Picture Picture

April 8, 2020art, Familysusanmanzke

Wednesday is the usual time I gather with others to do volunteer work. My favorite thing to do is to cut old calendars and make flipbooks for special people in nursing homes. It’s a way to entertain them and to keep calendars out of trash or recycling.

This morning I was looking at a 2018 calendar. It still hangs on my wall, not the dates, but the beautiful photos continue to entertain me.

Every year our daughter, Rebecca makes a photo calendar for us. Her photos are so beautiful, I can’t bear to throw them out or make a flipbook out of them. Now I’ve found a way of re-using my calendars.

I fold them up, using the photo as a decoration on my kitchen wall.

I’m currently enjoying these ducks. They also remind me of the summer vacation we took as a family just a couple of years ago. Seeing the ducks makes me smile.

May you find beauty in your day today, too.

The highlight of the day

April 7, 2020Odds and endssusanmanzke

Today rain showers could pop up, but the temperature is going to near 60, so that’s nice.

I will take the dog for a walk, but that’s not the highlight of my day. Getting mail is.

First, I have to bring in my garbage container. Doing that isn’t even close to being a highlight, but it is great that the garbage was picked up again. These days I’m never sure what is considered essential.

As I said, the highlight is getting the mail. First, there’s the anticipation and then the discovery.

This reminds me of life when I was a child. I’d always keep an eye out for mail delivery. Maybe there would be a card from grandma or a letter from my Australian penpal, Pauline. A blue airmail envelope from the other side of the world was always very special. Now I can chat with Pauline online which is very good. But somehow those letters were extra special.

There wasn’t much in my mailbox today. But I sent out cards to grandchildren so they can find something in their own mailboxes later this week.

The excitement is now shared.

A toilet paper surprise

April 6, 2020cats, Odds and endssusanmanzke

Who would have thought I’d be writing about toilet paper? Not I.

I did not hoard any of those white rolls. Our cabinets usually have an ample supply both upstairs and downstairs. It amazed me that people were actually emptying the stores of toilet paper.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law. Ginny asked if I needed any canned cat food. She was heading into Dollar General in Black Creek, where I usually bought the cheapest canned cat food I found–it’s for the outside cats. They don’t get prime rib but with this added to dry food, they fill up and become fat and sassy.

I’ve been limiting their added canned food lately and they were not happy with the change in their diet. Now, I expect they will be happy with a little more of the canned food–not a lot, but a little. I mean they shouldn’t be so picky when begging at my door.

Ginny also wanted to know if I wanted anything else. “Do they have toilet paper?” I asked. “I can get along with what I have, but if they have any, get me a package.”

This was the surprise she brought me.

So the cats and I will continue on, thanks to my sister-in-law.

I hope everyone who can is staying safe at home. It’s the best place to be.

A bit of color

April 5, 2020nature, wildlife, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

I’m trying to bring more of my regular life back. This has little to do with the virus, but more about living without Bob.

While raking and picking up branches, I came across a tiny bit of color.

Seeing this feather made me stop.

It’s from a bluejay, so it’s not one to collect. It’s one to admire. BTW: those are basswood seed pods, not rabbit droppings.

The blue of the feather was what caught my attention. There are a lot of bluejays here. They hung out at our feeder all winter long.

I keep the outside cats well fed so they don’t go after the birds that come to our feeder.

This feather was alone. It wasn’t found amongst a pile of feathers–I take that as a sign that a cat had not had a meal.

Feathers that can be collected are from birds that are hunted: turkey, duck, and geese. Bob often brought home a found turkey feather for me. The bigs ones were easier to find and pick up. I treasure the ones I have.

Just saying a bit of beauty can be found everywhere, even when one is breaking her back picking up branches after winter storms–the basswood tree is notorious for dropping branches along with leaves and seed pods.

I encourage you to look for the beauty that surrounds us. The big and the small. The sunsets and the feathers. Each is a treasure as are you.

Getting out of doors

April 4, 2020Sunnybook Farm, worksusanmanzke

A farmyard is larger than most yards in town, times ten. So far I’ve raked about one percent of the lawn around my house. Yesterday, I raked and moved three wheelbarrows full of fallen sticks and last year’s leaves.

The day wasn’t as pretty as the day before, which took away the ‘fun’ of raking. I kept Sunny outside with me. After taking him for a potty walk, I slipped his lead over a heavy wooden chair and let him watch me work.

The soft soil makes pushing the wheelbarrow work, too, but it seems the best way I can move things right now.

See Sunny watching me from a distance through the glider.

I took a timeout from work on the glider. It needs oil as it squeaks. Bob hated its squeak. The squeak doesn’t bother me much. It actually reminds me of Bob. My husband couldn’t use the glider much as his bad hip made it difficult for him to get in and out of it.

This is just another day on Sunnybook Farm where I am self-isolating. This isn’t as bad as it sounds as I live in the best place on earth and Bob continues to be with me, even if in spirit.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person

Picture Picture

The highlight of the day

A toilet paper surprise

A bit of color

Getting out of doors