Attribute to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

So much for the Milestone Year

That was what it was supposed to be starting out with the supplemental edition several months ago when I was getting my firewood and tweaked the Florida Room and mocking the Green New Deal with my own version of the Sea Quest Cheeseburger that was born of recollection of an iconic and prophetic episode of that hit TV series of the 1990s. A time that could easily say: miss me now?

Those were the days. Then came the Y2K scare, 9/11 and the wars, the economic crisis in 2008 followed by recession, worms and Obama. Of course even those years had their high points. I traveled a fair amount before the crash in 08 and continued to do interesting things on the home front after financial uncertainty made me less inclined to travel. I went to TEA Party events and started contributing to this journal on a regular basis while refocusing my hobbies and interests. After getting bogged down again, I started getting back on track and set about restoring some of my past accomplishments with the intent to combine the best of what was into a smooth and efficient operation in the name of pursuing happiness and excellence. With the intended hope of putting it together and maybe enjoy it a while before the darkness closed in.

2019 was the Year of Renovation followed by 2020: the Milestone Year. There was cause for hope that it might go on a little longer. As in four more years. That was until a tiny little thing that may or may not meet the scientific definition of “life” came along and threw the whole world into a state of fear and chaos and existential danger.

From the Milestone Year to the Coronavirus Winter.

That’s where it went real fast beginning on Friday the 13th in March which was the turning point where the craziness with the Coronavirus and the disappearing toilet paper began. Might as well start there.

03/13/2020

A beautiful day in Hell.

“A Beautiful Day in Hell”. How fitting. I finally got my new phone and it’s even better than what I had in addition to being able to work the keys and see what I’m doing again. However there was one fly in the ointment. A really annoying fly to say the least. I got locked out of my gmail and wasted most of my afternoon trying to fix the problem before doing a work around by creating a new yahoo account to restore some semblance of the connectivity I had before the old phone started for lack of better words: crapping out on me!

For some reason the security safeguards for gmail are being real pissy with stuff because at the store it kept rejecting the verification codes the salesperson kept entering to prove “I’m not a robot” and the actual owner of the account. May be a problem with the account related to the problems with the pad I was having in regard to mail getting stuck in the outbox. And the coronavirus pandemic may be contributing too. There is an advisory posted on google that staffing may be impacted by reduction of staff due to illness or quarantine.

While writing this: a man from the care center where Uncle Budd is staying called to inform me that the facility is now on lockdown to keep the disease from getting in and infecting the residents. It’s getting crazy around here with schools canceling classes and going to online instruction and people hoarding toilet paper (what the hell is it about toilet paper?)! I walked over and got a small package of a few rolls while I was waiting for the phone to be set up and most of the shelves were bare! Then I ended up abandoning it when I left the phone counter in disgust over the gmail issue. I still have a few rolls left here to hold me over until this foolishness abates.

The struggle with the email issue ate up most of my afternoon. I want to at least get outside and run the watercourse and get some pictures to try out the camera feature on my new phone and to see if I can send them through this mail account. I’ll be looking forward to the responses as confirmation that I have a working email for now.

3/13/20-late evening

So much for the perfect day.

This could have been the one. First thing I took a picture of the Florida Room which is probably the first one I’ve been able to send out since the major issues started with the old phone and pad.

Checked out the furnace. It only needs a small amount of wood to keep it going in this mild weather. Then to the pond. Things are looking good there with the tail end of winter flowers and start of daffodil season.

And the Lycoris species—squamagiea, sanguinia, chinensis and caldwellii are putting up their foliage and may get a really good bloom and decent seed production this year. And I ran the watercourse a few minutes to enjoy and appraise the potential for getting things going once we get through the ongoing crisis.

Lastly visited the greenhouse to water and check things out. It’s in total disarray and I hope to finally put it back into order this spring. Go figure the coronavirus had to rear it’s ugly head to spoil things just as we hit the tipping point into Spring and ruin what could be the last good year before the country gets taken over by the Green New Dealers.

On a brighter note I pollenated the striatum amaryllis and Erythronium umbelicatum—the “Dimpled Trout Lily” on the outside NW corner is up and in bud!

Now what to do. Run my numbers and see where I stand. Then maybe go grocery shopping. Elmer’s is probably out. Sunday may be a better day for that. I’d like to go to Sam’s and see if I can get some stuff there. Just routine stuff like packets of ground beef and catfish to liven up the menu again as I was looking to do after tightening my belt the last few pays to make ends meet. Go figure the world has to go crazy again.

3/15/20

Did a little bit outside today after straightening things out in the basement a little. Found another of those plastic filter boxes manufactured for Little Giant pumps by an Australian company. Took it up to submerge in the pond to get any oil residue broken down before using it maybe for the DD system. It may have gotten some on it laying around in the garage for years but not enough to do any harm to the bigger system of the pond which will break it down in a few weeks.

In a rush now to get a quick dinner and out the door. Hope to get more done tomorrow.

3/24/20

The show must go on.

Spent the morning cleaning the kitchen. Got most of it tidied up and sanitized. Also spent time on the Room and reloaded the furnace. And I called to touch base within Brian the body shop guy I regarding the tank stand and other things. Was intending to set up a date this week to deliver the balance due for payment and have him run the stand out and set it in the yard so I can get it after he leaves since I’m practicing self isolation.

Brian says he can have the tank ready soon. I need to give him the measurements of the base of the biggest of the two 40Bs so he can be sure. It’s time to get cracking on the resealing. Now that it’s getting warmer I will be able to do it outside on a dry sunny day where the fumes from the curing silicone will not be an issue like would be the case in the confined space of the basement and the fumes getting into the FR is a concern.

Day started out dreary which was disincentive for outdoor work. The sun came out late afternoon and I decided to get the patio tubs filled using the plan devised early on at the start of winter with the hose I keep on hand for topping off the boiler tank of the outside furnace and the python hook that belongs to the system I use to fill the rearing tank under the steps.

This will make it easy to maintain water quality in the tubs like I’m doing with the tanks. Might put the spiketail platies in one of these—though I’m looking to get bluefin killies and Flagfish again.

Got another 25 foot section of hose to extend the run to the opposite corner.

This is a morale booster. So is some of the other things inside so I’m not going to bemoan not getting more done. If only we could get some warm sunny days. We need that so people can shut off their heating systems for a few days at least and let warm fresh air circulate through their houses and disperse viruses and other pathogens. That’s a big part of why more people get sick in the winter; because of the accumulation of viral particles in confined spaces. And everyone who is well enough can get outside and spread out and breathe fresh air sanitized by the sun.

Probably more effective than the Germanator in the ER waiting room—which is now empty because even visitors and family members are not allowed to sit or loiter there and no visitors at all in the rooms with the patients except special circumstances like a parent staying with a child or someone with demented elderly people.

