You may have noticed that the blog was a bit quiet this week. It’s not that I had a lazy spell and didn’t feel like posting. Rather, my power was out for nearly three days.

Earlier in the week, we had a hell of a thunderstorm accompanied by hail and gusts of up to 60 mph. I was in the middle of eating dinner when everything went dark. Now, this does occasionally happen, our power going out during a storm, but it’s usually back on within half an hour. Not this time. I waited and waited, but it didn’t come back on. So finally, using the flashlight app on my phone, I went to the basement in search of some candles.

I subsequently learned that close to 200,000 people were without power, mainly due to trees falling on power lines all over the city. The news headlines informed us that it could take several days for cleanup to be achieved and power to be restored. Great.

This is the first time since I’ve lived here that we’ve had to go without power. It certainly was interesting, to say the least. For one, my ability to work was limited. I didn’t have my computer to work on, but I was able to get some basic stuff done on my iPad. Of course, the problem here was that I’d eventually need to charge the iPad and my phone. A few years back, I purchased a couple of portable charging bricks, mainly so I could charge my phone if I was on the go (such as on a photo safari) and not have to worry about the availability of AC outlets. Truth be told, I’ve only used them a few times over the years, mainly during weekend camping trips. But they sure came in handy this week! Using them, I was able to charge my phone and iPad a couple of times, so I wasn’t completely cut off from the world.

Living through this power outage made me realize how utterly dependent on electricity I am. Given that cooking was out, I had to try and find a restaurant that was open where I could pick up some takeout. I also managed to pick up some groceries for “cold meals” such as sandwiches. I got some canned coffee as well (did you know that canned coffee has 210 calories?)

Anything I wanted to accomplish basically had to be done during the daylight hours because by evening, it was way too dark to see in the house. The candles helped somewhat but not nearly enough. There was also no dishwasher, no laundry, to charging my electric toothbrush. Hell, I couldn’t even play piano to pass the time because I own a digital piano that needs to be plugged in.

Speaking of killing time, there isn’t a whole lot one can do when your house is lit by only a couple of candles. It’s definitely too dark to read. Luckily, I could stream audiobooks on my phone, so I did that for a couple of hours each evening.

It’s also worth mentioning that this took place during which the outside temperature hit about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. So I ended up spending pretty much all my time outside on my deck as it was way too warm in the house. I didn’t mind, though, as my deck is shaded by a giant oak tree next to the house, so it was reasonably comfortable. I also happen to be a person who doesn’t mind the heat (it’s the cold I can’t stand), but I imagine the heat would have been challenging for some people.

By the end of the third day, my charging bricks were nearly dead, so I would have to find somewhere to charge my devices the next day. Luckily, it didn’t come to that because at 4:30 in the morning on the 4th day, the power came back on. Whew!

Those few dark days certainly proved to be an adventure. Funny — the possibility that the power would go out for several days never occurred to me. If it happens again, I need to be a little more prepared than I was this time. I decided I’m going to try and find a battery-powered lantern of some kind that’ll give off more light than a few candles, something I’ll be able to read by. I may also pick up another charging brick or two, so I don’t have to worry about charging my phone & iPad; this way, I can still work. I’m also going to dig out my old propane-powered camping stove and keep it handy, so I’ll at least be able to cook and make coffee. Keeping some canned food around probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either. These are all things that we don’t think about until we need to. A little preparedness can go a long way when it’s necessary.

How about you? How ready are you for an extended blackout?

I’ve always loved going to the cinema ever since I was a kid. As an adult, I’d turned it into sort of a ritual in that we’d go every weekend to see the newest blockbuster on the super large screen (called the “Ultra Screen”). It was something I looked forward to every week: pizza at my favorite Italian restaurant and then a movie. Plus, I felt there was nothing like watching an epic superhero movie on the big screen.

But like so many others, my movie-going came to an abrupt halt when the pandemic hit, and for the past year and a half, my film viewing has been limited to streaming from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney. Now that I’m fully vaccinated, we’ve begun talking about perhaps going back to the cinema. But the strange thing is that I’m not sure that I want to.

First off, I swear that most colds I used to get were picked up at the movies. I never failed that there was someone sitting next to me, hacking and sneezing their way through the entire film. So it’s been lovely not being sick once for going on nearly two years.

I also enjoy no longer missing large sections of a movie because I had to take a bathroom break during the showing (and I always have to take a bathroom break). When viewing at home, I simply hit the pause button whenever I need a break and never miss a thing. It’s also nice to be able to snack or eat a pizza during the film at home.

Lastly, there’s the cost involved. For the two of us, dinner and a movie came to a little over $60. That’s quite a weekly expense, money I could definitely put to better use.

I imagine I’ll go back at some point — but again, maybe not. These past two years have shown me that I thought I’d enjoyed the cinema more than I actually did and when all is said and done, I really don’t miss it all that much.

