An Uncertain Spring

Eastern Towhee, male

“It was an uncertain spring.”

-Virginia Woolf

Not much has gone as planned this month, but that has pretty much been the case for the past year or more.

Previously I had to reschedule many appointments and procedures due to Mojo’s emergency surgeries. He’s doing well and pretty much healed up at this point, but it was a long process to get him to that point. It just took time.

Last weekend our 21 year old furnace bit the dust and it was a struggle to keep our home comfortable with 3 portable electric heaters. Temperatures dropped well under freezing and many of the plants and trees that budded out too soon were zapped by the returning cold weather. The chorusing frogs grew silent again and migrant birds that had travelled north on past warm strong winds frantically searched for food, since the insects went back into hiding as well.

All of my medical appointments had to be rescheduled again. A furnace install also takes time and we had to be present while the work was done. We had workers in the crawlspace, on the main floor and in the attic, so there was no getting away from the noise, but Mojo handled it much better than I thought he would. He’s a very noise reactive boy, and we were all very relieved when the 6 day long job was finished. It was all a bit unsettling. I’m grateful that we were able to obtain quick financing as well as we have no such thing as an emergency fund and haven’t for a very long time.

Hopefully I will be able to complete the ct on my heart this coming week, then do the same for my pulmonary function tests and another PET scan later on in the month. I have very understanding professionals working with me, thank goodness, since all of this has been totally out of my control.

*hit happens, and in our case it tends to happen often. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the migrants that I’m hearing pass through and once in awhile I get a quick glimpse of them. The Eastern Towhee male that I photographed through a window has been here for a couple of weeks and I have hopes that a pair will nest out in the clearcut area again, as they did last year. I love hearing them.

The Pileated Woodpecker female is still inside her nest excavation, but it is becoming more difficult to see her with the trees slowly leafing out. I’m just happy she didn’t abandon the hole, after working on it for over 3 weeks. Cold weather and bird eggs rarely mix well.

We celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary on the 28th. I normally post photos from a trip up to the hills on that day, as we've long kept a tradition of heading up to search for morels and wildflowers with whichever furry family member is with us that year.

But this year has been anything but normal. There are so very few flowers up, and I tire much easier than even last year at this time.

But, none of that really matters. I'm right where I belong with the one that has always made my heart dance, and after all of this time he still does. In a world filled with uncertainties, our love for each other is one certainty I can count on no matter what, and for that I am so very grateful.

Peace.