Colors of the impending dawn have snuck up on all of us while we watch the antics of the hummingbirds. Black smooths into reds , oranges and hints of the yellow of the morning Sun hit the far horizon. Clouds absorb the colors reflecting them back and forth amongst themselves and finally down into the mirror of the river below.
Banks of clouds above and beyond the rain clouds draw in colors as well while the Sun gets ever closer to touching our skies.
The hummers having gone about their business as well as the bunnies , one and all , have headed off to hearth and home leave the meadows for the deer coming in to greet Ma and myself , just in time to watch the Sun rise. Yearlings and older pregger does come in to visit. They see and hear Ma and I as we talk , some watching , others ignoring us some few yards away.
The CawCaws; Hugin and Munin fly through , low and noisy greeting us and the day as they head to the “pit” to see what is for breakfast. They have also put together a nest , not too far off . They hang around the pit chattering to each other as they pick through the leftovers from the day before.
The does slowly graze their way up the berm and over the edge, the Sun slowly washing away the predawn light show bringing shadows to the lands.
Dennis , peeking over the ridge below , waiting for the deer to be out of sight , pads on in for his patrol..Still oblivious to Ma and I as he checks first one wood pile , then the next , treading some twenty yards from us without thinking to look. He knows it’s our place and doesn’t need to worry about any troubles coming from us , but still.. the single-minded nature of the boy worries me some times. He makes his way north to the pit where the CawCaws are and a ballyhoo commences from their direction as the three throw insults at each other.
Soon enough Dennis is making his way back from the pit , CawCaws still on the fence above it , to start his morning moling. He stops , looks down and waits. Turning his head , his ear closer to pick up sounds, he leaps into the air and snatches up a rodent.
Ma and I cheer for him , before he looks over our way , seeing us watching. One last bite and breakfast is finished . Fresh Fast Food for our young coyote. He watches us for a few moments before he decides to make his way back home. The patrol finished for the moment and time to check in with Limpy to let him know that there are no signs of the other pack infringing on their borders.
I grin to Ma as we take in the events already passing from our dawn watch . Things pass so quickly if you don’t make the time to see what is happening just outside your doors. For us this is simply…
Just another day on Zen Mountain.
Zen Mountain's Sunday Post and Short Stories 