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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. |
| What, pray tell, am I referring to as getting shorter? It's not the days, they are still increasing in length, up to 12h 19m now. It's not me, at least not yet. So what then is getting shorter? And, why am I happy about it? The seasonal rifts that occur in the vicinity of 46°25'N latitude are getting shorter. When I say "seasonal rift" I'm talking about the fluctuations between seasons, in this case the fluctuations between spring and fall. In late winter, we have an average of winter weather and temperatures with very short periods of spring-like periods, lasting a day or maybe even a week before winter returns. But, eventually we start seeing longer periods of spring weather and temperatures with a day to a week off winter mixed in. We have passed the meridian of winter-spring rifts o that now we see spring like weather the majority of the time with a day or possibly two of winter. After almost a week of spring, winter returned through the rift with cold weather for a day, then yesterday the rift closed and spring returned. Today the rift reopened with temperatures below freezing and snow, up to an three inches possible by tomorrow. But the rift will close tomorrow and spring will return for the next week. Yes, the seasonal rift is weakening and soon it will be spring. |
| Sometimes an idea for a story, poem, or blog entry arrives from an unsuspected source. That's the case today after the delivery of a water pump. The pump is a rechargeable unit designed to fit on top of a three or five gallon water bottle. We use them for camping, and it's always a hassle to pick them up and pour them, so I decided to invest in this portable pump. After the package arrived I opened it and inspected the contents, plugged the pump into a USB charger, and looked at the instructions. The very first line was a warning which prompted me to write this entry: Please do not use this product to pump alcohol and other stimulating liquids such as oil. An attorney, a cowboy, and a health-nut walk into a bar. The bartender asks, "What'll it be for y'all today?" The attorney answers, "Scotch, on the rocks, sir." The cowboy replies, "Bourbon, neat pardner." The health-nut, showing off that he only drinks healthy beverages answers, "A glass of cod-liver oil, and could you please garnish it with a stalk of celery." Sorry to the health-nuts, I mean no offense. But, I had never thought of oil of any kind as a stimulating liquid unless you consider how it would stimulate one's digestive track! Rest assured, we will only use the pump for fresh, clean water... |
| Sometime during the night I woke, but didn't know why. Usually it's the "call of duty" waking me from sound sleep. I then try to ignore the urge, but find I can't go back to sleep. I then get up and head to the head, take care of business, climb back into bed (if Bellah hasn't stolen my spot) and return to my slumber. Last night, however, I didn't need to use the bathroom. I snuggled into the blankets and was on a return trip to never-never land, when I heard something. I tried to excuse it as something I wouldn't have to get up and investigate, but before I could, i heard it again. It sounded like someone had banged the door shut! I got up and pulled my robe on, then went to the living room, the area I thought I had heard the sound. We keep night lights on so there was no reason to turn on any more light; I stood in the shadowy gloom and listened. Then I heard the slight creak followed by the back screen door banging shut. This, of course, got my heart beating faster. I went to the door and looked out, there was no one there and the motion light had not activated, so I knew nobody had scampered away. But, even as I was looking, the screen door opened about a foot, then banged back shut. I have to admit, it startled me a lot. There wasn't anyone there, how had the door opened an closed? I opened the inside door and looked, the screen was latched so it wasn't the wind. I was bewildered to say the least. Then, the door latched released and again the door started to open! I thought my heart was going to explode from my chest. There wasn't anyone there, yet someone had unlatched and opened the door! My mind was racing trying to find a rationale explanation when I heard a kind of squeaky sound at the top of the door. I looked up and there was a face looking back at me. I let out a fairly loud expletive and grabbed for the door handle to pull it shut when it registered in my brain, that's a raccoon! Of course, the sound of my voice and movement started the little critter and it vanished behind the closing door. The wind was blowing just enough to make the door shut with a loud bang. I stepped up to the door, opened it just enough to look out, and there, perched on top of the light was a big raccoon peeking back at me. Then it jumped and vanished into the darkness. I was up for a while after my late night visit waiting for my heart to slow down and for sleep to return. I still don't know how the rascal got up there or how it reached down to unlatch the door. I'm thinking tonight, I'll hang a sign, "No Raccoons!" |
