Thursday 20 May 2021

Apps and technology for fauna and the skies

The gypsy moths are here 🍃Gypsy Moths🐛 <= I'm going to keep track of them. There's not much we can do about it. They have hatched, I noticed them Monday, May 17th. They fling themselves out into the world on gossamer threads, and their 4 mm bodies are spread on the wind.  They are all over the back deck railing, which is unreal. They eat tree leaves. It really is discouraging. 

I've a bucket of soapy water, I keep washing it all down. We cannot spray anything, you need dormant oil prior to the eggs hatching, and now we've gray tree frogs who inhabit the back deck, plus lots of butterflies and moths.


I'm happy to take a break, go indoors, and watch curling with JB. The poor man is fighting allergies, as well as being unable to use his left arm to lift, and his neck pain. Technology has really helped many get through this all with family Facetime and Zoom. 

That said, my son and DIL had their birthday/wedding anniversary yesterday. I kept meaning to phone, knowing Jesse is working from home. I didn't want to interrupt his work day. I kept watching the clock. Then it was 4 p.m., and it was 1 p.m. in Vancouver. Then, our dinnertime, and I was wiping caterpillars off the back deck. Next, I was sleepy, konked out, and went to bed early. I feel so badly! 

This is Jess and Stacie, with her niece and nephew and Isabelle and Josephine, 7 years ago at their Surrey  wedding! It was a lovely backyard wedding, at her mom's place. Jesse is doing so well, with a new job.



Up in the air!

In the meantime, look up to the skies. When my dad was dying, I found it helped to record what happened in a memoire on a daily basis. I've written about my noise issues, that is a symptom of anxiety. (Also, inability to make decisions, trembling, a sense of danger or doom.) JB has to warn me if he's using the dustbuster. I startle so easily. Bless his heart.

What I found helps is to try capture the air traffic (a good challenge), try ID them and spot them on the Flight24 Radar. Some don't show up. Especially the military helicopters📹! They are big and LOUD! Compilation: heads up 📹. 



More air traffic around the hummingbird feeder. Yesterday, the female was watching me📹from the safety of the lilac tree. Wednesday, the female visited, the male came by, and she chased him away! When he left, she went back to the lilac tree to see if the coast was clear! You go, girl! hummingbird battle  

Song Birds

They are back from their winter break. There is an app I heard about on Twitter. BirdNET, by Cornell U. It's not bad. It identified the red-eyed vireo for me, as well as a Cardinal, and blue jay. I was down at the frogpond, and ID'd another red-eyed vireo. It took a couple of tries, as there were noisy dump trucks going by. That was funny: "human made sounds!"

Thursdays are OPP gun days, and the app was mystified. The long green marks show the guns going off. They do recertification for all 500 OPP members in the region 500 m behind our property. Again, when it began we used to go out for a drive, and lunch out.  It sounds like a murderous insurrection, with 12 police, shooting upon command, for 10 seconds. I had a tour of the facility, and that helped calm me.

Are you languishing?

While I am on meds for depression and anxiety, many people are facing life-limiting health issues. Then there are fires in Manitoba, drought, COVID–19 is everywhere, anger and resentment boils over what governments are or are not doing. I have to turn the news off. 

I watched one CTV segment on Languishing, which seems to reflect the challenges of many. Mental health is a spectrum, from depression < = > flourishing. I've many people I follow on Social Media with serious issues that make daily life hard. The impact of the pandemic has been horrible for them. Self-care is truly important for those who are struggling somewhere in between. People can feel joyless, aimless, stagnant and empty, according to experts. 

CTV segment on Languishing
There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing
The neglected middle child of mental health can dull your motivation and focus — and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021.   

I hope you are all looking after yourselves. We will get through this! 

13 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Languishing - yes, I may recognise and own to something of that mood of late. I can feel it changing a little, now that I have stuff to sort and places to put it... though I can easily find excuses for not doing that too... sigh... YAM xx

William Kendall said...

Hummingbirds are very territorial.

Covid has been very difficult, personally speaking. Though I've worked throughout, my depression has been constant, unlike before where it does go away. And access to my therapist has been limited to zoom sessions, which to me aren't as effective.

Anvilcloud said...

Yeah, that time difference with Vancouver is problematic, not that our family are really phoners. Texting works better, but even that is minimal.

Tom said...

...your interest in technology make me feel like a caveman.

RedPat said...

Thank you.

DeniseinVA said...

Those adult gypsy moths are very pretty. A shame they can be so destructive. I caught sight of our first cicada today but I don’t think they have the same qualities. My son has numerous ones around his place that he has taken photos of, but I only saw one this morning. Give them time I suppose. Sorry to hear of JB’s allergies on top of his other health issues. We have members in our family who are dealing with them. Congratulations to your son and DIL’s wedding anniversary/birthday. Such a lovely photo of the wedding. What a great idea on keeping track of what you see in the air. Loved your hummingbird video. We have a shooting range a couple of miles away and people on our Next Door app are very startled by the sound of gunfire, more so when the wind is in our direction. Sometimes it sounds like an invasion they say and people try to put them at their ease explaining what they think it is. Depression/anxiety runs on my side of the family, my mother suffered from undiagnosed depression for many years, and back then people didn’t really understand what she was going through. Seems I am all over the place in my comments, so I won't waffle on any longer, except to say that I wish you and your family nothing but the very best.

Nancy J said...

Languishing, what a delight to actually speak that word, it sounds very olden Scottish, maybe I'm wrong. Hang in there ,Jenn, the insects will eventually go away, noise will quieten, and summer will arrive, Love the wedding photo. Be like me, and know that all good things happen in time, after the cancellation yesterday, I had to try and be so thankful it wasn't me in theatre when the equipment had this massive malfunction!!! Then I felt guilty to know another elderly lady had to endure a very long procedure.

Olga said...

Hummingbirds are loathe to share in my observations.

DUTA said...

Your son and DIL are a lovely couple! Congrats on their anniversaries, and happy celebrations!
'Languishing' that's a new english word for me. Hopefully, it stays like that - a word, nothing more.
It's a difficult year for all of us. May God give us better days with peace of mind and peace overall!

The Furry Gnome said...

Jenn, when did you write about your struggles with anxiety and noises? My wife has some of the same issues.

Red said...

You go through some tough times. I hope things turn around for you.

Angie said...

Jenn - my husband and I keep talking about Canada and the pandemic, and we are in a state of shock about it all. Usually Canada is so ON TOP of everything, so the lack of vaccines, etc., is surprising. We certainly don't have it all figured out in the U.S., and we have our own problems, but at least everyone who wants a vaccine can get one. Thanks for the tip on BirdNET: I hear a lot of birds I can't see, and this will REALLY help me know what I am looking for!

Kay said...

I know it must be very hard for many people who are stuck at home. I've been grateful for texting with friends and ZOOMing with our kids.