I’m feeling less anxious after spending 8 hours in the back wearing isolation gear and taking care of few potential Coronavirus cases-most of whom were good enough to discharge home for self quarantine. There are more scary stories coming from overseas—like patients who were abandoned to die in a care facility in Italy but I’m thinking overall we might still be lucky since we had more lead time to get ready before it started hitting here. There are some young people getting it bad but it’s mostly the old people and those with chronic health issues who we are trying to protect. And densely populated New York is getting clobbered. Makes for a good case against those who want to pile us up on top of each other in big cities like Europe—to paraphrase Jefferson.

3/25/20

Was up early and had breakfast already but slow to get going. Have yet to get going to Walmart. Debating whether or not to wait for payday though it might be better to do it now and maybe avoid crowds.

Got some awesome pictures in the FR yesterday evening with the light timers bypassed for an extended daylight period. Took a bunch to text to Mrs G but apparently they are not delivered. May have to do something with my Apple ID but no time to mess with that right now.

Had everyone out on the Table (except the picky one who is in the old crate enclosure) where they stayed for the night. Trying to get them adapted to that setup ASAP. Areolata are doing the best as they are not at all shy and seem content to feed wherever they are.

They are eating the Thrive brand “Temperate Box Turtle” pellets dry like the original occupants back in the early 90s. However the “Squares” don’t care for those or the tubifex cubes that the areolata consumed with gusto.

#1 does eat super worms and moistened Wardly’s probiotic food sticks on the table.

#1 closeup. She also consumed algae wafers, Zoo Med pellets and greens and a blueberry earlier in the day. That cage carpet sure makes a pleasing naturalistic background for photography.

Cherry shrimp have multiplied. Saw some berried females earlier in the week so I may be able to send Ray a starter group and populate some of my other tanks after I get another cohort of offspring going. Hopefully I’ll remain alive and well enough to do so. Good thing about these critters is that they can subsist on algae if I’m down for a while.

Ray tells me his vacation; a stay-cation is being spoiled by cold weather. That is often typical of Wisconsin and even here this time of year. Crummy weather with rain or even snow squalls. Under more ideal financial circumstances this would be my time to make that trip to Apalachicola. It would have been canceled anyway had I been able to afford it this year. By the time I can go again I might as well go by car. I’ll have transitioned from leasing to owning and after Covid-19 I have decided that my recent plan with shipping boxes and collecting equipment broken down and compacted for air travel may not be worth the trouble. Guess it depends on which party is in power and what shape the country is in by then.

My vacation is scheduled for the middle of April. I’ve been thinking of requesting to delay it and work through the duration of the crisis and save the PTO for sick leave just in case. But now I’ll probably discuss a wait and see strategy with my nurse manager when I go in this afternoon.

3/27/20

Friday morning.

I think it’s two weeks into the crisis now since the Beautiful Day in Hell on Frida I y the 13th. That’s when it started with the run on toilet paper and other things and the day I got my new phone.

Started off watching Isaac Arthur which I didn’t bother watching on my lunch break yesterday because I like to minimize handling other stuff while eating. The oil man arrived while that was ongoing so I paused the video and rushed out because he was driving strait in but it was too late. He was a new driver and everyone else before him backed in. But it turned out ok. He was able to back out ok.

Got 180 something gallons at $399.97 at $2.14 a gallon. Rough figures because I don’t want to handle the receipt for a while for obvious reasons and have to hand wash again. I’ve probably done more hand washing in the past couple weeks than the entire year. And I’m generally good at doing that between work and handling animals. As for the fuel situation I just bought myself a whole lot of breathing room.

Oil tanks midway between 1/2 and 3/4 so I got enough to cushion against the possibility of downtime as a result of debilitating illness or extended stays at work if and when the wave hits my region full force. Can shut the Mahoning down and run on oil heat if I have to—set it and forget it. In the meantime I still have ample supply of firewood and will burn that up as long as I can to conserve the oil to go toward next winter. More than enough to get me to where I can shut the entire system down for the season if I don’t have to make the switch which would be nice because it will leave more oil to go toward filling the tanks completely this summer. Right now one more fill up like this one would get me there or close to full capacity.

Had breakfast afterward. Kind of spartan. No more eggs and I used the last of the milk for oatmeal and coffee in lieu of creamer and the last English muffin with cream cheese and the last of the blueberry preserves. Hope I can get more. Going to finally venture over to Walmart and see what I can find. Hopefully the situation has improved.

Reptile shows are shut down for a while. The really good ones where you have to wade around with standing room only would be dangerous to go to right now if they were allowed to be open! Online dealers may be the wave of the future. I need to carefully consider my own circumstances as well as the impact of the crisis on shipping before I order any live goods or frozen stuff like bloodworms I’d not want to incur delays in transit.

I wonder how that is going right now?

3/27/20: Later in the day.

Got nightcrawlers at Walmart. That and the nice Monstera plant are good signs that all is not lost and that we can get through the crisis and back to normal in a few months. Or at least survive and not end up on the street or as rent serfs for the rest of our lives that’s my biggest fear right now. It’s not the Coronavirus but what comes after it when state and local governments which are getting hit hard try to pass on the expense to taxpayers.

Walmart was a bit saner than I’ve seen it for a while—except the TP section of course. And the Clorox wipes were gone. Got another roll of paper towels and a big bundle of napkins. And most of my food items. I had stopped by the bank on the way there to deposit something for Uncle Budd and cruised through Countryside Plaza to look over the empty parking lot with only a few restaurants open serving carry out only. McDonalds has the drive through open. Margarita’s was open and so was the China Buffet. Applebee’s had an empty lot. Took that picture before the bank.

Very sad indeed. All because of a virus from a bat butchered in a food market on the far side of the planet. We can only hope to get this contained and save as many lives as possible and keep those who are always looking for a crisis like this one as an opportunity to grab power from doing that.

Stopped at Busy Beaver and walked up to the door to check things out. A few people were coming out but I didn’t bother going in just to look around.

Weather got really nice. Also Walmart has lots of good stuff in the lawn and garden department. Bags of sand and gravel that will be useful for pond and other outdoor projects. And in the more immediate present I’d like to get some bagged soil mixes to do a quick salad and tomato garden in the greenhouse and to start seed for that and the vegetable garden outside that I want to get going again. I’ll pick up where I left off a few years ago with the raised beds and add to the topsoil I brought in by adding compost and get some lettuce and other early crops going.

This is it. The tipping point in the transition to spring.

Gulf Coasts are up. Started getting their pens ready this evening by setting up the watering pools and moving out the Blountstown Dwarf Palmetto and some other plants and set up the tote containers for the juvies that I was hoping to sell and they will go into those in the morning. Work evening shift tomorrow and 7P to 3A Sunday. Will try to get as much done those days in case things get busy and I end up working the next two which I’m supposed to be off.

In the event of a national emergency the ER could very easily become like the military in time of war. Getting my oil today was definitely a good call.

