BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Mar 23 - 11:45 AM

Spring is almost here and Daylight Savings Time (I hate that time change) starts this weekend. We could still end up with weather cold enough to shock the blossoms and blooms that are appearing everywhere, so right now we need to be watching and waiting to see when the soil is truly warm enough to plant the tomatoes.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: skarpi
Date: 11 Mar 23 - 12:00 AM

-18 here in Iceland east, snow storm, and windy,
But spring is around the corner.
All the best from Iceland Skarpi

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Mar 23 - 01:40 AM

& our hot humid summer is apparently thinking of winding down - maybe -
but the UV index will be high all week with rain most days.

typical Sydney summer - hot, humid & rainy

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: MudGuard
Date: 12 Mar 23 - 07:55 AM

I thought -18C in Island means: Summer! ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Mar 23 - 08:35 AM

Anyone else in the Northeast US
digging out from under that nor'easter snowfall?

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Mar 23 - 03:44 PM

keep those check-ins coming

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: skarpi
Date: 25 Mar 23 - 05:08 PM

Super warming warning, everynight in the news, well still snowing and cold weather, spring where are you? ?

Sæl the best from Iceland Skarpi

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Mar 23 - 01:46 PM

Stay warm and dry, Skarpi!

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Apr 23 - 01:43 PM

springtime refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: pattyClink
Date: 06 Apr 23 - 08:52 PM

Back on the humid side of the Mississippi, lush green everywhere in M'sippi. Missed azalea season, but might have dodged the pollen rain bullet, we'll see.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Apr 23 - 06:27 PM

Happy Easter to all Mudcatters near and far.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Apr 23 - 08:33 PM

Checking in from vacation in White River Junction, Vermont.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Apr 23 - 10:37 AM

weekend refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Apr 23 - 11:27 AM

Ooh vacay, keb!

Warming up here in Central Virginia...

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 27 Apr 23 - 06:48 PM

One of my close friends, who has been through the ordeal of med school,
finally passed her board exams (second try) so now she can graduate with the rest of her class this spring. So relieved!

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Apr 23 - 10:56 AM

Daffodils and jonquils done and dusted,
tulips headed towards their peak.
And rain.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)
Date: 29 Apr 23 - 04:34 PM

Nice weather after a week of much-needed rain.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 May 23 - 10:00 AM

How is everyone on this first week of May?

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Donuel
Date: 06 May 23 - 11:01 AM

One night walking back on campus I passed the Art Department and saw a huge tree decorated with the most unlikely items on Earth. Today while shopping at Wegmans I stopped at the rest room opened the stall and there he was. Rodin's 'The Thinker'was sitting on the toilet. Surprise is the spice of life. All the familiar strangers here are capable of surprise but seem more reserved than needed. May surprises brings June's crises.
Let us know if any of you have been surprised lately.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Donuel
Date: 12 May 23 - 06:56 AM

No surprises here. Only a thousand people now die per day from Covid in the USA. This pandemic-inspired thread may have run its course.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 23 - 02:01 PM

We've turned the corner weather-wise and are now in the humid warm season. Blankets off the bed, ceiling fan on (must dust all of them before using). After a terrible night's sleep I realized it was the air conditioner blowing on me that was the problem. I will adjust the nighttime temperature setting up to 82, use a ceiling fan to keep the air moving, and a sheet to keep the breeze off of my legs (I seem to feel the AC or the fan breeze effect in my hips, knees, and feet.) Different people have other strategies in this climate. I have a friend who super cools his house during the evening before bed then leaves the AC off overnight and sleeps with blankets in the cooled house.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 23 - 02:10 PM

NY Times COVID info this week. From April 27 to May 3, 1,109 people died of COVID in the US (this number is down 11% from the week earlier). That's a couple of huge airliner crashes a week, that would cause a great deal of shock. COVID any more - not so much. But that's still a lot of people dying of this.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 May 23 - 07:18 PM

I think there is still good reason to check in with people who are living with Long COVID, for example, make sure they are stable.
Not just the deaths but the survivors need checking in on.

How is everybody set for the USA holiday weekend,
the unofficial beginning of summer?

