PNewL PNewS Vol 31. Issue 2: A Wild Wild World

 

PNewL PNewS 

Volume 31 Issue 2          “All the pnews that phits.”            June 2023 _____________________________________________________________

A Wild Wild World

This has been the craziest season for wildlife interaction. I am beginning to wonder what is next. Let’s see--where did it start? I think it might have been a turtle—a box turtle or a snapping turtle? Can’t remember. Buster barked and I walked him away. Then there was the snake in the driveway who was all squiggly (fear reaction)—may or may not be the Snake Now Known as Ursula.

        Then there was the bear Buster found in the gully across the road. She had been seen with two babies. Buster had a long loud discussion with her—she snorted and stomped around in the water. It felt quite real. I called Jeff on the phone and asked what he would do if he were me. He said he'd be right there. He used his Big Boy voice and Buster left the bear in peace. (Helpful information: Buster does not listen to me. While Jeff’s voice is authoritative, mine is the end of fun.)

     There was the baby deer found after the tractor mowing (enough info). And then there were the two bear moms + two cubs each on the Parkway. And finally… no, not finally, but lastly for now, the Snake Now Known as Ursula. I heard noises in the garage and went out to find shelves cleared and things broken. Then when I got in the car and threw stuff on the passenger seat, I noticed her on the dashboard, directly in front of me. I ejected myself out of the car, leaving the driver’s side door open and screamed at her from the passenger side: I HAVE TO GO—YOU NEED TO LEAVE. She slithered out. I drove away.

     Later, I heard her in the ceiling above the front porch while in a zoom class, then in the crawlspace above the kitchen. I have a video of Buster barking at the ceiling. Yes, sweetie, it’s confusing. Today, I went out in the morning and didn’t see it but at noon noticed a very long fresh snake skin in the bush along the sidewalk so I am thinking Ursula is still in residence.

     Recent addition: I took Buster and his neighbor buddy Everly for a walk which ended in a challenging interaction with a deer and maybe a baby. I had never heard a deer in distress or seen a deer attack—or attempt to attack--a dog. I’m feeling like this is going to be a long summer.

 

Three Boxes a Day—or Not

I was having a conversation with yet another of my people of a certain age (mine or usually older) about the amount of stuff we have that we don’t want to leave behind for someone else to deal with or just the amount of stuff in general or we want to move but not all the stuff. With all my remarkable intelligence (not), I boldly said, go through three boxes a day. (This person has a lot of boxes—I was trying to say do something manageable…and keep doing it… but I sounded so confident about three boxes. I am full of it.)

      When I got home, I looked around and I thought, I am full of it. I couldn’t get myself to go through three boxes. I could maybe get to a pile or a drawer, but every day? I am an arrogant all-knowing goofball. It’s official.

 

“There it was again—adults and their on and off again relationship with the truth.”

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

Just a Teeny Bit about Travel

     (See comment below. Sorry, I just can’t resist. I’ll try not to bore you!) I went to Iceland again and it was as wonderful as it was the first time, only different. The writing workshop was friendly and helpful and entertaining and all the right things with people I have known for many years. And then I flew to Akureyri in the north and drove around for several days on my own. Just writing that made me feel all warm and fuzzy. It is a magical country. While most of the people live in the south—I’ve heard 300,000 of the 380,000-ish residents live in the south—the north is sparsely populated and there’s a lot of wide-open spaces up there. In one town, I was directed to what turned out to be a hardware/garden and office supply/craft store (and more) to buy yarn. There just aren’t enough customers to warrant having a bunch of separate stores! (In another town, there was a Hardware/Liquor Store.)       

     And I got my fill…well almost…of puffins! I went to the end of the road at the northeastern edge of the country and there they were, flying around like drunken sailors, smashing into the ground and the water. They have very few things they have to do—flying is one of them—why haven’t they gotten better at it?? They nest on a rocky and grassy promontory beyond the town in Borgarfjörður Eystri. They say there are 100 people living there and 1000 elves plus in the spring and summer thousands of puffins. Lovely! (And I learned that in the off season, their beaks are grey. They are not trying to impress their mates! Fortunately, much of that time, they are at sea.)

      Other highlights were hot water places. Most people know about the Blue Lagoon, but there are now places all over the country where going out for a soak in a large artfully crafted pool filled with geothermal hot water—some more elaborate than others—is a sociable thing to do. I highly recommend the one outside Husavik. The views are breathtaking.

