May Self-Care Challenge

twyla77 wrote: »

Did something I've been wanting to do for weeks, but finally worked up the nerve to do. A few weeks ago I joined a soccer team - I've never played soccer in my life, but my coworker said it was fun, so I was like "why not!" and paid the fees to join the team. Turns out I hate soccer. I played 3 games, and could NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT of 6 more weeks of it - I dreaded each upcoming game all week, then stressed out while I was there because the other players are all so good and I was more detrimental to the team than helpful. I was taught to stick things out even if I don't like them because it's not good to "let people down", but then I thought "why am i making myself a grumpy stressed out person over an activity that is supposed to be fun?" so I quit! I gave a lot of notice before the next game, and supplied a list of subs that can take my place, and they still have my money which they can keep of course - as soon as I sent the email I felt a million pounds lighter!

rheddmobile wrote: »

I'm sitting in the garden right now. It smells so good! I have honeysuckle on the fence, roses, and a flowering locust tree. I don't encourage locust trees because they propagate by root and break easily in strong winds, and this one grew without my permission, but it smells delicious! My neighbor has irises which I can also smell. The robin which is the parent of the baby responsible for the eggshell I found yesterday is up in the sycamore tree I found the egg under, singing. I can't see the nest because the leaves are too full. There is a red headed finch on the feeder right now, two collared doves and a brown headed cowbird underneath, and a squirrel in the tree trying to figure out how to get down to the feeder without me noticing.

I learned something yesterday! Learning new things is my favorite form of self care. I was outside watching birds and squirrels when a feral cat tried to get one of the squirrels, which ran up the tree and started barking in alarm. I was surprised to see various birds of many species come from the surrounding neighborhood to sit in the same tree and listen, as if they could understand the warning calls. And none of the birds seemed concerned about me, even though I was only a few feet away. So I looked up what is known about squirrel communication, and it's known that squirrels and birds do communicate across species, and their calls are specific to what the threat is. Researchers know enough "squirrel language" to identify the warning call for a threat from the air, such as a hawk, versus a threat from the ground, such as a cat. My guess, based on my own observation, is that the calls seem to be specific enough that the birds knew the squirrel was warning about a cat and not a person, as well. Pretty cool that birds and mammals can "talk" to each other!

pembersep wrote: »

My update: yesterday I couldn't think of anything, so I royally failed at the challenge.

Today, inspired by @rheddmobile and also by @JulieAL1969, who said she took her earbuds out to listen to birds, I went on a birdwatching jog-walk with a close friend. We saw a great blue heron, Canadian geese, and many duck families, including baby ducks. We listened to redwing blackbirds' mating calls.