Otters

So... in the world of magical animals, that live in New England, there is a definite top three: (These are in no particular order) Moose, Mountain Lion (actually lets include all of the big cats in this category...bobcat etc), and Otters. Otters you say? Really... otters? Yup otters. All of these animals, if seen on their own turf, are worthy of respect and really.... something akin to awe.

I have seen moose in the middle of the woods. Trust me, these are awe inspiring... and pant-changing if met alone... say completely alone, while innocently taking pictures of a stone wall.... less than twenty feet away.... lying down completely hidden until walked up upon.  Let me tell you, it was inspiring.

I haven't seen any sort of big cat in the woods, unless you count fisher cats, but they aren't really cats. So, I am going by reputation alone on this one.

And then there are otters. You wouldn't think these guys hold there own against the larger mammals but they really do. There is something noble about them, and they are smart.... really really smart... like Ricky Tikky Tavi smart. I have only seen them three times in the wild. It was the first time that really pushed them to the top of my charts. I was canoeing way in the back woods of this tiny...really more of a creek than a river. We had to portage around things constantly. Eventually, we came to this deep clean part of the river that was bordered by big grasses. Just as we entered that little stretch I heard a whistle and looked up ahead. I saw what I thought were beavers... but they were moving too fast to be beavers. We continued to canoe ahead and they went under water...typical beaver maneuver. Then, they were all around us. swimming and whistling. I was just amazed as they swam under the canoe and flew through the water as only otters and seals can. But it was when one of them got very curious about our canoe that defined the moment. He swam up to about a foot away and held his body way out of the water. He was tall enough that he could see right over the top of the canoe. These are not small animals, especially when that close up. He just wiggled his whiskers and stayed there... looking right at me. Honestly, I was kind of freaked out. Just like you have to be when something awe inspiring happens. He could have easily came right over the side into my canoe, and he had this look like he was going to do it. But instead he whistled and flew under water, under the canoe and with the rest of his family went upstream.

This morning, while walking across the small bridge that the ware river passes under, I heard a big splash from behind me. I turned and thought that it was probably a fish. But I saw a big trail of bubbles and figured it for a beaver. I waited and watched on the other side of the bridge for the thing to swim under and I saw three twisting, turning, underwater acrobats fly through the water. They are amazingly fast. They rustled this huge patch of arrow root and went past me. I took a picture of the the top of the water and thought that that would be the end. But one of them turned back. He poked his head up, mabe fifteen feet away from me and sat there... looking me over, blowing air at me. And I laughed, out loud, because of the magic of it all. He stayed for maybe two minutes, and kept  kind of snorting at me... not like a beaver though... much airier. And I laughed again. And that was that. He plunged under water and shot up the river. Gone, just like that.

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aftermath

Well... our little group of musicians is really growing into something great right now. I am really happy with the way things are progressing. I played drums for the first time in..... hm.... let me think.....well at least four years. Thank God. I feel so much better back there than up front singing. I did sing though... just at the end, not in the main set. Actually almost all of us took lead at one point. This is what I mean when I say that I am happy with the way things are going. Everyone involved right now seems to be finding their place. I love that. And I can really feel a cohesion starting to bleed in. These are the regulars:
~Aaron on guitar, electric and mandolin. Also on vocals both lead and background (but he can't harmonize yet... have to work on that)
~Bridget taking lead and background vocals. (She is also the queen of harmonies. And she says funny things..... and has great timing) She is also trying to pick up mandolin.
~Robin on guitar and backup vocals. (I am still trying to coax her into taking lead sometime)
~Janaque on electric or acoustic and both lead and backup vocals (he also says funny things... and he is short which is funny in itself)
~Kyle  and Mark are doing sound and actually, and let me capitalize that for emphasis, ACTUALLY know what they are doing.
~And then there is me. I am generally lead, but not so much anymore (which in my book is a good thing) and today I was drums, which is.... super duper great! And, I think we are starting to come up with something of a sound that is ours. Heavy harmonies and acoustic driven music. yes......sound mumfordy to you?!? I think that, if things go the  way they are going, we just might be able to take this on the road sometime. That would be more than amazing.

