Anne's Blog

      I live in an area where there is, unfortunately, a large    Concentration of homeless people. Sometimes, they all blend together in appearance and I, sadly, have gotten to a point where I walk my dog on the other side of the street or avoid making eye contact if we pass each other on the sidewalk. I’m not proud of this but I don’t have a lot of money or food either and I’m 64 and still work. I was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 years ago now. This might seem unrelated and random but it isn’t. Cancer and substance abuse issues are equal opportunity employers.      Earlier today when my dog and I were on our first walk of the day, I noticed a homeless man behind me on the sidewalk. He was probably about my age or probably younger. Living on the streets ages people. He looked like he had all of his worldly possessions in a black plastic bag and he was dressed for winter. Today, here in Kansas City, it was so beautiful. The sun was out and the t...

      I live in an area of Kansas City, Missouri called Westport or Midtown or both. It’s a very urban area of the city and it’s probably not for everyone but I love it here. I live in a building built in 1910 so I guess it might be considered an historic building and it’s right across from the “Shady Shell” on 38th and Main. You experience it all around here.       Earlier today, I walked to the Westport Post Office to ship a package. It’s only about a 3 block walk from here and it’s nice today. In my ongoing effort to keep myself mobile and out of a nursing home (I’m 64), I try to walk around here as much as possible. On the way back in the block between Westport Road and 39th on Baltimore Street, I came across a young man walking a beautiful Golden Retriever. He was on the other side of the street but walked across the street to where I was standing. Actually, the dog was very friendly and led him across the street to me. The Golden Retriever was ta...

     It has been another freakishly, balmy mid-February day in Kansas City, Missouri. At the time I started writing this, it's about 5pm & it's still 62⁰ out. I have all the windows in my 4plex unit open. I'm sitting by an open east-facing window now. I have not one, but two, 16+ year old cats as family members. One of them is sitting on my lap. I guess Spring isn't that far off. I can hear birds in the distance, again, from my OPEN window in mid-February. This afternoon, when I was walking my dog, I could hear a woodpecker happily pecking away. The trees are all still bare so it's easy to see birds up in the trees. I looked for the woodpecker. I really wanted to see it. I have seen Pileated Woodpeckers in this area and they should be easy to see in the still leaf-less trees. However, I had my dog on the end of a leash in my right hand and I couldn't look @ any length for the woodpecker as looking up in trees while you have a dog on a leash is not a stable s...

     My most "recent" entry was on December 17th of last year which wasn't really that long ago. Wasn't 12/17/2025 just yesterday? Weren't my sons young just yesterday and my parents still alive? On that post, I noted that the temperature on that day in mid-December was a balmy 54⁰.       After reading that, I felt compelled to write a similar weather-related entry. Today, in Kansas City, the sun was out all day and, the only time I checked the weather today, the temperature was 71⁰ (in early February even). This isn't Minnesota where balmy in February is 32⁰. It can get very cold here in Kansas City in the Winter. However, 71⁰, even here, 500 miles or so south of St. Paul, Minnesota is beyond balmy. I wore a short-sleeved shirt, a skirt & my neon green soccer slides to take Heisenberg for a walk. It felt and, still, feels, wonderful to be outside. On a side note, the Leo in me has a thing for neon green. I have lots of neon-green colored shirts, s...

 Dear Diary . . .       I haven't written in awhile. Today is the day to begin again.       It's a beautiful day for mid-December in Kansas City. It's a balmy 54⁰ at 2:44 pm. I made a point to take Heisenberg, my sweet little dog, for a nice walk today because tomorrow that's probably not going to happen. Apparently, the winds from Hell will be blowing around here. On our walk, I "ooohed" & "aaahed" over 2 hawks I saw. I am always looking for hawks. I saw a Sharp-Shinned Hawk up in a tree on the north side of 38th Street almost to Walnut. He or she was singing the song of their people & eyeballing the buffet of sparrows in a barren hedgerow across the street. Winter is so brown around here, that it was easy to see the beautiful red Cardinal fly in to join the sparrows. I would like to think that all of them escaped being dinner. There is a house right on that corner that was built in 1895 and has gargoyles on the chimney. The gargoyle...

 I want to tell you something funny. I find it funny at least.  I live in a very urban area of an urban area. Across the street is a 24-hour gas station/convenience store and, one block to the east, is a very busy street. That being said, I still maintain my "Urban Wildlife Feeding Station". I put out birdseed, black-oiled sunflower seeds, unsalted peanuts and, the occasional Barnum & Bailey Animal Crackers for my little squirrel friend with the sweet tooth. The feeding station does not attract a wide variety of wildlife because diversity of wildlife is minimal in such an urban setting. However, I do consistently get a wide variety of beautiful little sparrows and my little, thin-tailed squirrel 🐿️ friend & crows which in my opinion are the cream of the urban crop. Also, when there is bird seed out, there is a brave little junco who goes where the sparrows don't which is right in front of our door to the porch. Seeds get scattered there and the junco, brave littl...

      I live across the street from a 24/7 gas station. They allow dogs in there so I often take Heisenberg, my little alleged Chihuahua, with me like I did this morning. I wanted coffee. They brew some kind of obscure local coffee and, in a pinch, it tastes good. Today, the coffee was empty at 10am and, unlike more, corporate run quikshops, the employees @ Shell on Main & 39th, are never concerned when the coffee is empty.       So no coffee but I bought a bag of Hostess powdered donuts & an original-flavored Slim Jim for Heisenberg. I break that into small pieces over the course of the day as a treat for him. As far as the donuts are concerned, I have learned to be careful about buying them because, wherever they are stored, must also have stored incense and candles and the donuts CAN taste like the incense and candles smell.       As I was waiting to pay, a couple decked out for winter in Minnesota, came in and, as they w...