Buddy and the Porcupine

Yesterday we went to my mother's house to deliver corn that Sarah B., a CCV student of mine, had given me when she stopped at the house Saturday to drop off papers that had been due a week before. The dogs had not been in her fields since the cows had started coming up for the night and they went nuts. They ate the cow flops, and then rolled in them. It was nearly impossible to get them to run through the fields and work off their energy. Amy hosed them off before they got into the car but they were still stinky, and oh so stinky! I felt like I had brought the manure pit home with us. Amy gave them a bath and then went to see the demo derby at the fair.

Stepmother never called last night about the corn. Now I know why. She doesn't want it and doesn't even think it is any good! She wanted to know if I were the person who "snuck in and left the corn." But Jeanne told her how to add sugar to the water when she cooks it and it will be ok. I sigh. A lot. Never let a good deed go unpunished.

I sped home in a heavy rain because I thought I had left windows open. But I had closed them last night because it was so cold. So they were ok. I got these monster dogs outside on the hill and let them run a bit but the puppy wanted to go in and Scout was very agreeable to that! Then I went to the barn and there was Buddy just as I predicted. What a yowl he gave me! I carried him back to the house because he will not walk in the rain even if he has not eaten in 24 hours, which he hadn't.

Well, I found out why he was not home: porcupine quills in his face! Two short ones, that remind me of elephant tusks, stuck in two holes where whiskers should be. Amy said she will care for them when she gets home, no need to run to Dr. Judy. He is eating just fine. He doesn't even seem to notice them! I am wondering if he didn't run into a baby porcupine because these are short quills. I know nothing about these particulars but Amy will know or will find out tomorrow. If it were a baby though, wouldn't the mother attack him worse, hurting him more than he is now? Curious.

Amy took these photos.

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When Sophie Ate a Mouse

I have so many Vermont stories to tell that I should be writing them down. I will do so as I remember them, as if you are a stranger hearing them for the first time. It will be difficult to catch up but I will.

We came home to more dog activity. Buddy the cat had been grumpy and picking fights so Amy let him out. Within 15 minutes he caught a mouse for her, alive of course. But when he dropped it, the dogs scrambled for it, and Sophie swallowed it alive! Amy is pretty much disgusted by that and there were many jokes about the mouse in Sophie's tummy.

I made CDs of Bill Clinton's My Life for Andrew's birthday last night. The summer is over.

But the things to look forward to are the VAST courses and ..... well, at least one thing to look forward to. I am tense about teaching finite mathematics this semester, I am not ready. Tense about using Mathland text and having the fifth grade. Tense about money, about oil prices, about old bills I cannot seem to pay off in a timely manner.

Technorati tags: Bill+Clinton My+Life dogs cats

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Review: Driving Over Lemons

Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain

Written by the former Genesis drummer.

When I enjoy a book, I check the amazon.com blurb about it. Chris Stewart never mentioned his former job in the book. In fact, he only mentions how he has sheared sheep in Sweden for a month every year for many years. This is not how I envision rock stars. But I have many prejudices. Especially about celebrities. What in the world can they teach the rest of us? It turns out that they can.

Stewart left Genesis at age 17, so I feel better about my recommendation of this book. I wish he had written more pages. The first half of the book does not seem to have been written as well as the second half. Just when Stewart finds rhythm and imagery in his writing, the book ends.

This life in Andalucia, Spain, is not as precious and pretentious as Mayle's in A Year in Provence, which I thought was excellent. Until I read this. Both authors are expatriates of England but in different nations. Stewart needs to work as a farmer and sheep shearer in order to live his dream in Spain. I don't remember Mayle needing to participate so fully in local life.

Find me Stewart's e-mail so that I can deluge him with requests for sequels!

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Alone again

Wednesday - February 26, 2003 Alone again Danielle, Wingnut, Amy, Barb, Daisy, Sinni have all left again. I thought that I would do fine when the kids and dogs left. I did for awhile. 

My stepmother came to visit. That kept me busy and fairly content even though we discussed sad topics. She brought me a floor lamp! Now I can read in a chair! But my mood went downhill as soon as she left. 

Now, at 9 PM, I am doing better. I am remembering my life before the visits. We ate a lot. Danielle made a beautiful roast chicken; Amy made great steak and purrfect mashed potatoes! I made the best pot roast I have ever done. And every day: Ben and Jerry's ice cream. 

The kitchen faucet was replaced (but note: it is now wiggling around on the sink! Do I need to have the plumber back?): the plumber installed valves under the kitchen sink. I took photos of the updates in the house, we watched a lot of TV. It was -20° this morning. Or -23°, as NOAA reported to me. Either one, it was impressive while kids were here! It reached -3° when they left at 11:30 AM. On one of the other nights they were here, the wind was the noisiest and the most moving that I have experienced here. 

 Barb loves Chinese Tiles (OS 9) and is trying to resolve the Corners layout mystery with me. Which has gotten me to tackle it again.

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Hartford: Fastest Flush In New England

Hartford viewed from the Charter Oak Bridge

I found this 1998 article from the Hartford Courant in my files. I took the photo above when Marcia and I rode the bike trail over the bridge years ago.

Hartford: Fastest Flush In New England

by Jim Shea, Courant Staff Writer
The Hartford Courant, Friday, 3/20/98, B11

There is great temptation to relay the region's latest coup in terms of sophomoric cliche.

To say, for example, that we are flush with success, or bowled over, or we all have to go sometime.

But this would be immature. Why not just come right out and state the facts: People from the Hartford area go to the bathroom faster and less frequently than anybody else in New England.

According to a survey just released by Florida-based Ulrich Research Services, the average Hartford area resident makes an average of 5.1 trips to the bathroom during a 24-hour period, spending a total of 36.7 minutes.

In comparison, people in Portland, Maine, spend more time in the bathroom (46.2 minutes), and make more trips (7.2) than other New Englanders.

The other regions surveyed -- note the absence of talk about bringing up the rear -- were: Boston (39.4 minutes, 5.8 trips), Providence (42.5 minutes, 5.9 trips), and Burlington, VT (35.9 minutes, 5.7 trips).

In general terms for the region, the survey also found that women frequent the bathroom more than men (6.7 trips daily to 4.5) and spend about 15 minutes more per day.

The Ulrich report was commissioned by Linters Inc., a Seattle company, which is launching a new bathroom tissue made from cotton.

Nancy Ulrich, whose company did the 500-person, $10,000 survey, said one of the reasons for the differences between Hartford and Portland might be traced to setting.

"This is just a personal observation, but I think people in more urban areas have less opportunity and time to go," Ulrich said. "People in Hartford may spend more time commuting, have less time at home."

Deborah Cook, president of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce, offered another example for her community's superior go-to-it-ness.

"I don't know if there is a connection or not, but Maine has the highest number of reading groups in the country, " Cook said. "Of course, no one is sure which came first, the number of readers or the frequency of trips."

The research lends support to Cook's view.

According to the survey, more Portlandites (36 percent) said they read books in the bathroom than those from any of the other regions.

Overall, the preferred pastime publication by a wide margin was the magazine, followed by the newspaper.

Although Portland leads the region in the books-read-in-head category, Hartford was No. 1 in overall bathroom readers (40 percent).

Given the rate at which Hartford folks go about their business, this statistic might also suggest we are also New England's fastest readers.

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