An unusual day, today – I didn’t take a single photograph!  I was away most of the day, and don’t even know if the deer visited.

I had an appointment in another city; it’s still an hour’s drive away, but a much smaller city, so once there, it’s quicker to get places.  I left early, so that I could go to where I could print out photos for my mother, along with some 8x10s for ourselves to frame.  I chose a lot of images to show her when I visit – my daughter will be coming along with her laptop – but printed out “only” 14 of them for my mother.  Along with the deer she asked for, I included some birds and cats, and even one of my daughters with their completed snowman.

The staff member that helped me commented on the photos, so I told her a bit about our set up, and that they were all taken through our living room window.  I picked the 1 hour pick up option when I was done, thinking I would pay for them, go for lunch, then come back – glad that I’d left as early as I did.

Turns out that the 8x10s were done before I even finished paying for them, and the 4x6s for my mother were in process.  The other staff member at the counter that processed my payment brought over the 8x10s and commented on them – two deer close ups, and a redpoll on a twig.  There was another customer using one of their machines that heard me talking about the deer, and very excitedly asked if she could see my photos! :-D  Turns out she gets deer in her yard, too, but isn’t able to get photos of them.  So she was really excited to see them.

That done, I had lunch and hung out until it was time to find where my appointment was.  It was my first ever counseling session, to talk with someone about the stress issues I’ve been having, even after leaving the toxic environment that was causing it.  Thankfully, I’ve been able to consult with my lawyer and another expert, so I’ve got a plan of action, should things come to a head.  I told the counselor that I seriously considered cancelling the appointment because that, alone, made a huge difference in reducing the stress levels.  However, I told her I’ve also seen many people over the years dealing with stress and not going to someone for help with it and, over time, it ended up causing them more problems, whether it was not getting grief counseling after a tragic loss, or domestic situations, or for any number of things.  I didn’t want to be “that person”.   Despite the push in recent years to encourage people to view their mental health the same way as their physical health, there is still a huge resistance to actually seeing a professional about it, largely due to stigma.  Me, I’ve reached that stage in my life where I really don’t care what anyone thinks of me, and if they give me grief (or bully me in any other way), I am no longer the shrinking violet that backs off and slinks away, like I used to.  Now, I stand up and challenge people who do that, no matter who they are or what status or titles they might have.

Bullies really don’t like it when people stand up to them.  Unfortunately, it happens so rarely, they usually get away with it, and just move on to the next “victim.”

Or in other instances, try to exact their revenge though other means.  Which is basically the problem I’m having now.

I think it was a good session.  There really isn’t a lot she could do for me, but she was able to give me some resources, ask questions and listen to why I was there, and I am welcome to book another appointment any time I feel I need to.

I was done early enough that I could go and visit my sister at her farm.  I haven’t been there in years.  It was good to see her, and the changes they’ve made in their house since I was last there.

I showed my sister the photos I’d printed out and, since I had the USB stick, I brought that out for her to look at the rest on her computer.

She was surprised by a photo of a redpoll like the one pictured her.e

The surprise being the yellow/copper cap, rather than a red cap.

For some reason, my thought was that this was the difference between the males and females; the males have the red cap, the females being less bright, so they had the yellow cap.  I’d forgotten that the males have a red chest as well as the red cap, while the females have just the red cap.

So what is the one with the yellow cap?  It’s clearly the same bird.  There’s no other real difference.  I had a photo of one with a red cap, too, so we compared back and forth, and they’re the same, except for the colour of the cap.  We were seeing a lot of the ones with the yellow cap; it’s partly why I originally misidentified them as chipping sparrows, because in my own bird book, which doesn’t have redpolls at all, this was the one that looked the most like it.

She dug out her bird book, but it has illustrations only.  Male, female, juvenile.  The juvenile has no bright colours at all.

After talking about it, her conclusion was that they might be juveniles that are in a transition stage from having no bright cap at all, to their adult colours.  She is probably right.

If any birders are reading this and can fill me in, I’d love to hear from you!

I wasn’t able to stay at my sister’s for long, unfortunately.  My husband had called in some prescriptions. I wasn’t sure when the pharmacy closed, and it was nearly an hour’s drive away.  I wanted to get my own medical insurance coverage set up, too, now that we’ve been assured my coverage is all set.

It’s a good thing I left when I did.  I got there 15 minutes before they closed.

I still don’t have insurance coverage.

The first person tried to set it up on my file, but couldn’t get it to work.  So someone else came over to the computer to try other things.  She couldn’t get it to work, either.

So, it’s back to talking to my husband’s employer and their insurance carrier.

At least I was able to get his meds, though when it was rung in, the pharmacy was officially closed.

By the time I got home, I’d driven about 200 km in total, and had been gone for more than 7 hours.  About 2 1/2 hours of that was just driving.

Yeah, that’s a bit of a down side to living in the boonies. :-D

The Re-Farmer