The rest of the story

Today I woke feeling so much better, and finally looked at the date. Yesterday's was my mother's birthday. I had not noticed the date but clearly my mind did. 

It explains the tiredness, the waking nightmare I got up with, about having a paralytic stroke and being completely helpless. That's what happened to her.  Clearly my mind was working on it while I was struggling and unaware.

Today is a better day, and oddly, it's the birthday of the brother I mourned in January, but it's okay.

I went out to see how the downed tree was doing, and found the landscapers had done as I hoped, cut and chipped the small branches, cut up the main trunk and pulled the sections among the trees to decay. Good stewardship, though it was probably more about convenience.

Here's a beautiful lichen that had been high above, out of sight, before the tree fell.

So I made it to the pond, thanking my foresight for the boots, since it's all mud all the time over there.

It's the last place where you can see ice at the moment. It's pretty shallow and I'm guessing it froze solid. Now it's starting to thaw around the edges. 

On the way home I saw what's probably an abandoned houseplant, looking elegant and the rabbit approves.

Yesterday I prepped all those Misfits strawberries -- all totally ripe, not one had to be discarded --and threw out the tops thinking squirrels might like a bit of fresh fruit.

He and his friend were stuffing them in this morning,  and carrying them away.  They both looked pretty sleek, great food around this neighborhood.

Happy day everyone, good to know what was up yesterday, though the state of the world still leaves a lot to be desired.  But I feel more capable of doing my bit today.