| Yesterday I was up early and having a great day, despite only about four hours of sleep. I logged in and completed four of my five daily tasks, leaving my blog for later in the afternoon. I wanted to get outside while the temperature was still above freezing and clear some ice from the sidewalk. I chipped some, but it was getting to be more work than it was worth, so I put down a bit of salt to "weaken" the ice, then went and played with the dogs while the salt melted and softened the ice. Bellah was all for me throwing her ball for her, but Max wanted to run. We have a game we play; I try and catch him as he dodges around me and runs. He will run all out and quite some distance before circling and charging back towards me. As he goes past, I again try and catch him and he again dodges me and runs, turns, and charges past again. Only yesterday it was kind of slippery. He was on his third charge towards me and I lunged to catch him. He veered sharply, but his feet slipped and instead of changing directions, he clipped my left leg. He didn't miss a beat; he regained his footing and ran on past and continued the game. I wasn't as fortunate. I fell and managed to jamb the fingers of my right hand as I landed. By this time, Max was on his return run and didn't know that it was game over for me. Since I was on the ground, however, he changed his tactics to that of the game we play when I get down on the floor and "wrestle" with him. He pounced and all sixty some pounds of Husky landed on me! Being on a slight hill, covered in wet snow, we slid, me on the bottom and Max on top like I was some kind of human toboggan. Of course, the uneven and frozen ground didn't help my situation any. After we stopped sliding Max lay on top of my chest licking my face while I struggled to catch the breath his landing on me had taken away. By this time he sensed that something wasn't right and got off me and let me struggle to get up and into the house. My left knee was throbbing and sore but even worse was the pain in my right hand, I couldn't do anything. So, no typing or doing much of anything except to sit and ice my wrist and knee. After a while the knee quit aching but was still a bit tender when I walked, but the wrist continued to ache and throb until I was finally able to fall asleep. Of course, after falling and having him pounce on me that hard, there wasn't much of my body that didn't ache. But eventually I did fall asleep and surprisingly slept pretty good. When I woke up this morning I was kind of afraid to move, expecting any movement to make me hurt all over. Instead, I found I wasn't hurting nearly as much as I thought. I was a bit stiff and sore, but it passed as I moved and worked the muscles. My wrist is still sore, but not enough to make me stop using it. As for Max, he's completely over it and ready for round two, but I think I'll wait until the snow has melted and it's not slippery. |
| Today, for "Two Word Tuesday" we were asked to give two words that best describe spring awakening... There were many terrific responses that did just this. But, I went with the first thing that came to mind, "Hits snooze" simply because here, in northern Minnesota, spring does just that. Last week we had spring; the grass was starting to turn green, some of the migratory birds returned to the feeders, the trees have spring buds on them, and there were even a few die-hard insects flying around. But, with the coming of the weekend we arose to a return of winter, it seemed that spring had woke up, but then hit the snooze button and fell back to sleep for a few more days. Yesterday, she awoke again bringing warmth, sunshine, and melting a lot of the snow. Today she once again hit the proverbial snooze button. This time, when she fell back asleep, she didn't dream of heavy snow and blizzards, just grey skies and cold. I know that here in northern Minnesota, spring is not an early riser; she hits the snooze button quite a few times before she actually gets up. Even then, she has been known, on rare occasions, to lie back down and fall back asleep later in the season. |
| There comes a time in every man's (and woman's) life when he has to take a step back, look at the situation, and decide, "What the Hell am I going to blog about today?" I'm at that point. It's been an uneventful day; one of those day's a person just kind of chills out and relaxes. The weather is nice, spring has returned (hopefully for good this time) and the snow is melting fast. It would be a nice day to sit out for a while, sip on some coffee and enjoy the fresh air while the dogs frolic and play. But, it's so very wet and muddy again with the snow melt. Of course, if I take them out, I'll have to change clothes, again. They don't mean to be naughty, they just get excited and like to jump up and interact. Hopefully in a few days we will be back to pre-blizzard conditions; it had finally started to dry out. Anyway, it seems I kind of digressed and should get back to the subject of, "What to Write"? But, nothing comes to mind. I guess I'll just post this and go get muddy take the dogs out. |
