Last week I followed in my husband’s footsteps and came down with Covid. I thought it was a sinus infection or the flu since my first two tests read negative. Spent two days in bed and this past Friday had a surge of energy, but my test said Positive. Today, Sunday, my test says Positive.
The 2 days of almost no energy were the worst…worse than the cough and congestion. But, the good part is that I have been forced to rest, relax, and get out of my usual busy-ness. Here is a visual representation of how I felt on the worst days:
I was weakened, devitalized, reduced…lacking vigor, vim, verve, fire, starch…I had lost my snap, my bang, my punch, my git up and go, my ginger, kick, zip, zing, zizz…
I am sorry that I had to miss a couple of lunches and a party. A family member was set to spend two nights with us and that had to be canceled.
I am thankful that I am recovering bit by bit and thankful for all of you checking in on me and for my husband who is doing his best to social distance while still waiting on me a bit. And I am thankful for my handy copy of Roget’s International Thesaurus (third edition) for some of the words I used to describe the condition my condition was in.
I am also thankful that the squirrel was not dead or paralyzed, which is what I thought when I first saw it outside my kitchen window. That first glance told me it was dead…had somehow ended up there and slowly died in that position. I went outside to get a better look and a photo and low and behold, an eye opened and then closed again. I thought “Oh No! It is paralyzed!” seeing the back legs hanging and not moving. So, I went inside and got a cardboard box and my “grabber” (device for picking up things from 3 feet away). I was already planning on taking it to the local Wildlife Rescue place. As I approached, the squirrel moved it’s head and I backed up and went back in the house and watched as it scampered up a tree seemingly uninjured.
While we were eating breakfast yesterday a bit of drama played out in our back yard. I like to face the windows to the back yard just so I can watch yard critters while I eat. My husband spotted a Cooper’s hawk sitting on our back fence…in the same spot I had seen it at dusk the day before. I got my camera and took a few photos through the one window without a screen (removed for just this purpose, to be able to focus my camera). A squirrel appeared moving along the back fence towards the hawk. I was about 45 feet away (that is what my husband’s range finder says) and just had my little Nikon Coolpix A900. But, I think I captured the scene.
Eastern Fox Squirrel approaching Cooper’s hawk on the Squirrel Highway
Squirrel Moving Closer to Hawk (see the tail behind the tree?)
Squirrel displaces Hawk
Hawk flies into nearby neighbor’s tree and then:
Hawk is back. It briefly spread both wings and it’s tail out, perhaps to look bigger. I didn’t get the shot before the wings closed back down. I think the squirrel was down in the bush behind fence at that point.
Squirrel is back!
Standoff!
Squirrel nonchalantly grooming it’s tail while hawk watches.
After this, the hawk flew to a side fence and then flew off out of the yard as another squirrel approached on a perpendicular squirrel highway. Blue jays had been squawking in the background but never got very close to the action.
Neither my husband or I had ever seen this kind of squirrel behavior before. Usually, when a hawk is around the squirrels are frozen against a tree trunk/branch or nowhere to be seen. The first batch of baby squirrels start being born in January and so maybe the squirrels are being more protective of the area? The squirrel was a male squirrel and so maybe just defending territory? The hawk is probably hanging around to get at the fat white winged doves that come to our feeder and may not prey on the squirrels. If the hawk attacked the squirrel I think both would give a good fight.
I had been hoping to come up with a fun political metaphor for this little drama we witnessed, but so far I have not.
I find much joy in observing small bits of interaction from the non humans around us. I hope some small joys of your choice come to you today and every day in 2025!
In April and May I shared with you a Great Horned Owl family’s behavior and the development of two chicks. For this month’s blog I want to share some more families.
Some families feed and nurture their young.
Grackle Parents With Fledgling Grackle Begging For Food In Background
Some families lead their young.
Duck Mama With BabiesDon’t Leave Me Behind!
Some parents hide the young to protect them from predators.
This Doe And Fawn Could Not Be Seen From A Nearby Trail. (This shot was through a window up above the area)
Some parents protect their young in other ways.
Killdeer ParentKilldeer Parent Distracting A Possible Predator (Me) By Feigning An Injury
Who are they protecting?
Baby Killdeer Chick In Marsh Below Boardwalk
And let’s not forget the sibling relationships. Some siblings irritate each other.
Sibling Squirrels Jostling For Space
Some siblings get along with each other.
