...And Back Again

One advantage of not running your home's central air conditioning is that you get to connect with the big world right outside your house.  I heard the "scree-EEE" of the hawks and ran outside with the camera to squint teary eyed up into the bright sky to find these two spiraling upward on the day's first thermal updraft, probably from the pavement of our cul-de-sac.  I think hawks are my spirit animals - I keep having encounters like Blood On The Snow and Raptor Synchronicity.  But these two are the top of the food chain around here and are the terror of the neighborhood.  You can hear the bluejays squawking their alert all the time.  And I just realized that I haven't seen a lot of rabbits lately.  There has been a lot a varied air traffic lately - different helicopters, some circling an area repeatedly, small single-prop planes, and one weird one that looked like a combination hang glider, dragster, and space shuttle.

We babysat for grand-daughter Logan quite a bit this week.  I just love that baby!  8 Weeks old Friday.  Feast your eyes.

There is nothing like a cute baby to get everyone in a positive attitude.  At our last visit to Job & Family Services. I went in with Sarina to help get our various applications for assistance sorted out for all of us under one roof.  We met with a very good case worker (bless you, Ms. C) who was able to get things on the right track and she asked for Dylan to come to her office as well.  They worked on the application while I stood and did The Loving Grandpa role (what a stretch, eh?).  The mood seemed so positive that I thanked her profusely and asked if she could look at Marcy's case while we were there.

Back in April we had received a letter from J&FS that said she had been approved for Medicaid for the Aged, Blind, or Disabled, and to call and enroll with an insurance carrier.  I did that right away and then The System acted as if we had never gotten approval and never enrolled.  No call center agent or case worker would acknowledge that we had been ever approved or why we were now denied.  I would ask them to please explain the approval letter that I clutched in my paw and all they would tell me was the scripted response.  I began to suspect that they were trying to provoke me into losing my cool so they could close the case permanently.  I felt like a character in a Kafka novel one of those sci-fi movies with memory implant/erase like Total Recall.

She makes me laugh.

I must have somehow communicated my exasperation to one agent who stated that she was emailing the Section Chief and she is allowed by law to take up to 48 hours to contact us. She never called.  I gave them one more "courtesy" call and said I wanted to give them one more chance to do their jobs without the State policing everything.  Um, maybe not the most diplomatic thing to say but I said it politely, really in kind of a friendly "just between us folks" way.  Needless to say, I ended up calling the State to get a hearing scheduled.  But then...

The antidote to a toxic world!

...that's when I went with Sarina for her application just in case they needed info about our domestic situation.  Case Worker "C." looked at the records, verified that my unemployment had run out, and assured me that I was not crazy: Marcy really had been approved for Medicaid back in April.  And with the new domestic and financial status we were approved for everything. Everybody in the family, all 3 generations, will get medical coverage, food stamps, and cash assistance.  Marcy and I both worked non-stop since our teens paying for these kinds of services, now we need them and use them, gratefully.  Thank you!  But I'll probably wait until I get the insurance card in my hand before I cancel that State hearing...

I don't know the meaning of the word "No."

Grandpa let Logan taste a mashed up banana for the first time last night.  She seemed to like the taste but her mouth has to learn a non-nursing swallow.

Lips like Cupid

Love that chin...

You want some of these "guns" fool?

Grandpa's wearing me out teaching me how to roll over.

I sincerely believe in my Grandpa heart that molds of this beautiful child's face put on dolls would sell millions.

Last night Grandpa carried Logan outside and pointed up at a moving light in the sky and said, "Look baby, what's that light?  It's the Space Station!  There are people up there riding in it and looking down at us.  Wave hi!"  Then he said, "You gotta get used to grandpa - he might run you outside any old time, pointing at the sky or the ground and lecturing."  In the distance we could hear the marching band play at the Mt. Healthy football game  The International Space Station, with all solar panels and such extended, is about the size of a foot ball field.  We see them as a dot of light - do they see the lights of Mt. Healthy Stadium at all?

Best Road Trip In Ages, Pt. 4, Conclusion

Here's grand-daughter Logan with her Great-Aunt Rebekah.  Who can resist the "I'm so cute" face?

Marcy and I woke that last morning, a Monday, at Dan & Rosario's knowing there would be more more partings later in addition to those who had to leave Sunday night.  We had become attached and could not hurry ourselves to leave, although we had to in order to make it to an appointment at "the welfare office" Tuesday.  We savor our remaining time as we prepare to leave, taking in all the sights & sounds & smells one more time.

The style-conscious moth says to the shell, "Love your colors, who's your designer?"

~ The Monarch March ~

So I walked up on the latter part of a conversation between Lisa J. and Eric the entomologist concerning monarch butterflies and what plants attract them.  Eric stated that milkweed is their preferred food/habitat and that he had seen a stand of it along the two-lane highway near Dan's house.  He announced that he was going to bring back a sample to show her.  I invited myself along.