| The snow stopped yesterday shortly after noon leaving about six inches of wet, heavy snow. My wife shoveled from the back door to the garage while she had the dogs out yesterday, so I thought it only fair to shovel the front today. I had the dogs out while I cleared the wet, heavy, and sticky snow; it would have made an awesome snow man. While shoveling, my Husky Max decided he wanted to help. While I pushed the shovel and snow, he would grab the side of the shovel and pull. He thinks he's helping, but he tends to pull the shovel sideways instead of the direction I want to go. But, he has fun "helping" and I praise his efforts. Soon enough he tires of the game and finds other activities. Bellah, however, isn't much into helping. She likes to play and one of her favorite games is retrieving anything we throw for her. Usually it's a tennis ball, but she also loves to play with the small Horsemen's Pride Jolly Ball. It's about the size of a basketball and has a handle on it. We had gotten it for Max, but he showed no interest in it, so Bellah confiscated it as her own. After Max tired of helping me shovel, Bellah came over with the horse ball and dropped it in front of me, hoping I'd throw it for her. I scooped it up with the shovel and tossed it out of the way. She ran and retrieved it, and again dropped it in front of me. She discovered a new game, drop the ball right where I'm shoveling so I have to toss it out of the way, which means toss it for her. Memories of Klarissa, my Golden Retriever, flooded back. Yeas ago she loved having me toss anything for her to bring back. While mowing one summer, I had to toss a stick out of the way of the push mower, and off she went. I mowed on and on the next pass, almost in the same spot, but just over far enough to be in the path of the mower was a stick. Again I tossed it and she ran after it. With every pass, in the same area but in the path of the mower, I would have to stop and toss her stick. Now, years later, Bellah is playing the same game when I shovel. I'm eager to see if it will also be a game she plays when I mow. |
| Yeah, I know what the ides of March are, but this is my story about the ides of March. This year they came as a winter storm watch. Or at least they started out as such. Late last night they transformed into a blizzard warning, high winds (gusting to 60 mph) a coating to a quarter inch of ice, and up to a foot of snow through this evening. When I went to bed early this morning (about 2:00 a.m.) the wind had picked up considerably, and the temperature had dropped just below freezing, but no precipitation had fallen. This morning when I woke around nine, spring had sprung the scene and winter had returned in a fury. The world was again white; yes the world, or at least what I could see of it. Snow covered everything and was dropping like a thick, white, velvet curtain. As the wind blew the curtain of snow thickened and I couldn't see much past the garage, almost white out conditions. The storm didn't rage on through the day as it was predicted to do, it blew itself out around one this afternoon, leaving in its wake about six inches of snow over the very thin coating of ice that formed at the start of the storm. Knowing it could get severe, we were stocked up and ready. We don't have to go outside the house except to let the dogs out (who are loving the new snow, especially Max). According to the forecast, spring should return by Monday and the snow will vanish quickly; it will, however, provide us another batch of mud. I thought I saw someone walking a large dog in the backyard during the storm and took a picture. In looking at it, I don't think it's a person, and that's definitely not a dog. Just another typical Minnesota spring.  |
| The recipe for pizza casserole as you requested. I was going to post it in the Newsfeed, but then I thought, why not get a blog post for the day as well. We have made alterations to the recipe a few times, but I will post the original as it was given to us. Pizza Cassarole Preheat oven to 350 0 FOne pound sweet Italian sausage, browned and crumbled Eight ounces of grated mozzarella cheese Two cups medium shell pasta, cooked about half done (al dente) One fifteen ounce can Chef Boyardee pizza sauce Mix browned sausage, pizza sauce, and two-thirds of the cheese together in a casserole dish. Spread remaining cheese on top, cover with foil (or lid) and bake for twenty minutes. Remove foil and bake another ten minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and turning light brown. Remove and let rest another five minutes before serving. We substitute Contadina Pizza Sauce and either Bow Ties or Reginette pasta. We also add chopped onions, diced black olives, pepperoni, and even chopped cooked bacon. We also use a blend of cheeses (usually grated pizza blend) and a bit more than in the recipe. I would also add mushrooms and peppers, but my wife isn't fond of mushrooms and can't eat peppers. The original recipe is good, but substituting your preferred pasta, sauce, and adding anything you like on your pizza will make it even better. Oh, and don't forget the cheesy garlic bread. |
