Friday, March 13, 2020

Happy Friday The 13th!!

Just a little chuckle to get your day going.  Here's a project I can really get my teeth into.  My crochet skills are excellent and I'm sure I could make this work.

Please everyone, don't let the media scare the daylights out of you.  This is not the bubonic plague that's going around, it just the latest form of flu.  It's definitely not a good thing if you are in an assisted care facility where everyone's immune system is compromised.

Wash your hands, use those wipes at the grocery store for the cart and continue on.  Know the symptoms ... a fairly high fever for maybe 8-12 hours, then a dry cough.  No stuffy head, no runny nose.  Drink lots of Gatorade if you do get sick, since that's what the hospitals are giving patients and listen to Dr. Drew.  He thinks all of this craziness is due to the media talking about medical issues when they have not a clue of which they speak.

If you DO have an already compromised immune system, stay home.  Don't go to the grocery store or church or anywhere people congregate.
So ... on with the birds of Arizona.  Just OUTSIDE the hummingbird aviary was this guy having lunch.  His little beak is totally buried in that flower.  
Inside we found this little one posing on the perfect branch.  Although we asked everyone, no one knew exactly what his name was.  We could find nothing with an orange beak in the brochure.
These kids are so entertaining, I could sit and watch them for hours.  Although there were four nests hidden in the trees, my fellow bird lovers and I could not find a single one.  
Lookie here though!!!  Again, outside the aviary in a tree next to the walkway, I spotted a whitish ball.  Sure enough, it was a hummingbird nest.  As I tried to get a picture through the branches and leaves, who should appear but Momma!!  Isn't she just the cutest ever?  As you an tell, she barely fits in the nest.  
They also have an entire building full of creepy things like snakes, spiders and killer frogs.  Okay, maybe the frogs aren't killers, but they are huge and weird looking.
As I walked in, I heard a sneeze.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  I just got over a cold and I do NOT want another one.  I took the above picture and waited.  SNEEZE!!  That was it for me, I was out the door in a flash.  So here's a couple of pictures from years past.
The critters are fascinating and definitely a must-see.  Personally, I see enough of them around my house to skip the reptile building this trip.
On the way out I stopped by the gift shop, but found nothing that excited me.  On a lark, I took the long road home over Gates Pass.  This road was started in 1883 by who else, but Thomas Gates.  He was looking for a shortcut west through the mountains and bought up all the land in order to make this road.  Being a saloon owner and rancher, he had plenty of money to do so.  
In six years there have been over 58 wrecks, so drive carefully.  It's very narrow with lots of blind curves.  Do NOT drive your RV over this road.  This is also happy saguaro and organ pipe land.  Just look at all the cactus!
There is no place to stop here, so I stopped in the middle of the road for this view before heading over the top.  Don't miss this drive .... it's short but beautiful.
Back to my dandelions, I swear there were zero in the yard.  The next morning there were over 100 AGAIN!!  I ordered fertilizer/dandelion killer from Amazon.  I'm hoping it works, but honestly I'm afraid it will make the grass grow so fast I'll need a roomba lawn mower to keep up.  It's funny though, because this morning when I went outside, there was not a dandelion to be seen.  Something must be eating them or do they close up at night?
My plan for today was to head off to Tubac, but I got the dates wrong.  Then I remembered it was Friday the 13th.  It would probably behoove me to stay home where I'm safe and sound.  Tomorrow I'll drive down to Tubac and see what trouble I can get in to.







19 comments:

  1. Those Dandelions are Radikia in Greek...they make a dish called Horta out of them (although in reality, Horta is a catch-all term which simply means boiled greens). NO THANK YOU for me, but Marcia makes it, typically out of Kale.

    As I stated in my blog, it is going to be an interesting 4-6 weeks. If the death rate is low, they will say all the measures taken prevented it from growing big despite the President. If it blows up into a world-wide deadly epidemic (it won't), it will be the President's fault. Frankly, I just hope this opens the eyes of the higher up seeing that we are at risk allowing China to make so many of our important drugs.

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    1. I totally agree Dave. It's all so political. It makes me mad that people are actually acting like this, like spoiled children!! Look at the swine flu that killed over 200,000. I don't remember ANY panic when that happened!! Oh well, this too shall pass.

