traveling up and down the blind highway

Today’s weather is calling for snow flurries and continued cold temperatures. Not promising for Spring Break week. My brother Craig and my husband John both will be celebrating birthdays in the coming week. What does this have to do with World Health Day? Everything! With cuts across the board in health care programs, rising food prices and prescription drugs, They may be in poorer health in the coming year. John and I can still afford our health care even if the co-pay increases. What about the millions of Americans that have little or no providers or can not afford medical care?
We use to have programs that help low income families. Medicaid and medicare are being limited or dropped. Programs initiated thirty to fifty years ago, are on the cutting board to appease the conservative agenda. I would bet that none of the proposed cuts affect this group of politicians. But the more disturbing policy concerns the overreaching of the executive branch to write executive orders and enforce them as if they are laws.
Where are the other two branches of government? Where are the checks and balances. How is democracy being tested? Meanwhile, people like your neighbor, the clerk in the grocery store, the family that is sitting beside you in church, even your family members will be affected. We must make a choice, to not take action or to rise up to uphold people in our community, state and our country.
If we don’t act, when the changes finally affect us, there may be no one to challenge the orders.
Our grandfathers and fathers rose to protect democracy, our grandmothers and mothers, taught us to treat others as we would want to be treated. Are we so apathetic to not care to make waves. I, for one, would start a tidal wave of concern. Together we can be a force for ourselves and our country.
Take your temp and choose your path.

poem
I pledge allegiance to to democracy
the building block on which we stand.
Many faces, different voices but one people
one nation, in love and peace
caring for the vulnerable we will rise
to protect all.
carolaspot@aol.com copyrighted 4/7/25

Every spring, John has to decide when to stop feeding the deer in favor of the birds and squirrels. He fears that too much offered food will make them dependent on humans. I suspect the feeding habits of the animals have more to do with whether they will get a handout in our backyard.
The number of deer vying for bird seed has grown from a doe with her twins to seven or more deer at one time. When a group is that large, disputes erupt with shoving and head butting of the smaller deer. One morning , a younger deer stamped it’s front hooves . John took this as frustration at the lack of feed to go around. Later, I read that stamping front hooves is one way deer communicate with each other.
Wanting to feed the pregnant squirrels, John built a mesh square cover . It was eight inches above the ground. The food container will sit under this mesh to protect the seeds from the deer.
Last night was the first night using the tray. I hope that hungry deer don’t become aggressive, destroying the mesh covering. This morning a young deer, had her head on the ground to lick up seeds with her tongue.
This is the opening salvo in the game of creatures in our yard.This is before the chipmunks, mice and turkeys join the contest. They and John will go back and forth with no clear outcome. I’ll pop some corn and watch the show. There a bias towards the manner the animals feed. Squirrels and birds select one seed at a time. Deer, chipmunks and turkeys will eat until the food is gone. We will see who outwits whom.
***. poem
Cycle
Warmer weather, longer days
start the spring cycle.
nature vies for limited food. Before the buds form, rabbits chew on last year’s growth. Many are eating for two. Spring can be a feast or famine.
carolaspot@aol.com
copyrighted 3/31/25

I found this special day to celebrate the achievements of friends, family and coworkers in my life. I am referring to the clerk that remembers to double bag my groceries each time I use her checkout. The young person that runs to get to the library door before me so he can open and hold the door for me. There is the family member that takes the time to read and comment on my blog. The older woman, who sits in front of us in the first pew, that walks over to smile and offers her hand in peace during service. The driver that stops far back from the crosswalk to signals he sees us.
For every person that ignores or scowls, there are nine others who smile. They make my day. Exchanging “hellos” is healing for the soul.
In this list, I will add my virtual groups of friends. Those in Behind our Eyes , Writers with Disabilities, Braille Chat group, Braille Forum and Newsreel.
The online magazines The Avocet, Breath and Shadow, The Plum Tree Tavern and Spirit fire Review for publishing my poetry and short stories. The editors have become friends. Your work and dedication to those of us who deal with blindness and other issues is appreciated. Your encouragement has helped many achieve their writing goals. You are the reason for my writing achievements. You know who you are. Thank you.
Carol Farnsworth
* Poem
Invisible
I sit by myself
Who is watching?
I smile and hope another receives it.
I am here, to offer my hand to touch.
a hand reaches for mine.
connection
I achieve my goal.
We are not alone.
carolaspot@aol.com copyrighted 3/24/25

Visiting a butterfly exhibit in a local garden area, I was struck how the butterfly and a poem are similar. Both are dull before they take flight. Lifting us higher in the turn of a wing or phrase. They change our understanding while sharing an experience with others. With poetry and butterflies, we are lifted in ming and spirit. Take a moment today to appreciate the gift of nature. If you are moved, write down your observations. This could be a start of a journal to find ideas for poems. Can’t see? Use your imagination and your other senses to create a moment caught in time. Enjoy the coming month to expand and take time to hear, smell, taste and feel . Write them down before they disappear…
like a butterfly.
poem

