The Great Outdoors

I spent a good hour this morning thrilling at the sight and sound of a red-shouldered hawk that chose our backyard as its hangout this morning. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get very good pictures, because when I went outside (I was sneaky and went out the front door and around), it moved on. I can still hear its call, but it is no longer right outside my window. Here are the photos I did manage through the windows and the foliage.
Here is a link to the call that I listened to (click on the link to play the sound from this species), and which helped me settle on its identity as a Red-shouldered hawk over the other options. I have spent some time playing the recorded call and listening to the hawk outside reply. They've been talking for a while now. Simple things really entertain me.

Since we moved here, I have had quite a lot of fun trying to identify the birds, arachnids, insects and animals I encounter. For one thing, there are more of them. For another, I enjoy a challenge, and when discovering which beetle I have spotted out on a trail takes me through about 200 pages of photos, each with about 5 types of beetles, I gain a new appreciation for the richness and diversity of living things... though I sometimes think I could do without the thought that there are thousands of types of beetles.

I'm much more aware here of the passage of time and the seasonal changes. Just a few weeks ago the leafy vines that hide the house behind ours from view were light green and immature and only created a sort of screen. Now they are full and form a lush green curtain. Everything is green (with the exception of what passes for our lawn), despite the moderate drought. Ferns have swarmed the creek bed, stretching feathery tendrils down to toy with the minnows and tadpoles.

Yes... I must say that summer has its charms. We went walking through town two nights ago when the temperatures had cooled and our feet ached to explore. Getting out of the house seems like an imperative now that we both spend so much time here. We walked past the library and into a new neighborhood, and we each picked a wild blackberry from vines just off the road.

Last night I awoke to the rumble of distant thunder, and dozed off and on as the rains bathed our house. Our apple tree has one fruit left trying to make it to maturity. Our tomato vines are starting to bear a few small, green fruit. Daniel has taken to tinkering in the "back 40". Vibrant red cardinals flit from branch to branch. The hibiscus are in bloom. We could ask for somewhat more (a job for Dan, for instance), but there is quite a lot to quietly (or not so quietly -- hawk calls can be rather noisy) enjoy in the meantime.

Drumroll, please...

Behold, the new Dan.

Country Fried Fotos

A.K.A. What passes for fun around these parts these days

One of the stranger things we have taken to doing since we moved here is watching CMT, which stands for "Country Music Television". That's misleading though, since CMT has about as much music as does MTV these days, which I understand to be the home of more "reality TV" than there are big-screen TVs in a Howard's showroom on Labor Day Weekend. One of the other eye-opening programs is "Trick my Truck," in which about a half-dozen guys you wouldn't want to meet in a well-lit alley with armed bodyguards turn somebody's work truck (usually a big rig) into something else -- generally involving lots of airbrushing, chrome and blinking lights. We have also watched Country Fried Videos, which is a cross between some of the extreme video stunts you can find on YouTube performed by people who might do quite well competing for a spot on the Darwin Awards and, well, the South.

One of our favorite shows would have to be "Mobile Home Disaster," in which a lovably annoying CMT personality and his team rehab a trailer home in something like 24 hours while the family that usually lives there is on a show-sponsored vacation or other activity--such as a blind date, in the case of a single dad. Let us not neglect to mention "Farmer Wants a Wife," in which a dozen or so vapid young women vie for the affections of a hunky young farmer by riding tractors in heels and going on coveted lake-swimming dates (one-on-one or in groups) with Mr. Right. I can only claim to have watched that show once. Between the free-flowing estrogen and the lunacy of the concept, that was all I could stomach. (Okay, so that was actually local TV, but I still contend that watching CMT is a bit like watching a multi-vehicle wreck in the middle of down-home America over a steaming bowl of opossum stew.)

Still, we find it strangely compelling. In fact, we have changed our lifestyles a bit to reflect the new possibilities we have discovered. For instance, we now scavenge for dinner in the street. This little guy wasn't very filling, I am afraid.

We also have exchanged our mattresses for natural, renewable bedding. Here is Monte in his new countrified bed of carrot greens. MooMoo is there to provide protection.

Finally, we have decided to adopt new looks. Please note the stains on the shirt.

Okay, so I am just kidding... about some of it.
Monte really does love to nap in carrot greens, and Dan really did get a new look... but that's not it.

Neither is this.

I'll post the real look after some pause for speculation and gossip.
Discuss.

What if?