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  2. Pshaw for the panic. We don't get caught up in that crap as we know we are doing what we can. Yes, avoid sneezers and coughers everywhere.
    Cute hummers and I've now seen a momma in a nest too at Rose's house! Adorable!
    You could make dandelion wine if you are so inclined! :)

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    1. Dandelion wine? Well I'm sure I have enough to do that!!! LOL

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  3. Kathy has the same reaction any time she hears someone sneeze or cough whenever she's out in public.
    We agree that lots of the News is Hype but we do get some information that we didn't know.
    Be Safe and Enjoy your trip to Tubac.


    It's about time.

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    1. It's just funny to me that FOOD has not been hoarded. And this isn't even the kind of flu where you will NEED toilet paper! LOL

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  4. Loved the toilet paper pic :)) Those Hummingbird pictures are cute. Great job getting them. The dandelions do close at night according to Mr Google and then one morning they open as white puffy seeds to spread everywhere. :))

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    1. Oh I see ... thanks Doug. I couldn't figure out where they all went!! My fertilizer/weed control stuff is here, but not safe for pets. It will have to wait until I leave, which will probably be too late.

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  5. While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.
    Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.

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    1. There was a woman that was interviewed that had the virus and she couldn’t understand why all the run for toilet paper it makes no sense
      I was in BJs yesterday And they was a mad rush to buy water. BJ’s was only limiting two cases per card
      DON,T some of these people realize they have tap water and there’s no hurricane in sight
      Forget about the hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes rubbing alcohol they are not existing
      I wonder if we can use 151 rum as a hand sanitizer and gargle. but the trouble is we might swallow (You never know where that pesky virus is lurking)
      But if it’s any consolation ,, BJ’s is selling gas for $1.97 now

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    2. It's crazy Ed. You're right, the water faucet will still turn on. Why aren't they hoarding food? This isn't even THAT kind of flu where you're going to NEED toilet paper.

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  6. Love the toilet paper roll. Jerry said if we run out of toilet paper we have plenty of shop towels. I know.....gross. Moving on.....love the pictures today. Later I'll check them out on the PC. Have a great day!

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    1. Someone else told me coffee filters!! Don't tell anyone or there will be a run on those too!!! LOL

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  7. Someone on line was trying to sell toilet paper for $100.00 a roll. Seriously???? I wrote that this germ isn't causing the runs but is more of a bad cold symptoms; some do get the runs but it is not the main issue it is like a bad chest cold. I also said that there is a lot of toilet paper coming into the stores and see no reason to hoard it let alone try and sell it for $100.00 a roll. So I hope people don't get hookED into getting some from these scalpers as it isn't necessary. New supplies are coming in each week the stores are stocking it as well. This guy who is selling it took it out of its package and is holding a roll so it is contaminated He also piled it around his toilet for lack of a better and less contaminated place. DON'T GET TAKEN IN BY THIS. This virus is mostly upper respiratory only very few get the runs. My Grama always said that during the war toilet paper was scarce and they had to cut up old undershirts and other things made of soft cloth to use as toilet paper and they kept a disposal bag made of plastic in the bathroom. An alternative to a problem that could be used if needed but I really don't think it will be needed. I was shocked to learn first hand about this guy selling toilet paper for $100.00. and contaminated at that.

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    1. You are exactly right Kathy!!! Crazy people out there right now!!

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  8. Hi Nancy,
    We will not be in the show tomorrow in Tubac. We have decided to self quarantine for the next few weeks until we see how bad the virus is. As far as I know, there have not been any confirmed cases in Green Valley. On the other hand, there's no way to know because there's no data and no test kits available. Our son and family live in Seattle and it's a serious problem that will spread. The situation is so fluid and unknown that we would rather take precautions now. So far most of the facilities here are still open, but I expect that to change as the virus begins to spread. Our clay studio will be closing indefinitely after tomorrow. It's a scary time and we all need to think about the decisions we're making right now. Green Valley is very much at risk because of the demographics. So, with that, I really hope to meet up with you but it could be awhile.
    Stay safe.

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    1. I'm sorry you are closing up Judy. I've watched several videos from people who have already recovered from that flu, who say it's very mild. However, if you have a compromised immune system, it's probably better to stay home. We'll meet up on down the road!

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  9. Maybe that one hummingbird dipped into a bag of Cheetos? Or whatever the bird equivalent of that is?

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    1. Hahahah Linda ... it does look like that, doesn't it!!!!! Too funny.

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