Sibling Squirrels Sharing Space
(Bird photos were taken at Aransas Pass; the Doe and Fawn photo was taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Squirrel photos were taken in my back yard)
In Austin we are lucky to get one snow fall each winter and we had ours on January 10th, 2021. Only a couple of inches of snow fell, but enough for excited kids to build snow people and have snow ball fights. By the next day it began to melt. We had gotten our snow for the year and were satisfied with what we got. Little did we know that much more was to come.
We had seen the forecast for the polar air to sweep far south, deep into Texas and surrounding states. On the evening of Saturday, February 13th it got quite cold. By early the next morning we had a heavy sleet storm.
Sunday, Feb. 14th- Valentines’ Day- We woke up to an ice covered lawn and found a dead, frost covered squirrel at the base of our burr oak. I recognized it as one that had suffered an injured leg at least a month ago. I guess this round of cold was too much for it. Later, while taking bird seed and warm water out to the birds, I slipped and fell and hit my head on a rock. I got up quick, assuring my husband, “I’m okay!” But, he saw blood running down my neck. He cleaned the scalp wound (and yes, scalp wounds bleed a lot!) and we monitored me for any signs of concussion. The roads were too iced over to drive, so I am glad my injuries were minor. Even ambulances were having a tough time responding to all the falls and car accidents. The first responders were working overtime.
In the afternoon the snow began to fall. So, now we had snow over ice.
Millie our elderly dog late that night
Monday, Feb. 15-More snow had fallen in the night
Millie in even more snow 7:16 a.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 16th- Happy Birthday to Me! Had to postpone my Birthday dinner of chicken fajitas from Chuy’s restaurant. We still have power. Many people do not.
Cold Cardinal
25 degrees and it began to snow again.
Wednesday, Feb. 17th-Our water pressure was very low in the morning and my husband was quick to fill a couple of pots with water. Later in the morning we had no water at all from our taps. The high was 32 degrees and it began to sleet again. A neighbor stopped by to see what we might need. Later, she and another kind neighbor brought us 2 pitchers of water (she had filled all her sinks and tubs in anticipation of the storm). It was still not safe to drive on roads and we heard that many stores had run out of drinking water and most food. This was like what happened during our initial covid lockdown the year before. At least we had plenty of food in our fridge and pantry. Days of no sun started to wear on me.
Ice Covered Trees
Ice Covered Crepe Myrtle
Thursday, Feb. 18th-Still no running water. Our high today was 32 degrees and it snowed again! Our Desert Willow tree on the side of the house lost two large limbs under the weight of the ice. We melted lots of snow on our gas stove to use to flush toilets. We are lucky our power is on and our natural gas is okay. At 9p.m. a boy from next door brought us a large bottle of water!
Friday, Feb. 19th- Sun! Melting has begun and we gather more snow because we still have No Water! At 1:37 p.m. the temperature outside is a glorious 39.4 degrees. I have not bothered to record the lows because they are so low that I don’t want to think about it (I think the lowest it got was 5 degrees). With the sun come clear nights and we can see the stars again.
Happy Squirrel
Chipping Sparrows Bathing in Snow Melt
Saturday, Feb. 20th- Day #4 of no running water. Sun and 57.9 degrees! Our snow melt is running out.
Robin and Snow Melt
I am in my 60s and have never had to experience the lack of running water unless it was my choice (back country camping in Big Bend or a trek into an Amazon rainforest village). This is a life lesson in gratitude and recognizing how lucky and privileged my life has been. We are grateful for snow and kind neighbors and that our power did not go out and our pipes didn’t burst and that I did not get a concussion or break any bones when I fell. I am also grateful that I was not alone during this ordeal.
So many Austinites lost power and water. Many were left in the cold for days. Some died, including a young boy. And there were people left in the cold, without water, that were also suffering from the covid virus. A woman gave birth at home in the cold. A family with many kids lost power/heat at home and survived huddled in a van for several days.
Sunday, Feb. 21st- Our water came back on! But, we are under a boil water notice. And it is good the taps are running because there is no more snow to melt. Sunny and 72 degrees. I heard a screech owl trilling in the evening, so I know at least one owl survived the cold. I have heard many birds died.
Monday, Feb. 22nd- 75 beautiful degrees and I saw my first crane fly of the season.
Tuesday, Feb. 23rd- The City of Austin lifts our boil water notice. We are blessed to have clean, running tap water. This winter storm has been a humbling experience. Things have become more normal again. Knock wood, this will be the last of the Winter for us Central Texans. Repairs to burst pipes and water damaged homes are keeping plumbers and others busy. Our concerns will become “normal” again…like where we can find a covid vaccine shot.
Natural Musings 