Random 5 for June 14, 2026 – Geese, weather, WordPress, renovations, aging

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This photo captures half the group of Canadian geese. They were spread out on a large field. It was hard to get a sharp shot so I apologize for the quality.

So freaking cute! – You may not be a fan of Canadian geese but I am. They are so majestic in their little tuxedos. Locally we have a group that hangs together. There are at least two, maybe three families that go everywhere together. I’ve enjoyed watching them all summer. The goslings are getting big. I often see them in the morning on my coffee run. Makes my day!

Thankfulness! – The weather has been up and down but we’ve had some absolutely gorgeous days — the perfect temperature with a slight breeze. It makes all the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and me a bit giddy. Yesterday was perfect. It was a great day to work outside but instead I sat on my deck and was awed by the beauty of nature. Storms later today. Nothing lasts, so treasure it while it’s here. That goes for a lot of things.

Is it just me? – WordPress (my blogging platform) has gone wonky again. The last few days it requires me to log in to comment on my own blog while I am already logged in. This is for every comment! They must be diddling again.

Progress! – My powder room renovation is coming along. The contractor will be done this week, then I am going to wallpaper the upper part. We put vertical shiplap on the bottom third of the wall. It’s a small project with just a vanity replacement and the shiplap but I like the change.

Speaking of projects – Where did my balance go? I want to paint my bedroom. It has a peaked ceiling, The side wall is 12 foot at the peak. I painted this room five years ago when we moved here. It required a tall ladder and I did just fine. I’m not so good on ladders these days. Now I find myself having to hire someone to do something I’ve done for over 50 years. Not a fan of aging (except it’s better than the alternative!).

So how was your week?

63 thoughts on “Random 5 for June 14, 2026 – Geese, weather, WordPress, renovations, aging”

    • Hard to find reasonable handymen to do simple jobs. Everyone is a “contractor” and wants big jobs. We are fortunate that our “contractor” for the bathroom job also did a bunch of simple jobs like changing out electrical switches and attaching the disconnected heating duct in the attic (with screws and duct tape!) . No one works with duct tape like you do. You guys are pros.

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  4. I’m glad you hired someone so you won’t fall off the ladder.

    We have Canada geese in the farmland north of here. They used to migrate, but I think they’re year-round now. We never see them in small groups. It’s always 1000s at a time, eating in the fields and then taking flight all at once. It’s a favorite sight for photographers.

    “Treasure it while it’s here.” Words of wisdom.

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    • They don’t migrate here either but stay year round. We’ll see bigger groups but it’s been a long time since I saw a group anywhere near that. Sometimes a large group will land in a farm field to eat the leftovers from whatever was planted.

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  5. I like the geese as well and you can’t beat their offspring for cuteness overloads. It’s one thing I miss about my daily trips to Council Point Park because I literally watched them growing up before my eyes, toddling after their parents, then becoming “teenagers” and hissing at me. Next week’s post will be about geese and their goslings for Father’s Day.

    We had an awful weather week last week, with three days in a row of severe weather. One was a spin-up tornado which suddenly my weather alarm went off, just minutes before it landed in the next city over. That was Tuesday, then more tornadic activity for the next two days. Luckily by the time it got to SE Michigan, each storm was 45-50 mph winds, hail, but no tornadoes. We had severe weather mid-day today. And, even though we had that run of great weather, like you had, I forgot it all once I was sitting here in my bike helmet watching Michigan Storm Chasers and their radar and finding out exactly when I should head to the basement.

    I’m no fan of ladders and only climb to the second step ever and that’s to change the lightbulbs in the pole light as the lamp head is tall and has to be taken apart piece by piece. Balance is one of the things that goes when you get older … I read that all the time and a friend of mine went back to school in her late 50s to get a master’s degree in gerontology studies. She kept preaching to me about no scatter rugs (I don’t have them) and always be mindful of your balance and avoid whirling around quickly.

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    • Whirling around! I would just love to whirl around like I did as a kid but those days are behind me. Now I just bounce my bottom to music! 🙂 Sorry about the weather. I was following it and wondered how it affected you. You should take a picture of you in your bike helmet!