Time to thaw some bloodworms and feed fish and newts. Maybe get the upstairs tanks tonight and the newts in the morning. It’s 10 P and I’d like to be finished with that stuff by 11.

3/28/20

Studying the weaknesses of the Enemy.

56 C / 132 F kills Coronavirus.

It actually becomes less viable on porous surfaces because it gets stuck and then dries out faster than on smooth hard surfaces like metal and plastic. Viruses also get their spikes embedded in softer stuff and are less likely to get picked up again. Soap destroys the lipid membrane that encapsulates the genetic material of the Coronavirus like it breaks down grease. 20 seconds is the recommendation Hand washing has always been the standard for the medical field and now people are finally getting religious about it.

Stormy weather in the area since last night. Was up early around 5 AM and moved downstairs for a while. The fury of Nature feels more terrifying these days. Getting too focused on the Coronavirus can make you forget other dangers in the world. There are lots of other pathogens still out there to watch out for. Got to be on guard for ticks that spread Lyme’s. The season for those is here now.

4/29/20

Work yesterday was uneventful apart from discovering I was 3 to 3 and not 3 to 11. ER census was moderate starting out and emptied out to just a few patients much of the time. Was scheduled to work in the Hot Zone but never had to go back so my PAPR hood remained in the plastic Tupperware container I bought for it—in my locker. I just helped out front and went to dinner break and did a few quick handoffs of high risk patients to the back area when I moved to the Triage window afterward.

I take that back about being uneventful. One who I escorted to the antechamber with the zippered barrier was a positive covid patient that had already been tested but came back on for another problem. We are now being required to wear regular surgical masks all the time in the department. Policy is all over the place and changes day to day. It may be a better than nothing measure and it will inhibit transmission between staff while breathing and talking. We are wearing the N95s with a regular mask and eye shield over that. Good for 5 encounters but sone staff are saying they are good for more. Much of this is defaulting to individual discretion and best practice based on professional knowledge of disease transmission and infection control policies and basic common sense. I could go into lengthy detail but even getting off a couple hours early—the basic decontamination protocol I go through upon homecoming is time consuming and I ended up getting to bed at the usual time after a snack and other things.

It rained pretty heavy last night but the stormy forecast for today turned out way off the mark. Way off as mostly sunny, warm and windy with temps in the high 70s.

A good day to air things out so I got all my windows open and am taking advantage of the opportunity to expose laundry to the sun to sanitize it better. Probably won’t have time to do major projects so I’ll probably just tackle more little ones and get things ready to move more turts and fish to summer quarters. Put the CBTs, adult JPTs and Euro Ponds outside yesterday. Also a good day to just relax and enjoy.

Been mulling the idea of running out to Busy Beaver for an elbow fitting. But have another reason to make the trip worth while. Protective eyewear so I can dispense with the mask with the face shield that is grossly uncomfortable to wear over the N95 and may compromise the effective seal of the latter. That is if they have not been cleans out like the TP at Walmart!

I may wait til tomorrow and just enjoy the afternoon here.

3/29/20—Late evening

My day was a little of everything and it started off late because I worked the whole 7P to 3A shift and by time I made it home and went through the decon routine and bath and got to bed it was going on 5 AM. Was up again late morning and had breakfast around noon and was writing and in and out of the Florida Room through the day.

It has been pushing low 80s in there all day and the turts which I’ve mostly been keeping on the Table were active and in the mood for feeding. Started out giving the Squares moistened Zoo Med pellets and the male and #2 female consumed them readily along with the areolatas which also ate them plus the Thrive Temperate Box Turtle pellets. Funny thing the areolatas love the multicolored fruit scented Thrive pellets but the Squares usually won’t eat them. The areolatas will more or less eat anything I offer them and are doing the best in the way of taking to life in that setup. The Squares not so much but they seem to be coming around with the exception of #2 of the first duo who I usually have to put back into the first setup or the cage to get her to eat. She was not in the mood for pellets and sticks but did eat most of the greens offered in the rock pool. I picked a bunch of dandelion and plantain and a few violet leaves to feed them all and they consumed most of it.

Gave a report to Amber Rodriguez (the source of the three R.p.pulcherrima) about that and near future plans to upgrade the setup after everyone gets moved out to the greenhouse this season. I was just starting to look forward to that and getting a 4 foot cage to keep them in during the colder months until I got around to running my numbers late afternoon and finding things are going to be tight for a while. I’ll get into that issue in a bit when I get to the point chronologically but on with the story.

Before starting on bills I measured the two 40Bs and called Brian to give him the measurements so he can get on with the modification of the stand and get it done before anything bad happens. I also talked to him about the crisis and gave him advice on how to deal with the Coronavirus—ie hand washing, safe distances and interaction with customers, employees and other people (since his body shop is an essential business) and decontamination of surfaces and his work clothes to keep it from getting into the house. He and his wife both have medical issues that make them high risk for getting it bad and they are good friends I do business with and don’t want to loose. Kind of like when I worry about closing turtle pens or the door on the furnace or turning the stove burners off before I head out—I keep wondering did I give him enough or the right information? But so much of this is basic common sense germ theory and personal hygiene. It may not always save us but it increases the odds of not getting infected.

The stand should be ready in a few days. He’s going to work on it tonight. I’m hoping he stays ok because I’d like to get a few more made in the future plus I’m sure sooner or later I’ll need body work again.

After the call I got on my bills which are running late because they kind of got put on the back burner and also both insurances are coming due and I need to get a password reset to access the account electronically because going to the office like I normally do is out of the question. Logged onto Honda to pay that. Then figured up all the numbers and between that bill and the oil delivery and the shopping trip Friday I’m down fairly low and still have the homeowners and auto to pay. And minimum balances on credit cards. It’s not the end of the world but it will be tight for a while—until I can get the property taxes out of the way.

Hope and pray the democrats don’t take control of the White House and the entire government or we are in big trouble. I’m really afraid for the country and my own way of life. This pandemic is the perfect storm and it may destroy the Administration and pave the way for a stunning power shift like 2008 and will grease the skids for the Green New Deal. If people are already afraid because of the Coronavirus and enough have suffered loss because of it—they will more likely blame the party in power and be more receptive to anything.

I’m really worried about this.

Takes the enthusiasm out of my plans—if the crisis ongoing now were not enough.

Can’t let it sap me. Got to carry on and live life this summer like it’s my last good year which it may very well be.

Got up to the pond after loading the furnace and moving the remaining big chunks from Bruce off the driveway by the pad and the pile of scrap wood out of the yard so I can start mowing again.

Tubs are filled and ready. Just need to get some plants in them and then fish. Maybe plants at least by tomorrow. The dreary weather continues another day and then slow improvement. Will start working on cleaning up the site and getting things more presentable using whatever I have on hand to get things done while I wait for the situation to improve. Got to break for a late dinner and then get on continuing with the decluttering and reorganization of the house. Then reassess plans and finances and aim for bedtime by midnight so I can get an early start tomorrow.

