June Sweeps - Day 509

Well, it's raining.  Up here anyway.

As I've mentioned--though probably should mention more--there's a drought happening in the American West and Southwest, with some counties raising their alert level to whatever's right beneath Emergency.  My dad would say that the farmers really need the rain, so I'll not complain about it.

I woke up extraordinarily early, hearing a strange, unidentifiable sound.  It sounded like the hum of power lines.  I hear it now and I can't figure it out--I thought someone had left a radio on upstairs, or maybe a fan (though only one of those people who complains that it's too hot at seventy-two degrees [you know who you are] could need a fan going up in the mountains here), but what it seems to be is the sound of very light rain on the tin roof.  I can't find any other explanation.

Turned out, it was my laptop.  Not a great sign, really.

As I type this, the sun is just clearing the trees, and there's a bright blue section of sky to the east, all clean and pure, like a pre-fame Christina Aguilera (or a thirty year old Kelly Clarkson, I suppose).  The sound--whatever it was--has gone, and there is a preternatural silence right now, with only the ticking of the clock and the beating of of the heart beneath the floorboards accompanying me (I did close the one open window I had in the room, so I'm sure that helps).  Now I hear the rumble of an engine coming up the road, and stare out at the stillness of the morning.*

Sit-ups Today: 111
Sit-ups In June: 2604

Last week, my brother told me he had tried to look at the photos his motion-detecting camera had taken, but they hadn't worked.  He had set up the camera (there may be two of them) to know whether the badger was gone or not, but claimed that when he put the SD card in his phone, it was blank.  Or he couldn't access it.  I hadn't brought my laptop, but I told him I'd check.

(I'll try to get a picture of the actual camera, but this looks like the model)

So I went out during a lull in the rain to bury something, and also to see if I could get it to work.  I grabbed the card, brought it inside, and stuck it in my laptop.  There were 281 photos, many of which were just caused by the wind.  

But there were a couple where deer had walked past the lens, and several with big ole woodchucks in them, and many more with ground squirrels running past.  In one or two, there was a longer, more weasel or fox-like animal walking by, with a long tail (my brother will surely be able to recognize what it is).  In a half dozen more, I was in the photos, looking gross as usual, and in one or two, my brother was walking around.

There was one of myself after dark (and I remember it going off, because it was the first time I'd noticed the camera), with that white-skinned, washed-out, big black-eyed look of night vision to it.  I wish I'd thought to copy it and include it here.  

But there were no badgers.  I think it's safe to say it's gone.**

It was fun to scroll back and forth on the photos, watching the shadows lengthen throughout the day, looking at the timestamp and temperature stamp on each one.  I get why they're included . . . and I suspect these cameras are intended to capture images of people instead of animals.

Of course, in my mind, the whole time I was looking at the photos, I was thinking, "What if I saw something I couldn't identify, something that's not supposed to be out in the woods?"  And then, looking at my own unearthly night-vision photo, I wondered about seeing a woman walking in the woods, maybe very old, maybe very young and underdressed, not using a flashlight, her eyes blacker than my own had been.

Freaked out, I'd copy the picture to my hard drive, take my laptop over to my brother, and show him the picture . . . and the woman's gone.

Push-ups Today: 50
Push-ups In June: 2848

What?  It was young Christina Aguilera out there the whole time?  Wait a minute, how did that picture end up on my blog?

Anyway . . .

If you could see what I accomplished today, you'd be pretty sickened.  I went from the couch to the chair and back again, with almost zero variation, and only went outside two or three times, then turned right back again.  I read for hours, enjoying my book and only putting it down when I absolutely HAD to make myself write or edit.  I got three episodes of the Rish Outcast done (three!) and started on a fourth, then went on to read another chapter.  I didn't get a lot of writing done, but I feel like I did fine.

Maybe, if you saw what I accomplished today, you'd only be mildly sickened.

And then it was time to go.  Because of the rain, it got dark earlier today, but by the time I cleared the canyon, the sun was back.  I could even go on my run again once I was home.

Words Today: 1208
Words In June: 19,872

*The old couple that live up the hill from me have a noisy generator they run that can often be heard, even before it gets dark, but it is strangely quiet right now.  Except for the relentless, echoing snaredrum of the clock, it sounds like what you hear when you get toilet paper wet and stuff it in your ears.  It's like an old jungle movie--"It's quiet . . . too quiet."

**Besides, I can't imagine woodchucks would congregate around the woodpile if a huge, angry badger was living there.