     No problem with snow this year but the fog on the way to the airport was pretty intimidating. I had not allowed a lot of time for making my pokey way that morning but as it often does, it all worked out. Lucky me.

     And then Buster and I did another road trip—this time to the Northeast. We stayed in a couple state parks—one in Delaware because I am trying to sleep in all the states and that’s one I haven’t been to before, took a ferry to New Jersey, and then landed in the driveway of David and Kim’s houses and Laurie’s house and Kim and Toby’s house. I had overbooked the time so I had to do some trimming but all in all it was a most excellent time with good visits and new scenery.

     Next up (that’s just a phrase, I have other things coming up sooner but this is now high on the list), I want to visit the State Parks of North Carolina. I am such a fan of these facilities, it’s time to check out the ones close to home.

 

“It’s not your imagination: most people are awful.”

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

Things I am Learning & Miscellaneous Observations 

• It has been brought to my attention that I may not be disciplined enough to be a writer. I was also told I talk about travel a lot (too much?). And lastly, I was also told that I need to remember it’s not all about me, that I am a minor character in other people’s dramas. All interesting feedback. Anyone else?

• I am the Queen of Bad Email Management. My worst habit is reading something, nodding, saying Okay by me but never responding so the person who asked the question or made the suggestion never knows what I am thinking. Apparently knowing I do this has not improved anything.

• I was listening to NPR the other day and they interviewed the mystery writer Dennis Lehane. He has started working on a television project which suits him better and he’s not sure if he will write another novel. He said his most recent book “needed to come out of me which is how you become a writer in the first place.” I feel a little bit like this pnewsletter needs to come out of me and maybe that’s why it comes to you on a varied schedule. While I don’t seem to have the discipline to be a real writer (see above), I think I will just keep faking it.

• Cathy and I went to hear Barbara Kingsolver talk about knitting. It was an odd evening. Turns out it was the closing night of a weekend knitting “camp.” I felt like I had arrived late to a very friendly party so I didn’t know the in jokes and hadn’t made friends. Everything Kingsolver said was greeted with knowing laughs and applause. It was kinda fun and kinda tedious. She said this was much more fun than a book tour because she really wasn’t selling anything and she was hanging out with knitters. She also said she’s had several (5?) operations on her hand and can no longer hold a pen so she can’t sign books, but she can still type. She doesn’t want to think about a next surgery as she figures that will be the one when she will no longer be able to knit.

• There just may be a sesame seed shortage. I went to my usual spot to buy sesame sticks and there were none to be found. Then I went to another place—nada. (I think there were a few more stores in there.) Then I googled it and learned that a lot of sesame seeds come from India and due to climate change, flooding has damaged crops and many of the seeds have been defective (!?!). It made me think of the fragility of our environment and the potential for loss when something we probably don’t think a lot about comes from one place. Harkens back to the discussions of supply chains back in the not-so- distant past. (This morning alone—it’s 7:53am—I’ve heard that there is a pine nut shortage (an insect is eating them in Lebanon) and a sriracha shortage (droughts in Mexico.))

• It is impossible to keep my fingernails clean on the van trips. No matter how many times I wash my hands….

• When plotting my course on a road trip, I don’t always notice much other than “includes toll roads,” which, by the way were everywhere in the Northeast. $2.10? Every five miles or so? New York! Give me a break! But I digress. I have an itty-bitty problem with bridges and tunnels and I think map apps might want to warn those of us who don’t like them that “This route includes bleeping terrifyingly long tunnels.” (Iceland, I am looking at you here!) Mostly I am okay but lengthy examples of either are not my favorite. And there I was, paying a $14 toll to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, which by the way is a bridge tunnel bridge tunnel bridge, if anyone is keeping score.

• Proof that my memory is not as bad as I thought: I found the thumbtacks in the first place I looked. And it’s not an office drawer—way weirder than that. Ta-dum!

 

“Change is what we’re chemically designed to do.”

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

I keep looking at this blank little corner of the pnewsletter (in the pdf form) and thinking—do I just keep blathering on or leave it blank, or explain that I know it’s there but I really want to get this out so you get a slightly unattractive white space, or do I bump up the font size? Or I could add a photo. That’s it—an itty-bitty photo of my friend Ursula the snake on the dashboard. It’s small in hopes it is not hard on people who fear her.