Warning: Photo Heavy Content! Lots of words!
We’ve been home for thirty-one days, a goodly amount of time to allow for reconnecting with friends and our community, while I immersed myself in spring yard work as well as a much needed deep cleaning of Vanda. A combination of mundane and special, this past month+ has been restorative and intensive, restful and exhausting. We spent two weekends away, one in Louisville with dear friends, and one in Indianapolis visiting my sister and brother-in-law who were there for a conference. Mostly though, I was home, reveling in time spent puttering, cooking large meals to share with friends while creating leftovers for the first week back in Vanda, and savoring special time with cherished women friends (think: ice cream indulgence, walk n’ talks, and coffee dates). Not to mention the numerous hikes and bike rides that John and I had together. I am grateful for the abundance of goodness in my life.
The deep clean for our home on wheels was an imperative — you may recall that we had been in a horrendous wind and dust storm in New Mexico in the last week of our previous trip — a storm that blew orange desert sand into every crevice, every shelf, every drawer, basically every space inside of Vanda. It took me 3 days to perform the thorough cleaning that I craved (I like neat and tidy, remember?!). I had contemplated hiring an auto cleaning service, but I knew that they would not do the work to my specs, so … it was all me. Suffice it to say that over those three days–from removing every single item inside the van, to blowing out the sand, followed by a vacuum session, then a total wash down by hand, with one last vacuuming–Vanda was ready to be restocked. Every item that I had removed was wiped down or washed before it went back inside. And ya’ know how schmutz gets in to the frame of a vehicle’s doors and windows? Well, I wiped down every inch of the doors and frames of the cab, the sliding door to the living space, and the garage (back) doors. Sheesh! Of course, it was a worthwhile bunch ‘o work, and I was pleased with the results. I have been enjoying the slow process of putting all of our stuff back into our home on wheels over the past three weeks. Domestic bliss.
Our yard! My yard actually, as John is not one to readily engage with gardening. He did however help me one afternoon by digging out some deeply-rooted unwanted volunteer plants to save my old back from that too-hard work, but other than that, he merely photographs the beauty of the yard as spring unfolds before our very eyes. I cannot state enough how much joy I derive from having my hands in the soil, monitoring plant growth and blooms, while weeding, weeding, and more weeding to provide my native garden room to flourish. We have witnessed a few bloomers, but given our departure tomorrow morning, we will miss the majority of the blooms. Sigh. Missing the burgeoning garden blooms is one of two downsides of our extensive travel.
iPhone photo perspective of the “before and after” cleanup:
Along with the awakening native plants and budding flowers comes a marvelous array of insects. Grubs, caterpillars, ladybugs, spiders, and even dreaded aphids all become food for not only our year-round birds that nest in and around the yard but also the magnificent migrating birds. I basically grow native plants to attract native bugs that feed native and migratory birds. It is a marvelous cycle to behold, and this has been the best year yet for bird sightings in our yard! As birds migrate from South and Central America to points north of Evansville, they stop at appealing feeding grounds to fuel their journey. It brings me great joy to know that I am supporting this year’s migratory birds; but it is John who truly benefits, as now that he is retired and home, he is able to set up dueling cameras–one in the sunroom and one from a small side bathroom, so that he makes photos of the variety of gorgeous visitors. Many of the migrants are in the process of changing over to their mating plumage, causing them to look funny with spotty coloring, and some are first-year migrants who have not gotten their full plumage in yet. And there are some, like these mature Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, who arrive in their splendor. We had stopped putting out seed when we began to travel last year, but during spring migration and this month at home, we happily fed these long-distance travelers, as well as our year-round feathered friends.
As well, we have a very active Carolina Wren family nesting in a small wooden bird box which hangs near the sunroom, allowing us to watch the adult pair. They got busy building the nest inside the box, followed by the male continually ferrying bugs and nuts to his mate while she incubated the eggs. Finally, I saw him taking out pieces of eggshell, which meant the chicks were beginning to hatch, until finally she began to leave the nest to feed herself and the chicks. The two of them are relentless in their feeding of the chicks, from dawn until dusk, it is what they are all about. I can now see small wide-open mouths popping up from the nest to the box opening to receive the food they are being brought. While we will not be home to see those precious chicks fledge, I am so pleased to be able to support this Wren family with shelter, water, and bugs, bugs, and more bugs! Native gardens are the way to go! PS. Carolina Wrens mate for life, which I find so dear!
A few more recent avian visitors in the yard:
For whatever it is worth, we also had first-time warbler visitors–not shared here as the photographs were not to John’s liking, so he will not share them with me! I appreciate his commitment to making excellent art! Nonetheless, we had a Common Yellowthroat, a few Tennessee Warblers, and a Nashville Warbler. And who knows what other birds stopped by, when we were not looking!
To wrap up, the only other downside to our extensive travel is missing important and fun events in our community. From parties, to fundraiser dinners, to group hikes, to peaceful protests, we miss a lot when we are not home. As I watch our country shift and change in ways that break my heart, elicit my outrage, and wound my soul, I want to engage in the vibrantly active resistance occurring in my community. We’ve been to two of the several peaceful protests put on by Evansville Resistance. May we be the change we wish to see in our country … Resist and Persist. It is our civic duty.
