Quite the Life (and all in Times New Roman 10pt!)
Sometimes I wake late in the night (or early in the morning) with something write downable.
It’s an authoring thing.
When I do, I check for guests.
Never know who may be joining me at the table.
It’s comforting to know The Old Ones are out and about.
Case in point, Opinetta the opossum.
Often, knowing our guests are taken care of, I write more profoundly.
Not necessarily better, merely with more energy.
It’s a good thing.
More like a flurry.
The Wild comes to our door often.
We believe we are blessed It finds comfort here, knows Its children can rest.
Often passing flocks come to sup, to dine, to repose and gather themselves for their further journeys.
We once had a flock of ducks come to our feeders in a heavy snowfall. We went out with baskets of sliced apples, raisins, chunks of bread.
We considered coffee.
They thanked us and demurred.
Somedays it snows starlings.
As noted above, we are blessed.
Sometimes our indoor children have discussions with our outdoor guests.
Most times they tolerate each other.
Ghost, our indoor cat, barely gives a nod when someone shows up.
Boo lets us know when various Old Ones are about.
He sometimes whines at the door. Translation, “The raccoons are here.”
Or he’ll sit and stare out a window. Translation, “The turkeys are here.”
A low growl. “We have an opossum visiting.”
And then there’s the huff. Sometimes it’s a huff with a bounce on his front feet. Usually means something doglike is on “his” turf.
Quite territorial, he.
Fortunately, our canid wild isn’t quite as territorial as he.
As you can see here, Samuel the Coyote basically says, “Yeah, okay. A dog. Sheesh. Chill, Bro. Yo! Two-Legs! Want to put a muzzle on that inhospitable pup of yours?”
Boo has learned not to be so challenging.
We go out and see to our guests, then promptly come back in and give both him and Ghost treats.
Lets them know these Old Ones are our guests. There are rewards for treating them with respect.
Not sure how to teach Two-Legs the same thing, though.
Suggestions, anyone?
Last week I shared Turkeys on the mating prowl in Two and a Half Toms. We continue the theme of Spring awakenings with today’s early March raccooning.
In early Spring all the Sleepers waken. Most are familiar with Bear. We have two, Horace and Lucien, who parade and not recently. Raccoons are not true sleepers, they do not hibernate, but they will go into prolonged sleep states to conserve energy. The pack it on before the snows hit and when they do rouse, they are hungry.
Case in point, these lovelies.
They come out in groups while remaining individuals. Kind of like everybody going to the club then going their separate ways in the hopes of nocturnal success.
I can write things like that because, in my younger days, I was among them.
No, not raccoons, clubbers.
Sometimes my early life’s behaviors disgust me.
But they do make good story fodder.
Enjoy.
Ah, Spring is in the air. Courtship has begun.
And as every red-blooded american turkey knows, that means it’s time to strut.
Yeah, ain’t nothing better than a good strut by the ladies, letting ’em know you’re there, you’ve arrived, you’re all that and more, you’re It!
Glorious, in’t it? All that manhood, the sheer volume of masculinity, makes one proud it’s happenin’ in one’s own backyard.
Turkeys aren’t particular where they strut. Down the street, in the office, at the coffee shop, getting groceries, don’t matter.
If they think there’s a womans near by, they gotta strut.
Don’t even matter if she’s available or not ’cause all the womens be available when you got a good strut.
Have at it, gents.
And do notice the women don’t care. Sometimes I wonder if women see men as a necessary evil. As Sandy Olafssen says in Empty Sky, “…someone who won’t open his mouth and won’t get a fixation and will just do his job and get out before morning.”
I suspect ladies are alike everywhere in this, truth be told.
And, as always, enjoy.