Wow, it’s already November. I feel like 2020 has been The Year Covid Stole. Or at the very least, The Summer Covid Stole. Although the trouble didn’t really begin here in the U.S. until March, I had the flu in late February, so for me it’s been shitty pretty much all year. I think I’ve weathered the pandemic OK, but the fires have been a bit much. Also, the one thing I could have/was going to do this summer was derailed by a big earthquake.
My plan was to take a week off and do about five days of solo dispersed camping in Bear Valley, Idaho. However, right where I was going to go, there was a 6.5m earthquake. This was, if I remember correctly, in mid-late March. I assumed there would likely be aftershocks, so I canceled my plans. There have been mild aftershocks of anywhere from 2.0-4.2, and there was a 4.2 aftershock that took down a mountainside that was popular with climbers. So I am glad I didn’t go because I was planning on hiking in the Sawtooth range, and I know that area well enough to know that even a small aftershock can leave someone stranded or dead.
I’m sitting here on the couch watching the jays swoop down into my patio area to get the peanuts I left them on the table. There is such a stark difference in behavior between the California Scrub Jay and the Stellar’s Jay. The Scrub Jay is louder and more aggressive and greedier (he tries and fails repeatedly to take off with too many nuts), but also more apprehensive. If he sees me, even just sitting on the couch, he won’t come to the table. The Stellar’s Jay (my buddy Max), on the other hand, seems smarter and less afraid of me. He looks right at me, but he goes to the table for the nuts anyway. He picks one up, drops it down his craw, and picks another one up and flies away. He’s so beautiful and adorable. There is actually more than one; sometimes I see up to three of them. But there is one who reliably comes every morning looking for nuts, sometimes as if on cue when I come downstairs for my 8:00am break on a weekday. One day when I was out there hanging a suet feeder he came and perched on the fence. I said, “Hi Max! Hey buddy, don’t be afraid of me. I’m the one who feeds you. You’re such a pretty boy. Who’s a pretty boy, Max?” He then decided I was safe and swooped down to get his snack.
The hummingbirds have also been reliable visitors. Ever since I learned that the Anna’s Hummingbird is a year-round resident here, I’ve been keeping the feeder out and filled with fresh nectar. I even use filtered water and since it began getting colder, I’ve been putting a little extra sugar in it. If it starts freezing and they’re still coming around, I may even get a heater for it. There are a total of three who are extremely territorial and sometimes fight over it so much, none of them get to it.
It’s been so beautiful around here. With all this time I have outside of work with no social life aside from texting, I’ve been keeping the house and garage and patio very clean and orderly. With everything so clean and all the warm, lovely dim lighting I’ve been using, it almost feels fancy here. To me, anyway. I grew up so poor, we had chimney fires and the roof leaked in several places every time it rained. It was so bad we had empty butter and sour cream containers and small buckets all over the place on the floor to catch the dripping water. There was soot all over the ceiling from the house fires we had. Then when we finally lived in a house that wasn’t a slum, the pipes and drains froze solid in the winter so we either didn’t have running water or couldn’t drain the bathtub or both. And we couldn’t afford much electricity, so my mom would shut off most of the house and we’d pretty much live in the living room with a fire in the wood stove or a space heater going. Most of our food came from the food pantry at our church or was donated to us. I lived on toast and saltine crackers which I spread margarine and jam on.
Now I have a few pieces of solid wood furniture, can afford to turn on the heat, and can afford to buy enough food. I have only 1,008 square feet and we live very modestly. I gross $53,560/year and a lot is deducted from it (taxes, 401(k) contribution, medical/dental/vision insurance, extra life insurance, etc.) so I only take home $1,435 every two weeks. But it’s more than a lot of people are making right now, and I can work from home and love what I do and the people I work with. I am extremely lucky. Yes, I did work hard to get where I am, but I am also lucky. My credit is good and I try not to live beyond my means. Each credit card I use gets paid off every month unless I have an expensive emergency like auto repair, a big medical expense, or a household catastrophe (like plumbing or electrical). My car is paid off and I don’t have a car payment in my budget, nor could I fit one in it. So I honestly don’t know how I’ll afford a car payment when I need a new car.
Anyway… the lovely weather and change of seasons has made this place even more beautiful with a smattering of fallen oak leaves on the patio and the sun coming through the kitchen window box. The sun at a lower angle also comes through the blinds in my bedroom in the afternoon and hits my closet doors, which are giant 8-foot mirrors. I wish we could just go back and forth between spring and fall all year.
Well, I need to go. My son’s girlfriend just came downstairs to tell me that my son has a fever and an appointment tomorrow afternoon to get a Covid test…