Mountain Lion Days - Trick-Or-Cleats

In Idaho you always stand the chance of a couple Snow Days per winter. When I was a kid, it was more brutal. But with the Global Warming we haven't had as much snow. It's still cold. And you may get a Too Cold To Start the Buses Day every so often when the Superintendents deemed 30 below too cold- not counting the wind factor.

It didn't take an alarm clock to wake us up the morning after a blizzard. Excitedly we waited by the radio in our nightgowns and once the DJ announced our school district we hopped up and down with glee that we didn't have to wake up for school but could do this in the sub temps:




So this morning when I got an early wake up call, I expected to see where the computer voiced sub dispatch wanted me to go.

It was the Police Station. "G-r-r-eat!" A family member in a jail cell popped into my head. But luckily for us and the rest of the west side, the Mountain Lion is still on the loose.

That's right. A mountain lion.





I brushed off all fears last week despite the intercom warning to "walk in groups" for those heading off campus to a class because it seemed a random, they will catch it sooner or later type of deal.


So when the automated system warned that the little children shouldn't walk to school and the street address of the last sighting, and that they weren't going to Cancel for a little ol MOUNTAIN LION; I thought the District was almost as brutal as back in my day.

J of course woke up with lightning speed when I casually mentioned to watch for it today at school. "Are you joking me?" I am not joking I tried to convince him with a laugh. There's a mountain lion hangin' around, I sniffed like it is what all us Idahoans deal with on a regular basis. Like Alaskans and Moose walking along the sidewalks.

"What do we do at recess?" he asked baffled at my non-chalance but unable to hide his concern.

"Well, all those girls chasing you is now going to pay off, champ, just run. You can wear your soccer cleats today." I offered up.

He was enthralled. Green light on the cleats. I thought right now might be a good time to take Hunter Safety Classes. Too bad I can't squeeze them in before Halloween.... BOO-Hoo!!

However, J is doing Jedi training. I might need to start those, too.

May the Force be with YOU!!!!!!!!!!

RUST: waiting to happen

With Summer over now, I decided to weed the garden the other day. Stomach flu inhibited me from being able to take care of the weeds I'd pulled and hence,



this cicumstance and the text from Padre: "We are gearing up for more rust in the wheelbarrow...." the considerate command: Empty the Wheelbarrow.



So I did,
.

After a bout with violent spastic gastroenteritis (the common stomach flu's formal name)in which I actually escaped death, today I was able to put make-up on and do my hair. When only a day or so before, on the verym same bathroom floor, I'd gratefully laid my head and enjoyed the coolness on my throbbing temple and begged the heavens for mercy. Made a mental will and kissed good-bye all dreams of living out my dreams.

stow-away leaves.

But then a miracle happened and I found myself sanitizing that same bathroom floor, appalled I didn't do that before I laid down on it, disinfecting everything else and washing laundry on HOT.



After consumming real food, squirrel-like nibbles of toast and a peach, I followed Padre's plea and Cleaned up my mess in the backyard.

I rounded up the buckets used as toad stools to hold the tomoatoes-- having to kick out this poor sleeping slug.



And made a mental note of this summer. Here are the 2010 highlights....



It all began last spring when someone pruned the beautiful plant we had growing on the north fence. Years to come to fruition this plant climbed from its humble beginings entwined through the chain links and creeping weeds right up into the neigbors pines.

Padre's scream when I showed him the shucked stalk of root commenced the season.




It DID grow back and it is much better now. A few years will help, but it looks fine... right?



The next was my awaiting the advent of lovely flowers to bloom around the garden. I like to outline it so it's high lighted, showing off the lovliness as you look from the picture window at meal time and reflect on all the things that happened that made your garden grow the way it did. In which case, your flowers underline in bright yellow highlighter saying: "See, this garden needs some mastering!"

Tonsillectomy is the perfect excuse for not doing so.



So the cabbages that were to be great, especially during the fall time when the pink rubbery leaves turned darker, was something I was looking forward to.


This is what happens when you don't tend to your plants. it turned into a Victorian-ish hair muse. But I think it gives character to the garden.

The next highlight was watching the stool I use to weed upon sink into the ground like some boring movie in science class showing natural disasters like cars falling into sink holes, my stool was getting eaten up by the dirt.



Padre saved it and these Romas took my seat....

The next was the hilarious few stalks of corn. I plan on helping as much as possible. Like maybe wrapping a scarf around their necks for a few days.




I thought about the love story I wrote this summer and some other things that I imagine will crop up on the blog some time soon!

Wellington Window Washer

It is fire prevention week.

Perched on top of the homemade stool Padre made so J could reach the sink to wash his hands, I cupped mine and listened to the boy who has out grown the stool, tell me about what we need to do to be prepared in case of a fire. We talked about escape routes.

With a towel wrapped around the water he'd spilled onto Padre's linoelium floor, he air dried; finally put on some camo boxers and we headed down to his room.