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 26 May 23 - 10:16 AM

> How is everybody set for the USA holiday weekend,
> the unofficial beginning of summer?

So *that*'s why us right-pondians have had a second bank holiday inflicted on us in the same month (plus a third for the coronation --- special offer, one year only). Did wonder what was wrong with May Day.

--- Ah! of course: another chance to dig up the road.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: InOBU
Date: 29 May 23 - 07:45 AM

My long check in disapeared, so here is a short one in a link... Update and a few songs by InOBU Lorcan

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 23 - 11:12 AM

Sometimes Mudcat times out and those long messages are lost. Then we have to revert to single paragraphs in these threads.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: InOBU
Date: 29 May 23 - 09:51 PM

Ta SRS!

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 23 - 04:25 PM

The "unofficial start of summer" was last weekend—the U.S. Memorial Day's three day (at least) weekend means a lot of people start out on road trips. Regular gas is about $3 a gallon here in North Texas, higher in some places, lower in only a few. I suppose people might choose to drive to places where they can then walk around or that provides it's own transit for customers, or to do things that cost less. Camping used to cost less, but now getting spaces in national parks, state parks, and national forests is difficult, often requiring a reservation.

Here in North Texas it is starting to warm up, as expected. The yard is still green for a little while longer, but when it gets really hot I usually only water the vegetable garden, giving very little to the turf. The idea is to water deeply but infrequently to save water.

It is time to set up the water tank for the dogs. The old Labrador retriever used to climb in for a cool down, but his hips are too arthritic now for that to happen. My old pitbull was the one who really loved climbing into the tank, and I have some old photos of the pit and the Lab in it together. The rest of the dogs have used it only as a place to get a drink of water.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 May 23 - 05:38 PM

Still not hot enough for me, but hey...

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 01 Jun 23 - 10:47 AM

Not hot enough yet for Herself either, Mrrzy, but she's a chilly mortal. Today is the first day of meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere, so there's hope yet.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 06:43 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jun 23 - 06:20 PM

and refresh again

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Jun 23 - 09:16 PM

Still not hot enough for me, but I am careful what I wish for...

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Amergin
Date: 14 Jun 23 - 11:02 AM

I'm doing great. I've been busy with school and writing the last few years. I'm graduating in a few days with my bachelor's in fine arts for creative writing. I know it's nothing impressive like a STEM degree, but it's a huge deal for me. I learned alot, not just about writing and storytelling, but about the human experience. A part of me is tempted to go back for an anthropology major. I fell in love with it. As well as learning ASL, and my identity as a hard of hearing human being.

I'm working on multiple literary projects, poetry, a novel, and a short story collection. The novel is based on Celtic and Norse mythology, with other cultures blended in for good measure. The story collection is speculative fiction based on the Deaf/HH experience. And poetry helps me sort my tangled thoughts.`

Cheers!

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Peter T.
Date: 16 Jun 23 - 08:47 PM

Hi all, still alive, coming in after a long hiatus. You might check out my new request in the BS section for help on my new novel. Still a Professor, weird as it seems. Been working on the ukulele for some years....

Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: rich-joy
Date: 19 Jul 23 - 02:38 AM

Reporting from a rather mild, sunny winter here in SE Queensland, down in Oz! Indeed, some flowering plants think it's already Spring......

I am only just back online after an enforced break of 105 days, thanks to the frustrating state of ISPs/Telcos in Australia (particularly if one lives in a non-NationalBroadbandNetwork (NBN) area). TV didn't work either, but I read a great many books, which is no bad thing :)

Cheers!
R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Jul 23 - 03:22 AM

Checking in from my quiet little village in Norfolk UK. I've been sitting on my bench in the front garden day after day in the warm sunshine, and I'm now as brown as a berry. The water level of our river (the Wensum) has gone down and down. The local children swim in it every day after school.
However, this week lots of rain and thunderstorms have filled it up a bit.
School holidays start at the end of this week, so all the village youngsters will be down there having a paddle, swim, or on their paddle boards.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Jul 23 - 03:23 AM

Gaagh! Why has a huge space appeared in the middle of my post?

