Late-night visitor

May 3, 2020Bob, photography, Sunnybook Farm, wildlifesusanmanzke

For the first time this year, I set up our critter cam. It was one of Bob’s favorite ‘toys’ and brought back many good memories of him.

What I hoped to capture was the black bear who pooped in our front yard Friday night–Bob had always wanted to see that wandering bear, but though neighbors had seen it, Bob never got a glimpse.

Well, it finally came close enough to our house to touch, yet I had no photo. The critter cam was still sitting on Bob’s desk, waiting for me and for new batteries.

These are a couple photos the critter cam snapped last night:

I knew there was a raccoon visiting. I had seen it before, eating leftover cat food.

I didn’t know two raccoons were coming for late-night snacks.

No bear showed up last night, at least not on camera.

Later, I’ll take a look around for more bear scat. Maybe it visited the other side of the house.

No matter, I’ll go outside during the day, but after dark you’ll find me indoors.

I’m not going to take any chances surprising visiting wildlife at night. It’s the smart thing to do.

Newborn photo

May 2, 2020Family, photographysusanmanzke

I was looking through some papers and had a photo show up.

It brought back many memories.

Can you guess who this is?

If you know our family you won’t have any trouble naming this baby.

The second photo shows a pink hospital top. That narrows down the identification of the baby.

The baby is Rachel Jo. She came into the world in July 1982.

I believe I will use a Rachel baby photo for the cover of my next book, a collection from 1982-1983. It seems appropriate to use it.

It’s about time

May 1, 2020pets, Sunny, worksusanmanzke

I know I’ve washed the kitchen floor in the past, but when I don’t exactly remember… It’s only me here after all.

Today, I ended my moratorium on floor washing.

As spring rains arrived, Sunny dog left tracks on the linoleum before I could stop him at the door. He was in a hurry to have breakfast and didn’t care about wiping his feet.

I bit the bullet, moved table and chairs, and mopped the floor.

No one will see my work, as no one comes into my house these days. It still is a good feeling to get this done.

The next time Sunny comes in with wet/muddy paws, I’m going to make sure I catch him and wipe his feet. It was my fault that he decorated the kitchen floor with his footprints. I need to be faster with the dog towel. After all, Sunny doesn’t care if the floor sparkles or not when food is on his mind.

FYI: Don’t forget to search for Susan Manzke on YouTube.com for more stories read by me. There are over 30 now.

Not a poet

April 30, 2020writingsusanmanzke

When I started writing (late teens and early twenties) I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write. I just knew I did.

At one point, I thought poetry looked easy. Poems were short, or at least the ones I read were. So I tried my hand at poetry, writing in a notebook, and typing some out.

So you won’t have to strain your eyes reading the poem in the photo. Here it is:

Sorry

Sorry for the words I said.

Sorry for the things I did.

Sorry when I tried to stay.

Sorry that I went away.

Sorry when I left home.

Sorry while I’m left to roam.

Sorry when I’m all alone.

But most of all

Sorry that I wrote this poem.

I hope you are smiling at the young me trying to be a poet. There are other poems, just as terrible. Good thing I redirected myself away from poetry. It just wasn’t a good fit.

Don’t forget to check out my Youtube.com channel where I’m reading columns from the early years.

Scanning the past

April 29, 2020Family, Memories, photographysusanmanzke

I’ve been working on setting another collection of my columns in book form. Now that most of my words are digitized, I’m looking to add photos.

I found a photo book from 1982-83 that will work. Now comes the hard part, selecting ones to include.

Then scanning them, as nothing was digital back then.

This takes time but also brings back good memories. Often my scanning process pauses as I reminisce. My book may take longer to put together because of these long pauses, but in today’s world taking time to remember family times is a good thing.