She flopped diagonally onto the bed, belly first, in her bathrobe.
He reclined against a disorderly heap of pillows, back down, face up -- a much more ordinary position.
"Hi," she said, bringing her left hand to rest on his t-shirted chest.
"Hi," he replied.
He pointed with his left hand to the ring on hers.
"That rock means I love you," he said.
"It does?" she asked.
"Yes."
"But what does this band mean?" she asked, pointing to a thicker ring of gold.
"It means that I married you," he replied.
She was silent for a moment, and then spoke again.
"But what if the rock gets lost?"
"I will still love you. Just because it is lost doesn't mean it ceases to exist. It still means that I love you."
"But what if it gets crushed?"
"It won't. It's a diamond."
"But what if it gets blown up by an atomic bomb and shatters into a thousand pieces?"
"Then every one of those thousand pieces will say that I still love you."
"Yes, I suppose the conservation of mass helps your case."
"That's true ... but even if you somehow manage to turn those bits of mass into energy, the energy will still say that I love you."
She laughed.
He laughed.
"I love you, too," She replied.

Jobs and houses and choices, oh my!

Well, after about 4 weeks of a whole lot of nothing, Dan's job hunt became much more promising all of the sudden. Dan has a couple (as many as 4, actually) strong possibilities in the works. Please pray that the right opportunity will present itself quickly, and that we'll have a real conviction that the right thing is in fact right.

Up for prayer is whether we move closer to the new job, whatever it turns out to be. We're out in the middle of nowhere now, which was fine when his job was in an outlying town about 20 minutes from here and gas prices were a bit more manageable. Our lease is up in about 3 weeks, and we may have to decide very quickly whether to move to Raleigh proper or thereabouts, whether to extend our lease on this place, or whether to go month-to-month for a few months and have Dan brave the commute. A lot depends on whether Dan has an offer to accept sooner than later, and where that turns out to be. The job possibilities he's talking to recruiters about are all over the Triangle, and none of them are anywhere near here, so a move seems likely, there's just a lot we don't know yet. A move would have several other blessings associated with it. Anywhere we end up is likely to be closer to church, the airport and Duke, so a move may mean a lot of things are easier for us. The main drawback is that we really love this little house, the price is right, and we just planted a garden! It's just further than we would like to be from a lot of things that matter to us.

That's it for now!

Memorial Days

Memorial Day weekend has been absolutely gorgeous here. The skies have been clear blue and temperatures have been in the high 70s to low 80s. We have barbecued Friday and Saturday evenings -- enjoying eating out on the deck -- and we took a picnic to Umstead Park on Sunday. Umstead is a state park comprised of a lovely piece of wilderness less than 30 minutes from home. We walked a couple of miles of trails, and we enjoyed the unspoiled beauty of the place.

When we got to the river, we picked a shady spot by the ruins of the old mill dam, pulled out our books, and lounged around until early evening, stopping to dip our feet in the cool water before we undertook the walk back. I found myself distracted from my book by a spider who was prowling nearby, and the walk back to the car was graced by one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in a very long time -- a majestic blue heron flew the length of the river, soaring rapidly overhead as its wings glowed in the evening sun. It was a moment I couldn't have captured on film if I had been ready to do so. Daniel was standing next to me and missed it. There was such strength and precision in its movements that I felt it embodied the perfection of creation and the definition of freedom. It was such an intensely peaceful feeling, that I wished I could somehow transported everyone I love to be there for the moment.You may visit a more complete photo album here. It features some of the wildlife we encountered along the way (including a snake and a fascinating beetle, Dad).

We walked to the war memorial in town this evening to stand quietly by as the sun descended for the evening. It was quiet tonight. Just a single confederate soldier standing watch over a deserted square.

Sometimes you can find children climbing on the monument and playing in its shadow. Daniel remarked that he thought somehow that play and laughter of children is a fitting tribute to the fallen. He's certain they would love to know that life goes on and that the fighting they did for the sake of peace and freedom has brought just that feeling to the town that remembers them still. I would have to agree.

Holy Hail

Just a quick little post sharing more of the wonders of the world outside--this time, during a full-fledged tornado warning that encompassed our area. A tornado was actually spotted in the town where our aunt and uncle live, which is not far from here at all. I don't think it touched down.While these were falling, Dan remarked that "It sounds like we're inside a popcorn popper." It did a bit... perhaps it sounded even more like the push-toy I played with as a kid that made popping noises when I ran it over the carpet.
Monte hid, MooMoo napped, and Dan and I watched the weather coverage on the news and debated whether or not we should adjourn together to the bathroom (the only "interior" room available to us here). Keep in mind that I have rather large hands, and I had to wait until the storm had passed and the hail had melted a bit, so these were pretty impressive. I think all of our plants survived the onslaught. The people and animals in our house sure did. Honestly, it is a bit harrowing when it is happening, but I find the power of nature entrancing, too. I'm not quite cut out of storm chaser stock, and I hope to never experience a touched-down tornado, but some part of me loves living in a place that gets somewhat exciting. :)