Sunday, September 02, 2023

On a whim, I’m going to do something that feels special. I’ve enrolled in a Zoom class to try and learn to speak Yiddish. It was the language of my grandparents, of my father, and a secondary language for my mother and her siblings. As a child hearing it spoken, I never tried learning it. In my very early years, public notions didn’t think anything good about being an immigrant. I wasn’t encouraged to learn to speak like a Jew.

Through the years since my early days, Yiddish has become much less spoken and also less read. I’ve been aware of this, gradually understanding that I missed a grand opportunity. Learning Yiddish also would have been an opportunity to learn more about my grandparents’ early lives.

My maternal grandparents immigrated with their small children from Odessa, Russia. I’ve always been interested in what their “early Odesa” might have been like; I’ve always wished to visit contemporary Odesa (pre-Ukraine war). The current war especially has put these feelings more on my mind.

Maybe it was no whim that motivated me to enroll in the Yiddish class. Maybe it was more about trying to realize some long-held wishes. It’s a complicated mix of past and present.

I can’t think more about that now, for Gustavo is arriving soon. He will finish repairing my horse fencing, and I must help him. But stay tuned, for soon the learning will begin.

Dear Friends: A challenge for a “no other languages” type who speaks only English. Diana

Friday, September 01, 2023

Last year, for months, I worked at Winco as a cashier. That’s where Ava and I became friends. She had been working at that cut-rate supermarket for years and helped me know how to perform my role more effectively. All her co-workers trusted her as our go-to for advice.

Last fall, I quit working at Winco, and suddenly, for reasons I can’t fully understand, except that occasionally, I can become sort of a drop-out. Afterward, I stayed home, concentrating on property and animals. Months passed before I sought outside work again.

Back then and feeling guilty about quitting my job suddenly, I avoided shopping in Winco and lost touch with folks working there who had become friends. Including Ava.

Weeks ago, a chance meeting in Home Depot with Stacy, another friend from my Winco days, blew open my resistance to returning to Winco. I began shopping there and swapping greetings with acquaintances.

A couple of days ago, Stacy texted me that Ava was leaving soon and moving to Texas. I barely could absorb that because Ava has been a staple–besides Winco, she’s very close to her sisters who live here. Plus, her daughter frequently travels here to visit Ava.

What I appreciate about Ava, besides her intelligence and dedicated work ethic, is that she’s highly relationship-oriented, in other words, she’s a real friend. Stacy’s texts explained that Winco is in a state of chaos over Ava’s leaving. Here’s a funny thing, I am, too.

Yesterday, we met, and Ava explained why she’s moving. Her daughter has just closed on the purchase of a house which was affordable and is for Ava. It’s located in San Antonio, where Ava’s son and his child live. Her son is a working single parent, and Ava will assist him with her eight-year-old grandson.

She was edgy because of tasks she must complete before departing next week. Her sisters will join her on the drive to Texas and stay there a while to help arrange the new household.

Like many others, I’ll miss her. A good thing is that Ava follows this blog, so, we will stay in touch.

Bon voyage, Ava. I’m thrilled that you will have a house. I hope we may meet and catch up again when you’re here to visit your sisters.

Dear Friends: The great co-workers at Winco make me feel sorry I left. Diana

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Yesterday, your Moonchasers returned to their business of capturing the biggest and best full moon risings. We were working with new cameras and had too little practice using them, so couldn’t capture accurately the whole show as we had planned.

Nonetheless, a show it was! This year’s rising Super Blue Moon made a beautiful appearance while rising above the dark horizon of Horse Ridge. We were parked out on the desert side, east of town, in near-darkness where we could see the lengthy dark Ridge, and practiced with our cameras while waiting for that special moon’s earliest glow.

It didn’t disappoint. Susie has great sky sense and was quickest to spot an emerging light. And we watched, awed, as the oversized globe rose and brightened a great darkness. Susie quickly spotted Saturn above the moon, dimly apparent to the naked eye. We took pictures and peered through binoculars. And then, we sat and watched the moon’s ascent while talking and catching up with each other.

We exchanged happenings in our little worlds and in the shared larger world. I began thinking of not having fully appreciated why the moon offers inspiration and reassurance. Its darkness-breaking appearances certainly touch our most inner-human selves, relating us to all humans since before time immemorial. We’re affected by a new light and a sense of renewed hope.

As we chatted, I dreamed more contemporarily about the moon’s impact on us humans. Maybe its power is because it has constant behaviors–routine and predictable. That’s completely the opposite of Earth’s current social, economic, and political turmoils.

The moon is a visual icon of genuine dependability, with a constancy that reassures a larger universe with genuine order. Despite today’s confusing world, we can become soothed by reminders that orderly behaviors and processes exist.

