June Sweeps - Day 488

The family of deer have gathered under the deck of the cabin next door, and there's a spotted fawn among them.  I can see them from my chair here, while typing or editing.  

In other nature news, a bird (the kind Batman's sidekick was either named after or not actually named after, the only certainty is that he was created by Bill Finger, who died penniless) has built a nest right outside the main door of the cabin, and every time I go out, she flies to the nearest tree and squawks over and over until I go away.  It's actually kind of admirable, but I've tried explaining to her that I pose no threat to her or her nest, and she absolutely refuses to listen to reason.*

I'll try to take a picture of her and stick it here next week.

Anyway, between this week and last week, I saw a blue eggshell lying broken on the ground below the nest, and I felt sad about it, figuring that represented a dead baby bird that had fallen from the nest.  I now think that it was merely the empty shell, tossed out of the nest by the mother, but I'll never know.

Out of curiosity, before I left, I got a log from next to the door, stood it up, and stepped up on it, stretching my camera hand out as far as it could go, to see if I could get a picture of the eggs still in the nest.  I thought you guys would enjoy watching life's progress as they hatched, grew, and eventually flew off on their own, one day squawking angrily at another benign camper.

This is the picture I took:

Just the one baby bird, its eyes still closed, but not yet making a peeping sound.  By its legs is a grub/caterpillar of some sort.  I made sure not to disturb the nest or touch the baby, for fear the mother would abandon it (I don't know which species do that and which ones don't, but I do remember patting a baby on the head at the Beverly Center mall in 2003, and its red-headed mother simply pushed the baby's stroller right off the escalator).

Sorry if this is not entertaining to you.  I do try.

Sit-ups Today: 111
Sit-ups In June: 422

This is an image I took of my car and the sun setting behind the trees.  Nothing further, Your Honor.

I've talked ad nauseum about the noises here at the cabin, but wow, it's never been as loud, in my recollection, as it has been today.  It was sunny and the wood was expanding and popping all around me, and it sounded like a bunch of folks were setting up wooden chairs right above me.  

Finally, I had to stand up, go upstairs, and see if you could hear it too.**

Push-ups Today: 77 (I tried to do a single-armed push-up, but tipped right over.  Next time, try it on the first one, NOT the last)

Push-ups In June: 304

At one point, I did go outside to check the trap I had set, and it had been sprung, and all the banana chips were gone, but no animal was inside it.  I saw another woodchuck/potgut up on the deck as I went out, and it scampered away, and I just don't understand what they go up there for.  If a badger is deadly to them, as it certainly seemed to be yesterday, why would they hang around here, especially since there shouldn't be anything to eat on the deck (though I suppose something ate those banana pieces underneath the deck, didn't they?)?

I watch the deer sitting in the shade of the cabin next door, and as the sun shifts position, they do too, always finding new shade to relax in.

Also, I wondered if the resolution on my phone was clear enough you could see all the bugs flying around on top of the dam.  

Now I'm home, and everyone's asleep, so it's almost as though I was alone again.  And it looks like my whole family (save my mom, who's out of town) are going to the cabin again tomorrow and spending the whole weekend sanding and painting.  Except for my brother, who seems like he's going to make it his mission to kill himself a badger.  Hmm.

So, the last two days, I've been working on the sequel to my story "Caller I.D.."  You might ask, "Rish, why do you constantly start projects and then abandon them, over and over and over and over again?  Oh, can't you see what I'm trying to say, darling?"

I have this attention deficit thing, it turns out.  Some kind of syndrome where I find it difficult to stay on task, even if it means dropping something I'm almost finished with.  Or peeing my pants.  

But as far as this project went, I was scouring my brain for what I could record a Rish Outcast about, and I stumbled upon the file where the ending of the story was typed up.  That meant I could record the last two or three pages, edit them, and the story would be done.  I could even record the episode for it on my drive home.

But in addition to the ending of the story, you see, was a synopsis (and the first three paragraphs) of a sequel to "Caller I.D.," which takes place the next year.  This was a series I envisioned, where I would write a new installment, and produce it for the podcast, each and every year, telling of another adventure the fortunate Chad Kluchar would have.

He was not, however, fortunate in his choice of last names.

So, I took that little synopsis, and started fleshing it out into prose form.  And it was fun.  And easy.  And man, aren't those two great tastes that taste great together?

Words Today: 1116
Words In June: 2765

*This probably sounds like a silly joke to you, but no, I actually spoke to the bird, more than once, explaining my intentions.  And after continued denials from the animal, I'll admit that I did threaten to get my brother's BB gun and use it on her.  Not that I would have done it, Your Honor, I just wanted her to be quiet while I took stuff out of the car.

**But Rish, why did you record a video of absolute silence?  The only sound on the tape was your footfalls and a single, high-pitched fart.