| It's been mentioned before, but what is the difference between a hot-dish and a casserole? I always thought they were one and the same. Perhaps it was relative to where one lives, or what one's parents or grandparents referred to it as. In my family, the two terms are interchangeable. Or so I thought. Tuesday, my wife cooked up pizza hot-dish, a recipe given to us by a friend; pizza hot-dish is what she called it. The recipe, like many we have, was modified to put more pizza ingredients into the dish to suit our liking. Also, it was originally designated to serve a family of four, with only two of us, there are leftovers. This time around, instead of having leftovers, I decided to take some, fresh and hot, over to our neighbor to enjoy. My wife dished some up in a container and I carried it over while she set the table. He was excited to get the hot meal since he hadn't even thought about dinner yet and asked what it was. "Pizza hot-dish," I answered. He took the lid off and looked at it, smelled it and replied, "It smells wonderful, thanks." Then he set the container on the table and asked me to stick around for a minute. "Our dinner is on the table, I should get back." "This will only take a minute. I want to show you the difference between a hot-dish and a casserole." He ducked into the bedroom and returned with a magazine which he opened to the center and unfolded a poster of a very attractive woman. "This is a hot dish, that (he pointed to the container on the table) is a casserole. Now, do you know the difference?" He started folding the hot dish back up and closed the magazine. "Oh yeah! I definitely see the differences, Steve." "Good. Have a nice evening and thank you again for the pizza casserole" I nodded, "You're welcome." Then I headed out the door and back home. Once home my wife asked if he was happy about the hot-dish. "Yes, but he showed me the difference between a hot dish and a casserole. When you make a casserole, you stir it, but when you make a hot-dish, you fold it." I had to explain it in more detail, but I think you al get the picture. |
| The rest of the week is supposed to be mild and nice, but Friday evening a winter storm is forecast with six to ten inches of snow before it blows itself out Saturday evening. I know I should be disappointed that spring hasn't sprung yet, but this is northern Minnesota and we always get that one last storm before winter gives in and to springs determined arrival. I really can't remember a spring that didn't get interrupted by one last furious attack of winter. Every year, the Robbins return and can be seen in large numbers scouring the ground for food. Then, a winter storm covers the ground with deep snow. They shelter in the strip of sumac that runs the length of our yard and fly back and forth to the bird feeders. We put meal-worms out for them and the other song birds who can no longer feed from the ground. But, within a few days to a week, the snow is again gone and the green spring grass emerges from it's winter slumber. So, I can't be disappointed in the foretasted winter storm, perhaps this is winter's last dying breath. |
| It's late and I didn't get into the site until just minutes ago. It's cooler today, so a nice day to work inside. My wife had today off so we didn't push ourselves, but still got a lot done. Tomorrow it's suppose to be warmer again. In fact the rest of the week looks nice. I'm thinking about putting a gas bottle in the HiLo and start getting it ready to work on, It looks like my winter break is over. |
| It's another beautiful day, temps in the mid 60s F here with hazy sunshine; we have had spring like weather for over a week now with it barely getting down to freezing at night. But, it's not spring yet and tonight the temperature will plummet down to the teens and tomorrow we may see it rise to thawing—maybe, before it drops down into the single digits. Wednesday we again will be in the fifties to low sixties; for the rest of the month we will see this teeter-totter effect. Most of the snow is gone, very little ice is left, and mud has taken it's place until the frost is driven from the ground and the moisture can soak in. I'm not complaining, it's typical northern Minnesota weather, the period between winter and spring. Some years it' short, a couple of weeks, other