Saturday, January 16, 2021

 I thought I should probably put together a blog post, as it has been a while, and what is the point of having a blog if you don't write?

Life is ridiculously different, and for me, busy now that we are in Ontario's second big lockdown since Covid took hold of the world. Of course, children do not attend school at this time. That means that I am once again ensconced in my living room, piles of books and papers spread around me, a white board propped up on a side chair, a stool with two thick hard cover books set in front of it so I can prop up my laptop while I make videos explaining the day's assignments, showing examples, or doing the specialized lessons for a couple of my students who require something different.

 I field emails from parents, read emails from my principal and colleagues, and soon I need to be starting to write report cards. I deal with technology issues, and learn things as I go along. I do live Teams meetings with my students (like Zoom), and am available for them to "drop in" whenever they need help. They are generally eight years old and still need some help from their parents to deal with learning on the computer, but some are quite skilled. I feel the need to be available at all times, and once, when I desperately had to visit the bathroom, I was not surprised to find a student waiting for me on Teams, probably wondering why I wasn't there.

We are back to being a family of all four of us under one roof again, as son's co-op experience for college has to be put on hold for the time being (businesses are not taking co-op students right now). He is able to take one elective college course online. Daughter is now working full time (from home) and is completely done university. There is no grad. She's had to put grad photos on hold twice now, I think. They will not be happening at all in the foreseeable future. I don't mind that our 24 and 21 year old are living here right now. It brings out the mother hen in me, with my chicks close by. But I know their independence is important and they are both very capable young adults with definite directions. This is just a bump in the road for them.

I went out for groceries today and felt flustered by the end of it all. Everyone is out on a Saturday, I'm just trying to go the right way down the aisles and my patience wears thin as people are blocking the way with their carts, thinking long and hard about their food choices. I'm probably doing the same thing in the cereal aisle. None of this has to do with feeling unsafe, it's just my dislike of maneuvering around people and obstacles, and there seemed to be an extraordinary amount of obstacles today. But I got done, spent far too much money (and I was shopping at the cheaper grocery store!), came back home and unloaded everything and put it away. I gave the chickens fresh water and even let them outside. The sun was out at times today and the temperature was milder (a whole 1 or 2 degrees!). The snow was melting. 

I had ordered some library books online and was able to do a drive-by pick up at the library (it felt a bit like a drug deal as I drove up to the library, a young person in a mask came out with a paper bag, held it up so I could see my last name on it, I nodded, put my window down, and the bag was brought to my vehicle). That's probably not what drug deals are like, but it felt weird and sneaky in a way. The book was the new Ann Cleeves Vera book The Darkest Evening and I'm part way into it now. It has been a while since I've enjoyed a book, although I did read the latest Louise Penny, All the Devils are Here. I absolutely loved it, but Penny has never disappointed me. 

And because some of you seemed happy to read about my chickens the last time, I want you to know that today I got TWO eggs! Not just the usual one. I think I have one of the white Columbian hens to thank for the extra one. Here is a typical morning picture, when I walk from the back door of the mudroom, out to the chicken coop.

That is a bit more snow than we have now. This picture was taken several days ago.

There are so many rabbit tracks on our property! Sometimes I see rabbits in the early morning and they run away to take cover by the a pile of stacked cedar rails, or along the fence line. 

These are some of my chickens, who jumped down from their perches as I fed them in the morning. They are excited about a couple of too-old pieces of pineapple. They now have layer crumble instead of layer mash. 

And that's my life right now in rural Ontario.