Buckeye Convention
Sun streams in flooding ferns with light.
Thousands of blue insects move in zigzag flight.
Whisper movement passes by.
To the apple slices tied and hung.
One mottled brown flyer rests nearby.
Pausing to sip a sugar brew.
Startled by another, change to blue in flight.
It lifts skyward, joining others.
Sapphire jewels amid the plantings.
Against the window panes, invisible to the eye, they hide.
Reappear near my side.
With six inch wing spans hide in foliage when they land.
carolaspot@aol.com copyrighted 3/20/25

In these changing times in government and status quo, the average person will have a policy change that will affect each person. My challenge occurred at the beginning of the year. My husband, John’s health provider changed. He retired from the postal service. The postal retiree’s were not allowed to sign up for the health program that we have had for over eleven years. Instead, we were given a new program created just for this group.
We were switched from a HMO plan with Priority Health that had no co-pays and paid for most drugs to A Blue Cross/ Blue Shield that was suppose to be comparable in coverage. Instead we were told in January that we didn’t sign up for Medicare, part d to include drugs, we would have to wait until February 1st to have coverage. The problem? I have been on a drug for thin bone density for nine months, given as a daily shot. Tymlos, couldn’t be ordered from our initial source. I was running out of the drug. The new provider kept asking for a new prescription. My doctor wrote a new script that was good for two years.
Then the CBS Specialty Pharmacy needed more information. I did finally receive the drug after using the injection every other day to extend the drug. What was paid for last year was now 350 dollars a month. We thought,”Well that should be the end of the problems.”
When we went to order the drug the next month, we ran into the same problem with ordering. A drug that I have been on for nine months was ordered for thirty days !
Back to the phones, transferred from Blue Cross to CBS Pharmacy and medicare. As we called and waited, my drug was running low. The drug was sent with only one day’s supply left. We had ordered the refill the first day we could, 15 days before the supply ran out.
Again, the pharmacy had to receive a prescription again.
It is close to reordering the drug. I wonder if I will have issues again. Is this a result of a new program or downsizing of government ?
Egg prices, tariffs and stock market slump, one wonders what is next?
***. poem
Playing Trump
shell game slight of hand
pick a card
carolaspot@aol.com

Daylight saving time has been used in the US since 1918 with the exception of brief periods during WWII and the Vietnam war. Initially, it was implemented in Germany during WWI to save energy during production. The use of Daylight Saving Time was reinforced in 1966. The time change is observed in all but two states, Arizona and Hawaii.
Yesterday, the clocks skipped forward one hour. On November 2nd, the clocks will be set back one hour. There is good reason to change the clocks on the weekend. Being late to a service is preferable to being late for work or an appointment.
It is jarring to get up after the sunrise. My inter body clock is off for several days. More usable sunlight in the evening is nice for after school and work activities.
For a blind person, I reset my clock regularly I have an internal clock that runs on a 25 hour day. My brain alternates perceived light and dark days. I know there is sun by feeling the heat .
I wish the time could stay the same all year. There have been several resolutions to do away with daylight savings time, but we still observe the changes.
Short of moving to Arizona, I will have to deal with a tired, grumpy self, for a while.
****. Poem
Tripping into Spring
Though the saying states
“Spring Forward,
I trip my way through the week.
Feeling the sun’s warmth,
I am tired and grumpy.
No morning glow.
Hungry in mid-afternoon, before bedtime.
Tired before evening.
Dragging, I will adjust.
In six months,
I’ll do it again.

