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.
ReplyDeleteOne 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.
ReplyDeleteWhat 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 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!!
ReplyDeleteDave sounds like Jerry! That first bee photo is quite a catch.
ReplyDeleteAww! Look at Olga hoping for a seat at the cafe! You should have gotten one and bought a pastry to share with her. :)
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI'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!
While 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.
Did 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.
It 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.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteThat'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.
LOL. @ '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.
ReplyDeleteThe Streets Of Olga Girl , Fantastic
ReplyDeleteBee Well Brother ,
Cheers
I love the bright color of those flowers, Steve!
ReplyDeleteI hope toll roads never come here.
ReplyDeleteI like seeing all those people sitting outside. That's a good sign along with the bees.
ReplyDeleteI can't switch attention constantly, either. I do one thing at a time, and don't flit from screen to screen.
ReplyDeleteThat 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
An "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!
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)
ReplyDeleteGiven all of the things happening in the world today a Meerkat in a sweater sounds pretty good to me.
ReplyDeleteHahaha....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!).
ReplyDeleteWalking 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.
We 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.
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).
ReplyDeleteWell, 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!
ReplyDeleteI 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 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.