About today’s header photo, it’s a hint. I’ve not yet had time to download all our photos. More will come.

Dear Friends: September’s wonderful Harvest Moon will send us chasing. Diana

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

This evening, moon-chasing friends Susie and I will be chasing the Earth’s current and larger-than-usual Super Blue Moon. We will be waiting in darkness on the city’s desert side to witness the very first moments of gorgeous moonrise. This rare and beautiful moon should produce magnificent and thrilling first lights.

Much information is easily available about blue moons, which aren’t really blue, and here I will skip those details. They’re interesting, though, and more understanding of them increases the beauty of seeing this moon.

What’s not so easily understood is all the excitement a moon’s first light can generate. Susie and I have often waited in dusk or full darkness to see a moon’s first rise. The light-breaking experience is a phenomenon that has thrilled humans since time immemorial. To me, it’s about a dawning light bringing together a new day and renewed hope. That strong sense of a “newness of it all” has drawn us to many rising moons.

As it will this evening. Susie’s technical bent will have determined our best-sighting location and will have rise-timing down pat. I’ll carry a camera for adding pictures tomorrow.

Dear Friends: Just beyond the city lights, a genuine light show can delight you. Diana

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

This day off from my outside job should be productive at home. Gustavo will arrive to complete the “broken fence posts” project. He also will install a pole light beside the house. Mike Holmes will be here, too, and will wire a starter button onto the tractor. What’s not finishable today could be re-addressed tomorrow, also a day off for me.

Pimmy’s infected hoof doesn’t seem to be improving. She’s still moving painfully. I’ve soaked and re-medicated the hoof and replaced its dressings, and by now, she shouldn’t feel much pain, if any. She is receiving half-doses of a pain medication that tends to be hard on an equine’s system. She can’t be hauled to Bend Equine because entering the trailer requires her to jump and put weight on the sore front hoof. So, a vet will come here Thursday morning and reassess the hoof.

It’s almost seven a.m., and Gustavo is on his way here. I must run out, feed animals, and be there to help organize him.

Dear Friends: Sightings of our current fabulous moon generate refreshed hope. Diana

Monday, August 28, 2023

I worked a late shift yesterday and left the store in darkness. Except that the sky was alight with an almost full moon. Did you see that moon! If so, keep watching, and if not, start watching. The Globe will become full, and in just a few more evenings, rise as a Super Blue Moon. Unfortunately, it’s destined to be Earth’s last Blue Moon until another 14 years pass.

Early this morning the almost full moon was a single visible object in the smoke-filled and overwhelmingly hazy air. To the west of us and nearby, there’s a wildfire blazing. For miles around, its heavy smoke has created unhealthy air.

Right now, we need this Super Blue Moon! Despite what’s happening with the Earth’s increasingly concerning social environment, our dependable little planet routinely and dependably does its stuff. Since time immemorial, that steadfastly behaving moon has offered its watchers inspiration and optimism.

Dear Friends: Enormous issues right now: climate, weapons control, and diversity. Diana

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Yesterday, I went out to purchase tiny baby diapers for newborns. They’re for protecting my donkey’s injured hoof–bandage-like–after it’s been soaked and medicated. I was shopping in a supermarket where I know some of its cashiers, and as anticipated got teased about being pregnant.

I’ve learned that covering a hoof with a diaper and taping it to dress an injury is easier than working with cotton. With cotton, one unrolls, cuts, and holds together its ends while simultaneously unrolling stocky tape and wrapping it around the cotton. Whoever got the notion of using a diaper instead deserves accolades.

Yesterday afternoon while Pimmy walked she looked better. She was putting more weight on the sad hoof, which in several days should be fine again. Nonetheless, that hoof has allowed for abscessing, and I must find out why. Hopefully, it’s a treatable condition.

Now’s the time to revisit my old standbys: broken fence posts, leaks in the septic system, and etc.

Dear Friends: Yes, and, at least, I’m not pregnant. Diana

Saturday, August 26, 2023

The equine veterinarian who came yesterday to examine Pimmy’s hoof described the donkey as a “perfect patient.” No surprise to me, for otherwise, I’d have stayed home instead of being away at work during the vet’s “farm call.”

As I suspected, Pimmy’s foot was abscessed. The vet said the abscess was very deep, and opening it released more fluid than is typical. Pimmy has lived with me for many years without any visible hoof problems until now because this abscess is her second in two years. Perhaps Pimmy has contracted a hoof disease and become more vulnerable to abscesses.

