Ten Things of Thankful

Why do I keep coming back, even when I miss a week or two? The reason is because it is an exercise of thought, as well as a reminder that all is not doom and gloom in the world. Thank you Dyanne, the host of Backsies Is What There Is Not for her encouragement to participate in this week blog hop, Ten Things of Thankful.

1. Those who rescue

2. Those who protect

3. Those who heal

4. Those who encourage

5. Those who teach

6. Those who share

7. Those who care

8. Those who listen

9. Those who are thankful

10. Those I call family

I am guessing that each one who reads this list of ten can think  of someone they know who exemplifies one or more of these attributes. 😊

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Ten Things of Thankful

Depending on the one's week and all that has happened, a Ten Things of Thankful post may sometimes be quite short and to the point and at other times filled with a lot of detail. Fortunately for the readers' sakes, they can choose to perhaps just read the first line and skip the elongated version or go along for the ride and read every word. I welcome whichever type of reader you choose to be this week and hope that you will at least take a minute to consider some of the things in your life that have caused you to reflect on why you may have reasons to be grateful. Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not, is the host of the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop. Please consider writing a thankful post on your blog and linking up. The more the merrier.

1. Ways to get rid of a lot of yellow jackets using things you have in our kitchen

With the rising temperatures, the yellow jackets have been thirsty and frequent visitors to the tub where the deer come and drink. That made it easy for me to set up a trap for the yellow jackets and monitor it daily. Early each morning I dump out all the soapy water and dead yellow jackets and refill the pan with soapy water and attach fresh meat or rehydrate the existing meat under the board if necessary. The board is placed meat side down over the pan of water. (The soapy water needs to be as high as possible but not be so high that the water or bubbles touch the board or meat on the board.) I learned recently that yellow jackets will use existing holes in the ground to make their nests. We have a lot of existing holes, thanks to the critters who have made a maze of tunnels in the ground, so I am thinking there is an endless yellow jacket population on this hill, and if we are lucky maybe they will sting some ground squirrels, voles, moles, gophers, etc. while they are at it.

One day's trapping of yellow jackets

2. Knowledge gained in unexpected ways

After putting out the bait for the yellow jackets, I discovered the the bait (left over pieces of skinless chicken pieces) was covered in sugar ants. I wondered if the yellow jackets might be deterred by the ants or if by chance the yellow jackets would not only eat the chicken pieces but also the sugar ants. After googling, I discovered that yellow jackets do eat insects, among other things. The next morning there was nary a sign of any sugar ants on the board. I don’t know how many of them were eaten by the yellow jackets and how many of them just fell into the soapy water with all the activity of the yellow jackets flying under the board to get to the chicken or to the ants. It was kind of like killing two birds with one stone, or in this case two pests with one trap. Perhaps there needs to be more study done to determine whether or not yellow jackets eat sugar ants, but this link indicates that they do eat at least one kind of ant. 

3. Water

Although our water is from a deep well, I am thankful that it continues to provide that precious commodity that many in certain  parts struggle to have due to the drought like conditions, the drying up of reservoirs and rivers, and the ways the watersheds have been damaged by the wildfires making drinking water unsafe for many.

4. Entering another year of life and lots of birthday wishes

5. Generosity and going the extra mile

When I received a call from a friend who had garden produce including green beans that she wanted to share with us, I said, “Oh, I should have bought some bacon when I was at the store this morning.” She handed me two pieces of bacon when she gave me the produce.❤️

Fresh green beans cooked
with pieces of bacon

6. Being able to watch characters in movies portrayed by great actors and actresses 

We watched Maggie Smith in The Lady in the Van this week. We missed seeing it when he came out in 2015. 

7. Movies based on true stories, such as the one mentioned above, and the fact that Vic discovered that it was available for us to watch and knew that this would be a movie I would like

8. Being able to feel somewhat safer from being possibly exposed to COVID variants because masking in all indoor public settings is being required again in my state 

Since we are fully vaccinated, it would be my hope that if for some reason I did get sick with one of the variants my case would be lighter, but I still just don’t want to be sick or to be one of those who might be asymptomatic with a COVID variant and expose someone else to the disease, so I am more than happy to wear the mask.

9. Lessons and lectures available via youtube

There are so many opportunities to learn and ways of verifying  the validity of what one is being taught. I am thankful for the chance to seek truth, and to learn from the past as we venture forth into the future. As I was preparing to participate in the blog hop Six Sentences Stories - Grip this week, I googled to learn how to correctly say “la grippe.” That venture led me to watching a fascinating lecture available through https://oyc.yale.edu. I watched Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600 (HIST 234). (La Grippe wasn't the topic of my Six Sentence Story but I was thankful to listen to the lecture, AND to learn about the open classes available at Yale.)

