Wednesday, December 30, 2020

getting the vaccine, confused flowers, and 2020 review


I have an appointment on January 26 at 6 PM, eleven days after the first date it had shown me two or three hours earlier, to get my first covid vaccination shot. Out of the 9 available locations I focused on the two nearest me, both nearly an hour away. It took me a good 15 minutes flipping back and forth between the two locations, constantly refreshing the sites. Four times it gave me a date and time and then before I could get name, email, and phone entered and clicked register it told me that, oops, someone else already got that one. Many times it told me no dates or times available and to try again but I persevered and finally succeeded in getting an appointment. Not my first choice in location but no farther away. I don't know which vaccine I'll get.

My sister sent me a link to a site that lists all the places in Texas that have and are distributing the vaccine and surprisingly enough, the HEB (grocery) pharmacy in this little podunk town has it but is only vaccinating front line healthcare workers right now. I imagine they have the Moderna vaccine since it doesn't need extraordinarily frigid temps to store it as I'm pretty sure the HEB doesn't have sub-zero celsius storage capacity.

It seems the word has gone out that the bird feeder is open for business. I'm seeing chickadees and sparrows and the little warblers that winter over here and white wing doves and inca doves and cardinals and goldfinches that are migrating through. And of course the curious little wrens though they don't eat seed.

Yesterday morning I looked out the back door and there was, no surprise, a squirrel on the bird feeder with it's back to me. I opened the door, it ignored me, I walked right up to it, it ignored me, I poked it on the butt, it sat up and looked at me. What are you doing I said and then it finally jumped down and went up the tree. Later in the day I saw the same squirrel, I'm sure it was the same squirrel by the way it was behaving, on the rim of the turtle pond acting sort of woozy with its tail in the water trying to get a drink which it did and then jumped down and went over to the overturned bucket on the ground upon which I had put a hand full of pecans and there it stayed. I took its picture and came inside. Haven't seen it since but that squirrel is not well.

I had thought I would get out there and clear out the last 12' in the barn yesterday as the days are nice and warm but it was so windy and gusty that raking and sweeping would have been an exercise in futility and I finally got tired of being pushed around by the wind and came in so maybe today as we're supposed to get to the mid 70s.

I saw the first bloom of the 10 petal anemone in the yard yesterday

and there is a bluebonnet plant in the front that is putting out buds. In December.

Some of the plants look like this

when they should look like this at best this time of year.

And the spring weeds in the yard have just exploded the last few days. It looks so fresh and green. In December. The woodland violets and the little yellow oxalis are starting to bloom.

This is all way early y'all.

Well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I suppose this is when I usually post about the past year but I think it can be summed up in a few words...as bad as we thought 2019 was, 2020 was exponentially worse, the only bright spot being that we kicked Trump to the curb. I'll leave it at that.



19 comments:

  1. It may have rabies. I wouldn't poke it again.

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    1. I don't think it had rabies but no, I don't plan on poking it again. it's more likely rat poison.

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  2. You remember our confused - forsythia - it's still confused. Who knows what it will think or do in February.

    Your summary of the year is spot on.

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  3. Maybe your squirrel suffers from the same fate as a couple of the ones living here, Raccoon poop, worm that gets into the brain and causes tipsy behavior, starvation and death. Plants are confused here as well. Buds that are going to get nipped!

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  4. Good for you for making that appointment for getting the vaccine. My son, a frontline worker is getting it on January 5, but beyond that, I have no idea when us regular folk will be able to get in line. I'd take it tomorrow if given the chance.

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  5. Yep. That squirrel ain't right. Not normal squirrel behavior but it looks healthy enough.
    The weather here is glorious and for whatever godforsaken reason I don't have the energy for anything. I did the tiniest amount of stuff in the yard and now I feel like crying.
    Pretty much sums up 2020 for me.
    So glad you're scheduled to get the vaccine. I have to get my forms in to the health department. Just found out that our kitty-corner-across-the-street neighbors have the virus.

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  6. I'm glad you have an appointment scheduled for the vaccine shot. We haven't heard a word here about when it will be available. We're hoping soon.
    Bummer about the squirrel. The fact that it didn't run from you right away is such a sad sign of it not being well. I hope it doesn't suffer too much.
    Beautiful pics of what's growing there. Nice to see in these dark days of winter.

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  7. I have not heard word one about availability here. As far as I know it's medics and long-term care residents now. I don't believe appointments are available for the next tier, which includes my son the grocery store worker, and me, the ancient party.

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  8. May the upcoming year be an improvement. With Trump gone, it should.
    Love the flowers. :)

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  9. Jim and I are in AZ group 1C. They're doing health care people, older than 75 people, then older than 65 people. By 1C it should be available in doctors' offices. That's the plan, who knows what will happen. It's interesting that Texas and Florida (and one other state I can't remember) decided to do older people before health care workers. I would do this tomorrow if it were available.

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  10. I was watching the lines of elderly people waiting in line in the cold in Florida for 24 hours for their vaccine shot. From what I have read about their Governor, this seems par for the course. I hope our Governor in PA will have a better, more responsible, and more coordinated plan. Anything would be better than that debacle.

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  11. It looks like we're both in line for some rain. I just looked at the totals on a map, and even though it's still moving north of you, East Bernard's had two inches. We don't need a lot, but a couple of inches would be fine. I can't believe you have an anemone blooming already. I did see some healthy bluebonnet plants in the hill country, but they still were at the just-leaves stage. I remember being amazed last year at how much earlier your natives bloomed. It's a reminder that I need to get out and about a little earlier myself, just to see what's happening.

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  12. Ohio has a sign up sheet, too, but my county is only giving shots at the Health District office. I'll have to find out about that, and what I should do.
    I remain a great fan of anemone, and love the little ten petal fellow.

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  13. Yeah, even I can tell that that's way early for those flowers to be so far along. Our lupines (bluebonnets) are much less developed, not surprisingly, since we're so much farther north. I hope getting the vaccine goes smoothly! It's so great that you and Ms. Moon have already been able to make appointments. We're in a holding pattern here.

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  14. Vaccines only for medical, essential people around here so far. Heard we may be able to get it by April so we will see... I can be patient as I am retired and don't HAVE to DO anything! Hope you have a happy, healthy 2021!

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  15. We regularly see drunk squirrels after they have eaten too much fermented stuff, especially when we have too many overripe grapes. They are lethargic and sometimes even fall over. When I saw my first one I actually called the wild animal vet hotline and they explained. The tinkg is to see whether they drink (from a bird bath or similar). If not, they are unwell, if drunk, they'll drink.

    We had a case where several health workers were accidentally given the BionTech vaccine at a five times dose (poorly trained medics used the entire ampulle for one vaccine shot insetad of five) and they have been under watch for 48 hrs with no side effects apart from feeling a bit flu-ish but no fever. The BionTech makers explained that they actually tested higher doses as part of their study with no negative effects.

    Spring is already showing up here too, very odd.

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    1. I'd prefer the Pfizer Biontec vaccine but I think they'll be giving me the Moderna. got any info on that?

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  16. I was thinking rabies or Covid for that squirrel and I would get a 22 and shoot it, if it continues to behave oddly. (not that I can still shoot a 22 after all thse years.)

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.