Living with a well

  I remember depending on a well for water. My husband grew up in a house with a hand dug well. Every year he and his brother had to go down into the well and dig / remove the sentiment to keep water available.  

When we moved into the house (1740 stone farmhouse) the well would go dry every summer. (and as an adult, he was too large to go into the well and dig) But we also belonged to a community pool, so we'd go over to the pool to take showers until the water level rose again. City water came to the development to the south of us. Next year came to the development north of us. But to reach us, we had to pay several thousand dollars - which we finally did.

When I wrote two biographies a year

 When I was doing biographies, I'd amass all the research on 4/6 cards, researching over 6 months on days off or taking vacation time, then I'd schedule a week off from work (the end of April or sometime in May was my favorite time because of warmer weather and FLOWERs) and sit at the computer all day and write. (arranging each chapter's research cards on my bed in chronological order, then writing the chapter. 

Rinse/repeat) 

By the end of the week I had 10 chapters/ over 20 thousand words which was the amount needed for those books at that time.

Cat tree

 Time to put  up the tree?

This one?

Or maybe time to take down THIS tree and put up the green one?

We're in trouble

 It's a proven fact that there have been too many humans on this planet for the last 50 or more years. Also a proven fact that, when a group of (plants or animals) become too many for their environment, bad things happen. disease or starvation. We staved off starvation because of learning intensive farming and drilling deep down to the last supplies of underground water. But now disease has hit us.  

--- IIn 1950 there were 2.5 billion people on the planet. Now in 2019, there are 7.7 billion. By the end of the century the UN expects a global population of 11.2 billion.

--- In 2019, there were 7.7 billion. By the end of the century the UN expects a global population of 11.2 billion. But that was before COVID-17 began cutting down the human population.

Navigating Life

 My family always depended on me to navigate during long car trips. I was the map reader. (once, when it was my turn to drive, husband navigated me across a river into a different state/ NOT where we intended to go) Even without a map, I seem to have a 'navigation bump.' I'm thinking it began when I was 8 and climbing mountains on my own with just a lunch bag. Mom taught me to take direction from the sun, to stop and eat the lunch when the sun was right above me (usually on a rock in a meadow surrounded by sheep), and then head back home, reaching home before 5 pm. 

I also use landmarks. Don't tell me to turn on such and such a street. Tell me to turn right at the church, then left on the street behind the church. Telling me your address is fine, but telling me that it's the fifth house on the right is better.

I almost always can tell if I'm going north or west. But why I kept turning east to get to the beach after I moved to the Pacific coast confused me, until I realized that my mind KNEW that the beach was to the east (in Maryland). :) (news note - the beach is to the west of us here on the Pacific coast. :) )

I feel like I'm going uphill when I go North. And I always feel like I'm going downhill when going South. Do you?

Halloween candy

 They used to sell bags that had only one type of candy in it.  

This year I wanted to buy a bag of Butterfingers, which I used to be able to get, and all I see at stores are bags of LOOK HERE WE HAVE SAMPLES OF 4 to 8 DIFFERENT CANDIES. Don't want that -- too much in them that I don't want to eat. 　 Besides, the kids on my circle are growing up and either don't trick or treat any more, or else they take everything in the bucket out front that I set out for the kids, leaving nothing for other kids.  

I bet nobody comes this year which is why I only want to put out candy that I like to eat. 　

Stranger in the house

Something black on my living room wood floor.  

Spider? No. Too fat/ too long. Look closer -- it's a baby lizard. Hmmm, inside my house is no place for him. No food.  

So I topped him with a plastic cup, slid a stiff sheet of plastic under the cup, took him outside, and tossed him into the grass. He'll do better there. So many baby lizards around right now. It's a population boom.