Shelf fungus

Milkweed

Eric spotted another inhabitant.

Eric takes samples of milkweed and finds a fallen monarch along the road.

I'd sure like to know what this is.  Currant?  Some related edible berry?

Marcy takes a good look.

~ End of The Monarch March ~

We hiked up Mount Johnson and found this beautiful specimen of fungus on a fallen log.  The camera ran out of juice with no spare dilithium crystals.

The ritual fire stirrer.  We'll carve the date at each gathering of the tribe.

Massive egg recall?  Not my problem!

Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies attracted to Joe Pye Weed along the trail down Mount Johnson

Fairies watch over fallen St. Francis.  Not sure if that bottle was involved.

Dan traded these elderberries for a bushel of beets from a local farmer he knows

Zucchini

This honey is not up to Dr. Dan's exacting standards of sweetness (he blames the Devil's Walking Stick nectar) so he's giving it back to the bees.  Note the sticks for them to crawl on so they don't get too bogged down. 

Here there be Salamanders in spring-fed purity.

Dr. Dan snubs the honey but I go at it like Winny-The-Pooh.

This is the head of Dr. Dan's femur bone.  A ball joint in a Ball jar!  He let me take a picture of his scar from the replacement surgery but I decline to post it in the name of decency ;-)

"I wish you guys could stay!"

This is the road by Dan & Rosario's home.

Gently sloping down out of the Alleghenies

The kind of store I like to see

The power grid leaves a scar

Are we near Three Mile Island?

That building & tower look a bit depreciated

We spent all day chasing the sun and still can't catch it on the glacial plains of Eastern Ohio.  Where are we, Zanesville?

Mark has been at the helm all day, guiding the van homeward non-stop.  Nice job Mark.  It's nice to know it can still shoot the gap, even with the "service engine soon" light on.  We arrived home after dark but the warm glow we felt from being with good people in a good place still remains even as I post this 2 weeks later.

Best Road Trip In Ages Pt.3

So our third day away from home and we're really missing Logan, but we resist the urge to call home and check up on the kids.  They have to learn to stand on their own, like little Logan is doing here.  The previous night had brought a new noise which sounded like a military helicopter zooming past the window.  Some of the gang is talking about going to town for the Sunday flea market.  Marcy & I already have a flea market in our house so we opt to hang out at the Johnson home.

Dan & Rosario are both fans of Art Deco/Nouveau and have a lot of neat pieces around the house.

Rookwood, if I'm not mistaken.

Mark's peppers, grown in the soil of Shandon.

When I was a kid my dad worked for Diamond company up in Middletown, making wire-screen forms for these paper-pulp egg cartons.  These eggs are nothing like the massive commercial egg recall I heard about on the news today.  They are different sizes and colors, with rich yellow yolks.  I met the chickens who laid these eggs and I saw the yard they run around in and eat from.  They are not "Matrix Eggs".  Raising chickens is very do-able.  I bet someone near you has chickens and might trade you some eggs.

Everyone has gone to the flea market so Marcy enjoys some quiet time by the fire before we hit the shower.

And we enjoyed some quality time with Rosario.

She told us some great travel stories...

And she shared some photo albums with some great pics of Mayan Ruins and scuba diving and such.  She and Dan are both certified to dive.  That's fascinating!

"That sounds so nice..."

This is Eric Day, an entomologist at Virginia Tech.  In addition to knowing his bugs, he is a member of the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association and he has that asparagus farm with Nan.  Nice guy, smart, not afraid to get dirt (or bugs) on his hands.  Everybody is back from the flea market.  Time for a snack and then something really special.

~ The Honey Heist ~

Eric advised me to tuck in my shirt so no bees would confuse me for the hive.  You better believe I took his advice!

Dan smokes the hive.

Got the top lid off, showing the hanging frames of combs , with room for the bees in between.

This is a foundation for a new comb, not much built up yet.

This comb shows a lot of bee-labor put into it.

Here is the entry to the hive.  Do you see any fat drones amongst the workers?

Dan re-assembles the hive carefully so as not to squash any bees.  If one gets hurt it sends out a pheromone that alerts the entire hive.  We all are careful about where we step, squat, or move at all.

The Bees Brothers?

A loaded comb.

Dan & Rosario's daughter Autumn, 19,  watches intently.

I hope she knows how cool her parents are.

Whew, what a day!  But it's not nearly over.  I still have go in search of Monarch Butterfly habitat with Eric and Dan makes goat vindaloo for dinner, and then we sit around the bonfire again...We might be able to wrap up this trip in one more big post.  Join me for the thrilling conclusion next time!