Peepers

In case you don't know, peepers are a type of small frog that come out of hibernation every Spring to begin a new year and to breed and otherwise enjoy their lives. If you live even in suburbia you've likely heard their call when they pop out to announce to us that their long sleep is over. It's something that I have experienced all of my life, except for the years when I've lived in an urban environment.

For the past three years, generally around this time in the midst of winter, we will have a very powerful warm patch (we don't even have a prolonged winter anymore) and the peepers will emerge and begin to call out, letting us all know that they're here. And for the past two winters I have worried--apparently needlessly--that doom will befall them all. My assumption has been that the next cold snap will catch our thin-skinned amphibian pals by surprise and that they'll all freeze to death and the local population of peepers will become extinct.

But I'm not going to worry about the tiny frogs anymore. It's not as if I don't have enough to worry about. I don't need this yearly burden to bear. The way I figure it now is that they've survived two warm winter thaws and refreezes with no diminished ability to crawl up to fresh air and fill our neighborhood with their pleasant songs. Winter of 2018/19 they did it. Winter of 2019/20 they committed the same act. And here it is Winter of 2020/21 and once more they're singing their itty-bitty lungs out and serenading me.

This year I'm not worrying. They did A-OK the past two winters and avoided a mass die-off. I figure they'll do it again and continue to repopulate the local ecology. My little friends are going to be fine. Maybe that's a good tiding for the rest of us, too.

It's 50 degrees out, headed for the mid-60s. The peepers are singing in the back yard. We're good to go.

 

Hey, Mr. Peeper!

2021

When I was a kid I used to wonder what it would be like in the year 2000. Now it's 2021. I thought 2000 was scewed up, but 2020 proved to me that the system we live under is about as monstrous as it gets. These days I figure things will only get worse because the way it's geared it can't get better (there's no process for improvement).

Last time I posted here I figured I'd be logging in at the old blog more often. In fact, I was here less. Every day that I thought about sitting at the desk to post something, the time I spend here seemed unimportant, and so I stayed away. In fact, aside from writing, I almost never turn on the desktop. It sits quiet and cold and ignored most days. I'll work on a novel for an hour or two, then turn it off.

So it goes.

Since our trip to Kentucky things have been hectic. We had the whole holiday thang to go through. Unlike most cynics I actually adore the time from Halloween through New Year's Day. And even though I'm not religious at all, I'm with Andy Williams on Christmas. For me, both currently and nostalgically, it is the most wonderful time of the year. I was reminded of the reaction I got from a former friend when I told him that. He was horrified. Last I knew of that twisted loon, he had become both a Christian and a Hitler-loving neo-Nazi. (You can't make this shit up. If it was fiction, readers would think it was too outrageous.)

The Casita needs some work done on the water pump, so I haven't taken it camping since our return from Kentucky. I have an appointment to take it in for that, plus some other issues that need attention (windows resealed, new stabilizer jacks on the back, 'porch' light, etc). That's why I haven't been on any cold-weather trips in the travel trailer. When I get it back later this month I'll hit some parks in glamping style.

My son, Andy, landed a good job. Making the legendary "living wage". The job is a bit of a haul from where he lives and he needed a new vehicle for that so I bought him one. These days I'm economically able to do that kind of thing...so I do it. It's what parents do, I reckon. At least this parent.

With any luck, January will be the beginning of a much more active time for me compared to the last two months. Carole and I were planning vacations, but then the covid reemerged so now we don't know what's going to happen with that. We had planned a winter trip to Key West and a camping trip out to Dry Tortugas National Park, but that's off. Later in the year we wanted to go camping in Pennsylvania, but they have a 10-day quarantine regime set up for out-of-state visitors! If you cross the border to stay you have to quarantine yourself. That would essentially eat up the entire vacation. (Or get a covid-19 test. If it comes up negative and you can present the paperwork you're good to go. Only I'm not taking a virus test to go camping and sightseeing. Therefore, PA as a vacation destination is right out.)

As I said, 2020 was a messed up year, and not a lot is going to change soon for 2021.

 

 

Just after we got the tree put up and got the lights on. Carole and I both think this is probably the prettiest tree we've ever had. We got lucky.

 

Tree up and decorated, no presents yet.

 

Presents accumulating over the days leading up to Christmas.

 

Christmas morning.

 

 The last photo of the tree. It comes down today (January 2, 2021).

I bought this 2017 Santa Fe from my sister for Andy to get to and from his new job.

Yeah, I know. I'm a heathen, but I love the holiday season. I adore it when it's happening and I gravely miss it when it's over. I suppose I'm that rare person who looks forward to it every year. My two favorite Christmas songs are Andy Williams classics.