Great Blue Heron

great blue heronEver since this Wuhan virus crap started I haven’t been getting out enough. I went for a walk the other day though and came across a Great Blue Heron. He was standing next to a pond at a golf course close to my house. When I first saw him, he was so still I thought it was fake. As I watched him I could see him moving very slightly. I moved up very slowly, taking pics as I approached. Finally he’d had enough so he took off and flew away. What an awesome surprise on what I thought was going to be just a boring walk…

Getting out ain’t easy…

great blue heron taking off

It’s been tough. I’m working at home, which sounds good – except my boss expects me to basically stay glued to my computer and phone. Since I’m home, my wife also expects me to be able to drop whatever I’m doing and help when she needs something. Then there’s getting my kid to do his school work online. My elderly mom couldn’t get out for awhile due to our state’s lock down, so guess who’s expected to take phone calls 2 or 3 times a day when she’s bored and wants to talk to someone? On top of that, my allergies have been killing me this year.

Speaking of allergies, did you know that you can’t just get a kenalog shot any more? I went to the doctor and she said “NO.” Apparently there’s a slight risk of the shot weakening (“ruining” in her words) your thigh bones if you get too many. Never mind that I haven’t had one in over 15 years and I have excellent bone density (had it checked last year).  So instead of a single shot with low risk of a single side effect, she put me on the FDA recommended medical regime for allergies: THREE medicines with a whole laundry list of side effects. Such as severe (as in life threatening) asthma attack, depression and suicidal thoughts, extreme irritability, fatigue… personally, I’d rather take my chances with the bone density thing. But I guess “our” government “health experts” know what’s best right? OK, I’m getting off track here…

Early is better

One thing I’ve found is that “the earlier the better.” When I get up early enough, I can get out for awhile before my boss expects me available for “instant access.” If it’s going to be windy, it’s usually less windy in the morning. There are less people out and about. My side effects (irritability and fatigue) haven’t kicked in yet. The Great Blue Heron and other birds are still out.

The hard part about getting an early start is going to bed early the night before. I’m a night person so it’s hard to get to bed before 11:30 – 12:00. That makes it kind of hard to get up at 5:00 am ready to go (as an old fart, I need at least 7 hours of sleep). I guess that’s one good thing about the medicine side effects – I’ve been sleeping around 10:30.

The Great Blue Heron

So one day when I dragged my lazy self out of bed early, I managed to go for a walk. It was a route I’d never taken before. I was following a trail that ended abruptly at the edge of a golf course. I almost turned around and backtracked. Then I said “screw it, I’m cutting across their damn golf course.” I’m glad I did. The Great Blue Heron made my day.