Rainy Days and Mondays . . . !

Well, not such a nice day today. Yesterday was so beautiful, but my builder had other things to do, so the materials for my deck were delivered this morning by Larrabee's Building Supply in a drenching rain. Everything is well packaged so nothing is getting wet except the guy on the piggy-back fork lift and me showing him where to go and then watching him navigate up my driveway and through the trees in the back yard. He did a great job and didn't even scuff the house or trees once! He had just left when Randy (my builder) came, but it was still pouring and of course he couldn't work in that. The rain has now stopped - but I don't trust that it will stay stopped, so Randy will try again tomorrow. 

In the meantime, Bill Jones called and is picking up the two storm doors he's going to put on for me, and will bring them later today. I'm headed out to the garage to stow things there to accommodate some lumber I'm going to be staining for the porch, and for the doors Bill is bringing. I'm not sure when Bill will begin work, but I'm in no rush for them as long as it gets done before cold weather. It looks like this whole week is going to be showery. I know we need the rain, but really, this whole week? I've waited all summer for my porch to happen, so it would be nice to catch a break here. I can grumble and protest, but it isn't going to change anything. It will get done eventually.

I am not sure if it's me or if there is something else going on, but it seems to me there are a lot more birds around my house than ever before. I hear them chirping almost constantly, almost like there's some sort of competition going on. They do seem to be calling back and forth from neighboring trees, and I'm hearing house sparrows, robins, bluejays and others I'm not able to identify. And I see them in the trees - everywhere! It's a good sign, I think, that our bird population seems to be thriving. Oh, yes, and the crows are very active. I don't have any that have nested nearby, but I hear them frequently and enjoy their occasional appearance at the top of one of the tall spruces across the road as one acts as lookout for its companions. I haven't seen large flocks of crows like I often see in the early spring and in the fall, but they are definitely around. 

It might be that with the warmer weather I've had the house open more this year than normal and that's why I'm hearing birds more. Or it could be because I got new hearing aids earlier this summer . . . but I don't think so. Although I do hear things I didn't hear before, like the wind in the poplar trees or the patter of rain on the leaves. I think I heard all of that before, but perhaps not as clearly. Cousin Ora was showing me the app she has that interfaces with her hearing aids, and that's pretty impressive. I was offered those more sophisticated hearing devices, but I don't have a smart phone and don't intend to get one any time soon, so I'm happy with what I have. I rarely use my little flip phone, and don't see myself needing or enjoying having a phone with me all the time or even most of the time. I try not to be curmudgeonly about it, but I think sometimes people miss out on a lot of what is going on around them when they get too involved with their cell phones. Not cousin Ora - she is very connected to nature and whatever is going on around her, as is her friend, Kate; and I admire both of them for their knowledge and use of their devices. It's just not for me. 

Now I'm headed for the garage - and when the phone rings, as I know it will as soon as I get out there, I'll have to make a choice to either make a dash inside to answer before they hand up - or let it ring and if it's important, get a message later. Some folks like to do things the hard way.