CLOUDS



Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.

- Lord Byron

BE AFRAID... BE VERY AFRAID

I did something last night that I haven't done in a long time.

I screamed.

I mean, I really SCREAMED.

I grabbed a towel when I was finished bathing, and a huge black spider suddenly appeared on my arm.

But why do we scream?

Wikipedia taught me a new word, vociferation, by explaining that "when frightened, human beings tend to yelp, or cry out... to convey fear and to call attention to themselves, increasing the possibility of receiving assistance from others."

It also stated that "this action also serves as a possible defense tactic, as shouting may frighten off an assailant or cause them to falter, allowing a chance to escape."

(Believe me, this spider wasn't frightened at all.)

I must admit that I have screamed right at the moment of... well, let's pass that one by.

But it's like when we automatically cover our ears when there is a huge BOOM.

We run from danger without really thinking about it.

We duck when someone begins shooting at us.

And when the movie music moves to a minor key, when the repeating bass note becomes louder and louder, when we hear something like this...

That is when we KNOW something is coming out of the dark and we ARE going to scream.

At least when you are a scaredy-cat like me.

COYOTE UGLY

There are certain experiences  unique to living in a galaxy far far away... I mean, far outside any city limits. 

Such as having to drive five miles when for a carton of milk.

Going outside at night and being able to walk literally by starlight. 

And hearing coyotes yipping and howling almost every single evening.

We have two very different types of coyotes here in southern Arizona - the scumbags who take advantage of poor people trying to find a job, and the ones that yip and howl at night.

This is about the latter.

I have been reading about how 'dangerous' coyotes are - in particular a CNN story about a Laguna Hills woman who was bitten by a coyote, and then her small dogs was... well, dog-napped and most likely killed and eaten by the same.

And one of the many Republican presidential candidates,  Rick Perry bragged about shooting a coyote while he was out jogging with his dog.

Now, both of these 'attacks' - well, one attack; the Rick Perry coyote was simply "staring" at him and that seemed to be enough justification for him to kill it - occurred in residential areas while these people were outdoors walking their dogs.

Does anyone ever consider that the coyotes aren't invading our areas -- that we are the ones who have invaded theirs ?

DIRT IS HOLDING ME TOGETHER

Yes, you read that title correctly.

I've been doing pretty good the last few days - spending time with the horses, still moving panels one at a time (hey, I'm an old lady, I can only do so much) - mending the electrical fence.

And although my back has been sore every evening, it's been nothing that a warm bath and Ben and Jerry's Double Fudge Brownie can't cure.

Until tonight.

I think it was mainly because I really, really scrubbed tonight. I've been sweaty and dirty quite a bit this week, but tonight I truly scoured my back, my fingernails, my feet, my scalp.

I got a lot of junk out.

And tonight? I am aching all over.

Proves it, doesn't it?

 
The dirt was what was holding me together.

FRENEMIES?

Friends squabble at times. We all know that. And part of friendship is the fact that you get past those fights and go back to being friends.

However, enemies also often maintain a long, close relationship - some of us define ourselves by who our adversaries are.

I'm trying to determine if Sally and Triple A are friends or enemies.

They have been fighting off and on ever since I put them together in the same pen.

But only when food is involved.



Otherwise, they are often standing head-to-tail, very comfortable, dozing off.


Well, I moved Triple A today.

And suddenly they are tragically Siamese twins, separated at birth, doomed to always have a fence between them.

SLOW AND OLD

I am getting old.

No, it’s not that new patch of grey alongside my right ear. I actually am quite proud of that - it’s almost a streak of grey/white (SIDEBAR HERE: why do we call them ‘grey’ hairs when they are almost WHITE, not grey?), and I have earned this.

It’s not even my memory. With a family history of Alzheimer’s and a brain injury already, that is sort of a given - I can’t hold onto much of any information for longer than a few seconds. The only reason I can write is because the previous thought is, literally, right in front of my in black and white, and I can read it again.

No, it’s my driving.

Or rather the SPEED of my driving.