Those who’ve not had equines probably know very little about hoofs. They are actually very sensitive and complex structures. When I began with horses, I visualized hooves about the same as wooden blocks. In something less than a heartbeat, however, I learned that the health of its hooves either makes or breaks an animal.

Pimmy’s veterinarian said the abscess was located very close to the hoof’s “white line” and that Pimmy might have a “white line disease.” I’m unfamiliar with this disease and will research it. I hope a disease isn’t an underlying problem but, if so, that it’s treatable.

Meanwhile, the sore hoof is medicated and wrapped, and she’s receiving painkillers. Last night, she hobbled more willingly to feedings, and she had an appetite. Over the next few days, I will soak her hoof, re-medicate, and re-wrap it until she’s walking normally again.

If anybody wonders, Pimmy is about twenty years old. Generally, a donkey that’s well-cared for can live for around forty years.

Dear Friends: Thanks for sharing my distress and concerns for a sweet pet. Diana

Friday, August 25, 2023

The day before yesterday, I saw my donkey, Pimmy, limping badly and unable to tolerate weight on her right front foot. Immediately, I grasped the potential problem, grabbed a hoof pick, and began cleaning the painful foot. She didn’t flinch at the pick’s pressure and my digging, probably because I’m not strong enough to force a pick deeply enough into the hoof.

A year ago, I discovered Pimmy limping and behaving exactly the same as now, with a front hoof indicating lots of pain. That evening, back then, an equine veterinarian examined Pimmy’s hoof and discovered an embedded pebble causing an abscess. He eliminated the pebble, stuffed the cavity with medicine, and taped her foot. Immediately, the hoof could handle Pimmy’s weight, and she could navigate easily.

So, this time, understanding what might be wrong, I called Bend Equine, but no veterinarian would be available before the next day when Pimmy’s pain could be extreme.

Yesterday early, while nearing the barn to feed my equines, I saw a truck and trailer entering my property and stopping. A stranger emerged and ran toward me, pointing to my limping donkey. He explained he’s a farrier and wanted to help Pimmy. He enjoys seeing her when passing my place.

I thanked him, explained the abscess problem, and said the vet would arrive later in the day.

Later while coming home from work, I learned that an emergency at the Bend Equine clinic had prevented a veterinarian from coming to Pimmy. I found at work that my phone’s battery was dead, and arriving home saw poor Pimmy still in deep pain.

I raced to Bend Equine, through heavy afternoon traffic and delays at construction sites, arriving there just before it closed. Everybody there was apologetic and promised that a veterinarian would arrive to examine Pimmy first thing this morning. I left there with Butte Power, a painkiller, and an hour after dosing Pimmy, saw her appetite returning. I won’t “butte her” this morning so the veterinarian can assess her au naturally.

Today, I’ll be at work and have a charged phone. I’ll call at midday to learn the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery plan.

Dear Friends: Hopefully, it’s nothing worse than what I’m anticipating. Diana

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Yesterday, I was in a clean-up mood and running around looking for a “quickie mop.” I’m referring to a simple stick topped by a sponge and a squeegee. Home Depot doesn’t carry the small item, that’s no surprise. I went down the hill to Lowe’s and found that mop type, and only a few of them. Maybe small mops are scarce because many others, too, are in clean-up moods.

Could be, “Tis’ the season.” Or maybe there are shortages because of supply-side issues.

Anyway, I brought home that mop and roared through the “bird room.” First, clearing the floor beneath Gilber’s cage of dropped seeds and shaken feathers and dander. Gilbert, a pigeon, is an easy bird; but his frequent wing spreads and body shakes release and float lots of feathers and dander into the surroundings.

Next, I turned my attention to Cockatoo Peaches. His always-messy area seemed worse than usual.

Peaches is a Citreon Cockatoo, the smallest of the Cockatoos; he’s about the size of a Raven. Size doesn’t matter because he’s as noisy as any giant Cockatoo. Peaches constantly is talking, screaming, or singing, and making his presence known. Honestly, he sometimes makes me forget he’s only a bird and we have conversations.

Peaches tosses most of his food onto his cage floor. And lots of it onto my floor. I overfeed the guy because he weighs only 11 grams. I figure he needs lots to eat. However, he wastes nearly everything offered in his dish, and afterward, works intently at “pulling and “killing” the empty food vessel. I’ve had to do some clever anchoring to keep the dish put, which so far is working.

After scolding both birds for being untidy, and after cleaning up from them, I felt happier.

I’ve tried out many types of mops and for my purpose, a stick, sponge, and squeegee style works best. By the way, a day or two earlier while also at Lowe’s, I picked up a small rolling bucket that accommodated nicely my frequent sponge dippings.

Dear Friends: Next week, another appointment with birds, mop, and bucket. Diana