years it can last for a month or more. Yes, it's the temporal rift between seasons, a time with no formal name. A period of time that is neither spring nor winter, the fifth season. My neighbor described it yesterday in terms I have not heard before and I share this with hopes it does not offend anyone. "I call this time of year, Mother Nature's period and all we can do is put up with her mood swings." It's not an exact quote, he can be a bit more crude. I would call it something different, myself. Maybe a combination of the two seasons in rift: Wing (Winter/Spring, but that may confuse some, "Hey Charles, have a nice wing." Reversed would also work: Sprinter, but again it could be misunderstood by some. No, I think a new term should be coined to describe, and name, this temporal rift. Since we have snow and mud, I shall call this fifth season Smud! |
| Indeed, where did my day go? First of all, I was up quite late (or early morning) so I didn't get up until eleven, bu now with the time change, it's noon. Although not morning, I still needed my morning coffee to start the day, so I enjoyed my first cup while talking to my wife who is off today. It was a beautiful day and by the time I finished my first cup of coffee it was fifty degrees out, so I took my second cup on the patio enjoying the nice weather and watching the dogs play. Next, I checked the HiLo to see if there had been any moisture leaks or problems over the winter; my wife joined me. It was dry, it's sealed well, but while in there we started talking about ideas to get it ready to try it out this summer. Then, another cup of coffee on the patio and it's three in the afternoon. After, I walked over to my neighbors, whom I haven't visited with for some time as a result of being sick. Finally, back home and it's six o'clock and time to work on dinner. After dinner I worked on a few things I needed to get done today and then into WDC to work on my achievements and see what everyone is up to, only it's late (10:45) and not much time if I want to earn my badges. Just like that, the day is gone. |
| How is this even possible? There has to be a mistake! Is it something with the upcoming, and always dreaded time change? Did some fiendish creature of the night creep in while I was sleeping and delete it? There has to be some kind of explanation—there's just no way I could have forgotten. I have been diligent about writing in my blog, one or the other, everyday. But, somehow there is no entry for yesterday! Somehow, I missed the message in my email reminding me to make an entry. Somehow I messed up! What can I say? "Todd Gammit anyway!" On the bright side, The StoryMaster   , in his infinite wisdom, grants us a badge for both comments and entries, so my streak is preserved. It is for this very reason I'm pleased that blog comments count.This time I can honestly say, I have no excuse. But with the warmer weather arriving, it won't be long and I'll be busy working on the HiLo camper again. I also have some work to do in the mobile tent (pop-up camper). I mean well, but when I get working on something, I tend to get lost in my work and often don't stop until it's dark, or my wife makes me. By then, I'm tired and just not up to blogging. We'll also be camping, likely remote camping in the mobile tent with no electric, which means I won't be able to bring and charge my laptop; this results with me doing very little typing for my Writing.Com activities as my fingers are too fat to type on my phone and tablet (I'm seriously thinking about getting a buetooth keyboard). So, for now, while time is on my side, I really need to focus on blogging daily. |
| In today's blog I decided to write on the 48-HOUR CHALLENGE: Media Prompt. As I listened to the song I found myself thinking of two hearts joining together, hopes and dreams of a life together; a love song. The music was pleasing and I discovered my foot tapping along with the beat. The video of two young people dancing and in love was inspiring. It also brought back memories of my own past and falling in love. Although the first time I fell I found myself in the same state of mind, I discovered over the years that things change and the dance can end. I found myself thinking of another song that described this: Thankfully as I began to loose myself in a bottomless depression our three children refused to let me sink into complete despair. I wrote this poem at that time in my life: "Loneliness"  Written for note "Note: 48-HOUR CHALLENGE : Media Prompt Deadl..." Word Count 163 A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Yesterday and last night we were forecast to get four to six inches of snow with some pretty stiff winds. Friends and family who live in Minnesota shared pictures of the snow they received in southern and central Minnesota; as predicted four to six inches with blowing, drifting, and even some reported blizzard conditions. Today most of what they got dumped