3/31/20

Day two of two off.

Spent the morning watching videos about the Coronavirus. Mostly stuff about how to avoid it and basic preventative sanitizing to make sure I’m doing best practice. For the most part I am. Especially when it comes to the kitchen. This morning after breakfast I continued with cleaning and reclaimation of another countertop began late last night and went over areas previously reclaimed with removal of more superfluous things and another wipe down. Then did water changes for the kitchen and living room tanks that were missed before pausing to rest and will go ahead and get the others in the basement because tomorrow is the day to do it anyhow and I’m working a long shift. Might as well get on top of and be done with it beforehand.

Still dreary here too. But at least it’s not raining. Going to go outside and do a little bit but I’m going to mostly concentrate on things indoors and try to get the long overdue cleaning and decluttering of the living room done. And parts of the upstairs. I got a few unoccupied tote tubs that can be cleaned and nested and put into mothballs until they are needed again.

Food. I’m trying my best to conserve so I don’t have to go back out and expose myself trying to find scarce items. Used my last hash brown patty this morning so I’ll use up the bag of frozen cubed ones and start making my own from potato’s. Got a bag of those last trip. Last night I did crinkle cut fries to go with the turkey sandwich I made for work the previous night and didn’t eat because I was able to get food there. Trying to use up everything rather than letting it go to waste as I have often been doing up until now.

I think tonight I’ll do spaghetti since I have a fresh jar of sauce and frozen meatballs.

4/1/20

Day went pretty good yesterday aside from being moderately busy and dealing with many mildly ill high risk patients.

Most of what we see so far are people who are mildly ill and get tested and sent home. There was a patient from Uncle Budd’s care facility who got sent back. The paramedics have a frame made of PVC pipe to support a tent over the stretcher. All kinds of innovations keep popping up. They solved the issue of the curtains inside the rooms that had to be taken down and laundered and replaced every time a patient leaves by painting part of the glass to make a privacy barrier that is easy to sanitize.

Good thing I’m using my own PAPR hood. It was just the thought of someone else doing a half assed job cleaning it for the next person—it’s like a parachutists inspecting and loading his own chute! Then there’s the issue of asymptomatic carriers. Another article this morning that confirms what I’ve been thinking all along. Many people—possibly half the population have it and don’t get sick but are spreading it around.

Was reading the comments on the PA governor’s decision for a state wide shutdown. Everything from people complaining that Lowes and Home Depot ought to be shut down to calls for a BUI—basic universal income. WTF! How the hell are they going to pay for that let alone the stimulus?

To change the subject I discovered a terrible mistake yesterday morning. Shut off the pump on the black worm culture system the other day to avoid stirring up the sediments while topping off the sump and forgot to restore the flow after letting it settle. It’s a putrid mess. I hope I can salvage enough worms that may be alive down in the sump to jumpstart the culture because it may be a long time going on forever when I might be able to order another stater.

I keep making mistakes and loosing stuff that I may never be able to replace. Wondering how much is going to be lost from the hobby as a result of the crisis in the way of stuff getting neglected or source getting wiped out financially not to mention more restrictions.

4/3/20

Somewhat busy day yesterday—like a normal ER through the afternoon before it died down in the evening to a single patient. It goes back and forth from like a ghost town to the beds filling up with regular patients and those with COVid19 symptoms that go to the hot zone in the back and then quiet for hours on end. Like squalls in the calm before the storm.

This may be the sign of the coming wave that the ER docs think is going to crest in the next two weeks. I canceled my vacation for the week of the 19th which was going to be around that time when all hands will be needed. I thought about going ahead with it and let displaced workers from clinics that closed pick up time—but they won’t know the ER as well and if it gets bad—all hands will be needed. Also I may end up sick too and get sent home to self quarantine. Hoping it won’t be as bad as the places where it hit first. But we will have to see how it plays out.

Was feeling icky this morning. Probably sinuses because I felt better like I usually do after I got up and moving. Anymore I’m aware of every ache and pain and iota of malaise. They take our temperatures when we enter the hospital every day so I’ll know this afternoon if I have a fever.

Working evening shift. Then off for the weekend and I’ll continue battening down the hatches to make sure everything here is ready. Nice weather on tap so I’m going to aim for getting the tubs ready and get some of the fishes outside. Got a male Dollar Sun who spent the winter in a bucket in the garage. He can go to the main pond along with the bullheads and redbreasts from the greenhouse. Then I’ll at least get the three tubs I have filled ready for the younger bullheads in the Florida Room and the adult blackbandeds and a pair of Dollar Suns I’m hoping to breed this year. I’m sure I have a female this time.

Got those filled earlier this week. All they need are plants from the greenhouse pond and some other furnishings for structure and cover.

Was going to do shopping this morning but now that’s deferred till Saturday. I spent the morning in the FR watering and misting plants and fed the Rhinoclemmys some pellets, algae wafers, lawn greens and super worms. Came up with some names for the 3 “Squares”—Emily (#1) Isabella (#2) & Sinclair II after the one I had back in the day who was named after the baby in the animatronic sitcom of the 90s: Dinosaurs!

Gotta Love me!!!!

Other good news—the Peace Lily is blooming for the first time.

Running out of time this afternoon so everything else I wanted to do will have to wait until tomorrow.

More good news—somewhat.

Isabella—the picky female ate most of the greens I offered her in the rock pool in the cage setup. And I found her chilling up on the Turtle Dock hide. Looks like she didn’t eat her pellets. Going to weigh everybody again tomorrow and see how they are growing.

4/4/20

Malaise and inertia slowed me down this morning but had a good day in the Florida Room.

I officially named the “Squares” yesterday; L to R—Emily, Isabella & Sinclair II.

And I weighed them.

They are growing and getting used to the Table setup which is running around 80 degrees during the day. Hoping eventually they will come completely around like the two areolata which are perfectly at home there.

There they are checking each other out with Sinclair in the foreground.

The four holdback baby Gulf Coasts are doing great in the heated cage. They and the male Florida Box love the Thrive Temperate Box Turtle pellets. The areolata like those too.

Was thinking about getting another jar of those from PetsMart or PetCo today since I heard those are open because they sell animal feed and are considered essential businesses. I declined to go up that way on grounds of safety. More so for exposing myself to the risk of another car accident which I can ill afford right now—than the Coronavirus. And it was getting late in the day so I stayed close to home and wore my coveted N-95 mask. As much for the sake of protecting other people as for self protection. That’s the reason they are having us wear masks at work—to protect the patients that are not infected and keep from spreading it among our own.

Went to Busy Beaver in hope of getting some safety glasses which I’ve been doing without in the ER because of shortages. Need those to go with the regular surgical mask since I don’t like wearing the one with the face shield which is uncomfortable. While I was there I was going to also get some more spray foam and Drylok cement to do over part of the cladding in the FR instead of putting on vivarium background mix. But they are limiting how many can go in so I gave up and went to Walmart. Was able to get my glasses there and found bleach in the hardware section believe it or not. TP and cleaning supplies were hard hit—wiped out again. For Pete Sake—what is it with people and toilet paper in times of crisis?