Because of our spectacular wildfire in the Huachuca Mountains, the speed limit was temporarily lowered to 45 mph for about ten miles on S. Hwy 92 because of the crews still dealing with clean up, new electricity set-ups, and removal of burnt trees.

And I had no problem with it. I use the cruise control on my truck CONSTANTLY 1) because there are many, many miles between my house and… well, any place civilized, and 2) I honestly do try to honor the speed limit.

My last speeding ticket was in 1979 (really).

So the 45 mph was not a problem.

The difficulty was when they put it back up to 55.

Suddenly I was keenly aware of how much more of the scenery was whizzing by, and how little of it I was actually aware of.

I realized that I had to keep my foot just a little bit closer to my brake in order to avoid the frequent quail, rabbit, and occasionally deer who foolhardily attempted to cross the road.

But most of all, how many more drivers were piling up on my tail when I was keeping right at the speed limit.

I wanna go slower. All the time.

SAY WHA...?

I was talking out loud (also known as talking to myself - when you live alone in the middle of nowhere, you end up during a lot more of that than you would care to admit) and used the expression (to myself - yes, I know, it's sort of sad) "like shutting the barn door after the cow is gone."

And got to thinking about how idioms will make our American English completely unintelligible to any future generation/ species/ extraterrestials who finds our records/recordings.

A lot of them seem to be related to animals.

Some are ridiculous - "cat got your tongue" - where the hell did that come from?

And "letting the cat out of the bag", "being the cat's meow" - "you are such a copy cat" - "raining cats and dogs" - "more than one way to skin a cat" (YUCK!!)

Some of them make sense in some strange way - "killing two birds with one stone" (I've always hated that one - it's just a mean thought!) - "the early bird gets the worm" - "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

But "naked as a jay bird"? Do most other species of bird wear clothes when we're not around?

 Some make sense if you know the animal pretty well - "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" (has to do with telling age by teeth) - "beating a dead horse" - "hold your horses."

But how does "straight from the horse's mouth" work? The only thing I ever get from any of my horses' mouths is big teeth!

Okay - feel free to add any ones that drive you batty too!

A MILESTONE

Today I finished things.



I did the laundry - and hung it up - and put in the closet - and cleaned the washer and dryer.

I started invitations for a church event - and designed them - and addressed them - and printed them - and put them in the envelopes - and sealed them.




I took a pile of papers that have been sitting on my desk for several decades - and filed them - and created new files as necessary - and acted on the ones that needed action - and got the entire pile taken care of.



Well, almost all of them.

Mark this date in history - it may never happen again.

THEORY OF RELATIVITY

No, I don't understand the theory of relativity.

And I don't understand the dummies explanation of the theory of relativity.

And I especially  don't understand how Einstein kept his hair looking so cool before hair gel was marketed.




But I understand the definition of 'relative' is as follows:

rel·a·tive/ˈrelətiv/

Adjective: Considered in relation or in proportion to something else.

 

And I needed this tonight to help me balance some things and control some of my own selfish whining.

 

 

A wildfire, especially in a populated area, is bad.

 

 

 

 

 

Usually rainfall that happens during a wildfire is good.

 

But rainfall after a wildfire destroys all the natural vegetation on a mountain causes massive flooding, which is bad.

 

 

 

 

 

Having your home slammed by a wall of mud, rocks, and water is bad.

 

Having a home that is not burned, not covered with mud, and not flooded is good.

 

Tonight I am really really REALLY appreciating my unburnt, unflooded, unmuddied little house.

"AN OPTIMIST DOESN'T SEE THE CLOUDS AT ALL...

... she's walking on them."



If I hadn't been the one taking these photos this evening, I don't think I would believe that there really were cloud formations like these.

ORANGE JUMPSUITS

I understand why prison inmates are forced to wear orange jumpsuits - even someone who is color-blind notices them right away.




But I was very grateful today for a number of orange-garbed gentlemen today who filled and loaded sand bags onto the back of my truck.


We probably are gonna need them.

OUR NEWEST ADDITION

Isn't he beautiful?