How can it possibly be almost six years since I was here? Where did 2016, 2017, 2018 and their ilk go? Are Rich and Nance even still alive? Well, the good news is yes, we are both doing fine and living in snowy Austin, TX. I normally write sunny because, well, Austin is most certainly a sunny place 99.9% of the time. However, this is the .1%. As you can see from my deer friend, it’s cold.

I’ll write more about pandemic hell some other time, but today I just wanted to share this lovely fellow with you. He’s wondering why there’s white stuff all over the ground, and that picture was taken from my couch (!) using my phone, so he’s right up against the house.

Nancy and I have been stuck at home now for a year. I saw this pandemic coming in January 2020, and we got ourselves ready (nothing crazy, just common sense stuff) and so we’ve been mostly home since. We’ve taken it seriously, and so for now 365 days it’s been just the two of us.

In that time, we’ve gotten to know our deer friends (our house is graced with several different sets of deer who blow through, ranging from Blossom and her young ones to Fake Blossom 🙂 and her two offspring… after a year of sitting at the window I can tell them all apart). I never realized how much wildlife there is here. We know all the birds that visit our bird feeder (my gift to Nance last year – best present ever), and we’ve watched the fawns grow from wobbly newborns to prancy teens, who bounce around the yard showing off.

I know this has been a terrible 12 months for many, many people. We’re luckier than so many. My job allows me to work from home, and I’m stuck here with my best friend. We’ve even made some new friends in the yard. I’m confident better years are coming and we’ll have our own version of the roaring 20’s. It may be cold outside, but the kiss of summer is on its way.

It’s a bit embarrassing to have to admit that it’s been so long since I posted anything, but this little guy made me smile – Nance seems to be fascinated with him. It’s not my picture it’s from National Geographic who I credit here. But every time she sees him, there’s that beautiful smile, so I figured I’d capture him here. Main thing to remember: the world is infinitely more beautiful than we think. Embrace it!

I thought I had broken my poor little camera, and I was distressed. I even took it to a shop, who told me that this one was trashed and I should get a new one… so I decided to take it apart. I mean, it’s dead, right? So I used to love pulling things apart as a kid, so why not see how it works. I had no intent or even desire to fix it (it’s electronics… when it breaks, you buy a BETTER version!!!), but as I looked about for how you actually dismantle a Nikon, I found a nice article on exactly the problem I was having, and Voila! One repaired camera, fixed with a screwdriver and a little gentle twisting.

Our disposable society has become, to me, a bit frustrating. I like fixing things. I like being able to go hands on and fiddle. Lesson learned, I guess: don’t accept failure quite so easily because if you’re a really careful and good boy, things like this happen:

Now that’s worth it 🙂