Where the buffalo and the freiers roam

I went blanket crazy in the late 70s. This was for our first house which was mainly orange.
 I made another full sized blanket for my new in-laws only to have it consumed in flames in 1982.
 I made a baby quilt for my cousin's baby and then 2 baby blankets for Shanna

the downfall of using an iPhone: no telephoto lenses though there are some snap ons I am considering.
These are buffalo outside the plastic surgeon's office I visited the other day. My son in law works in the
 same set
of offices where years ago, he met Shanna

 

Back in the day when 90 minutes of running had me covering much greater distances
 than these days, I would go on one of my routes, past the shaggy Scottish cow, past
the Sichuan pheasant farm, the miniature horse farm , a pig farm (very smelly when
 there was an east wind)and of course these buffalo (or their grandparents). In another
 direction, a bird farm full of pheasants, peacocks, and black swans. Excepting the
 buffalo, almost all these farms are gone replaced by encroaching development.

 

Where I live now should be more promising animal wise as there are many very lightly
travelled roads surrounded by deep forests and fields. I heard but did not see a peacock
 the other day ( a pet, they wouldn't live long on their own here), gold finches (lots of
 them back at the Money Pit but as they are back, I had Steve retrieve my finch feeder
plus a purple finch was outside my window here). I went by a place yesterday where
 I know there were peacocks as it is the orchard I took Tess to apple picking in the fall
but all their cute animals are being kept elsewhere. I interrupted a vulture with the older
 deer carcass (carrion must prefer older to newer as the fairly fresh deer has not been
 touched) and he could barely get off the ground to escape me. It is feast or famine
for vultures. They will eat so much sometimes, they can't fly but if they really, really
 have to, they can vomit on command. Bird rescuers have had their efforts to help
injured vultures rewarded with this vomit, which must be the most disgusting stuff ever.

 

It is cold and snowy contributing to my pity party along with a few other very petty
things. First up, the breaking of my commemorative 1950 engraved photoelectric
 glass etching of the Corning Glass Works. Steve had put this in the middle of a
 pile of papers I was retrieving way high above my head (he forgets I don't have
 his reach). It crashed to the ground and shattered into a zillion pieces, As I didn't
even know I had this until two days ago, I shouldn't feel a loss but I do. My daffodils,
 barely a week old, are all ugly. Then there is my nails.

I finally found some time for a mani-pedi. They were very busy so I waited
more than a half hour but as I was in a massage chair reading very tacky magazines,
 no problem. It was good to be massaged after an especially long run yesterday to
 make up for my sloth earlier in the week. The manicure was not very good though
 and the polish already started to slide off one of the nails. They are very pretty if you
 don't look too closely. Then there is the painter ( and the f***ing Money Pit). He
gave us a bid some time ago that was so high, we didn't even return his call. He
messaged our contractor that he was willing to work with us and accept a
reasonable hourly rate. Fine. We'd have him paint until we had enough.
The other day, he said it would be easy to remove the orange and blue wallpaper.
I hesitated because I liked it and it is in very good shape but I have to consider
the buyer. Well guess what? It is not easy to remove. Progress is slow and thus
 expensive. This painter must be one of only people in the world who does not have
 a cell phone. Thus when his wife needs to talk to him, she calls Steve.

 

I feel like a freier, a Yiddish word spelled various ways meaning a sucker. A freier
is persuaded to let someone in front of them with presumably just one thing which
 turns out to be a very full cart. The concept Don't be a freier!!! is the unofficial motto
 of Israel according to a podcast I listened to the other night with people risking their
 lives not to let anyone in in traffic making the Masshole drivers of Boston seem
chivalrous. And the trash hauler comes tomorrow so final decisions need to be made
today on what stays or goes, which just puts me in a funk all by itself.

 

I will brave the cold and wind soon. Running usually puts me in a better mood so
 here's hoping.