on them had already melted off with temperatures near fifty degrees. Here, we had a few light flurries through the day, few enough I think I could have counted the flakes blowing around. This morning I looked outside expecting to see a few inches of snow, if not more. Instead the sun was breaking through the clouds and there was just enough of a dusting of snow to show we had gotten any at all. By noon it was gone and we were near thawing again. Being further north, it's not as warm here, yet. But, it's predicted to be forties by tomorrow and fifties by the weekend. I don't mind when they're right with their fair weather forecasts and I love it when they're wrong with the foul weather forecasts. They were wrong, but still pretty close! My wife drove into a nearby town south of us to pick up her medications, a mere five miles south. She said the edge of the storm had stopped about a mile south of us. One mile south there was at least six, maybe even eight inches of snowfall while here, just a little dusting. I don't think it even snowed here, I think it was they're snow blowing over... |
| Yesterday I shared a memory of a mouse who befriended me. Since people tend to like stories of this kind, I thought I'd share a tale (true) of another little critter whom I befriended. It was about the same time frame while I was living in the little town of Hazel, SD. It was in the spring and a very nice day. I opened the windows to let some fresh air into the old house I lived in, sat down with a cup of coffee and started to work on a story here in WDC. Shortly after a bird started chirping and scratching at the window screen. Distracted, I turned to see a robin on the window ledge chirping at me, scratching and pecking the screen as if it wanted to get in. I went to the window, but as soon as I was up, it flew away. I pondered it's behavior for a moment, then pushed the interruption from my thoughts and returned to my writing. Within a short time I was again distracted and a bit irritated by the same bird. Again it was chirping, pecking, and scratching at the window. I stopped writing, swiveled my chair to look; it was almost frantic at it's attempts, or so I thought at the time, to get into the house. As soon as I got up it flew off again, so I sat and waited. Soon enough it was back and even more determined to not let me focus on writing. When I got up the robin flew off again. I went to close the window so it wouldn't distract me but when I got there I saw the robin jumping up and down by the side of the house. It was chirping and making a ruckus, but there was also the sound of plastic rustling. I couldn't quite see what it was after from my window vantage point so I let the dogs out and walked around the house to investigate. As I rounded the corner Hyko, my wife's Golden Retriever, started barking. I thought at first he was barking at the bird, but instead saw he was focused and barking at a plastic grocery bag that had blown and tangled in the gas meter. It was a bit breezy, but the bag seemed to be blowing erratically and much to intensely for the breeze. My thoughts were just a tangled bag that for some reason had upset the robin; he was still attacking it. I proceeded to untangle the bag, and as I did I discovered there was something in it; not just something, but something alive and fighting to get out. Once untangled and untwisted I looked inside. There was a female robin lying on the bottom, panting and looking a bit rough from her fight to get free of her imprisonment. Carefully I reached inside, expecting to get pecked, but she let me lift her out and carry her back to the patio. I set her on the table wondering if she was injured, but after a few seconds she flew to the birdbath and took a long drink. Her mate, the robin who had come to the window crying for help joined her while she re-hydrated then both flew back around the house. I followed and watched her vanish into the branches of the lilac bushes while he sat contently on a branch. I stepped closer and discovered their nest. She was now sitting on the edge of it, her three babies snuggled by her breast. She had cut her breast and carried the scar in her feathers the rest of her life, but otherwise was fine. The check-mark on her breast made her easy to identify and she returned every year. Quite often, when we sat out on the patio, she would sit atop the privacy fence for a spell as if to thank me once again for coming to her rescue. The following spring I helped a Morning Dove and made another feathered friend, but that's a story for another day. |
