We were surrounded – a herd of does and fawns on one side, and a pack of foxes on the other, all of them hungry. They were discontent, one step away from an angry mob – my only advantage being that they didn’t actually have pitchforks or fiery torches. I did the only thing I could do in such a situation: I walked outside armed only with a red plastic coffee can in each hand – one filled with corn for the deer and one filled with whole roasted chicken pieces for the foxes, chicken that my step-mother had bought and roasted especially for the yard pets.
After I poured out the corn, I did as my step-mother the fox tamer instructed and sat in the grass with my arm extended, offering a drum stick. As much as the first fox to approach wanted that chicken, he wasn’t quite sure about me. He got close enough to me that I could hear his little feet in the grass and the snort from his nose as he assessed the situation. When he decided that I looked like a bad risk, he danced away a short distance watching me. He still wanted that chicken. I admit a certain amount of relief. I stood up slowly and walked over to the little knoll they like and left the chicken pieces there.
They seemed to enjoy their dinner, as they didn’t immediately disperse after. It seemed they knew that their regular chef wasn’t home and they were in the mood to put on a show for her understudy. Kind of like school children do when they have a substitute teacher! The deer eventually chased several of the foxes on to the roof of the shed up the driveway and shortly after they all left.
The next morning I was two hours later than they all would have preferred for breakfast as well, and lucky for me there was only one hungry fox out there still loitering and hoping. We were both in luck: I only had about enough left for one fox anyway and he got it all. My step-mother can tell them all apart. The only thing I could tell is that this fox wasn’t worried about me at all – he just wanted his breakfast. He pretty well stood his ground as I approached the knoll. If I had wanted to sit in the dew-wet grass in my pajamas, he probably would have stuck his head in the bucket and gotten the remaining chicken for himself!
I locked the doors before I went to bed. The way the animals all seemed to know that a newbie was in charge I was a little afraid that the bears might decide to let themselves in for a midnight snack!
The only thing better than a swim in a cold lake on a hot summer day…
is a beer margarita on a hot summer day!
My son is off on his overnight camping trip with his grandpa and step-grandma – and I’m on fox feeding duty this evening and tomorrow morning. The question remains whether I’m brave enough to try hand feeding them and whether or not they’d come up to me if I did.
The first week we were on vacation we were staying in a hotel while my daughter attended a tennis camp. The room didn’t have a refrigerator, so we were dependent on eating in restaurants. At first I was looking forward to it – any day I don’t have to cook is a good day.
I quickly went off eating in restaurants. Is there anything on any menu that isn’t deep fried and / or covered in cheese? It’s as if these places are looking for ways to make things as unhealthy as possible. And the portion sizes are ridiculous – even when I ordered a half order of pesto for my son it arrived in a serving bowl and was enough to feed at least two adults.
The children’s menus were just as ridiculous. There weren’t so very many options in the small town where we were staying so we ended up eating at Perkins (a large chain) a lot. If you ordered the macaroni and cheese from the children’s menu, they gave you an ice cream scoop sized portion of pasta and a small side order of your choice. I understand that the children’s menu covers a wide age range and that not all children have the same appetite, so I didn’t think much about it the skimpy serving until my son ordered the “dollar pancakes” one evening instead. The pancakes were actually $1 cheaper than the macaroni, but the stack of pancakes they brought him would have been more appropriate for a truck driver. Where is the rationale in that?
I finally managed by skipping meals or picking off my children’s plates.
It’s not a whole lot better now that I’m at my father’s house however. My step-mother plays dirty: she is a great cook and she spoils me rotten by not only making my favorite entrees, but she also makes dessert every night. How am I supposed to resist carrot cake with caramel frosting, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, or ice cream with fresh raspberries? And just in case I could resist all of that, she bought my favorite mint ice cream bars as well.
She looks perfectly pleasant, but she’s evil, I tell you. Pure evil. No one could resist her wiles – I don’t think I’ve been hungry since I arrived. I’m powerless in her grasp – and it would be churlish of me to refuse her hospitality. I’ve gained about five pounds in my first week, and at this rate even my baggiest pants won’t fit by the time I leave. I’d have to kayak all day, every day against the wind to keep up with this intake.
The weather report for the weekend was a little iffy but I’m happy to say we were in luck. Saturday we hiked for about three hours up a big hill at the back of my father’s property. The trail was marked “Hellacious View” – it was clear enough that we could practically see Canada from up there.