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Jul 23 - 06:43 AM

welcome back, rich-joy

I'm mainly healthy tho I have another sore bit, another bit of arthritis in my right hand. It's a permanently sore finger, but sewing & typing are not affected! I've also downsized my main book collection giving me lotsa' space in bookshelves, so SOME of my scattered craft material is now shelved, & 2 of my 3 remaining collections have homes to go to (yah!)

So life is not bad in my part of The Land of Oz, close to Sydney Harbour where the winter is also very mild.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Jul 23 - 11:04 AM

Amergin! It's been ages!

Road trip - Virginia westwards then north to Chicago, back eastward then south. 1969 miles, 10 days, with a good friend. No wildfire smoke till the drive back down...

Now it is hot and summery, humid, marvelous.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Jul 23 - 11:18 AM

Hey Mrrzy! Welcome back!

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jul 23 - 01:24 PM

Amergin and Peter T., good to hear from you. Congratulations on the degree - education can be a great hobby, not just a requirement to get a job, etc. And here is Peter's request for assistance he mentioned.

Mrrzy, you've come a long way from last year if you're able to make a road trip! Is your back feeling much better?

Senoufou, the year-round creek in my backyard has (knock wood) been at a good level for a couple of years now. Sometimes it is reduced to large ponds that are barely connected. I wouldn't swim in it or eat anything I caught, though, because it has too much urban drainage running into it. Lots of wildlife though. Fish, snakes, birds, turtles, fresh water oysters, and the various mammals that travel along it for hunting and water.

It's just plain hot here and this week I sprayed my garden crops with a kaolin clay slurry that acts like whitewash to (primarily) deflect grasshoppers away from the plants (otherwise they eat the leaves, the tomatoes, the whatever they come up to). It also acts like a sunscreen and helps the plants survive better in the heat. Me, I don't wear sunscreen, I'm allergic to some of the ingredients, so if I go out I wear a hat or use a parasol, and I don't spend a lot of time in the sun in the middle of the day.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Jul 23 - 06:12 PM

Congratulations everybody for making it through a pandemic.
The Americans that were lost to Covid were more than were lost in WW1 and WW2 combined.
It was a big fucking deal; quote Joe Biden on Obama health care.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jul 23 - 02:02 AM

I lost two people in my life to Covid - a sister and a cousin, both in their 90s- but practically everyone I know has had a mild version of it, every one of whom was shot and boostered. In my own case, when I got it I didn't get actually sick, I just didn't feel well. When I got the flu this Spring, however, (RSV? Who knows?) I was sick for several days.

In this small capital city of Alaska, life goes on. Some people wear masks, most don't. We are making our own music again, some people are going to concerts, we go to the market again, some people are traveling again.

An urban and isolated area, Juneau has a high rate of vaccine use and compliance. We are, of course, aware that another virus may be lurking around the corner. I expect that we will respond quickly and en masse to whatever is suggested or required from the populace.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Jul 23 - 07:51 AM

The US has survived the "Barbie-heimer" premieres,
which would not have happened during the COVID state of emergency:
cinema attendance would have been deemed a super-spreader event.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Aug 23 - 10:12 AM

Indeed, back defunitely ok!

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Aug 23 - 11:17 AM

Glad to hear it, Mrrzy! That was a long, strange year while you were dealing with that pain.

My mail carrier views his route as his "village," especially after COVID. He knows there are a lot of retirees who receive medication, etc. We had a brief visit on the front walk this morning, and he said he looks out for us; I suspect he would be the one to alert authorities if an elderly mail recipient didn't check their mail as often as usual. (He likes my new locking mailbox, which is why he will deliver medication that otherwise might have to go back to the post office and try again tomorrow.) When it's so hot I leave a cooler with a couple of iced bottles of water on the porch for him or any other delivery person.

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 10:46 AM

While much of the central US is baking, I'm reading about lots of rain and flooding in the NE US and in Europe. How is everyone holding up?

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Aug 23 - 06:32 PM

Can't speak for everyone in the NE US,
but in western Massachusetts, where I am staying,
we have sunny weather and it is helping to dry things out.
Not that the mosquitoes pay attention . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Check in Mudcatters world wide
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 05:16 PM

refresh again