Another beautiful sunny day yesterday. I went out in the garden to take some photos, and as I was focused on our blue lungwort -- always one of the first plants to bloom -- a bee flew into the frame.
It was only there for a moment. I'm not sure it's the first bee I've seen this season, but it's definitely one of the first.
I spent most of the morning reading, and then walked Olga on the high street after lunch.
As you can see, everyone was out and about. (Olga was licking her chops, maybe wondering how she could get a table in that cafe.)
Later, I got a pleasant surprise when I looked at my credit card bill and found that my charge for using the toll roads in Florida was only $23. When I rented our car during February break, I thought the car-rental agent said I'd pay all tolls plus an $8 surcharge PER TOLL. But maybe I misunderstood, because I went through about six toll stations on the Suncoast Parkway while driving from Tallahassee to Tampa and I fully expected to be billed about $60. Maybe it was just a one-time $8 charge plus the tolls. Assuming no more charges appear, I came away from that better than I thought I would.
Dave pruned the hydrangeas in the garden and spent part of his evening watching silly YouTube videos. He has a level of patience for that kind of thing that I do not. I can handle one or two dog or cat videos but I don't want to see 20 of them. I am not much of a "scroller" in general. Dave, however, will sit entranced in his chair for hours, even while we're supposedly watching something on TV, and every once in a while exclaim something like, "Awwww, this meerkat has a sweater!"
Queen bumbles were out around here yesterday, looking for a nesting spot..but I think that they'll be sheltering today.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how they go in and out depending on the weather -- but then we do the same, don't we?
DeleteOne sunny day in old London Town, and everyone is out and about. The road tolls here are unbelievable. Family from the UK rented a car when visiting here, and somehow paid no road tolls even though they drove on toll roads. I did the same when visiting Sydney. I drove on toll roads in a rental and paid no tolls.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised those tolls don't catch up with you somehow! In the USA there are cameras that record your license plate and you're billed after the fact. A rental car company will pass on those charges.
DeleteWhat you are experiencing with Dave is something I have to endure with my spouse. I imagine we are in the room to watch something on the TV together - a kind of sharing. However, Shirley will often be on her phone - reacting to what she is seeing there - in a different world. I imagine this domestic phenomenon is very widespread now but I do not like it.
ReplyDeleteI don't like it either. Sometimes I say to him, "What's so interesting on that phone?"
DeleteI admit to using my 'phone during breakfast to read blogs whilst P is reading his newspaper and listening to Radio 4 - (he can do both at the same time). But meerkats in jumpers!!! Never!!
ReplyDeleteHa! I don't mind him using a phone when BOTH of us are reading. But when we're doing a communal activity -- and I think TV watching counts as that -- it annoys me.
DeleteDave sounds like Jerry! That first bee photo is quite a catch.
ReplyDeleteI just don't get the endless rush of dopamine some people get from scrolling.
DeleteAww! Look at Olga hoping for a seat at the cafe! You should have gotten one and bought a pastry to share with her. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! She would have loved that, except that she'd have been under everyone's feet looking for crumbs (after she finished her own pastry).
DeleteI think I need to be around Dave! Meerkats, elephants swaying to music, babies with cats, we'd enjoy that. My son could join us with his animal faves.
ReplyDeleteDave is on several animal channels so he gets an endless supply of that stuff.
DeleteI've seen quite a few bees already. i don't think they ever stop buzzing about here, mostly due to the camellias that bloom all winter.
ReplyDeleteThose damn little videos are wrecking my mind. I have no doubt about it and yes, I am addicted. But...a meerkat with a sweater? I want to see that!
Ha! I'll send you the link!
DeleteWhile I hate a bee sting, I am happy to see bees as they signal life for the plant.
ReplyDeleteI also like to see Olga on a stroll.
I agree -- any time I see a bee I'm thrilled.
DeleteDid you have one of those transponders in the window of your rental? Or did you pay the tolls online upon your return? Almost all the toll roads I go through add a surcharge if they have to send you the bill via looking up the license plate number. If you have a transponder in the windshield or pay the tolls within so many days online, they drop the surcharge since it bills your credit card directly.
ReplyDeleteRight before Covid, I finally broke down and got one of those transponders which I keep in our main travel vehicle. If I change it to another vehicle, I have to remember to log in and update the license plate to match for the duration of the trip. But it is well worth it not having to write down all the tolls, locations, etc. and trying to pay them online upon my return.
There was a device on the windshield, which I opened to activate it, but I didn't pay ahead of time to use it. I wasn't sure how that whole thing would work out, but maybe it recorded the tolls and then Budget sent me the bill with an $8 processing fee. Seems like that's the case.
DeleteIt would seem from the comments that the epidemic of scrolling spouses covers a lot of territory. My OH feels compelled to show me every funny dog episode--so much so that I refuse to sit in the same room with him when I am reading due to his non-stop interruptions. He has no idea how close I've come to turning him into a whack-a-mole after "just one more" video.
ReplyDeleteHa! YES! This is my experience too!