happy

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Soccer Girl

It was Nora's first day of soccer today. It was an interesting day for me. She was perfect. Absolutely everything that you would want out of a first day of soccer. The coach was someone we casually knew. (Actually very casually, as in met a couple of times and they seemed really nice.) Their daughter is in Nora's grade. Nora was observant and listened. She was active and brave. Attentive... loved it: Perfect. And I was completely proud of her. We actually went out for Nora's guilty pleasure, McDonald's, afterward because I was so proud. (This is a big give on my part).  But I couldn't help but sit there, and in the middle of my pleasure, feel a little pang of sorrow. Henry's group sports attempts were the opposite. Crash and burn... wreckage everywhere. He didn't come running back to us crying, as others had done, but, in some ways, that may have been easier. He tried, god bless him, to play the game. He just didn't have even close to the attention span needed for such a thing. He was off plucking grass and thinking about superheroes.

Now, this was Nora's day, and lets not take away from that. And exactly that was what I kept telling myself. This too: "Don't compare these two... that is setting yourself up for bad things in the future." He is sitting right next to me right now, desperately trying to pry me away from typing so he can tell me about his Yu-gi-Oh! cards. :)

Nora was really proud, and rightly so. They played a variety of training games... kick the ball down field... dive on the ball on command.... sit and listen. Perfect. She is truly an amazing girl. She has a memory that literally scares me sometimes. No walking around the house in boxers, because I am absolutely sure that she will remember it when she is 25.

danger will robinson....

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somebody is watching you

I replanted a couple of my outdoor plants today and I found this guy looking at me. Here is a nice zoom in on the picture above.

Its a jumping spider. I love these little guys, they are just like little puppies. They have eyes on the front of their faces like we do, because they don't catch flies in webs, they actually hunt them down.... jump on them. So cool! Both of my kids love em too. Cute little thing :)

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Cilantro Pesto

I harvested about half of my cilantro today. I have to tell you, if my vegetable garden is a ruin most years, my herbs are a total success. I might just turn the whole thing into an herb patch in the future. I have a row of cilantro that is getting nice and full. Cilantro, when it flowers, spikes out these feathery leaves that don't have even close to the punch that normal cilantro has. Well, mine was just starting to spike up..... so..... chop it down. Two years ago I discovered a recipe for cilantro pesto. So good. Its easy, lime juice, cilantro and just a pinch of salt. Just process the whole thing until its smooth. I put it into an ice cube tray and the cubes last all winter. = serious happiness when, in mid-winter I want a ray of summer.

Fifty Shades of Grey

The fog was thick this morning and my walk was really quick. Twenty minutes tops....but I stopped at the intersection and turned back toward the sun and there were birds flying across the path, swamp sparrows I think. Their wings would light up as they caught the light. I was in kind of a rush, but I couldn't help but be impressed. This is why I go out, to be caught up in someone else's world, just for a little bit before mine takes the day.
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pizza for supper

Well.... here we go. Today I taught class, prepped for tomorrow, raced home, grabbed the kids off of the bus, raced back to school with them in tow and met with a few teachers about the fall play that I am directing. I then..... possibly for the first time ever in my life....... mourned the fact that I don't have a cell phone. I had to drive home, order a pizza, and then drive back to the center of town to go and pick it up. The kids had an hour and a half before bed time......(gasp)

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Pizza for supper........ It's good. There can be no argument about that. It just feels like such a cop out, and I am looking at that cop out pretty often for the next two months. Directing the play at the high school is no little thing. I mean its not protecting the president or anything, but it really is a ton of time and massive effort to take on while trying to teach and have a family...especially on those days when Jenny works. Fortunately, Henry and Nora wanted me to do it possibly more than I wanted to. 

There was this defining moment for me the last time that I did this that I will never forget. It was hell week: practice every day after school for hours... doing all of my correcting while directing totally stressed out kids... one week until show time. I was completely exhausted... bone tired..... and I sat down in this high back chair set up on the stage  while the kids were taking a break for supper. The lights were low, the auditorium was empty, I fell asleep in about five minutes. Not a light sleep either. I was out. I woke up... I actually don't know how long later and the stage was full, honestly, of probably 15 or so kids completely asleep around me. One of them was leaning up against the chair I was sitting on. The rest were completely crashed everywhere on the stage in various stages of snoring and sleep.  

It is their stress as well as mine. Getting through an endeavor like this is like taking on the appalachian trail with a group of people. If you weren't friends before you will be forged together by the end. This is what I am taking on starting in a couple of weeks. Am I intimidated.... yup, and oddly looking forward to the pressure.