Saturday, August 29, 2020

A Slow Week


Not much doing here this week, except that I did have a birthday. The summer lazies are definitely keeping me out of the studio. I made my way down to city beach, a favorite place for me to spend time normally, but I've been avoiding it, worried about crowds and virus spread. But couldn't resist this particular day, finding none of the crowding I feared. As I've noticed other summers, I caught bits of conversations in foreign languages and the nearby restaurant looked to be doing a good business. As you can imagine, businesses wondered just what the tourist season that they depend on might be like. While personally I worried about outsiders bringing in covid to make our relatively low case numbers spike, the town really can't survive without them.


 

Another reason to avoid city beach was the messy goose poop which was everywhere the last time I was here. Many things have been tried over the years to make these geese go elsewhere but they've discovered this is a good place to winter over rather than fly south. There was quite a kerfuffle when it was decided that, not for the first time, they would need to be captured and relocated. A group complained that the geese were being stressed and injured in the process, but I didn't agree. They are not endangered by any means and they really do cause health issues for those visiting the park and swimming where the geese swim. I was relieved to see all the walkways pristine and no geese in sight. Just the ever present gulls who stroll about as if they own the place.


 

A lovely light breeze brought out the sailboats and made for a pleasant walk. Any haze you see against the mountains in the background is from, believe it or not, the fires in California a thousand miles away. Strangely though, it has not messed with our air quality, apparently sent so high on its way here that the particles get dispersed.

As for the birthday, with all the negative things in the news and on line, I made a point to have a quiet day, with my biggest treat being a huckleberry milkshake and a beef brisket barbecue sandwich from a food truck in the neighborhood. Had a lovely chat on the phone with one of my brothers too. But perhaps the best part of my birthday was receiving this card from a good friend. I extend its greeting to all of you.




 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful, thoughtful card from your friend. It looks & sounds as if you had a peaceful day enjoying the beautiful area where you live! Happy belated birthday! Jan in WY

The Inside Stori said...

Well……what a pleasant happy birthday to you…….you are certainly making the best of the awful conditions we are all finding our lives to be faced with. It was sucha pleasure reading your upbeat post today….we do need to get on with life in manners that are safe and comfortable for each of us….your birthday blog reminded us that life does go on……

Sherrie Spangler said...

It sounds like a very peaceful birthday. I love brisket, so my mouth started watering when I read that part. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Jeannie said...

Belated birthday wishes! We have been wondering about the tourism in your area. Since going to the coast is out, we thought about a day trip up north then thought better of it. I am with you on the geese. They overwinter at the park I visit every day (or used to) and in the winter it is ridiculous. The words on your card are so beautiful. Wishing you a more joy filled new trip around the sun and creative fun.

The Idaho Beauty said...

Thanks Mary, Sherrie and Jeannie!

Depends on where you go in Idaho. Kootenai County less than an hour away has had so many cases and some deaths and finally decided that for at least Coeur d'Alene, a mask order needed to be put in place. I think their numbers are partly due to the cross traffic across the state line from Spokane, another area with high numbers. Up here, most businesses suggest masks but there's no hard and fast rule. Businesses are working really hard to stay open safely.