carolaspot@aol.com
copyright 3/10/25

The practice of Lent has been in existence from the earliest Christian times. The idea of a time set aside to reflect, renew and change in preparation for the celebration of Easter can be traced to the third generation of disciples and the length of 40 days can be traced to the 40 days that Jesus abstained in the desert before beginning his ministry.
As a cradle Catholic, I have had different views of the season of Lent. My Mother was a strict enforcer of lenten rules of abstaining and no eating between meals. This was not enforced on Sundays. That day was set aside for joyful celebration. Some how Mom kept the eating practices through the 40 days of Lent. More rules for the week before Easter. Abstaining from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays , we limited sugar and salty snacks creating a craving for the forbidden treats. Giving of part of our allowance to the weekly collection was encouraged. Wednesday night services and becoming alter servers or choir members was also strongly suggested.
I would visit my non-catholic friends to be offered a forbidden snack.
“Do I take the food and confess the transgression that Saturday?”
“Do I not confess and have sins pile up?”
“Do I just avoid my friends until after Lent?”
When I gave up a favorite television program and limited movies , I had nothing to fill in the time. For a kid, Lent lasted forever!
Good Friday was particularly difficult. Only one meal, music was allowed but no tv. We were encouraged to visit the two sets of grandparents to do simple chores or errands for them. Often, I was given a cookie.
“To eat the cookie or rack up more sins to confess?”
I took the cookie and tried to forget it before confession.
My husband, John, had some of the same thoughts. On Good Friday, he and his older brother Gene, were alone at home with both of his parents working. What could they do on Good Friday?
Hey, John, let’s play Crucifixion.”
“How do we play that?”
“You can be Jesus, I will be the soldier putting on the cross.”
John agreed and Gene found two pieces of wood to make a rough cross. Taking some clothesline, Gene tied his younger brother to the cross.
“Hey, I have to use the bathroom”. Gene went into the house, leaving John attached to the cross. The boy’s Dad came home to see his young son attached to a cross and his older son no where to be seen. He went to look for his older son. Gene had started to play after using to the bathroom.
Taking his son outside he lit a cigarette , inhaling before remarking:
“You better get the baby off the cross before your Mother gets home.”
For a long time I ignored Lent and the practices. I found the season lacked the special quality that I remembered.
This year, I have studied some of the traditions and beliefs behind the abstaining. I have found there are three reasons to keep lent a tripod of theology to base the practice.
First. To give up a action that can be harmful. This can be giving alcohol, sweets or places that cause temptations. I have given up watching the national news. It only makes me angry and powerless.
Second. I put a new task to take the place of the old habit. I have put time to call or write to relatives especially the elderly of my family and friends to keep of them and show they are still a part of my life.
Third, The idea of almsgiving can be expanded to giving one’s time, to a charity, a neighbor in need or helping a stranger by smiling and saying, “Good morning.” Giving to groups that make requests are also part of giving. I find it is too easy to give to a charity but to go through my clothing and donate items that I no longer use or volunteer at a local second store to help others is a way to build relationship with others.
So I will keep Lent day by day. I am sure that I will have days that I fail, but I am determine to pick myself up and continue to a blessed Easter.

*** poem
Lent
in my childhood, a four letter word
Lost in a cluster of rules many starting with “Do not”
Easy to slip, then back to the confessional
notice many of my friends have no restrictions
Time drags , I wait for the basket delivered on Easter morning.
carolaspot@aol.com 3/3/25 copyrighted


  When my husband John,  had his farm, he tried to raise many different  animals. One of his neighbor raised pigs. His neighbor Dennis  had a sow with a litter of piglets, he offered John one. 
  “Wait until they are weaned.” he was advised. When weaned, The piglet would be about twelve pounds and eating solid food.”
  The female pig  given to John was named  Arnold after the pig on the Television show, “Green Acres.” Her gender was in doubt afterwards
  She was an off white Hampshire pig with a pink snout, small onyx eyes, pointed ears and a double curled tail. The teeth of young pigs are sharp and pointed to tear apart their food. 
  Arnold was gentle, never biting people. She was intelligent with a curious nature. She would look towards the house at milking time. When John was done with the chores, he and his white  spotted dog, Junior, took a walk in the woods and fields. Arnold would push against the gate squealing with excitement. Soon, she joined them on the strolls around the one hundred twenty acre farm. When to show affection, Arnold would push her snout into John’s palm.
  “Arnold, Do you want to come along?” John got in a habit of taking Arnold on a walk with his dog Junior. Both would walk with no leash. Junior would race ahead, while John walked with Arnold bringing up the rear. 
  Arnold grew and soon passed the 250 pound market size. When John’s brother, Gene visited, John warned him to keep his kids away from the pig.
  “Your kids are small and could be squashed.”
  Unlike the cows, pigs have upper and lower teeth. They are strong and sharp.
  Ar 
  When it was time to attempt breeding Arnold, she had a different idea. Though the neighbor’s boar was interested, Arnold ignored him. She eagerly walked home when called. She acted like another dog rather than a pig.
  Finally, Arnold topped the scales well over 650 pounds. Slowing down on the daily walks, John suspected an aging problem. An appointment was set to take Arnold to be processed, but how to get her into the truck.
  John first tried  to lead her up the ramp into the truck. Arnold refused to climb the ramp. Then He tried to back her up the tailgate. The large pig refused to move. A treat of  apple slices  offered as a bribe  didn’t work either. No, was said with the pig’s body language. An older neighbor watched for a spell and offered a suggestion.
  “Take a bucket and cover her head. She will be easier to lead.”
  He was right. When Arnold couldn’t see where she was going, She could be backed up the ramp and into the truck. The last sight of Arnold was a mournful look as she was driven to the butcher. But stories of Arnold are still told as a part of our family lore.