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      • I’d probably get dizzy as well trying to whirl around. I may have mentioned to you before (and apologies if I did) about the walker at the Park -she has an administrative job at the high school and was getting something from a file, someone asked her a question and she whirled around to face them, lost her balance and fell on the floor in a heap and broke her pelvis. She used to walk every day in the Summer once school was out – she never walked last year at all. I’d say she is in her late 40s/maybe early 50s.

        I look odd in the bike helmet and I have to figure out what to do with my hair as it pinches under the helmet. Plus jamming it on my head pulled off two of the soft Styrofoam strips that were just glued in the helmet – bad feature in my opinion. I’ve got to figure out how to put it on better – surely if you were riding a bike on the street, etc. you don’t want your head to feel like it is in a vise! (Hmm – maybe there are directions on YouTube and I’ve been putting it on wrong?_Tuesday and Wednesday, we have more severe weather, both days with high wind, hail and tornadic activity. I am ready for Fall.

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  10. Glad you’re happy with the powder room progress. Boy can I relate to being humbled trying to do simple projects around the house. I hired the Closet Factory to install a wall of shelves and it took me hours to unload the original arrangement and even longer putting things back. Talk about being knackered for an extended period of time afterwards! Ugh.

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  11. I don’t think I have seen Canada geese here. I know they are here and they don’t migrate. I guess they like the danged heat and humidity. Kate, that is a lovely photo. I miss them. They were everywhere in Missouri living their best life like the Canada geese in your photo.
    I can plant myself on the chaise on the lanai and not move when the weather is good. Too HOT now. We have some chatty birds in the preserve and I can listen to them all day.
    I have just noticed some balance issues in the last couple of years… ugh.

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  12. WP is doing ‘things’……………….. a drop down message notifies me of new posts, so I click on the flag and it disappears only to drop down again, and again, and again until WP decides to let me see them!
    Canada geese are in town here and I took pictures today but haven’t processed them yet. Got ducklings too and hope the huddle comes out OK! I counted 16!!!

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    • I tried a bunch of things today and none of it cleared my WP issues. I figured out some workarounds but they are more work. I have enjoyed watching the goslings grow. I love that the families hang together. Safety in numbers.

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      • Only one gosling this year as the council raided the nests again. Nice to see so many ducklings, but I hope they survive as the gulls and crows tend to pick them off. However, the geese have joined ranks and are very protective of them.

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  17. I take the view that if there is a risk, and I cant safely do it or hire one of those cherry-picker automated indoor units, then a man needs to be hired. 12′ off the ground is definitely a job for someone else younger than Mrs H. Either that or have the ceilings lowered 😉

    ERin

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  18. WordPress used to be so much easier to navigate. I miss it!

    Good luck with your projects. I’m glad I don’t have any plans to stand on a 12 foot ladder to paint or paper walls. 😀

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  19. So many things we can’t (shouldn’t) do anymore. I have clients who installed a button at the top of their door to disable to alarm in order to go out and water the plants. Way above that I can reach. They suggested just standing on a chair. Not happening!! That’s an invite to a fall, which I don’t need. And it was 66 degrees here this morning…glorious. Not going to think about the temps later today.

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  20. Lots of geese around here too. As for the ladder, heights, balance, and work, I think most seniors can relate. Glad your project is going well. Been busy here either gardening, checking out plants, or on a garden tour. June is all about the garden, and I sit as well admiring nature.

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  21. Hi Ho! Geese are fun to watch – there’s a small lake/pond two houses down from us and several families of geese hang out there……we have tons of foxes around too which makes for a bad combination. BUT one “family” – a Dad, Mom and three babies – routinely stop traffic to walk across the road to the grass on the other side. The Dad stands in the middle of the road while Mom and the kids go over – he keeps a close eye on everything – then joins them on the other side. I love it. Now THAT’s a FAMILY! Good for the reno project going well. I don’t trust myself on ladders any more and we are gradually giving up “we’ll do it ourselves” things for “happy to have contractor/handyman” do it.

    Hugs, Pam

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  22. That constant “logging in” is a pain. I don’t understand it at all, unless it is because you can make more than one site on your main account.

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  24. I love watching the Geese too! There were 2 crossing the road with the pace of royalty, not caring one bit about the traffic back-up.

    I’m glad you had time to awe at the nature. It’s becoming one of my favorite pass times. This morning we had the tiniest turtle struggling in our pond. He’s safe now and on his way.

    Enjoy the day!

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