Got most of what I wanted grocery wise. Including a NY strip steak for $6 so I will have at least one great weekend in Paradise before TSHTF. Too bad I didn’t do much outside. It was dreary all day until late afternoon when I went out shopping. I was too busy with decontaminating the groceries and restarting the outside furnace to get into anything else.

Daffodils passing their peak. Before we know it spring will be gone. Lost to the Coronavirus Winter that is making up for the lack of Norseman’s Hell this year. Last estimate it might be over by June. The cashier I talked to checking out at Walmart sounds like she’s had her fill of the foolishness of the people who come in to sack all the toilet paper. It must be to them like it is with us and the people who abuse the ER as a doctors office—which ironically for the most part are staying away out of fear these days.

Can’t beat pan blackened catfish dinner and I got more in the freezer to have whenever I can—assuming I’ll still be able to have a day off here and there when it gets bad. I officially canceled my vacation for the week of the 19th though I requested to be off for my birthday on the 22nd. The way things are going with the Diaries the first instal and the B’Errf Day Special might end up being one in the same.

But a good meal like this one works wonders. A real morale booster. Looking forward to tomorrow which is supposed to be somewhat warmer and nicer until the rain moves in. That looks like the day to get the tubs going and put some of the fish out. And get whatever else done before the storm hits.

4/5/20

I shifted my focus back to the outside today. Started off with the furnace which just needed a little bit of stuff to keep going. In this 60ish weather it does not run much and the oil furnace was not either yesterday before I switched back.

Then I went to the greenhouse and got started on the palmettos. Weeded put the cress and chickweed blanketing the ground around the McCurtain specimens on both sides of the Striped Mud pen then decided to move the potted ones back outside to the pens. Already moved the surviving Blountstown Dwarf to the big Gulf Coast pen a couple weeks ago and figured it was time to get the remainder out of the greenhouse to alleviate clutter and before I get bogged down and they end up dying from neglect like the other Blountstown plant did last year and one of the Wakulla Dwarf from the striped mud pen. It got missed during the winter watering routines and dried out like the Blountstown did. I’m hoping to revive and salvage it but for now I switched the Wakulla that lived in the juvenile Gulf section to replace that one and those are going to be the type for that enclosure while the Blountstowns will be for the Gulfs.

I took the two Blountstown seedlings from one of my original plants and potted them up to 6” pots and put them in the ground in the enclosure with the young gulfs—one where the Wakulla used to be and another a bit forward where it will live until it gets a little bigger and then it will replace the lost specimen that belonged in the bigger section. That is after it gets big enough that that full grown Gulf Coast Box Turtles can’t trample it to death.

I like those particular eco types because they are probably the most diminutive of the palmettos. Just right size for lidded pens. The Wakulla are probably good too and I have two Chipola Dwarf in the greenhouse that will probably end up in the open air pen I’m looking to build for the Gulfs someday.

Moved the striped muds out of the greenhouse and reburied them in the outside pen to continue their quasi hibernation until it gets warm enough to emerge and become fully active. In the process of dumping the bedding I discovered two eggs! And then third.

Big mistake. This has happened a few times before and I was not intent on breeding them this year but should have anticipated the possibility they might drop more eggs while in the crate. I probably ruined them because you’re not supposed to turn turtle eggs once they start developing but they may have been just laid or went into diapause so it’s worth trying. Put them in the deli container with the platform and hatch rite gel crystals and will incubate and hope for the best.

The new pair and Olivia are up.

I washed off the veneer of dried mud to reveal their awesome patterns. I miss Franklin but may one day have a good replacement.

This is the one from the 2012 brood I found in the Gulf Coast pen that became the striped mud pen. They overwintered in the nest from the previous year and I was lucky to find them just as I was getting ready to debark on my trip to Wilmington that week in late March or early April that year. This turtle is half Franklin and half Olivia—the tan colored Louisiana phenotype. It favors Franklin—who was a FL Panhandle phenotype more than its mother and still too young to sex accurately. I think it’s a female but have been fooled before. The other male that perished with Franklin that came from a local pet shop in 96 was thought to be a young female until he put out his phallus when I picked him up one male who was like a black army helmet with some orange speckles—he died early 2000s). We found a female with high orange like this one smashed on the highway in the same general area. Would really be cool if these two young ones turn out to be a pair. If they are both females I can get interesting results breeding them with the new male who is Chipola type. Or pairing offspring from the new pair with the younger ones from Franklin & Olivia’s 2016 & 2017 broods. Not sure what I’m going to do with those now. Original plan was to sell all but the 4 holdbacks but now that is uncertain. Maybe I’ll just hang onto them for a while and see what they turn into. Then cherry pick the best for future breeders. That may be a project I end up passing on to someone else. I’ll be getting up there in years by time they come of age—if I’m still around!

On to the pond site I discovered a near disaster.

In my rush off to work Friday afternoon I forgot to shut off the pumps and the pond level was way down and the Hurricane 4000 was nearly running dry!

I think the pumps are ok. The one Pondmaster was still maintaining the flow of the watercourse and the Hurricane was still pushing water a short distance up the line and it was sitting in a few inches of water and not hot to the touch. Will try it in the morning to test performance after the pond has had time to refill. Lucky there is still decent spring flow to divert. I’ve got to get my head out of my ass. Too many mistakes too many losses of things I might not be able to replace.

I moved the potted Sagittarias that were exposed back to the tubs so the raccoons don’t mess with them and to get those setups ready for fish. Hope to do that in a few days. Also moved the dwarf lilies to the patio tubs. They need divided and repotted but not today. It was time to call it a day. Got dinner—surf and turf and I breaded my own shrimp since I have only precooked unbreaded on hand. Passed over the prewrapped baking potato for one from the 10 lb bag because that one is starting to sprout and will be more useful as a seed potato to make plants for the garden. Got a few in the bag I can use also. Got to get on that project. Got some seeds of various vegetables yesterday except lettuce which I may have to try germinating from old seed on hand. Ditto for tomatoes.

This stuff has become important again. I’m hoping I can get buckeye chickens again. Those were my “Obama Chickens”. May have to start with peeps confined in the coop with a brooding lamp. I loved that breed and would rather not settle for less.

Maybe I can call them Bernie’s chickens though I’ll take Colonel Sanders over Bernie Sanders any day and twice on Sunday!

4/7/20

Weds morning. Down with a bad back. It stated yesterday on my way into work. A lot like the one a few years before around the time of my accident. Lor took a temporary picture on her phone to show me how badly it was dislocated. Wish I had her forward it to save. Looked like I have scoliosis! I was barely able to function in triage signing in and escorting patients to rooms. Diane had me lay down on the floor in an unoccupied room—face down on a bed sheet because It’s probably wall to wall with Coronaviruses and a host of all the regular germs hallmark of hospitals and she layed on top of me and cracked my back like a chiropractor! Got some relief from that and an ice pack and Lor gave me the heat pack which I put on this morning.