| Have you ever had the feeling your being watched? I'm sure at some point we've all felt eyes upon us. Most times, it's just our imagination, but there are other times we discover we are being watched. Many years ago I had this happen; feeling I was being watched, only to discover, I was... It was around 2005 while I was staying at my brother's house. He had moved in with his girlfriend and wanted me and my wife to stay at his house so it wouldn't sit empty. The deal was, no rent, we paid all the bills, and we maintained it for him. We started having some issues with the water heater down in the basement. It would go out (it was natural gas powered) and I would have to relight it at least once a month. Everything seemed fine with it, but it soon began going out more often and eventually I discovered it was leaking and putting the pilot light out. I notified him of the problem and told him I would purchase a new water heater and install it if he would use his pickup to haul it and help me get it into the basement. This wasn't much of a basement, but more of a root cellar with a steep and narrow stairway. It was a tight fit but with both of us we got it into the dirt floored basement. The following day I tackled the job of installing the new heater. I shut off the gas and the water, drained the old heater into the sump, and unhooked the water and gas lines. While I worked, I kept getting the feeling I was being watched! There was just one light bulb down there so it was shadowy and it got me feeling kind of off, but there wasn't anyone around. I fought with the scaled ridden old heater to get it moved, then set the new heater in it's place. Still, I could feel someone, or some thing watching me. I blew it off and went to work hooking up the gas line and checking it for leaks. Next I installed a couple of new valves for both the inlet and the outlet pipes, then began hooking them up to the new tank, all the while feeling those eyes on me. After everything was hooked up and double checked, I turned to the main water line coming into the house to turn the water back on. There in the shadows I saw them, two little eyes reflecting the dim light of the single bulb. I turned my flashlight to them and there on the ledge was a little deer mouse watching my every move! Even when I reached next to him, or her, it stayed perfectly still and watched me. No, not perfectly still, the nose twitched as it sniffed at me. I finished my job, put my tools away, and cleaned up my work area all the time keeping an eye on the little mouse. It never moved! I turned off the light and carried my tools up the narrow steps only to find the mouse had beaten me to the top and was now on the ledge by the door watching me again. It followed me into the house through the basement door and when I set my toolbox down, jumped on it and watched me. We always had mice getting into the house, seeing how we lived across the street form a grain elevator, so we would set a live trap and transport them out to the country. But, it was mid-December and cold out. I didn't have the heart to trap and throw this curious little creature out, besides, it was almost Christmas. Instead, I dug out an unused hamster cage and set it down with the door open and put some bird seed inside. Maryweather (yes I named it) ran right in and started eating. Maryweather stayed with us until spring. He, or she, never minded the hamster cage and especially enjoyed the wheel. I didn't interact much with our guest knowing in time I would return the little critter to it's natural life. Even after being caged, Meryweather would sit and watch me for hours. After the weather was nice, I released Meryweather out by the garage, knowing he would likely be right back in the house. But to my surprise he took up residency in the old garage. Many times I would see him sitting on a shelf watching me while I worked on various projects. |
| We took the dogs over to Maplewood State Park for the afternoon. We usually just drive into the main camping area and let them run while we walk the loop they maintain for winter campers, but with the weather as nice as it is, there was actually someone set up to camp. We parked opposite them and let the dogs out for a bit, but another vehicle showed up with the same plans as us. Our dogs listen pretty well, but we didn't want to risk the other dogs coming over, not knowing how well they would get along, so we packed up and drove to a secondary, non-electric camping area. The road was still closed, so we parked along side the main road and walked back in. There wasn't anyone back there, so the dogs got to run and frolic while we hiked the partially snow covered road. It was a bit more difficult of a hike, despite being a gravel road; some places had wet snow, other places it was ice, and still others were muddy. But it was a nice mile hike back into the camping area. By the time we returned the dogs had run themselves out and we were all ready to return home. I had thought about packing some food and having a picnic, but it's still not quite nice enough. Another week or two of this weather should open up the road and we can purchase some firewood and have a nice picnic while we enjoy a fire and maybe even roast sausages over the flames. |
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