10. Vic and our family and the many people we care about and who care about us

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Six Sentence Stories - Grip

 

The grip of a Crane Fly

As she drove slowly by the garage sale, she spotted three old stools which weren’t exactly what she had in mind for their recently remodeled kitchen, but the price was right considering they still needed to cut some corners here and there.

With a little bit of paint and some matching duct tape to cover a slight crack on one of the legs, they looked almost good as new and strong enough to combat any damage a growing family might throw at them.

Over the years they had served their purpose, and it hadn’t been her intention to replace the sturdy old stools the day she saw a posting online that a friend  was getting rid of her kitchen counter stools, but then again how could she resist such an offer.

The seats on the newer stools were quite a contrast to the ridged waterproof seats of their predecessors which would have been actually more fitting for use at an outdoor bar by a swimming pool than in the kitchen.

Being able to twirl while seated had some advantages, as did having a back to rest against, but she found herself wishing she had actually tried sitting in the stools before bringing them home.

Slip sliding away on the glossy seats made it difficult to stay put as well as to stay focused on mealtime conversations until she discovered that a repurposed plastic placemat laid on the seat was just the grip she needed for her derrière.

Thanks to Denise of
Girlie On The Edge's Blog
for hosting the blog hop
Six Sentence Stories-Grip

Ten Things of Thankful

What has been happening in your neck of the woods? Whatever it is, I hope that you have been able to sort through the thick and thin of it to realize some of the blessings. It is worth the effort. It is time to link up to the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop hosted by Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not.  

1. My husband got some good news from the doctor. 

2. We didn’t need to buy a new hose nozzle as I had thought was going to be the case. Vic showed me how simple it was to get to the inside of the nozzle and remove some debris that was clogging some tiny little holes where the water comes out.

3. Part of our lane that has caused some challenges for some drivers  over the years, now has some asphalt pavement.

Asphalt pavement on lane

4. Several times this week I had a yellow jacket or possibly a paper wasp land on my wrist and I was able to brush it away without getting stung.

5. We already had some spray available to use on some small nests that paper wasps were beginning to build under the eaves of the house, and I was able to hit the nests on the first aim!

6. It was time for a hair cut, and I was able to get an appointment scheduled for later the same day I called.

7. A fire that quickly started from a blown transformer this week was reported right away.  The local fire department arrived quickly to put out the fire before it spread to the properties across the road. As dry as everything is, I was glad for the quick responses from everyone involved. (This happened a few miles away from us, so we were not in danger, but it probably was a huge concern for those near the fire.)

8. Barberry plants seem to have survived well over the years on our property in spite of some cold winters, hot summers, and browsing deer. They are pretty low maintenance and disease resistant. They have thorns, and although deer do eat some plants with thorns, they don’t eat these.

Two barberry plants side by side, a red
one on the left and a green one on the right.
The image was taken in November a
couple of years ago. These plants are still
surviving even though the weather
is hot and dry.

9. One evening I saw what looked very much like a junco with but only one lone long tail feather. Since I’d never seen a junco exactly like that, I wanted to take a photo, but when I came back with the camera, it had flown away. Thanks to the internet I was able to find a photo of a molting junco that looked like the one I’d seen. Usually juncos have other feathers that sort of hide the white tail feather(s).

10. The other orchid is blooming.

Red orchid blossom

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Six Sentence Stories - Net

It is that time again when writer's fond of blog hops with writing challenges have the opportunity to respond to the cue for the week at Six Sentence Stories. Click the link at the bottom to read how others have used the cue "Net" in their stories this week and join in the fun.

Pixabay image by Udo Schroeter

It was going to be a lengthy drive and she, being the one without a driver’s license, would need to make sure he stayed awake and alert.

He hadn’t met her parents except through a few long-distance phone calls where they took turns handing off the phone to each other.

As they traveled, he learned more about her Dad’s interest in fishing, something he also enjoyed, so maybe when they got there he could learn more about his favorite places to go fishing and maybe at some future date they could have a great father-in-law/son-in-law bonding experience.

After finally arriving and having something to eat, they sat in the family room conversing with her parents and siblings and he sensed their acceptance and felt at ease, and a little tired from the long trip.

Within a short time of asking and replying to polite questions, things livened up considerably due to an unpremeditated sporting event which involved the entire family in one way or another and got everyone up and moving.

The attention of first one, and then another diverted their attention upwards with their eyes darting left and right at a bat, from who knows where, who was becoming more excited by the minute from the sounds of laughter and screams until an oft used net was grabbed from the fishing gear to be used for an amazing catch and release into the great outdoors. 

Six Sentence Stories - Net
Hosted by Denise of Girlie On The Edge's Blog