Census was low so I got to go home early at 7P. Missed out on working in the redesigned back station. Which is now a clean island with a tent around it in what was once the Hot Zone. Got to see it once when I took a patient back. Texted Lor a Beautiful sunset over the lake coming home that was somewhat unusual in light of the stormy weather that was coming.

The ice and a pain pill made it possible to get through my usual decon routine and I even visited the FL Room and put the timer on bypass to keep the shop lights on while I rested a bit. Then went back down to feed the frogs but was no good for anything else so I called it a night around 10PM and turned in. Got a lot more catching up on sleep and had some really vivid dreams that I can’t remember.

# that came barreling through. Very intense lightning and a roaring sound that made me think there might be a tornado coming this way. There was a little hail pelting outside so I moved downstairs to the couch and rode it out. That was exactly the same as the recommendation from the Weather Service for my area. I’m guessing it was a derecho by the way it blew through and the bow shaped storm front that later broke up over northern Virginia and the mid Atlantic coast.

So much for Bright at Night Sailor’s Delight.

It’s dreary outside. Forecast changed from previous model last night. The derecho cleared out all the instability so the storms that were forecasted for the morning through the afternoon have been replaced with just cloudy skies projected to give way to sun late afternoon. Then more rain tomorrow and turning colder late week with possibly snow on Friday! Looks like it may be a chilly spring.

When I get up and about I will attempt to introduce the two female Florida Boxies to the cage with the male. They may have to stay in for a while if the weather keeps on like this. And the CBTs may have to go back to the greenhouse into the Land Tub enclosure though they may be good to just remain dug in and hunkered down until May.

Got to get the fish out. Maybe start on that tomorrow if I’m feeling up to it. Today I’ll be taking it easy. Just taking care of stuff inside like water changes that are due and other light duties like feeding critters and cleaning.

4/8/20

Update late evening.

Day was a washout despite nice weather moving in during the afternoon. Took until late day for the pain to subside enough to feel up to getting outside to take care of the furnace. I worked my way up to it by sitting for a while instead of laying and that made walking around and going up and down stairs more tolerable.

Furnace is good to go again another night with a small amount of wood. Going to have to replace the rope gasket because it’s leaking smoke around the bottom of the door again. Guess that’s going to be an annual thing every fall.

Pond is full again and the Hurricane works fine despite the mishap this past weekend. Ran it a short while this evening and shut the system off again. Fed the Needle Palm on the path to the gate and the Red Panda Bamboo on the upper perimeter some coffee grounds. Going to concentrate on getting those and the McCurtain and Texas palmettos beefed up this season with coffee grounds and some epsom salts and a couple feedings of Jobe’s Palm fertilizer. I’m going to concentrate more on maintaining and propagating existing plantings and taking care of back burner issues this season with things so uncertain. And look for bargains wherever I can find them and slowly replace lost things as feasible.

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be well enough to start getting fish outside. The Dollar Sun in the garage can be dumped into the main pond. Ditto for the Bullheads and Redbreasts in the greenhouse. I’ll go a little slower with the fish in the basement. I’m hoping to get the younger bullheads from the 2018 brood into the middle tub and blackbandeds in the tub on the end where they were before and a Dollar Sun pair set up to spawn in the opposite end tub. Got to get the 150 cleaned out and ready for Bantams. If I push them I might have some big enough to spawn in a few months.

And if I can I’ll try to get eggs from my turts. JPTs, Euro Ponds, Florida and Gulf Coast boxies and I have 3 from the striped muds that might make it if they were not damaged when I inadvertently dumped them out on the ground when I emptied the bedding from the crate on Sunday. With the economy being wrecked I’m no longer certain about the prospect of selling them at a reptile show but maybe they’ll be good to barter for other things.

And there’s still success and pursuit of happiness and excellence that I’m after. It’s a passion hard to kill. Just to succeed and write about it for our posterity is reward enough. Man cannot live by bread—or toilet paper alone!

Talked to Uncle Budd today. He’s alive and well and in good spirits!

Good Friday: 4/10/20

The Coronavirus Winter Arrives

More like March than April. Just what we need at a time like this.

I switched over to oil last night and was up early to remove the few smoldering logs that remained in the box and then switched over again to tap the boiler heat and burn up the remaining coals to do a complete shutdown—both blower and pump off and not have to worry about running out of wood and coming home to a cold house or the unit overheating. Working next three days and with my back problem it might be difficult to keep up with the demand of the colder weather and work at the same time. And the cold house scenario is not good when I come home late at night and have to bathe right away.

Got the greenhouse pond topped off again and it’s good to go until I’m able to resume operations in a few days or weeks depending on how things go.

The snow squall subsided as sudden as it came into being. For a while it looked as if it would lead to significant accumulation and probably would have if it persisted. Now I must be off least I get into another time crunch. And I need to get gas on the way.

4/13/20

Monday morning. A month from the day this mess started. It’s wet and gloomy and I’m drowning in despair.

It began with the downward slide in the weather Friday morning that I marked as the onset of the Coronavirus Winter. The low point of the weekend was the brief trickle of Covid positive residents from the care facility along with disturbing news that the facility with most of the staff down sick and a skeleton crew might be on the verge of foundering. Surprisingly Sunday was a much better day as the ER went back to ghost town status with a few moderately busy spurts of regular patients—mostly minor stuff and then died down in the evening. It was Easter Sunday and we ate well as staff brought in food and someone brought us ham and turkey dinners and someone else delivered a big ham that was the best ever.

That offset for a while anyway the growing undercurrent of pessimism eating away at my soul. I’ve since soured on Michael Savage’s pessimism. I’m with him on the need to take this disease seriously because it more or less echos what I’ve been thinking all along. However I didn’t like his comment that the economic downturn is a reprieve for the Earth and the animals of the Earth. That’s more or less what the advocates of the GND are celebrating. Less pollution and conservation of wildlife is good but not at the expense of total collapse of civilization and starvation.

Slept ok in spite of it all.

Now I’m conflicted. With things threatening to get really bad I’m hesitant to go forward with plans for the year. The bad weather is not much help either. Pursuing happiness at the crack of doom is no longer a light hearted pun on current events. But it may be all I have left. I’m mulling whether or not to get on with moving the fish that I started to do and then aborted on Thursday. Might want to go ahead and get that over within rather than wait in the event things start getting hairy at work. The surge did not happen but the time bombs of the local nursing homes and care facilities are still ticking.

Much of the day looks like a washout so I will start with the Florida Room and if I decide to move the fish out of the greenhouse pond I’ll work on stuff at the house while the water is pumping. Then I’ll work on the diary again later this evening and try to get that finished and off to the editor.