Crackling lightning and rumbling thunder poured into his room when I cranked the window open. Explaining how to bust through the screen, shove the items on his dresser off in one sweep then climb up on the head board, dresser and shimmy through the rectangular space, we devised our escape plan.

Lights finally out, we listened to the lighting lullaby.

Come morning I was up before sunris, showered and at the kitchen table reading the WSJ. An ad caught my eye and I blogged something that J deleted. He jumped on my bed and wrestled me into a hug.

After some tension and time alone we made ammends and went upstairs into the sunny kitchen. Despite torrential down pour the sun had busted through the clouds, shining on everything!



I made hockey puck eggs, (poached)toast, pulled some jam from the fridge and we sat down to eat.

The window was dirty.

It's been that way for a bit but on a beautiful, crisp autumn day you can't look out onto the garden, grass and greenery with that business going on.

Not wanting to miss the beautiful view from the kitchen, I ate my toast minus the butter, downed some vitamins and supplements with my milk and hurried to get my black wellington boots on.

I headed out with a bucket of hot water and cleaner with my jammas rolled up.

Setting them down I walked around the house with my cam and checked out how my garden was coming...















Ode to the firemen I screwed the fire hose attachment onto the black hose and blasted the window.



And climbed the ladder, in the safety of my back yard in my pjs.




J ran outside in his swim trunks and did this:





until he was jealous of me and the hose. So he then hosed off the front of the house. Leaving water marks all over the front windows.
sigh



<


h

Paper Girl

Mmm... I love when I write beautiful words and then my child lays atop my lap top and deletes it all. sigh. maybe that's a sign I should not blog.

until tomorrow- or whenever my heart gets over the fact I lost all that lovely language by the click of a button!

``

Her Antonia and Change

While all of you are enjoying predictable rotations of the Seasons, those of us in Idaho, are getting what we deserve: SUN. That's right. If it didn't cool off at night you might think you were in one of those Southern states. The birds migrating that direction, are taking a vacation here, in Idaho.

(Unfortunately, there are at least two Falcons taking advantage of this small respite in their travels, but the majority of the birds are enjoying South-Eastern Idaho. And the Sun birds -those of the older gens that bail out of Idaho for AZ- left already missing this just in the next back yard:

photo by padre

and this:

same trip

oh, and this!

again, same trip.

Enduring the cold and wind is a hard earned price to pay for such pleasures.

So when my garden, flowers and the roses at grandma's got a chance to go brillaint with bloom...


I took advantage and soaked in every second I could.





Wild-life photographer, Padre, pulled the air-conditioners early, when we'd been faked out with some Idaho spring-like weather a few weeks ago, so I am finally able to see through the kitchen window and out onto my confused garden.

Despite this small mix up in feelings, the trees know what good 'ol mother nature is up to. (hot flashes)


(I love the color of spicing things up, especially in salsa- which I can't eat or dance the salsa.)

therefore signaling the first signs of change. Which here mean, break out the long under wear, mittens, and fight for the spot under drive way's eave if you know you have to be out of here early the next day for work and don't want to chip of the windshield.

My anemic sunflowers



droop over the tomatoes,


that are doing very well. Good thing they did not become Mammoth sized or else it would have been difficult to have grown a crop.

There are 6 stalks of corn. Yes, we planted late and it was cold and confusing for the small patch of corn and I didn't help them more than once, soooo....

But the raspberries have grown rampant! sigh.

Only those with these high maintenece plants know the pain. Window minus air conditioner meant I could see the little gnats bob up and down in the evening sun. It, and other circumstances, took me to Willa Cather's: MY ANTONIA.


(The same white rose from a few days ago.)


Cather's ability to put into words an otherwise yawner of a landscape, romanticized the rolling fields of Nebraska and the journey of a young man from losing to his parents to finding beauty in being re-located there along with a young Bohemian girl named Antonia.

This is a spoiler alert! so if you haven't read this book get it now and then finish my post. My thoughts don't go to the first part of the book but always to the sunset, the final pages. Where the grown boy comes back to Nebraska to visit. He is unhappily married but a success in the work force. He collaborates with a friend who also knew this magical girl. Who was able to make the connection with the blue sky and the main charachter's blue eyes as she learned Enlish in the tall grass.

The girl, who grew to be a beauty, is seen by the man from a far off carrying water in a bucket to the trees in her orchard. Married, surrounded by children this woman who previously was buxom, now resembles the landscape- flat- but unlike the drought that is happening at the time, she is surrounded by life. Lots of children many who have the features she once had.

Tears come to my eyes when he describes the changes in her. And they have symbolically gone with me since I read this book. So as the yard has changed with the weather and I have changed with some good weathering... that book and the scene around me comes into focus.




Her beautiful white teeth are colored and some are missing. Yet, the smile remains,and ANTONIA shines through
.
these outward changes as brillaintly as when he'd first met her. And in my mind she epitomizes a woman. Graceful with the droughts and changes in life. Tough as nails and nurturing, carving something from nothing.



So summer is past! the wind is whipping up outside and clouds are accumulating in the sky that was wide open blue just yesterday!

And I wonder: What does the next summit hold?