Who? Me?

Okay, so I woke up to another cool and damp morning. My feathers are ruffled a bit with all these rainy days we've been having, one right after the other and my sunshine disposition needs a bit of polishing. Otherwise I'm just hunkey dorey as my little grandmother used to say. "Now don't get all twitterpated" she'd tell me when I started a rant about something not to my liking when I was going through the teens. I'm glad those days are over.

Last night we had our third bout with an over-friendly skunk. He's been out skulking around the patio and last night he came up to the door. Crash!! The cat's head as it connected with the patio door. Both hubby and I jumped as if a gun had gone off. I raced for the cat, he to look for the skunk. He is getting a bit paranoid now and has a flashlight beside his place at the kitchen table where he reads his westerns and eventually nods off. That commotion sure woke him up in a hurry.

Our son Jon had called me from the garage telling me not to go out the back door to feed the feral cats because the skunk was slinking around and was on the porch. So I had been forewarned. I expected once the cat caught on that she would go spastic. I just forgot how startling it is to hear such a loud bang as head hits glass, and the noise she made was blood curdling. Hehe, the devil comes out a bit in me now as I remember the event and hubby's reaction. I'll bet we'll be buying new flashlight batteries soon, if not one of those huge jobbers that can cut through fog!

Snakes have also been roaming. I went out day before yesterday just to get some fresh air early in the morning. I was checking out my poor bedraggled rock garden, yep, all the rocks were still there. Then I noticed this tiny bit of movement in two places near the rock wall. I braced myself so I wouldn't fall over on my face and bent low to see what was making their way in my garden. Yes, there was a little bit of wiggling going on and in two separate places. Stupid me, I put my hand down and grabbed hold of the tail end of a regular garden snake, and when I did, the second movement jumped up at me. Imagine my surprise to see a small black snake and they were both attached. I pulled the tail of the black snake and the one I had hold of and they broke free. I was amazed that two young snakes were trying to have one another for brunch. I admit, I was a little taken back at the black snake jumping at me. Maybe he was just trying to thank me for his freedom.

Someday I'll learn not to be so inquisitive and trusting of the critters around me. So far I've been close enough to get a great picture of the skunk without getting sprayed. Hubby said, "What if those snakes had been poisonous? Then what would you have done?" Well hell, I would have dropped them in a mighty big hurry and let them get on with their business. That's one thing I learned when moving out to the boonies was how to identify snakes. So far I've found a number of baby Copper Heads and although venemous, I leave them to crawl back into the rock walls and let them have their own space. I shouldn't be groveling around in the grass and dirt near the stone wall anyway. Someday I'll grow up but not quite yet.

I'm brought back to my younger days on the river. Mom would let me out and I could spend the whole day just doing as I please. My favorite thing was going down to the river at low tide and I would lift the rocks gently and out from under would wiggle a baby eel. I just have never been able to pass a log or a rock without carefully looking under it. I usually find something delightful like the colorful salamanders and newts. And the mushrooms growing now after all these days of rain are quite humorous to look upon. The shapes and colors I find to be interesting and I have learned not to step on any that look like a big puff ball. Yuck!

68 going on 4. I guess I'll never grow up, although I fight the battle of growing bigger width wise. Oh well, it keeps me grounded. Maybe that is why I'm so enthralled with the wildlife that comes in smaller sizes and you have to look for it or you'd miss something spectacular. Like the beautiful turquoise colored beetle in that very same garden I mentioned earlier. It was beautiful with the sun shining on it. By the time I found my camera and got back outside, he was long gone. Now I keep camera at the ready on the kitchen table and am able to catch more than I miss.

Lord, how beautiful you have created this world. And to think, so many of your human critters just go along through life looking for success and riches. I tend to think my riches are right here.

Have a great day and let me know if you enjoy reading my thoughts. There are places to make a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Hugs to those who come to visit and spend a bit of time in MY world.