Update—Late Afternoon

Battling inertia and malaise I made my way down to the breakfast table and then the Florida Room. With the yucky weather outside and all the ill winds blowing; that remains about the only good place left in the world that can lift my spirits apart from my workplace where I’ve acquired a renewed appreciation for the people I work with and those whose problems and emergencies we try to take care of. And those who are taking care of us.

Routine watering and misting of plants and the vivarium. The Tillandsia caput-medusae was coming off it’s cork mount because a new growth was pushing it out of the zip tie so I had reposition the plant and secure with a fresh tie so it can strike new roots and attach itself to the mount. That’s what air plants do after they bloom and put out a new pup or two.

Fed the turts on the Table setup. Areolata came right out on their own to feed on the Thrive Box Turtle pellets eating them dry from a plastic lid that serves as a feeding plate. Dragged the Squares out and placed them around the platter in hope that seeing the areolata gobbling up the pellets with gusto might encourage them to feed also. Old turtle keepers trick that sometimes works. In this case it didn’t. So I moved the areolata to the water and served the Squares a mix of Zoo Med, Wardley’s and Reptisticks and some of the remaining Thrive pellets moistened with the mister. Got Emily and Sinclair to eat that but picky Isabella wouldn’t and kept walking away. Left her on the Table with the food back under the overhang while I moved everyone else to the cage and fed them dandelion greens and flowers there. Will move Isabella upstairs to the old crate enclosure and feed her there. She just seems to like the security of the old setup in the water under the Turtle Dock. Got to keep her feeding and growing whine I work on taming and adapting her to the FR setup. When I get all the Squares to come out to feed like the areolata I’ll know I’ve made progress.

Oh so many thoughts about things. In a great quandary about what to do in the way of plans for the season. This was to be the year I get it all together and start replacing lost items. New Marsupial Frog breeders are in doubt. They may never allow imports ever again so I might have to do the best with what I got left and try to squeeze some offspring out of them. They seem to be pretty long lived so if I can get decent looking ones in the next generation I might be able to enjoy them a while. Ditto for everything else. With markets collapsing I may not have much luck selling anything now. So breeding beyond what is necessary to maintain fish and other short lived species is a lesser priority. Still would like to get some snakes and maybe an Abronia lizard to enjoy. Question is will I be able to get them and ship them safely if there are going to be problems with transportation of goods in a timely manner? Will these things be available again in the future? I’m beginning to worry about that because if the people who raise these animals are wiped out financially or can no longer get the resources needed to maintain their collections many species will be lost from the trade. Possibly forever.

We are going to have to do everything we can to hang onto what we have so there will be something to start over with when times get better.

Update—later that evening

Finally got it started.

It’s decently warm still—if you consider upper 50s warm but better that 40s tomorrow. Since I’m using a regular sump pump because I don’t want to move the Hurricane 4000 which is a lot of trouble—the process will be slow. So I took some pictures and went back to the house to change into my swimming trunks so I can wade the in ground pond and get the planters out. Mostly Sagittaria and Jungle Val that I’ll move to the 300s I’m filling as a stopgap so they’ll be out of the way when I get in to net the fish. That way I won’t have to mess with the plants when the time comes and with daylight running out like my failed attempt last week.

Sun did come out.

This is the area above the Gulf Coast pens I hope to improve by burning off and planting blueberries. Where I will get my stock to plant is now in question. My may have to do layers or cuttings off my existing plants or raise seedlings from store bought berries and select the best producers in future years.

Monday evening 8:22 PM

Ray tells me he has swordtails going good. I presume in his 300? Those things are very prolific in the Florida Room in the Rubbermaid 50. So much that I could probably leave them there forever and save their outside tub for something else like the Rio Purification platies or Liberty Mollies. If I can get those now. Like so many other things I was looking forward to working with—it’s a question of whether or not I can get them now or even later after things settle down. Depends on who is running the country or the world by then. Was thinking about that issue while I worked on my major project of the day.

I pretty much got it done. Drained the pond in the greenhouse and transferred the water to the tubs outside and moved most of the plants out. The inside pond is now refilling and the fish are in buckets waiting to go into the main pond after they are acclimated to the new water.

Bad cat!

I got all 6 of the second batch of Bullheads from Brian and 5 Redbreasts to go into the pond. Two of the latter are normal and three are the palomino or golden phase. Have the Dollar Sunfish from the garage waiting to go into the middle tub to be joined by the younger bullheads from the Florida Room come next warm spell. And a young Redbreast from my 2018 spawn in that tub. The sole survivor. Hoping to let the big ones go at it in the main pond and collect and raise oodles of young like I did with my blackbandeds and Ray’s Bantams from last year.

Those are doing great. Might even be able to spawn some of them this season if I can get them a little bigger.

Got to go check the greenhouse and see how the refill is coming along and I can dump the fish now. Glad I got it done in this little window before it turns cold again. Not as bad as Ray’s situation but bad enough; on top of this Coronavirus scourge. At least now I’m on the move again pursuing happiness and excellence at the Crack of Doom. Even if I die or get financially destroyed in the end I did as much as could be done toeard the accomplishment of something worth remembering.

That’s what it’s all about.

Got some catfish fillets thawing. Going to have a nice dinner and then work in the Florida Room some more. Want to enjoy that while I can.

4/14/20 Tuesday morning

It’s snowing pretty bad in Wisconsin. I asked Ray to send pictures to use in the Diaries. No snow here, just sunny and chilly conditions in the 40s next several days and snow chances here and there and for the weekend.

Will be an awesome day for the greenhouse. I feel more like tidying that up since the the inside pond is cleared out and the planters are down to just a few. Getting some decently warm weather would be a big help so I could spread stuff outdoors. I’d like to get the huge Agave celsii out of the Florida Boxie enclosure. Thinking of moving it to the garage where I can set it inside the door and just put the door down on frosty nights. Then put it out by the East entrance in the ground.

This looks like a good time for repotting greenhouse plants as I get that collection back in order. The palms, cycads and other survivors and proven winners need some attention and reorganization as they are going to be the backbone of the planting around which I’ll rebuild the more delicate flora like orchids, ferns, bromeliads and other foliage plants. Many of these will be backed up in the Florida Room and vivarium plantings.

Slept pretty good. Trying to get more rest for the sake of maintaining good health which is more important than ever. No more burning the candle at both ends unless absolutely necessary. Big worry right now is what the lockdowns will do to the supply chains. Going to take a spin to Walmart and see how things are looking in that regard while I pick up a few items of groceries and supplies and grab a few bags of pine bark mulch to make fresh potting mixes for the greenhouse plants and seed starting. Got to get that started and get the gardens ready to go.

Update: 3:53 PM

I managed to do something and a few good things are happening. The male Florida Box who I returned to the Precision Cage setup was copulating with the younger of the two females this morning. I’m thinking it might be worth incubating any eggs that result to be males to raise and pair with the other two smaller females when they come of age. Might be the only option if I am unable to afford to purchase another male or they become impossible to come by.