We spent Sunday at a birthday party for my step-mother’s niece at a place they have on an inland lake. What a beautiful day! We did some kayaking and ate some fabulous fried fish before we started to play with the big water toys.
The children looked like they were having so much fun being dragged in the tube behind the boat, I decided it was one of those seize-the-moment-moments that I couldn’t let pass by.
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The things I won’t do after a few beer margarita cocktails!
It was a lot of fun, though I was petrified that I was going to flip over into the lake at high speed. I have to admit that I had such a tight grip on the handles of that tube that I broke a blood vessel in one of my fingers and came away with a big bruise!
I’m glad I did it once, but I think I’ll probably stick to kayaking from now on!
I’ve always loved trying out alternate / quirky modes of transporation so it’s no surprise to me how much I enjoyed kayaking.
After my trial run in a very calm inland lake, my step-mother and her sister-in-law took me out on Wednesday to Lake Superior. I’m very happy that we were using sport kayaks, which are a bit wider and more stable – with the water temperature in the instant-skin-numbing zone I wasn’t so keen on flipping over! (though the risk of freezing did add a bit of a thrill to the excursion!)
The weather forecast was a bit iffy and the region is subject to micro-climates (it can be sunny in one spot and foggy a few miles down the road) we decided we didn’t want to drive very far, just in case. We put the kayaks in the water at a nearby beach and set off paddling along the shore to a nearby landmark my step-mother calls Hollow Rock.
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A gorgeous day for a boat ride!
Look at me – still upright!
Approaching Hollow Rock.
The water was just high enough that it would have been difficult to pass through the small opening. It was surprising how much larger the opening is on the other side!
There are actually two openings, but I didn’t see the larger of the two on the approach.
The opening is larger than it looks and was so fun to go inside and investigate.
The view looking out from inside was just stunning.
After the rock, we decided to paddle around a bit more until the wind started to shift on us. The last place you want to be in a kayak is Lake Superior with rolling, cross-wise waves. That lake has sunk bigger boats than a kayak, after all.
We were out for about three hours, give or take, but it didn’t feel that long. I’m hoping to get in a bit more kayaking over the weekend, though I’ll have to share time with my children. I’m also wondering whether my father would notice if I left a trailer with three kayaks parked in the tall grass behind his shed for our next visit??
You are primarily concerned with what is actual. You tend to be a practical person.
You love to stay busy, and you are always immersed in projects.
You are in touch with your senses, and you enjoy indulging them. You’re likely a crafter of some sort.
You crave different sensations in life, whether it’s working with your hands, playing sports, or eating your favorite meal.
I’ve mentioned before that the children’s tennis coach likes to motivate and reward the children he teaches with prizes from time to time. The rewards vary widely (remember the leopard slippers?) Sometimes he might give them a few pieces of candy and other times he might come up with something high end, like a tennis bag.
Last week my son won all the matches in his group and he got what looked like a stuffed monkey as a prize. Little did I know it wasn’t just any stuffed monkey. He dances too.
I love this monkey so much I got out my tripod and figured out how to take videos with my new camera – I even registered at YouTube to share this with you. It’s amusing and absurd at the same time – I only regret that Queen isn’t being paid royalties every time I press the button on his arm. But really – overalls? Given the song lyrics, shouldn’t the monkey really be wearing a leather jacket at the very least?
Found a link to a fascinating word tool on Terry Odell’s blog – Wordle. Check out the word cloud I created using the first several chapters from my book ALL THE WAY HOME:
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The larger the word in the cloud, the more frequent the occurrence. As an author, you could use this as a way to help edit your writing for those pesky word-crutches that all writers lean on (mine tend to be “that” and “just”) Or you could just play with the layout and the colors to kill time and amuse yourself as I did.
Caution: it’s addictive!
ETA: I was thrilled to discover that ALL THE WAY HOME is now available for the Amazon Kindle and so is HERE TO STAY.
I write books for fun so why is it so hard to write my own bio? I am an American currently living in Cairo, Egypt. Aside from writing, I'm a married mom of two under ten, a decent (if reluctant) cook, an encyclopedia of random scientific / medical facts, a wine lover (but not a snob!), and a Capricorn. I love to travel, spend time with good friends, and laugh at life's surprises. View of life - definitely half full.