DeleteThe blooms on the lungwort are so pretty. I don't get the appeal of watching little video after video on youtube or tiktok. What a time waster. Marc will play games on his phone while we're watching something on TV.
ReplyDeleteI don't do phone games either. Life is too short.
DeleteThat's an amazing photo of that bee, with it's proboscis out.
ReplyDeleteI'm the one who scrolls here. Instagram videos make me laugh and I need more of that.
That bee was really targeting that flower, wasn't it?! I don't begrudge people enjoying scrolling, as long as it's not doomscrolling and it produces more positive feelings than negative ones.
DeleteLOL. @ 'the meerkat has a sweater'! Not sure why I found that so funny, but I did. (I've also seen the video.) It is starting to feel like spring here, and I really am ready for it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you know which video I'm talking about!
DeleteThe Streets Of Olga Girl , Fantastic
ReplyDeleteBee Well Brother ,
Cheers
She's surprisingly cool with crowds. I guess as a city dog, she needs to be.
DeleteI love the bright color of those flowers, Steve!
ReplyDeleteThey are a really nice blue! So good to see some color after dreary winter.
DeleteI hope toll roads never come here.
ReplyDeleteAre there no toll roads in Canada? Or maybe just not in Red Deer!
DeleteI like seeing all those people sitting outside. That's a good sign along with the bees.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's so nice to see sunshine and life continuing as usual. Sometimes when we just read news it feels like the world is ending -- but it's not. Yet!
DeleteI can't switch attention constantly, either. I do one thing at a time, and don't flit from screen to screen.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I like blogs. It's more of an extended-focus activity.
DeleteThat blue of the lungwort is just gorgeous, nature has the best colours.
ReplyDeleteHas Dave discovered the Olive and Mable videos? They started during the lockdown when sports journalist Andrew Cotter made "sport" videos of his two labradors. Great fun. https://www.youtube.com/@mrandrewcotter
Yes! He watches those! In fact he's sent a few of them to me.
DeleteAn "early bee" reminded me of the lovely poem, "Nothing Gold can Stay." It goes, "her early leaf's a flower" but why not "the early bee's in flower"?
ReplyDeleteDB: This was one of my mother's favourite poems!
DeleteYes, that's a fantastic poem. Robert Frost has fallen a bit out of fashion these days but he's still one of my top favorite poets.
DeleteOlga looks so different in that photo for some reason. I love walking on sunny days and she must too. :) Being in the PacNW, I'm not used to toll roads and would have no clue how they work. When my older daughter and her husband lived in New York, they had some kind of transponder. (not sure that's the right word)
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised there are no toll roads there! Florida has no income tax so tolls are one of the ways it funds big road projects. I caught Olga mid-yawn; if I'd noticed it at the time I'd have taken another picture, but I didn't see it until we got home.
DeleteGiven all of the things happening in the world today a Meerkat in a sweater sounds pretty good to me.
ReplyDeleteWell, there's something to be said for enjoying some humor, it's true.
DeleteHahaha....Dave and I would get along just fine sitting next to each other absorbed in our scrolling (and probably sending each other clips to watch, despite sitting next to each other!).
ReplyDeleteHe does that to me all the time. I confess I don't watch them all. I just feel like I have too much else to think about.
DeleteWalking in the warmth and sunshine on High St. sounds very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteSeeing all those people sitting outside for a meal makes me yearn for outside dining on High St.
Come to West Hampstead! :)
DeleteWe all have our favorites to watch. I must admit I spend way too much time in front of the computer.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Olga looks like a spring chicken in that photo.
DeleteI do too, and I really try not to.
DeleteMike likes to show me sheepdog videos, but he only does it for a little while. After that I'm the one not paying attention to what we're watching (I'm usually playing a game).
ReplyDeleteI have never warmed to computer or phone games, I don't know why. I've tried them but they're just not my thing.
DeleteWell, who could resist a meerkat in a sweater? The blooms are beautiful -- it looks as beautiful as your March day on the high street. It was lovely here too -- for once!
ReplyDeleteHow rare that both of us had a nice day on the same date!
DeleteI can scroll a fair bit on youtube but for me it's music videos and not every day or even every week. High Street looks like the place to be for coffee and lunch. Olga is looking well.
ReplyDeleteI like music videos as well -- those I'll watch!
DeleteI decompress by watching YouTube clips and videos. No TV though. I can imagine the difficulties caused in households where spouses are together yet not sharing in the same experience, as YP said. I don't know what the answer is.
ReplyDeleteI love those little flowers with all my heart - probably because I have them and they're one of the few things the deer don't eat; also, they are the first thing to come up in my north-facing garden. I bet that bee is happy to find your flowers.
It's interesting those flowers are deer-proof. I wonder if the plants have a strong taste? I'm sure if I asked Dave not to scroll while we watch TV he'd try, but what business is it of mine if that's how he wants to be entertained? He says he can do both but he never knows what's going on in our TV shows so he's clearly not absorbing them. :)
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