On Arrivals & Expectations

 

I could have used this one several weeks ago, following the time change when the darkness descended, the Christmas music started up on XM, and the shops in town started putting out their lights and Winter Holiday décor.  From my perspective this shift seemed to have taken place even earlier than last year. 

However, the biggest surprise, and most recent irritation involving change, was the arrival of Amazon's AI, Rufus  It showed up last night as I was trying to follow a link on YouTube to an item on Amazon.  What turned up in place what I was looking for was a orange screen full of AI's recommendations for me, with no obvious way to close it down.  In order to move past the visual clutter of that intrusion and find what I was looking for, I had go back to the link, get the name of the item, and type it in the Amazon search bar.  Taking those extra steps finally brought me to where I'd have immediately gone without Rufus blocking the way. SonM says there might have been something off with the link I was using, as others I've tried since from that same site have led me right to the item, without "Rufus" bringing up my past history along with a host of fabulous deals it thinks I might want.   I haven't yet decided what to do about this latest AI assist other than feel visually assaulted and along for a another ride I'm not sure I want to take. 

I'm tired of being pushed and sold, and once again will need to sort through the clutter, figure out what matters most to me, and look for ways to enjoy "The Holidays" and the winter months to come.   We did manage to drop 500 tulip bulbs and daffodils for naturalizing into the yard before the weather turned,  using a new 2" auger attached to the cordless drill.  That method worked great, better than the old step-on bulb planter my brother welded up for me years ago, and I now have the imagined surprise of those bulbs blooming in the spring to hold me through the cold and snow! 

 Another late fall surprise encountered this year (which I hadn't noticed before in the the seven years we've been here), was a woods full of blooming Witch Hazel with hundreds of tiny yellow spider-like flowers decking out the branches of bushes situated around the oaks.  Turns out there is a nocturnal moth that stays active during freezing weather, and flies around in November pollinating them. And that leads to the formation of seed pods (w/ 2 seeds per pod) capable to "discharging" (shooting!) those seeds 10-30 feet when they open the next fall.  Sometimes all it takes is something as unusual and naturally wonderful as this amid all the hype to help me find center again.