Olio of Recent Days

Early spring is not my favorite time of year.  I'm lamenting the loss of winter (my true favorite) and anticipating the freedom of summer.  This time of year is "gas pipe" (as my friend Ruth would say) weather.  It has been raining today, so yeah, our basement has water in it and the sump pump is attempting to eject it.  Everything looks dumpy and depressed, as well as depressing.  Which is the perfect time to start looking at houses-if you find one you like now, you'll love it later! And apparently, going to open houses on rainy days is good for finding out which basements are REALLY dry.  Two places we looked at today had water in the cellars, although this allegedly had not happen before. We have decided to try to sell our house and move to something smaller, more energy efficient, with two bathrooms, and in a different school district.  We are quite ambivalent. The idea of packing, sorting, etc.  has us both slightly off balance. On the other hand, saving some time, $$$ and resources is quite alluring. The convenience of this location and the character of our house is also hard to give up. Theoretically, all of us are on board with changing schools.  It was actually, Maisie's idea, as she shared she gets distracted by kids in her class who act out. We have struggled with this since the beginning of the school year. Unfortunately, we don't know what to judge our experiences against, but have felt more certain that some other schools may not have the same level of behavioral issues and be a bit more academically challenging.  Even the after care program has had problems.  And it's only Kindergarten! If we can't sell our house in a timely fashion to move before the new school year, we will continue to work to improve Maisie's school situation and start more home improvement work as time and money allow. It helps to keep in perspective, that these are 'white peoples problems' -so many in the world do not have access to education or housing, so for this, I am grateful and humbled.

The animal sightings recently include a mink on the Ellis River in Jackson, NH, red-winged black birds, and timber doodles or wood cock.

Following is a photo essay of things seen this month:

Ski Trip

Spring Thaw

Maisie calls this an alcohol necklace because it looks like a Crown Royal bottle.

Post school dance, pre-birthday party.

School project

priming great grammies bed

finally pulled the trigger on some Clark's desert boots

Maisie's room with wall stripped to the lathe.

Maisie's finished room

some weird lizardy thing covered on croutons in the Planet Fitness parking lot

nature's snow sculpting

day lilly shoots-spring is springing

Great Grammie's bed all painted and made

Living with Animals Makes Everything a Little More Interesting

While it is certainly true my daily exposure to "nature" has diminished living in an urban setting, it is not all together absent.

Yesterday, while at a red light I watched as a red tailed hawk and a flock of pigeons battled it out over a busy intersection at rush hour.

The possum has been back and co-habitats with the chickens during the darkest hours of the night.

The robins and the occasional grackle and starling have besotted themselves on the crab apples.

And, one of the perks of working in my office is Maggie, the office dog.

Inter species mingling is alive and well you just have to open your eyes and your heart.

Another day at work, another belly rub

Nest box squatter

Crab Apple Ripple

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

The bar is now open

Attending a meeting

How we all feel 3 hours into this twice a month meeting

lap warmer

Didelphimorphia or 50 Pretty Good Reasons Why the Chickens Were Acting Freaky

Apparently, the girls had an uninvited night visitor.  I got up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym yesterday , glanced out the kitchen window and saw the coop door wide open, the orange light of the heating lamp staining the snow. I was mightily confused because the door had been shut and latched when I went to bed the night before.  When I was growing up, we had a Japanese Silkie named Floyd, stolen (and murdered) by the neighbor's grandson. So, I was on high alert that this was also juvenile shenanigans at work.  Of  course, the time had just "sprung forward" so it was once again dark at that hour.  I could make out the silhouette of Sadie down on the snow by the fence and Jane was in the path by the compost. They were both afraid to come to me but eventually came around and I herded them in to the coop.  The only sign of any struggle was an overturned water dish. Bertha, the smallest, was not in sight.   We'd had a dusting of snow. There were large chicken prints and then smaller, almost cat-like tracks.  These had one toe that was at 90 degrees to the "pad" and landed in pairs that weren't quite pairs.  Opossum where art tho?!

Exhibit A

 At that point I was thinking the possum had gone into the coop to  look for eggs and to scavenge all the crumbs of the kitchen scraps the chickens don't eat.  I was concerned that Bertha had jumped the fence and was in a neighbors yard and we'd be posting " Lost Chicken" photos around the 'hood to bring her home.  When I got back from the gym, the sun was coming up and Bertha was hot footing it across the snow to the coop.  Whew!

Then I started reading up on Didelphimorphia. Apparently, they have an appetite for eggs and the chickens from whence they come!  They possess 50  sharp, dagger like teeth and When threatened, opossums run, growl, belch, urinate and defecate. And when all else fails, they “play ‘possum" and act as if they are dead. It is an involuntary response (like fainting) rather than a conscious act. They roll over, become stiff, close their eyes (or stare off into space) and bare their teeth as saliva foams around the mouth and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from glands. The catatonic state can last for up to four hours, and has proven effective as a deterrent to predators looking for a hot meal.  Mother Nature Network
Lovely.  No wonder the chickens were acting, well, chicken, after their encounter.

http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/4013/possums-and-opossums-australia-and-america-all-explained/

Trivia Fun:  Male opossums are called jacks and females are called jills. The young are referred to as joeys, just like their Australian cousins (Kangaroos), and a group of opossums is called a passel.

Living Real

I added a line from a Mary Oliver poem to the description of this blog.  It is words from her canine companion, Percy.  They resonate with me, especially as I get older and increasingly embrace "real" and try to be less caught up in the warren of sorting out truth and falseness, right and wrong, good and  bad. I am quick to judge and label experiences, people, objects.  I desire to do this less in my life.  There is  LOTS of opportunity to practice. Having a sensitive and compassionate six year old in the home certainly whets the stone.  Middle age sharpens the blade as well. Do I want to be real or right? Sometimes they are the same, but often, not so much.  Am I courageous enough?  Either way, fear or courage, will be real in the stories I collect.

We've been busy around these parts, which is one reason why this blog has been neglected. There has been football, basketball, holidays, birthdays, skiing, snowboarding, sledding, skating, Teen Wolf,  Olympics,weight loss, Crossfit, painting, reading, school, work, family, floor hockey...and gearing up for travel, mud challenges, summer camp, bike riding, scootering, skateboarding, home repairs, outside basketball, more birthdays...

Here is an in no way comprehensive visual report of what we've been up to:

rosy cheeks

x-country skiing

hockey/skating

not nearly enough apres ski

working out

winter

new snowboard

new haircut

old friends

snow tube park

big dog

winter sunset

older friends

just old

snow shoeing