The term Eskimo is a common term that can refer to several indigenous people from the northern parts of Canada, Alaska and Siaberia. They have a short stocky build and light brown skin tones. The barrel chest and short arms and legs helps minimize heat loss in the extreme cold of the Artic circle.
It is estimated that the Inuit and Eskimos have over 100 words to describe snow. The words describe the type of snow, the rate of the snow fall and the drifting and blowing of the snow.
They use these terms to convey their environment. The intensity, rate and wind conditions are conveyed for survival information.
The Eskimo show affection by rubbing one’s nose on another’s cheek. This was seen by early explores as an Eskimo kiss. The area of the nose, cheek and eyes are exposed for short periods. The moisture of lips could freeze in the sub zero temperatures.
The Inuit carved figures and animals from daily life. The carvings were made from ivory, bone and in later years soft rocks like soapstone was used. The totem may represent a family or clan. They live in extended family groups. A village would have less than one hundred people.
Back to the snow conditions here in Michigan. As a result of global warming of the lake water, the covering of ice has not yet formed. Winds traveling over the open bodies of water, picks up moisture and releases it as snow on the lake shore. This snow is known as lake effect snow. The narrow bands of heavy snow can can occur up to 100 miles inland. We live 46 miles from Lake Michigan, well within the snow bands. The prediction of colder weather and north west winds will add to more snow covering.
So much for Punxsutawney Phil, the local ground hog’s prediction for an early spring . He may be! Snow cover has been in our area since the start of January. The deer that come to feed in our yard backs are covered with a light coating of snow. Squirrels run down a trough of snow from the trees to the bird seeds. Snall birds pick at the suet cakes for needed fat. At least they can get a drink of water from the heated basin.
I sit at my kitchen table, watching the snow while drinking a cup of hot brew. By today’s weather, winter’s icy grip is here through the end of the month. Maybe there is a reason there is a local town named Alaska.
***. poem
Whirling Dervish
Quiet still
wind blows downhill
deer huddle in the pines
hunger pushes food to find
snowflakes swirl around yard
icicles shatter into shards
squirrels dig for seeds
hunger,jo a constant need

carolaspot copyrighted 2/17/25

Today is International Cribbage Day. This game is from two to four players. It combines a peg board to keep track of each player’s score. Eight dealt hands make a game. Using the cards dealt plus consider the four cards in the kitty, one must play their cards to collect the most points. Extra points are given if a player is able to lay down 15 or 31 points. The first player to reach a score of 121 points is the winner. This score corresponds to reaching the end of the cribbage board.
My Grandpa Al loved this game. He taught his grandchildren to play. Strategy and math skills are needed to win. Sadly, I never mastered math until long after he died. However, I did inherit love of card games.
Each Saturday, I would call my friend Sarah to see who would host the card game that week. Our game of choice was Canasta. It is played with a double deck of cards and both jokers. Gathering melds of seven cards and single cards to complete the opponent’s melds. The first player or team to reach 500 points is the winner. One game of Canasta would last all morning. The host would offer a prize for the winner. This is the way I lost my ceramic baby elephants. The winner could choose one of the possessions from the other player.
Gin Rummy was another favorite. This game involved keeping your cards until ready to lay down all cards. With a flourish, the winner lays down his or her hand all at once.
Grandma Heatley liked to play the game of hearts. The object of the game is to collect the fewest points by taking tricks and avoiding the Queen of spades. One tries to rid their hand of hearts by discarding card on the discard pile. If a player can’t play, he or she must pick a card. The game ends when all the cards are picked or a player lays down their cards.
The Queen of spades is worth 13 points. The ace of hearts is worth 4 points and can be used as a wild card to play for any other card.
As I matured, I would prefer Euchre and bridge. Both games take ricks and play with a partner.T he first team to score 10 points wins. The euchre deck consists of 24 cards , the nines through the aces. Both euchre and bridge can have one of the players lay down their hand to be a dummy. The cards will be played by the partner as the dummy stays silent.
As an adult, My husband and I played euchre with neighbors. The host couple offered refreshments of coffee and a dessert during the evening. First, second and last place were awarded prizes. I was noted to take the last place prize.
When I was alone, I would entertain myself with different solitaire games. My favorite was with the cards passed out in the shape of a clock, 12 stacks of cards the 13 stack was in the middle of the circle. I would take the first card from the middle and start to put the card number under that corresponding place around the clock face. If I had all the cards in the correct placement before I ran out of cards from the middle, I won. It was a great way to put the cards in order before putting them away.
Now many people play cards digitally. I love the feel of the cards and the snap as they are turned and placed in the correct order.
“Anyone up for a card game?”
Poem. ***
Cribbage cards, folding board
pegs found in sliding drawer
four colors, around the board
121 the winning score
carolaspot@aol.com 2/10/25 copyrighted