So instead of sitting next to strangers in a chilly movie theater, I may simply start entertaining friends and family at home and stream movies in a much more enjoyable (and cold-free) environment. We’ll see.

This morning, I once again had coffee on my deck, and the number and variety of different animals amazed me. I always knew there were many of them, but this morning, I took special notice and simply watched. Here’s who came for a visit:

• Male and female cardinal
• Downy woodpeckers
• Hairy woodpeckers
• Yellow finches
• Purple finches
• Hummingbirds
• Red-bellied woodpeckers
• Flicker
• Wren
• Robins
• Crows
• Bluejays
• Brown Thrasher
• House Sparrows
• Chipping Sparrows
• White-breasted nuthatch
• Red-breasted nuthatch
• A Hare
• A gray squirrel
• A red squirrel
• Chipmunks
• All manner of butterflies

All this was only during the space of a couple of hours. I’ve always said that the animals in my yard can provide hours of entertainment, and I still maintain that. However, I often find it challenging to get any productive work done while sitting outside because I’m constantly distracted by all the critters.

The reason for this diversity is that it’s always been important to me to have a yard that supports life. To achieve this, I use no weed-killers or any other poison on my lawn (this ensures a lovely melody of cricket noises and an entertaining firefly light show at night). I also have a couple of different feeders: nyjer (for the finches), a bird feeder for millet (for the smaller birds), a feeder filled with sunflowers, two hummingbird feeders, and two suet feeders (the woodpeckers, nuthatches, and all manner of different birds).

Additionally, I maintain several sources of water:

• A couple of large birdbaths
• A small heated birdbath for the winter
• A couple of small cans of water in the flower patches for the butterflies

I also dug up a good portion of my lawn and put in a large flower garden with a variety of flowers to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

It sounds like a lot of maintenance, but really, it’s not. Once the garden fills it, I pretty much let it go on its own. Setting up a “life-supporting” yard is not only fun but brings in a wide variety of creatures, resulting in hours of amusement.

I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that they are absolutely and utterly exhausted by politics. Are you? I know I am.

Over the past several years, I’ve been unable to go anywhere on social media without seeing people constantly screaming at each other about politics. So I completely stopped going on Facebook because it seemed especially bad there, with people’s political views overshadowing everything else. Sure, I could unfriend or block all the culprits, but there’d be practically nobody left in my feed if I did.

No matter what side of the political spectrum people are on, it seems they are outraged, appalled, and/or mortified by something and feel it’s okay to belittle or shout at others about it. They are in the right, and everyone else is wrong, and they ensure that everyone knows it. Insults flow like water.

Now, while it’s admirable and important to be a well-informed individual, I feel that being in a constant state of outrage cannot be good for the psyche. I certainly noticed the negative effect it had on mine.

So, I’ve pulled back a bit from the news and social media and find that I’m much more relaxed and much more productive since doing so. Being constantly outraged – especially about things over which we have no control — does take a toll on a person. I didn’t realize how much it did on me until I started pulling back. Yes, there are definitely awful injustices going on (and each political side will have a different view about what those injustices are) but being angry all the time about them does nobody any good. At least I feel that it didn’t for me. And screaming one’s political views at others, insulting people and belittling them has never changed anyone’s mind.

Who knows? Maybe it will lead me to leave social media altogether — and that probably wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Today is the beginning of my vacation. Initially, we’d planned on taking the scooters and traveling to Arkansas. It’s supposed to be beautiful country for motorcycling there, and I was looking forward to visiting the state. But then I noticed how the COVID numbers for Arkansas were going through the roof, and it didn’t take long for many other states to follow. I know many people had begun acting as if the pandemic was over and that it was “business as usual.” Here in Wisconsin, it’s not unusual to see bars crammed full of unmasked people.

So last week, we made the decision not to do any significant traveling this summer and instead stick close to home for our vacation. Given that I have a preexisting condition that led my physician to tell me, “Whatever you do, don’t get COVID,” I figured it would be best to err on the side of caution, especially in light of the fact that even fully vaccinated people are contracting the disease. So for the second summer in a row, vacation traveling plans are canceled.

Many people say that one of the best vacations you can do is to explore your own city, and that’s what we’ll be doing for the next two weeks (my spouse has two weeks of vacation — and given that I work from home and for myself, I can take time off any time I want). Many of our local parks have “music in the park” and “outdoor movies in the park” events, so we’ll be checking out some of them. We plan on also doing some touristy things like visiting the Harley-Davidson museum, attending local outdoor festivals, and even spending time at the beach — you know, all the touristy things that are available in your own city that you never get around to doing.

Perhaps we’re being overly cautious, but again, I feel better after having made this decision. I’ve noticed that even Wisconsin’s pandemic numbers have jumped, from about 10-20 new cases a day to over 200 the past few days, so there’s a definite new surge occurring. It may be time to go back to wearing masks indoors.

Photo by Chen Mizrach on Unsplash