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Author Archives: Pamela
Can’t Let Your Guard Down
Before the freeze.
Yesterday I inadvertently answered a spam call on my cellphone. In the last 24 hours I have gotten 15 more spam calls — all spoofed with different numbers. I’m using an old phone so I don’t have access to all the latest spam blockers but I installed something yesterday. I also kept my phone in airplane mode for long parts of the day.
What an aggravating pain.
After the freeze.
In 2006 I joined the first National Blog Posting Month “NaBlo” and almost every year since then I have posted every day in November. Sometimes it’s just photos or a quick quip. I also usually do a modified version of National Novel Writing Month. I would love to do something but I’m still in a slump and I don’t want to stress myself out making myself write something when I’m feeling so unraveled.
I’ll think about it and maybe make a simple goal.
Posted in doing it wrong
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Raccoons Still Busy Out There
I put the bucket away and moved the camera closer to the house. I figured I would see much. I was wrong.
October Garden
My computer situation has become a big enough pain in the butt that I bought a new computer. Normally I would pick up my computer at the Apple Store but there is no Apple Store downtown right now. When I purchased it, it was supposed to be delivered next month.
Then I received notice it would be delivered on the one day neither of us would be available to be here.
This is the flower area. It still looks pretty good.
My notice said I could click to make adjustments to my delivery. I clicked and was sent to a page that confirmed, yes, I was scheduled for a delivery and if I need to make adjustments, I should enter my numbers and click here. I entered and clicked and was sent to a page that said, yes, deliveries are a thing that happen and to click here for more information about my delivery. It sent me back where I started.
I had to phone.
I picked every tomato I thought had a chance of turning red. Also: oh my, that window. It seems like everything is extra gross since the smoke.
If you’ve called any customer service line recently, you already know that a robot makes you talk to it and says it can understand full sentences and then it understands nothing and just gives you information that you already have. Once I got through to a person, TylerJustin he said I really needed to talk to UPS because it was in delivery mode now.
I talked to the robot at UPS who was convinced I needed a pick up and no matter what I did, she tried to get my address so she could schedule the pick up. I yelled at her until she reluctantly sent me to a real person. Oh, but my computer is coming from overseas, did I want to be transferred to the international UPS customer service?
Why the hell not?
Here’s what happens if you empty an old envelope of “assorted squash” into your garden and rake it around.
That person helpfully let me reschedule gave me a 13 digit case number.
Two minutes after we finished my cellphone rang and local UPS told me that they couldn’t really reschedule but we could leave a note on the door to tell the UPS driver not to leave it if we weren’t there.
Maybe this could work. But also, maybe not. I don’t trust anyone to do anything right in 2020.
We talked some more and we were able to arrange for the computer to be held and we will pick it up.
I would end on a triumphant note but let’s see if this all goes to plan first. I will report again in a week or two.
Posted in garden
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The Latest
Two nights ago I got a bunch of great clips of the raccoons playing around the bucket. I found out about another product that might help with the fogging but haven’t bought it yet.
I’m going to save a bunch of these clips for November when I do my post-a-day.
I had an unexpectedly chaotic second half of my day yesterday so I never dealt with the camera or raccoon playground. The card was still in my computer and I had loosened the camera strap with the intention of repositioning it. I never refilled the bucket.
The bucket had been dragged around.
The camera looked like this.
Those little rascals got their hands on the camera. I may wake up one morning and find the camera has disappeared.
In other news: I finally updated my email but whatever I did to back-up the messages did not back-up the inbox. When I’m awake in the middle of the night I fret about this but there’s nothing to be done now.
Complications
I have so many clips of the raccoons stirring the water in the bucket, jumping on the bucket and then dunking their front legs, walking by but pausing long enough to take a drink and play with the water.
I had planned to write an actual post tonight but my computer is actively dying and everything I do makes it stall. I’ve spent all weekend restarting and disk repairing and shutting down programs which then sputter and insist on updates that make the whole machine slog along.
It’s been super aggravating.
I need to buy a new one but need to do some homework.
Bunny showed up during the day. I ate a sandwich out on the deck while he trembled in the sunshine.
Adding to My Bag of Tricks
I thought I would be clever and make longer video clips but then the giant files wouldn’t do what I wanted them to do so I’m trying something new.
Let’s see if this works:
Thumper!
We’ve got a new entry into our urban jungle.
I have seen bunnies in the backyard in the past but not for years and years.
I keep thinking I’m going to dial back my trail cam photos but I keep getting fun visitors.
Pogo wandered through, too.
One of the raccoons pulled the bucket down but it’s so foggy it’s not worth posting. The camera gets too fogged up at 4am.
Wildlife Playing
I guess I have to put the defogging stuff on the camera every day. This is a big commitment to bring you the quality urban wildlife footage you have come to expect.
Rocket in Motion
The camera takes 10 second clips — I trimmed these a little bit. Poor Rocket moves like a creaky old man.
Tante Irmgard lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment in Germany. One time when we were visiting her, her balcony was closed for some work that had taken an extended length of time.
While we were there the day of reopening came and she could finally open the door and go outside.
“Like Christmas!” she said.
That’s how I felt yesterday when we could open the windows and see outside again.
