Around OakMeadows

Carolina Wren

We are getting a whole house generator. I have wanted to get one for several years. It is not so much for the occasional power outage but for the power outage that follows a hurricane. I am convinced that climate change will mean more hurricanes and more severe weather in general. We spent a miserable 3 days without power after Hurricane Ike even though we had a gasoline generator to keep fans and the refrigerator going. We are now 12 years older and less able to cope with the heat and humidity. I have 2 companies coming out next week to give us estimates. 

The Covid-19 pandemic continues. Google says 137,000 Americans have died from Covid-19; the NYT says 135,324. It is just hard to comprehend so many deaths. We are in the middle of a surge of cases with the daily death toll climbing.  From what I have read, the sequelae in recovery can be both long and serious. Joe and I remain in self quarantine.

It is very pleasant to sit outside under the trees in the mornings and read and watch the birds come to the various feeders. On a typical day, we see

Birds

     Doves

     Blackbirds (Grackles and Red-Winged Blackbirds)

     Woodpecker

     Cardinals

     Carolina Wrens

     Mockingbirds 

     Crows

     Carolina Wrens

     Chickadees 

     Blue Jays 

     Cattle Egrets 

     Hummingbirds 

Insects

      Little Sulphurs 

      Giant Swallowtail 

      Monarchs 

      Gulf Fritillary 

Mammals

      Squirrels 

      Raccoons 

      Occasionally a deer

I find watching the Wildlife very helpful in dealing with the isolation of the pandemic. And, of course, my two cats, Tigger and Henry, and my dog, Angie, do their part to keep the circus going.

I just started reading Walter Isaacson’s very entertaining and informative biography of Benjamin Franklin. More on Old Ben later.