A little off from my original plans for the day. When I went to the greenhouse I dropped the Polydactyl Fern and the Anthurium andicola into the pond to hydrate them. The later was really dried out when I found it languishing where it had toppled over in its pot by the spillway. I’m going to get it going again and then get it out of the pond basket where I’ve had it for many years in a plug of coco fiber and try growing it on a big chunk of lava rock by the spillway since it’s a lithophyte by nature and also cold tolerant so there is less urgency to evacuate it if the greenhouse looses heat. It’s grown as an outside plant in Southern California. It and the Cuban Birdsnest and Anth cerrobalense handle chilly conditions well and have limited ability to recover from a light freeze.

All the others are better suited for the FR or vivarium culture.

While I was in there I got interested in the Amaryllis plants and decided to do something with those.

This is the striatum species that bloomed a month ago. Now with full pods that will soon be ready to harvest.

These are the seedlings started a couple years ago on the verge of busting out of the starter pot. I’m probably going to have to move the whole clump up to a 6” nursery container and let them grow for the season and separate the bulbs when they go dormant this fall. A good item to propagate for sale.

Worked on the others. Red Rascal and x. johnsoni (the St Joseph’s Lily—probably same as the one commonly grown as an outside plant in the Apalachicola region) I got out of the fridge where I stuck them after cutting off their leaves in February after they stated waking up when I forgot about them when I brought them down to repot. I did that today with fresh mix and I did Miss Red too who lives in the downstairs bedroom. Got a few bulbs off Red Rascal and Miss Red to start new plants. I’m hoping to start seed from the St Joe’s. It currently consists of a mother and single daughter bulb still attached.

6:15 PM

Spitting flakes around 6 PM. And the dogwood outside my bedroom window is getting ready to bloom. It started when I ventured up to the pond to get a mesh bag t That used to contain lava rock for the original upflow filter in the first JPT pen system that got replaced by filter pads.

Still have two of those laying around at the site so I figured I’d dump the rocks out of one and use it to contain the shredded milk carton media I’ve been saving up and thus scratch another item off the shopping list. Saved a few bucks there until after I use the remaining bag and the rocks can be used too for additional media. Waste not want not in this brave new world. I’m glad I got what I have in the way of plants and critters and equipment and hope I can still pick up other items over time while concentrating on getting everything here in a better state of order.

Started searching online for things after doing a search for the items I got last week at PetsMart to total up and figure the sales tax to update my ledger because I only had the canceled check which is just voided but doesn’t have the amount printed on it. That turned out to be a cluster. The site was too slow to navigate so I gave and searched around and finally found the receipt. Now I’m good to go to Walmart—though I’m not so enthusiastic now being that it’s evening rush and late in the day so not much hope for TP or cleaning supplies.

Will give it a try anyways. I still need creamer, eggs and a few other things.

When I get back, after dinner; I’ll do more in the Florida Room and sit down and decide what I need to get for projects. I can’t let this thing depress me into giving up and letting shit go down the tubes on the home front. I’ve already let lesser stuff do that and it has really cost me.

Update Late Evening

A beautifully sight when I checked the FR on the way out. The Squares and areolata gathered around the rock pool. They seem to be learning where the water is and that’s an encouraging sign that they might be good to go on their own in that setup should I have to leave them on their own for a while. The areolata are also well oriented to the Table and Emily seems to be coming around as well. And if push comes to shove the picky female—Isabella can stay in the crate for the duration.

I got off on my way much later than planned. It was running out of daylight and a wintery mix when I got into the car. A little bit of slush on the windshield.

Another ominous sunset bringing back memories of last year’s spring edition where I had the sun going down over the parking lot at the Greensburg Walmart with the suggestion for the kind of background music appropriate for apocalyptic potboiler documentaries about the dangers of nuclear power or glo-bull warming. Today it was looking far worse on a chill and dreary evening of the Coronavirus Winter with a blood red disk glaring through the slate gray sky like the red eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings!

Applebee’s still shut down. Sad.

Trip to Walmart went well. Most shelves are well stocked except the TP and cleaning supplies and yet I have as able to get more TP and paper towels. And another bottle of bleach. Got enough of that stuff for a decent cushion against future need.

No sign of a meat shortage. Wondering if what I read last night was just something to jinn up more panic for the Prog media to cover and to make Trump look bad.

Made oyster stew from scratch when I got home and got my groceries deconed and put away. Then I fed fish and newts Mysis and got most of the water changes a day early. Will catch up the remainder later in the week or weekend.

Could have expanded this more but I’m running out of steam. Overall not bad for a day.

Or week.

 

This concludes the long overdue winter edition that runs into spring. If you can call it that! With this nasty virus making its rounds causing all manner of chaos, mayhem and a golden opportunity for the Crisis Industry to evoke the Plea of Necessity—we could really use some global warming now more than ever!

Took me all day to put this thing together. So much for wanting to get it done by noon!

On the other hand my efforts to put it together through the week made the difference between getting it done for this issue and not delaying yet another week. And it makes for fewer mistakes. However I had this “Oh darn” moment as I was sending off the last installment. Oh darn! I forgot to include the section of text and pictures detailing my nice haul from my trip to the Uniontown PetsMart & Lowe’s the previous week that also included a stop at the C’ville Walmart on the way back.

Incredibly—PetsMart is considered an essential business because it sells animal feed and I suppose it would be cruel and inhumane to let Fido starve. Was able to replenish my supply of frozen bloodworms and mysis shrimp and get more feed pellets for the turts. Then to raise the ire of the those complaining about people buying “non-essential” landscaping supplies Etc -I went to Lowe’s and bought a few house plants for the Florida Room and some “non-essential” lettuce seed—which the governor of Michigan apparently believes that planting a garden in hard times is non-essential.

And I scored some more TP!

Soon I’ll have a whole room full—LOL—just kidding.

So far between working in the “Covid Cove” and playing Russian Roulette with my health at Walmart I continue to stay alive and well. I’m still hesitant to say we’re out of the proverbial woods yet—but it seems like the surge keeps getting pushed back and may not be forthcoming. We’ve had some deaths but nothing like New York where they were getting crushed.

Around the nation people are getting antsy and want the shutdowns to end. Some are even protesting. In my department there are lots of new faces—displaced workers—nurses from the OR and SPU and other places. It reminds me again of Desert Storm when my unit got a bunch of nurses and techs from the Air Guard and reserve units.

We have a lot of people rooting for us.

Even sending us food. And volunteers are making face masks and other things for us to make our job easier and safer. Apart from the bumbling of the government—the crisis is bringing out the best in people.

It’s late and I’m tired and would like to get this addendum into the upcoming issue so I’ll make one final note in regard to the unusual cold weather. I think it may have something to do with a recent uptick in volcanic activity around the world. It just occurred to me the other day. I’ll look into that more and try to include it in the upcoming B-Errf Day Special.