June Sweeps - Day 502

So, I've made it a tradition to take a picture of the baby robin in the nest every time I visit the cabin.  Here's this week's:

Sit-ups Today: 111
Sit-ups In June: 1849

Didn't do any blogging today.  It was a longish day, and then it was over.  I woke up early, and had I stayed up and just gotten to work writing and editing, I could've had a monumentally successful day at the cabin.  As it stands, it was very nice, very relaxing and enjoyable, and I finished editing another Outcast episode, watched a DVD I'd checked out, finished reading one of the two books I checked out from the library (I laughed and cried), and wrote a bit on the next Lara Demming story, plus, I planned out a new subplot for it, which should tip it from short story into novella status.  I really love writing these stories, and if I ever get off my duff and put them out there, I hope you love reading them.

Push-ups Today: 185
Push-ups In June: 2067

At the end of the day, when the sun was getting low in the sky, I had packed up my car, reset the traps, cleaned up after myself, and went around the back to pick up the chair that I always put out there (it was given to my dad as a Father's Day gift in either 2015 or '16, and who knows if he ever used it--but I do, every time I visit), but hadn't used this trip.  I grabbed my library book and read a chapter.  

Okay, it ended up being a couple of chapters--an hour or so, as the sun sunk lower and the breeze blew cooly, and I kept getting buzzed by a hummingbird, one that seemed braver than we usually deal with.  It flew over me and and again, and it often had something in its mouth--pollen or a twig--and finally, I looked up . . . and it was building a nest directly above me, below the solar panel my brother cleaned off just on Saturday.

It's hard to see, because hummingbirds--and their nests, apparently--are so tiny, but it was fun to watch it zoom back and forth around me for the duration of my reading break.

Then, it was time to go, and I knew I'd be battling the sunset unless I got out of there fast.  Even though I was just going for a single day, so I could've left some of my things where they were, I knew my brother-in-law was going up a day early, and maybe my mom too, so I had to wipe everything down and put things back the way I'd found them.  I guess that's good, right?

I found this image when I was searching for pictures of Basil Fawlty the other day.  Now, I don't know if it's true or just smug Pinterest bullshit, but I do feel truly appreciative of this cabin and my weekly visits here (semi-weekly, the last three weeks).  My sister was telling me the other day that, due to the rather large property taxes and fees, it is likely we won't be able to afford to keep it once my mother dies.  

That gave me pause, firstly because I don't enjoy speculating about my mom's death, but secondly because I don't understand how something my father owned and built (and presumably paid off completely before he died) could become untenable once he was gone.  But she may have been referring to the idea that the ownership will end up being split four ways without my mom in the picture, and one of those quarters (my other sister) will go to waste, since she says she will never set foot in it again, much less help us with the upkeep or yearly improvements.

Hopefully, that's not going to be an issue for many, many years, but you never know.

Remember that photo I took the other day of the gross bloody splotch on my windshield as I was driving?  Well, while I was editing audio this afternoon, a bird flew into the window right next to me, and I watched it fly off.  But right before shutting down the laptop to head for home, I went over to close that window, and discovered a little bloody splotch there too, just from the speed at which the bird flew against it.  I've no doubt that much grosser, much larger splotch last week must've been from a bird too.

Words Today: 1134
Words In June: 13,229

*Something I truly despise is when there's a local ad, or Facebook marketplace thing, etc., that has a low price, or even free listing, but when you click on it, it turns out to be priced something much higher.  Seems like a bait and switch, only even more dishonest, and I see it all the time (usually every week or so).