Off Kilter

Howdy.  I'm feeling off-kilter tonight.  Dunno why.  It struck sometime after I got home.  Dunno why.  But, I am fighting a HUGE urge for a big chunk of time here at home to get some stuff organized that I'm just getting a start on.  And, instead of coming home tonight and just collapsing, watching a bit of the boob tube (something recorded since I don't have TV reception), I was determined to Get Something Done.  But, that's SO hard when I don't get home until 8:00 and should, in a perfect world, be in bed by 9:30.  Which is in 3 minutes.  I'm caught between doing this or that because I'll get too wrapped up - or HAVE to get wrapped up in order to make any headway - and then it will be 11:30 before I know it!

So, what's my point?  Umm, I don't have one.  Other than, as you know, it almost always helps me clear my mind by writing.  About it.  Here.  (Lucky you!  Dripping sarcasm.)

Here's a wil . . . hmm, insulation is falling down from the ceiling above . . . onto the laptop as I sit at the diningroom table.  Hmmmm.

As I was saying, here's a wildlife report.  As spring progresses, I'm really noticing the birds singing.  Even at work today (it was a GORGEOUS, still morning), a bird was singing just outside the store . . . loud enough that I could hear it as I inventoried the new order of expensive (average of $145) sunglasses.  Here at Swamp River Ridge, I'm LOVING the robins that are trilling away each morning AND night when I arrive home.  I whistle back to them, hoping I'm not saying something like, "Yo' mama wears Army boots!" or "That branch really makes your arse look fat!"  ;)  So far, none of them have flown over to poop on my head, so I must not be causing too much harm.

One unique thing I've noticed about the robins this year vs. any other is that they are in FLOCKS this spring!  Around here, the robins are a summertime-only bird, and they're usually seen as solitary creatures.  But, I've been seeing flocks of 10 or 20 of them at a time - particularly on the dirt roads as I drive to and from work.  What's up with THAT?

In other bird news . . . I smooshed one this morning.  :(  I've been seeing LOTS of grouse this spring (good news for you hunters - is my favorite hunting family, related to a famous Twins pitcher, still reading this blog???), and everyone up here knows that they're pretty much as dumb as the stumps they drum on.  This morning, one made a running bee-line for the car, though, as I came abreast of it.  THUMP!  Feathers everywhere.  I thought about going back to retrieve it for about a nano-second.  If I'd had time, I would have pulled the breast out and had Mom put it in the 'fridge when I got to their house . . . but I knew I wouldn't be dropping the dogs off until my morning break time . . . and it wouldn't do the meat any good to sit in the car for those two hours.  So, instead, I left it for the critters.  I was determined to pick it up on my way home tonight, though, to preserve the tail for all the amazing things Mama & Papa Pea's lady carpenter, B, does with wild feathers . . . but there wasn't a TRACE of it remaining!  A good day for the scavengers, I guess.

Almost each week now, I see deer farther and farther up my road(s).  This is not good.  It means they're pushing the moose out.  As I've mentioned before, deer and moose use different browse.  Different woods.  So, it means that the woods are changing.  And, deer have introduced CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) which the moose never used to have to contend with and are, unfortunately, quite susceptible to.

BUT, although I saw a single deer too close to home for comfort this morning, I DID see two moose on the way home!  It must have been a mama with her yearling.  A mama who didn't get pregnant last fall.  Their backs were almost a milky white - their winter coat "blowing out" to be replaced by the summertime hair.  I grabbed my camera, but they were too far off into the bush by the time I came to where they'd gone off the road.

For my final critter news, the aforementioned lady carpenter, B, and her guy got a PHENOMENAL shot of two wolves on their high-quality trail camera.  It is a truly SPECTACULAR photo.  They tried to send it to me tonight so I could post it here, but they had Internet reception problems.  I'll keep bugging them about it, tho.  Just WAIT 'til you see it!

* * * * *

I don't know where yesterday went.  Not having to work more than 3 days in a row is really terrific, but not having two days off together is pretty tough.  I got a lot done but generally always feel like it wasn't enough.  But, I know I'm not the only one in that proverbial boat, eh?

I really feel SO out of touch with all of you lately.  I haven't had a spare second, hardly, to read anyone else's blogs.

What else?  I've been spending many of my lunch hours exploring real estate.  I'm still limited by the need to find someone willing to accept a Contract for Deed since I'm not exactly gonna qualify for a bank loan.  (Hahahahahaha!)  So, I still have no idea where the contents of Swamp River Ridge and the dogs, cats, and poultry and I will end up.  Worst case scenario, I'll shove everything into a couple of storage units and hang out in that little cabin just outside of town (that I've SO generously been offered).  But, "little" really is the operative word there.  Still, I have some time.  And, I don't know any of the time-frame yet concerning when, exactly, I'll have to be out of here.


How am I doing?  Mentally?  (Insert hysterical laughter, a little sobbing, then rocking back and forth in a corner.)  No, no, as the days go by, I'm doing alright.  Fine, really.  Who knows when the next emotional break will happen, but I can't wait around on tenterhooks.  I just get up each morning and appreciate what Mother Nature has to show me; and then do what needs to be done that day.  I mean, really, what other choice do I have?  ('Cause I AIN'T goin' the "miserable" route.)


So, what other blather do I have to share?  Not much.  But, I'll leave you with this:  the annual blooming of my amaryllis!

Purdy, huh?!